The role of romantic attachment and self‐criticism and dependency for the relationship satisfaction of community adults

This article aims to investigate the role of romantic attachment versus the personality dimensions related to self‐definition and relatedness for relationship satisfaction. Self‐report instruments measuring romantic attachment, self‐criticism and dependency, severity of depression, negative life events and relationship satisfaction were administrated to 266 community adults. As expected, results showed that secure romantic attachment was positively and insecure romantic attachment was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, and this was the case even when controlling for self‐criticism and dependency, severity of depression and negative life events. Implications of these findings for couple therapy are discussed.     

Relationships among parenting practices,parental stress,child behaviour,and children's social‐cognitive development

The present study included observational and self‐report measures to examine associations among parental stress, parental behaviour, child behaviour, and children's theory of mind and emotion understanding. Eighty‐three parents and their 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children participated. Parents completed measures of parental stress, parenting (laxness, overreactivity), and child behaviour (internalizing, externalizing); children completed language, theory of mind, and emotion understanding measures. Parent–child interactions also were observed (N=47). Laxness and parenting stress predicted children's theory of mind performance and parental usage of imitative gestures and vocalizations accounted for unique variance in emotion understanding. Associations also were found between child behaviour and emotion understanding. Results provide support for direct and indirect associations between parent–child interactions and early social‐cognitive development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parents as Partners: A U.K. Trial of a U.S. Couples‐Based Parenting Intervention For At‐Risk Low‐Income Families

Despite the well‐established links between couple relationship quality and healthy family functioning, and burgeoning evidence from the international intervention field, there is little or no evidence of the efficacy of couples‐based interventions from the United Kingdom (U.K.). This study explored whether the Parents as Partners (PasP) program, a group‐based intervention developed in the United States, brought about the same benefits in the U.K. The evaluation is based on 97 couples with children from communities with high levels of need, recruited to PasP because they are at high risk for parent and child psychopathology. Both mothers and fathers completed self‐report questionnaires assessing parents’ psychological distress, parenting stress, couple relationship quality and conflict, fathers’ involvement in child care and, importantly, children's adjustment. Multilevel modeling analysis comparing parents’ responses pre‐ and postintervention not only showed substantial improvements for both parents on multiple measures of couple relationship quality, but also improvements in parent and child psychopathology. Analyses also indicated most substantial benefits for couples displaying poorest functioning at baseline. The findings provide initial evidence for the successful implementation of PasP, an American‐origin program, in the U.K., and add support for the concept of the couple relationship as a resource by which to strengthen families.     

Validity of the Short Form of the Parenting Stress Index for Fathers of Toddlers

We examined the psychometric properties of two scales of the parenting stress index-short form (PSI-SF) in a low-income sample of fathers of toddlers. The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the parental distress and parent–child dysfunctional interaction subscales were assessed for 696 fathers in a multi-site study of Early Head Start. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) compared the fit of the developer recommended two-factor scales with five-factor scales theoretically derived and supported with mothers. Our results suggested that two subscales from the PSI-SF were reliable and valid for this sample of racially diverse, low-income fathers of toddlers. However, these subscales capture multiple dimensions of parenting stress and results also supported the use of more narrowly defined aspects of parenting stress that included general distress, distress specifically related to parenting demands, problematic interactions of the father–toddler dyad, perceptions of the child, and parental perceptions of self as a parent. These unidimensional scales may prove useful in research and clinical activities by allowing researchers to elucidate the mechanisms through which stress impacts parenting and permitting clinicians information to develop more targeted interventions for young children and their families.     

Parents' perfectionism and its relation to child rearing behaviors

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between parents' perfectionism and self‐reported parenting behaviors. The study included 786 parents (417 mothers and 369 fathers) of high school students. Results showed that parents' positive and negative perfectionism were differently related to specific forms of child rearing practices. Namely, positive perfectionism was positively, while negative perfectionism was negatively related to parental acceptance for both mothers and fathers. Mothers' and fathers' negative perfectionism was positively related to parental criticism and permissiveness. In addition, fathers' positive perfectionism was negatively associated with permissive child rearing practices. After controlling for background variables, parents' positive and negative perfectionism explained significant amounts of variance in all self‐reported parenting dimensions for fathers and significantly accounted for the variance of parental acceptance and criticism for mothers. According to our findings, parents' perfectionism might have an important role in shaping parenting behaviors.     

