Parenting in context: Revisiting Belsky’s classic process of parenting model in early childhood

Impacts of a tiered intervention on child internalizing and externalizing behavior in the context of maternal depression

Greater maternal depressive symptoms are consistently associated with higher levels of behavioral difficulties in children, emerging in early childhood and with long-lasting consequences for children's development. Interventions promoting early relational health have been shown to have benefits for children's behavior; however, these impacts are not always realized in the context of maternal depression. This study examined whether tiered programs could address this limitation by focusing on both parenting, through universal primary prevention, and psychosocial stressors and parent mental health, through tailored secondary prevention. Analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Smart Beginnings (SB) intervention was conducted to determine whether SB attenuated the association between maternal depression and early childhood internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Maternal depression significantly predicted both internalizing and externalizing behaviors in linear regression models. Further, there was a significant interaction between maternal depression and treatment group, such that among mothers with higher depressive symptoms, the SB treatment attenuated the magnitude of the association between depression and child behavior. Findings suggest that while parenting support is important for all families, it may be particularly critical for those with higher levels of depression and underscores the need to consider multidimensional family processes in both research and clinical practice.

Paternal activation parenting and growth in children's inhibitory control across early childhood

Activation parenting (AP) is a parenting construct derived from research and theory on paternal caregiving that includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit-setting. Although components of AP have been linked to different domains of children's self-regulation skills, comprehensive measures of AP and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. These limitations greatly constrain our understanding of the potential benefits of paternal AP for children's self-regulation development, including the maturation of inhibitory control (IC) in early childhood. Thus, the present study tested associations between paternal AP at age 3 and growth in parent-reported IC across ages 3 to 5 in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% white, 8% Latinx, 61% not Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. AP during a clean-up task at child age 3 years, but not a teaching task, was associated with greater growth in IC across ages 3 to 5 years. Implications of the current findings are presented for understanding associations between paternal AP and children's IC and broader self-regulation skills with diverse samples of caregivers.

Pre-Separation Mother-Child Relationship and Adjustment Behaviors of Young Children Left Behind in Rural China: Pathways Through Distant Mothering and Current Mother-Child Relationship Quality

In China, some rural parents do not live together with their children because they migrate to urban regions for work, and therefore they sometimes use a mobile phone in parenting their left-behind children (LBC), who are living with grandparents. This study used a serial mediation model to test the mediating roles of distant mothering and post-separation mother-child relationship quality in the link between recalled pre-separation mother-child relationship quality and social-emotional adjustment of 3-to-6-year-old LBC living in a rural context in China. Cross-sectional questionnaire data were collected from 185 triads, consisting of grandparents (rating child adjustment), migrant mothers (rating mother-child relationship qualities and distant mothering), and preschool teachers (rating child adjustment). The results showed that pre- and post-separation relationship qualities were positively related to each other and to positive distant mothering. There were no serial mediating effects, but a full individual mediating role of post-separation relationship quality and positive distant mothering was identified for the link between child prosocial behavior and externalizing problems, respectively. Despite the general decline in mother-child relationship quality after separation, mothers who perceived a higher quality of the pre-separation mother-child relationship showed a more cohesive relationship with their LBC, which might increase the prosocial behavior of the children. Additionally, a higher quality of the pre-separation relationship was associated with more distant mothering of positive characteristics, which went together with fewer children externalizing problems. These findings highlight the importance of a continuous high-quality mother-child bond and favorable maternal parenting practices in digital interactions for separated families.

Developmental psychopathology: Our welcoming, inclusive, and eclectic intellectual home

The integrative nature of developmental psychopathology is its defining and most remarkable feature. Since its inception, often identified with the special issue of Child Development (Cichetti, 1984), this new discipline has shattered barriers and divisions that until then had artificially compartmentalized the study of human development, and perhaps even psychology in general, and it has proposed new ways of integrative thinking about development. One, developmental psychopathology has programmatically integrated research on typical or adaptive and atypical or maladaptive developmental processes and demonstrated how those inform each other. Two, developmental psychopathology has promoted bridges between developmental research and other disciplines. Three, less explicitly but equally importantly, developmental psychopathology has abolished conceptual and empirical barriers that had existed among various theories and perspectives within developmental psychology by creating a welcoming niche for research inspired by theories often historically seen as contradictory or incompatible. Ideas originating in psychoanalytic, learning, cognitive, ethological, and sociocultural theories all find a welcoming home and seamlessly coexist in heuristically productive harmony within developmental psychopathology, inform each other, and generate exciting questions and insights. This eclectic and conceptually inclusive nature is one reason for developmental psychopathology's lasting appeal and inspirational power.

[Growing up with a parent with mental health difficulties: results of the nationally representative study Children in Germany 0-3 2022]

BACKGROUND

A mentally stressed family environment can pose a risk to the healthy development of infants and young children. It is unclear how widespread psychological distress currently is in the overall population of parents with young children and whether the proportion of parents with psychological distress has increased in recent years of multiple crises. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent associations between the psychological distress of parents, their parenting skills, and early childhood development persist when a growing number of parents report psychological distress.

METHODS

In a nationwide, representative survey, 258 pediatricians documented the development of 7818 infants and toddlers as part of a preventive medical checkup. The children's parents answered questions about their mental health (anxiety and depression) and their parenting skills. The 2022 prevalences were compared with the results of the previous study from 2015.

RESULTS

Taken together, around a fifth (21.5%) of all parents reported moderate or clinically significant psychological distress (2015: 15.7%); parents with psychological distress were significantly more likely to express doubts about their own parenting competencies than parents without psychological distress. Pediatricians documented indications of a regulatory disorder and developmental delay significantly more frequently in children whose parents reported clinically significant psychological distress.

DISCUSSION

The results illustrate the increasing relevance of psychological distress among parents with young children in recent years. The finding that parental psychological distress is associated with developmental abnormality in children once again highlights the need to provide families with targeted support from the outset.

The indirect impact of infant negative emotionality on interparental conflict via perceptions of coparenting challenges: What prenatal resources mitigate this risk?

Research clearly demonstrates that conflictual interparental relationship dynamics can create a family context that contributes to child emotional insecurity and psychopathology. Significantly less research has examined familial factors that contribute to maladaptive conflict between parents. Scholars have alluded to the disruptive impacts of parenting a child with certain temperamental characteristics (e.g., negative emotionality). Yet, there is a lack of empirical research examining if and how child temperament contributes to later interparental conflict. Using an established multi-informant, multi-method sample of 150 families first assessed during pregnancy, and again when the child was 1, 2, and 3.5 years of age, the present study aimed to test an integrated conceptual model examining whether infants' negative emotionality assessed at age 1 predicts interparental conflict at age 3.5, as mediated through destructive coparenting dynamics in toddlerhood, and identifying prenatal protective factors mitigating this maladaptive pathway. Findings suggest that greater infant negative emotionality predicts worse interparental conflict management during preschool age by undermining the mother's (but not the father's) report of coparenting relationship quality during toddlerhood. However, these results were significant only to the extent that parents were lacking certain prenatal regulatory resources (i.e., low paternal self-compassion; less secure relationship between parents). Importantly, results point to the need for intervention and prevention efforts during pregnancy that might disrupt the deleterious impacts of parenting a child who is more reactive and prone to expressing negative emotions.

Our path together: Development of the inclusive parenting goals questionnaire

Background: Instruments on parenting goals are often outdated and don't consider goals related to capabilities and needs of children with (severe) disabilities. This study aimed to develop an inclusive questionnaire on parenting goals applicable to parents of all children (0-21 years). Method: The iterative development process relied on academic and experiential expertise of parents and professionals; and included consultation of relevant literature, interviews with 6 parents of a child with severe to profound intellectual disabilities, a feedback round with diverse stakeholders, and a pilot study. Results: The Inclusive Parenting Goals Questionnaire (IPGQ) is a 99-item summated rating scale demonstrating high face and content validity. A renewed and inclusive definition of parenting goals was formulated, alongside extensive reflection on theoretically robust and practically relevant categorization. Discussion: The IPGQ is suitable for gaining insight into parents goal patterns and differentiating between (various groups of) parents. It also provides a basis for further discussion and elaboration.

