A conceptual model for the development of externalizing behavior problems among kindergarten children of alcoholic families: role of parenting and children's self-regulation

Adaptation of a couples intervention to promote coparenting and reduce hazardous drinking during transition to parenthood

INTRODUCTION

Hazardous drinking by fathers poses a significant risk for negative family interactions and child outcomes. The transition to parenthood may be a time when expectant parents are potentially motivated for health behavior change, suggesting that implementing preventive interventions during this period may be particularly effective. This article provides an overview of the rationale for an innovative prevention strategy incorporating alcohol-use intervention with a family-focused program.

METHOD

We describe the process of integration and adaptation of two evidence-based interventions beginning in pregnancy: (a) Family Foundations, a universal transition-to-parenthood intervention for couples to enhance coparenting and couple dyadic functioning, and (b) brief intervention to address alcohol use delivered using a couples-focused motivational interviewing style.

RESULTS

Lessons learned from pilot testing (conducted October 2020-March 2021) included the importance of softened framing of the discussions and language used around alcohol use given that parents were not specifically seeking treatment for alcohol use and the program was described as a parenting program that included discussion of health behaviors, including drinking. In addition, we found that evoking discussion and communication within dyads and supporting autonomy in decision making regarding alcohol use also facilitated engagement.

CONCLUSION

Pilot testing demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of an adapted, integrated intervention program designed to strengthen coparenting skills and dyadic functioning and promote lower risk levels of alcohol use among couples during the transition to parenthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal Relations Among Parental Substance Use Disorder and Adolescent Drinking Behavior: The Role of Temperament, Negative Urgency, and Maternal Parenting

Research suggests that parental substance use disorder is associated with adolescent drinking indirectly through negative urgency, a form of impulsivity that is particularly associated with high-risk drinking. Moreover, childhood mechanisms of risk may play a role in this developmental chain such that childhood temperament and parenting may be mechanisms through which parental substance use disorder is associated with adolescent negative urgency and drinking behavior. Therefore, the current study tested whether parental substance use disorder was indirectly associated with adolescent drinking frequency through childhood temperament (i.e., "dysregulated irritability") and adolescent negative urgency, and whether relations differed by levels of maternal support and consistency of discipline. Data come from a multigenerational, longitudinal study of familial substance use disorder (N = 276, Mage in childhood = 6.28 (SD = 1.16), Mage in adolescence = 15.86 (SD = 1.56), 45.3% female). Findings indicated that parental substance use disorder indirectly predicted adolescent drinking through both childhood dysregulated irritability and adolescent negative urgency (mediated pathways). This indirect relation was stronger at higher vs. lower levels of maternal support but did not vary by maternal consistency of discipline. Parental substance use disorder also indirectly predicted adolescent drinking separately through childhood dysregulated irritability and negative urgency. Findings thus suggest that childhood dysregulated irritability may be an early marker of risk toward high-risk personality traits and behavior in adolescence that are associated with having a parental history of substance use disorder. Findings also suggest that increased maternal support may only be helpful in buffering risk for those with low levels of dysregulated irritability. Prevention efforts focused on childhood emotion regulation and emotion-based action may be useful in preventing adolescent risk behavior.

Pre-pandemic family resources and child self-regulation in children's internalizing problems during COVID-19: a multi-level social-ecological framework for emotional resilience

Introduction

Children's psychological adjustment to adverse events can be determined by multiple risk and resilience factors. This study explored multi-level protective factors against children's internalizing problems and investigated the mechanism regarding how diverse environmental and child-level resources influence children's mental health in the context of COVID-19.

Methods

Our participants included a nationally representative sample of 2,619 young children (48.3% girls) and their primary caregivers (95.1% mothers) in Singapore. They were a subset of the participants in the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG LEADS). Data were collected over two waves-before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (Wave 1) when these children aged 3 to 6, and during the second year of the pandemic (Wave 2). Primary caregivers completed measures of verbal cognitive ability, self-control, economic stress, and positive and negative parental control in Wave 1. Children's self-regulation was assessed by the Delay of Gratification task in Wave 1, and their internalizing problems were rated by their primary caregivers in both waves. Other pre-pandemic family and community characteristics were collected as covariates. Structural equation modeling was performed.

Results

Pre-pandemic parental resources (i.e., verbal cognitive ability, self-control, and low economic stress) predicted children's fewer internalizing problems during the pandemic and less aggravation of internalizing problems from before to during the pandemic, through more positive parental control (i.e., limit setting) and less negative parental control (i.e., harsh discipline). Moreover, children's self-regulation during early childhood was predicted by their primary caregivers' verbal cognitive ability and self-control, as well as positive parental control. Early childhood self-regulation further alleviated the aggravation of internalizing problems over time. Among the covariates, parental education, family income, parental psychological well-being, living with both parents, having a live-in domestic helper, and neighborhood quality also longitudinally predicted fewer child internalizing problems.

Discussion

Our findings underscore the importance of nurturing children's emotional resilience under adverse and uncertain circumstances by boosting protective factors in their social-ecological system, including community-, family-, parent-, and child-level resources.

Alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic: gender, parenthood, intimate partner violence, and stress

Some preliminary work during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that adult alcohol use increased, particularly for parents. This cross-sectional study examined the quantity and frequency of adults' alcohol use during the early stages of the pandemic. Additionally, the influences of gender, parenthood, COVID-19-related stressors and intimate partner violence (IPV) on alcohol consumption were examined. The sample consisted of 298 adults (98 parents) from across the United States who completed self-report surveys through Qualtrics at the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020. In the present study, all men reported higher levels of drinking compared to all women. Although stress levels did not impact alcohol consumption, findings indicate that increased IPV experiences were associated with higher levels of heavy drinking during the pandemic. Results also suggested that having children in the home particularly impacted drinking levels during the pandemic, above and beyond the influence of gender, IPV, and stress levels. These findings suggest that parenthood may have had a cascading influence on drinking experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.

