Child resiliency in inner-city families affected by HIV: the role of family variables

This study examined the role of family variables in child resiliency within a sample of African-American, inner-city children whose mothers are HIV-infected. Variables from three dimensions of the family were included: family structural variables, maternal variables, and mother-child (parenting) variables. The participants were 82 children between the ages of 6 and 11 and their HIV-infected mothers. Correlational analyses indicated that resiliency was associated only with three parenting variables: parent-child relationship, parental monitoring, and parental structure in the home. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated a multiplicative relationship between parental monitoring and parent-child relationship and between parental monitoring and parental structure in the home, suggesting that parenting variables potentiate each other. Clinical implications of the findings are considered.     

The association of parenting style and child age with parental limit setting and adolescent MySpace behavior

Parent and teen MySpace user pairs completed online surveys administered in June (N = 266) and September 2006 (N = 341) to assess relationships between parenting styles and limit setting and monitoring of online behaviors, the prevalence of Internet dangers and pre-teen and teen MySpace behaviors. Cross-comparison measures of MySpace usage, parenting style, limit setting/monitoring, MySpace problems, and media perceptions were used. Parenting styles were strongly related to adolescent MySpace experiences, behaviors, and attitudes, with some age differences. Parents with older children were more likely to have Neglectful or Indulgent parenting styles and less likely to set limits on online behavior. The extent of sexual solicitation, pornography, and cyberbullying was relatively low as compared with studies asserting a high incidence of Internet-related problems. Parents' high estimates of online dangers were not matched by their low rates of setting limits and monitoring teens. Theoretical and practical perspectives of the results are offered to enhance social networking experiences for parents and their children.     

Observed parenting behavior with teens: measurement invariance and predictive validity across race

Previous reports supporting measurement equality between European American and African American families have often focused on self-reported risk factors or observed parent behavior with young children. This study examines equality of measurement of observer ratings of parenting behavior with adolescents during structured tasks; mean levels of observed parenting; and predictive validity of teen self-reports of antisocial behaviors and beliefs using a sample of 163 African American and 168 European American families. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses supported measurement invariance across ethnic groups for four measures of observed parenting behavior: prosocial rewards, psychological costs, antisocial rewards, and problem solving. Some mean-level differences were found: African American parents exhibited lower levels of prosocial rewards, higher levels of psychological costs, and lower problem solving when compared to European Americans. No significant mean difference was found in rewards for antisocial behavior. Multigroup structural equation models suggested comparable relationships across race (predictive validity) between parenting constructs and youth antisocial constructs (i.e., drug initiation, positive drug attitudes, antisocial attitudes, problem behaviors) in all but one of the tested relationships. This study adds to existing evidence that family-based interventions targeting parenting behaviors can be generalized to African American families.     

The Stability of Parenting: A Longitudinal Analysis of Inner-City African-American Mothers

We examined the stability of authoritative parenting behaviors in a sample of 124 low-income, inner-city, African-American families. Parental monitoring and warmth were assessed longitudinally across four years. Test-retest correlation coefficients indicated the relative stability of both parental monitoring and warmth over the four-year assessment period was high, particularly for girls. In contrast, analyses of variance did not provide evidence for absolute stability as both parental monitoring and warmth declined across assessments, regardless of gender of child. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the historical context of monitoring is important to consider as earlier parental monitoring behaviors accounted for unique variance in later parental monitoring behaviors, beyond that accounted for by the most recent assessment. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Relationships between adolescent drug use and parental drug behaviors

The present study examined some previously reported relationships between drug use by adolescents and perceived attitudes and behaviors of their parents. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to the student body of an inner-city secondary school for difficult students. Relationships between parental use of drugs and adolescent use of the same drugs were moderate and roughly equivalent across drugs. However, parental use of marijuana was strongly related to the adolescent's use of other, harder drugs such as opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, and barbiturates. This finding is explained within the framework of Kandel's postulated stages of drug initiation. It points to a need for further study of parental influences, which may be increasingly problematic as more individuals who have grown up in our marijuana-accepting society become parents of adolescents.     