Associations between maternal personality dysfunction and emotion suppression and adolescent emotion suppression

BACKGROUND

Adaptive strategies of emotion regulation are important for adolescents, as maladaptive strategies of such can manifest as psychopathology that is sometimes severe. Individual biological characteristics and influences from peers have been shown to have an effect on the development of emotion regulation strategies in adolescents. Maternal factors, however, have received less attention in this age group regarding how they might predict emotion regulation in adolescents. Given that prior work has demonstrated that certain maternal factors, like emotion regulation and personality, play a crucial role in the development of emotion regulation strategies in early childhood, we sought to examine these associations in adolescents in our current study.

METHODS

Adolescents and their mothers (n = 123) both self-reported data on their own emotion regulation, and mothers also self-reported data on their own personality dysfunction. We operationalized maternal and adolescent emotion regulation as emotion suppression, a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy that is commonly used by adolescents.

RESULTS

Our data demonstrated that both maternal emotion suppression and interpersonal personality dysfunction were positively associated with adolescent emotion suppression. No associations among maternal intrapersonal personality functioning and adolescent emotion suppression were detected.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal personality dysfunction and emotion suppression both independently predicted adolescent emotion suppression use. These results support the idea that maternal characteristics play a role in shaping emotion regulation in adolescence.

Understanding Parenting Stress in Adoptive Parents: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study of Parents' Self-Criticism, Child Negative Emotionality, and Child Age at Placement

INTRODUCTION

Research on parenting stress in adoptive parents during the early years post-placement reveals significant variability, yet few studies examine both parent- and child-related factors. This study investigates the role of the personality dimension of self-criticism and perceived negative child emotionality in relation to parenting stress during the first four years after transnational adoption. Additionally, it explores the moderating effect of child age at placement, a key factor associated with early adversity.

METHODS

Drawing upon a longitudinal five-wave dataset in the first 4 years after the child arrived in the adoptive family, this study used multi-informant data of 96 adoptive mothers and fathers of transnationally adopted children (mean child age at placement = 13.48 months). Data were analyzed using a multilevel structural equation modeling approach.

RESULTS

Parents' self-criticism was positively associated with parenting stress at the between-parent level. At the within-parent level, year-to-year fluctuations in both parents' self-criticism and perceived child's negative emotionality were positively associated with corresponding fluctuations in parenting stress. Child age at placement did not moderate any of these associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, this study yielded convincing evidence for the dynamic nature of parenting stress in the first years after child placement, the role of parental self-criticism, and the child's perceived negative emotionality herein.

The Role of Affects and Emotional Styles in the Relationship Between Parents and Preschool Children

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Parent-child relationships represent a key factor for the quality of developmental trajectories and impact on children's social and emotional competence. Therefore, research has advanced the role of parenting by showing the significance of differentiating between distinctive aspects of a parent's behaviors. This study aims to investigate the role of the feelings experienced in parent-child relationships (e.g., warmth and negative feelings), considering the moderating role of the parental styles toward children's emotions (e.g., coaching and dismissing).

METHODS

A total of 136 mothers (M = 38.09 years, SD = 4.51 anni, 48.5% high school degree) with a preschool child (age range 3-5 years) in Central Italy have been involved in a survey during the pandemic period.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analyses show that warmth and negative feelings are associated with positive parenting; however, the moderation effect of the dismissing style on both warmth and negative feelings emerged.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the characteristics of the data collection period, the results suggest the importance of considering the emotion-related dimensions between parents and their children as they seem to influence parenting behaviors.

Parenting-Related Social Networking Site Use and Psychological Distress in Parents of Infants: Cross-sectional Study Exploring the Moderating Effects of Loneliness and Parenting Anxiety

Background

In the digital age, social networking sites (SNSs) have revolutionized the approach to parenting. These platforms, widely used to access parenting information and support, affect parents both positively and negatively, with negative effects potentially increasing for those experiencing loneliness or anxiety.

Objective

This study examined the relationship between SNS use and psychological distress among parents of young children, controlling for the moderating effects of loneliness and parenting anxiety. We hypothesized that higher SNS use correlates to greater psychological distress, particularly among parents with elevated levels of loneliness or parenting anxiety.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey design using a closed web-based questionnaire was employed. Participants included 429 parents (205 mothers and 224 fathers) of children aged 0-3 years recruited through a web-based survey company in Japan. The majority of the participants were couples, with some living with extended family members. The sample also encompassed individuals in cohabiting partnerships and single parents. The survey included measures of psychological distress, loneliness, parenting anxiety, frequency of SNS use for parenting, and covariates. Analytical models to explain psychological distress included interactions between loneliness or parenting anxiety and SNS use, individually for both fathers and mothers.

Results

For mothers, a significant interaction effect was determined only between parenting anxiety and SNS use (b=0.247, SE 0.091; P=.008). Meanwhile, for fathers, significant interaction effects were observed for both loneliness (b=0.324, SE 0.127; P=.012) and parenting anxiety (b=0.144, SE 0.069; P=.038) with SNS use. A simple slope analysis for mothers indicated that SNS use was related to psychological distress only at higher levels of parenting anxiety (b=0.304, SE 0.090, β=.317; P<.001). Among fathers, SNS use was associated with psychological distress at higher levels of either parenting anxiety (b=0.330, SE 0.069, β=.346; P<.001) or loneliness (b=0.390, SE 0.098, β=.409; P<.001).

Conclusions

The study concluded that the relationship between SNS use and psychological distress among parents of young children is moderated by loneliness and parenting anxiety. The findings highlight the need for tailored approaches to help parents manage SNS use, particularly focusing on those with higher levels of loneliness and parenting anxiety. It is imperative that health professionals provide nuanced guidance to parents on SNS use, considering individual psychological factors and potential gender differences in the impact of SNSs on mental well-being.

Predictors of Stability/Change in Observed Parenting Patterns Across Early Childhood: A Latent Transition Approach

Parenting has long been a topic of research based on its importance for family and child outcomes. Recent methodological advances in person-centered approaches suggest that our understanding of parenting could be further advanced by examining parenting typologies across various parenting behaviors longitudinally. Accordingly, the current study aims to examine latent transitions in parenting practice patterns across four annual assessments during early childhood and examine whether individual- and family-level factors at baseline discriminate parenting transition patterns. Data from four waves (ages 2, 3, 4, and 5) of a study of 731 caregiver-child dyads from a randomized controlled trial were used. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) were conducted to investigate underlying types of parenting practices at each age and longitudinal parenting practice transition patterns that represent continuity and change. For the LCA, two latent classes emerged at all four waves, representing 'lower warmth; higher negative interaction' (Dysregulated) and 'higher warmth; lower negative interaction' (Warm) parenting groups. The LTA model with two classes at all waves was conducted with good fit. The results showed diversity in the transition patterns over time, especially non-linear patterns of parenting across early childhood. Using multinominal logistic regression, six transition patterns, collapsed from 16 possible patterns, were predicted by family factors such as child sex, family income, primary caregivers' race, parental involvement, child inhibitory control, and child externalizing behaviors. Findings have implications for parenting assessment, practice, and analysis.

Parenting in African American families: Profiles of general and culturally specific dimensions of parent-adolescent relationships during late adolescence

Developmental and parenting frameworks suggest that factors at the individual-level and multiple levels of adolescents' contexts are important determinants of how African American parents prepare their children to live in a racially stratified society. Using a person-centered approach, this study explored heterogeneity in profiles of African American parent-adolescent relationships (PARs) using indicators of parent-reported ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias), general parenting practices (autonomy support, monitoring, behavioral control), and relationship quality (warmth, communication, conflict). We also examined how adolescents' characteristics, parents' personal and psychological resources, and contextual sources of stress and support contributed to profile membership. Data were from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (1991-2000) and consisted of 589 African American caregiver-adolescent dyads (caregivers: 89% female; 57.2% married; adolescents: 50.7% female; Mage = 17, SD = 0.64, range = 15-19 years old). Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles: (a) No-Nonsense High Socializers, (b) Indulgent Average Socializers, (c) Unengaged Silent Socializers, and (d) Authoritative Cultural Socializers. Adolescent characteristics (gender, depression, and problem behavior), parents' personal and psychological resources (parenting self-efficacy, centrality, private regard, and depression), and contextual sources of stress and support (stress: economic hardship, family stress, neighborhood disadvantage and support: marital status, family cohesion, family organization) were correlated with profile membership. Findings suggest that variability in African American PARs is shaped by an extensive set of individual and contextual factors related to adolescents and the family and neighborhood context. These findings have important implications for future research and how to target multiple potential levers for change in African American parenting practice.