The power of family? Family social capital and the risk of externalising behaviours among youth with multiple childhood adversities

Externalising behaviour problems (EBP), or aggressive and delinquent behaviours, among youth pose a significant problem for their peers, parents, teachers and society. Many types of childhood adversities increase the risk of EBP, including maltreatment, physical punishment, domestic violence, family poverty and living in violent neighbourhoods. This study asks, to what extent do children who face multiple adversities during childhood suffer an increased risk of EBP and is family social capital (FSC) associated with a lower risk? Using seven waves of panel data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect, I examine the accumulation of adversities associated with greater risk of EBP among youth and investigate whether FSC-family network, support and cohesion-in early childhood is associated with a reduction in EBP risk. Experiencing early and multiple adversities resulted in the worst EBP trajectories throughout childhood. Although, among youth with the highest adversities, if early family support was also high, their EBP trajectories are more favourable than their disadvantaged peers with less support. FSC may protect against EBP when multiple childhood adversities are experienced. The need for early EBP interventions and bolstering FSC are discussed.

The effect of parenting styles on adolescent bullying behaviours in China: The mechanism of interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence

Bullying is a problematic public behaviour of great concern worldwide, which occurs commonly in China. Parenting and emotional intelligence have previously been verified as crucial aspects in determining the bullying behaviours of adolescents. However, evidence of the interactive effect of these vital factors needs to be more extensive. This study attempts to analyze the relationships and mechanisms of parenting on bullying through emotional intelligence, which consists of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. Based on Chinese education panel survey data of 8730 adolescents, this paper used OLS regression and SEM methods to estimate the impact and mechanisms of parenting styles on bullying behaviours among adolescents. High-demand and responsive parenting styles can significantly reduce adolescents' bullying behaviours. Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence are important mediating variables, and parenting with high demandingness and high responsiveness can significantly improve the interpersonal intelligence of adolescents, thereby reducing children's bullying behaviour. Although low levels of intrapersonal intelligence would increase bullying behaviours in adolescents, high demandingness and high responsiveness of parenting can significantly improve adolescents' intrapersonal intelligence. Parents can reduce adolescents' bullying behaviours by increasing emotional responses and normative requirements. This result provides a new perspective on the solution to the problem of youth bullying.

The Apple of Dad's Eye: Paternal Affective Attitudes Predicting Early Childhood Behavior Problems

OBJECTIVE

The Family Affective Attitude Rating Scale (FAARS) uses an audio-recorded speech sample to measure parents' affective attitudes toward their children. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of this scale for use with fathers, concurrent predictors of paternal affective attitudes (parental depressive symptoms, inter-parental relationship quality, observed paternal parenting), and associations between fathers' positive and negative affective attitudes toward their two-year-old children and children's behavior problems one year later.

METHODS

Participants were a sample (N = 226) of families from the Early Steps Multisite Study, a longitudinal study of low-income parents and children. Participants were racially and ethnically diverse (65% white; 23% Black or biracial; 12% Latinx).

RESULTS

Initial validation results support the reliability and validity of FAARS coding in fathers of preschoolers, a previously untested group. Both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and interparental relationship quality were significantly associated with fathers' affective attitudes toward their children. Further, fathers' positive affective attitudes predicted lower mother-reported child behavior problems one year later, controlling for a host of demographic covariates, fathers' observed parenting, mothers' affective attitudes, and child baseline behavior problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that fathers' positive attitudes toward their young children are a unique and robust predictor of lower levels of early behavior problems.

Differentiating Individuals with and without Alcohol Use Disorder Using Resting-State fMRI Functional Connectivity of Reward Network, Neuropsychological Performance, and Impulsivity Measures

Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) may manifest an array of neural and behavioral abnormalities, including altered brain networks, impaired neurocognitive functioning, and heightened impulsivity. Using multidomain measures, the current study aimed to identify specific features that can differentiate individuals with AUD from healthy controls (CTL), utilizing a random forests (RF) classification model. Features included fMRI-based resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) across the reward network, neuropsychological task performance, and behavioral impulsivity scores, collected from thirty abstinent adult males with prior history of AUD and thirty CTL individuals without a history of AUD. It was found that the RF model achieved a classification accuracy of 86.67% (AUC = 93%) and identified key features of FC and impulsivity that significantly contributed to classifying AUD from CTL individuals. Impulsivity scores were the topmost predictors, followed by twelve rsFC features involving seventeen key reward regions in the brain, such as the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and other cortical and subcortical structures. Individuals with AUD manifested significant differences in impulsivity and alterations in functional connectivity relative to controls. Specifically, AUD showed heightened impulsivity and hypoconnectivity in nine connections across 13 regions and hyperconnectivity in three connections involving six regions. Relative to controls, visuo-spatial short-term working memory was also found to be impaired in AUD. In conclusion, specific multidomain features of brain connectivity, impulsivity, and neuropsychological performance can be used in a machine learning framework to effectively classify AUD individuals from healthy controls.

Fathers' Sensitivity in Infancy and Externalizing Problems in Middle Childhood: The Role of Coparenting

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.

Maternal Psychological Problems During Pregnancy and Child Externalizing Problems: Moderated Mediation Model with Child Self-regulated Compliance and Polygenic Risk Scores for Aggression

A potential pathway underlying the association between prenatal exposure to maternal psychological problems and childhood externalizing problems is child self-regulation. This prospective study (N = 687) examined whether self-regulated compliance mediates the relation between maternal affective problems and hostility during pregnancy and childhood externalizing problems, and explored moderation by child polygenic risk scores for aggression and sex. Self-regulated compliance at age 3 was observed in mother-child interactions, and externalizing problems at age 6 were reported by mothers and teachers. Polygenic risk scores were calculated based on a genome-wide association study of aggressive behavior. Self-regulated compliance mediated the associations between maternal psychological problems and externalizing problems. Aggression PRS was associated with higher externalizing problems reported by mothers. No evidence was found of moderation by aggression PRS or sex. These findings support the hypothesis that maternal psychological problems during pregnancy might influence externalizing problems through early self-regulation, regardless of child genetic susceptibility or sex.

