Expressed Emotion,Parental Stress,and Family Dysfunction Among Parents of Nonclinical Italian Children

Expressed emotion (EE) is an index of the amount of emotion typically displayed by a family member or caretaker characterized by high emotional involvement, hostility or criticism. The aims of the current study were (a) to examine EE, stress and helplessness in childcare, and family functioning in mothers and fathers of elementary and junior high school children without clinical mental health problems living in a “nonclinical” family context; (b) to assess relationships between child age, gender, socio-economic status and EE; and (c) to investigate whether there are some factors—in a “normal family” context—that play a crucial role in the quality of EE. EE, assessed using the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS), and questionnaires assessing parenting alliance, family functioning, parenting stress index, and the parent’s state of helplessness in caring for the child were completed by a community-based Italian sample of mothers and fathers of children (N = 381) aged 6–14 years (M = 9.8, SD = 2.25). As expected, low rates in all FMSS variables were found for mothers and fathers, without significant differences between them. Mothers and fathers who showed high EE scores reported higher family non-adaptive functioning. Mothers also reported higher parental stress and higher Helplessness in caring for the child. Mothers’ stress and fathers’ reports of higher family non-adaptive functioning were the most consistent predictors of EE. Further research is needed to highlight associations between EE and family functioning.     

Maternal Incarceration,Children’s Psychological Adjustment,and the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Children who live in the context of maternal incarceration (MI) are exposed to both general environmental risk and incarceration-specific risk increasing the probability of their developing externalizing and internalizing behaviors problems. Little research has examined the socio-emotional mechanisms that account for the psychological effects of MI. This research examined children’s anger and sadness regulation as mediators between environmental and incarceration-specific risk and psychological functioning. Participants were 117 children (60% Black; 52% boys; M age = 9.85 years, SD = 1.65 years), their incarcerated mother, and current caregiver. All informants completed questionnaires assessing children’s anger and sadness regulation as well as externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Mothers and caregivers provided information concerning children’s exposure to environmental risk and all three reporters provided information on incarceration-specific risk experiences (ISRE). Structural equation modeling was used to test indirect effects of risk variables (ISRE, environmental) on psychological functioning (externalizing, internalizing behaviors) via emotion regulation (anger, sadness). Gender, age, and race were covariates. The analyses revealed significant indirect effects of incarceration-specific risk on both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems via anger regulation but not via sadness regulation. The findings highlight the centrality of emotion regulation as a mechanism that helps explain the negative psychological outcomes experienced by children exposed to ISRE with implications for preventive interventions.     

Family Cohesion and Adaptation in Pediatric Chronic Conditions: The Missing Link of the Family’s Condition Management

The quality of family functioning has been considered an important predictor of adaptation in children with chronic conditions and their parents. Previous research suggests that beyond general family functioning, the specific experience of the family’s condition management is paramount for understanding family members’ adaptation. This study’s first goal was to compare family functioning and parents’ and children’s adaptation outcomes across four chronic conditions: asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and obesity. Secondly, we explored the mediating role of family life difficulties and parental mutuality, as two potential paths through which family cohesion is linked to family members’ adaptation. A total of 263 parents of children (3–19 years old) with asthma (n = 77), obesity (n = 79), epilepsy (n = 52) and diabetes (n = 55) completed self-report measures of family cohesion, family life difficulty, parental mutuality, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and their children’s health-related quality of life (HrQoL). The results showed that families of children with diabetes, obesity, and epilepsy were at higher risk of experiencing family difficulties and children’s deteriorated HrQoL when compared to families of children with asthma. With regard to the links among study variables, although family cohesion had both a direct and indirect relationship with parental depressive symptoms, its links with parental anxiety symptoms and children’s HrQoL were only indirect, through family life difficulty. These associations were consistent across the four clinical groups. These findings emphasize the relevance of family-centered interventions aimed at promoting family cohesion, parents’ mutuality, and effective coping with the demands of pediatric chronic conditions.     