What Promotes Positive Parenting During Breast Cancer? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Social Support, Emotion Regulation, and Meaning in Life

BACKGROUND

Motherhood and maintaining the child-parent relationship are top priorities for mothers with breast cancer (BC). The current study aimed to assess the positive intra- and inter-personal resources related to positive parenting among mothers with BC, as these may be promotive factors for positive parenting. Specifically, we examined whether social support (family, friend, spiritual), emotion regulation, and a sense of meaning in life are related to positive parenting among mothers undergoing BC treatments.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 100 Israeli mothers (mean age = 46.02 years, SD = 6.06 years) who were undergoing treatment for BC. Participating mothers had at least one child aged 6-17 years. Participants were recruited via closed social media groups to complete a questionnaire containing: the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support tool, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and sociodemographic and clinical questions. We used structural equation modeling to regress the study variables on positive parenting.

RESULTS

Friend support (β = .35, p = .009) and meaning in life (β = .30, p = .012) were significantly related to positive parenting. Family support, spiritual support, cognitive reappraisal, and the sociodemographic and clinical variables were not related to positive parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that promoting meaning in life and friend support may be key to helping mothers to sustain positive parenting behaviors throughout their cancer treatment. Future research may examine whether psychosocial interventions which foster meaning in life and friend support impact positive parenting among mothers with BC.

Paternal Activation as a Protective Factor against Problem Behaviors in Early Childhood

Activation parenting includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit-setting. Although components of activation parenting have been linked to lower levels of children's problem behaviors, comprehensive measures of activation parenting and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. The goal of the present study was to test associations between paternal activation parenting at age 3 and children's externalizing and internalizing problems at age 5 in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% white, 8% Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. Activation parenting during a teaching task at child age 3 was associated with lower levels of internalizing problems at age 5 and decreases in externalizing problems from baseline (age 2). Implications of the current findings are presented for future research on associations between activation parenting and child problem behaviors, including the potential for the development of prevention and intervention programs.

Factors associated with contemporary fatherhood

Introduction

The most prevalent conceptualization of parenting of our time is intensive parenting which refers to parents' overinvolvement in children's lives, placing the child's needs before others' needs, including the needs of the parents themselves (i.e., Child-centrism). Intensive parenting is mostly attributed to mothers as they are still bearing the bulk responsibility for child rearing. Nevertheless, as the role of fathers changed in recent decades it is crucial to examine intensive parenting among fathers and understand whether factors that are associated with intensive mothering are associated with intensive fatherhood as well. The current study uses Belsky's Process of Parenting model to fill-in the gap.

Methods

Participants were 301 Israeli fathers of preschool children aged 22 to 50 years old (M=36.34, SD=5.01). They filled out online self-report questionnaires dealing with intensive parenting style, child temperament, social support, marital satisfaction, and parental self-efficacy.

Results

The model explained 64% of paternal child-centrism. Fathers who reported having children with more difficult temperament, reported low social support, low marital satisfaction, and low self-efficacy, were more intensive in their parenting style.

Discussion

The present findings are discussed in relation to previous findings regarding maternal child-centrism with an emphasis on their important implications for professionals working with families for the benefit of parents' and children's wellbeing.

Predictors of Change in Wellbeing and Mental Health of Parents of Autistic Pre-Schoolers

Parenting is a rewarding experience but is not without its challenges. Parents of Autistic children face additional challenges, and as a result can experience lower levels of wellbeing and more mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Previous studies have identified concurrent correlates of wellbeing and mental health. However, few have investigated predictors of subsequent wellbeing and mental health, or of change over time, among parents of pre-school aged autistic children. We examined child-, parent-, and family/sociodemographic factors associated with change in parents' mental health and wellbeing across three timepoints (spanning approximately one year) among 53 parents of Autistic pre-schoolers (M = 35.48, SD = 6.36 months. At each timepoint, parents reported lower wellbeing and greater mental health difficulties compared to normative data. There was no significant group-level change over time in parent outcomes. However, individual variability in short-term (~ 5 months) wellbeing and mental health change was predicted by a combination of child- and parent-related factors, while variability in medium-term (~ 10 months) change was predicted by parent factors alone. Parents' description of their child and their relationship predicted change in both wellbeing and mental health. Furthermore, participating in a parent-mediated intervention (available to a subgroup) was a significant predictor of change in wellbeing. Our findings highlight potentially modifiable factors (e.g., learning healthier coping strategies) that may positively impact both short- and medium-term change in parental outcomes.

The prenatal caregiving expectations questionnaire‐revised version: Factor structure, internal consistency, and initial construct validity

An efficient, multidimensional instrument is needed to screen non-optimal prenatal parental representations predictive of postnatal parenting behavior and child attachment. The present work aimed to revise and validate the Prenatal Caregiving Expectations Questionnaire-Revised (PCEQ-R). Survey data from two independent samples of pregnant, primarily Danish, women (N = 300/322) were collected to 1) test the factor structure and select items for a 20-item version, and 2) confirm the factor structure, examine internal consistency, and establish initial construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of helpless-dysregulated, anxious-hyperactivated, and avoidant-deactivated caregiving representations. Internal consistency was acceptable (α > .73). Construct validity analyses showed that higher helpless-dysregulated caregiving was associated with low maternal antenatal attachment quality (rs = -.36) and intensity (rs = -.11), increased risk of perinatal depression (rs = .37), and trait anxiety (rs = .37). Higher anxious-hyperactivated caregiving was associated with better maternal antenatal attachment quality (rs = .20) and higher intensity (rs = .26), while avoidant-deactivated caregiving was not associated with maternal antenatal attachment. These findings support the validity and multidimensional structure of the measure. The homogenous nature of the sample limits generalizability of results. Future studies should examine predictive validity of the PCEQ-R and include clinical samples.

Parental sensitivity and family conversation: A naturalistic longitudinal study with both mothers and fathers across three time-points in early infancy

Parental verbal sensitivity is known to promote child language skills, but few studies have considered: (a) links between global (i.e., verbal, behavioral, and affective) measures of parental sensitivity and infant-initiated conversations, an important precursor to language development; (b) whether maternal and paternal sensitivity show similar links with infant-initiated conversation; or (c) the transactional role of infant conversation for later parental sensitivity. Addressing these gaps, this study of 186 British first-time parents (93 families) examines the developmental dynamics between parental sensitivity and infant communication across the first year of life. We explore; (i) the role of maternal and paternal sensitivity (assessed during structured home observations at 4 months post-partum) for parent-infant conversational interactions at 7 months (indexed by day-long naturalistic recordings), and (ii) whether these mother-infant and father-infant conversations at 7 months shape maternal and paternal sensitivity at 14 months (also assessed via structured home observations). For both male and female infants, maternal (but not paternal) sensitivity at 4 months predicted infant vocalisations and conversational initiation at 7-months. By contrast, neither index of infant talk predicted maternal or paternal sensitivity at 14 months. Together these findings refine understanding of theoretical models of social development and suggest new possibilities for future research.

Mothers' recollections of parenting by their own mothers and fathers and maternal and infant outcomes

Objective

Using a family network approach, we examined patterns of remembered parental rearing by both parents and associations with maternal and infant outcomes.

Background

Women's memories of how they were cared for by their own mothers in childhood are associated with important outcomes in the perinatal period. However, few studies assess women's recollections of caregiving by their fathers, despite fathers' influence on the larger family context and child adjustment.

Method

We combined data from two prospective longitudinal studies of mothers and their infants (N = 468) in the perinatal period to identify profiles of remembered parental rearing by both parents using latent profile analysis and examined how these profiles were associated with maternal depressive symptoms, mothers' perceived romantic relationship satisfaction, parenting, and infant socioemotional problems.

Results

Four distinct profiles of remembered parental rearing emerged: two supportive parents, two unsupportive parents, a supportive mother but unsupportive father, and a supportive father but unsupportive mother. Results document the differential effects of these profiles on parenting and other maternal and infant outcomes.