Teen Dating Violence in a High-Risk Sample: The Protective Role of Maternal Acceptance

Exposure to marital conflict has been identified as a risk factor for teen dating violence (TDV). Given the high rates of marital conflict observed in families affected by paternal alcoholism, children of alcoholic fathers may be at increased risk for TDV. Positive parenting behaviors are protective against TDV in general, but whether they can attenuate the effects of exposure to marital conflict is uncertain. According to social learning theory, adolescents exposed to both positive and conflictual parenting may perceive aggression to be part of a normal and loving relationship and hence be at risk for TDV. In contrast, attachment theory would posit that positive parenting would better enable youth to regulate negative emotions and would be protective against TDV. The current study used prospective data to examine whether maternal acceptance buffered the relationship between exposure to marital conflict in early adolescence and TDV in late adolescence among a sample of adolescents at risk for TDV due to parental alcoholism. Adolescents (N = 227, 50% female, 89% European American), half of whom had an alcoholic parent, completed surveys in early (eighth grade) and late adolescence (11th and 12th grades). They reported on exposure to marital conflict, perceptions of maternal acceptance, and involvement in TDV. Regression analyses revealed that exposure to marital conflict in early adolescence was predictive of TDV in late adolescence. However, an examination of the interaction between exposure to marital conflict and maternal acceptance indicated that at high levels of marital conflict and maternal acceptance, exposure to marital conflict no longer predicted TDV. Findings suggest that social modeling alone is not sufficient for understanding the intergenerational transmission of violence. A multipronged approach to violence prevention among high-risk families targeting both parental and parent-child relationships is recommended.

A meta-analytic approach to the association between inhibitory control and parent-reported behavioral adjustment in typically-developing children: Differentiating externalizing and internalizing behavior problems

Impairments in inhibitory control (IC) are traditionally seen as a vital aspect in the emergence and course of maladaptive behavior across early childhood. However, it is currently unclear whether this view applies to both the externalizing and internalizing domain of parent-reported behavioral adjustment. Furthermore, past (meta-analytic) developmental research and theory characterizing this association have largely neglected the vast heterogeneity of IC measures and conceptualizations. The present meta-analyses examined the association of IC with parent-reported externalizing (N = 3160, 21 studies) and internalizing (N = 1758, 12 studies) behavior problems, assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), in non-clinical populations of children aged 2-8 years. They further investigated the moderating effects of a priori IC categorization, according to a recently proposed two-factor model of IC ("Strength/Endurance" account, Simpson & Carroll, 2019). In line with previous research in the clinical domain, the current results corroborate the notion of a robust, but small association between IC and externalizing behavior problems (r = -0.11) in early childhood. However, although frequently proposed in the literature, no significant linear association could be identified with internalizing behavior problems. Furthermore, in both meta-analyses, no significant moderating effects of IC categorization could be revealed. These findings enhance our knowledge about the cognitive underpinnings of early-emerging maladaptive behavior, indicating that different subtypes of IC are statistically related with externalizing, but not internalizing behavior problems. Overall, the small association of IC ability with behavior problems in non-clinical populations provokes broader questions about the role of IC in behavioral adjustment.

Risk and Protective Pathways to Peer Victimization from Infancy to Adolescence: Role of Fathers

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.

Attachment and Affect between Mothers with Depression and their Children: Longitudinal Outcomes of Child Parent Psychotherapy

The present investigation examined the longitudinal effects of Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) for toddlers and their mothers with depression on: a) maternal affective expression, b) child affective expression, and c) mother-child cohesion. Mothers with depression (Mage = 31.7 years; 92.8% White, 3.5% Black, 2.1% Hispanic, 2.3% other) and their toddlers were randomized to receive CPP (DI; n = 66) or to a control group (DC; n = 64). Mothers without depression and their toddlers (NC; n = 68) were recruited as an additional comparison group. Dyads were assessed at baseline (T1; 20 months old), post-intervention (T2; 36 months old), and follow-up (T3; 9 years old). Data from a mother-child conflict task was coded as a measure of observed outcome variables. Change in post-intervention attachment security assessed via the Strange Situation was evaluated as a mediator between intervention condition and maternal and child affective expression and dyadic cohesion at T3. Change to secure attachment post-intervention significantly mediated the association between intervention condition and T3 maternal warmth and child anger/problem behavior. Toddlers of mothers with depression who received CPP showed higher rates of change to secure attachment compared to those in both the DC and NC groups. Dyads who changed to secure attachment at T2 displayed higher levels of maternal warmth at T3 and lower levels of child anger and problem behavior at T3. Implications for the use of CPP as a preventive intervention and the importance of attachment as a mediator of long-term outcomes are discussed.

Early Childhood Risk and Protective Factors Predicting Resilience against Adolescent Substance Use

We examined associations between early childhood (first 3 years of life) risk and protective factors and resilience against adolescent substance use in a prospective sample of alcoholic and non-alcoholic families. We defined resilience as low or no substance use in the context of adversity (having a father with alcohol problems). The sample included 227 families recruited from birth records when children were 12 months old and followed longitudinally to 15-17 years of child ages (n = 182). Adolescents were grouped into 4 categories: Non-challenged (non-alcoholic parent, no adolescent substance use, n = 50), Troubled (non-alcoholic parent, adolescent substance use, n = 30), Resilient (alcoholic parent, no adolescent substance use, n = 36), and Vulnerable (alcoholic parent and adolescent substance use, n = 66). Multivariate analyses were used to examine group differences (resilient vs. vulnerable; non-challenged vs. troubled) in child and parent characteristics and family relationships domains. Children in the troubled group compared to non-challenged had lower effortful control and emotion-regulation, and those in the resilient group were more unadaptable or reactive to novelty compared to the vulnerable group. Parents of resilient compared to vulnerable children reported significantly lower alcohol symptoms and more partner aggression. Finally, fathers of resilient compared to vulnerable children were less aggravated with them in early childhood. Results highlight the importance of continuous measures of alcohol problems, early childhood functioning, and family characteristics for associations with adolescent risk and resilience.Passive gene-environment correlations may account for associations between parent alcohol problem severity and adolescent substance use.

Paternal Sensitivity and Children's Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review

In a series of meta-analyses, paternal sensitivity was associated with children's (age range: 7 months-9 years) overall cognitive functioning (N = 3,193; k = 23; r = .19), including language skills (k = 9; r = .21), cognitive ability (k = 9; r = .18), and executive function (k = 8; r = .19). Paternal sensitivity was not associated with children's overall socioemotional functioning (N = 2,924; k = 24; r = -.03) or internalizing problems, but it was associated with children's emotion regulation (k = 7; r = .22) and externalizing problems (k = 19; r = -.08). In the broad cognitive functioning, executive function, broad socioemotional functioning, and externalizing problems meta-analyses, child age was a significant moderator.

