1
|
Chiang SC, Bai S. Adolescent Emotional Reactivity in Family and School Contexts: Prospective Links to Adolescent Psychopathology. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024:10.1007/s10802-024-01241-6. [PMID: 39225957 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-024-01241-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Emotional reactivity has been linked to adolescent psychopathology and mental health problems. However, limited research has investigated the distinct associations between emotional reactivity in multiple interpersonal contexts and the development of adolescent psychopathology. The current study examined emotional reactivity to interparental conflict, parent-adolescent conflict, and school problems as predictors of adolescent internalizing problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms six months later. The sample included 139 adolescents (54% girls; Mage = 13.30, SDage = 0.73) and their parents who completed 10-day daily reports and 6-month follow-up assessments in Taiwan. Results showed that negative emotional reactivity to interparental conflict was associated with increased internalizing problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms, after controlling for emotional reactivity to parent-adolescent conflict and school problems, outcomes at baseline, mean negative emotions, and sex. Furthermore, the associations between both positive and negative emotional reactivity to interparental conflict and adolescent anxiety symptoms was stronger for girls than boys. Findings suggested that heightened emotional reactivity to interparental conflict is a risk factor for predicting adolescent psychopathology, especially for girls' anxiety symptoms. Results highlight the importance of emotional reactivity across multiple interpersonal contexts in adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shou-Chun Chiang
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Texas Tech University, 1301 Akron Ave rm 507, Lubbock, TX, 79415, USA.
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 133 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA.
| | - Sunhye Bai
- The Ballmer Institute, University of Oregon, 5262 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Davies PT, Colton KC, Schmitz C, Gibb BE. Interparental conflict dimensions and children's psychological problems: Emotion recognition as a mediator. Child Dev 2024; 95:1333-1350. [PMID: 38289120 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
This study tested children's emotion recognition as a mediator of associations between their exposure to hostile and cooperative interparental conflict and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms. From 2018 to 2022, 238 mothers, their partners, and preschool children (Mage = 4.38, 52% female; 68% White; 18% Black; 14% Multiracial or another race; and 16% Latinx) participated in three annual measurement occasions. Path analyses indicated that Wave 1 observations of hostile interparental conflict predicted residualized increases in children's emotion recognition accuracy (i.e., angry, sad, and happy) at Wave 2 (β = .27). Wave 2 emotion recognition, in turn, predicted residualized decreases in children's internalizing symptoms at Wave 3 (β = -.22). Mediational findings were partly attributable to children's accuracy in identifying angry and high-intensity expressions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Kassidy C Colton
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Carson Schmitz
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Brandon E Gibb
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Rochester, New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li C, Zhang Y, Chang R, Wei M, Jiang Y, Zhang J. The mediation and interaction effects of Internet addiction in the association between family functioning and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A four-way decomposition. J Affect Disord 2024; 356:41-47. [PMID: 38527531 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Previous studies have demonstrated that both family dysfunction and internet addiction (IA) are associated with a higher risk of adolescent depression. However, no study has yet investigated the mechanisms involved. This study aims to explore the mediation and interaction roles of internet addiction (IA) between family functioning and depressive symptoms among adolescents in rural China. METHODS A multi-stage, stratified cluster, and random sampling was conducted among 3343 adolescents in rural China from October 27 to November 6, 2020. Depressive symptoms, IA, and family functioning were assessed using the Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Family Adaptation Partnership Growth Affection and Resolve Index (APGAR), respectively. Correlation analysis was performed by binary logistic regression. The study employed a four-way decomposition method to explore the potential mechanisms of family functioning on depressive symptoms. RESULTS The results indicated that family functioning and IA were associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms. The interaction between family functioning and IA accounted for 74 % of the association between family functioning and depression symptoms, while direct effects accounted for 24 %. The "proportion eliminated" (76.11 %) was substantially larger than "proportion mediated" (7.36 %). LIMITATIONS The cross-sectional design limited to identify the causal relationship among the variables. CONCLUSIONS We found that family dysfunction synergizes with IA to contribute to the high risk of adolescent depression. Prioritizing at preventing IA in adolescence could be an effective way to mitigate the adverse effects of family dysfunction on depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunan Li
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Ya Zhang
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Ruixia Chang
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China; Division of Child Healthcare, Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Mengna Wei
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Yanfen Jiang
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Jianduan Zhang
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Nobakht HN, Steinsbekk S, Wichstrøm L. Reciprocal relations between interparental aggression and symptoms of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders: a seven-wave cohort study of within-family effects from preschool to adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 65:753-763. [PMID: 37786360 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interparental aggression is believed to increase the risk of behavioral disorders in offspring, and offspring behavioral problems may forecast interparental aggression. However, these assumptions have yet to be put to a strong test. This study, therefore, examined whether increased interparental aggression predicted increased symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) from preschool to adolescence and vice versa. METHODS A sample (n = 1,077; 49.6% girls) from two birth cohorts of children in Trondheim, Norway, was assessed biennially from age 4 to 16. Children's symptoms of ODD and CD were assessed using semi-structured clinical interviews of parents (from age 4) and children (from age 8). One of the parents reported on their own and their partner's verbal and physical aggression. A random intercept cross-lagged model was estimated to test the within-family relations between interparental aggression, CD, and ODD symptoms. RESULTS Across development, increased interparental aggression predicted increased CD symptoms 2 years later, whereas an increased number of ODD symptoms forecasted increased interparental aggression. CONCLUSIONS The argumentative/defiant, aggressive, and vindictive behaviors seen in ODD are often directed toward parents and may take a toll on their relationship and possibly foster interparental aggression, whereas aggression between parents may promote symptoms of CD in their offspring, which commonly extend beyond the home. Incorporating effective and non-aggressive means to solve interparental conflict into parental management programs may reduce the development of symptoms of CDs in children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Habib Niyaraq Nobakht
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Silje Steinsbekk
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lars Wichstrøm
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Jacques DT, Sturge-Apple ML, Davies PT, Cicchetti D. Maternal alcohol dependence symptoms, maternal insensitivity to children's distress, and young children's blunted emotional reactivity. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-23. [PMID: 38426705 PMCID: PMC11366043 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Maternal insensitivity to children's emotional distress (e.g., expressions of sadness or fearfulness) is one mechanism through which maternal alcohol dependence may increase children's risk for psychopathology. Although emotion dysregulation is consistently associated with psychopathology, it remains unclear how or why alcohol dependence's effects on caregiving responses to children's distress may impact children's emotion regulation over time, particularly in ways that may engender risks for psychopathology. This study examined longitudinal associations between lifetime maternal alcohol dependence symptoms, mothers' insensitivity to children's emotional distress cues, and children's emotional reactivity among 201 mother-child dyads (Mchild age = 2.14 years; 56% Black; 11% Latino). Structural equation modeling analyses revealed a significant mediational pathway such that maternal alcohol dependence predicted increases in mothers' insensitivity to children's emotional distress across a one-year period (β = .16, p = .013), which subsequently predicted decreases in children's emotional reactivity one year later (β = -.29, p = .009). Results suggest that mothers with alcohol dependence symptoms may struggle to sensitively respond to children's emotional distress, which may prompt children to suppress or hide their emotions as an adaptive, protective strategy. The potential developmental benefits and consequences of early, protective expressive suppression strategies are discussed via developmental psychopathology frameworks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Melissa L Sturge-Apple
