Interparental aggression and young children's representations of family relationships

Latent classes in preschoolers' internal working models of attachment and emotional security: Roles of family risk

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.

Intimate Partner Violence, Parenting, and Children's Representations of Caregivers

Children's representational models of self and relationship quality with caregivers in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) were investigated using family drawings created by children in their first-grade year. The present study examines the mediating role of mothers' and fathers' sensitive parenting behaviors in the relations between IPV and children's representations of relationship quality with mothers and fathers. The sample (N = 947) is drawn from a longitudinal study of rural poverty exploring the ways in which child, family, and contextual factors shape development over time. Results of analyses indicate significant associations between IPV, sensitive parenting, and children's representation of relationship quality with mothers and fathers. There was a significant indirect effect from IPV on children's representation of relationship quality with fathers through paternal parenting behaviors. The findings from this study suggest that exposure to violence may affect how children view their family relationships and that fathers' parenting behavior is a key mediating process. Implications of the findings and directions for future study are proposed.

Linking Foster Family Characteristics and Mental Health Symptoms of Youth in Care

Youth in foster care are disproportionately at risk for developing internalizing and externalizing problems (Lawrence et al., 2006); however, a history of maltreatment prior to foster care placement does not automatically result in poor mental health outcomes. Among non-foster care youth, the quality of family interactions has been related to adjustment outcomes, such that low family cohesion and high family conflict is associated with poor mental health symptoms (Caples & Barrera, 2006). While little is known about these constructs in foster care placements, they may help explain the variance in internalizing and externalizing problems for youth in foster care. The present study aimed to examine whether characteristics of the foster care environment (i.e., conflict, cohesion) across various placement types (i.e., traditional foster homes, group-care settings) could help explain the link between previous maltreatment exposure and mental health problems. The sample included 178 youth in foster care (M _age  = 15.18, SD = 1.76) and their foster caregivers living in the Midwest. Youth participants completed self-report measures about prior maltreatment history, current family environment characteristics, and youth internalizing symptoms. Foster caregivers completed measures on current family environment and youth externalizing symptoms. Results indicated that caregiver report, but not youth report, of family cohesion was negatively associated with youth report of internalizing problems. When examining the indirect effects, youth report of family conflict partially accounted for the link between youth self-report of maltreatment and internalizing symptoms (B = 0.106, 95% CI = 0.026-0.186). Caregiver report of family conflict fully accounted for the association between youth self-report of maltreatment and caregiver report of youths' externalizing symptoms (B = 0.108, 95% CI = 0.005-0.211). Findings highlight the importance of utilizing multiple informants when measuring foster family environment and suggest that family conflict is particularly salient for the mental health of youth in foster care.

Child Maltreatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Consequences of Parental Job Loss on Psychological and Physical Abuse Towards Children

BACKGROUND

Job loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic presents significant risk for child abuse. Protective factors, such as reframing coping, may mitigate the risk of job loss on child maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE

The current study investigated factors associated with child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, including parental job loss, and whether cognitive reframing moderated associations between job loss and child maltreatment.

METHOD

A community sample of 342 parents (62% mothers) of 4- to 10-year-olds (M = 7.38, SD = 2.01; 57.3% male) living in the United States completed online questionnaires regarding experiences with COVID-19, the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale, and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales.

RESULTS

Two logistic regression analyses evaluated predictors of whether parents psychologically maltreated or physically abused their children during the pandemic controlling for maltreating history, parental depressive symptoms, financial stability, parent age, parent gender, child age, and child gender. Parents who lost their jobs (OR = 4.86, 95% CI [1.19, 19.91], p = .03), were more depressed (OR = 1.05, 95% CI [1.02, 1.08], p < .01), and previously psychologically maltreated their children (OR = 111.94, 95% CI [28.54, 439.01], p < .001) were more likely to psychologically maltreat during the pandemic. Regarding physical abuse, a significant interaction between job loss and reframing coping emerged (OR = 0.76, 95% CI [0.59, 0.99], p = .04). Among parents who lost their jobs, the probability of physical abuse decreased as reframing coping increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant risk factor for child maltreatment. Reframing coping may be an important buffer of this association on physical abuse and presents implications for maltreatment prevention.

Children's Dysregulated Representations Mediate Ineffective Parenting Practices and Effortful Control in Lower Income Families

OBJECTIVE

Rooted in attachment theory, we tested the degree to which children's dysregulated representations mediate linkages between ineffective parenting and children's effortful control in a sample of lower income families.