Are Parental Alcohol Use Disorder Histories Associated With Offspring Behavior Problems at Age 2?

OBJECTIVE

Studies of clinical and high-risk samples have demonstrated associations between parental alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and offspring's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems during adolescence and early adulthood. It remains unclear, however, whether associations between parental AUD histories and offspring behavior problems are evident among very young offspring who were not directly exposed to a parent who experienced an active AUD episode during the child's lifetime. The present study sought to evaluate internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among young children as a function of paternal and maternal AUD histories and associated clinical features.

METHOD

The community sample consisted of 160 families with a 2-year-old child and parents who did not experience an AUD episode since the child was born. Parental AUD histories and associated clinical features were evaluated with semistructured interviews, and parental reports of child internalizing and externalizing behaviors were assessed with an age-appropriate behavior checklist.

RESULTS

In contrast to previous findings from clinical and high-risk samples, when paternal and maternal AUD histories and associated clinical features were evaluated as predictors of child behavior problems, no statistically significant associations were detected (βs ranged from .01 to .18). Moderating effects of sex of the offspring were also not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental AUD histories do not appear to confer risk for offspring internalizing or externalizing behavior problems at age 2. The emergence of such behavior problems may be limited to specific developmental periods during childhood or reflect the impact of direct exposure to parents with alcohol-related problems.

Positive parenting, effortful control, and developmental outcomes across early childhood

The current study evaluated bidirectional associations between mother and father positive parenting and child effortful control. Data were drawn from 220 families when children were 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old. Parenting and effortful control were assessed when the child was 3, 4, and 5 years old. These variables were used to statistically predict child externalizing and school performance assessed when the child was 6 years old. The study used random intercept cross-lagged panel models to evaluate within-person and between-person associations between parenting and effortful control. Results suggest that prior positive parenting was associated with later effortful control, whereas effortful control was not associated with subsequent parenting from ages 3 to 5. Stable between-child differences in effortful control from ages 3 to 5 were associated with school performance at age 6. These stable between-child differences in effortful control were correlated with externalizing at age 3. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent socialization of emotion in a high-risk sample

The Socialization of Emotion (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998; Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Cumberland, 1998) model creates a theoretical framework for understanding parents' direct and indirect influences on children's emotional development, including the influence of parent characteristics on subsequent emotion specific parenting. Large numbers of children live in families with fathers who have alcohol problems, setting the stage for cascading risk across development. For instance, fathers' alcohol problems are a marker of risk for higher family conflict, increased parental depression and antisociality, and less sensitive parenting, leading to dysregulated child emotion and behavior. We examined a conceptual model for emotion socialization in a community sample of alcoholic and nonalcoholic father families (N = 227) recruited in infancy (i.e., 12 months) with follow-ups to adolescence (i.e., 15-19 years), and examined if hypothesized paths differed by child sex or group status (alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic families). Results indicated significant indirect effects between parent psychopathology and sensitivity in early childhood to both adaptive (e.g., emotion regulation) and maladaptive (e.g., aggression and peer delinquency) outcomes in middle childhood to adolescence via child negative emotionality and supportive emotion socialization. There were significant differences by child sex and alcohol group status. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Role of maternal affect and regulatory strategies in toddlers' emotion and behavior regulation

Using a moment-to-moment multilevel approach, we examined the relative effectiveness of (a) toddlers' lagged (i.e., previous-interval) regulatory strategies and toddlers' lagged expression of negative emotion, as moderated by maternal affect, and (b) maternal lagged regulatory strategies, on toddlers' current-interval (1) expression of negative emotion, and, (2) ability to delay gratification during a wait task. Two-level random coefficient models, with twelve repeated-measurement occasions (10 s-intervals) of observed behaviors (N = 1571) nested within 134 mother-toddler dyads from low-income families (67 girls; M_age = 25.77 months, SD_age = 1.60) were examined. Cross-level interactions revealed that maternal positive affect buffered severity of toddlers' expression of negative emotion between lagged and current-intervals, while maternal negative affect disrupted toddlers' effective utilization of lagged regulatory strategies on current-interval expression of negative emotion. However, regardless of maternal affect, toddlers who displayed higher expression of negative emotion and utilized more regulatory strategies in lagged-intervals displayed greater delay of gratification in current-intervals. Also, as mothers displayed greater minimization of toddlers' emotional distress, higher physical restraint, and used fewer distractions, toddlers displayed more intense expression of negative emotion in subsequent intervals. Similarly, as mothers used higher physical restraint and fewer distractions, toddlers were less able to wait in subsequent intervals. Results illustrate the disruptive roles of maternal negative affect and unsupportive regulatory strategies on toddlers' emotion and behavior regulation. Together, these findings point to targeting maternal positive affect in combination with supportive regulatory strategies to promote toddlers' transition from external- to internal-regulation.

Developmental cascades to children's conduct problems: The role of prenatal substance use, socioeconomic adversity, maternal depression and sensitivity, and children's conscience

This study investigated the longitudinal associations among prenatal substance use, socioeconomic adversity, parenting (maternal warmth, sensitivity, and harshness), children's self-regulation (internalization of rules and conscience), and conduct problems from infancy to middle childhood (Grade 2). Three competing conceptual models including cascade (indirect or mediated), additive (cumulative), and transactional (bidirectional) effects were tested and compared. The sample consisted of 216 low-income families (primary caretaker and children; 51% girls; 74% African American). Using a repeated-measures, multimethod, multi-informant design, a series of full panel models were specified. Findings primarily supported a developmental cascade model, and there was some support for additive effects. More specifically, maternal prenatal substance use and socioeconomic adversity in infancy were prospectively associated with lower levels of maternal sensitivity. Subsequently, lower maternal sensitivity was associated with decreases in children's conscience in early childhood, and in turn, lower conscience predicted increases in teacher-reported conduct problems in middle childhood. There was also a second pathway from sustained maternal depression (in infancy and toddlerhood) to early childhood conduct problems. These findings demonstrated how processes of risk and resilience collectively contributed to children's early onset conduct problems.