Caregiver ratings and performance-based indices of executive function among preschoolers with and without maltreatment experience

Despite the well-documented impact of early maltreatment on children’s executive function (EF), there has been limited consensus about how to best assess this neurocognitive domain in high-risk, vulnerable preschool-aged children. Relevant studies have generally utilized either performance-based tests or caregiver ratings of EF, yet multi-method research has been rare. This study examined the EF profiles of preschoolers exposed to maltreatment, as indexed by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive function – Preschool Version (BRIEF-P), and investigated associations between caregiver ratings and performance-based measures (Happy–Sad Stroop, Tapping Test, and Dimensional Change Card Sort – DCCS) of EF in this population. Maltreatment status was further tested as a moderator of associations between these measures. Participants were (n = 107) children aged 4–5 years (M = 4.75; SD = 0.57; 39% female), with various levels of exposure to maltreatment. Children exposed to maltreatment were found to exhibit significantly more caregiver-rated deficits in EF than non-maltreated children, with greater fluctuations apparent across all scales of the BRIEF-P. Consistent with previous research in neurologically impaired children, there were only limited and weak to moderate correlations between BRIEF-P scales and performance-based measures of EF. Furthermore, maltreatment status was found to moderate the association between scores on the BRIEF-P Inhibit Scale and the DCCS, such that the association between these indices was weaker among children exposed to higher levels of maltreatment.     

Parent and Family Characteristics and Their Associates in a Follow-Up of Outpatient Children with ADHD

We examined associations between child symptoms, demographic variables, parent and family characteristics in a long-term follow-up study of 214 outpatient children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The children’s mean age was 12.6 (SD = 2.1) years, and the mean interval from diagnosis to follow-up was 3.7 (SD = 2.2) years. We compared the characteristics of the clinical group with a community group (n = 110) recruited from the same catchment area. Parents filled out questionnaires on child symptoms, parent characteristics, and family functioning. The results showed that parents of young boys (<13 years) experienced more parenting stressors than those of adolescent boys (≥13 years), but the opposite was true for parents of girls. Parents of children with both ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in the clinical range experienced significantly more parent and family dysfunctions than those of children with ADHD only (even after controlling for levels of ADHD symptoms in the child). Parents of children in the community group experienced significantly less parent and family dysfunctions than those of children with ADHD. Partial correlations between parent characteristics and child symptoms showed that oppositional symptoms were most strongly associated with parent and family dysfunction. Fathers experienced significantly less parenting stress, parental efficacy, and child involvement than mothers. We conclude that parents of children with ADHD experienced considerable strain related to a broad range of parent and family characteristics. Assessment of such characteristics should be part of routine assessment procedures and a prerequisite for family-focused treatment of children with ADHD.     

Potential traumatic events in early childhood and behavioural resilience: a longitudinal case control study

Abstract

Resilience can be evidenced when an exposure to potentially traumatic event (PTE) has no negative impact on behavior. This study explored the effects of exposure to PTE applying a longitudinal design with 592 children (mean age 4 years) followed across three years. Children who had experienced a PTE and those who had not, were compared over time. Behavioral difficulties and prosocial behaviour for children experiencing PTE did not differ from those who had not experienced a PTE suggesting resilience among the exposed children. PTE in itself seems to carry minimal risk for symptoms of behaviour difficulties among preschool children.     

Interactive Effects of Psychosocial Stress and Early Pubertal Timing on Youth Depression and Anxiety: Contextual Amplification in Family and Peer Environments

While off-time pubertal development has emerged as a potential risk factor for both symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth, the literature is mixed and inconsistent as to (1) how early versus late pubertal timing confers risk for both boys and girls, (2) if the conferred risk is distinct between symptoms of anxiety and depression, and (3) under what social contexts (e.g., family environment, peer relationships) off-time pubertal development may emerge as a potent risk factor for these symptoms. The present study examined the impact of perceived pubertal timing on symptoms of anxiety and depression in two distinct psychosocial contexts: parent’s perceptions of their own harsh parenting and parent’s perceptions of their child’s peer problems. The sample consisted of 412 parents (M = 38.6 years old, SD = 7.8, 60.4 % mothers) of children between the ages of 8 and 17 (M = 12.13, SD = 2.97, 45.4 % girls). All constructs were assessed by parent reports. Linear multiple regression analyses revealed that the interaction between earlier pubertal timing and greater peer problems was significantly related to higher youth depressive and anxiety symptoms. The interaction between earlier pubertal timing and greater harsh discipline was significantly related to higher youth anxiety but not depressive symptoms. Youth gender did not qualify findings. Results suggest that the contextual amplification process of early pubertal timing may occur in both high stress family and peer environments and impact both girls and boys.     