BACKGROUND

Children in lower income households are at greater risk for difficulties with effortful control. Although ineffective parenting practices may influence children's development of effortful control, there is limited knowledge related to the mechanisms underlying this association. According to attachment theory, it is possible that children who experience ineffective parenting practices have more dysregulated representations, which may then be linked with poorly regulated behavior.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study included 40 preschool-age children enrolled in Head Start and their mothers. Ineffective parenting practices were operationalized using mothers' self-reported parenting styles and observed parenting behaviors; children's dysregulated representations and effortful control were measured during a series of observed laboratory tasks. Structural equation modeling was used to test pathways between measured variables.

RESULTS

The relation between ineffective parenting practices and children's effortful control was not directly related; however, structural equation modeling indicated a significant indirect effect through children's dysregulated representations. Children whose mothers were more ineffective in their parenting had more dysregulated representations. In turn, more dysregulated representations were related to poorer effortful control.

CONCLUSION

Children who experience ineffective parenting practices may be less likely to internalize reliable expectations regarding their environment's structure and order. Poorly stabilized perceptions may inhibit adaptive social and behavioral functioning.

IMPLICATIONS

These findings inform intervention efforts aimed toward enhancing parenting practices to improve children's representations and effortful control behaviors.

Intimate partner violence and maltreated preschoolers' internal representations of conflict

Family violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment, has detrimental consequences across the life span. Robust evidence from families experiencing relatively normative conflict demonstrates the central role of children's internal representations, or beliefs and expectations of relationships, on children's adjustment. The current investigation examines children's implicit internal representations of interadult conflict among families experiencing IPV and child maltreatment. Maltreated (n = 132) and nonmaltreated (n = 82) preschoolers (M_age = 4.93 years, SD = 1.11) completed a narrative story-stem completion task in which they were asked to generate narrative endings to interadult conflicts. Narratives were coded for constructive conflict resolutions, dysregulated destructive behaviors, and the proliferation of interadult aggression toward the child. Mothers reported the frequency of IPV and constructive conflict between themselves and their partners within the past year. The potential additive and interactive effects of IPV, constructive conflict, and child maltreatment on children's internal representations of conflict behaviors were examined. The narratives of maltreated children depicted more constructively resolved conflict as interadult constructive conflict tactics increased. Maltreated and nonmaltreated children did not differ in their representations of conflict resolution at high levels of constructive conflict tactics. Maltreatment was positively associated with representations of dysregulated destructive behaviors and conflict spread to the parent-child relationship. IPV was positively associated with representations of conflict spread. Constructive conflict, in turn, was negatively associated with conflict spread. The findings highlight the importance of the multiple expressions of family conflict and violence on children's implicit internal representations of conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Attachment and Internal Representations in Looked-After Children

BACKGROUND

This article explores the Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP), a narrative-based measure, for the assessment of internal representations in children between the ages of 4 and 11 years old.

METHODS

The findings draw upon two samples of children comprising of a sample of looked-after children at Five Rivers Child Care (FR) (n = 42) and a community-based population (n = 42). The FR group identified were suggested to have a higher level of need, as defined by scores obtained from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Relationship Problems Questionnaire (RPQ).

RESULTS

Using the SSAP, the findings indicate the instrument's discriminant validity with strong differences being displayed between the two populations. Consistently children in the FR sample displayed more disorganized, avoidant and negative representations, whilst at the same time having significantly fewer representations characteristic of 'secure' attachment.

CONCLUSION

The SSAP is successful in differentiating between 'low' and 'high' cohorts of children aged 4-11 years. The study provides strong support for the measure as a way of capturing internal and attachment representations, with further research to explore possible changes in these representations at follow-up being promising and intriguing. Continued research efforts at FR will allow for improved clinical formulations, increased understanding and therefore positive outcomes relating to the children in their care.

Trauma Exposure in Relation to the Content of Mother-Child Emotional Conversations and Quality of Interaction

Parent-child conversations contribute to understanding and regulating children's emotions. Similarities and differences in discussed topics, quality of interaction and coherence/elaboration in mother-child conversations about emotional experiences of the child were studied in dyads who had been exposed to interpersonal trauma (N = 213) and non-trauma-exposed dyads (N = 86). Results showed that in conversations about negative emotions, trauma-exposed children more often discussed trauma topics and focused less on relationship topics than non-trauma-exposed children. Trauma-exposed dyads found it more difficult to come up with a story. The most common topics chosen by dyads to discuss for each emotion were mostly similar between trauma-exposed dyads and non-trauma-exposed dyads. Dyads exposed to interpersonal traumatic events showed lower quality of interaction and less coherence/elaboration than dyads who had not experienced traumatic events. Discussion of traumatic topics was associated with lower quality of mother-child interaction and less coherent dialogues. In conclusion, the effect of the trauma is seen at several levels in mother-child interaction: topics, behavior and coherence. A focus on support in developing a secure relationship after trauma may be important for intervention.