- Department of Psychology and Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology and Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Dante Cicchetti
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Davies PT, Sturge-Apple ML. Beyond form: The value of systems conceptualizations of function in increasing precision and novelty in the study of developmental psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-13. [PMID: 38389499 PMCID: PMC11341777 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Developmental psychopathology has successfully advanced an understanding of risk and protective factors in multivariate models. However, many areas have relied on top-down approaches that define psychological constructs based largely or solely on their physical form. In this paper, we first describe how top-down approaches have significantly hindered progress by generating generic risk and protective models that yield little more than the conclusion that axiomatically positive and negative factors respectively beget an interchangeable array of positive and negative child sequelae. To advance precision and novelty as central priorities, we describe behavioral systems frameworks rooted in evolutionary theory that infuse both form (i.e., what it looks like) and function (what it is designed to do) into psychological constructs. We further address how this paradigm has generated new growing points for developmental models of interparental relationships and parenting. In the final section, we provide recommendations for expanding this approach to other areas of developmental psychopathology. Throughout the paper, we document how the focus on functional patterns of behavior in well-defined developmental contexts advance precision and novelty in understanding children's response processes to threats, opportunities, and challenges in associations between their developmental histories and their psychological sequelae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Melissa L Sturge-Apple
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Davies PT, Cao VT, Patel MD, Sturge-Apple ML. Why does children's temperamental exuberance increase their vulnerability to externalizing symptoms? A process-oriented approach. Dev Psychopathol 2024; 36:429-442. [PMID: 36503701 PMCID: PMC10258215 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422001304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
This study examined children's exposure to family adversity, hostile reactivity to parental conflict, and negative family representations as mediators of the prospective relation between their temperamental exuberance and externalizing symptoms. Participants included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years; 56% girls) and parents (48% Black; 16% Latinx) in a multi-method and multi-informant study with three annual measurement occasions. Structural equation model results specifically supported children's hostile reactivity to parental conflict and negative family representations as mediators. Exuberance predicted residualized increases in children's hostile reactivity and negative family representations over a 1-year period. In turn, children's hostile reactivity and negative family representations predicted their greater externalizing symptoms 1 year later after controlling for prior externalizing symptoms. Results are discussed in the context of their relation and refinement of temperamental models of developmental psychopathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Vanessa T Cao
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Meera D Patel
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Pearson JK, Davies PT, Sturge-Apple ML. The moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity in the associations between interparental conflict, emotional reactivity, and school adjustment. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:1878-1890. [PMID: 36200329 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This study tested whether the associations between interparental conflict, children's emotional reactivity, and school adjustment were moderated by children's cortisol reactivity in a sample of young children (N = 243; mean age = 4.6 years at Wave 1; 56% female, 44% male) and their parents. Using a longitudinal, autoregressive design, observational assessments of children's emotional reactivity at Wave 2 mediated the relationship between an observational measure of Wave 1 conflict between parents and teacher's report of children's school adjustment at Wave 3. However, children's cortisol reactivity to parent conflict at Wave 1 moderated the first link, such that emotional reactivity operated as a mediator for children with heightened cortisol reactivity but not children with low cortisol reactivity. Moderation was expressed in a "for better" or "for worse" form hypothesized by biological sensitivity to context theory. Thus, children with high cortisol reactivity experienced greater emotional reactivity than their peers when faced with more destructive conflict but also lower emotional reactivity when exposed to more constructive interparental conflict. Results are discussed as to how they advance emotional security and biological sensitivity to context theories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joanna K Pearson
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 14627, USA
| | - Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 14627, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Speidel R, Behrens B, Lawson M, Cummings EM, Valentino K. Latent classes in preschoolers' internal working models of attachment and emotional security: Roles of family risk. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:1552-1569. [PMID: 35393923 PMCID: PMC9547040 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Children's relationships inform their internal working models (IWMs) of the world around them. Attachment and emotional security theory (EST) emphasize the importance of parent-child and interparental relationships, respectively, for IWM. The current study examined (a) data-driven classes in child attachment and emotional security IWM, (b) associations between IWM classes and demographic variables, maltreatment, intimate partner violence (IPV), and maternal depressive symptoms, and (c) consistency in attachment and emotional security IWM classes, including as a function of maltreatment, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. Participants were 234 preschool-aged children (n = 152 experienced maltreatment and n = 82 had not experienced maltreatment) and their mothers. Children participated in a narrative-based assessment of IWM. Mothers reported demographics, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. Latent class analyses revealed three attachment IWM classes and three emotional security IWM classes. Maltreatment was associated with lower likelihood of being in the secure attachment class and elevated likelihood of being in the insecure dysregulated attachment class. Inconsistencies in classification across attachment and emotional security IWM classes were related to maltreatment, IPV, and maternal depressive symptoms. The current study juxtaposes attachment and EST and provides insight into impacts of family adversity on children's IWM across different family relationships.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Speidel
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Brigid Behrens
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Monica Lawson
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - E. Mark Cummings
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Kristin Valentino
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Compton AB, Panlilio CC, Humphreys KL. What's the matter with ACEs? Recommendations for considering early adversity in educational contexts. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2023; 142:106073. [PMID: 36774310 PMCID: PMC10293056 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently, some trauma-informed education practices use "ACE scores," a number that represents the sum of endorsed items from a survey derived from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study in 1998. We caution that the survey provides limited information within education, and such scores have limited utility for designing and delivering individualized intervention to support students who have experienced adversity. OBJECTIVE We sought to illustrate why ACEs are not well-suited for use in trauma-informed education, provide definitions for adversity-related terms from which a broader and common understanding of adversity can stem, and provide recommendations for integration of adversity-informed approaches to the educational context. METHODS We compiled definitions of adversity-related constructs and made recommendations based on review of relevant research from the fields of psychology and education. RESULTS Rather than tailoring educational practices to specific children based on the "traumatic" events they experience, we recommend educators focus their efforts on building supportive classrooms geared toward supporting students with best practices drawn from the Science of Learning, and with the understanding that early adversity can influence heterogeneous trajectories in student development and behavior. In addition, further research on educational practices, including the use of a shared language for describing and defining adversity-related experiences, are the concrete steps needed to better support a goal of adversity-informed education.
