Chinese Mothers’ Sibling Status, Perceived Supportive Coparenting, and their Children’s Sibling Relationships

Psychometric validation of the sibling inventory of behavior in three- to six-year-old Chinese children

With increasing attention on sibling relationship studies in China, one problem that has been neglected is the limited validation of instruments used to assess these relationships. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Sibling Inventory of Behavior to measure Chinese children's sibling relationships using a stratified random sample of 590 parents of three- to six-year-olds in three economic regions. The confirmatory factor analysis obtained an adequate fit, suggesting that the Chinese version of the instrument had a six-factor structure (i.e., Companionship, Empathy, Teaching, Rivalry, Aggression, and Avoidance). It demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency as well as test-retest reliability. Results of discriminant, convergent, and criterion-related validity test also fulfilled psychometric requirements. Furthermore, the residual measurement invariance across regions was discovered. Given the importance, emergence, and tendency of sibling studies in China, having a reliable and valid instrument with robust psychometric properties is essential and impactful.

Association between Parent-Child Relationship and Second-Time Mother's Prenatal Depressive Symptoms: The Mediation Role of Parenting Burnout

PURPOSE

The aim of this research was to study the association between the mother-firstborn relationship and second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms before the birth of a second child and the mediation role of parenting burnout on this relationship.

METHODS

Empirical study was adopted in this research. Using a convenient sampling method, we recruited 110 second-time mothers who were in their third trimester of pregnancy. Child-parent relationship questionnaire, parenting burnout scale, and Beck Depression Instrument were used to measure the relationship between firstborn and second-time mothers, mothers' parenting burnout, and prenatal depressive symptoms, respectively. Regression analysis was conducted to test the relationship between variables, and the mediation effect was tested using PROCESS.

RESULTS

Regression results showed that the parent-child relationship is negatively associated with second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms. The parent-child relationship is negatively associated with parenting burnout which is positively related to prenatal depressive symptoms. When considering the mediation variable of parenting burnout, the direct effect is not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Parent-child relationship has a significant impact on second-time mothers' prenatal depressive symptoms, and this relationship is mediated by parenting burnout.

Relation of parenting child abuse based on attachment styles, parenting styles, and parental addictions

The purpose of this study was to complete the cycle of recognizing these relationships. In this regard, the effect of parenting styles, attachment styles, and the mediating variable of addiction was investigated on child abuse (CA). Multi-stage random sampling and sample size were selected based on the sample size estimation software (510 people) and according to the 20% probability of a drop in the number of subjects, 530 people (265 boys and 265 girls) and 1060 parents were selected. The available method was selected from a sample of 530 people who were selected based on the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and answered Baumrind's Parenting Styles Questionnaire (PSQ), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Adult Attachment Scale (AAS). Data were assessed by analysis of variance, mediator analysis, and path analysis. The results showed that differences in parenting styles cause differences in their attachment styles. The results supported only the relationship between the two components of parental affection and control with the attachment avoidance index, and no relationship was observed between these components and the anxiety index. Perceived emotional abuse, mediates the relationship between parental parenting components and the child attachment avoidance index. Finally, it was achieved to a model that shows how the two factors of affection and control simultaneously affect the avoidance index, mediated by parental addiction.

Patterns of adverse childhood experiences among Chinese preschool parents and the intergenerational transmission of risk to offspring behavioural problems: moderating by coparenting quality

Background: Although intergenerational transmission of ACEs among parents and their offspring have been extensively studied in the West, few studies have been conducted in China on preschool children and their parents, and explore the protective fact for the intergeneration transmission. Objective: Using latent class analysis and moderation model, this study examined the associations between patterns of adverse childhood experiences of Chinese preschool parents and behavioural problems in their children and whether coparenting quality plays a protective role in this relationship. Method: A retrospective study was conducted on 3091 parent-child dyads from 11 kindergartens in the northern, central, and southern Anhui provinces in China. Online questionnaires were used to collect the data. Parents reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and provided information on their children's behavioural problems and perceived coparenting quality. Latent class analysis and a moderating model were used to examine the associations between patterns of adverse childhood experiences of Chinese preschool parents and behavioural problems in their children, and the moderating role of coparenting quality. Results: Four classes were identified: a high ACEs group, a violent victimisation group, a child abuse and physical neglect group, and a low ACEs group. Increasing levels of co-parenting quality were associated with reduced parent-reported child behaviour problems for all classes, and that potentially buffering effect was significantly stronger for the low ACEs class than for children whose parents in high ACEs class. Conclusions: Exposure to high ACEs increases the risk of developing behavioural problems in offspring, and coparenting quality may serve as a protective mechanism for intergenerational transmission. Future research should develop and implement interventions to support disadvantaged, at-risk parents and promote coparenting quality.

Physical and Emotional Sibling Violence in the Time of COVID -19

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted families in a variety of ways with much being written on the potential impact of sheltering in place and quarantining on intimate partner violence and parent-to-child abuse. One area that has received scant attention is that of physical and emotional sibling violence. While physical and emotional sibling violence is a predominant form of family violence, discussion of violence between siblings in the time of COVID-19 has not received the attention it warrants. This article examines the potential for family stress to place siblings at risk for engaging in physical and emotional sibling violence and how this is exacerbated in the time of COVID-19. Also discussed is the the connection between physical and emotional sibling violence and other forms of family violence including intimate partner violence and parent-to-child abuse and neglect which underwrites the need to place physical and emotional sibling violence on the radar of practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Finally, implications for practice, policy, and research on physical and emotional sibling violence in the context of COVID-19 are discussed.