Maternal perception of maladjustment in clinic-referred children: An extension of earlier research

The purpose of the present study was to extend earlier research examining predictors of maternal perceptions of maladjustment in clinic-referred children. Forty-five mothers and their clinic-referred children served as subjects. Maternal perceptions of child maladjustment were measured by the Parent Attitude Test. Maternal depression, marital adjustment, and family socioeconomic status were determined by the Beck Depression Inventory, Locke Marital Adjustment Test, and Myers and Bean index of social status, respectively. Child compliance and child deviant behavior (other than noncompliance) were obtained in home observations collected by independent observers. The results indicated that maternal depression was the best predictor of maternal perception of children. The remaining variables failed to contribute to the multiple regression analyses. Separate analyses also were performed on males and females and different predictor variables emerged for the two groups.The research reported in this study was supported by NIMH Grant 34193.     

Effects of parent enhancement therapy on the treatment outcome and generalization of a parent training program

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of parent enhancement training in facilitating treatment and maintenance effects of a parent training program. Seventeen mothers and their clinic-referred noncompliant children were assigned to either a parent training alone group or a parent training plus parent enhancement therapy group. Fifteen mothers and their nonclinic children served as a quasi-control group. All clinic-referred mother-child dyads were treated individually by teaching the mother to reward compliance and other prosocial behavior and to use time-out for noncompliance. In addition, mothers in the parent training plus parent enhancement group also received treatment related to the following areas: parent's perception of their child's behavior, parent's personal adjustment, parent's marital adjustment, and parent's extrafamilial relationships. Assessment consisted of four home observations by independent observers prior to treatment, after treatment, and at a 2-month follow-up. The data indicated that the parent training plus parent enhancement therapy was more effective than parent training alone in changing child deviant behavior at posttreatment and in maintaining child compliance, child deviant behavior, parental rewards and parent contingent attention at follow-up. The control group did not change over the three assessment periods.     

Threat interpretation in anxious children and their mothers: comparison with nonclinical children and the effects of treatment

Interpretation biases towards threat play a prominent role in cognitive theories of anxiety, and have been identified amongst highly anxious adults and children. Little is known, however, about the development of these cognitive biases although family processes have been implicated. The current study investigated the nature of threat interpretation of anxious children and their mothers through (i) comparison of a clinic and non-clinic population, (ii) analysis of individual differences; and (iii) pre- and post-treatment comparisons. Participants were 27 children with a primary anxiety disorder and 33 children from a non-clinic population and their mothers. Children and mothers completed self-report measures of anxiety and indicated their most likely interpretation of ambiguous scenarios. Clinic and non-clinical groups differed significantly on measures of threat interpretation. Furthermore, mothers' and children's threat interpretation correlated significantly. Following treatment for child anxiety, both children and their mothers reported a reduction in threat interpretation.     

The use of a self-control package to enhance temporal generality of a parent training program

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a self-control package in enhancing temporal generality of a parent training program. Sixteen mothers and their clinic-referred noncompliant children were assigned to either a parent training alone group, or a parent training plus self-control group. All mother-child dyads were treated individually by teaching the mother to reward compliance and other prosocial behavior, and to use time-out for noncompliance. In addition, mothers who also received self-control training learned to self-monitor their use of their new parenting skills and to reinforce themselves for use of the skill during a 2 month follow-up period. Assessment consisted of four home observations by independent observers prior to treatment, after treatment, and at a 2 month follow-up. The data indicated that the children in the parent training plus self-control group were significantly more compliant and less deviant at the 2 month follow-up than the children in the parent training alone group. Parental behavior did not differ between the two groups at the follow-up.     

Sequential Analyses of Adolescent,Mother, and Father Behaviors in Distressed and Nondistressed Families

The Response Class Matrix was used to compare sequential relations among behaviors in clinic families with a problem adolescent and those in non-clinic families with an adolescent under two experimental conditions, discussing a problem and planning something together. Clinic dyads manifested significantly more negative an les problem-solving behavior overall. When the family was planning something together, clinic mothers responded to their adolescents' negative behavior significantly more often with negative behavior and less often with problem-solving than did their nonclinic counterparts. Clinic adolescents responded to their mothers' negative behavior significantly more often with negative behavior and with less problem-solving than non-clinic adolescents, both when planning something together and when discussing a problem. These patterns were not observed with fathers. When the family was planning something together, clinic adolescents responded to both their mothers' and fathers' problem-solving with significantly more negative and less problem-solving behavior than did non-clinic adolescents. Results are discussed in terms of the aversive nature of the family environment for clinic adolescents, and the differences between mothers' and fathers' interactions with adolescents.     