Collapse
|
11
|
Panlilio CC, Dube SR, Corr C. A framework for promoting learning and development in the context of adversity: An introduction to the special issue. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2023; 142:106176. [PMID: 37059648 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlomagno C Panlilio
- Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, Social Science Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
| | - Shanta R Dube
- Department of Public Health, Levine College of Health Sciences, Wingate University, Wingate, NC, USA
| | - Catherine Corr
- Department of Special Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Thompson MJ, Davies PT, Sturge-Apple ML. Understanding heterogeneity in pathways between interparental conflict and children's involvement: The moderating role of affect-biased attention. Child Dev 2023; 94:497-511. [PMID: 36408792 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The study examined the moderating role of children's affect-biased attention to angry, fearful, and sad adult faces in the link between interparental conflict and children's distinct forms of involvement. Participants included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years, 56% female) and their parents from racially (48% African American, 43% White) and socioeconomically (median annual household income = $36,000) diverse backgrounds. Data collection took place in the Northeastern United States (2010-2014). Utilizing a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal design, attention away from anger selectively amplified the link between interparental conflict and children's subsequent coercive involvement (β = -.15). Greater attention to fear potentiated the pathway between interparental conflict and children's later cautious (β = .14) and caregiving involvement (β = .15). Findings are interpreted in the context of environmental sensitivity models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan J Thompson
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Davies PT, Pearson JK, Cao VT, Sturge-Apple ML. Family-level antecedents of children's patterns of reactivity to interparental conflict: Testing the reformulation of emotional security theory. Dev Psychol 2023; 59:99-111. [PMID: 36395044 PMCID: PMC9822861 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Guided by emotional security theory, this study examined the family-level antecedents of children's reaction patterns to interparental conflict in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age = 4.60 years; 48% Black; 16% Latinx; 56% girls) and their parents in the Northeastern United States. Behavioral observations of children's responses to interparental conflict over two annual measurement occasions assessed their tendencies to exhibit four patterns of defending against threat: secure (i.e., efficiently address direct threats), mobilizing (i.e., high reactivity to potential threat and social opportunities), dominant (i.e., directly defeat threat), and demobilizing (i.e., reduce salience as a target of hostility). Latent profile analyses of interparental, coparental, and parent characteristics derived from multiple methods at the first wave yielded four profiles corresponding with harmonious, enmeshed, compensatory, and detouring patterns of family-level functioning. Additional analyses revealed that children in harmonious and compensatory family profiles exhibited more secure patterns of reactivity over a 1-year period than children in the enmeshed family profile. In contrast, subsequent mobilizing reactivity was most pronounced for children in the enmeshed family profile. Finally, children in the detouring profile exhibited substantially higher levels of demobilizing reactivity to interparental conflict. Results are discussed in the context of how they inform and refine emotional security theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
14
|
Zhu J, Liu M, Shu X, Xiang S, Jiang Y, Li Y. The moderating effect of marital conflict on the relationship between social avoidance and socio-emotional functioning among young children in suburban China. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1009528. [PMID: 36571002 PMCID: PMC9770044 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1009528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social avoidance has been found to be related to negative social adjustment, yet evidence of the relationship between social avoidance and social adjustment is very limited in suburban preschoolers in China. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms that help to explain the associations between social avoidance and socio-emotional adjustment remain poorly considered. The goal of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of marital conflict in the link between social avoidance and indices of socio-emotional functioning among young children in mainland China. Participants were N = 256 children aged from 49 to 72 months (125 boys, 131 girls, Mage = 59.06 months, SD = 6.58) attending preschools/kindergartens in suburban areas of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multi-source assessments were employed, with mothers reporting marital conflict as well as rating their children's social withdrawal (i.e., social avoidance, shyness, unsociability), and teachers assessing indices of children's socio-emotional functioning at school (i.e., anxious-fearful behavior, peer exclusion, and loneliness). Children were asked about their loneliness. Among the results, social avoidance was positively associated with anxious-fearful behavior, peer exclusion, and loneliness (marginal significance). Moreover, as hypothesized, marital conflict was found to exacerbate the relations between social avoidance and peer exclusion, and loneliness. Results are discussed in terms of the etiology and implications of social avoidance among young children in mainland China.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhu
- Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mowei Liu
- Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
| | - Xin Shu
- Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuhui Xiang
- Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Yan Li
- Early Childhood Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China,*Correspondence: Yan Li,
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
López-Larrosa S, Pardiño N, Ha AP, Cummings EM. Emotional security and family relationships of Spanish college students. REVISTA DE ESTUDIOS E INVESTIGACIÓN EN PSICOLOGÍA Y EDUCACIÓN 2022. [DOI: 10.17979/reipe.2022.9.2.9352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This study is grounded on Systems Theory and Emotional Security Theory, and aims at extending past work by examining relations among children’s emotional security in the family system and the quality of family relationships among college students, a population scarcely addressed by the Emotional Security Theory. Participants were 236 female and male students attending a public Spanish University (meanage = 20.13 years old). We used the Security in the Family System Scale (SIFS), the Family Stress Scale, the Family Satisfaction Scale, the Bidirectional Parent-Adolescent Relationships Scale (BiPAR), and measures of destructive and constructive interparental conflict. The variables “living with family” and “parental divorce” were also studied. Results showed that parental divorce related to higher family stress, less interparental conflict resolution and worse bidirectional relationships with fathers. There were not significant differences in any of the variables under analyses between students who lived with their families while at college compared to those who did not live with their families. Emotional security in the family explained 52% of the variance of family satisfaction. This study has theoretical implications as it applies Emotional Security Theory to study young adults from divorced and intact families and who either live or not with their families while attending college. Our results agree and support this Theory. It also has practical implications for mental health and counselling services pointing to potential risk and protective family variables in college students.
Collapse
|
16
|
Thompson MJ, Davies PT, Coe JL, Sturge-Apple ML. Family origins of distinct forms of children's involvement in interparental conflict. JOURNAL OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY : JFP : JOURNAL OF THE DIVISION OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (DIVISION 43) 2022; 36:1142-1153. [PMID: 34843325 PMCID: PMC9720877 DOI: 10.1037/fam0000937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has highlighted the value in parsing unidimensional assessments of children's involvement in interparental conflict into distinct forms for advancing an understanding of children's development; however, little is known about the underlying antecedents of distinct forms of involvement. The present study provides the first systematic analysis of the interparental conflict and parenting predictors of residualized change in maternal reports of three forms of children's involvement in interparental conflict (i.e., cautious, caregiving, coercive). Participants in this multimethod, multi-informant longitudinal study included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years), mothers, and their partners from racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds. Multivariate analyses demonstrated selectivity in links between interparental conflict and parenting and children's involvement in interparental conflict. Findings from the interparental conflict analyses revealed that Wave 1 constructive conflict uniquely predicted lower Wave 2 cautious involvement, and Wave 1 hostile conflict uniquely predicted greater Wave 2 coercive involvement. Findings from the parenting analyses indicated that Wave 1 maternal responsiveness uniquely predicted lower Wave 2 cautious involvement and Wave 1 maternal vulnerability uniquely predicted greater Wave 2 coercive involvement. Although interparental conflict and parenting antecedents did not predict caregiving involvement, a series of follow-up analyses individually examining each form of interparental conflict and parenting as a predictor of children's involvement revealed that greater Wave 2 caregiving involvement was predicted by higher levels of Wave 1 disengaged conflict and lower levels of Wave 1 constructive conflict. Findings are interpreted in the context of developmental psychopathology models that emphasize children's response patterns to family adversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
17
|
Delineating the developmental sequelae of children's risky involvement in interparental conflict. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:922-935. [PMID: 33436113 PMCID: PMC8275663 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The present study examined the developmental value of parsing different forms of children's risky involvement in interparental conflict as predictors of children's subsequent psychological adjustment. Participants included a diverse sample of 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.6 years) and their mothers across two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. Three forms of risky involvement (i.e., cautious, caregiving, and coercive) were identified using maternal narratives describing children's emotional and behavioral reactivity during and immediately following interparental conflict. Utilizing a multimethod, multi-informant design, findings revealed that each form of involvement prospectively predicted unique configurations of children's developmental outcomes. Greater coercive involvement was associated with higher levels of externalizing problems, callous and unemotional traits, and extraversion. Higher levels of caregiving involvement were linked with greater separation anxiety. Finally, cautious involvement predicted more separation anxiety and social withdrawal.