Very Young Child Well-being in Military Families: A Snapshot

Since the September 11th attacks on the U.S., more than 2 million children have experienced parental deployment during their early years, with potentially lasting impact. When a parent is deployed, a number of factors may affect the well-being of the service member and his/her family. One parental factor—posttraumatic stress disorder or distress—might be particularly powerful in its effect on young children and the family system. We analyzed baseline data from an intervention development project which focused on supporting military families with very young children during post-deployment. The purpose of this research is to understand the relationships between parental mental health status, parenting stress, couple functioning, and young child well-being. The effects of mental health status of home-front and service member parents and the role of couple functioning on parent–child interactions and behavioral problems of young children were examined in a sample of military families during the post-deployment period. Findings suggest that service member posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with higher parental report of child behavior problems. Higher quality of the couple relationship appears to lessen the impact of parental posttraumatic stress but is not related to parent perceptions of child behavior concerns. Implications for future research with military families are discussed.     

Testing a Military Family Stress Model

The current study examines a military family stress model, evaluating associations between deployment‐related stressors (i.e., deployment length/number, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) and parent, child, parenting, and dyadic adjustment among families in which a parent had previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in the recent conflicts. Married families (N = 293) with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 12 were recruited from a Midwestern state. Service members were from the Reserve Component (National Guard or Reserves); fathers (N = 253) and/or mothers had deployed (N = 45) to the recent conflicts in the Middle East. Multiple‐method (observations of parenting and couple interactions; questionnaires) and multiple informant measures were gathered online and in the homes of participants, from parents, children, and teachers. Findings demonstrated associations between mothers’ and fathers’ PTSD symptoms and a latent variable of child adjustment comprising teacher, parent, and child report. Mothers’ but not fathers’ PTSD symptoms were also associated with dyadic adjustment and parenting practices; parenting practices were in turn associated with child adjustment. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for military family stress research and interventions to support and strengthen parents and families after deployment.     

父母感知的家庭压力对儿童问题行为的影响：父母心理攻击和儿童应激下皮质醇反应的中介作用

儿童问题行为受到环境与个体因素的协同影响。研究以北京150名五、六年级儿童及其家长为被试,探究心理攻击和应激下皮质醇反应在父母感知的家庭压力与儿童问题行为间的中介作用。采用儿童版特里尔社会应激测试测量儿童应激下皮质醇反应,并由家长报告感知的家庭压力、对儿童的心理攻击及儿童的问题行为。结果发现：(1)父母感知的家庭压力可正向预测儿童问题行为;(2)心理攻击在父母感知的家庭压力与儿童问题行为间起中介作用;(3)心理攻击和儿童应激下皮质醇反应在父母感知的家庭压力与儿童问题行为之间起链式中介作用。研究揭示了父母感知压力对儿童问题行为影响的心理和生理机制,从父母和儿童角度为减少儿童问题行为提供了参考。     

Father‐Involvement in a Refugee Sample: Relations between Posttraumatic Stress and Caregiving

Despite increased attention to the role of fathers within families, there is still a dearth of studies on the impact of trauma on father‐involvement. This study investigates the quantity of father‐involvement and the influence of posttraumatic stress on the quality of involvement in a refugee and asylum seeker population. Eighty refugees and asylum seekers and their young children (aged 18–42 months) were recruited. Measures included assessment of parental trauma (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), quantity and quality of involvement (quantity of caregiving and Emotional Availability Scales), and perception of the father–child relationship (interview). The results show that fathers were less involved in caregiving tasks and play activities than mothers. No parental gender differences were found on each of the Emotional Availability Scales. Traumatic stress symptoms negatively affected the perception and the actual quality of parent–child interaction (sensitivity, structuring, nonhostility). Nevertheless, almost all fathers described their relationship with their child as good and their child as very important to them. As the quality of father‐involvement is of importance to the development of the child, traumatized fathers are as much in need of clinical intervention as mothers. Despite the impact of posttraumatic stress, refugee fathers clearly are involved in the lives of their children. Mechanisms such as a deliberate withdrawal when stressed and compensation might enable affected fathers to step into the interaction when needed, raise the quality of involvement with their child, and diminish the negative impact of stress resulting from trauma and migration.     