Family Instability and Young Children's School Adjustment: Callousness and Negative Internal Representations as Mediators

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 (M_age  = 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).

Parental Attachment and Children's Memory for Attachment-Relevant Stories

Despite evidence that parents' attachment is associated with children's memory, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this association or the contexts in which the association is most meaningful. The present study examined whether parents' attachment predicted children's memory for stories about attachment-related topics, whether the cohesiveness of children's stories mediated the association between attachment and memory, and whether the association varied by interview support at retrieval. Five- to 6-year-olds completed attachment-relevant stories while parents provided information about their romantic attachment. Children's stories were coded for cohesiveness. A week later, children's memory for their stories was tested by either a supportive or non-supportive interviewer. When the interview was non-supportive, greater parental avoidance was associated with poorer memory, whereas when the interview was supportive, greater parental avoidance was associated with fewer errors. Findings provide insight into the context under which parents' attachment is most influential in shaping children's memory.

Family Instability and Young Children's School Adjustment: Callousness and Negative Internal Representations as Mediators

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 (M_age  = 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).

Interparental conflict and adolescents' self-representations: The role of emotional insecurity

Adolescents' signs of emotional insecurity in the context of interparental conflict (IC) - emotional reactivity, internal representations (i.e., constructive/destructive; spillover) and behavioral responses (i.e., withdrawal; inhibition; involvement) - were examined as mediators in the relation between IC and adolescents' self-representations. Self-reported measures were filled out by 221 Portuguese adolescents (59.3% girls; Mage = 12.91), attending public elementary and secondary schools. IC predicted less favorable self-representations. Adolescents' emotional reactivity and withdrawal mediated the relation between IC and emotional and physical appearance self-representations, while conflict spillover representations and constructive family representations mediated associations between IC and instrumental self-representations. This study emphasizes the importance of interparental conflict and adolescent emotional insecurity in the construction of their self-representations, having important theoretical and practical implications. It highlights the value of analyzing the specific role of several emotional insecurity dimensions, and informs practitioners' work aimed at promoting constructive conflict and adaptive emotional regulation skills.

Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of parenting interventions for children with severe attachment problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Services have variable practices for identifying and providing interventions for 'severe attachment problems' (disorganised attachment patterns and attachment disorders). Several government reports have highlighted the need for better parenting interventions in at-risk groups. This report was commissioned to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of parenting interventions for children with severe attachment problems (the main review). One supplementary review explored the evaluation of assessment tools and a second reviewed 10-year outcome data to better inform health economic aspects of the main review.

DATA SOURCES

A total of 29 electronic databases were searched with additional mechanisms for identifying a wide pool of references using the Cochrane methodology. Examples of databases searched include PsycINFO (1806 to January week 1, 2012), MEDLINE and MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (1946 to December week 4, 2011) and EMBASE (1974 to week 1, 2012). Searches were carried out between 6 and 12 January 2012.

REVIEW METHODS

Papers identified were screened and data were extracted by two independent reviewers, with disagreements arbitrated by a third independent reviewer. Quality assessment tools were used, including quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies - version 2 and the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of parenting interventions was undertaken. A health economics analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

The initial search returned 10,167 citations. This yielded 29 RCTs in the main review of parenting interventions to improve attachment patterns, and one involving children with reactive attachment disorder. A meta-analysis of eight studies seeking to improve outcome in at-risk populations showed statistically significant improvement in disorganised attachment. The interventions saw less disorganised attachment at outcome than the control (odds ratio 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.34 to 0.65; p < 0.00001). Much of this focused around interventions improving maternal sensitivity, with or without video feedback. In our first supplementary review, 35 papers evaluated an attachment assessment tool demonstrating validity or psychometric data. Only five reported test-retest data. Twenty-six studies reported inter-rater reliability, with 24 reporting a level of 0.7 or above. Cronbach's alphas were reported in 12 studies for the comparative tests (11 with α > 0.7) and four studies for the reference tests (four with α > 0.7). Three carried out concurrent validity comparing the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) with another assessment tool. These had good sensitivity but poor specificity. The Disturbances of Attachment Interview had good sensitivity and specificity with the research diagnostic criteria (RDC) for attachment disorders. In our supplementary review of 10-year outcomes in cohorts using a baseline reference standard, two studies were found with disorganised attachment at baseline, with one finding raised psychopathology in adolescence. Budget impact analysis of costs was estimated because a decision model could not be justifiably populated. This, alongside other findings, informed research priorities.

