Relation of mothers' affective developmental history and parenting behavior: effects on infant medical risk

Raising Spanish Children With an Antisocial Tendency: Do We Know What the Optimal Parenting Style Is?

Families can play an essential role in preventing violent and antisocial behaviors, which are considered a significant public health issue. However, some studies argue that most children are antisocial only during adolescence, and even teenagers can mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and well-adjusted. This study analyzed patterns of competence and adjustment in young adults with and without an antisocial tendency during adolescence from authoritative (characterized by warmth and strictness), authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), indulgent (warmth but not strictness), and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) families. Emergent research has indicated that in a European context, the indulgent parenting style is optimal. Offspring's competence and adjustment were captured through self-esteem (academic and family), psychosocial development (self-competence and empathy), and low emotional maladjustment (nervousness and hostility). Participants consisted of a community sample of 489 Spanish young adults, 191 men (39.1%) and 298 women (60.9%), aged 18 to 34 years old. The design was a 4 × 2 × 2 × 2 MANOVA (parenting style × antisocial tendency × sex × age). Analysis of main effects showed that youths with an antisocial tendency have less self-esteem and psychosocial development, but more emotional maladjustment. Regardless of the parenting style, an antisocial tendency during adolescence is consistently associated with worse adjustment in young adults. Both the authoritative and indulgent parenting styles are consistently associated with better outcomes (higher self-esteem and psychosocial development, and lower emotional maladjustment) than the authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles. However, there are interactions between the parenting style and the antisocial tendency. For young adults without an antisocial tendency, only indulgent parenting is associated with less emotional maladjustment. These results support the idea that in Europe the indulgent parenting style performs better than the authoritative style, but only when raising adolescents without an antisocial tendency. For young adults with an antisocial tendency, indulgent and authoritative parenting are equally optimal for all the studied outcomes.

Hijab No More: A Phenomenological Study

The consumption of Islamic products has been discussed quite extensively in many studies, yet the opposite case which is the dissociation from Islamic products is rarely discussed. This study aims to investigate the phenomena in which Muslim women who were raised with conservative values at home countries choose to dissociate from hijab when they live in the western countries. Moreover, they become activists who discourage other Muslim women from wearing hijab. This study adopts a phenomenological research design. The results suggest that hijab dissociation is a form of compensatory mechanism aimed at minimizing self-discrepancy, restoring self-esteem, gaining personal control, reducing perceived alienation and coping with psychological trauma. This study contributes to the theoretical gap in compensatory consumption literature by linking the theory with the non-consumption of religious products.

Parents' Past Bonding Experience with Their Parents Interacts with Current Parenting Stress to Influence the Quality of Interaction with Their Child

Healthy dyadic interactions serve as a foundation for child development and are typically characterised by mutual emotional availability of both the parent and child. However, several parental factors might undermine optimal parent-child interactions, including the parent's current parenting stress levels and the parent's past bonding experiences with his/her own parents. To date, no study has investigated the possible interaction of parenting stress and parental bonding history with their own parents on the quality of emotional availability during play interactions. In this study, 29 father-child dyads (18 boys, 11 girls; father's age = 38.07 years, child's age = 42.21 months) and 36 mother-child dyads (21 boys, 15 girls; mother's age = 34.75 years, child's age = 41.72 months) from different families were recruited to participate in a 10-min play session after reporting on their current parenting stress and past care and overprotection experience with their parents. We measured the emotional availability of mother-child and father-child play across four adult subscales (i.e., sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, non-hostility) and two child subscales (i.e., involvement and responsiveness). Regression slope analyses showed that parenting stress stemming from having a difficult child predicts adult non-hostility, and is moderated by the parents' previously experienced maternal overprotection. When parenting stress is low, higher maternal overprotection experienced by the parent in the past would predict greater non-hostility during play. This finding suggests that parents' present stress levels and past bonding experiences with their parents interact to influence the quality of dyadic interaction with their child.

Is a mother's recalled parental rearing behavior, her attributions of her child's behavior, and her psychopathology associated with her mother-child relationship quality?

BACKGROUND

The mother-child relationship quality (MCRQ) may represent a transgenerational transmission mechanism of mental health problems. In this context, we examine the mother's recalled parental rearing behavior, actual attributions of her child's behavior, and her current psychopathology.

METHOD

A clinical sample of mother-child dyads was assessed with the Questionnaire for the Assessment of Recalled Parental Rearing Behavior, the Parent Cognition Scale, and the Symptom Checklist at the Child Psychiatric Family Day Hospital for preschool children in Münster, Germany, at admission. MCRQ was assessed with the Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale, a structured interview with the child (Strukturiertes Interview zur Erfassung der Kind-Eltern-Interaktion), and the Multiperspective Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analyses showed no direct association between the mother's recalled parental rearing behavior and any measure of the MCRQ. However, maternal dysfunctional attributions about her child's behavior and her actual psychopathology showed the expected negative associations with the multiperspective measures of MCRQ. The relationship quality assessments did not correlate significantly with each other.