Psychosocial correlates of substance use behaviors among African American youth

Cross-sectional data were collected on substance use behaviors and potential correlates in 1,494 African American students enrolled in grades 5-12 in eight schools in a central Alabama school district. Using a risk and asset framework, self-reported recent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use were analyzed by identifying and measuring levels of influence, including individual, family, and school. For alcohol and marijuana use, recurrent risk factors were age, being hit by a parent, affiliation with gangs, and a tolerant attitude of peers toward drug use. For cigarette use, risk factors were peer-oriented: associations with gangs or cohorts holding lenient attitudes about substance use. For all substances, salient asset factors were academic achievement and parental monitoring. Findings suggest that efforts to reduce substance use behaviors should be directed at adolescents in terms of academic achievement and grade level as well as their social environments. For the latter, peer/family risks and family/school assets should be the foci for programs to minimize the short- and long-term consequences of these behaviors. Hence, the emphasis should be placed on modeling attitudes, preventing gang and family violence, encouraging parental supervision, and building positive teacher-student interactions.     

Does Problem Behavior Elicit Poor Parenting?: A Prospective Study of Adolescent Girls

This study tested the hypothesis that perceived parenting would show reciprocal relations with adolescents' problem behavior using longitudinal data from 496 adolescent girls. Results provided support for the assertion that female problem behavior has an adverse effect on parenting; elevated externalizing symptoms and substance abuse symptoms predicted future decreases in perceived parental support and control. There was less support for the assertion that parenting deficits foster adolescent problem behaviors; initially low parental control predicted future increases in substance abuse, but not externalizing symptoms, and low parental support did not predict future increases in externalizing or substance abuse symptoms. Results suggest that problem behavior is a more consistent predictor of parenting than parenting is of problem behavior, at least for girls during middle adolescence.     

Teachers' knowledge of children's exposure to family risk factors: accuracy and usefulness

Teachers' knowledge of children's exposure to family risk factors was examined using the Family Risk Factor Checklist-Teacher. Data collected for 756 children indicated that teachers had accurate knowledge of children's exposure to factors such as adverse life events and family socioeconomic status, which predicted children's mental health problems at 1 year follow-up. For children at high teacher-rated risk, odds ratios ranged from 3.04 to 7.46, after adjusting for prior mental health problems. Teachers had poor knowledge of internal family functioning, such as conflict, parenting practices, or parental drug abuse. The findings suggest that asking teachers to report children's exposure to particular family risk factors is a feasible method for identifying children for selective interventions, but improved family-school communication may further enhance this process.     

Externalizing Outcomes of Youth with and without ADHD: Time-Varying Prediction by Parental ADHD and Mediated Effects

Although parental attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for multiple negative youth outcomes, it is unknown how change in parental ADHD symptoms over time affects change in child ADHD symptoms; moreover, mediators of these predictions are largely unknown. Parents of 230 5–10 year-old children (68 % male) with (n = 120) and without ADHD (n = 110) were followed prospectively for 6–7 years across three separate waves. Parents self-reported their ADHD and depression symptoms and similarly rated offspring ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms; youth self-reported their substance use. Temporally-ordered mediators consisted of parental expressed emotion (EE), derived from the Five Minute Speech Sample, and self-reported positive and negative parenting behavior. Controlling for key demographics and parental depression symptoms, increasing parental ADHD symptoms were a time-varying predictor of worsening youth ADHD and ODD, although it was unrelated to change in CD and alcohol/substance use. Next, although EE facets (i.e., criticism, emotional over-involvement) did not mediate these predictions, negative parenting behavior significantly mediated predictions of youth ADHD (and marginally in predictions of ODD) from parental ADHD symptoms. These quasi-experimental findings suggest that parental ADHD symptoms are a potential unique causal risk factor for offspring ADHD and ODD; also, preventing negative parenting behavior secondary to parental ADHD symptoms is critical to improve trajectories of youth ADHD and ODD. We consider parental ADHD symptoms and family factors underlying emergent externalizing problems utilizing a developmental psychopathology framework, including implications for intervention and prevention.     

