Mediation of Mothers’ Anxiety and Parenting in Children’s Behavior Problems during COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 is affecting the lives of millions of families around the world. The current study was carried out in Israel, following the pandemic’s initial outbreak and during the resulting enforced quarantine, confining parents and children to their homes. A sample of 141 Israeli mothers with at least one child between the ages of 3 and 12 (M?=?6.92, SD?=?2.55) participated as volunteers. About half the sample (50.7%) consisted of girls. Most mothers were cohabiting with a spouse (93%). Mothers completed online questionnaires about their perceptions about the health and economic threats of COVID-19, availability of social support, their anxiety symptoms, hostile/coercive and supportive/engaged parenting behavior, and their children’s behavior problems. Results showed expected significant associations between the mothers’ reports about having little social support, their anxiety symptoms, hostile/coercive and supportive/engaged parenting behavior, and children’s externalizing problems. Likewise, expected significant associations were found between mothers’ perceptions about the health and economic threats of COVID-19, their anxiety symptoms, hostile/coercive parenting behavior, and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Importantly, maternal anxiety and hostile/coercive parenting behavior mediated the associations between lack of support, negative perceptions about the health and economic threats of COVID-19, and children’s behavior problems. These findings stress the importance of mothers’ mental health and parenting behaviors for children’s socioemotional adaptation in the context of COVID-19. Implications of the findings for family interventions intended to help parents and children at this time are suggested.

     

Longitudinal Associations of Parental Emotion Socialization and Children’s Emotion Regulation: The Moderating Role of ADHD Symptomatology

Theory and research suggest that parents’ reactions to children’s emotions play a critical role in teaching children effective emotion regulation (ER) skills, but no studies have directly examined the role that parent emotion socialization plays in the development of ER in children with ADHD. Gaining insight into the causes of impaired ER, particularly in youth with ADHD who are known to have poor ER, has important theoretical and translational significance. The present study is the first to longitudinally examine whether emotion socialization predicts later physiological and adult-reported measures of ER in children with and without ADHD. It also sought to determine if these relations are moderated by ADHD symptoms. Participants were 61 children (31 girls, 30 boys; M = 10.67 years, SD = 1.28) with and without clinically significant ADHD symptoms. At Time 1, parent reports of emotion socialization and parent- and teacher-report of child ADHD symptoms were collected. At Time 2, child ER measures were collected based on parent- and teacher-report and physiological reactivity during an impossible puzzle and a social rejection task. Physiological measures included respiratory sinus arrhythmia and skin conductance level (SCL). Supportive parenting practices were associated with better parent-rated emotion regulation skills for all children and greater SCL reactivity for children with high ADHD symptoms. Non-supportive parenting reactions were associated with greater adult-rated emotional lability for children with high ADHD symptoms. Results highlight the importance of considering multiple aspects of ER, including physiological manifestations. Findings suggest that parents’ use of adaptive emotion socialization practices may serve as a protective factor for children’s ER development and may be particularly critical for youth with ADHD. Our findings support the use of interventions addressing parent emotion socialization to help foster better ER in children.     

Maternal Emotion Regulation and Children’s Behavior Problems: The Mediating Role of Child Emotion Regulation

Children’s difficulties managing emotions are contributors to their behavior problems, and parents’ emotion regulation difficulties are also likely contributors to their children’s regulatory challenges and behavioral difficulties. This study examined the associations among mothers’ emotion regulation, children’s emotion regulation, and children’s behavior problems. Children’s emotion regulation difficulties were hypothesized to mediate the association between maternal difficulties with emotion regulation and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. A sample of 454 mothers completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Emotion Regulation Checklist, and the Child Behavior Checklist for their children aged 3–7. Children’s emotion regulation difficulties accounted for the indirect association between mothers’ lower emotion awareness and both internalizing and externalizing problems. On the other hand, children’s emotional negativity accounted for the indirect association between mothers’ difficulties with emotion regulation and behavior problems. Future directions for research and clinical intervention focused on promoting parental and child emotion regulation are discussed.     

Household Chaos and Caregivers’ and Young Children’s Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Model

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Based on 764 households with young children in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 pandemic started, this study investigated how household chaos during the...     

Parental evaluation of teachers’ competences and characteristics during COVID-19 pandemic homeschooling

Social Psychology of Education - With the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, school-related closures and the hasty transition into homeschooling, parents were required to take a more active and...     

