Intergenerational transmission of marital quality across the transition to parenthood

One of the most frequently reported changes across the transition to parenthood is a decline in marital quality after the birth of a first baby. Experiences in the family of origin may influence the trajectory of marital quality. Our study aimed to investigate the impact of recollections of family-of-origin marriage on marital quality (self-reports and clinical evaluation) from pregnancy to 1 year after the birth of a first child. A total of 62 first-time parents completed questionnaires (self-reported marital satisfaction) and clinical interviews (clinical evaluation of couples' dialogue quality). Although self-reported marital satisfaction and observed dialogue quality were highly associated, only self-reported marital satisfaction declined from pregnancy to 1 year after birth. This decrease was partly due to very high marital satisfaction during pregnancy. Different trajectories for self-reported marital satisfaction and observed dialogue quality were found for participants with recollections of low-, average-, and high-quality family-of-origin marriage. A structural equation model showed that participants who recollected a negative quality in their parents' relationship reported more negative changes in the quality of their own marriages. There seems to be an intergenerational transmission of marital quality that comes to light when couples are challenged by the birth and rearing of a baby.     

Infants in group care: their interactions with professional caregivers and parents across the second year of life

Seventy children were observed during structured play with their primary professional caregivers and three peers in the child care center and with their primary caregiving parents at home at 15 and 23 months of age. The same structured play tasks were used in the two settings and the quality of the children's interactions with caregivers and parents was rated using the same 7-point scales. As expected, the quality of caregiver–child interactions significantly increased between 15 and 23 months. At 15 months, the quality of caregiver–child interactions was significantly lower than the quality of parent–child interactions, particularly with regard to caregiver supportive presence and respect for the child's autonomy. At 23 months, however, the quality of caregiver–child interactions was no longer lower and in some respects even higher than the quality of parent–child interactions. At both ages, the children expressed more negativity towards their parents than towards their professional caregivers.     

Family income,parental education and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology among 2–3‐year‐old Chinese children: The mediator effect of parent–child conflict

Using a sample of 156 Chinese children aged 2–3 years and their parents, this study examined the effects of socio‐economic status, specifically family income and parental education, on the children's internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and whether these effects were mediated by mother–child and father–child conflict. Results indicated that family income, maternal education and paternal education all negatively predicted externalizing symptoms. Income also negatively predicted internalizing symptoms among boys but not girls. Maternal education negatively predicted internalizing symptoms among girls but not boys. The effects of income on psychopathology were fully mediated by mother–child and father–child conflict. In contrast, the effects of education were not mediated or only partially mediated by conflict. Findings are discussed in the framework of the family stress model.     

Young children's television viewing and the quality of their interactions with parents: A prospective community study

Television is one of the most commonly viewed forms of media by children throughout the world. Excessive television viewing can influence the quality of children's relationships and interactions with their parents. We examined the emotional availability (EA ) of children toward their parents by assessing child responsiveness and child involvement , using a cross‐sectional and longitudinal design. We employed a large and representative community sample of Norwegian 4‐year‐olds (n = 995) who were followed up at 6 years old (n = 795). The results illustrate that, when viewing excessive amounts of television, children are less likely to be involved with their parents in ordinary toy‐play. We argue in favor of the displacement hypothesis, stating that time‐demanding technologies are negatively related to the quality of parent–child relationships because spending more time watching television will leave less time for developing nurturing social relationships.     

Development of self‐produced locomotion in the first year: changes in parent perceptions and infant behaviour

Self‐produced locomotion is regarded as a setting event for other developmental transitions in infancy with important implications for socioemotional development and parent–child interaction. Using an age‐held‐constant design, this study examined changes in reported infant behaviour and maternal proactive/reactive control and compared them with direct observations of infant and maternal behaviour associated with the development of self‐produced locomotion. Maternal reports were obtained prior to the locomotor transition and, for half the sample, after infants had transitioned to effective mobility. Observations of all infants were conducted shortly after the second interview. Prelocomotor and transitioning infants showed none of the expected behavioural differences (e.g. emotionality and compliance) associated with the locomotor transition. There was modest confirmation of expected differences in maternal behaviour, particularly in the use of reactive control techniques, and mothers of transitioning infants showed higher proactive controls before their infants began to crawl. These findings suggest that the changes in parent–child interaction associated with the locomotor transition may have as much to do with parental expectations than with changes in infant socioemotional behaviour. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of quantity and quality of home proximal processes on Dutch,Surinamese–Dutch and Turkish–Dutch pre‐schoolers’ cognitive development