The Role of Family Affect in Juvenile Drug Court Offenders’ Substance Use and HIV Risk

Family-based interventions targeting parenting factors, such as parental monitoring and parent–child communication, have been successful in reducing adolescent offenders’ substance use and delinquency. This pilot, exploratory study focuses on family and parenting factors that may be relevant in reducing juvenile offenders’ substance use and sexual risk taking behavior, and in particular examines the role of family emotional involvement and responsiveness in young offenders’ risk-taking behaviors. Participants included 53 juvenile drug court offenders and their parents. Results indicate that poor parent–child communication is associated with marijuana use and unprotected sexual activity for young offenders; however, family affective responsiveness is also a significant unique predictor of unprotected sexual activity for these youth. Findings suggest that interventions focused on improving parent–child communication may reduce both marijuana use and risky sexual behavior among court-involved youth, but a specific intervention focused on improving parents and young offenders’ ability to connect with and respond to one another emotionally may provide a novel means of reducing unprotected sexual risk behaviors.     

Do Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Family Functioning Increase the Risk of Hispanic Adolescent HIV Risk Behaviors?

In the family‐based prevention science literature, family functioning, defined as positive parenting, parental involvement, family cohesion, family communication, parental monitoring of peers, and parent–adolescent communication, has been shown to ameliorate HIV risk behaviors in Hispanic youth. However, the majority of studies have relied solely on parent or adolescent reports and we know very little about parent–adolescent family functioning discrepancies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether and to what extent parent–adolescent discrepancies in family functioning increased the risk of HIV risk behaviors, including substance use and sexual risk behaviors, and whether these associations vary as a function of acculturation and youth gender. A total of 746 Hispanic 8th grade youth and their primary caregivers were included in the study. Structural equation modeling findings indicate that parent–adolescent family functioning discrepancies are associated with an increased risk of Hispanic adolescent HIV risk behaviors, including lifetime and past 90‐day alcohol and illicit drug use, and early sex initiation. In addition, study findings indicate that results vary by acculturation and youth gender. Findings are discussed in the context of existing family‐based research and practice in preventing and reducing HIV risk behaviors among Hispanic youth and their families.     

Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: The Role of Depressive Symptoms

Parental psychological control has consistently been linked to greater engagement in problem behaviors among adolescents, including over-eating behaviors, under-eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, and substance use. Previous research has suggested that child characteristics, such as temperament, may moderate this association. However, little research has examined characteristics of the adolescent that may place them at greater risk for experiencing such problem behaviors as a result of psychologically controlling parenting. Therefore, the current study examined the role of adolescents’ depressive symptoms as a risk factor (moderator) for the association between parental psychological control and adolescent problem behaviors. Participants included 161 adolescents (M_age?=?14.42, SD?=?1.73; 80.7% Caucasian; 59.6% female) living in a University city in a Mid-Atlantic state. Participants completed survey questionnaires about parental psychological control, problematic eating behaviors, risky cyber behaviors, substance use, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that psychological control was significantly and positively associated with under-eating behaviors. Psychological control was also found to be associated positively with risky cyber behaviors and substance use, but only for adolescents who reported greater depressive symptoms. The findings provide support for the role of depressive symptoms as a risk factor for the associations between psychological control and problem behaviors among adolescents.     

Infants’ behavioral styles in joint attention situations and parents’ socio-economic status

In this study the eco-cultural model of parenting (Keller, H. (2007). Cultures of infancy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum) was applied to the study of joint attention behavior of children from families with different socio-economic status (SES). It was hypothesized that infants’ early communication styles would differ with SES reflecting more independent or interdependent interactions with their caregivers. It was also hypothesized that infants would use the same types of behaviors whether they have declarative or imperative communication goals. The Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS, Mundy et al., 2003) was administered to 103 typically developing infants of 12 months (approximately half of them siblings of children with autism). A factor analysis, yielding four behavioral factors, namely pointing, eye contact, actions and following points, confirmed the hypothesis that infants use behaviors consistently across situations independent of their communicative intent. MANOVAs (comprising parental education and income) revealed that higher SES infants showed actions more frequently in the ESCS whereas lower SES infants followed experimenter's points more frequently. The results are discussed in the context of presumably differing socialization goals for infants and the divergent contribution of parental education and income that seem to have additive contribution to some factors (actions, following points) but divergent contributions to others (pointing, eye contact).     