Conclusion

Remembering two supportive parents confers the most benefit for mothers and their infants.

Implications

For mothers with nonsupportive childhood experiences, processing that legacy within a therapeutic relationship may bolster multiple perinatal domains.

Parental sensitivity and intrusiveness with mothers and fathers: Associations between parental behavioral activation/inhibition and infant temperament

Understanding the factors contributing to sensitive parenting is crucial to optimize infant social and emotional functioning. Research has supported the association between parents' personality and parenting quality, but findings are inconsistent when examining various global personality measures. Further, it is likely that the interaction between parent-level (e.g., personality) and infant-level characteristics (e.g., temperament) are more strongly associated with caregiving quality. Most studies examining predictors of parenting quality have only included mothers, compared to fathers. The current study examined the interaction between parental personality and infant temperament and associations with parental sensitivity and intrusiveness with mothers and fathers. The participants included families (n = 102) when the infants were 4, 6, and 8 months old. Using parent report measures and a face-to-face play task, significant main effects of maternal behavioral inhibition on parenting behaviors were observed for mothers. A Behavioral Activation X Infant Negative Reactivity interaction predicted both maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness, whereas a Behavioral Inhibition X Infant Surgency predicted paternal intrusiveness. In summary, the results revealed support for the goodness-of-fit perspective between parents' personality and infant temperament.

Identifying vulnerable mother-infant dyads: a psychometric evaluation of two observational coding systems using varying interaction periods

Introduction

Clinical services require feasible assessments of parent-infant interaction in order to identify dyads requiring parenting intervention. We assessed the reliability and predictive validity of two observational tools and tested whether briefer forms could be identified which retain acceptable psychometric properties over short observation periods.

Methods

A stratified high-risk community sample of 250 mother-infant dyads from The Wirral Child Health and Development Study completed 7-min play-based interaction at 6-8 months. Film-footage was independently coded by two trained raters using PIIOS and NICHD-SECCYD systems. Incremental predictive validity was assessed from 3, 5 and 7 min observation to attachment outcomes (Strange Situation; 14 months) and infant mental health (BITSEA; 14 and 30 months).

Results

Excellent inter-rater reliability was evident at code and subscale level for each tool and observation period. Stability of within-rater agreement was optimal after 5 min observation. ROC analysis confirmed predictive (discriminant) validity (AUCs >0.70) to top decile age 2 mental health outcomes for PIIOS total score and a brief 3-item composite from NICHD-SECCYD (sensitivity, intrusiveness, positive regard; NICHD-3), but not to attachment outcomes. Logistic regression showed dyads rated at-risk for externalizing problems using NICHD-3 were also at significantly higher risk for insecurity at 14 months (OR = 2.7, p = 0.004).

Conclusion

PIIOS total and NICHD-3 ratings from 5 min observation are both reliable and valid tools for use in clinical practice. Findings suggest NICHD-3 may have greater utility due to its comparative brevity to train and code, with suitability for use over a broader developmental time frame (3-24 months).

Factors affecting parental role adaptation in parents of preterm infants after discharge: a cross-sectional study

Background

Parenting a preterm infant can be incredibly challenging and stressful, particularly in the first year after discharge. Desirable parental role adaptation leads to appropriate parenting behaviors and parent-infant interaction, which are essential to child health and development.

Aim

To investigate the level of parental role adaptation and its influencing factors among parents of preterm infants in the first year after hospital discharge according to Belsky's parenting process model among parents of preterm infants in the first year after hospital discharge.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was adopted using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Parental Role Adaptation Scale (PRAS) in parents with preterm infants, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the Coping Adaptation Processing Scale (CAPS-15), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, Spearman correlation analyses, and multivariate linear regression were used to analyze the data.

Results

In total, 300 Chinese parents were included in the analysis. In the multivariate analysis, first-time parent (p = 0.003), master's degree and above (p = 0.042), coping adaptation processing (p = 0.000), residence location (towns: p = 0.019, city: p = 0.028), monthly family income (6000-10,000: p = 0.000, >10,000: p = 0.000), and perceived social support (p = 0.001) were all significant predictors of parental role adaptation and collectively accounted for 56.8% of the variation in parental role adaptation of parents with preterm infants (F = 16.473, p < 0.001). Coping adaptation processing mediated the relationship between perceived social support and parental role adaptation (95% bootstrap CI = 0.022, 0.130).

Conclusion

Chinese parents of preterm infants experience a moderate level of parental role adaptation when their child is discharged from the hospital to home. Parents who are not first-time parents, have master's degrees or above, live in towns or cities, have higher coping and adaptation abilities, have high monthly family income, and greater perceived social support have a higher level of parental role adaptation. Healthcare providers should pay more attention to parents with low socioeconomic status and encourage them to improve their coping and adaptation abilities and to utilize their formal and informal social support networks.

Dimensions of Parenting and Children's Conduct Problems: The Importance of Considering Children's Callous-Unemotional Traits

Research has clearly indicated that the development of serious behavioral problems in children and adolescents is influenced by parenting. However, recent research has refined the role of parenting by showing the importance of distinguishing between different types of parenting and in considering the role of callous-unemotional traits (CU traits) and conduct problems (CP) of the children. In the current study, we advance this research by distinguishing between emotional (e.g., parental warmth; parental hostility) and behavioral (e.g., use of positive reinforcement; inconsistent discipline/harsh discipline) aspects of parenting and by considering the way parents respond to children's emotions (i.e., coaching and dismissing). The sample consisted of 136 mothers (M = 38.09 years, SD = 4.51 years, 45.41% high school degree) with a child (age range 3-5 years) enrolled in kindergarten in central Italy. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for level of CP, use of positive reinforcement (β = -0.31, p < 0.001) and warm feelings (β = -0.22, p < 0.05), remained associated with CU traits and punitive parenting was no longer significant. Consistent with predictions, use of positive reinforcement was no longer associated with conduct problems when controlling for CU traits and the positive associations with punitive parenting (β = 0.24, p < 0.05) and negativity (β = 0.36, p < 0.001) remained significant. These findings support the need for continued research that considers both the emotional and behavioral aspects of parenting and disentangles their associations with conduct problems and CU traits. Such research could not only advance causal theories for children with conduct problems but also help to guide more effective treatments, especially for those with elevated CU traits who often leave treatment with significant conduct problems remaining.

Self-Regulated Parenting: A Systematic Review of the Relations Between Effortful Control, the Big-Five, and Parenting Practices

It is well established that parents' own self-regulation is related to adaptive parenting practices (such as warmth and sensitivity) as well as to maladaptive ones (such as laxness and over-reactivity). However, parenting practices are not solely determined by parents' self-regulation. We discuss how broad personality dimensions (drawn from the Big-Five model) relate to temperamental self-regulation (effortful control) and to parenting practices. Considering the limited empirical literature linking these three constructs, we present extant evidence for each of the dyadic connections between these three constructs. We then propose a comprehensive model that includes the plausible moderation/mediation role of different personality dimensions (such as conscientiousness and agreeableness) on the connection between self-regulation and parenting practices. This systematic review summarizes the extant empirical findings from 74 studies, linking effortful control, character and parenting practices. It is the first to systematically review and organize the accumulating knowledge regarding their relations. Based on the reviewed literature, a conceptual framework is proposed for predicting parenting practices, which are, in turn, a crucial concept predicting children's behavioral and cognitive outcomes. In doing so, it provides a theoretical basis for the importance of parental character traits, specifically conscientiousness and agreeableness, as mediators between the parent's effortful control and their actual parenting practices.

Psychopathological risk stability and change in a sample of mothers and preschool children before, during and after the peak of COVID-19 pandemic

Numerous studies have found that the COVID-19 epidemic and the measures to stop it have had a substantial impact on the mental health of the general population. Nevertheless, the majority of this research only looked at the variations in the degree of psychopathological symptoms in individuals before and after the first wave of the pandemic. In a sample of N = 380 preschoolers and their mothers assessed through the Symptom Check-List/90-R and of the Child Behaviour Check-List, the present study aimed at exploring psychopathological risk in mothers and their offspring's dysregulation levels before (T1), during (T2) and after (T3) the peak of COVID-19 pandemic. Our main results showed that mothers' relational distress increased from T1 to T2 and then increased again from T2 to T3. Moreover, maternal aggressiveness, hostility, and anxiety scores significantly decreased from T1 to T2 but slightly increased from T2 to T3. In children, dysregulation levels increased from T1 to T2 but decreased from T2 to T3. Children of mothers with clinical scores at the SCL-90/R showed significantly higher dysregulation problems at T1, T2 and T3 than children of mothers with scores below the clinical threshold. This study adds to previous literature in that it evaluates stability or change in maternal and offspring scores not only in the pre-pandemic period and during the first wave of the pandemic, but it also considers the subsequent months, focusing on a broad range of maternal symptoms, rather than assessing depressive and anxiety symptoms as most of previous research did.