This study examines the effects of mother–child literacy and problem solving interactions on 3–4‐year‐old children's cognitive development in a sample of Dutch middle‐class, Dutch lower‐class, Surinamese and Turkish immigrant families (n=130). Following the bioecological model of Bronfenbrenner and Ceci, mother–child book reading and problem solving interactions are viewed as proximal processes actualizing genetic cognitive potential. Interactions are studied from a quantitative perspective, based on questionnaire data, concerning frequency of exposure to these interactions, and a qualitative perspective, based on observational data, concerning affective quality and cognitive content. The study was designed as a 1 year longitudinal study. It was found that effects of mother–child interactions on cognitive development differed across the groups, controlling for earlier cognitive competence and family's SES. The findings are interpreted within the frame of the bioecological model and the behavioral genetic research paradigm. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dyadic effects of marital satisfaction on coparenting in Chinese families: Based on the actor‐partner interdependence model

Based on the actor‐partner interdependence model, this study explored the spillover and crossover effects of marital satisfaction on coparenting in Chinese nuclear and extended families. Spillover and crossover effects refer to the transfer of experiences, affects or behaviors, focusing on the intra‐personal and inter‐personal transfer of a marital subsystem to a coparenting subsystem. The participants comprised 279 couples with children ranging in age from 3 to 7 years old. The marital satisfaction and extent of coparenting of both the fathers and the mothers was tested to examine the dyadic interaction. Structural equation modeling results revealed significant intra‐personal and inter‐personal correlations between marital satisfaction and coparenting, indicating spillover and crossover effects in nuclear and extended families, and there were no differences between the two family structures. The results indicated that fathers' marital satisfaction influenced both fathers' and mothers' coparenting practices.     

Combining dynamic systems and multivariate analyses to compare the mother-child interactions of externalizing subtypes

A dynamic systems analysis was conducted to distinguish the parent–child interactions of pure externalizing children from children comorbid for externalizing and internalizing problems. Thirty-three parents and clinically referred children (8–12 years old) discussed a problem for 4 min and then tried to wrap up in response to a signal (a perturbation). The perturbation was intended to increase the pressure on the dyad, triggering a reorganization of their behavioral system. We hypothesized that the comorbid group would be distinguished from the externalizing-only group as a result of this reorganization, but not before. The sequential data were analyzed using a combination of case-sensitive (state space grids and chi-square analyses) and group-based, multivariate techniques (log-linear modeling). Results revealed that externalizing dyads engaged in a permissive pattern throughout the problem-solving session, whereas comorbid dyads shifted from a permissive pattern to a mutually hostile pattern after the perturbation. These findings punctuate the need for a dynamic systems approach to the study of relationship processes associated with the development of childhood psychopathology. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Drinking not thinking: A prospective study of personality traits and drinking motives on alcohol consumption across the first year of university

The aim of this 3-wave prospective study was to test impulsivity-related and anxiety-related traits and drinking motives as predictors of alcohol consumption during Orientation Week (O-Week), and the first six months of university life in on-campus college residents. Students from two residential colleges (N = 255, 34.5% female) completed surveys of drinking frequency and quantity for the week prior to university entry, during O-Week, 3 and 6 months later. A brief personality screen for impulsivity, sensation-seeking, anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness was administered along with measures of drinking motives and alcohol consumption. Using moderated mediation analyses and multilevel modeling, impulsivity was found to be the best predictor of drinking variability at O-Week with enhancement motives mediating the effect. This mediated effect was moderated by gender with the indirect effect only occurring for women. Impulsivity was also predictive of drinking change over 6 months, with high impulsive students maintaining heavier levels of drinking (even when controlling for gender). The findings of this study further supports impulsivity as a consistent predictor of student alcohol misuse, even in environments with strong pro-drinking cultures.     

The relation of maternal emotional and cognitive support during problem solving to pre‐academic skills in preschoolers

Using a sample of 263 mother–child dyads, we examined the extent to which maternal emotional and cognitive support during a joint problem‐solving task when children were 3‐years‐old predicted children's academic skills 1 year later independent of each other, the quality of the home learning environment, and maternal emotional responsiveness. When all parenting measures were examined simultaneously, only maternal emotional support during problem solving and the quality of the home learning environment predicted unique variation in gains in pre‐academic skills from 3 to 4 years of age. The positive effect of emotional support during problem solving was especially apparent for children whose pre‐academic skills were low at the age of 3 years. These findings are discussed in light of the changing demands placed on young children and their parents as they prepare for entry to the formal school system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A longitudinal investigation of maternal touching across the first 6 months of life: Age and context effects

The types of touch used by 12 mothers with their 1-, 3- and 5.5-month-old infants were examined longitudinally during two different interaction contexts lasting 5 min each. Changes in maternal touching as a function of infants’ age and interaction context were revealed.     