Victimized Children’s Adjustment Difficulties: The Role of Parenting Styles and Parents’ Childhood Peer Victimization Status

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of parents’ childhood victimization status in the associations among parenting styles and victimized children’s depression and anxiety. Participants were 203 parents (86% mothers; M age = 43.75, SD = .76) and their children in the fourth or fifth grade (n = 203; 56% female; M age = 9.74, SD = .34). Children completed measures on peer victimization, their perceptions of their parents’ parenting styles, depression, and anxiety, while parents completed a measure on their childhood peer victimization while in elementary school. Parents’ childhood peer victimization status moderated relationships among authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and victimized children’s adjustment difficulties. These findings highlight the importance of considering parents’ experience of childhood peer victimization and its impact on their parenting styles and their children’s adjustment difficulties.     

Family Influences on the Long Term Post-Disaster Recovery of Puerto Rican Youth

This study focused on characteristics of the family environment that may mediate the relationship between disaster exposure and the presence of symptoms that met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for symptom count and duration for an internalizing disorder in children and youth. We also explored how parental history of mental health problems may moderate this mediational model. Approximately 18 months after Hurricane Georges hit Puerto Rico in 1998, participants were randomly selected based on a probability household sample using 1990 US Census block groups. Caregivers and children (N?=?1,886 dyads) were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and other questionnaires in Spanish. Areas of the family environment assessed include parent-child relationship quality, parent-child involvement, parental monitoring, discipline, parents’ relationship quality and parental mental health. SEM models were estimated for parents and children, and by age group. For children (4–10 years old), parenting variables were related to internalizing psychopathology, but did not mediate the exposure-psychopathology relationship. Exposure had a direct relationship to internalizing psychopathology. For youth (11–17 years old), some parenting variables attenuated the relation between exposure and internalizing psychopathology. Family environment factors may play a mediational role in psychopathology post-disaster among youth, compared to an additive role for children. Hurricane exposure had a significant relation to family environment for families without parental history of mental health problems, but no influence for families with a parental history of mental health problems.     

Specific Features of After-School Program Quality: Associations with Children’s Functioning in Middle Childhood

This longitudinal study examined associations between three after-school program quality features (positive staff–child relations, available activities, programming flexibility) and child developmental outcomes (reading and math grades, work habits, and social skills with peers) in Grade 2 and then Grade 3. Participants (n = 120 in Grade 2, n = 91 in Grade 3) attended after-school programs more than 4 days per week, on average. Controlling for child and family background factors and children’s prior functioning on the developmental outcomes, positive staff–child relations in the programs were positively associated with children’s reading grades in both Grades 2 and 3, and math grades in Grade 2. Positive staff–child relations also were positively associated with social skills in Grade 2, for boys only. The availability of a diverse array of age-appropriate activities at the programs was positively associated with children’s math grades and classroom work habits in Grade 3. Programming flexibility (child choice of activities) was not associated with child outcomes.     

The Role of BIS Sensitivity in the Relationship Between Family Enmeshment and Child Anxiety

Previous work has demonstrated that three overarching vulnerabilities–genetic, environmental, and temperamental–contribute to the development of child anxiety. The purpose of our study was to assess: (a) the relationship between an environmental vulnerability, family enmeshment, and child anxiety; (b) whether parental anxiety accounts for this relationship; and (c) whether this relationship is mediated by levels of child Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity, a highly persistent temperamental variable demonstrating positive associations with child anxiety. Our study included 38 Canadian parent–child dyads from an urban area, of which 33 children were Caucasian and 18 were girls. Children were aged 9 or 11 years (M = 10.21, SD = 1.07). Children completed measures of anxiety and sensitivity towards threat and parents completed measures of family enmeshment. The results supported a significant positive relationship between family enmeshment and child anxiety; parental anxiety did not account for this relationship; and the relationship was partially mediated by Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity. Specifically, when the effect of Behavioral Inhibition System sensitivity was controlled for, the association between family enmeshment and child anxiety became non-significant. The results suggest that family enmeshment is associated with levels of child anxiety largely through the function of children’s sensitivity to threat. Enmeshed families may increase children’s susceptibility to anxiety through their effect on child temperament, specifically sensitivity to threat.     