The parent's and the child's internal working models of each other moderate cascades from child difficulty to socialization outcomes: Preliminary evidence for dual moderation?

Infants' difficulty, typically characterized as proneness to negative emotionality, is commonly considered a risk for future maladaptive developmental trajectories, mostly because it often foreshadows increased parental power assertion, typically linked to future negative child outcomes. However, growing evidence of divergent developmental paths that unfold from infant difficulty has invigorated research on causes of such multifinality. Kochanska et al. (2019) proposed that parent and child Internal Working Models (IWMs) of each other are key, with the parent's IWM of the child moderating the link between child difficulty and parental power assertion, and the child's IWM of the parent moderating the link between power assertion and child outcomes. In Children and Parents Study (200 community mothers, fathers, and children), child difficulty was observed at 8 months, parents' power assertion at 16 months, and children's outcomes rated by parents at age 3. Parents' IWMs were assessed with a mentalization measure at 8 months and children's IWMs were coded from semi-projective narratives at age 3. The cascade from infant difficulty to maternal power assertion to negative child outcomes was present only when both the mother's and the child's IWMs of each other were negative. We did not support the model for father-child dyads.

Risk and Protective Factors for Parental Involvement and Early Indicators of School Achievement in Alaska

OBJECTIVES

Parental involvement can affect child school readiness, which in turn influences subsequent child learning outcomes. While social support, stress, caregiver psychological distress, and drinking could affect parental involvement, it is unknown whether and how these factors influence downstream child learning outcomes through parental involvement and child school readiness. This study tests those associations.

METHODS

Using de-identified data provided by the Alaska Longitudinal Child Abuse and Neglect Linkage project (N = 683), we use Structural Equation Modeling to assess direct and indirect effects of paths embedded in the proposed model.

RESULTS

This study found statistically significant indirect effects: (1) path linking stress faced by caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver psychological distress, parental involvement, and child school readiness, (2) path linking stress faced by caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver drinking, parental involvement, and child school readiness, and (3) path linking social support for caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver psychological distress, parental involvement, and child school readiness. Post-estimation showed that the sum of the magnitude of total effects of stress and the magnitude of total effects of support is significantly larger than either alone.

CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE

Findings suggest that reducing caregiver stress and offering social support could not only benefit caregivers but learning outcomes of their children as well. For child learning outcomes, simultaneously reducing stress and offering social support for caregivers, rather than just one of them alone, is suggested. These results are important for children, particularly for those raised by caregivers experiencing psychological distress or drinking issues.

Evaluating multidimensional facets of the maternal experience after preterm birth

OBJECTIVE

Describe self-relating (self-criticism, self-compassion) and parenting competence (satisfaction, self-efficacy) in mothers of children born preterm, and their associations with child characteristics, maternal sociodemographics at childbirth, and maternal concurrent well-being.

STUDY DESIGN

The sample comprised 1926 biological mothers of 3- to18-year-old children born preterm with self-ratings on the standardized Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Parenting Sense of Competence Scale.

RESULTS

Mothers of children in early childhood reported significantly (p < 0.05) lower self-compassion than in middle childhood and adolescence. They also reported significantly lower parenting satisfaction than mothers of adolescents and higher self-efficacy than their middle childhood counterparts. Maternal psychosocial well-being was most strongly associated with self-compassion, parenting satisfaction, and self-efficacy after accounting for maternal psychopathology, child gestation, and child age.

CONCLUSION

Longer-term associations of preterm birth with maternal self-relating and parenting competence emphasize broadening the scope of neonatal follow-up services, extending beyond child neurodevelopmental surveillance and postpartum psychopathology screening.

The Utility of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale in Maternal Samples: A Brief Report

Maternal personality plays a role in how a mother parents her children and adolescents. Current trait-based measures of personality are acceptable for use in maternal samples, but the presence or absence of given personality traits might not be enough to describe how personality relates to parenting. The Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) could serve as a solution, as it was designed to capture level of dysfunction in personality without being reliant on specific personality traits. Research, however, has yet to demonstrate the LPFS as a useful measure of personality in maternal samples, thus the goal of this study. A sample of 123 mothers reported on behavioral problems in their adolescent-aged children and their own personality using both a trait-based measure and the LPFS. Our data showed that maternal reports on the LPFS were associated with maternal perceptions of adolescent behavioral problems, in addition to being an acceptable measure of personality in our maternal sample. We also provide support for incremental validity of the LPFS in our sample, as the LPFS uniquely predicted maternal perceptions of adolescent behavioral problems even after controlling for maternal personality traits. Our results are discussed in light of the limitations of the extant work on maternal personality and add to the literature by demonstrating that the LPFS is an acceptable and ubiquitous measure of personality in maternal samples.

The Chinese Parenting Stress Scale for Preschoolers' Parents: Development and Initial Validation

Parenting stress is the experience of discomfort or distress that results from the demands associated with the role of parenting. Although there are numerous parenting stress scales, relatively few scales have been developed with consideration of the Chinese cultural context. This study aimed to develop and validate the Chinese Parenting Stress Scale (CPSS) with a multidimensional and hierarchical structure for Mainland Chinese preschoolers' parents (N = 1,427, Mage = 35.63 years, SD = 4.69). In Study 1, a theoretical model and an initial 118 items were developed, drawing on prior research and existing measures of parenting stress. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 15 first-order factors with 60 items. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses supported a higher order solution consisting of 15 first-order factors covering four domains: Child Development (12 items), Difficult Child (16 items), Parent-Child Interaction (12 items), and Parent's Readjustment to Life (20 items). Measurement invariance indicated no gender differences between parents for the scale scores. The convergent, discriminant, and criteria validity of the CPSS scores was supported by its association with related variables in the expected directions. Moreover, the CPSS scores added significant incremental variance in predicting somatization, anxiety, and child's emotional symptoms more so than the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form-15. The CPSS total and subscale scores all had acceptable Cronbach's αs in both samples. The overall findings support the CPSS as a psychometrically sound tool.

Intergenerational Transmission of Human Parenting Styles to Human-Dog Relationships

Parenting style and intergenerational transmission have been extensively studied in parent-child relationships. As dogs are increasingly recognized as integral members of the family system, there is a growing interest in understanding how parenting behaviors directed towards dogs can also influence a dog's behaviors. However, the reasons why people adopt certain parenting behaviors towards dogs remain relatively unknown. This study delved into the intergenerational transmission of parenting styles from one's upbringing to caregiving for dogs. Using a mixed methods approach with 391 dog caregivers and 10 interviews, this study employed multivariate linear regression and thematic analysis. Permissive parenting exhibited an intergenerational effect, with those experiencing it being more likely to replicate the style with their dogs. Orientation towards dogs emerged as a crucial mediator, with protectionistic attitudes reducing the likelihood of replicating authoritarian parenting. Humanistic and protectionistic orientation increased the likelihood of compensatory permissive behaviors. Insights from interviews underscored the impact of perceived childhood experiences on adopting specific parenting behaviors. Ultimately, this study provides valuable insights that can contribute to the promotion of appropriate caregiving behaviors toward dogs. By drawing on our understanding of child-parent relationships, addressing the underlying elements of human-dog dynamics may lead to positive outcomes both for dogs and their caregivers.