Teacher–child conflict and aggressive behaviour in first grade: the intervening role of children's self‐esteem

High levels of teacher–child conflict have repeatedly been found to amplify children's aggressive behaviour. Up to now, however, research on possible mechanisms explaining this link is largely lacking. The current study aimed to test whether children's self‐esteem is an intervening mechanism. Participants were 139 children (70 boys, M age = 6.18 years) and their teachers from 35 classes in 19 schools who were followed longitudinally throughout first grade. Teacher–child conflict was measured during the first trimester (October to December), children's self‐esteem (three child interviews) during the second trimester (January to March) and children's aggressive behaviour during the first and third trimester (April to June). Teacher–child conflict had a significant indirect effect on changes in children's aggressive behaviour across first grade through its effect on children's self‐esteem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Mommy,You are the Princess and I am the Queen’: How Preschool Children's Initiation and Language Use During Pretend Play Relate to Complexity

The present study investigated the relationship between complexity of pretend play, initiation of pretense activities, and mental state utterances used during play. Children 3 to 4 years of age were videotaped while engaging in pretend play with a parent. The videotapes were coded according to mental state utterances (i.e. desire, emotion, cognitive, and modulations of assertion), and pretend play complexity (i.e. interaction with parent, object use, theme, and role transformation). Children who initiated the pretend activities exhibited more complex play behaviours than those whose parents initiated the activities. Children's increased use of cognitive mental state terms was related to increased pretend play complexity, while parents' increased use of cognitive terms was related to decreased levels of complexity. The results provide support for using a guided participation approach to interacting with preschool children to enhance independence and complexity in play. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A longitudinal examination of the transition to symbolic communication in the second year of life

Between 10 and 24 months of age, children progress from communicating through conventional signals to communicating through symbols in a variety of situations. The present study investigates this transition analysing mother–child communication frames and the child's communicative acts, and tracing the developmental changes in both frames and communicative acts. Four children (2 girls, 2 boys) and their mothers were observed longitudinally and extensively, from 10 to 24 months of age, using a multiple case‐study method. Through the detailed investigation of these single cases, clear developmental rajectories were found, showing that conventional frames and representational gestures ‘bridge’ the transition from attentional to symbolic communication. There were significant differences between dyads and children in the developmental trajectories for several frames and communicative acts. The results not only confirm previous findings on the development of verbal and gestural communication, but provide new insights into the transition to symbolic communication in the second year of life, first because of the use of frame analysis and second because of a focus on individual trajectories in development. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mediating effects of negative emotions in parent–child conflict on adolescent problem behavior

Hierarchical regression analyses were used to study four types of negative emotions (rage, resentment, perceived threat, and self‐blame) as possible mediators of the effect of parent–child conflict on internalizing (psychosomatic symptoms and social withdrawal) and externalizing (violent aggression and deviance) behavior in 724 adolescents. After controlling for demographic variables, the results showed that for both parents conflict had a positive main effect on internalizing and externalizing behavior. Of the four types of negative emotions, rage was the strongest mediator to mediate the effect of conflict on violent aggression, and resentment was the strongest mediator to mediate the effect of conflict on psychosomatic symptoms, social withdrawal, and deviant behavior. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Bidirectional Spillover in the Family across the Transition to Parenthood

Although family systems theory posits reciprocal causality between subsystems of the family, such as intimate partner violence exacerbating harsh parenting and vice versa, longitudinal studies with cross‐lagged models have been used infrequently to test these principles. As guided by the spillover model, this study examined bidirectional associations between couple dysfunction, parent–child aggression risk, and child functioning across the transition to parenthood to determine whether and how disruptions in one subsystem relate to problems in other family subsystems. Participants were 201 first‐time mothers and 151 fathers from a diverse community sample, evaluated during pregnancy, and reassessed two more times through their child's first 18 months of life. Individual and dyadic path model results indicate bidirectional spillover effects between parent–child aggression risk and child functioning for both mothers and fathers, and spillover from parent–child aggression risk to couple dysfunction for mothers but not fathers. However, limited spillover effects were identified between couple functioning and child adjustment, in contrast to previous work. Findings suggest that spillover can happen reciprocally and early in the family, supporting transactional models of behavior and highlighting the need for early family level intervention.     

On the assessment of the test–retest of Riding’s CSA: A commentary on Peterson, Deary, and Austin

Peterson, Deary, and Austin (2003) considered the reliability of the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) (Riding, 1991). The CSA seeks to assess an individual’s position on each of two fundamental style dimensions – the Wholist-Analytic and the Verbal-Imagery dimensions. It presents a series of simple cognitive tasks, which the subjects may choose to process according to their preferred style. Performance on these test items is in terms of response times. The CSA comprises 40 items to assess the Wholist-Analytic and 48 for the Verbal-Imagery and typically takes 15–20 min to complete. It is intended to be suitable for a wide age and ability range, and applicable to a variety of contexts and cultures.The most important characteristic of any test of cognitive style is its temporal stability. Studies which attempt to establish test validity without definitive evidence of test reliability are lacking a basic foundation. Riding has not published any statistical data on the test–retest reliability of the CSA.Peterson et al. (2003) and Peterson (2003) claim to have carried out the primary evaluation of the CSA’s reliability. However we were the first to publish accurate test–retest reliability data on Riding’s CSA (Redmond, Mullally, & Parkinson, 2002).This brief report addresses the issue as to who initially established the unreliability of the CSA in the first place and why Peterson, Deary and Austin’s claims are misleading and unsubstantiated.