Collapse
|
18
|
Carone N. Family Alliance and Intergenerational Transmission of Coparenting in Gay and Heterosexual Single-Father Families through Surrogacy: Associations with Child Attachment Security. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:7713. [PMID: 35805368 PMCID: PMC9265500 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19137713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Parents tend to internalize the coparenting model they experienced during childhood and enact it in their coparenting relationships as adults. These interactive patterns may, in turn, shape their children's internal working models of attachment relationships. The present study recruited 31 gay and 28 heterosexual single-father families through surrogacy to examine family alliance quality and the mediating role of observed supportive and conflictual coparenting in the association between the coparenting quality single fathers experienced in their families of origin and the attachment security of their children. All single fathers lived in Italy, were cisgender and White, and had a child aged 6-12 years (M = 97.73 months; SD = 20.48; 47.5% girls) who they coparented with nonparental caregivers (i.e., 33 grandparents, 18 babysitters, 8 uncles/aunts). Families did not differ in family alliance dimensions based on fathers' sexual orientation. Additionally, single fathers who experienced greater coparenting quality in their families of origin demonstrated lower levels of conflictual coparenting, which, in turn, were associated with greater child attachment security. In contrast, observed supportive coparenting did not mediate this relation. The results emphasize the need to reconceptualize the dyadic coparental unit in single-father surrogacy families to include extended family members and nonrelatives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Carone
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 11, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Zhang H, Gao T, Hu Q, Zhao L, Wang X, Sun X, Li S. Parental marital conflict, negative emotions, phubbing, and academic burnout among college students in the postpandemic era: A multiple mediating models. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pits.22707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Han Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| | - Tingting Gao
- Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health Shandong University Jinan China
| | - Qing Hu
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| | - Lin Zhao
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| | - Xiaolei Wang
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| | - Xiaohan Sun
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| | - Shujun Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Education Linyi University Linyi China
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Lee SJ, Pace GT, Lee JY, Altschul I. Parental Relationship Status as a Moderator of the Associations Between Mothers' and Fathers' Conflict Behaviors and Early Child Behavior Problems. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2022; 37:NP3801-NP3831. [PMID: 32842826 PMCID: PMC8290473 DOI: 10.1177/0886260520948514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
This study examines interparental conflict and associations with child behavior problems among a large, diverse sample of families with low income (N = 2,691) using path model analyses of mothers' and fathers' reports of constructive interparental conflict, destructive interparental conflict, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization at 15 months and child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems at 36 months. Multigroup models examined whether parental relationship status (i.e., married, cohabiting, and churning) moderated these associations. Fathers' perceptions of interparental conflict behaviors showed few direct associations with child outcomes, whereas mothers' perceptions of interparental conflict showed more robust associations with child outcomes. Specifically, mother-reported destructive conflict was associated with higher levels of child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems across parental relationship status subgroups. Mother-reported constructive conflict had a small negative association with child behavior problems in cohabiting families. Child emotional insecurity mediated the association of maternal destructive conflict on child behavior problems. Although churning families experienced higher levels of moderate and severe interparental conflict, associations linking destructive conflict to child behavior problems were consistent across parental relationship subgroups. There were few direct effects of father-reported constructive and destructive conflict on child well-being. However, the results supported the notion that fathers play an influential role in the family system via maternal reports of IPV victimization. Results of this study suggest that the mechanisms underlying emotional security theory, in which child emotional insecurity mediates the associations between maternal destructive conflict and child behavior problems, apply to a large and racially diverse sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.
Collapse
|
21
|
Jacobvitz D, Aviles AI, Aquino GA, Tian Z, Zhang S, Hazen N. Fathers' Sensitivity in Infancy and Externalizing Problems in Middle Childhood: The Role of Coparenting. Front Psychol 2022; 13:805188. [PMID: 35211066 PMCID: PMC8861292 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.805188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examined the role of father sensitivity and couple coparenting quality in the first 2 years of life in relation to the development of externalizing behavior problems in middle childhood, focusing on the unique role of fathers. In this study, 125 mothers, fathers, and their first-born children were followed from 8 months to age 7 years. Paternal sensitivity was rated when infants were 8 and 24 months old. Fathers were videotaped at home playing, feeding, and changing their 8-month-old infants’ clothes. They also were videotaped in a lab playing with their 24-month-olds and solving a variety of challenging tasks. At 24 months, competitive coparenting was assessed via videotaped triadic family interactions at home in which families participated in a variety of tasks (i.e., clothes change, eating a snack together and solving tasks). Teachers rated externalizing behavior problems when the children were age 7. Continuity in paternal sensitivity was documented from 8 to 24 months, and paternal sensitivity at 8 months predicted externalizing behavior in middle childhood through father sensitivity at 24 months. Moreover, paternal sensitivity at 8 months predicted competitive coparenting which, in turn, forecast externalizing behavior problems in middle childhood, even after controlling for maternal sensitivity at 8 and 24 months. These findings highlight the unique role of paternal caregiving quality during the first year of life on couple coparenting and children’s subsequent development of externalizing problems and have implications for creating effective interventions to prevent children from developing externalizing disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Deborah Jacobvitz
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Ashleigh I Aviles
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Gabriela A Aquino
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Ziyu Tian
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Shuqi Zhang
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Nancy Hazen
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Mentalizing Emotions and Social Cognition in Bullies and Victims. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19042410. [PMID: 35206598 PMCID: PMC8872612 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mentalizing is the ability to represent mental states to navigate the social world. A reduced mentalizing ability is a risk factor for a variety of psychological issues. Several studies indicated deficits in social cognition in bullies and victims, specifically in mentalizing anger. However, only a few studies investigated mentalizing abilities related to both anger and happiness in pre-adolescence. Our study investigated possible differences in the ability to mentalize anger and happiness in preadolescent bullies and victims, compared to a control group. We interviewed 104 preadolescents (44% males; 56% females; M = 13.2 years; SD = 0.82) and administered the Olweus Questionnaire to identify bullies and victims. We applied a narrative approach to investigate the mental state language referred to anger and happiness. The results indicated a reduced ability to mentalize anger in bullies and victims compared to controls. Both bullies and victims tended to consider anger and happiness predominantly as behavioral conditions rather than a state of mind. These results highlight the need to promote effective intervention programs to prevent bullying by enhancing appropriate mentalization of emotions in pre-adolescents.
Collapse
|
23
|
Jonkman C, Visser M, Vandenbosch M, Steketee M, Schuengel C, Fictorie V. Effectiveness of a high-intensive trauma-focused, family-based therapy for youth exposed to family violence: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 2022; 23:46. [PMID: 35039059 PMCID: PMC8762952 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-021-05981-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Family violence is a common problem with direct adverse effects on children as well as indirect effects through disruption of parenting and parent-child relationships. The complex interrelationships between family violence, parenting, and relationships make recovery from psychological responses difficult. In more than half of the families referred to mental health care after family violence, the violence continues. Also, the effect sizes of "golden standard" treatments are generally lower for complex trauma compared to other forms of trauma. In the treatment of complex trauma, trauma-focused therapies including cognitive restructuring and imaginal exposure are most effective, and intensifying therapy results in faster symptom reduction. Furthermore, there is promising evidence that adding a parental component to individual trauma treatment increases treatment success. In family-based intensive trauma treatment (FITT), these factors are addressed on an individual and family level in a short period of time to establish long-term effects on the reduction of trauma symptoms and recovery of security in the family. This randomized controlled multicentre study tests if FITT is an effective treatment for concurrent reduction of trauma symptoms of children, improvement of parenting functioning, and increasing emotional and physical security in children, through the improvement of parent-child relationships. METHODS The effectiveness of FITT will be tested by a RCT design. A total of 120 adolescents with a history of family violence and PTS symptoms will be randomized to (a) an intensive trauma treatment with a parent and systemic component (FITT), (b) an intensive trauma treatment without these components (ITT), and (c) treatment as usual (TAU, low-frequency trauma treatment with parent therapy and family sessions). Changes in children's trauma symptoms, child and parent functioning, and emotional and physical security in the family will be monitored before, during, after, and at 3 months follow-up. DISCUSSION Comparing these interventions with and without a high intensive frequency and parenting and family components can help to understand if and how these interventions work and can contribute to the ambition to recover from the impact of family violence and restore emotional and physical security for children and young people. TRIAL REGISTRATION Netherlands Trial Register Trial NL8592 . Registered on 4 May 2020.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Jonkman