Parental positive affect and negative affect in same- and different-sex parent families: no associations with parental gender and caregiving role

Positive and negative parental affect influence developing parent-child attachment relationships, especially during infancy as well as children's social-emotional, academic, and behavioral functioning later in life. Increasingly, because both mothers and fathers can play central caregiving roles, the parenting qualities of both parents demand consideration. Therefore, this study investigated whether parental gender and caregiving role were associated with mothers' and fathers' positive affect and negative affect during interactions with their 4-month-old firstborn infant, while determining whether parenting stress, infant temperament, having a singleton/twin, and living in the Netherlands, France, or the United Kingdom were related to parental positive affect and negative affect. In all, 135 different-sex, same-sex male, and same-sex female couples (113 fathers and 157 mothers, comprising 147 primary, and 123 secondary caregivers) who conceived through artificial reproductive techniques were studied. The couples were videorecorded at home while in feeding, cleaning, and playing contexts to assess the levels of positive and negative parental affect. In addition, the couples completed questionnaires about their caregiving role, parenting stress, and the infants' temperament. Mixed linear models indicated that the levels of positive and negative parental affect toward the infant in all contexts were not related to parental gender, caregiving role, the interaction between parental gender and caregiving role, parenting stress, infant temperament, or singleton/twin status. However, the target parental behaviors were related to the country of origin, suggesting differences among Dutch, French, and British parents. Overall, we found no evidence that gender or caregiving roles were associated with the levels of positive and negative affect shown by the parents.

Toddler negative affectivity and effortful control: Relations with parent-toddler conversation engagement and indirect effects on language

Evidence that early parent-child conversation supports early language development suggests a need to understand factors that account for individual differences in parent-child conversation engagement. Whereas most studies focus on demographic factors, we investigated the role of toddler temperament in a longitudinal study of 120 economically strained families. Specifically, we investigated the degree to which toddlers' negative affectivity and effortful control, considered together as a composite reflecting challenging temperament, accounted for variability in parent-toddler conversation engagement, and whether the frequency of that engagement mediated associations between toddler temperament and toddler expressive language skills. Toddler challenging temperament (i.e., high negative affectivity and low effortful control) and parent-toddler conversation engagement were measured at 18 and 30 months. Toddler expressive language skills were measured at 18, 24, and 36 months. As expected, a path model indicated inverse relations between toddler challenging temperament and concurrent parent-toddler conversation engagement at both 18 and 30 months. Unexpectedly, there were no direct associations between toddler challenging temperament and toddler expressive language skills either concurrently or longitudinally. However, we found indirect effects of toddler challenging temperament on later toddler expressive language skills via parent-toddler conversation engagement. Findings highlight the importance of considering toddler temperamental characteristics in addition to family demographics as important factors that account for variability in parent-toddler conversation engagement.

Emotion Regulation, Parenting, and Psychopathology: A Systematic Review

The presence of a parental mental disorder can lead to adverse outcomes for children. Difficulties in emotion regulation are observed across a range of mental health problems and may play a crucial role in this context. Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Science for studies examining the association between emotion regulation in parents with psychopathology at a clinical or subclinical level and their parenting. The protocol was registered with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42021224954; January 2021). A total of 23 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Emotion regulation was predominantly assessed using self-report on the general ability (e.g., Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). The assessment of parenting encompassed a broad range of aspects and operationalizations. Across psychopathology in parents, several aspects of difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with unfavorable emotion socialization, more negative parenting, and partially with less positive parenting. Slightly different effects were observed for posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. For parents with depressive disorders, specific emotion regulation strategies (suppression, reappraisal) seem to buffer against negative parenting. Since the majority of studies refer only to mothers, generalization to fathers is limited. Furthermore, conclusions are limited due to study heterogeneity and lack of prospective studies. Nevertheless, findings suggest that interventions should target the improvement of emotion regulation in parents with psychopathology.

Parenting in a post-conflict region: Associations between observed maternal parenting practices and maternal, child, and contextual factors in northern Uganda

Studies show that war leads to an increase in harsh parenting and a decrease in parental warmth, which in turn has a devastating impact on children's development. However, there is insufficient research on the factors that affect parenting in post-conflict regions. In addition, most previous studies on the role of parenting in the context of war rely on self-reports, which are subject to a number of limitations. To complement existing research, the present cross-sectional study used behavioral observations of 101 mothers and their 6-12 year old children to assess parenting in post-conflict northern Uganda. The aim of the current study was to explore associations between observed maternal warmth and coercion and self-reported socioeconomic status (e.g., mother's educational level) as well as maternal (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), child (e.g., externalizing problems), and social contextual factors (e.g., family violence). Results show a link between observed parenting, child characteristics, and family violence. Higher levels of children's externalizing problems were associated with more severe maternal coercion. In addition, a negative association was found between family violence and maternal warmth. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and intervention programs and the use of behavioral observations in post-conflict environments.

Mother-Infant Dyadic Synchrony and Interaction Patterns After Infant Cardiac Surgery

OBJECTIVE

Parents and their infants with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) face relational challenges, including marked distress, early separations, and infant hospitalizations and medical procedures, yet the prevalence of parent-infant interaction difficulties remains unclear. Using a standardized observational paradigm, this study investigated mother-infant dyadic synchrony, interactional patterns, and associated predictors in mother-infant pairs affected by CHD, compared with typically-developing pairs.

METHODS

In this prospective, longitudinal cohort study, mothers and their infants requiring cardiac surgery before age 6-months (n=110 pairs) and an age- and sex-matched Australian community sample (n=85 pairs) participated in a filmed, free-play interaction at 6.9±1.0 months. Mother-infant dyadic synchrony, maternal and infant interactional patterns, and relational risk were assessed using the Child-Adult Relationship Experimental (CARE) Index. Maternal and infant predictors were assessed at 32 weeks gestation, 3- and 6-months postpartum.

RESULTS

Most mother-infant interactions were classified as "high risk" or "inept" (cardiac: 94%, control: 81%; p=.007). Dyadic synchrony (p<.001), maternal sensitivity (p=.001), and infant cooperativeness (p=.001) were lower for cardiac than control pairs. Higher maternal traumatic stress at 6-months postpartum predicted lower dyadic synchrony for mother-infant pairs affected by CHD (B=-.04, p=.03). Dyadic synchrony was higher among older infants in the total (B=.40, p=.003) but not cardiac sample (B=.24, p=.06).

CONCLUSIONS

Relational difficulties were almost universal among mother-infant pairs affected by CHD and were also high in the Australian community sample. Widespread education initiatives are recommended to increase awareness of heightened mother-infant relational risk in congenital heart care and well-child settings, alongside relationally-focused prevention and early intervention programs.

Mindfulness-enhanced parenting programmes for improving the psychosocial outcomes of children (0 to 18 years) and their parents

BACKGROUND

Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) in children are common, characterised by externalising or internalising behaviours that can be highly stable over time. EBD are an important cause of functional disability in childhood, and predictive of poorer psychosocial, academic, and occupational functioning into adolescence and adulthood. The prevalence, stability, and long-term consequences of EBD highlight the importance of intervening in childhood when behavioural patterns are more easily modified. Multiple factors contribute to the aetiology of EBD in children, and parenting plays an important role. The relationship between parenting and EBD has been described as bidirectional, with parents and children shaping one another's behaviour. One consequence of bidirectionality is that parents with insufficient parenting skills may become involved in increasingly negative behaviours when dealing with non-compliance in children. This can have a cyclical effect, exacerbating child behavioural difficulties and further increasing parental distress. Behavioural or skills-based parenting training can be highly effective in addressing EBD in children. However, emotional dysregulation may intercept some parents' ability to implement parenting skills, and there is recognition that skills-based interventions may benefit from adjunct components that better target parental emotional responses. Mindful parenting interventions have demonstrated some efficacy in improving child outcomes via improvements in parental emotion regulation, and there is potential for mindfulness training to enhance the effectiveness of standard parent training programmes.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effectiveness of mindfulness-enhanced parent training programmes on the psychosocial functioning of children (aged 0 to 18 years) and their parents.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the following databases up to April 2023: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science & Humanities, AMED, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews, as well as the following trials registers: ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP). We also contacted organisations/experts in the field.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised and quasi-randomised trials. Participants were parents or caregivers of children under the age of 18. The intervention was mindfulness-enhanced parent training programmes compared with a no-intervention, waitlist, or attentional control, or a parent training programme with no mindfulness component. The intervention must have combined mindfulness parent training with behavioural or skills-based parent training. We defined parent training programmes in terms of the delivery of a standardised and manualised intervention over a specified and limited period, on a one-to-one or group-basis, with a well-defined mindfulness component. The mindfulness component must have included mindfulness training (breath, visualisation, listening, or other sensory focus) and an explicit focus on present-focused attention and non-judgemental acceptance.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We followed standard Cochrane procedures.