Family Dynamics in Digital Homes: The Role Played by Parental Mediation in Young Children’s Digital Practices Around 14 European Countries

In contemporary society, digital media are fully integrated in our daily lives, indispensable for our routines, always connected and at-hand. Our research thus explores the parental mediation of portable digital devices in families with young children, addressing the following questions: (a) which are the most common parental mediation styles adopted towards young children; and (b) which individual features of the parents or contextual factors influence the parental mediation style adopted. Our methodology is exploratory and qualitative, considering as empirical corpus 14 national reports from the European-scale study “Young Children (0–8) and Digital Technologies” for a comparative thematic analysis. The authoritative style was the most common parental mediation style related to technology use. In general, there are transversal rules to all parental mediation styles (except laissez-faire style), such as withdraw or give devices to children according to their behavior, control (inappropriate) content and control the time of use. Also, parental perceptions and attitudes about the technologies played a heavier weight on the parental mediation style adopted, and consequently influenced the relationship of the children with digital media. Some implications for future studies, preventive actions, and family therapy are discussed.     

Examining the relationship between family context and children’s physical activity beliefs: The role of parenting style

Objectives

Previous research studies examining parental influences on children’s physical activity (PA) have focused primarily on parents’ own PA behavior, as well as their PA-related beliefs and socially supportive behaviors. The present study, although aligned with this mainstream parental influence research, was grounded in a broader child development perspective to examine the influence of parenting style on children’s PA beliefs and quality of parent-child communication.

Method

Self-report questionnaires were administered to 173 children ranging in age from 9 to 12 years to assess their perceptions of parenting style, parent-child communication patterns, as well as their own perceptions of fitness competence, value, and goal orientation.

Results

Children’s constellation of beliefs and attitudes regarding PA as well as their perceptions of the parent-child communication process did vary as a function of the type of parenting style they perceived their parents to use. High challenge parenting style was linked to higher perceived fitness competence and value on the part of the children. High support parenting style was linked to more positive perceived parent-child communication patterns.

Conclusion

Parenting style may be a critical underlying family process variable that impacts children’s development of a positive constellation of beliefs about PA. Future work is needed to link parenting style and children’s PA beliefs to their PA behavior.     

Relationship between family religious behaviors and child well-being among third-grade children

While there is growing empirical evidence that religion can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of adults and adolescents, less is known about its influence on the welfare of children. The current paper examined the relative importance of family religiosity and religious behaviors on multiple measures of children's well-being (general health, academic achievement, social skills, and behavior problems) and sought to identify whether religious variables contribute above and beyond non-religious measures of family caregiving. Parent use of religious coping and family religious behaviors, the latter defined as attendance at religious or spiritual programs, predicted several aspects of child well-being above and beyond parenting styles. Parental religious coping significantly predicted child social skills and externalizing behaviors above and beyond parenting styles. Family religious service attendance significantly predicted child health and social skills, and inversely predicted internalizing behaviors, above and beyond both parenting styles and parent use of religious coping.     

Efficacy of a Self-Administered Home-Based Parent Intervention on Parenting Behaviors for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use