Mother and father self-reports of corporal punishment and severe physical aggression toward clinic-referred youth

Examined the extent to which 359 mothers and 140 fathers of clinic-referred youth (ages 2 to 17) reported using corporal punishment and severe physical aggression when asked directly via intake screening questionnaires at a community mental health center; higher prevalence rates emerged compared to families in the general population. Clinic-referred parents reported greater use of corporal punishment for younger relative to older youth, sons relative to daughters, and by single relative to married mothers. In cases with reports from both parents, mothers used corporal punishment more frequently than fathers. Demographic factors were not linked to severe physical aggression, except for mothers' treatment of sons versus daughters. After controlling for demographic factors, maternal and paternal reports of child externalizing behavior accounted for significant variance in their own and their partner's use of corporal punishment, and in mothers' use of severe physical aggression.     

Mindfulness Training for Parents and Their Children With ADHD Increases the Children’s Compliance

Children with ADHD are often non-compliant with parental instructions. Various methods have been used to reduce problem behaviors in these children, with medication and manipulation of behavioral contingencies being the most prevalent. An objection often raised by parents is that these management strategies require them to impose external control on the children which not only results in the children not learning self-control strategies, but also does not enhance positive interactions between them and their parents. Studies have shown that providing mindfulness training to parents, without a focus on reducing problem behaviors, can enhance positive interactions with their children and increase their satisfaction with parenting. We were interested to see what effects giving mindfulness training to two mothers, and subsequently to their children, would have on compliance by the children. Using a multiple baseline across mothers and children design, we found that giving a mother mindfulness training enhanced compliance by her child. When the children were subsequently given similar training, compliance increased even more markedly, and was maintained during follow-up. The mothers reported associated increases in satisfaction with the interactions with their children and happiness with parenting. We suspect that the mindfulness training produces personal transformations, both in parents and children, rather than teaching strategies for changing behavior.     

Child and parent predictors of perceptions of parent--child relationship quality

OBJECTIVE/METHOD: Predictors of perceptions of parent-child relationship quality were examined for 175 children with ADHD, 119 comparison children, and parents of these children, drawn from the follow-up phase of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Children with ADHD perceived their mothers and fathers as more power assertive than comparison children. Children higher on depressive symptomatology also perceived their mothers and fathers as less warm and more power assertive. Mothers perceived themselves as more power assertive and fathers perceived themselves as less warm if they were higher on depressive symptomatology themselves or had children with ADHD or higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Several interactions indicated that the association between child factors and parental perceptions of warmth and power assertion often depended on parental depressive symptomatology. The findings resolve a previous contradiction in the literature regarding the relationship between child depressive symptoms and parental perceptions of parent-child relationship quality.     

Stress and Social Support in Parents whose Children are Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Carriers: A Comparison of Three Groups in Guangzhou

The present study compared the moderating effect of social support on parental stress variables and mental health among three groups of parents: parents of HBV (Hepatitis B Virus) children who attended the special health kindergarten, parents of HBV children who stayed at home, and parents of healthy children who attended the ordinary kindergarten. These families resided in the city of Guangzhou. A set of questionnaires measuring parental stress and social support were given to the mothers after a one-hour interview. Results showed that parents of HBV children were significantly more stressed and psychologically at risk than parents of healthy children. They also sought help from social resources more often than the parents of healthy children. Parents of healthy children who attended the ordinary kindergarten reported the highest levels of overall social support, i.e. the number of very close friends and relatives with whom they could form close emotional attachments. Although they reported a lower number of acquaintances available, they also reported the most satisfactory relationships with the support provided by their acquaintances, lower levels of stress, fewer somatic problems, more adequate general health, and more perceived meaning in life than did parents of HBV children, and social support is one of the main influences on stress or parental health. The findings call for further research to focus on parents' well-being and social support that is helpful in addressing the needs of the family.     

Are mothers of stutterers different? An investigation of social-communicative integration

Many speech-language pathologists assume that parent-child communicative interactions are critical precipitating or maintaining factors in the onset and development of stuttering. Although parents are frequently counseled to alter their attitudes or behaviors, no studies have pinpointed specific parental behaviors as increasing children's disfluency. The purpose of this study was to analyze differences between 12 mothers of stutterers and 12 mothers of nonstutterers in their social-communicative interactions with their own child, an unfamiliar stutterer, and an unfamiliar nonstutterer. Ten minutes of free-play interaction between each mother and child were video recorded from behind a one-way mirror. Results indicate that the two groups of mothers differed significantly only in their use of routine statements. Other findings indicate that stuttering children used significantly more positive and imperative statements than nonstuttering children. All children asked significantly more questions of their own mothers than of unfamiliar mothers.     