LIMITATIONS

There are relatively few UK-based clinical trials. A 10-year follow-up, while necessary for our health economists for long-term sequelae, yielded a limited number of papers.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal sensitivity interventions show good outcomes in at-risk populations, but require further research with complex children. The SSP and RDC for attachment disorders remain the reference standards for identification until more concurrent and predictive validity research is conducted. A birth cohort with sequential attachment measures and outcomes across different domains is recommended with further, methodologically sound randomised controlled intervention trials. The main area identified for future work was a need for good-quality RCTs in at-risk groups such as those entering foster care or adoption.

STUDY REGISTRATION

This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42011001395.

FUNDING

The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Analyzing pathways from childhood maltreatment to internalizing symptoms and disorders in children and adolescents (AMIS): a study protocol

BACKGROUND

Effective interventions for maltreated children are impeded by gaps in our knowledge of the etiopathogenic mechanisms leading from maltreatment to mental disorders. Although some studies have already identified individual risk factors, there is a lack of large-scale multilevel research on how psychosocial, neurobiological, and genetic factors act in concert to modulate risk of internalizing psychopathology in childhood following maltreatment. To help close this gap, we aim to delineate gender-specific pathways from maltreatment to psychological disorder/resilience. To this end, we examine the interplay of specific maltreatment characteristics and psychological, endocrine, metabolomic, and (epi-)genomic stress response patterns as well as cognitive-emotional/social processes as determinants of developmental outcome. Specifically, we will explore endocrine, metabolomic, and epigenetic mechanisms leading from maltreatment to a higher risk of depression and anxiety disorders.

METHODS/DESIGN

Four large samples amounting to a total of N = 920 children aged 4-16 years will be assessed: Two cohorts with prior internalizing psychopathology and controls will be checked for maltreatment and two cohorts with substantiated maltreatment will be checked for internalizing (and externalizing) psychopathology. We will apply a multi-source (interview, questionnaires, official records), multi-informant strategy (parents, children, teachers) to assess maltreatment characteristics (e.g., subtypes, developmental timing, chronicity) and psychopathological symptoms, supplemented with multiple measurements of risk and protective factors and cutting-edge laboratory analyses of endocrine, steroid metabolomic and epigenetic factors. As previous assessments in the two largest samples are already available, longitudinal data will be generated within the three year study period.

DISCUSSION

Our results will lay the empirical foundation for (a) detection of early biopsychosocial markers, (b) development of screening measures, and

Early parenting, represented family relationships, and externalizing behavior problems in children born preterm

Through assessment of 173 preterm infants and their mothers at hospital discharge and at 9, 16, 24, 36, and 72 months, the study examined early parenting, attachment security, effortful control, and children's representations of family relationships in relation to subsequent externalizing behavior problems. Less intrusive early parenting predicted more secure attachment, better effortful control skills, and fewer early behavior problems, although it did not directly relate to the structural or content characteristics of children's represented family relationships. Children with higher effortful control scores at 24 months had more coherent family representations at 36 months. Moreover, children who exhibited less avoidance in their family representations at 36 months had fewer mother-reported externalizing behavior problems at 72 months. The study suggests that early parenting quality and avoidance in children's represented relationships are important for the development of externalizing behavior problems in children born preterm.

Siblings exposed to intimate partner violence: linking sibling relationship quality & child adjustment problems

Although the majority of families that experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have more than one child, most research to date has focused upon a single child within these families. A significant body of research has indicated siblings play an important role in children's adjustment and well-being. To address this gap, the three main goals of the present study were to compare the adjustment of older and younger siblings exposed to IPV, to describe and compare the quality of these sibling relationships from multiple perspectives, and to investigate how sibling adjustment and relationship quality influence children's adjustment. Forty-seven sibling pairs and their mothers were recruited from the community. Mothers self-reported on their violent experiences using the Conflict Tactics Scale, and also estimated the length of time their children were exposed to IPV. Mothers and children completed assessments of child adjustment and the quality of sibling relationships. Observers also assessed the quality of sibling interaction. Results indicated that adjustment between siblings was highly inter-related. On average, mothers reported sibling relationships as less positive but also as less hostile than did siblings themselves. Higher levels of sibling hostility, lower levels of sibling warmth and higher levels of disengagement each significantly predicted child adjustment; however, these effects were predicated upon the adjustment of the other sibling. The sibling relationships of children exposed to IPV made a difference in their individual adjustment, and their adjustment issues influenced how they feel about and interacted with their sibling. Sibling hostility played a stronger role in adjustment issues than sibling warmth. The nature of sibling influences and the direction of future research were discussed.