CONCLUSION

The divergent measures of MCRQ, which seem to assess different aspects, are a barrier to investigate the association between the mother's recalled parental rearing behavior and MCRQ. However, low MCRQ is associated with increased maternal psychopathology and maternal dysfunctional attributions on child behavior.

The importance of early life touch for psychosocial and moral development

One of the primary means of communicating with a baby is through touch. Nurturing physical touch promotes healthy physiological development in social mammals, including humans. Physiology influences wellbeing and psychosocial functioning. The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections among early life positive and negative touch and wellbeing and sociomoral development. In study 1, mothers of preschoolers (n = 156) reported their attitudes toward positive/negative touch and on their children's wellbeing and sociomoral outcomes, illustrating moderate to strong positive correlations between positive touch attitudes and children's sociomoral capacities and orientations and negative correlations with psychopathology. In study 2, we used an existing longitudinal dataset, with at-risk mothers (n = 682) and their children to test touch effects on moral capacities and social behaviors in early life. Results demonstrated moderate to strong relationships between positive/negative touch and concurrent child behavioral regulation and positive correlations between low corporal punishment and child sociomoral outcomes. In a third study with adults (n = 607), we found significant mediation processes connecting retrospective reports of childhood touch to adult moral orientation through attachment security, mental health, and moral capacities. In general across studies, more affectionate touch and less punishing touch were positively associated with wellbeing and development of moral capacities and engaged moral orientation.

Maternal history of parentification, maternal warm responsiveness, and children's externalizing behavior

Destructive parentification occurs when children are expected to provide instrumental or emotional caregiving within the family system that overtaxes their developmental capacity. According to parentification theory, destructive parentification in family of origin poses a risk to child development in subsequent generations; however, there is a paucity of empirical research examining the impact of a maternal history of destructive parentification on parenting quality and child outcomes in subsequent generations. The present study examined the potential risk of maternal history of parentification on child adjustment by hypothesizing that a maternal history of parentification in family of origin would have a negative impact on quality of maternal warm responsiveness at 18 months of age which would, in turn, be associated with increased children's externalizing symptoms at 36 months. Results indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal history of destructive parentification in family of origin on child externalizing behavior in the next generation through maternal warm responsiveness, supporting the hypothesized model. This finding suggests that facilitating the development of maternal contingent responsiveness among mothers with a history of destructive parentification may promote more adaptive child development in the next generation.

Intellectual Disabilities and Neglectful Parenting: Preliminary Findings on the Role of Cognition in Parenting Risk

Parents with intellectual disabilities (PID) are over-represented in the child protective services (CPS) system. This study examined a more nuanced view of the role of cognition in parenting risk. Its goal was to validate a social information processing (SIP) model of child neglect that draws on social cognition research and advances in neuroscience. Mothers who had CPS child neglect cases were compared with mothers with no CPS involvement on a set of SIP factors. Mothers with low IQs were oversampled. As predicted, the Neglect group had significantly greater SIP problems than the Comparison mothers. SIP problems were associated with direct measures of neglect (e.g., cognitive stimulation provided children, home hygiene, belief regarding causes of child injuries). Further, for the direct measures that were most closely linked to CPS Neglect Status, IQ did not add significant predictive capacity beyond SIP factors in preliminary model testing. Implications for intervention with PID discussed.

Depression among a sample of first-time adolescent and adult mothers

PROBLEM

Little is known about the rates, correlates, and consequences of depression among a sample of first-time mothers.

METHODS

Four-site prospective study of the first 3 years of life among first children born to first-time mothers, including adolescent (N= 396), lower- (N= 169), and higher-resource adult (N= 117). Mothers were administered the Beck Depression Inventory prenatally and 6 months postpartum. Measures of maternal and infant behaviors were taken at 8 months.

FINDINGS

Adolescent mothers displayed higher prenatal and 6-month rates of depression than lower- and higher-resource adult mothers, with significantly more adolescent mothers "consistently" depressed at the two time points than lower- and higher-resource adult mothers. Further, adolescent mothers were significantly more likely to become depressed after their babies were born than lower- or higher-resource adult mothers. Depression was negatively related to parenting practices and babies' behavior. As depression increased, mothers scored less favorably in maternal warmth and sensitivity, contingent responsiveness, and general verbalness; children scored less favorably in warmth seeking toward their mothers.

CONCLUSION

Findings signify the need for counseling and nurse-based intervention and prevention services geared at preparing pregnant adolescents for motherhood.

Prenatal anxiety associated with male child preference among expectant mothers at 10-20 weeks of pregnancy in Xiangyun County, China

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between male child preference and maternal prenatal psychological distress among expectant mothers from Xiangyun County, Yunnan Province, China.

METHODS

Child gender preference, state-trait anxiety and depression, relationships with the husband and mother-in-law, and self-esteem were measured in a sample of 198 women between 10 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for prenatal anxiety.