A growing body of literature suggests that parenting practices characterized by careful monitoring, firm and consistent limit setting, and nurturing communication patterns with children are protective against adolescent substance use and other problem behaviors. Family-based prevention programs that promote these behaviors can be an effective way to prevent adolescent substance use. However, low participation rates remain problematic for many such programs, particularly programs that require parents to attend scheduled meetings outside the home. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a newly developed substance use prevention program when self-administered at home by parents of middle school students. As part of a randomized trial, 338 parents of middle school students either received the parent prevention program or served as control group participants. Parents completed self-report surveys at home that assessed parenting behaviors at pre-test, post-test, and one-year follow-up time points. A series of mixed model ANCOVAs were conducted, examining the post-test and one-year follow-up means for the parent outcomes, controlling for pre-test levels on these outcomes. Analyses showed that at the post-test assessment, intervention parents reported significant increases relative to controls in appropriate role modeling, disciplinary practices, family communication, and parental monitoring skills. At the one-year follow-up assessment, intervention effects on family communication skills remained significant and effects on parental role modeling were marginally significant. This study shows that a theoretically rich prevention program can be effectively self-administered by parents at home and improve key parenting skills that have been shown to prevent adolescent substance use.     

Transmission risk behaviors in a subset of HIV-positive individuals: The role of narcissistic personality features

Most people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) take steps to protect their sexual partners. However, a minority of PLWHA continue to engage in sexual risk behaviors that might contribute to the transmission of HIV. Psychiatric conditions, including certain pathological traits, are associated with sexual risk behaviors. Research examining the association between narcissistic traits as they relate to HIV transmission risk is limited. In the present study, 303 PLWHA were recruited from an infectious disease clinic and completed questionnaires assessing narcissistic characteristics, substance use, sexual risk behavior, and intentions to use condoms in the future. Narcissistic traits predicted unprotected sex with partners who are HIV-negative or whose HIV status was unknown as well as lower intentions to use condoms, after controlling for demographic factors and substance use. Interventions focused on reducing the transmission of HIV should take into account associations between sexual risk behavior and narcissism.     

The Moderating Effects of Gratitude on the Association Between Perceived Parenting Styles and Suicidal Ideation

Suicidal ideation is defined as the thoughts about engaging in suicidal-related behaviors. Very few studies have been conducted on children’s suicidal ideation as there is a biased perception that suicidal behavior under the age of 12 is scarce. However, suicide is the leading cause of death among young children. Child suicidal ideation is predictive of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in adulthood. Association between certain parenting styles and suicidal ideation have been found in empirical studies. However, little is known about the role of parenting and suicidal ideation in Chinese young children. We examined whether gratitude can reduce the risk of suicide by moderating the association between parenting styles and child suicidal ideation. We recruited 447 Chinese children (53.3% female; mean age?=?10.06, SD?=?1.76) to participate in a survey. Perceived parenting style (warmth/accepting, dominating, and autonomy granting), gratitude, and suicidal ideation were assessed using self-reported measures. We found that all three perceived parental styles were significantly associated with child suicidal ideation. Further, gratitude was found to have a significant moderating effect on suicidal ideation, across the analysis of the three perceived parenting styles. This suggests that gratitude may be adopted in preventive and clinical interventions so that children at risk can benefit from reducing the negative effects of ineffective parenting styles and suicidal ideation.     

Childhood Maltreatment and its Effect on Parenting among High-Risk Parents

Research evidence indicates that a childhood history of maltreatment affects parental behaviors in adulthood. The aim of the study was to investigate the predictors for parental behaviors among individuals who reported a history of maltreatment. The current study investigated whether attachment styles, emotional regulation and cognitive appraisals of parenting predicted parental behaviors (positive vs. negative). The study also investigated the differential effects of abuse experiences in childhood (physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect) on parental behaviors. The participants were 213 high-risk Jewish and Arab parents of children aged six and under. Participants completed five self-report questionnaires assessing parental behaviors, childhood experiences of abuse and neglect, attachment styles, emotional regulation, and cognitive appraisal of parenthood. The regression analyses revealed that personal attributes such as ethnicity, childhood experience of emotional abuse/neglect, emotional regulation, and appraisal of parenting, predict negative parental behavior. Anxious attachment and childhood emotional abuse and neglect moderated the impact of parenthood appraisal on parenting behaviors. Although physical and sexual abuse had the highest impact on insecure attachment, emotional abuse/neglect had higher predictive power for non-positive parenting. Clinical interventions for improving the capacity for emotional regulation and parent-child relational skills are suggested.