Threat Vigilance in Child Witnesses of Domestic Violence: A Pilot Study Utilizing the Ambiguous Situations Paradigm

Research has found that children exposed to family violence exhibit higher rates of maladjustment. We review relevant literature on family violence, marital conflict, and cognitive factors implicated in child behaviour problems. A bias toward perceiving threat in ambiguous contexts has been identified as one factor mediating both aggressive and anxious behaviour disorders. We conducted a study utilizing the ambiguous situations paradigm to assess whether children exposed to violent spousal conflict were more likely than children not exposed to violence (divided into children with an externalizing behaviour disorder and non-clinic children) to perceive threat in two classes of ambiguous situations: Peer and Inter-Parental. The results indicated that children exposed to violent spousal conflict perceived more threat in parental situations than either of the other two groups. A number of considerations were taken into account given the exploratory nature of the study, particularly sample limitations. We conclude with suggestions for improvements to the research design and the further relevance of exploring cognitive factors involved in the adjustment of children from backgrounds of violence.     

Childhood Celebrity,Parental Attachment,and Adult Adjustment: The Young Performers Study

The associations between celebrity, parental attachment, and adult adjustment were examined among 74 famous, former young performers in television and film. As adults, former young performers whose parents served as their professional managers viewed their mothers as less caring and more overcontrolling than did performers whose parents were not their managers. Other factors affecting the quality of the parent-child relationship included dissatisfaction with money management, poor peer support, the perception that involvement in acting was determined by others, and the specific nature of professional experience. Together, these variables accounted for 59% of the variance in perceived caring and 40% of the variance in perceived autonomy support. The relation could not be attributed to a generalized response bias, as attachment was unrelated to degree of positive thinking. A Celebrity times Parental Attachment interaction indicated that the quality of the parent-child relationship moderated the effects of celebrity on adult adjustment: Among participants with good parental attachment, there was no relation between professional experience and adjustment; however, among participants with poor attachment, this relation was strong. Possible implications for parenting child actors and analogous populations of talented children in high-stress arenas are discussed.     

Birth order, sex of child, and perceptions of parental favoritism

Many studies have examined factors that influence discriminative parental solicitude. Sex, birth order, and age of the mother are a few factors demonstrated to influence levels of parental investment (especially as measured by offspring self-report). One indicator of a high level of parental investment is being a parental favorite. Using self-reports from a sample of several hundred young adults, we secured support for two hypotheses related to the influence of birth order and sex on parental favoritism. Fathers are not perceived as having a favorite child more often than are mothers, but are more likely to favor female children than are mothers. Mothers are perceived to be more likely to favor female children in blended sibships. Both mothers and fathers are perceived as favoring genetically-related children. The results also suggest that the birth order of the parental favorite varies with the birth order of the participant. Firstborns and lastborns report a pattern of favoritism that suggests parents favor firstborn and lastborn children. The discussion addresses limitations of the methodology and presents directions for future research.     

Parental manipulation of child behavior in home observations

The object of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents can manipulate their children's behavior in home observations. Twelve families with four- to six-year old children were recruited for the research. The parents were instructed to make their child look "bad" or "deviant" on three days of a six-day observation and to look "good" or "nondeviant" on alternate days. Results indicated that, as predicted, the rate of child deviant behavior, parental negative responding, and parental commands were all significantly higher on bad than good days. Parental responses to questionnaires provided more detailed information on how parents felt that they influenced their children in the desired directions. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for child psychopathology and the methodology of data collection in the natural environment.     

The prospective relationship between child personality and perceived parenting: Mediation by parental sense of competence

This study examined the prospective relationship between childhood Big Five personality characteristics and perceived parenting in adolescence. In addition, we investigated whether this relationship was mediated by parental sense of competence, and whether associations were different for mothers and fathers. For 274 children, teachers reported on children’s Big Five personality characteristics at Time 1, mothers and fathers reported on their sense of competence at Time 2, and the children (who had now become adolescents) rated their parents’ warmth, overreactivity and psychological control at Time 3. Mediation analysis revealed both direct and indirect effects. No differences in associations were found for perceived parenting of mothers and fathers. This study demonstrates that child personality in late childhood is significantly related to perceived parental warmth, overreactivity and psychological control in adolescence. In addition, parental sense of competence mediates the relationship between child conscientiousness and perceived parental warmth, overreactivity and psychological control.     

