Patterns of Associations Between Maternal Symptoms and Child Problem Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Mentalization, Negative Intentionality, and Unsupportive Emotion Socialization

The effects of emotion-focused skills training on parental mental health, emotion regulation and self-efficacy: Mediating processes between parents and children

Objective: Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a short-term parental intervention based on humanistic principles. While studies have demonstrated the efficacy of EFST in alleviating child mental health symptoms, the mechanisms by which this happens is less clear. The present study investigated whether program participation led to improvements in the parents' own mental health, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy, and compared two versions of EFST: one experiential involving evocative techniques, and one psychoeducational involving didactic teaching of skills. Further, this study investigated whether improvements in parent outcomes mediated the effects on children's mental health. All parents received 2-days group training and 6 h of individual supervision. Methods: 313 parents (Mage = 40.5, 75.1% mothers) of 236 children (ages 6-13, 60.6% boys) with mental health difficulties within the clinical range and their teachers (N = 113, 82% female) were included. Participants were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 4-, 8- and 12-months follow-up. Results: Multilevel analysis showed significant improvements over time on all parental outcomes with large effects (drange0.6-1.1, ps < .001), with fathers benefitting more in terms of emotion regulation and self-efficacy (ps < .05). Significant differences were found between conditions on parental mental health and self-efficacy (all p's > .05). Cross-lagged panel models showed indirect effects of child symptoms at post-intervention on all parental outcomes at 12-months follow-up (βrange0.30-0.59, ps < .05). Bidirectional associations were observed between children's mental health symptoms and parental self-efficacy (βrange0.13-0.30, ps < .05). Conclusion: This study provides support for the effect of EFST on parent outcomes and the reciprocal relationship between the mental health of children's and their parents.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03807336.

Associations Between Adult Attachment, Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Behavior

BACKGROUND

Attachment theories suggest that the adult attachment styles of mothers may influence behavior problems among their children; however, empirical studies examining the direct role of maternal adult attachment styles and the mechanisms through emotion-related parenting are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the influence of maternal adult attachment styles and emotion-related parenting on child internalizing and externalizing problems.

METHODS

The participants were 409 mothers with children aged 4-5 years. A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain their adult attachment styles to their mothers, maternal emotion socialization, and their children's behavior problems.

RESULTS

The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses revealed that maternal adult attachment influenced child behavior problems directly and indirectly through maternal emotion socialization. (1) Maternal attachment anxiety directly affected child externalizing problems, and indirectly affected them via mothers' higher unsupportive emotion socialization (dismissing and dysfunction). Moreover, attachment anxiety influenced child internalizing problems directly, and indirectly via mothers' higher unsupportive emotion socialization (dysfunction). (2) Furthermore, attachment avoidance indirectly impacted child externalizing problems via mothers' lower supportive emotion socialization (coaching).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggested that maternal adult attachment styles and emotion-related parenting have important implications for the development of child behaviors. Future interventions should target parental factors to mitigate the risk of behavior problems among preschoolers.

The associations between 2D:4D ratio and behavior problems among Chinese preschool children: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Digit ratio (2D:4D) is considered a biomarker of prenatal androgen activity, the prenatal hormone exposure may affect children's psychology and behavior.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between 2D:4D ratio and behavior problems in Chinese preschool children, and to provide ideas for early intervention of children's behavior problems.

METHODS

A total of 548 Chinese preschool children aged 3-6 years were recruited using a stratified cluster sampling method. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess the children's behavior. Basic information of the children and their parents was also collected, finger length was directly measured by electronic vernier caliper.

RESULTS

We found that sex and age of the child, mother's educational level, and whether the child was an only child were the influencing factors of behavior problems (P < 0.05). Right-handed 2D:4D was negatively correlated with parent-reported anxiety/depression (P < 0.05), father-reported aggression (P < 0.05) and attention problems (P < 0.01), that is, high levels of testosterone may increase the risk of anxiety and depression, our results were in contrast to previous studies.

CONCLUSION

The 2D:4D ratio may be related to behavior problems among Chinese preschool children, and prenatal testosterone exposure may be an important factor affecting behavior problems.

