Unpacking externalising problems: negative parenting associations for conduct problems and irritability

Foster Care Leads to Lower Irritability Among Adolescents with a History of Early Psychosocial Deprivation

Irritability reflects a propensity for frustration and anger, and is a transdiagnostic symptom of both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. While early adverse experiences are associated with higher levels of irritability, experiences of early psychosocial deprivation and whether family-based placements can mitigate the impact on subsequent irritability, remain underexplored. The current study examined irritability in 107 16-year-olds with a history of institutional care from a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care and 49 community comparison children. At age 16 years, irritability was assessed using parent- and self-report forms of the Affective Reactivity Index. Compared to community adolescents, those with a history of institutional care exhibited significantly elevated irritability levels. Among those who experienced institutional care, those randomized to foster care had lower levels of irritability compared to participants randomized to the care-as-usual group, and this effect persists after controlling for baseline negative emotionality. These findings suggest a causal link between high-quality foster care and lower irritability following psychosocial deprivation. Additionally, longer duration in institutional care and non-family placement at age 16 years were associated with higher levels of irritability, highlighting the role of caregiving in explaining variation in irritability in adolescence. Policies that support long-term, high-quality family placements for children without regular caregivers should be prioritized.

An Expanded Conceptual Framework for Understanding Irritability in Childhood: The Role of Cognitive Control Processes

Children prone to irritability experience significant functional impairments and internalising and externalising problems. Contemporary models have sought to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in irritability, such as aberrant threat and reward biases to improve interventions. However, the cognitive control processes that underlie threat (e.g., attention towards threats) and reward (e.g., attention towards reward-related cues) biases and the factors which influence the differential activation of positive and negative valence systems and thus leading to maladaptive activation of cognitive control processes (i.e., proactive and reactive control) are unclear. Thus, we aim to integrate extant theoretical and empirical research to elucidate the cognitive control processes underlying threat and reward processing that contribute to irritability in middle childhood and provide a guiding framework for future research and treatment. We propose an expanded conceptual framework of irritability that includes broad intraindividual and environmental vulnerability factors and propose proximal 'setting' factors that activate the negative valence and positive valence systems and proactive and reactive cognitive control processes which underpin the expression and progression of irritability. We consider the implications of this expanded conceptualisation of irritability and provide suggestions for future research.

Comparing findings from the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model and the monozygotic twin difference cross-lagged panel model: Maladaptive parenting and offspring emotional and behavioural problems

Background

In this study we compare results obtained when applying the monozygotic twin difference cross-lagged panel model (MZD-CLPM) and a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to the same data. Each of these models is designed to strengthen researchers' ability to draw causal inference from cross-lagged associations. We explore differences and similarities in how each model does this, and in the results each model produces. Specifically, we examine associations between maladaptive parenting and child emotional and behavioural problems in identical twins aged 9, 12 and 16.

Method

Child reports of 5698 identical twins from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) were analysed. We ran a regular CLPM to anchor our findings within the current literature, then applied the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM.

Results

The RI-CLPM and MZD-CLPM each enable researchers to evaluate the direction of effects between correlated variables, after accounting for unmeasured sources of potential confounding. Our interpretation of these models therefore focusses primarily on the magnitude and significance of cross-lagged associations. In both the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM behavioural problems at age 9 resulted in higher levels of maladaptive parenting at age 12. Other effects were not consistently significant across the two models, although the majority of estimates pointed in the same direction.

Conclusion

In light of the triangulated methods, differences in the results obtained using the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM underline the importance of careful consideration of what sources of unmeasured confounding different models control for and that nuance is required when interpreting findings using such models. We provide an overview of what the CLPM, RI-CLPM and MZD-CLPM can and cannot control for in this respect and the conclusions that can be drawn from each model.

The role of perceived threats on mental health, social, and neurocognitive youth outcomes: A multicontextual, person-centered approach

Perceived threat in youth's environments can elevate risk for mental health, social, and neurocognitive difficulties throughout the lifespan. However, few studies examine variability in youth's perceptions of threat across multiple contexts or evaluate outcomes across multiple domains, ultimately limiting our understanding of specific risks associated with perceived threats in different contexts. This study examined associations between perceived threat in youth's neighborhood, school, and family contexts at ages 9-10 and mental health, social, and neurocognitive outcomes at ages 11-12 within a large US cohort (N = 5525) enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: Low Threat in all contexts, Elevated Family Threat, Elevated Neighborhood Threat, and Elevated Threat in all contexts. Mixed-effect models and post hoc pairwise comparisons showed that youth in Elevated Threat profile had poorer mental health and social outcomes 2 years later. Youth in the Elevated Family Threat profile uniquely showed increased disruptive behavior symptoms, whereas youth in the Elevated Neighborhood Threat profile predominantly displayed increased sleep problems and worse neurocognitive outcomes 2 years later. Together, findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of threat across multiple contexts to achieve a more nuanced developmental picture.