RESULTS

Prenatal anxiety was correlated with male child preference (r=0.15, P<0.05), maternal age (r=-0.17, P<0.05), level of education (r=-0.23, P<0.01), self-esteem (r=-0.36, P<0.01), relationship with mother-in-law (r=-0.34, P<0.01), and relationship with husband (r=-0.35, P<0.01). Significant relationships were maintained in multivariate analysis that included gender preference, maternal education, pregnancy anxiety, self-esteem, number of people in the household, and relationship with husband as predictors (adjusted r(2)=0.28, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Male child preference was associated with prenatal anxiety in this sample. Younger maternal age, lower self-esteem, lower level of education, worse relationship with husband, and less family cohesiveness were also related to prenatal anxiety. Expectant mothers experienced prenatal anxiety when there was strong family preference for sons.

Meta-analytic structural equation modeling of the influences of family-centered care on parent and child psychological health

Background. Family-centered care is now practiced throughout the world by physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals. The call for adoption of family-centered care is based on the contention that the physical and psychological health of a child is influenced by parents' psychological health where family-centered care enhances parent well-being which in turn influences child well-being. We empirically assessed whether these relationships are supported by available evidence. Method. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect influences of family-centered care and self-efficacy beliefs on parent and child psychological health. Data from more than 2900 parents and other caregivers in 15 studies were used for the analyses. Results. Family-centered care had indirect effects on parent and child psychological health mediated by self-efficacy beliefs. Conclusion. The relationships posited in the literature about family-centered care were supported by the study results.

Cell phones and the measurement of child neglect: the validity of the parent-child activities interview

Two multisite studies were conducted to assess the feasibility of using cell phone interviews (the Parent-Child Activities Interview) to learn more about the quality of daily parenting among high-risk mothers, including child neglect. In Study 1, 45 primiparous teenage mothers with 3- to 9-month-old infants were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups: one received frequent cell phone interviews and the other group less frequent interviews over their home telephone. Relationships among paper-and-pencil surveys of parenting (gathered in person) and a Parenting Essentials score (coded from the phone interviews) were significantly correlated. In Study 2, adolescent and adult mothers and their first-born children ( n = 544) completed 2 observations of parenting in their home as well as a series of 3 PCA calls at ages 4 and 8 months. Parenting Essentials coded from the interviews were significantly related to observed measures of parenting at both time points. The Parent-Child Activities Interview shows promise as a reliable and valid measure of parenting, capturing frequent and detailed information about daily parenting practices. Cell phones may prove useful in intervening with mothers at risk of suboptimal parenting and child neglect.

Correlates of maternal behaviours in mothers of children with fragile X syndrome

BACKGROUND

The behaviours of 24 mothers of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) with their affected children were examined during planned observations in their homes. The goal of this study was to describe concurrent maternal interactive behaviour and the factors that influence the type and frequency of these behaviours within this group.

METHODS

The frequency of maintaining, directive and scaffolding behaviours and the extent to which the mothers displayed warm sensitivity and restrictions were examined within a 60-min naturalistic observation and a 10-min toy play observation. Rating scales and parent questionnaires were used to assess selected maternal mental health factors, including depression, anxiety, stress and social support. The cognitive status of mothers and developmental and behavioural abilities of children were also examined.

RESULTS

The women in this study used primarily maintaining behaviours in interactions with their children. Maintaining behaviours and warm sensitivity were consistent across structured and unstructured settings, while directive, scaffolding and restricting were not correlated across the two settings. Child receptive language skills were related to higher rates of maintaining and scaffolding behaviours. The women reported clinically significant levels of stress, depression and anxiety at a prevalence rate higher than that of the general public. Child behaviour problems contributed to maternal stress, and mothers with higher stress engaged in fewer interactions with their children.

CONCLUSIONS

The relations between maternal stress, child problem behaviour and number of interactive behaviours exhibited by the mothers in this study provide information that can inform interventions and provide direction for future research exploring environmental influences on the development of children with fragile X syndrome.

How do mothers' childrearing histories, stress and parenting affect children's behavioural outcomes?

BACKGROUND

Information is needed to understand the role of low to moderate levels of mothers' emotional stress and child characteristics (i.e. prematurity) on parenting behaviours and their impact on children's behaviour that might be deemed 'challenging' but not 'disordered'.

METHODS

The direct and indirect relations of maternal childrearing history and emotional stress, and observed parenting practices when children were 3 years of age on 4-year child behavioural outcomes was examined in a sample of low-income families with a term (n=112) or preterm (n=180) child. Parenting practices included displays of warmth and restrictiveness when interacting with their children. Child outcomes at 4 years included observation of social initiations with their mothers and maternal report of social and attentional problems.

RESULTS

A Structural Equation Model building approach guided by specific hypotheses indicated that preterm as compared to full-term children had more maternal reported social and attentional problems but did not differ in observed social initiating skills. Greater negative maternal childrearing history indirectly influenced social initiating skills through its direct influence on maternal emotional stress. Greater maternal emotional stress directly influenced mothers' parenting that, in turn, directly influenced social initiating. Prematurity and a more negative childrearing history had a direct negative influence on the maternal report of social and attentional behavioural outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings delineate the effects of prematurity and maternal parenting on the behaviour of 4-year-old-children and extend current knowledge of the influence of parental emotional stress on parenting. Even milder levels can negatively influence parenting, and in turn, contribute to children's less well developed social skills. The issues raised in this study could help with the identification and prioritization of medical and psychological services.