The Intergenerational Association Between Parents’ Problem Gambling and Impulsivity-Hyperactivity/Inattention Behaviors in Children

Despite the well-established association between problem gambling and ADHD core categories of impulsivity-hyperactivity and inattention, the link between parents’ problem gambling and impulsivity-hyperactivity/inattention (IH/I) behaviors in children has not been investigated. This study investigated the association between parents’ problem gambling and children’s IH/I behaviors while controlling for potential confounding variables. A population-based prospective cohort followed-up from kindergarten to age 30, the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children (QLSKC), provided data over three generations. Among 1358 participants at age 30, parents with a child aged 1 year or older (N = 468; Mean age = 4.65 years; SD = 2.70) were selected. Generalized Linear Models included measures of grandparents’ and parents’ problem gambling, parents’ IH/I behaviors in childhood, and a host of risk factors and comorbidities to predict IH/I in children. Intergenerational bivariate associations were observed between grandparents’ problem gambling, parents’ IH/I in childhood and problem gambling at age 30, and between parents’ IH/I, problem gambling, and children’s IH/I behaviors. Parents’ problem gambling predicted children’s IH/I behaviors above and beyond the effects of covariates such as family and socioeconomic characteristics, alcohol and drug use, depression symptoms and parents’ gambling involvement. Parents’ IH/I behaviors in childhood also predicted children’s IH/I and had a moderating, enhancing effect on parents’ problem gambling association with their offspring’s IH/I behaviors. Problem gambling is a characteristic of parents’ mental health that is distinctively associated with children’s IH/I behaviors, above and beyond parents’ own history of IH/I and of typically related addictive, psychopathological or socioeconomic risk factors and comorbidities.     

Parental Responses to School-aged Children’s Sibling Conflict

The goals of this study were: (1) to describe and compare parental responses to school-aged siblings’ conflicts; (2) to explore the sibling relationship structural correlates of the parental responses; and (3) to assess the links between type of parental response and sibling relationship quality and children’s psychosocial and physical well being. One parent from eighty-two families (mothers = 68; fathers = 13; 1 missing) of firstborn (Mage = 9.84 years old) and secondborn (Mage = 7.16 years old) children completed an anonymous survey. Parents employed a child-centered strategy most often and sanctioned sibling aggression least often in response to siblings’ conflicts. Closer age spacing among siblings was related to parents’ sanction of physical aggression. Parental response type was associated with sibling relationship quality and children’s psychosocial and physical well being. The differential associations between parental response type, sibling experiences and children’s mental and physical well being are discussed.     

Mediators and Moderators of the Relation between Parental ADHD Symptomatology and the Early Development of Child ADHD and ODD Symptoms

The present study examined mediators and moderators of the relation between parental ADHD symptomatology and the development of child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms across the preschool years. Participants included 258 (138 boys) 3-year-old children (M = 44.13 months, SD = 3.39) with and without behavior problems and their parents who took part in a 3-year longitudinal study. Maternal ADHD symptoms predicted later ADHD symptoms in children, controlling for early child symptomatology. Both family history of ADHD and paternal comorbid psychopathology predicted later child ADHD and ODD symptoms, but they did not account for the association between maternal and child ADHD symptoms. Although paternal ADHD symptoms were associated with age 3 child ADHD symptoms, they did not significantly predict later child ADHD symptoms controlling for early symptomatology. Family adversity moderated the relation between maternal ADHD and child ADHD symptoms, such that the relation between maternal and child ADHD symptoms was stronger for families with less adversity. Maternal overreactive parenting mediated the relation between maternal ADHD symptoms and later child ADHD and ODD symptoms. Our findings suggest that targeting paternal comorbid psychopathology and maternal parenting holds promise for attenuating the effects of parental ADHD on children’s ADHD.     