Determinants of mindful parenting: a cross-cultural examination of parent and child reports

Based on Belsky’s process of parenting model and its recent update, the present study aims to explore multiple determinants of mindful parenting (i.e., parents’ psychological distress, child negative emotionality, and parental social support) across the UK and Türkiye using a multi-informant approach and multiple-group path analysis. We considered both parents’ and children’s perceptions of mindful parenting to obtain a complete picture of the mindful parenting process within families. Parents and their children aged 11–16 years were recruited in the UK (N = 101, Mchild age = 13.06 years, SDchild age = 1.64 years) and Türkiye (N = 162, Mchild age = 13.28 years, SDchild age = 1.65 years). Multiple-group path analysis revealed that both parent and child perspectives of mindful parenting are multiply determined. Parental psychological distress mediated the associations of child negative emotionality and social support with mindful parenting in both cultures. However, child negative emotionality was a direct determinant of mindful parenting in the UK only. Overall, our study shed light on both individual and cultural differences in the mindful parenting process. Limitations of the current research and recommendations and implications for future mindful parenting research and practices were discussed.

Tonic and phasic irritability in 6-year-old children: differential correlates and outcomes

OBJECTIVE

Irritability is a common and clinically important problem in children and adolescents and a risk factor for later psychopathology and impairment. Irritability can manifest in both tonic (e.g., irritable, touchy mood) and phasic (e.g., temper outburst) forms, and recent studies of adolescents suggest that they predict different outcomes. However, no studies have examined whether tonic and phasic irritability are empirically distinguishable in 6-year-old children and whether they have distinct correlates and outcomes.

METHOD

We utilized data from a longitudinal study of an unselected community sample of four hundred fifty-two 6-year-olds followed at 3-year intervals to age 15. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using relevant items from a diagnostic interview and several parent-report inventories.

RESULTS

The CFA identified dimensions that were consistent with tonic and phasic irritability. Tonic irritability was independently associated with concurrent parent-reported temperamental negative affectivity and internalizing and externalizing disorders at age 6 and predicted higher rates of internalizing psychopathology, and suicidal ideation, in adolescence. Phasic irritability was independently associated with concurrent parent-reported temperamental negative affectivity, surgency, and low effortful control, maladaptive parenting styles and practices, and externalizing disorders at age 6, and predicted higher rates of externalizing psychopathology in adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

Tonic and phasic irritability in 6-year-old children appear to be distinguishable constructs with different temperament and parenting correlates and psychopathological outcomes. Distinguishing these components has implications for research on the etiology and pathophysiology of irritability and developing effective treatments.

Mostly worse, occasionally better: impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Canadian children and adolescents

This large cross-sectional study examined the impact of COVID-19 emergency measures on child/adolescent mental health for children/adolescents with and without pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses. Using adapted measures from the CRISIS questionnaire, parents of children aged 6-18 (N = 1013; 56% male; 62% pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis) and self-reporting children/adolescents aged 10-18 (N = 385) indicated changes in mental health across six domains: depression, anxiety, irritability, attention, hyperactivity, and obsessions/compulsions. Changes in anxiety, irritability, and hyperactivity were calculated for children aged 2-5 years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. COVID-19 exposure, compliance with emergency measures, COVID-19 economic concerns, and stress from social isolation were measured with the CRISIS questionnaire. Prevalence of change in mental health status was estimated for each domain; multinomial logistic regression was used to determine variables associated with mental health status change in each domain. Depending on the age group, 67-70% of children/adolescents experienced deterioration in at least one mental health domain; however, 19-31% of children/adolescents experienced improvement in at least one domain. Children/adolescents without and with psychiatric diagnoses tended to experience deterioration during the first wave of COVID-19. Rates of deterioration were higher in those with a pre-exiting diagnosis. The rate of deterioration was variable across different age groups and pre-existing psychiatric diagnostic groups: depression 37-56%, anxiety 31-50%, irritability 40-66%, attention 40-56%, hyperactivity 23-56%, obsessions/compulsions 13-30%. Greater stress from social isolation was associated with deterioration in all mental health domains (all ORs 11.12-55.24). The impact of pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis was heterogenous, associated with deterioration in depression, irritability, hyperactivity, obsession/compulsions for some children (ORs 1.96-2.23) but also with improvement in depression, anxiety, and irritability for other children (ORs 2.13-3.12). Economic concerns were associated with improvement in anxiety, attention, and obsessions/compulsions (ORs 3.97-5.57). Children/adolescents with and without pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses reported deterioration. Deterioration was associated with increased stress from social isolation. Enhancing social interactions for children/adolescents will be an important mitigation strategy for current and future COVID-19 waves.