MAIN RESULTS

Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria, including one ongoing study. The studies compared a mindfulness-enhanced parent training programme with a no-treatment, waitlist, or attentional control (2 studies); a parent training programme with no mindfulness component (5 studies); both a no-treatment, waitlist, or attentional control and a parent training programme with no mindfulness component (4 studies). We assessed all studies as being at an unclear or high risk of bias across multiple domains. We pooled child and parent outcome data from 2118 participants to produce effect estimates. No study explicitly reported on self-compassion, and no adverse effects were reported in any of the studies. Mindfulness-enhanced parent training programmes compared to a no-treatment, waitlist, or attentional control Very low certainty evidence suggests there may be a small to moderate postintervention improvement in child emotional and behavioural adjustment (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.96 to 0.03; P = 0.06, I2 = 62%; 3 studies, 270 participants); a small improvement in parenting skills (SMD 0.22, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.39; P = 0.008, I2 = 0%; 3 studies, 587 participants); and a moderate decrease in parental depression or anxiety (SMD -0.50, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.04; P = 0.03; 1 study, 75 participants). There may also be a moderate to large decrease in parenting stress (SMD -0.79, 95% CI -1.80 to 0.23; P = 0.13, I2 = 82%; 2 studies, 112 participants) and a small improvement in parent mindfulness (SMD 0.21, 95% CI -0.14 to 0.56; P = 0.24, I2 = 69%; 3 studies, 515 participants), but we were not able to exclude little to no effect for these outcomes. Mindfulness-enhanced parent training programmes compared to parent training with no mindfulness component Very low certainty evidence suggests there may be little to no difference postintervention in child emotional and behavioural adjustment (SMD -0.09, 95% CI -0.58 to 0.40; P = 0.71, I2 = 64%; 5 studies, 203 participants); parenting skills (SMD 0.13, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.42; P = 0.37, I2 = 16%; 3 studies, 319 participants); and parent mindfulness (SMD 0.11, 95% CI -0.19 to 0.41; P = 0.48, I2 = 44%; 4 studies, 412 participants). There may be a slight decrease in parental depression or anxiety (SMD -0.24, 95% CI -0.83 to 0.34; P = 0.41; 1 study, 45 participants; very low certainty evidence), though we cannot exclude little to no effect, and a moderate decrease in parenting stress (SMD -0.51, 95% CI -0.84 to -0.18; P = 0.002, I2 = 2%; 3 studies, 150 participants; low certainty evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Mindfulness-enhanced parenting training may improve some parent and child outcomes, with no studies reporting adverse effects. Evidence for the added value of mindfulness training to skills-based parenting training programmes is suggestive at present, with moderate reductions in parenting stress. Given the very low to low certainty evidence reviewed here, these estimates will likely change as more high-quality studies are produced.

The impact of the pandemic on mothers and children, with a focus on syndemic effects on black families: the "Prenatal to Preschool" study protocol

Introduction

Racism, a known social determinant of health, affects the mental health and well-being of pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Convincing evidence highlights the urgent need to better identify the mechanisms and the ways in which young children's development and mental health are adversely impacted by their mothers' experiences of racism. With the additional stressor of the COVID-19 pandemic, the criticality of improving knowledge of these domains has never been starker. The proposed project will address these questions and move the field forward to create targeted, culturally informed preventative interventions, thus achieving mental health equity for all children and families.

Methods

This prospective research is a cohort study that will longitudinally observe the outcomes of a cohort of mothers and their children recruited during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data will be parent/caregiver questionnaires assessing mental health, racism, support, and resilience at multiple time points with the first beginning at 24 months, clinical interviews with mothers, electronic medical records of mothers, and videotaped dyadic interactions at child age 24 and 48 months. A subset of Black participants will be asked to participate in qualitative interviews at child age 36 months.

Results

Analyze will be performed within and across Black and Non-Latino/a/e/x white (NLW) groups, and comparing mothers and fathers/secondary caregivers. Descriptive and multivariate analyzes will be run to better characterize how young children's development and mental health may be adversely impacted by their caregiver's experiences of racism.

Discussion

This prospective longitudinal mixed-methods study evaluates the simultaneous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and racism on mothers and their developing children to characterize cross-racial differences, providing insight into risk and resilience factors in early development and the peripartum period.

First-Time Parents' Support Needs and Perceived Support From a Child Health Service With the Integrated New Families Home Visiting Programme

The transition to parenthood is complex and influenced by interacting factors related to society, the parents and the child. Professional support is considered to be one of the societal factors affecting this transition by facilitating parents' sense of confidence and their competence as parents. In this study, we aimed to explore first-time parents' support needs and experiences of support from a child health service with the integrated New Families home visiting programme, in the context of their transition to parenthood in the first year postnatally. Interpretive description guided this qualitative study. Six couples and one mother, all well-educated and employed, were interviewed individually (N = 13). The parents were recruited from the research project 'New Families - Innovation and Development of the Child Health Service in Oslo'. We found that being a first-time parent is perceived as overwhelming and that defining support needs may be challenging, particularly in the first period postnatally. In addition, the support needs are constantly changing due to the complexity of interacting factors and the ongoing development of confidence in the parental role. Retrospectively, the parents were satisfied overall with the support from the child health service. The home visit during pregnancy facilitated management and relational and informational continuity. However, we identified a need for even more proactive information provision and communication to optimise the service's availability and efficiency postnatally. In addition, the importance of peers and of approaching both mothers and fathers must be acknowledged in facilitating parental confidence.

An exploration of the domain specificity of maternal sensitivity among a diverse sample in the infancy period: Unique paths to child outcomes

Maternal sensitivity during an observed mother-child clean-up task at 18 months and maternal sensitivity during an observed mother-child free-play task at 18 months were tested as independent predictors of child internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, social competence, and language development at 24 months. Participants (n = 292 mothers) were recruited between 2015 and 2017, and were low-income (mean annual income = $19,136) and racially and ethnically diverse (43.8% Black; 44.2% Latinx). Maternal sensitivity during clean-up was a significant predictor of all social-emotional outcomes, and a unique predictor of child internalizing symptoms. Maternal sensitivity during free-play was a unique predictor of child language. Results suggest that context-specific subtypes of maternal sensitivity may differentially relate to early child outcomes.

Parenting a child with Down syndrome: A qualitative study on parents' experiences and behaviors from a self-determination theory perspective

PURPOSE

Raising a child with Down syndrome (DS) brings unique challenges to parents' psychological functioning. Extensive quantitative research has shown that these parents tend to experience higher levels of parental stress and lower well-being. However, a more in-depth and balanced insight is essential to fully grasp the complexity of parenting a child with DS. To address this gap, this study uses a qualitative approach to explore the experiences and behaviors of parents raising a child with DS.

DESIGN AND METHODS

By adopting the Self-Determination Theory as a comprehensive theoretical framework, this study attends to both opportunities and challenges for parents' psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence, and provides insights into how they support the psychological needs of their child with DS. Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of a child with DS (aged 4 to 23 years).

RESULTS

Through thematic analysis, six themes of parental experiences and three themes of parenting behaviors were distinguished.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicated that parents experience many opportunities for need satisfaction, predominantly in their need for relatedness. However, raising a child with DS also involves challenges for the parents' family relationships, personal freedom, professional ambitions, and feelings of competence. Regarding their parenting behaviors, parents considered stimulating independence, tuning into the child's mental world, and being patient as essential practices when raising a child with DS.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study provides important clues to promote parents' well-being as well as their engagement in need-supportive parenting practices towards their child with DS.

A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Introduction to the Special Issue

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together. Research based on the construct of ACEs has transformed the field of adult mental health, yet child and adolescent mental health has often been overlooked in this work. This special issue of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology focuses on the developmental science of ACEs and child psychopathology. The research presented here draws on the extensive evidence base that now exists regarding the co-occurrence of common childhood adversities, while informing the integration of theory and research on ACEs with that of developmental psychopathology at large. This Introduction provides an overview of ACEs and child mental health from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with an emphasis on key concepts and recent progress spanning the prenatal period through to adolescence and intergenerational pathways. Models of ACEs that emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of adversity and the importance of developmental timing to risk and protective pathways, have played a driving role in this progress. Methodological innovations in this work are highlighted, along with implications for prevention and intervention.