An examination of reciprocal associations between substance use and effortful control across adolescence using a bifactor model of externalizing symptoms

Early adolescence is thought to represent a window of vulnerability when exposure to substances is particularly harmful, partly because the neurotoxic effects of adolescent substance use may derail self-regulation development. However, previous studies fail to account for externalizing symptoms, such as aggression and delinquency, that accompany adolescent substance use and may also derail the development of self-regulation. The current study aims to clarify whether the neurotoxic effects of adolescent substance use are associated with deficits in effortful control (EC) after accounting for externalizing symptoms and to examine reciprocal relationships between EC, externalizing symptoms, and substance use. A longitudinal sample of adolescents (N = 387) was used to estimate bifactor models of externalizing symptoms across five assessments (Mage = 11.6 to 19.9). The broad general externalizing factors were prospectively associated with declines in EC across adolescence and emerging adulthood. However, the narrow substance use specific factors were not prospectively associated with EC. Findings suggest that the broader externalizing context, but not the specific neurotoxic effects of substance use, may hamper self-regulation development. It is critical to account for the hierarchical structure of psychopathology, namely externalizing symptoms, when considering development of EC.

The Enduring Effects of Parental Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use on Child Well-being: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis

The effects of psychoactive substance abuse are not limited to the user, but extend to the entire family system, with children of substance abusers being particularly at risk. This meta-analysis attempted to quantify the longitudinal relationship between parental alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and child well-being, investigating variation across a range of substance and well-being indices and other potential moderators. We performed a literature search of peer-reviewed, English language, longitudinal observational studies that reported outcomes for children aged 0 to 18 years. In total, 56 studies, yielding 220 dependent effect sizes, met inclusion criteria. A multilevel random-effects model revealed a statistically significant, small detriment to child well-being for parental substance abuse over time (r = .15). Moderator analyses demonstrated that the effect was more pronounced for parental drug use (r = .25), compared with alcohol use (r = .13), tobacco use (r = .13), and alcohol use disorder (r = .14). Results highlight a need for future studies that better capture the effect of parental psychoactive substance abuse on the full breadth of childhood well-being outcomes and to integrate substance abuse into models that specify the precise conditions under which parental behavior determines child well-being.Registration: PROSPERO CRD42017076088.

A case-comparison study of executive functions in alcohol-dependent adults with maternal history of alcoholism

Introduction

As executive dysfunctions frequently accompany alcohol dependence, we suggest that reports of executive dysfunction in alcoholics are actually due, in some case to a maternal history of alcohol misuse (MHA+). A history of maternal alcohol dependence increases the risk for prenatal alcohol exposure to unborn children. These exposures likely contribute to executive dysfunction in adult alcoholics. To assess this problem, we propose a case-comparison study of alcohol-dependent subjects with and without a MHA.

Methods

Ten alcohol-dependent subjects, with a maternal history of alcoholism (MHA) and paternal history of alcoholism (PHA), were matched with 10 alcohol-dependent people with only a paternal history of alcoholism (PHA). Executive functions (cancellation, Stroop, and trail-making A and B tests) and the presence of a history of three mental disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, violent behavior while intoxicated, and suicidal behavior) were evaluated in both populations.

Results

Alcohol-dependent subjects with MHA showed a significant alteration in executive functions and significantly more disorders related to these functions than PHA subjects. The major measures of executive functioning deficit are duration on task accomplishment in all tests. Rates of ADHD and suicidality were found to be higher in MHA patients compared to the controls.

Conclusion

A history of MHA, because of the high risk of PAE (in spite of the potential confounding factors such as environment) must be scrupulously documented when evaluating mental and cognitive disorders in a general population of alcoholics to ensure a better identification of these disorders. It would be helpful to replicate the study with more subjects.

Effects of familial and non-familial warmth during childhood and adolescence on sexual-orientation disparities in alcohol use trajectories and disorder during emerging adulthood

BACKGROUND

We investigated sexual-orientation differences in typologies of self-reported familial and non-familial warmth in childhood (before age 11) and adolescence (ages 11-17); and tested whether warmth explained sexual minority emerging adults' (ages 18-25) heightened odds of having heavier alcohol use trajectories (AUTs) and heightened risk for past-year alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared to completely heterosexuals.

METHODS

Using self-reported data from the U.S.-based Growing Up Today Study cohort, latent class analyses identified typologies of familial and non-familial warmth during childhood and adolescence. Multivariable regression models tested our objectives.

RESULTS

Six warmth classes emerged, including: High-High (i.e., high familial and high non-familial warmth, respectively); High-Moderate; Moderate-Moderate; Moderate-Occasional; Occasional-Occasional; and Low-Low. Among women, sexual minorities had higher odds than completely heterosexuals of being in the Moderate-Moderate, Moderate-Occasional, and Occasional-Occasional versus the High-High warmth class. There were not significant associations between sexual orientation and warmth classes for men. Lower warmth classes were generally associated with greater past-year AUD, and mediated heightened disparities in AUD for sexual minority women versus completely heterosexual women (4.3% mediated), but not among men. Warmth classes were generally unassociated with AUTs, and did not mediate sexual-orientation differences in AUTs.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower warmth was associated with greater alcohol-related problems, but not alcohol use itself. Warmth explained a small proportion of AUD disparities for sexual minority women-but not for men.

Does early maternal responsiveness buffer prenatal tobacco exposure effects on young children's behavioral disinhibition?

Children with prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) exhibit early self-regulatory impairments, reflecting a life-course persistent propensity toward behavioral disinhibition. Previously, we demonstrated the protective role of parental responsiveness for reducing the risk of exposure-related disruptive behavior in adolescence. Here, we expanded this line of inquiry, examining whether responsiveness moderates the relation of PTE to a broader set of behavioral disinhibition features in early childhood and testing alternative diathesis-stress versus differential susceptibility explanatory models. PTE was assessed prospectively using interviews and bioassays in the Midwestern Infant Development Study (MIDS). Mother-child dyads (N = 276) were re-assessed at approximately 5 years of age in a preschool follow-up. We quantified maternal responsiveness and child behavioral disinhibition using a combination of directly observed activities in the lab and developmentally sensitive questionnaires. Results supported a diathesis-stress pattern. Children with PTE and less responsive mothers showed increased disruptive behavior and lower effortful control compared with children without PTE. In contrast, exposed children with more responsive mothers had self-regulatory profiles similar to their non-exposed peers. We did not observe sex differences. Findings provide greater specification of the protective role of maternal responsiveness for self-regulation in children with PTE and help clarify mechanisms that may underscore trajectories of exposure-related behavioral disinhibition.