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.

Screen Use and Mental Health Symptoms in Canadian Children and Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

IMPORTANCE

Longitudinal research on specific forms of electronic screen use and mental health symptoms in children and youth during COVID-19 is minimal. Understanding the association may help develop policies and interventions targeting specific screen activities to promote healthful screen use and mental health in children and youth.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether specific forms of screen use (television [TV] or digital media, video games, electronic learning, and video-chatting time) were associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, conduct problems, irritability, hyperactivity, and inattention in children and youth during COVID-19.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

A longitudinal cohort study with repeated measures of exposures and outcomes was conducted in children and youth aged 2 to 18 years in Ontario, Canada, between May 2020 and April 2021 across 4 cohorts of children or youth: 2 community cohorts and 2 clinically referred cohorts. Parents were asked to complete repeated questionnaires about their children's health behaviors and mental health symptoms during COVID-19.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The exposure variables were children's daily TV or digital media time, video game time, electronic-learning time, and video-chatting time. The mental health outcomes were parent-reported symptoms of child depression, anxiety, conduct problems and irritability, and hyperactivity/inattention using validated standardized tools.

RESULTS

This study included 2026 children with 6648 observations. In younger children (mean [SD] age, 5.9 [2.5] years; 275 male participants [51.7%]), higher TV or digital media time was associated with higher levels of conduct problems (age 2-4 years: β, 0.22 [95% CI, 0.10-0.35]; P < .001; age ≥4 years: β, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.02-0.11]; P = .007) and hyperactivity/inattention (β, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.006-0.14]; P = .04). In older children and youth (mean [SD] age, 11.3 [3.3] years; 844 male participants [56.5%]), higher levels of TV or digital media time were associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and inattention; higher levels of video game time were associated with higher levels of depression, irritability, inattention, and hyperactivity. Higher levels of electronic learning time were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cohort study, higher levels of screen use were associated poor mental health of children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest that policy intervention as well as evidence-informed social supports are needed to promote healthful screen use and mental health in children and youth during the pandemic and beyond.

The role of child negative emotionality in parenting and child adjustment: Gene-environment interplay

BACKGROUND

Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) describes a process through which children's heritable characteristics influence their rearing environments. The current study examined whether heritable influences on parenting and children's behavioural outcomes operate through child negative emotionality.

METHOD

Using data from the Early Growth and Development Study, we examined associations among adoptive parent reports of child anger and sadness at 4.5 years, adoptive parents' hostile and warm parenting at 6 years and child behavioural problems and social competence at age 7. Birth parent temperament was included to test whether child effects on parents reflect evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE).

RESULTS

Child anger at 4.5 years evoked hostile parenting from adoptive parents at 6 years, which was subsequently related to child problem behaviours at 7 years. Evocative rGE effects were identified for adoptive parents' hostile parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

By employing a genetically informed design, we found that birth parent temperament was related to child negative emotionality. Adoptive parents were sensitive to child negative emotionality, and this sensitivity was linked to the child's later adjustment.

Identifying environmental pathways between irritability during childhood and suicidal ideation and attempt in adolescence: findings from a 20-year population-based study

BACKGROUND

Irritable children are at increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, but the underlying environmental mechanisms accounting for these associations are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the mediating role of peer victimization and harsh parenting in the association between childhood irritability and adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt.

METHOD

N = 1,483 participants from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development followed up from 5 months until 20 years of age (2018) with annual or biannual assessments. Irritability was operationalized using assessments of teacher-reported temper tantrums and reactive aggression. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempt at ages 13, 15, 17, and 20 years were self-reported. Peer victimization (self-reported at age 13) and harsh parenting (mothers reported at age 13) were considered as potential mediators.

RESULTS

We identified four trajectories of teacher-reported irritability symptoms from 6 to 12 years: low (74.8%), rising (12.9%), declining (7.3%), and persistent (4.9%). In adjusted models, children in the persistent and rising trajectories had, respectively, 2.81-fold (CI, 1.27-6.22) and 2.14-fold (CI, 1.20-3.81) increased odds of suicide attempt in adolescence, but not suicidal ideation. We found that a significant proportion of the association between irritability trajectories and suicide attempt was mediated by peer victimization (33% and 35% for rising and persistent, respectively), but there was no mediation via harsh parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that peer victimization may be a key mechanism explaining the increased suicide attempt risk of children presenting with persistently high or increasing irritability. Interventions to reduce peer victimization may be helpful to reduce suicide risk among irritable children.