A Self-Determination Model of Childhood Exposure, Perceived Prevalence, Justification, and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

The present research was designed to evaluate self-determination theory as a framework for integrating factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. The proposed model suggests that childhood exposure to parental violence may influence global motivational orientations which, in turn result in greater cognitive biases (overestimating the prevalence of IPV and justification of IPV) which, in turn, contribute to an individual's decision to use abusive behavior. Participants included 124 men who had engaged in abusive behavior toward an intimate partner. Results provided reasonable support for the proposed model and stronger support for a revised model suggesting that controlled orientation, rather than autonomy orientation, appears to play a stronger role in the association between childhood exposure to parental violence and cognitive biases associated with abusive behavior.

Parental Depressive Symptoms and Adolescent Adjustment: Responses to Children's Distress and Representations of Attachment as Explanatory Mechanisms

OBJECTIVE

This study seeks to extend the investigation of parenting as an explanatory mechanism for relations between parental depressive symptoms and adolescent adjustment in the context of a four-wave longitudinal study.

DESIGN

Participants were cohabiting parents and their 320 children (156 boys, 164 girls). Parental depressive symptoms were assessed in kindergarten (T1), parental negative responses to children's emotional distress in first grade (T2), children's representations of attachment with parents in second grade (T3), and adolescent adjustment in seventh grade (T4).

RESULTS

Multiple pathways were identified in predicting adolescent conduct problems, including links involving (1) mothers' depressive symptoms, mothers' negative responses to children's distress and insecure father-child attachment representations; (2) fathers' depressive symptoms and insecure father-child attachment representations; and (3) fathers' depressive symptoms and negative responses to children's distress. A pathway was also found among mothers' depressive symptoms, mothers' negative responses to children's distress, insecure mother-child attachment representations, and peer problems in adolescence.

CONCLUSION

The findings support a role of parents' negative responses to children's distress and representations of father-child and mother-child attachment in relations between children's early experience with parental depressive symptoms and socioemotional outcomes in early adolescence.

INDISCRIMINATE BEHAVIOR OBSERVED IN THE STRANGE SITUATION AMONG INSTITUTIONALIZED TODDLERS: RELATIONS TO CAREGIVER REPORT AND TO EARLY FAMILY RISK

Socially disinhibited or indiscriminate behavior (IB) has traditionally been investigated using caregiver reports. More recently, an observational measure based on the Strange Situation Procedure (M. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978), the Rating of Infant and Stranger Engagement (RISE; C. Riley, A. Atlas-Corbett, & K. Lyons-Ruth, 2005), was validated in home-reared at-risk children. The present study aimed to validate the RISE in an institutionally reared sample using the caregiver report, to assess whether IB assessed with the RISE was elevated among the institutionalized children, and to explore potential risk factors associated with IB. The study was conducted among 74 institutionalized toddlers aged 11 to 30 months. Sociodemographic questionnaires were used to assess pre-admission experiences, and aspects of institutional placement were coded from the children's files in the institution and staff's report. Institutionalized children displayed high frequencies of IB as assessed on the RISE, and this instrument was validated against caregiver report. Pre-admission experiences of the institutionalized children in their biological families-namely, prenatal risk and maternal emotional neglect risk-predicted IB. Results suggest that the RISE is adequate to use among institutionally reared toddlers and point to aspects of the early familial environment that may be implicated in IB.

Impact of Parental Conflict and Emotional Abuse on Children and Families

The goal of this review is to summarize empirical research conducted over the past several decades examining the impact of parental conflict and emotional abuse on children and families. Toward this goal, four different subtopics are categorized and reviewed. These include the impact of mutual couple conflict, verbal, and emotional abuse/control on children; the impact of father-perpetrated verbal and emotional abuse/control on children; the impact of mother-perpetrated verbal and emotional abuse/control on children; and the impact of partner abuse on the family system including consideration of family stress, boundaries, alliances, and family structure. A review of the literature revealed 105 empirical papers, which are referenced in tables. Overarching theoretical and conceptual frameworks proposed within the field of interparental conflict and child development are used to organize and distill the broad findings evident across these studies. Recommendations for future avenues of research are presented.