Parental stress mediates the effects of parental risk factors on dysfunctional parenting in first-time parents: A dyadic longitudinal study

Both parental psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) and parental relationship functioning (e.g., negative communication) are common parental risk factors for dysfunctional parenting. The spillover process from these parental characteristics to dysfunctional parenting is assumed to be amplified by parental stress, which is particularly common among mothers and fathers of young children. However, few studies have examined dyadic spillover processes from parental risk factors and parental stress on parenting in early childhood. In the current study, we first examined direct actor and partner effects of parents' depressive symptoms and negative communication at 10 months postpartum on dysfunctional parenting at 48 months postpartum in 168 primiparous mixed-gender couples. Second, we analyzed indirect effects via one's own and the partner's parental stress at 36 months postpartum using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM). We found direct actor effects for mothers' depressive symptoms and negative communication on their dysfunctional parenting. Additionally, indirect actor effects were found for depressive symptoms and negative communication among mothers and fathers. Specifically, mediating effects of depressive symptoms and negative communication on one's dysfunctional parenting through one's parental stress were found. There were no indirect partner effects through parental stress. These findings highlight the important role of parental stress in early childhood as a mediator between both individual and relationship parental risk factors and dysfunctional parenting. These results further underscore the importance of longitudinal dyadic analyses in providing early and tailored interventions for both mothers and fathers of young children.

Mindfulness Intervention Improves Coping and Perceptions of Children's Behavior among Families with Elevated Risk

Mindfulness-informed interventions (MIIs) are increasingly common but have not been extensively studied among families with elevated levels of risk (e.g., those involved in child protective services and/or receiving financial assistance). These families often experience high rates of stressors that can impact coping strategies, interpersonal dynamics, and relationships. Given that mindfulness has been shown to promote health and wellbeing, this study used a sample from two pilot randomized controlled trials to test the extent to which a mindfulness-informed intervention improved coping strategies and perceptions of children's behavior among 53 families with elevated risk. A principal components analysis with a direct oblimin rotation revealed that cognitive-emotion coping strategies could be characterized by three factors: positive adaptation, negative adaptation, and positive refocusing. Intention-to-treat analysis indicated significant group by time differences, with intervention participants demonstrating improvements in positive refocusing coping, positive adaptation coping, and perceptions of children's behavior problems compared to participants in the waitlist control group. No significant differences were found for negative adaptation coping strategies. Findings provide preliminary support for the benefits of mindfulness training in a sample generally underrepresented in the mindfulness intervention literature.

A Meta-analysis of the Relations Between Socioeconomic Status and Parenting Practices

The question of why parents parent the way they do is central in parenting studies. Research about the predictors of parenting has been guided by Belsky's classical model of parenting determinants. In this model, socioeconomic status was not explicitly considered as a determinant of parenting. However, there is ample research that came later that found relations between socioeconomic status and parenting. The aim of this study was to find an aggregate estimate of the relations between socioeconomic status and parenting practices using meta-analytic methods. We found that socioeconomic status was positively linked to positive parenting, and negatively linked to negative parenting. In particular, socioeconomic status was positively linked to parental warmth and parental behavioral control, but negatively linked to parental psychological control. The relations between socioeconomic status and positive or negative parenting were not moderated by child's age or sex and did not differ based on the type of socioeconomic status indicator. Moreover, all the correlations were small in magnitude, and were comparable to other predictors of parenting such as parent's depression, parent's personality traits, and child's temperament. Our results suggest that parent's overall socioeconomic status, or its different constituents, supplement Belsky's model of parenting determinants.

Investigating associations between parent engagement and toddlers' mathematics performance

Early mathematics skills relate to later mathematics achievement and educational attainment, which in turn predict career choice, income, health and financial decision-making. Critically, large differences exist among children in early mathematics performance, with parental mathematics engagement being a key predictor. However, most prior work has examined mothers' mathematics engagement with their preschool- and school-aged children. In this Registered Report, we tested concurrent associations between mothers' and fathers' engagement in mathematics activities with their 2- to 3-year-old toddlers and children's mathematics performance. Mothers and fathers did not differ in their engagement in mathematics activities, and both parents' mathematics engagement related to toddlers' mathematics skills. Fathers' mathematics engagement was associated with toddlers' number and mathematics language skills, but not their spatial skills. Mothers' mathematics engagement was only associated with toddlers' mathematics language skills. Critically, associations may be domain-specific, as parents' literacy engagement did not relate to measures of mathematics performance above their mathematics engagement. Mothers' and fathers' mathematics activities uniquely relate to toddlers' developing mathematics skills, and future work on the nuances of these associations is needed.

Remembered childhood mealtime experiences influence on early childcare and education staff

Parent feeding styles, behaviors, beliefs, and practices are associated with developing children's eating behaviors. However, many children spend considerable time in childcare; thus, are exposed to child-feeding practices of other adults, e.g., early care and education (ECE) staff. Limited research exists on how and whether current classroom feeding practices of ECE staff associate with their own childhood experiences. The About Feeding Children survey, conducted in 2005, examined self-reported feeding practices and beliefs and personal characteristics of ECE staff in Western United States. An exploratory factor analysis of questions related to childhood experiences (N = 1189), revealed two Mealtime Factors: Remembered Adult Control and Remembered Child Autonomy Support. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the hypothesis that these remembered experiences would be associated with current feeding practices (Structural Mealtime Strategies, Verbal Mealtime Strategies, and Beliefs about Mealtimes). For each outcome, models had good to moderate fit. Across models, Remembered Autonomy Support was associated with less control, bribing, autonomy undermining, and concern-based control beliefs and greater support at meals and autonomy promoting beliefs in teachers' classroom feeding practices. More research is called for to consider whether reflection on remembered childhood experiences might be beneficial to consider during ECE staff training related to feeding young children.

The DREAM BIG project as a model for harmonizing early measures of parental care and parent-child interactions across epidemiological cohorts

Parenting is a key contributor to child development. The effects of parenting, however, also depend on child characteristics, including genetic factors. A more complete appraisal of the role of parenting thus requires a comprehensive developmental model which explores questions about parenting behavior, child susceptibility to parenting, and child psychopathology. Moving forward, we need to not only be concerned about sample sizes that limit testing of comprehensive models but also the need to replicate findings across multiple settings and samples. A consortium which harmonises key measures offers the opportunity to examine these questions. The Developmental Research in Environmental Adversity, Mental health, BIological susceptibility and Gender (DREAM BIG) consortium includes six international longitudinal prospective birth cohorts to explore the early life origins of major psychiatric disorders in childhood. Here, we will provide a brief overview of parental care research, methodological limitations, and two exciting recent attempts (i.e., the DREAM BIG consortium and the CATS-project), that address key methodological challenges.

The contribution of adverse childhood experiences to postpartum maternal reflective functioning: A prospective examination of the role of maternal disintegrative responses and personal growth

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) may negatively impact a mother's parental reflective functioning. However, if coping with this difficulty generates personal growth, it may help her to function in a positive reflective manner with her child.

OBJECTIVE

In a two-phase prospective study, we examined a mediation model and a moderated mediation model depicting the contribution of ACE (Phase 1), maternal disintegrative responses (intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences; Phase 1), and personal growth (Phase 2) to maternal reflective functioning (Phase 2) as expressed in three dimensions: Pre-mentalizing Modes (PM), Certainty about Mental States (CMS), and Interest and Curiosity (IC).

METHOD

Three hundred and eighty-five Israeli women participated in the study 16 weeks after childbirth (Phase 1) and again 6-10 months postpartum (Phase 2).

FINDINGS

The mediation model revealed that maternal dissociative experiences fully mediated the relationship between ACE and PM, and maternal intrusive thoughts fully mediated the relationship between ACE and CMS. However, the moderated mediation model showed that these mediation relationships were dependent on the level of personal growth reported by the mother.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the vulnerability of mothers with ACE to function in a less reflective manner, as well as the effect of personal growth on their maternal functioning.