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Adolescents Attachment with Peers and Mother: The Mediating Role of Identity Synthesis and Confusion

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in adolescents. Secure attachment with family and peers can reduce vulnerability to NSSI and can optimize the outcomes of developmental challenges such as identity formation. Problems experienced in these developmental processes and contexts can increase vulnerability to NSSI. Hence, the present study examined associations between attachment with mother and peers, identity formation, and NSSI, using self-report questionnaires in 528 high school students (Mean age = 15.0 years, SD = 1.84, 11–19 years, 50.4 % females). The lifetime prevalence of NSSI was found to be 14.2 %. Mediation analyses indicated that peer trust had a significant negative indirect effect on NSSI via identity synthesis and confusion. The positive association between peer alienation and NSSI was partially mediated by a lack of identity synthesis. Further, the pathways from maternal trust and alienation to NSSI were fully mediated by both identity confusion and synthesis. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Examining the Regulatory and Reactive Temperamental Characteristics as Predictors of Low Income Preschool Children’s Executive Function

The current study is an examination of low income children’s reactive and regulatory temperamental characteristics as predictors of their executive function, with a particular focus on children’s regulatory temperament (i.e., inhibitory control and attentional focusing) as moderators of associations between reactive temperament (i.e., negative emotionality) and executive function. Participants were 291 children (159 boys) ages 37 to 70 months (M = 53.88 months, SD = 6.44 months) enrolled in 17 classrooms within 3 different preschools serving low income children in two Midwestern cities in the United States. Temperament was assessed via parent report during Fall 2014, and executive function were assessed via structured tasks implemented by independent researchers during Spring and Summer 2015. SAS PROC MIXED was used to test hierarchical regression models of children nested within classrooms. After controlling for child age, gender, ethnicity, and parent education, regulatory temperament moderated the association between reactive temperament and executive function. Children’s reactive temperament was inversely associated with their executive function. These findings suggest that understanding children’s regulatory and reactive temperamental characteristics may help to improve their executive functioning in early childhood.     

Identifying Children at Risk of Problematic Development: Latent Clusters Among Childhood Arrestees

The presence of clusters characterized by distinct profiles of individual, family and peer characteristics among childhood arrestees was investigated and cluster membership stability after 2 years was determined. Identification of such clusters in this heterogeneous at-risk group can extend insight into the presence and severity of children’s co-occurring problems and guide intervention and prevention efforts. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to detect clusters among 308 childhood arrestees (mean age 10.7 years), based on dichotomous dynamic correlates of offending present at the time of first arrest. Correlates in the individual, peer and family domains were assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up, using standardized instruments. This resulted in identification of a low problem group characterized by few problems across all domains (40.2 %), an externalizing intermediate problem group characterized by mainly externalizing problems on the individual and peer domains (39.4 %), and a pervasive high problem group characterized by numerous problems across all domains (20.4 %). Cluster membership was most stable for the low problem group (71.4 %), followed by the externalizing intermediate problem group (49.5 %). Transition was highest in the pervasive high problem group (63.0 %), with the majority of children progressing to the externalizing intermediate problem group. The identification of such distinct clusters among childhood arrestees, differing in the presence of co-occurring problems, stresses the importance of a first police arrest as an opportunity for early recognition of children in need of care. As problems present at the time of first arrest do not persist in every child, careful periodic monitoring is needed.     

Made in America: Perspectives on Friendship in West African Immigrant Families

This qualitative study compared West African immigrant parents’ and adolescents’ perspectives on parental monitoring of adolescents’ peer groups. Parents (n = 31) and adolescent children (n = 25) were interviewed using focus groups and individual interviews, and data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Parents expressed a general concern about external influences on their children, particularly their mistrust of their children’s friends. Adolescents reported that they were aware of their parents’ fears and described their attempts to manage their parents’ concerns while simultaneously maintaining friendships with same-ethnic and other-ethnic peers. This study offers both parent and adolescent perspectives in an effort to better understand adolescents’ peer socialization and parental monitoring among West African immigrant families, one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. Recommendations for mental health professions are discussed.     

Religion and Health: Anxiety,Religiosity, Meaning of Life and Mental Health

We examined the association among anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health in a nonclinical sample from a Chinese society. Four hundred fifty-one Taiwanese adults (150 males and 300 females) ranging in age from 17 to 73 years (M = 28.9, SD = 11.53) completed measures of Beck Anxiety Inventory, Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Scale, and Personal Religiosity Scale (measuring religiosity and meaning of life). Meaning of life has a significant negative correlation with anxiety and a significant positive correlation with mental health and religiosity; however, religiosity does not correlate significantly anxiety and mental health after controlling for demographic measures, social support and physical health. Anxiety explains unique variance in mental health above meaning of life. Meaning of life was found to partially mediate the relationship between anxiety and mental health. These findings suggest that benefits of meaning of life for mental health can be at least partially accounted for by the effects of underlying anxiety.