Interparental aggression and antisocial behavior among African American youth: a simultaneous test of competing explanations

Interparental aggression has long been implicated as a cause of child and adolescent antisocial behavior. Four theoretical explanations (viz., an aggressogenic cognition model, general strain theory, an emotional security model, and a spillover model) have been proposed to account for this deleterious effect. To gain a better understanding of the mechanism whereby interparental aggression promotes antisocial behavior, this study tests the competing explanations simultaneously using longitudinal data from a sample of 508 African American families with a child aged 12-14 (53.5% are girls). Using path analysis, the results support both the general strain theory and the emotional security model for girls. The results also show weak support for the spillover model. Whereas, for boys, all of the four explanations were supported, though the support for the spillover model is weak. Thus, the findings suggest that the mechanisms whereby interparental aggression fosters antisocial behavior may differ by gender. Implications and limitations of the current research are discussed.

[Application of story stems to the diagnosis of the axis "structure" of OPD-CA]

The continued play of story stems, introduced by a diagnostician, can add to the diagnostic of the axis "structure" of the OPD-CA in a useful way. Story stems (e.g., the MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB) or the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT)) are already used in different research fields and in the clinical context. In this article we propose the administration of story stems, which are supposed to represent certain mental skills. A case study will demonstrate the possibility to complement the evaluation of the axis "structure" by symbolic play with story stems.

Children's appraisals as mediators of the relationship between domestic violence and child adjustment

This study examines the relationships among variables that were likely to mediate the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children's internalizing problems (i.e., children's appraisals of domestic violence and their perceptions of family relationships). The study was conducted with 79 children exposed to domestic violence, including 41 boys and 38 girls, aged between 9 and 12 years old. Indicators used for children's appraisals of violence were attribution of blame and perceived threat. Children's perceptions of family relationships were based on their levels of parentification and the degree of their loyalty conflicts. A path analysis was used to verify the predictive model's pathways and to test the multiple mediator effects. Findings confirm the contribution of mediating variables and also reflect the association between self-blame and children's parentification. The results stress the relevance of evaluating the combined role of different potential mediators to provide a better understanding of the impact of domestic violence on children.

Parental separation and children's behavioral/emotional problems: the impact of parental representations and family conflict

In this longitudinal study, we examine whether the effect of parental separation on kindergarten children's behavioral/emotional problems varies according to the level of family conflict, and children's parental representations. One hundred and eighty seven children were assessed at ages 5 and 6. Family conflict was assessed using parents' ratings. Children's parental representations were assessed using a story-stem task. A multiinformant approach (parent, teacher, child) was employed to assess children's behavioral/emotional problems. Bivariate results showed that separation, family conflict, and negative parental representations were associated with children's behavioral/emotional problems. However, in multivariate analyses, when controlling for gender and symptoms at age 5, we found that children of separated parents who showed negative parental representations had a significantly greater increase in conduct problems between 5 and 6 than all other children. In terms of emotional symptoms and hyperactivity, symptoms at 5 and (for hyperactivity only) gender were the only predictors for symptoms 1 year later. Our results suggest that kindergarten children's representations of parent-child relationships moderate the impact of parental separation on the development of conduct problems, and underline play and narration as a possible route to access the thoughts and feelings of young children faced with parental separation.

Constructive and destructive marital conflict, emotional security and children's prosocial behavior

BACKGROUND

This study addresses the gaps in understanding the relationship between constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's prosocial behavior from a process-oriented perspective.

METHOD

Data were drawn from a three-wave study of 235 families with children ages 5-7 at wave 1. Relations between constructive and destructive marital conflict, children's emotional security, warm parenting and children's prosocial behavior were examined through the use of structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Even after controlling for prior levels of children's prosocial behavior at wave 1, children's emotional security acted as an intervening variable between both constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's prosocial behavior over time.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings advance the relationship between marital conflict and children's adjustment by focusing on children's prosocial behavior and highlight the need to further investigate the impact of positive dimensions of marital conflict on dimensions of children's positive social functioning.