In Eating‐Disordered Inpatient Adolescents,Self‐Criticism Predicts Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury

We examined the role of depressive traits—self‐criticism and dependency—in nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation among inpatient adolescents with eating disorders. In two studies (N = 103 and 55), inpatients were assessed for depressive traits, suicidal ideations, and NSSI. In Study 2, motivation for carrying out NSSI was also assessed. In both studies, depression predicted suicidal ideation and self‐criticism predicted NSSI. In Study 2, depression and suicidal ideation also predicted NSSI. The automatic positive motivation for NSSI was predicted by dependency and depressive symptoms, and by a two‐way interaction between self‐criticism and dependency. Consistent with the “self‐punishment model,” self‐criticism appears to constitute a dimension of vulnerability for NSSI.     

Wives' and Husbands' Cortisol Reactivity to Proximal and Distal Dimensions of Couple Conflict

Poor marital quality has been linked repeatedly to spouses' health problems, with alterations to physiological stress response systems, such as the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis, as one putative mechanism. This study assessed wives' and husbands' HPA axis (i.e., cortisol) reactivity to marital criticism during laboratory‐based conflict discussions, in the context of marital aggression experienced during the previous year. Ninety‐five couples provided one saliva sample prior to—and three samples following—a triadic family conflict discussion involving their teenage child. Marital criticism during the conflict discussion was related to heightened HPA reactivity for husbands only. For wives, an interaction emerged between criticism during the conflict and previous‐year marital aggression: only those wives who had experienced high levels of marital aggression demonstrated a positive association between criticism and cortisol output. Husbands thus appeared to be more physiologically reactive to the in‐the‐moment critical behaviors, whereas wives' responses to proximal conflict were related to previous and perhaps more chronic experiences of marital aggression. These findings shed light on ways in which within‐couple processes during family conflicts involving children contribute to individual physiological functioning, enhancing our understanding of the role of family relationships in physical health outcomes.     

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.     

Predicting Parenting Stress in Families of Children with ADHD: Parent and Contextual Factors

We examined parental ADHD symptoms and contextual (parental education, social support, marital status) predictors of parent domain parenting stress (parental distress) as a function of child ADHD symptoms in a sample of 95 parents of 8 to 12 year-old children with and without ADHD. Parents’ perceptions of parental distress and social support were inversely-related. Parental ADHD symptomatology was the strongest predictor of parental distress of the variables considered. Models using teacher reports of child ADHD symptomatology and oppositionality differed from ones using parent reports, in that child oppositionality was only predictive of parental distress in the parent-report model. A post-hoc analysis showed that child factors did not predict parental distress over and above parent ADHD symptoms and contextual factors. These results suggest that parental ADHD symptomatology and parenting stress reduction should be considered in development of interventions for families of children with ADHD.     

Associations between Stress,Psychosomatic Complaints,and Parental Criticism among Affluent Adolescent Girls

A growing body of research has shown that adolescent girls in the context of affluence face a series of unique pressures that may increase social-emotional problems. Little research, however, has examined associations between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints among privileged youth. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between stress, psychosomatic complaints, and parental criticism in a sample of preadolescent and adolescent girls (n?=?218) from selective, private schools. Using OLS regression analyses, cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were evident between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints, with increases in stress associated with increases in psychosomatic problems. Parental criticism was also examined as a predictor of girls’ psychosomatic complaints and stress levels. Results indicated that parental criticism was significantly and positively associated with psychosomatic problems in cross-sectional models and that perceived stress levels mediated this association. Additional analyses demonstrated that the relationship between psychosomatic complaints and stress may be bidirectional. Taken together, results from this exploratory study suggest that girls in the context of affluence may also experience psychosomatic complaints, in addition to social-emotional problems.     

Family rituals in married couples: Links with attachment,relationship quality,and closeness

This study examined the association between self‐reports of family rituals and relationship attachment, relationship quality, and closeness in 150 married couples in Portugal. Using structural equation modeling to examine both within‐individual and across‐partner effects, the results were generally as predicted. First, lower levels of avoidant attachment were related to greater family investment in rituals. Second, greater family investment in rituals was associated with more positive relationship quality and closeness. Third, family investment in rituals partially mediated the link between avoidance and relationship quality and closeness. Fourth, the mediational models were significant for women but not for men. These results highlight the importance of links among family interactions, couple interactions, and individual differences.     