An intergenerational investigation of the associations between parental marijuana use trajectories and child functioning

Diverse patterns of life-course marijuana use may have differential health impacts for the children of users. Data are drawn from an intergenerational study of 426 families that included a parent, their oldest biological child, and (where appropriate) another caregiver who were interviewed 10 times from 2002 to 2018; the current study used data from 380 families in waves 6-10. Analyses linked parent marijuana use trajectories estimated in a previous publication (Epstein et al., 2015) to child marijuana, alcohol, and nicotine use; promarijuana norms; internalizing; externalizing; attention problems; and grades using multilevel modeling among children ages 6 to 21. Four trajectories had been found in the previous study: nonuser, chronic, adolescent-limited, and late-onset. Results indicate that children of parents in the groups that initiated marijuana use in adolescence (chronic and adolescent-limited) were most likely to use substances. Children of parents in the late-onset group, where parents initiated use in young adulthood, were not at increased risk for substance use but were more likely to have attention problems and lower grades. Results held when parent current marijuana use was added to the models. Implications of this work highlight the importance of considering both current use and use history in intergenerational transmission of marijuana use, and the need to address parent use history in family based prevention. Prevention of adolescent marijuana use remains a priority. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting and toddler self-regulation in low-income families: What does sleep have to do with it?

Toddlerhood is a sensitive period in the development of self-regulation, a set of adaptive skills that are fundamental to mental health and partly shaped by parenting. Healthy sleep is known to be critical for self-regulation; yet, the degree to which child sleep alters interactive child-parent processes remains understudied. This study examines associations between observed parenting and toddler self-regulation, with toddler sleep as a moderator of this association. Toddlers in low-income families (N = 171) and their mothers were videotaped during free play and a self-regulation challenge task; videos were coded for mothers' behavior and affect (free play) and toddlers' self-regulation (challenge task). Mothers reported their child's nighttime sleep duration via questionnaire. Results revealed significant Sleep × Maternal Negative Affect and Sleep × Maternal Negative Control interactions. Children who did not experience negative parenting had good self-regulation regardless of their nighttime sleep duration. For children who did experience negative parenting, self-regulation was intact among those who obtained more nighttime sleep, but significantly poorer among children who were getting less nighttime sleep. Thus, among children who were reported to obtain less nighttime sleep, there were more robust associations between negative parenting and poorer self-regulation than among toddlers who were reported to obtain more sleep.

Testing Bidirectional Associations Between Childhood Aggression and BMI: Results from Three Cohorts

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the prospective, potentially bidirectional association of aggressive behavior with BMI and body composition across childhood in three population-based cohorts.

METHODS

Repeated measures of aggression and BMI were available from the Generation R Study between ages 6 and 10 years (N = 3,974), the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) between ages 7 and 10 years (N = 10,328), and the Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development (TCHAD) between ages 9 and 14 years (N = 1,462). In all samples, aggression was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist. Fat mass and fat-free mass were available in the Generation R Study. Associations were examined with cross-lagged modeling.

RESULTS

Aggressive behavior at baseline was associated with higher BMI at follow-up in the Generation R Study (β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.04), in NTR (β = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.06), and in TCHAD (β = 0.03, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.07). Aggressive behavior was prospectively associated with higher fat mass (β = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.05) but not fat-free mass. There was no evidence that BMI or body composition preceded aggressive behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

More aggressive behavior was prospectively associated with higher BMI and fat mass. This suggests that aggression contributes to the obesity problem, and future research should study whether these behavioral pathways to childhood obesity are modifiable.

Structural validity of the Parenting Daily Hassles Intensity Scale

Although the Parenting Daily Hassles Intensity Scale is a common measure, it has been relatively unclear whether users should employ the 15-item form that quantifies routine parenting hassles on two dimensions of intensity or the 20-item form that assumes a single dimension underlies the responses on the scale. To help address this gap, Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the structural validity of the 15- and 20-item forms in a sample of 174 mothers with at least one young child ( x ¯  = 6.040, SD = 0.492). Results of the Bayesian analysis did not provide empirical support for either form. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis indicated that six of the hassles that appear to address challenging child behaviour tended to cluster onto one latent factor whereas 11 hassles that appear to speak to routine parenting chores tended to cluster onto a second factor. A follow-up Bayesian analysis indicated that intensity scores can be approximated well under the 17-item form (ppp = 0.124). Accordingly, researchers and clinicians are encouraged to consider the 17-item form when addressing their measurement needs.

Conceptualization and Measurement of Parent Emotion Socialization among Mothers in Substance Abuse Treatment

The current study examined emotion socialization behaviors within a clinical sample of substance-dependent mothers. Interviews were conducted with N=74 mothers in substance abuse treatment (outpatient and residential with or without opiate agonist medication). Each mother had a biological child between the ages of 3-8 years. We examined the factor structure of a widely-used emotion socialization measure (Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale) and included a novel subscale to capture the level of consistency of maternal reactions to children's emotions as a unique and salient component of emotion socialization. We found that, overall, mothers reported engaging in "emotion-coaching" styles of socialization, involving more consistent and supportive than non-supportive reactions to children's negative emotions, consistent with general population studies. However, compared to community sample mothers, substance-dependent mothers reported significantly greater levels of both supportive and non-supportive reactions to children's negative emotions, perhaps reflecting over-involved emotion socialization behaviors. The context of maternal drug use negatively impacted how well mothers balanced these types of reactions, such that mothers engaged in significantly higher levels of non-supportive and inconsistent reactions during periods of problematic drug use compared to periods of sobriety. These findings underscore the need to consider contextual risk as a predictor of emotion socialization and suggest that emotion socialization behaviors vary both within and across such contexts. Implications of this work highlight the importance of examining consistency as a characteristic of emotion socialization in its own right, particularly within families impacted by parental drug use and related contexts of high risk.