Context-dependent irritability in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: correlates and stability of family-restricted versus cross-situational temper outbursts

BACKGROUND

Impairing irritability is highly prevalent in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although manifestations of irritability are not necessarily present in all settings (home, school, with peers). At the moment, little is known about the relative prevalence, stability, and etiologies of contextual versus cross-situational manifestations of irritability in ADHD. In this study, levels of dysfunctional parenting practices and sleep problems were compared in irritable versus nonirritable children with ADHD, in cases of family-restricted versus cross-situational irritability, and examined as predictors of irritability levels over a one-year interval. Stability of irritability manifestations over time was investigated, and prevalence of cross-situational disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) versus 'family-restricted' DMDD was compared.

METHOD

One hundred and seventy children with ADHD (age 6-11) were examined. Parents completed a semi-structured interview and questionnaire to assess irritability, and parent-report questionnaires were used to evaluate parenting practices and sleep problems. Questionnaires were completed for a second time after a one-year interval.

RESULTS

Parenting practices were more dysfunctional in the irritable group compared to the nonirritable group, while sleep problems did not differ between these two groups. Levels of parenting practices and sleep problems did not predict later irritability after correction for multiple comparison nor did they differ between the family-restricted and cross-situational irritable groups. Finally, family-restricted irritability was as prevalent and as stable over time as cross-situational irritability and family-restricted DMDD as prevalent as cross-situational DMDD.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors associated with contextual versus cross-situational manifestations of irritability in ADHD remain elusive. More subtle measures of parenting practices should be considered, including psychological control or accommodation, and other constructs such as social inhibition. Despite not being captured by current nosography, severe forms of family-restricted irritability may be as prevalent as severe forms of cross-situational irritability.

How and Why Are Irritability and Depression Linked?

Based on its course over time, irritability is linked to depression cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Cross-sectionally, irritability takes an episodic form as a symptom in pediatric depression; yet, irritability in the absence of depressed mood or anhedonia is rare. Longitudinally, chronic irritability has been shown to predict depression rather than bipolar disorder or externalizing disorders. Evidence suggests that the link between irritability and depression is explained mostly by shared genetic risk. Both conditions are also associated with higher rates of family history of depression, childhood temperaments and personality styles, and negative parenting styles. The treatment implications are discussed.

Prospective association of parental and child internalizing symptoms: Mediation of parenting practices and irritability

Maternal internalizing symptoms have been linked with child internalizing symptoms, but paternal internalizing difficulties have received little attention. Our aims were to prospectively analyse the simultaneous effect of maternal and paternal internalizing symptoms on child internalizing difficulties, examining gender differences, and to verify the mediating effect of parenting practices and child irritability. The sample included 470 families assessed at child ages 3, 6, 8, and 11. Multi-group structural equation modelling was performed with Mplus8.2. Complete equivalence was found between boys and girls for all paths. Maternal internalizing symptoms at age 3 had an indirect effect on child internalizing symptoms at age 11, via irritability at age 8. Paternal internalizing symptoms at age 3 were not associated with any of the variables under study. Maternal internalizing symptoms and child irritability are targets for intervention in order to prevent child internalizing difficulties.

Exposure-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: An Evidence-Based Case Study

Severe, chronic irritability is one of the most frequently reported problems in youth referred for psychiatric care. Irritability predicts adult depressive and anxiety disorders, and long-term impairment. Reflecting this pressing public health need, severe, chronic, and impairing irritability is now codified by the DSM-5 diagnosis of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). Since DMDD has only recently been added as its own nosological class, efficacious treatments that specifically target severe irritability as it presents in DMDD are still being developed. In a recent pilot study, we described the general concept of exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for irritability. This mechanism-driven treatment is based on our pathophysiological model of irritability that postulates two underlying mechanisms, which potentiate each other: (1) heightened reactivity to frustrative nonreward, and (2) aberrant approach responses to threat. In this case report, we describe and illustrate the specific therapeutic techniques used to address severe irritability in an 11-year-old boy with a primary diagnosis of DMDD. Specific techniques within this CBT include motivational interviewing to build commitment and target oppositionality; creation of an anger hierarchy; in-session controlled, gradual exposure; and parent training focusing on contingency management to counteract the instrumental learning deficits in irritable youth. Parents learn to tolerate their own emotional responses to their youth's irritability (e.g., parents engage in their own exposure) and increase their adaptive contingencies for their youth's behavior (e.g., withdraw attention during unwanted behavior, praise desirable behavior). Future directions in the context of this CBT, such as leveraging technology, computational modeling, and pathophysiological targets, are discussed.