- Children's Trauma Centre of Kenter Youthcare, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Margreet Visser
- Children's Trauma Centre of Kenter Youthcare, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Liang X, Lin Y, Van IJzendoorn MH, Wang Z. Grandmothers are part of the parenting network, too! A longitudinal study on coparenting, maternal sensitivity, child attachment and behavior problems in a Chinese sample. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2021; 2021:95-116. [PMID: 34826337 PMCID: PMC9299471 DOI: 10.1002/cad.20442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Grandmothers are important in Chinese families. This study explored the early emerging mother-grandmother-infant network and its association with child's socioemotional development in multigenerational families in a non-WEIRD country. The analytic sample included 60 children (T1: Mage = 6.5 months) and their caregivers residing in Beijing. Measures used were the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (MBQS), and the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Structural equation and path modeling revealed that (1) more grandmaternal neutral/watching coparenting behaviors at the first assessment were related to more secure infant-mother attachment relationships at the second assessment (T2: Mage = 1 year); (2) maternal sensitivity at T2 was a partial mediator between earlier undermining and neutral/watching coparenting behaviors and young children's externalizing problems at the final assessment (T3: Mage = 2 years). Findings are discussed in terms of the roles played by mother-grandmother coparenting network in the children's socioemotional development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xi Liang
- Research Center for Child DevelopmentBeijing Key Laboratory of Learning and CognitionSchool of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yige Lin
- Research Center for Child DevelopmentBeijing Key Laboratory of Learning and CognitionSchool of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Marinus H. Van IJzendoorn
- Research Center for Child DevelopmentBeijing Key Laboratory of Learning and CognitionSchool of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
- Research Department of Clinical, Education and Health PsychologyFaculty of Brain SciencesUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Zhengyan Wang
- Research Center for Child DevelopmentBeijing Key Laboratory of Learning and CognitionSchool of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Schermerhorn AC, Nguyen PK, Davies PT. The interplay among interparental conflict, children's emotional insecurity, neurophysiological correlates of processing interparental conflict cues, and externalizing symptoms. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22192. [PMID: 34674253 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to destructive interparental conflict consistently predicts children's externalizing symptoms. Research has identified children's emotional security as an explanatory mechanism underpinning this association, but little is known about the role of children's neurophysiology in this pathway. We aimed to address that gap using event-related potential (ERP) data from a sample of 86 children, ages 9-11 years. The P3 ERP was measured during an emotion categorization task involving photographs of a couple exhibiting facial expressions of emotion toward one another. Angry images were target stimuli, and happy and neutral images were nontarget stimuli. Children reported interparental conflict, and their mothers reported children's emotional security. Mothers also reported children's externalizing symptoms at two time points 1 year apart. Results indicated elevated interparental conflict predicted more behavioral dysregulation (an aspect of emotional insecurity), which predicted a smaller P3 on angry trials, which, in turn, predicted greater externalizing symptoms 1 year later, controlling for initial externalizing. Greater involvement in interparental conflict, another aspect of emotional insecurity, predicted a larger P3 on neutral trials. Further, both greater involvement and a larger P3 on happy trials predicted increases in externalizing. The results suggest differing associations between different elements of emotional insecurity and the P3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice C Schermerhorn
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Phuong Kelly Nguyen
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Patrick T Davies
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Lee JY, Pace GT, Lee SJ, Altschul I. The Associations of Constructive and Destructive Interparental Conflict to Child Well-Being Among Low-Income Families. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2021; 36:7523-7546. [PMID: 30879387 PMCID: PMC8278324 DOI: 10.1177/0886260519835872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Interparental conflict is a well-established precursor to child maladjustment. However, little is understood of the role of different interparental conflict in shaping the developmental outcomes of young children, especially those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. This study uses data from a large and racially diverse sample of low-income, unmarried mothers with young children (n = 1,297) to examine the processes linking parental constructive conflict, destructive conflict, intimate partner violence (IPV) to child behavior problems, and child emotional insecurity as a mediator of these processes. Path analyses were conducted to estimate structural paths between (a) conflict constructs and child behavior problems, (b) conflict constructs and child emotional insecurity, and (c) child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems. Results demonstrated that constructive conflict was associated with decreased levels of both child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems, whereas destructive conflict was associated with increased levels of both child outcomes. IPV was associated with increased levels of child emotional insecurity only. Child emotional insecurity mediated the links between all three conflict constructs and child behavior problems. Such findings suggest the need for clinicians to help raise awareness regarding the consequences of children's exposure to different interparental conflict and educate parents about children's sense of emotional security in the family.
Collapse
|
27
|
Lee YE, Seo S. Interparental Conflict and Korean Children's Inhibitory Control: Testing Emotional Insecurity as a Mediator. Front Psychol 2021; 12:632052. [PMID: 34194356 PMCID: PMC8236882 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.632052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined the association between interparental conflict and inhibitory control of Korean children, and it investigated whether this relationship is mediated by the single latent variable of emotional insecurity or by three dimensions of emotional insecurity (i.e., involvement, emotional reactivity, and avoidance). A total of 166 mother–father dyads with Korean children aged 3–5 years participated in a short-term longitudinal survey at two-time points. Both parents completed measures of interparental conflict and emotional insecurity, and, 6 months later, they completed a measure of the inhibitory control of children. The structural equation modeling results suggested that interparental conflict was related to poor inhibitory control in Korean children. Emotional insecurity did not mediate the association between interparental conflict and inhibitory control. Of the three emotional insecurity dimensions, the involvement partially mediated the relationship. Interestingly, although interparental conflict predicted poor inhibitory control, the involvement of children in the conflict, which was associated with a greater interparental conflict, predicted a subsequent increase in inhibitory control 6 months later. These findings were interpreted in terms of sensory processing patterns, the reformulation of emotional security theory, and the influence of Confucianism on Korean culture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Young-Eun Lee
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea
| | - SoJung Seo
- Department of Child & Family Studies, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Eiden RD, Livingston JA, Kelm MR, Sassaman JN. Risk and Protective Pathways to Peer Victimization from Infancy to Adolescence: Role of Fathers. ADVERSITY AND RESILIENCE SCIENCE 2021; 2:109-123. [PMID: 35419548 PMCID: PMC9000245 DOI: 10.1007/s42844-020-00028-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the developmental pathways from fathers' psychopathology in early childhood to child peer victimization (bullying and cyber victimization) in late adolescence via family relationships and early adolescent psychosocial functioning (anxiety, emotion regulation, social problems). A conceptual model with pathways through inter-parental aggression and fathers' parenting (harshness and sensitivity) was tested. Participants were 227 families (51% female children recruited as infants) who participated in a longitudinal study examining the role of parental alcohol problems and associated risks on developmental and family processes from infancy to late adolescence. Multi-method (observational, parent report, adolescent report) assessments of family processes and child outcomes were conducted across all time points. Fathers' alcohol problems and depressive symptoms in early childhood was prospectively associated with inter-parental aggression in middle childhood and social problems in early adolescence. For boys only, early adolescent social problems were predictive of bullying victimization. Fathers' antisocial behavior in early childhood was associated with less sensitive parenting in middle childhood. Fathers' sensitivity in middle childhood was protective, being associated with lower cyber victimization in late adolescence. Fathers' sensitivity was also associated with higher emotion regulation in early adolescence; however, counter to expectations, higher emotion regulation was associated with more bullying and cyber victimization. Findings shed light on differences in the etiological pathways to bullying and cyber victimization, as well as how distinct forms of paternal psychopathology in early childhood associate with family relationships, child adjustment, and vulnerability to peer victimization in late adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rina D Eiden