Applying a Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective to Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Implications for Schools

A cognitive neuroscience perspective seeks to understand behavior, in this case disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), in terms of dysfunction in cognitive processes underpinned by neural processes. While this type of approach has clear implications for clinical mental health practice, it also has implications for school-based assessment and intervention with children and adolescents who have disruptive behavior and aggression. This review articulates a cognitive neuroscience account of DBD by discussing the neurocognitive dysfunction related to emotional empathy, threat sensitivity, reinforcement-based decision-making, and response inhibition. The potential implications for current and future classroom-based assessments and interventions for students with these deficits are discussed.

Emotional Intelligence Profiles in College Students and Their Fathers' and Mothers' Parenting Practices

The present study has two objectives: first, to analyze whether the dimensions that make up emotional intelligence (attention, clarity, and repair) give rise to different profiles of university students, and secondly, to determine whether these different profiles are differentially associated with the parenting practices that students report with regard to their fathers and mothers. Results obtained indicate the existence of different profiles of college students. The profile that corresponds to adequate emotional skills presents a lower score in attention, but higher scores in clarity, and especially in mood repair. The other two profiles are inadequate, in the first case because a higher score in emotional attention is accompanied by low scores in mood repair, and in the second case because low scores are presented in all three dimensions. Likewise, we verified the existence of significant differences in the educational practices of parents, the adequate profile is characterized by greater use of parenting dimensions considered to be positive, and at the same time, lower scores on dimensions considered to be negative. One of the dysfunctional profiles is associated with higher scores in positive practices, and is also associated with higher scores in practices considered to produce a negative effect. The second dysfunctional profile is associated with higher scores on the dimensions considered to be negative and lower scores on positive dimensions.

Life events, coping styles, and psychological well-being in children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol

INTRODUCTION

Children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol might experience more life events, in particular negative, than children living with parents who do not harmfully consume alcohol. They also primarily use less adaptive coping styles and often demonstrate lower resilience. No studies evaluated whether coping styles or psychological well-being might influence the risk of life events occurrence in children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol.

METHODS

Forty-five children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol and 45 children living with parents who do not harmfully consume alcohol, matched for sex and age, were assessed via the Appendix Life Events of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and the Psychological Well-Being scales.

RESULTS

Children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol had more life events in the 6-month period before the assessment, mostly negative and neutral, and lower levels of psychological well-being than children living with parents who do not harmfully consume alcohol. The risk of having experienced at least one negative or neutral life event was higher in children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol than in their peers and in those with lower psychological well-being. The risk of having had a positive life event was not related to parents' consumption of alcohol but to avoidant coping and low self-acceptance behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

Children living with parents who harmfully consume alcohol need interventions aimed at improving psychological well-being to protect them from life events, especially from negative ones.

Etiological Pathways to Rejection Sensitivity in a High-Risk Sample

Rejection sensitivity is associated with social-emotional maladjustment in both childhood and adulthood. However, less is known about the etiology of rejection sensitivity. The present study tests an etiological model for rejection sensitivity using a high-risk sample ( N = 227) with prospective data from infancy (i.e., 12 months) to adolescence (i.e., eighth grade). Evidence for social learning and attachment theories was demonstrated. In particular, family and parenting factors, such as family conflict and maternal harshness, were predictive of rejection sensitivity in adolescence. Implications for intervention and prevention efforts are discussed.

Combining online Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) with a parent-training programme for parents with partners suffering from alcohol use disorder: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Partners and children of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) present with impaired quality of life and mental health, yet seldom seek or participate in traditional supportive interventions. Engaging the parent/partner without AUD in treatment is a promising way of supporting behavioural change in both the child and the parent with AUD. Universal parent-training (PT) programmes are effective in increasing children's well-being and decreasing problem behaviours, but have yet to be tailored for children with a parent with AUD. Community Reinforcement Approach And Family Training (CRAFT) programmes are conceptually similar, and aim to promote behavioural change in individuals with AUD by having a concerned significant other change environmental contingencies. There has been no study on whether these two interventions can be combined and tailored for partners of individuals with AUD with common children, and delivered as accessible, online self-help. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: n=300 participants with a child showing mental health problems and partner (co-parent) with AUD, but who do not themselves present with AUD, will be recruited from the general public and randomised 1:1 to either a four-module, online combined PT and CRAFT programme or a psychoeducation-only comparison intervention. Primary outcome will be the child's mental health. Additional outcomes will cover the partner's drinking, the participants own mental health and drinking, the child's social adjustment, treatment seeking in all three parties and parental self-efficacy. Measures will be collected preintervention, mid-intervention and postintervention, and three times during a 2-year follow-up period. Data will be analysed using mixed-effects modelling.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study has been approved by the Stockholm Regional Ethical Review Board (2016/2179-31). The results will be presented at conferences and published as peer-reviewed publications.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN38702517; Pre-results.

Self-Regulation Assessment Based on Compliance and Noncompliance in Children

En este trabajo llevo a cabo una reflexión acerca de la información que los comportamientos de cumplimiento e incumplimiento nos brindan acerca del desarrollo de la autorregulación en los niños. Sostengo que las diferencias que estos comportamientos revelan en cuanto a la autorregulación dependen del nivel de autonomía de los niños, su motivación y la activación emocional que demuestran cuando desobedecen. Sugiero también algunas metodologías para valorar cada uno de estos factores. Específicamente, propongo diferenciar entre los distintos tipos de cumplimiento e incumplimiento, registrar de manera simultánea el comportamiento de los niños y el tipo de control ejercido por los padres y analizar el comportamiento con el que responden los niños a exigencias legítimas e ilegítimas. Estas distinciones son importantes para un abordaje más completo y preciso del estudio de la autorregulación en los niños

Oxytocin and parenting behavior among impoverished mothers with low vs. high early life stress

Recent work suggests that key aspects of sensitive parenting (e.g., warmth, emotional attunement) may be shaped in part by biology, specifically the neuropeptide oxytocin. However, some studies have found that oxytocin may not act in expected ways in higher-risk populations (e.g., those with postnatal depression or borderline personality disorder). This study examined the relation between oxytocin and parenting among mothers with varying levels of early life stress. Forty low-income mothers and their 34- to 48-month-old child participated in this study. Mother-child dyads were observed in an interaction task in their home, and videos of these interactions were later coded for parenting behaviors. Mothers' oxytocin production before and after the interaction task was assessed through saliva. Mothers' early stress was assessed via the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACES; Felitti et al. Am J Prev Med 14:245-258, 1998). For mothers with low ACEs, higher oxytocin secretion was associated with more positive parenting. For mothers with high ACEs, higher oxytocin secretion was associated with lower levels of positive parenting. Oxytocin may be operating differently for mothers who experienced harsh early social environments, supporting more defensive behaviors and harsh parenting than anxiolytic and prosocial behaviors.