Representations of the caregiver-child relationship and of the self, and emotion regulation in the narratives of young children whose mothers have borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) represents a severe distortion in the development of attachment, self, and emotion regulation. Study of children at high risk of developing BPD may inform precursors to BPD. In a low socioeconomic status sample of 30 children aged 4-7 whose mothers have BPD and 30 normative comparisons, representations of the caregiver-child relationship and of the self, and emotion regulation were assessed with a story-stem completion measure. In contrast to comparisons and controlling for major depressive disorder, children whose mothers have BPD told stories with the following: (a) more parent-child role reversal, more fear of abandonment, and more negative mother-child and father-child relationship expectations; (b) more incongruent and shameful representations of the self; and (c) poorer emotion regulation indicated by more confusion of boundaries between fantasy and reality and between self and fantasy, more fantasy proneness, less narrative coherence, and marginally more intrusion of traumatic themes. In the sample as a whole, (a) a maladaptive caregiver-child relationship composite was associated with maternal identity disturbance and self-harm; (b) a maladaptive self-composite was associated with maternal self-harm; and (c) a maladaptive emotion regulation composite was associated with maternal identity disturbance, negative relationships, and self-harm. Results are discussed in terms of putative precursors to BPD and preventive interventions.

As representações mentais das crianças acerca das figuras parentais

Este artigo apresenta uma investigação, realizada em Portugal, sobre a relação entre as representações mentais das crianças acerca dos pais, enquanto figuras de afecto e de disciplina, e a competência social dessas crianças. Participaram no estudo 59 crianças de 8 e 9 anos. As suas representações foram analisadas a partir do conteúdo e da estrutura das narrativas construídas em resposta à Entrevista de Avaliação das Representações das Crianças acerca das Figuras Parentais; a competência social foi avaliada a partir da adaptação portuguesa do Social Skills Rating System - form for teachers, que permite obter valores de habilidades sociais, problemas de comportamento e realização escolar. Os resultados revelam uma relação entre as representações que as crianças têm dos pais como figuras rejeitantes e como figuras punitivas e as habilidades sociais, os problemas internalizados de comportamento e a realização acadêmica, bem como uma relação entre a coerência das representações e a competência social das crianças.

Methodological issues in assessing psychological adjustment in child witnesses of intimate partner violence

This review summarizes a growing number of methodological concerns emerging from research on child witnesses of intimate partner violence (IPV). A brief summary of various psychological, biological, and cognitive impairments associated with witnessing IPV is presented. Directions for future research in this area are explored with particular attention paid to experimental design. Advantages and disadvantages of retrospective, cross-sectional, and longitudinal designs are evaluated. Suggested improvements include the use of multiple informants, behavioral observations, and prospective, longitudinal assessment.

Marital Aggression and Children's Responses to Everyday Interparental Conflict

This study examined parents' past marital aggression as a (1) predictor of everyday marital conflict expressions, and (2) moderator of children's responses to marital conflict. In a laboratory setting, children watched their parents discuss an everyday topic of disagreement and then reported their own emotional and behavioral reactions, and rated their parents' conflict resolution. Controlling for current marital aggression, couples with higher levels of past marital aggression used less constructive and more destructive conflict tactics, and displayed less positive and more negative emotions. Children's responses to marital conflict were moderated by parents' past marital aggression: Children whose parents had been more maritally aggressive in the past were more sensitive to parents' use of constructive conflict tactics and positive emotions. Thus, controlling for current marital aggression, past interparental aggression had implications for both parents' everyday interparental conflict and children's responding to everyday marital conflict.

Making Sense of Family Violence

Children who are exposed to interparental violence are at risk for a host of adjustment problems, but little is known about the processes that explain why children from violent families develop different patterns of adjustment. In this paper, we examine the role that children's perceptions and interpretations of aggression may play in shaping the impact of interparental violence on their short- and long-term functioning. Appraisals of interparental conflict have been linked to children's emotional and behavioral responses to conflict as well as their adjustment more broadly and offer a mechanism for understanding diverse outcomes in children who witness violence in the home. We explore how the appraisal process may differ in violent versus conflictual but nonviolent interactions, consider contextual factors that may influence this process, and outline directions for research investigating how children perceive and make sense of violence in intimate relationships.

Child, parent, and parent–child emotion narratives: Implications for developmental psychopathology

Studies using narratives with children and parents offer ways to study affective meaning-making processes that are central in many theories of developmental psychopathology. This paper reviews theory regarding affective meaning making, and argues that narratives are particularly suited to examine such processes. The review of narrative studies and methods is organized into three sections according to the focus on child, parent, and parent-child narratives. Within each focus three levels of analysis are considered: (a) narrative organization and coherence, (b) narrative content, and (c) the behavior/interactions of the narrator(s). The implications of this research for developmental psychopathology and clinical work are discussed with an emphasis on parent-child jointly constructed narratives as the meeting point of individual child and parent narratives.