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
| | | | - Madison R Kelm
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
| | - Jenna N Sassaman
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Robles TF. Annual Research Review: Social relationships and the immune system during development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2021; 62:539-559. [PMID: 33164229 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A child's social relationships serve critical functions during development. The interface between a child's social world and their immune system, particularly innate immunity, which helped children survive in the face of infections, nutritional scarcity, and violence throughout human history, is the focus of this Annual Research Review. This article reviews the state of research on social relationships and innate immune inflammation during childhood. Warmth and rejection in childhood social relationships, as well as physical trauma and unpredictable social environments, were not consistently related to circulating inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein during childhood. Instead, links between social environments and inflammation were observed in studies that focus on children with greater background risk factors, such as low family socioeconomic status, family history of mood disorders, or presence of chronic interpersonal stressors combined with acute episodic stressors. In addition, studies on worse childhood social environments and greater inflammation in adulthood were more consistent. Warmth and rejection in the social environment may be related to sensitivity of immune cells to the anti-inflammatory actions of glucocorticoids, though this is primarily observed in adolescent women at risk for depression. Additional mechanistic evidence suggests that greater warmth and less rejection are related to processes that regulate inflammation, including greater expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene and lower expression of genes that are responsive to the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kappa B. The article concludes by discussing implications of the interface between a child's social relationships and inflammation for mental health and other recent (on evolutionary timescales) health threats, as well as recommendations for future research, and recommendations for researchers interested in integrating inflammatory measures in developmental research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Theodore F Robles
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Family relationships and DSM-5 personality domains in adolescence: A person- and variable-based approach. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
31
|
Ellis BH, Cardeli E, Bloom M, Brahmbhatt Z, Weine S. Understanding the needs of children returning from formerly ISIS-controlled territories through an emotional security theory lens: Implications for practice. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2020; 109:104754. [PMID: 33035735 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children who spent time in territories formerly controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and who are now being reintegrated into their countries of origin have experienced significant trauma and may present with adjustment or mental health problems. OBJECTIVE In this paper we describe how Emotional Security Theory (EST; Davies & Cummings, 1994) and its more recent formulation, EST-reformulated (EST-R; Davies & Martin, 2013, 2014), provide a theoretical lens to aid in understanding the ways in which traumatic experiences under ISIS may have an enduring impact on a child's development and well-being. METHODS & RESULTS The core assumption of EST is that maintaining safety and security is a central goal for a child growing up in the context of conflict. Children living in conflict zones under ISIS rule may have developed emotional insecurity, which in turn is theorized to lead to developmental cascades across multiple domains of functioning and at times result in clinically significant distress. This theoretical understanding can guide intervention, as it suggests that the foci of intervention must (1) minimize social signals indicative of threat while also (2) reducing behavioral response patterns that limit opportunities for exploration and prosocial affiliation. Trauma Systems Therapy is a multidisciplinary child trauma treatment model that addresses both stressors in the social environment and related emotional dysregulation. CONCLUSIONS Challenges and considerations related to implementing such a comprehensive treatment approach in low- and middle-income countries are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B Heidi Ellis
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Mail Stop 3199, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Emma Cardeli
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Mail Stop 3199, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Mia Bloom
- Departments of Communication and Middle East Studies, Georgia State University, 25 Park Place NE, Ste 1110, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
| | - Zachary Brahmbhatt
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 Taylor St, SPHPI MC 912, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Stevan Weine
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 Taylor St, SPHPI MC 912, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Panlilio CC, Harring JR, Harden BJ, Morrison CI, Duncan AD. Heterogeneity in the dynamic arousal and modulation of fear in young foster children. CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES REVIEW 2020; 116:105199. [PMID: 32831446 PMCID: PMC7430554 DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Guided by emotional security theory, we explored how child and context-related factors were associated with heterogeneity in young foster children's organized patterns of fear response to distress. Results from group-based trajectory modeling used to analyze observational data from a fear-eliciting task showed that children from our sample (mean age = 62 months, SD = 9) were classified into 3 specific fear regulation patterns differentiated by the emotional response parameters of onset intensity, peak intensity, and rise time. A descriptive examination of child's emotion knowledge, aggressive behaviors, and attention problems, as well as length of time in current foster home, placement transitions, and caregiver responsiveness and modeling showed class-specific differences in means. Moreover, the likelihood of class membership was significantly predicted by children's emotion knowledge, aggressive behaviors, and foster mothers' responsiveness and modeling of appropriate boundaries. Results show promising support for the implementation of individualized, child-directed interventions targeting specific patterns of response parameters of emotion regulation for young foster children. Further, parenting intervention services need to promote the emotion socialization skills of foster parents that are tailored toward each specific trajectory pattern of emotion arousal and modulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlomagno C. Panlilio
- Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
| | - Jeffrey R. Harring
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Brenda Jones Harden
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Colleen I. Morrison
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Aimee Drouin Duncan
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Li Z, Sturge-Apple ML, Liu S, Davies PT. Parent-adolescent physiological synchrony: Moderating effects of adolescent emotional insecurity. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13596. [PMID: 32394446 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated physiological synchrony in the parasympathetic nervous system among fathers, mothers, and adolescents during a real-time family interaction, and child characteristics that may moderate the level of physiological synchrony. Our sample consisted of 191 families with adolescents (Mage = 12.4 years) and both of their parents, who participated in a triadic family conflict discussion. During the discussion, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured for all three family members. Multilevel analysis indicated a significant positive concurrent synchrony between adolescents and their mothers, as well as between fathers and mothers on a minute-to-minute basis. No RSA synchrony was found between adolescents and their fathers. Furthermore, adolescent emotional insecurity significantly moderated mother-adolescent RSA synchrony. Whereas adolescents with low emotional insecurity exhibited positive synchrony with their mothers, no synchrony was observed when adolescent emotional insecurity was high. In conclusion, findings of the present study illuminate the patterns of RSA synchrony among parents and adolescents and highlight a link between adolescent emotional insecurity and attenuated mother-adolescent physiological synchrony.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Li
- Department of Psychology & Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Melissa L Sturge-Apple
- Department of Psychology & Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Siwei Liu
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Patrick T Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Gao MM, de Silva AD, Cummings EM, Davies PT. Interrelatedness of Children's Psychological and Physiological Responses to Interparental Conflict: A Moderating Role of Harsh Parenting. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2019; 28:1016-1036. [PMID: 31741575 DOI: 10.1111/sode.12376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Children's psychological and physiological responses to interparental conflict have received considerable attention due to their implications for later adjustment, yet limited research has investigated the interplay between these two response systems. This study investigates patterns of association between children's psychological responses (e.g., emotional distress) and cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict, including possible moderations by negative caregiving environment. Participants included 193 families (mother, father, and child). Parents completed questionnaires relating to their caregiving behaviors toward the child (107 girls and 86 boys, M age = 7.99 years, SD = 0.53 years) and children's psychological responses to interparental conflict. Children provided three saliva samples over the course of watching videos depicting conflicts between two adults, whom children were asked to pretend were their parents. Based on a series of Latent Growth Curve Models, only children's emotional responses to interparental conflict (indicated by increased distress) were associated with greater cortisol reactivity. Additionally, fathers' harsh parenting behavior moderated the relation between children's emotional reactivity and cortisol reactivity, yet the moderation effect was not found for mothers' parenting. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of exploring both psychological and physiological reactivity to conflict and the possible moderating role of harsh parenting.