Coparenting Conflict and Academic Readiness in Children of Teen Mothers: Effortful Control as a Mediator

Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3-year-old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N = 133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5 years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4 years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2 years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers.

"I Feel It In My Heart When My Parents Fight": Experiences of 7-9-Year-Old Children of Alcoholics

Children are vulnerable when exposed to parental alcohol abuse. Although much is known about children of alcoholics (COA), research examining the experiences of younger COA is scarce. To gain knowledge of the consequences for these children, it is important to ask the children themselves. This study explored the consequences for a child of having an alcoholic parent, from the point of view of 7-9-year-old COA. Eighteen children were interviewed, whose alcoholic parent was undergoing treatment, using a vignette. In the analysis, using qualitative content analysis, the findings show that the children of this young age had much experiences and took a great responsibility for their alcoholic parent, and the family. The most significant feeling of the children was a feeling of sadness. They tried to control the situation in different ways. They wished for a change in the future, but despite problems in the family they described things they did together with a loving parent. Implications include the importance of listening to and supporting all COA, also children as young as 7-9 years old. Further studies should address the support that can and should be offered to COA.

Parents' concordant and discordant alcohol use and subsequent child behavioral outcomes

Alcohol problems have variable outcomes for marital relationships depending on whether drinking patterns are concordant or discordant among the members of the dyad; however, it is unclear what impact these variations in drinking patterns have on children. The current study was designed to explore several gaps and limitations in the parent heavy drinking literature. In particular, the prospective associations over 3years between parent heavy drinking, parenting, and child externalizing behavior were investigated in an integrated model to examine the influence of concordant and discordant drinking within couples on subsequent outcomes for their children. The study consisted of 180 couples recruited by mailings with children primarily between the ages of 4 and 11years old (52% male children). Parent-report of marital conflict, parenting, alcohol use, and child externalizing behavior were measured in a longitudinal study. Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses were conducted. Higher levels of maladaptive parenting were associated with higher externalizing for children of concordant drinking couples as opposed to discordant drinking couples. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including investigating mediators and moderators of the current findings such as quality of the parent-child relationship.

Mental Health Symptoms and Parenting Among Father-Only and Dual Substance Use Disorder Couples

In the present study, we examined associations between fathers' and mothers' mental health symptoms as related to their own and their partner's parenting in couples in which fathers (n = 38 families) or both partners (n = 30 families) had substance use disorder (SUD). Each partner reported on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility; children reported on each parent's parenting behaviors, including acceptance, psychological control, and knowledge of children. Actor-partner interdependence models indicated that when substance-abusing fathers have more symptoms of anxiety and depression, non-substance-abusing mothers report greater knowledge of children, whereas non-substance-abusing mothers' mental health symptoms were related to less paternal knowledge of children. In dual SUD couples, mothers' depressive symptoms were associated with more paternal knowledge of children. These preliminary findings offer select support for family systems theory.

Sleep Characteristics and Behavioral Problems Among Children of Alcoholics and Controls

BACKGROUND

Past research has indicated that both sleep difficulties and a parental history of alcoholism increase the risk of behavioral problems. But it is not known whether sleep difficulties differentially increase the risk of problem behaviors among children of alcoholics (COAs) and controls. We compared multiple measures of sleep and the relationships between sleep and behavioral problems in these 2 groups of children.

METHODS

One hundred and fifteen children aged 8 to 12 (67% COAs; 56% girls; M_age  = 10.85, SD_age  = 1.51) participated in this study. Data presented here were taken from Time 1 of a larger prospective study designed to understand the relationship between sleep and alcohol use. All participants were naïve to alcohol and other illicit drugs. Participants were asked to wear an actigraph watch on their nondominant wrist for 1 week. Parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist.

RESULTS

Parents of COAs were more likely to rate their children as overtired compared with parents of non-COAs. Structural equation modeling analyses focusing on overall internalizing and externalizing problems did not reveal any group differences on the relationships between sleep measures and behavioral problems. Regression analyses focusing on specific behavioral problems showed that longer total sleep time, parental ratings of "sleep more" and "sleep less" than other children interacted with COA status to predict specific behavioral problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Sleep difficulties and duration appear to be a general risk factor for behavioral problems in both COAs and non-COAs, yet the relationships between specific sleep parameters and behavioral problems appear to be different between the 2 groups.

Etiology of Teen Dating Violence among Adolescent Children of Alcoholics

Family processes in early life have been implicated in adolescent involvement in teen dating violence, yet the developmental pathways through which this occurs are not well understood. In this study, etiological pathways from parental psychopathology and marital conflict in infancy to involvement in dating violence in late adolescence were examined in a sample of children at high-risk due to parental alcohol problems. Families (N = 227) recruited when the child was 12 months of age were assessed at 12-, 24-, 36-months, kindergarten, 6th, 8th, and 12th grades. Slightly more than half of the children were female (51%) and the majority were of European American descent (91%). Parental psychopathology in infancy was indirectly associated with teen dating violence in late adolescence via low maternal warmth and self-regulation in early childhood, externalizing behavior from kindergarten to early adolescence, and sibling problems in middle childhood. Marital conflict was also indirectly associated with teen dating violence via child externalizing behavior. Maternal warmth and sensitivity in early childhood emerged as an important protective factor and was associated with reduced marital conflict and increased child self-regulation in the preschool years as well as increased parental monitoring in middle childhood and early adolescence. Family processes occurring in the preschool years and in middle childhood appear to be critical periods for creating conditions that contribute to dating violence risk in late adolescence. These findings underscore the need for early intervention and prevention with at-risk families.