The Computerized MacArthur Story Stem Battery--a pilot study of a novel medium for assessing children's representations of relationships

Story stem measures allow the assessment of children's representations of relationship functioning, but are expensive and time-consuming to administer. We developed a computerized story stem measure which does not require specific training for administrators and which allows the child to produce their own animated, narrated story completion. This paper describes, firstly, the reliability of the Computerized MacArthur Story Stem Battery (CMSSB) and, secondly, a preliminary comparison of children in foster care and school controls on narrative coherence, intentionality and avoidance. The CMSSB showed good inter-rater reliability. A group of children in foster care showed significantly poorer coherence of narrative, less intentionality and greater avoidance on the CMSSB compared to a school comparison group.

Transnationalism as a motif in family stories

Family stories have long been recognized as a vehicle for assessing components of a family's emotional and social life, including the degree to which an immigrant family has been willing to assimilate. Transnationalism, defined as living in one or more cultures and maintaining connections to both, is now increasingly common. A qualitative study of family stories in the family of those who appear completely "American" suggests that an affiliation with one's home country is nevertheless detectable in the stories via motifs such as (1) positively connotated home remedies, (2) continuing denigration of home country "enemies," (3) extensive knowledge of the home country history and politics, (4) praise of endogamy and negative assessment of exogamy, (5) superiority of home country to America, and (6) beauty of home country. Furthermore, an awareness of which model--assimilationist or transnational--governs a family's experience may help clarify a clinician's understanding of a family's strengths, vulnerabilities, and mode of framing their cultural experiences.

Representations of Attachment Relationships in Children of Incarcerated Mothers

Representations of attachment relationships were assessed in 54 children ages 2.5 to 7.5 years whose mothers were currently incarcerated. Consistent with their high-risk status, most (63%) children were classified as having insecure relationships with mothers and caregivers. Secure relationships were more likely when children lived in a stable caregiving situation, when children reacted to separation from the mother with sadness rather than anger, and when children were older. Common reactions to initial separation included sadness, worry, confusion, anger, loneliness, sleep problems, and developmental regressions. Results highlight need for support in families affected by maternal imprisonment, especially efforts to promote stable, continuous placements for children, in addition to underscoring the importance of longitudinal research with this growing but understudied group.

Narratives in and about families: an examination of coding schemes and a guide for family researchers

This article aims to provide the reader with a general overview of narrative methods as they apply to the study of family relationships. How narratives are collected and issues pertaining to training raters are considered. Scoring systems have been developed that code for thematic content, relative coherence, and co-constructive processes. Validity for these methods is examined through (a) concordance between narrative codes and directly observed behavior within similar domains, (b) links between narratives and self-report measures, and (c) the relation between narratives and psychological functioning. A guide for researchers in their consideration of adopting narrative methods is offered. The article concludes with a consideration of linking different coding schemes and challenges for future researchers.

Interparental conflict and adolescent dating relationships: integrating cognitive, emotional, and peer influences

This study investigated the ways in which exposure to interparental conflict may affect adolescent dating relationships in a sample of 391 adolescents ages 14 to 18 years. Boys exposed to greater parental discord were more likely to view aggression as justifiable in a romantic relationship, had more difficulty managing anger, and believed that aggressive behavior was more common in their peers' dating relationships. Each of these variables in turn linked witnessing interparental conflict to higher levels of verbal and physical aggression toward their own romantic partners. Interparental conflict was not related to girls' aggressive behavior. These data support the value of targeting cognitive and emotional processes in prevention programs designed to reduce dating violence and suggest that such programs will be strengthened by focusing on peer influences as well.

Children exposed to domestic violence and child abuse: terminology and taxonomy

Three definitional issues regarding children exposed to domestic violence are examined. First, the multiple ways in which a child can be exposed to violence is discussed. A taxonomy of 10 types of exposure is proposed. Nine key characteristics of domestic violence, as they relate to children and children's exposure, are then outlined. The third issue addressed concerns why children who are exposed to domestic violence can be considered victims of child maltreatment. These children, by nature of their experience in the home, are psychologically maltreated and are also at high risk for physical abuse and some risk for sexual abuse. Empirical questions concerning these definitions and taxonomies and their interrelations are discussed.