Collapse
|
35
|
Kuo PX, Saini EK, Tengelitsch E, Volling BL. Is one secure attachment enough? Infant cortisol reactivity and the security of infant-mother and infant-father attachments at the end of the first year. Attach Hum Dev 2019; 21:426-444. [PMID: 30836833 PMCID: PMC6779037 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2019.1582595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Attachment security is theorized to shape stress reactivity, but extant work has failed to find consistent links between attachment security to mothers and infant cortisol reactivity. We examined family configurations of infant-mother and infant-father attachment security in relation to infant cortisol reactivity. One-year old infants (N = 180) participated in the Strange Situation with mothers and fathers in two counterbalanced lab visits, one month apart (12 and 13 months). Infants with secure attachments only to their fathers and not their mothers had higher cortisol levels than infants with a secure attachment to mother and also exhibited a blunted cortisol response (high at baseline and then a decrease after stress). Results suggest that a secure attachment to father may not be enough to reduce infant stress reactivity when the infant-mother attachment is insecure, and future research is needed to uncover the family dynamics that underlie different family configurations of attachment security.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patty X Kuo
- a Department of Psychology & William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame , IN , USA
| | - Ekjyot K Saini
- b Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University , Auburn , AL , USA
| | | | - Brenda L Volling
- d Department of Psychology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Alamos P, Williford AP. Exploring dyadic teacher–child interactions, emotional security, and task engagement in preschool children displaying externalizing behaviors. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Alamos
- Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
| | - Amanda P. Williford
- Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Weymouth BB, Fosco GM, Mak HW, Mayfield K, LoBraico EJ, Feinberg ME. Implications of interparental conflict for adolescents' peer relationships: A longitudinal pathway through threat appraisals and social anxiety symptoms. Dev Psychol 2019; 55:1509-1522. [PMID: 31070436 PMCID: PMC6586495 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to broaden the developmental understanding of the implications of interparental conflict (IPC) and threat appraisals of conflict for adolescents' relationships with peers. Guided by the cognitive contextual framework and evolutionary perspectives, we evaluated a developmental model in which adolescents who are exposed to IPC perceive these conflicts as threatening to their well-being or that of their family. In turn, threat appraisals of IPC increase risk that adolescents experience worries and fears about the peer context (i.e., social anxiety), leading to decreased support from friends and increased feelings of loneliness and engagement with antisocial peers. Autoregressive analyses were conducted with a sample of 768 two-parent families across four measurement occasions. Exposure to IPC was related to increases in youths' perceived threat, which increased their risk for social anxiety symptoms. Consistent with our hypothesis, heightened social anxiety symptoms undermined youths' subsequent functioning in the peer context. Specifically, youth with greater adolescent social anxiety symptoms experienced increased feelings of loneliness and decreased perceptions of friendship support. Significant indirect effects were substantiated for adolescent loneliness and friendship support. Findings did not vary as a function of adolescent gender. The findings highlight the enduring implications of IPC and threat appraisals of IPC for youths' functioning, which can be expanded beyond broad measures of youth psychopathology, and the critical role of social anxiety symptoms as an explanatory mechanism in this process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
38
|
Connell AM, Danzo S, Magee K, Uhlman R. Children's appraisals of maternal depression and responses to emotional faces in early-adolescence: An Event Related Potential (ERP) study. J Affect Disord 2019; 250:241-248. [PMID: 30870774 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.03.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parental depression represents a significant risk for depression development in offspring. While cognitive mechanisms represent a central risk pathway, children's appraisals of parental symptoms have been understudied. This study examined associations between children's self-blame, threat, and frequency/duration appraisals for maternal symptoms in relation to cognitive control and emotional response processes. METHODS Sixty mother-daughter (aged 10-14-years) pairs participated. Affective processing was assessed by three Event Related Potential (ERP) components, the N2, P3, and LPP, during an emotional Go/NoGo task. RESULTS Threat-appraisals were associated with alterations in all three ERP components, independently of maternal diagnostic histories or youth depressive symptoms. Self-blame was associated with early attentional engagement towards calm faces. Independent effects of maternal depression history and youth symptoms were also observed. CONCLUSIONS Results highlight the importance of youth perceptions of maternal depressive symptoms in models of depression-risk.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arin M Connell
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44016, United States.
| | - Sarah Danzo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44016, United States
| | - Kelsey Magee
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44016, United States
| | - Rana Uhlman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44016, United States
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Davies PT, Coe JL, Hentges RF, Sturge‐Apple ML, Ripple MT. Temperamental Emotionality Attributes as Antecedents of Children's Social Information Processing. Child Dev 2018; 91:508-526. [DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
|
40
|
Ching BHH, Wu X. Parental conflicts and materialism in adolescents: Emotional insecurity as a mediator. J Adolesc 2018; 69:189-202. [PMID: 30390599 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This longitudinal study investigated whether and how parental conflicts contributed to adolescents' endorsement of materialistic values. METHOD Two hundred and fourteen Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong (102 boys; mean age = 16.52 years) completed a set of questionnaires including materialism, emotional insecurity, parental conflict behaviour, and perceptions of parents (warmth, autonomy, and involvement). RESULTS Consistent with the psychological insecurity hypothesis and the emotional security theory, emotional insecurity mediated the connection between parental conflict behaviour and adolescents' materialism. Adolescents who had their parents dealing with their conflicts in destructive ways reported higher levels of emotional insecurity, which was in turn associated with higher levels of materialism. By contrast, adolescents who had their parents dealing with their conflicts constructively reported lower levels of emotional insecurity, which was linked to lower levels of materialism. CONCLUSION Parental conflict behaviour contributes to adolescents' materialism through its influence on emotional insecurity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Boby Ho-Hong Ching
- Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau.
| | - Xiaohan Wu
- Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Hardt M, Jobe-Shields L, Williams JL. Emotional security theory: An application to sibling bereavement. DEATH STUDIES 2018; 43:656-664. [PMID: 30207877 DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2018.1511637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2017] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
There is a need for guiding theory to understand the experiences and outcomes of bereaved siblings, particularly from a family systems framework. The present study investigated the relevance of emotional security theory in a sample of 72 young adults who experienced sibling bereavement. We investigated (1) whether perceptions of prolonged parental grief predicted key aspects of emotional security (disengagement, preoccupation, and security), and (2) whether emotional security mediated a relation between perceptions of prolonged parental grief and young adult emotional functioning. Results supported the potential utility of emotional security theory as a theoretical framework for understanding sibling bereavement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Hardt
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond , Richmond , VA , USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri , Kansas City , MO , USA
| | - Lisa Jobe-Shields
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond , Richmond , VA , USA
| | - Joah L Williams
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri , Kansas City , MO , USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Kuhlman KR, Repetti RL, Reynolds BM, Robles TF. Interparental conflict and child HPA-axis responses to acute stress: Insights using intensive repeated measures. JOURNAL OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY : JFP : JOURNAL OF THE DIVISION OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (DIVISION 43) 2018; 32:773-782. [PMID: 29927288 PMCID: PMC6126984 DOI: 10.1037/fam0000437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Interparental conflict is a common source of psychosocial stress in the lives of children. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between recent interparental conflict and one component of the physiological stress response system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis. Parents of 42 children (ages 8-13 years) completed daily diaries of interparental conflict for 8 weeks. At the end of the 8 weeks, youth participated in the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) while providing 2 pre- and 4 poststress salivary cortisol samples. Youth whose fathers reported a pattern of increasing interparental conflict over the past 8 weeks demonstrated an exaggerated HPA-axis response to acute stress. Mother-reported interparental conflict was not associated with children's HPA-axis responses without accounting for fathers' reports. When accounting for fathers' reports, the offspring of mothers reporting higher average daily interparental conflict demonstrated an attenuated HPA-axis response to the stressor. By estimating both average exposure and recent patterns of change in exposure to conflict, we address the circumstances that may prompt attenuation versus sensitization of the HPA-axis in the context of interparental conflict. We conclude that the HPA-axis is sensitive to proximal increases in interparental conflict which may be one pathway through which stress affects health across development, and that incorporating father's reports is important to understanding the role of the family environment in stress responses. This study further demonstrates the value of using intensive repeated measures and multiple reporters to characterize children's psychosocial environment. (PsycINFO Database Record
Collapse
|
43
|
Jia J, Li D, Li X, Zhou Y, Wang Y, Sun W, Zhao L. Peer victimization and adolescent Internet addiction: The mediating role of psychological security and the moderating role of teacher-student relationships. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
|
44
|
Coe JL, Davies PT, Sturge-Apple ML. Family Instability and Young Children's School Adjustment: Callousness and Negative Internal Representations as Mediators. Child Dev 2018. [PMID: 28369999 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.l2793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the mediating roles of children's callousness and negative internal representations of family relationships in associations between family instability and children's adjustment to school in early childhood. Participants in this multimethod (i.e., survey, observations), multiinformant (i.e., parent, teacher, observer), longitudinal study included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years) and their families. Findings from the lagged, autoregressive tests of the mediational paths indicated that both children's callousness and negative internal representations of family relationships mediated longitudinal associations between family instability and children's school adjustment problems over a 2-year period (i.e., the transition from preschool to first grade). Findings are discussed in relation to the attenuation hypothesis (E. J. Susman, 2006) and emotional security theory (EST; P. T. Davies, M. A. Winter, & D. Cicchetti, 2006).