Parenting Is an Environmental Predictor of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: A Monozygotic Twin Differences Study

OBJECTIVE

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits increase risk for children to develop severe childhood aggression and conduct disorder. CU traits are typically described as highly heritable, and debate continues about whether the parenting environment matters in their etiology. Strong genetically informed designs are needed to test for the presence of environmental links between parenting practices and CU traits. Our objective was to determine whether parental harshness and parental warmth were related to children's aggression or CU traits when accounting for genetically mediated effects.

METHOD

We examined 227 monozygotic twin pairs (454 children) drawn from population-based and at-risk samples of twin families, leading to oversampling of twins living in poverty. We computed multi-informant difference scores combining mother and father reports of their harshness and warmth toward each twin, and differences in mother reports of each twin's aggression and CU traits.

RESULTS

Twin differences in parental harshness were related to differences in both aggression and CU traits, such that the twin who received harsher parenting had higher aggression and more CU traits. Differences in parental warmth were uniquely related to differences in CU traits, such that the twin receiving warmer parenting evidenced lower CU traits. These effects were not moderated by child sex, age, or family income, with the exception that the relationship between differential parental harshness and differential child aggression was stronger among low-income families.

CONCLUSION

Parenting is related to child CU traits and aggression, over and above genetically mediated effects, with low parental warmth being a unique environmental correlate of CU traits.

The Neurodevelopmental Basis of Early Childhood Disruptive Behavior: Irritable and Callous Phenotypes as Exemplars

The arrival of the Journal's 175th anniversary occurs at a time of recent advances in research, providing an ideal opportunity to present a neurodevelopmental roadmap for understanding, preventing, and treating psychiatric disorders. Such a roadmap is particularly relevant for early-childhood-onset neurodevelopmental conditions, which emerge when experience-dependent neuroplasticity is at its peak. Employing a novel developmental specification approach, this review places recent neurodevelopmental research on early childhood disruptive behavior within the historical context of the Journal. The authors highlight irritability and callous behavior as two core exemplars of early disruptive behavior. Both phenotypes can be reliably differentiated from normative variation as early as the first years of life. Both link to discrete pathophysiology: irritability with disruptions in prefrontal regulation of emotion, and callous behavior with abnormal fear processing. Each phenotype also possesses clinical and predictive utility. Based on a nomologic net of evidence, the authors conclude that early disruptive behavior is neurodevelopmental in nature and should be reclassified as an early-childhood-onset neurodevelopmental condition in DSM-5. Rapid translation from neurodevelopmental discovery to clinical application has transformative potential for psychiatric approaches of the millennium. [AJP at 175: Remembering Our Past As We Envision Our Future November 1938: Electroencephalographic Analyses of Behavior Problem Children Herbert Jasper and colleagues found that brain abnormalities revealed by EEG are a potential causal factor in childhood behavioral disorders. (Am J Psychiatry 1938; 95:641-658 )].

A harsh parenting team? Maternal reports of coparenting and coercive parenting interact in association with children's disruptive behaviour

BACKGROUND

Parenting and coparenting are both important for children's adjustment, but their interaction has been little explored. Using a longitudinal design and considering two children per family, we investigated mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting as moderators of associations between their coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour.

METHODS

Mothers and fathers from 106 'intact' families were included from the Twins, Family and Behaviour study. At Time 1 (M_{child age}  = 3 years 11 months, SD_{child age}  = 4.44 months) parents reported on their coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour via questionnaire; at Time 2 (M_{child age}  = 4 years 8 months, SD_{child age}  = 4.44 months) perceptions of coparenting and the marital relationship were collected by telephone interview. Questionnaire-based reports of children's disruptive behaviour were collected at follow-up (M_{child age}  = 5 years 11 months, SD_{child age}  = 5.52 months). Multilevel modelling was used to examine child-specific and family-wide effects.

RESULTS

Conservative multilevel models including both maternal and paternal perceptions demonstrated that maternal perceptions of coparenting and overall coercive parenting interacted in their prediction of parent-reported child disruptive behaviour. Specifically, accounting for perceived marital quality, behavioural stability, and fathers' perceptions, only in the context of perceived higher quality coparenting was there a positive association between mother-reported overall coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

When combined with highly coercive parenting, maternal perceptions of high quality coparenting may be detrimental for children's adjustment.