Parental Overprotection,Perceived Child Vulnerability,and Parenting Stress: A Cross-Illness Comparison

The current study sought to investigate differences in parenting capacity variables across four disease groups. Parents (N = 425), the majority of whom were mothers, of children with either cancer, asthma, Type 1 diabetes, or cystic fibrosis, completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress. After controlling for significant demographic variables, parents of children with cystic fibrosis and asthma reported higher perceived child vulnerability than parents of children with either diabetes or cancer, while parents of children with asthma and diabetes reported higher parenting stress than parents of children with cancer or cystic fibrosis. No differences between disease groups were found for parental overprotection. The current study provides support for an illness-specific approach to understanding parenting capacity variables in the context of childhood chronic illnesses.     

Maternal depression and its relationship to life stress,perceptions of child behavior problems,parenting behaviors,and child conduct problems

This study examined the relationship of reported maternal depression to prior and current life stressors, and to mother perceptions of child adjustment, parenting behaviors, and child conduct problems. Forty-six depressed mothers and 49 nondepressed mothers and their clinic-referred children (aged 3-8 years) participated. Depressed mothers were more critical than nondepressed mothers, but the behavior of children of depressed and nondepressed mothers showed no significant differences. Depressed mothers were more likely to have experience child abuse, spouse abuse, or more negative life events than nondepressed mothers. Maternal reports of stress related to mother characteristics and to negative life events were the most potent variables discriminating depressed from nondepressed mother families.     

Children of Mentally Ill Parents Participating in Preventive Support Groups: Parental Diagnoses and Child Risk

In the Netherlands, preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill parents. Given the variety of parental diagnoses it might be questionable if offering a standardized program for all these children is the most effective response. While no overall knowledge exists about the type of parental disorder and varying risk levels and support needs among the participating children, we examined whether there are differences between these children that are related to their parents’ diagnoses. With questionnaires we assessed risk factors in 122 mentally ill parents and their children: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, parent–child interaction problems, poor family functioning, difficult child temperament, and low child competence. We also assessed the children’s psychosocial problems and negative cognitions about their parent’s illness. Results showed that most parents had co-morbidity (multiple diagnoses) and/or personality disorders. Children of parents with either of these conditions were more likely to be exposed to the risk factors: high parental illness severity, low perceived parental competence, problematic parent–child interaction, and low perceived child competence, compared to children of parents without these conditions. They were also faced with more risk factors and had more psychosocial problems and negative cognitions. From these results we may conclude that children of parents with co-morbidity and/or personality disorders require more extensive support than children of parents without these conditions. We suggest strengthening the children’s competence and involving parents as important focuses of preventive interventions for children at high risk. Longitudinal studies should test these assumptions.     

Sex-role orientation of college students and their same-sex parents

The study examined similarities and differences between sex-role orientations of college students and their same-sex parents. College undergraduates filled out the Bem Sex-role Inventory twice: once to describe themselves and the second time to describe their same-sex parents. The inventory was also used to obtain parental self-reports. Compared to their perceptions of their same-sex parents, male students described themselves as more feminine and female students described themselves as more masculine. Also, male students described their fathers as less feminine and female students described their mothers as both less masculine and less feminine than the parents described themselves. Students' femininity scores correlated significantly with the parental femininity scores both actual and perceived, however, no consistent relationship was found for the masculinity scores. Androgynous students and students with the reversed sex-role orientation perceived their parents as androgynous and reversed, respectively.     

Social competence and conduct problems in young children: issues in assessment

Examined the differences in various facets of social competence in 2 groups of young children (ages 4-7 years)--a clinic-referred group of aggressive children (N = 60) diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder or conduct problems and a matched comparison group of typically developing children (N = 60). Four aspects of social competence were assessed: social information processing, actual observations of conflict management skills and social play interactions during peer interactions, positive social interactions with mothers and fathers at home, and teacher reports of social competence. The social information processing assessed included problem-solving skills (hypothetical skills as demonstrated on a social problem-solving test), self-perceptions (child's awareness of his or her own social self and feelings of loneliness), perceptions of others (attributions), and perceptions of others' attitudes toward oneself. To determine the construct validity of various means of assessing child social competence, we correlated children's social information processing measures with parent and teacher reports of social adjustment and with actual observations of interactions during peer play and at home with parents. Results comparing the 2 groups suggest that young children with conduct problems have deficits in their social information processing awareness or interpretation of social cues--they overestimate their own social competence and misattribute hostile intent to others. Tests of cognitive problem solving and observations of peer play interactions indicated that the children with conduct problems had significantly fewer positive problem-solving strategies and positive social skills, more negative conflict management strategies, and delayed play skills with peers than the comparison children. Correlation analyses indicated significant correlations between children's negative attributions and the ratio of positive to negative problem-solving strategies with observations of peer play interactions.