Collapse
|
45
|
Harold GT, Sellers R. Annual Research Review: Interparental conflict and youth psychopathology: an evidence review and practice focused update. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2018; 59:374-402. [PMID: 29574737 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The quality of the interparental relationship is recognized as an important influence on child and adolescent psychopathology. Historically, clinically oriented research on this topic has focused on the impacts of parental divorce and domestic violence as primary interparental relationship influences on child outcomes, to the relative neglect of dimensional or qualitative features of the couple/interparental relationship for youth (child and adolescent) psychopathology. Recent research has highlighted that children are affected by attributes of interparental conflict, specifically how parents express and manage conflicts in their relationship, across a continuum of expressed severity and negativity - ranging from silence to violence. Furthermore, new evidence highlights that children's emotional, behavioral, social, academic outcomes, and future interpersonal relationships are adversely affected by conflict between parents/carers whether adults are living together or not (i.e. married or separated), or where children are or are not genetically related to their rearing parents (e.g. adoption). We review evidence and present an integrated theoretical model, highlighting how children are affected by interparental conflict and what this evidence base means for effective intervention and prevention program development, as well as the development of possible cost-benefit models. Additionally, we review policy implications of this research and highlight some very recent examples of UK-based policy focusing on addressing the interparental relationship and its impact on youth psychopathology.
Collapse
|
46
|
Baptista J, Sousa D, Soares I, Martins C. Fathers’ sensitive guidance moderates the association between coparenting and behavioral regulation in preschoolers. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025418761816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the links between paternal sensitive guidance, coparenting, and child behavioral regulation. It also aimed to assess whether paternal sensitive behaviors moderate the putative relationship between cooperative coparenting and child regulatory abilities. The sample comprised 70 preschoolers and their fathers. Behavioral regulation was assessed using the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task. For the assessment of paternal sensitive guidance, dyads were videotaped during a picture-book reading task. Fathers reported coparenting cooperation. Results revealed that coparenting predicted behavioral regulation, even after accounting for verbal ability and parental education. No significant links emerged between fathers’ sensitive guidance and regulatory skills. However, the interaction of coparenting and paternal sensitive behaviors predicted behavioral regulation: a lower score on cooperative coparenting was linked to more regulatory difficulties, when coupled with lower levels of paternal sensitive guidance. Intervention programs, designed to promote child self-regulation, should be focused on strategies aimed to improve both the cooperation between parents and the quality of individual parenting. Efforts should be made to include fathers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana Baptista
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Diana Sousa
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Isabel Soares
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Carla Martins
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Schermerhorn AC. Children's appraisals of interparental conflict predict event-related potential components. Dev Neuropsychol 2018; 43:235-255. [PMID: 29384398 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1428327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Interparental conflict and neural correlates of children's emotion processing were examined. Event-related potential (ERP) data were collected from 87 children (9-11 years old) with stimuli depicting interpersonal anger, happiness, and neutrality. Three ERP components were modulated by child-reported measures of conflict, reflecting a progression from early sensory attention to cognitive control to stimulus categorization. Negative conflict predicted larger N1 and N2 amplitudes on happy than on angry trials. Greater self-blame for conflict predicted larger N2 amplitudes across emotions and larger P3 amplitudes on angry than on neutral or happy trials. Results suggest conflict-related experiences shape processing of interpersonal emotion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice C Schermerhorn
- a Department of Psychological Science , University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Davies PT, Martin MJ, Cummings EM. Interparental conflict and children's social problems: Insecurity and friendship affiliation as cascading mediators. Dev Psychol 2018; 54:83-97. [PMID: 29058934 PMCID: PMC5750067 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Although social difficulties have been identified as sequelae of children's experiences with interparental conflict and insecurity, little is known about the specific mechanisms underlying their vulnerability to social problems. Guided by emotional security theory, this study tested the hypothesis that children's emotional insecurity mediates associations between interparental conflict and their social difficulties by undermining their affiliative goals in best friendships. Participants included 235 families with the first of 5 measurement occasions over a 10-year period occurring when children were in kindergarten (mean age = 6 years). Findings from the lagged latent difference score analyses indicated that intensification of multi-method assessment of interparental conflict during the early school years predicted subsequent increases in children's emotional insecurity 5 years later in adolescence. In the latter part of the cascade, rises in emotional insecurity predicted decreases in adolescent friendship affiliation, which, in turn, were specifically associated with declines in social competence. The specificity of this cascade of changing processes in predicting social problems was supported by the robustness of the findings after the inclusion of static measures of each construct as predictors, parent-child relationship insecurity as a covariate, and increases in children's internalizing symptoms as an alternative outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Davies
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester
| | - Meredith J Martin
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester
| | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Martin MJ, Davies PT, Cummings EM. Distinguishing Attachment and Affiliation in Early Adolescents' Narrative Descriptions of Their Best Friendship. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2017; 27:644-660. [PMID: 28776837 PMCID: PMC5546148 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This study was designed to test for specificity in the relationship between individual friendship provisions and adjustment across early adolescence. Using a narrative procedure, attachment (i.e., accessing care) and affiliation (i.e., forming cooperative partnerships) were found to be distinct functional themes organizing 293 adolescents' (Mage = 13) internal representations of their best friendship across three annual measurement occasions. Longitudinal, cross-lag analyses revealed a unique transactional relationship between friendship affiliation and greater social competence over time, controlling for friendship stability, maternal relationship quality, socioeconomic status, and gender. By contrast, friendship attachment predicted fewer subsequent internalizing symptoms from ages 14 to 15. Together, findings point to the importance of understanding individual differences in the content of adolescents' internal representations of friendship.
Collapse
|
50
|
A process model of the implications of spillover from coparenting conflicts into the parent-child attachment relationship in adolescence. Dev Psychopathol 2017; 29:417-431. [PMID: 28401834 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579417000086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Drawing on a two-wave, multimethod, multi-informant design, this study provides the first test of a process model of spillover specifying why and how disruptions in the coparenting relationship influence the parent-adolescent attachment relationship. One hundred ninety-four families with an adolescent aged 12-14 (M age = 12.4) were followed for 1 year. Mothers and adolescents participated in two experimental tasks designed to elicit behavioral expressions of parent and adolescent functioning within the attachment relationship. Using a novel observational approach, maternal safe haven, secure base, and harshness (i.e., hostility and control) were compared as potential unique mediators of the association between conflict in the coparenting relationship and adolescent problems. Path models indicated that, although coparenting conflicts were broadly associated with maternal parenting difficulties, only secure base explained the link to adolescent adjustment. Adding further specificity to the process model, maternal secure base support was uniquely associated with adolescent adjustment through deficits in adolescents' secure exploration. Results support the hypothesis that coparenting disagreements undermine adolescent adjustment in multiple domains specifically by disrupting mothers' ability to provide a caregiving environment that supports adolescent exploration during a developmental period in which developing autonomy is a crucial stage-salient task.
Collapse
|