Examining the emerging entrepreneurial mindset in adolescence: A study in Nigeria

This study investigated the relationship of family environment, network, parental socio‐economic status, self‐efficacy and proactive personality on entrepreneurial intention of secondary school adolescents and the mediating role of self‐efficacy. The participants were 250 secondary school SS2 adolescents randomly selected from six secondary schools in Ibadan Metropolis, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the data obtained from the participants. The results showed that all the contextual and individual factors had significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention and self‐efficacy partially mediated the relationship. It was suggested that counselling psychologists should consider the contextual and individual variables while assisting students in building their entrepreneurial intention.     

Life‐events and post‐traumatic stress in a sample of English adolescents

The aim of the present study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence of negative life‐events and their association with post‐traumatic stress in English adolescents. Of the 427 adolescents surveyed, 360 (84%) endorsed at least one negative event. Respondents were asked to complete the Impact of Event Scale (IES: Horowitz, Wilner and Alvarez, 1979) for each event that they endorsed. For boys, highest levels of post‐traumatic stress were found in those who had experience of a ‘family member with a drink or drugs problem’, followed by ‘parental separation or divorce’, ‘life threat to family member’, and ‘life‐threat to self ’. For girls, highest levels of post‐traumatic stress were found in those who had experienced ‘attack or physical assault to self ’, followed by ‘family member with drink or drugs problem’, ‘parental separation or divorce’, and ‘life threat to family member’. These data suggest that moderate levels of post‐traumatic stress are present in around one fifth of adolescents who have experienced one of these events and that community levels of post‐traumatic stress in adolescents may be higher than previously thought. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relationships Between Family Financial Stress,Mental Health Problems,Child Rearing Practice,and School Involvement Among Taiwanese Parents with School-Aged Children

This study examined the relationships between family financial stress, mental health problems, child rearing practice, and school involvement using a sample of 431 parents with children in grades 1–4 from one elementary school in a rural area of Taiwan. Financial stress was hypothesized to be associated with parental mental health problems, which in turn were expected to be linked to poorer child rearing practice and less parental involvement in school. Structural equation models were constructed and tested in a stepwise manner. Results showed that financial stress was significantly associated with higher mental health problems, poorer child rearing effort, and decreased parental school involvement while parents’ mental health problems were not significantly associated with their child rearing efforts or involvement in school. These findings suggest that the impact of family financial stress on Taiwanese parents’ child rearing practice is largely direct rather than mediated through their mental health problems.     

学前儿童问题行为对父母抚养压力的影响及夫妻亲密的调节作用

研究旨在探讨学前儿童问题行为对父亲、母亲抚养压力的影响及夫妻亲密在其中的作用机制。采用儿童问题行为问卷、抚养压力量表和夫妻亲密量表对3164名学前儿童的父母进行测查。研究发现：（1）母亲抚养压力在学前儿童问题行为与父亲抚养压力之间起部分中介作用;（2）夫妻亲密调节母亲抚养压力对父亲抚养压力的作用,夫妻亲密越高,母亲抚养压力对父亲抚养压力的预测作用越强,学前儿童问题行为通过母亲抚养压力对父亲抚养压力的间接作用也越大。     

Couple Identity Gaps,the Management of Conflict,and Biological and Self‐Reported Stress in Romantic Relationships

This study investigates the role of couple identity gaps in romantic partners' communicative and physiological management of stress during a conflict‐inducing discussion task. A total of 118 couples participated in a laboratory study in which they engaged in a conflict‐inducing discussion. Perceptions of intra‐ and extrarelationship couple identity gaps were associated with greater self‐reported anxiety and stress for men and greater negativity for women during the conversation. Extrarelationship identity gaps were also significantly associated with heightened cortisol and (salivary alpha‐amylase) sAA reactivity and delayed recovery, especially for women. The study extends the research on couple identity by introducing the concept of identity gaps into relational contexts to help explain why couples vary in their ability to manage stress.