A person-based approach to emotion socialization in toddlerhood: Individual differences in maternal emotion regulation, mental-health and parental sense of competence

Mothers adopt various emotion socialization strategies and sometimes exhibit contradictory responses. Thus, it is essential to understand how mothers differentiate in their use of emotion socialization strategies, and whether a set of emotion socialization responses is associated with individual differences in emotion regulation, mental health, and parental sense of competence during toddlerhood. Therefore, we used a person-centred approach to identify mothers' emotion socialization responses and then compared mothers based on the aforementioned characteristics. The mothers (N = 680) with toddlers (M = 23.56 months) responded to the Coping with Toddlers' Negative Emotions Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. The 3-profile-solution revealed: Unspecified (moderate scores in all emotion socialization strategies), supportive (high scores in supportive emotion socialization strategies) and mixture profiles (high in all emotion socialization strategies). The supportive and mixture profiles scored highly in cognitive reappraisal. Unspecified and mixture profiles did not vary in expressive suppression and mental health symptoms, but they scored lower than supportive profile mothers. In the parental sense of competence, the supportive profile scored higher than the mixture profile. The results showed mothers mainly using supportive emotion socialization strategies can demonstrate adequate emotion regulation and benefit from psychological well-being that potentially boosts parenting competence.

Impacts of the Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) Parenting Program on Mothers and Their Children at Risk of Maltreatment: Phase 2 Results

Early adversity (e.g., family violence, parental depression, low income) places children at risk for maltreatment and negatively impacts developmental outcomes. Optimal parental reflective function (RF), defined as the parent's ability to think about and identify thoughts, feelings, and mental states in themselves and in their children, is linked to secure attachment and may protect against suboptimal outcomes. We present the results of Phase 2 randomized control trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies (QES) of the Attachment and Child Health (ATTACHTM) parental RF intervention for families with children at risk for maltreatment. Phase 2 parents experiencing adversity, along with their children aged 0-5 years (n = 45), received the 10-12-week ATTACHTM intervention. Building on completed Phase 1 pilot data, Phase 2 examined outcomes of long-standing interest, including parental RF and child development, as well as new outcomes, including parental perceived social support and executive function, and children's behavior, sleep, and executive function. RCTs and QES revealed significant improvements in parents' RF, perception of social support, and executive function, children's development (i.e., communication, problem-solving, personal-social, and fine motor skills), and a decrease in children's sleep and behavioral problems (i.e., anxiety/depression, attention problems, aggressive behavior, and externalizing problems), post-intervention. ATTACH™ positively impacts parental RF to prevent negative impacts on children at risk of maltreatment.

Association between Maternal Anxiety and Children's Problem Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Although numerous studies have found that maternal anxiety is a risk factor for the development of children's problem behaviors, and there is a possible role of genes in the association between the two. And anxious mothers caring for their children can also affect the development of children's problem behaviors. However, there is also considerable evidence from studies that refute this view. This study used a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between maternal anxiety and preschool children's problem behaviors. Through literature retrieval and selection, in terms of the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis, 88 independent effect sizes (34 studies, 295,032 participants) were picked out as meta-analysis units. The test for heterogeneity illustrated that there was significant heterogeneity in 88 independent effect sizes, while the random effects model was an appropriate model for the subsequent meta-analysis. The publication bias test indicated that the impact of publication bias was modest but the major findings remained valid. In addition, in terms of the tentative review analysis and research hypotheses, the random effects model was used as a meta-analysis model. The research revealed that maternal anxiety was significantly positively correlated with preschool children's internalizing problem behaviors, externalizing problem behaviors, and overall problem behaviors. The moderating effect analysis showed that region and gender of the child affected the relationship between maternal anxiety and children's internalizing problem behaviors and externalizing problem behaviors, and region, child's age and gender, mother's age, and education level affected maternal anxiety and preschool children's problems behavioral relationship. Hence, these results affirmed the role of maternal anxiety and emphasized the need to pay attention to the demographic characteristics and cultural background of the subjects during the research process and consider the generalizability of the conclusions under different circumstances.

Parental Mentalizing during Middle Childhood: How Is the Adoption of a Reflective Stance Associated with Child's Psychological Outcomes?

This exploratory cross-sectional study attempts to understand the mechanisms underlying the role of parental mentalizing in a child's psychological functioning during middle childhood by using Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) and Parental Insightfulness (PI) constructs. The main aims are to examine the role of PI and PRF as processes capable of influencing a child's psychological functioning in terms of emotional-behavioral difficulties and social-emotional competencies. Eighty-six community parents (48 mothers, 38 fathers) and their 50 children in middle childhood (Mage = 10.10, SD = 1.13) participated in this study, recruited through a non-probabilistic sampling. The following measures were used to assess the aims of this study: Insightfulness Assessment, Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) questionnaires. Results showed that parental mentalizing was found to be significantly associated with both child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms and social-emotional competencies as reported by parents through the CBCL and DESSA questionnaires. This study may offer a contribution to the study of parental mentalizing during middle childhood, supporting the hypothesis that both parents' ability to understand their child's mental states could affect the child's psychological functioning. Clinical and theoretical implications are geared toward a family-based view with a specific focus on the importance of fostering in both parents a positive attitude toward mentalizing processes.