Generalizability in the Mediation Effects of Parental Expectations on Children’s Cognitive Ability and Self-concept

Previous research involving Hong Kong Chinese parents and their children showed that parental home involvement, beliefs of their children’s cognitive ability and their expectations for academic achievement mediated the relationship between their children’s cognitive ability and school achievement scores. This mediation effect was interpreted as the cognitive-affect model of academic achievement. The current research confirms the generalizability of the findings and tests the hypothesis that there are cultural differences in the mediation effects with the inclusion of non-Chinese students and their parents as a comparison group. The responses from 103 Chinese speaking (CS) and 163 non-Chinese speaking (NCS) primary students and parents from two schools in Hong Kong were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Student measures included self-concept, cognitive ability and academic achievement in mathematics, English and Chinese. Parent measures included home involvement, beliefs of their child’s cognitive ability and expectations of academic success. Initial model showed that parental expectations mediate the link between cognitive ability and academic achievement for both CS and NCS groups, with parental involvement predicting English achievement for only the NCS group. After the inclusion of academic self-concept, the model showed that CS parental expectations also mediate the link between self-concept and academic achievement. However, the model showed that the parental expectations of NCS play a lesser role in mediating the link between academic self-concept and their children’s academic achievement. Despite the differences, the results provide evidence for the generalizability of the cognitive-affect model.     

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.     

Role of Gender and Emotionality Stigma in Perceived Parental Emotion Dysregulation and Adult Children’s Internalizing Symptoms

Sex Roles - Boys and girls learn early from their parents about what is appropriate and what is not in terms of emotional expression. We argue that these parental cues can lead to the formation of...     

Children’s Maternal Support-Seeking: Relations to Maternal Emotion Socialization Responses and Children’s Emotion Management

The present study examined children’s support-seeking of mothers (SSM) as a moderator of the association between maternal emotion socialization responses and children’s emotion management. Participants included 119 mother–child dyads (63 boys, M age = 9.61 years, 73.1 % Caucasian). Maternal emotion socialization was assessed via observed mother–child interactions and child report. Analyses indicated several main effects such that child-reported maternal reward responses were associated with stronger child emotion management, whereas perceived maternal punishment and neglect were associated with poorer child emotion management. Regarding the significant interactions, observed maternal general unsupportive socialization responses were negatively associated with emotion management. Additionally, for children low in SSM, child-reported maternal overriding of children’s emotions was positively associated with better emotion management. Support-seeking of mothers may mitigate the risk of some unsupportive maternal socialization responses and may be an adaptive strategy in middle childhood in particular contexts.     

Person-Centered Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Temperament: Relations to Children’s Emotion Regulation and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Maternal emotion socialization and children’s temperament are two foundations of children’s emotional development. Yet, emotion socialization and...     

Context Sensitivity in Canadian and Japanese Children’s Judgments of Emotion

Previous studies showed that East Asians are more sensitive than North Americans to contextual information, and that the cultural differences in context sensitivity emerge in preschool children. Yet, little is known about whether this generalizes to children’s emotional judgments. The present study tested Canadian and Japanese preschool children and examined cross-culturally the extent to which facial expressions of surrounding people influence judgments of a target person’s emotion. Japanese children were more likely than Canadian children to judge an emotionally-neutral target as more negative (positive) when the background emotion was negative (positive), demonstrating an assimilation effect. Canadian children, however, showed a contrast effect: judging the target person’s neutral emotion as more negative when the background emotion was positive. These data extend extant understanding of emotion recognition by illuminating nuances in perceptual processes across developmental and cultural lines.     

Parental Migration and Children’s Outcomes in Romania

Although Eastern European migration has increased greatly, the research on its impact on children and families has been limited. In this study I examined the impact of parental economic migration on children psychosocial and academic outcomes in Romania, one of largest Eastern European migrant sending country. Surveys were conducted with 382 children in 5–8th grades. A conceptual model of the impact of parental migration, economic pressure, social support, parenting and children’s outcomes was examined using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that higher economic pressure was associated with higher desire for migration, lower parenting quality and higher child psychological distress. Higher satisfaction with migration was associated with higher quality of parenting, higher child psychosocial functioning and academic achievement. Recommendations for programs and policies targeted to immigrant families are provided.     

Early-occurring Maternal Depression and Maternal Negativity in Predicting Young Children’s Emotion Regulation and Socioemotional Difficulties

This longitudinal investigation examined the effects of maternal depression and concomitant negative parenting behaviors on children’s emotion regulation patterns and socioemotional functioning. One hundred fifty-one mothers and their children were assessed when children were approximately 1 1/2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-years of age. Ninety-three of the children had mothers with a history of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) that had occurred within the first 21 months of the child’s birth, and 58 of the children had mothers without any history of MDD. Early-occurring Initial maternal depression predicted children’s dysregulated emotion patterns at age 4 and decreased perceived competence ratings at age 5. Initial maternal depression also indirectly predicted decreased child social acceptance ratings at age 5 through its association with dysregulated emotion patterns. Furthermore, the relation between maternal depression and children’s decreased social acceptance was more pronounced in those offspring with a history of high versus low maternal negativity exposure. Findings increase understanding of the processes by which maternal depression confers risk on children’s socioemotional adjustment.     

Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N?=?108, M _age ?=?9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N?=?104, M _age ?=?10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.     

Effects of Socioeconomic Status,Parental Stress,and Family Support on Children’s Physical and Emotional Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Child and Family Studies - In the current study, we conduct an exploratory study on children’s emotional and physical health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct and...     

Mother-Child Interactions and Preschoolers’ Emotion Regulation Outcomes: Nurturing Autonomous Emotion Regulation

Emotion regulation is a complex process that begins in infancy and continues through childhood with parents’ support. Early parent-child interactions shape the way children learn emotion management. We took a sociocultural and social learning approach to exploring the specific components of mother-child interactions that are related to mothers’ perceptions of her child’s regulatory ability and the child’s observed emotion regulation. Thirty mothers and their preschool children were recruited from two New England urban areas: one community sample and one head start sample. Dyads engaged in a free play session, children completed an observed compliance task, and mothers completed a set of questionnaires assessing their perceptions of their child’s regulation. Regression analyses revealed that maternal behaviors during free play predicted child’s observed hostility (F _(2,29)?=?3.137, p?<?.05) and mothers’ perceptions of her child’s regulatory ability predicted observed child compliance (F _{(2, 17)}?=?4.990, p?<?.05). Child behaviors during play significantly predicted child’s compliance (F _(3,20)?=?4.722, p?<?.05) and child’s hostility (F _{(1, 26)}?=?9.220, p?<?.001). Maternal modeling and intentional scaffolding as well as perceptions of her child’s regulatory capacity have a powerful impact on her child’s observed regulation. Results indicate that it is particularly important for mothers of preschoolers to support autonomy while guiding socially appropriate behavior. Interventions that target improving mothers’ negative perceptions of their children, educating on appropriate preschool expectations, and facilitating preschoolers’ mature play may help mothers interact with their children in the ways that foster children’s autonomous emotion regulation.     

Parental Acceptance and Children’s Psychological Adjustment in the Context of Power and Prestige

On a sample of 313 nine- through 16-year-old Spanish children this study explored the question: Is the relation between paternal versus maternal acceptance and the psychological adjustment of offspring significantly affected by the level of interpersonal power and/or prestige of each parent within the family? The relationship between perceived parental acceptance and children’s psychological adjustment depends on which parent was perceived by children to have higher interpersonal power or prestige than the other. This trend was especially strong in families when mothers were perceived to have both higher power and higher prestige than fathers. The strongest overall contribution to children’s adjustment, however, was made in families where fathers were perceived to have both the highest power and the highest prestige.     

The Role of Emotion in Parent-Child Relationships: Children’s Emotionality,Maternal Meta-Emotion,and Children’s Attachment Security

This study was intended to examine the relationship among children’s emotionality, parental meta-emotion, and parent–child attachment. The sample consisted of 546 5th and 6th grade children and their mothers. The test instruments used in this study were the Emotionality subscale of the EAS Temperament Survey (mothers’ ratings only), the Parental Meta-Emotion Survey (mothers’ ratings only) and the Attachment Security Scale (children’s ratings only). Our results showed that maternal meta-emotion (emotion coaching plus emotion dismissing) was associated with children’s attachment security vis-à-vis their mothers. Mothers who tended to adopt an emotion-coaching philosophy were more likely to achieve secure parent–child attachments, as reported by their children. Children whose mothers tended to adopt an emotion-dismissing philosophy reported lower levels of attachment security. There were no direct or indirect effects of children’s emotionality on their attachment security. Parental meta-emotion, but not children’s emotionality, was significantly associated with children’s attachment security. The results indicate the importance of parenting factors in determining the parent–child relationship. Parental education programs that focus on parental attitudes and practices related to emotion should be advocated.     

Parental Emotional Response to Children’s Traumas

To better understand how parents react to their child’s trauma exposure and evaluate whether different reactions are related to different types of traumas, 120 parents (79.2% mothers, 18.3% fathers, 2.5% other caregivers) were asked about their emotional reactions related to their child’s self-reported worst trauma. Emotional reactions were assessed with the Parental Emotional Reactions Questionnaire (PERQ). Parents reported high levels of distress and guilt. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between type of trauma and parents’ overall emotional reactions. Parental distress was equally endorsed among the different trauma groups. Parents of children who experienced intrafamilial violence and extrafamilial sexual abuse reported the highest levels of guilt, and child exposure to intrafamilial violence was associated with higher levels of parental shame.