Bittersweet: a qualitative exploration of mothers’ experiences of raising a single surviving twin

Loss of a child from a multiple birth pregnancy is not uncommon yet the idiographic experience of parents who have lost a single twin from a multiple birth pregnancy is underexplored. This novel study sought to explore the experiences of mothers bereaved after loss of a twin from a multiple birth pregnancy, focusing on the dual challenges of parenting and grieving. Eighteen mothers at least 12 months post loss were recruited from a private UK based Facebook page dedicated to supporting parents after loss from a multiple birth. Eligible mothers completed an independent qualitative open-ended survey to explore maternal experiences of loss. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Findings represented a sense of duality for participants, with mothers experiencing conflict between roles and identities as well as the nature of their loss. Key themes identified include ‘Narrating a story of family and loss’, ‘Finding a place for the twins within the family’ and ‘A changing sense of self’. Findings fit with theoretical conceptualisations of bereavement that acknowledge retaining relationships with the deceased. Practically, suggestions for supporting mothers to identify stock answers to often asked questions about family make up were suggested.     

Multiple labels for objects in conversations with young children: parents' language and children's developing expectations about word meanings

Children sometimes seem to expect words to have mutually exclusive meanings in certain contexts of early word learning. In 2 studies, 12- to 24-month-old children and their parents were videotaped as they engaged in conversations while playing with sets of toys (sea creatures, vehicles, doll clothing) in free-play, storytelling, and categorization contexts. In both studies, parents demonstrated a reliable preference to provide just 1 label for a given object. Importantly, parents' violations of this preference were usually accompanied by clarifying (or "bridging") information that either indicated the relation between the 2 labels or suggested that 1 of the labels was appropriate. Further, in some contexts, parents' tendency to use multiple labels and to provide bridging information for multiple labels was correlated with children's productive vocabulary. It is argued that these findings support a socio-pragmatic hypothesis about the origins of children's early beliefs about word meanings.     

The effect of classroom environment on problem behaviors: A twin study

Children's behavior problems, both internalizing and externalizing, are a function of both genetic and environmental influences. One potentially important environmental influence is the classroom environment. This study of 1941 monozygotic twin pairs examined whether children whose parents rated them as similarly high or low on a number of problem behaviors were rated in the same way by teachers when they were together versus separated in their classrooms at school. Results showed that twins in the same classrooms were rated by their teachers more similarly on each dimension of problem behavior than were twins who were separated into different classrooms, suggesting that the classroom environment is important in predicting differences between twins in terms of problem behaviors at school. In addition, parents' ratings of problem behaviors were lower for twins placed in the same classroom versus twins in different classrooms. Thus, there is reason to consider whether, at least during the early school years, parents should be allowed to make the decision to not separate twins at school.     

On facial expertise: processing strategies of twins' parents

Parents of monozygotic twins typically learn to recognise their own children and also to tell them apart on photographs. However, it is unknown whether such exemplar expertise can be generalised to unfamiliar faces of equal similarity (ie other twins). In the present study, parents of monozygotic twins were compared to 'control' parents whose children were non-twin siblings. In a same/different task with familiar and unfamiliar twin faces as stimuli, twins' parents were faster than control parents in distinguishing their own children, but slower when distinguishing unfamiliar twin faces. These unexpected findings can be interpreted as a generalisation of a habitual perceptual strategy that is efficient only with familiar face exemplars. When pictures of the twins' faces were inverted by 180degrees, the typical inversion costs for familiar faces were observed, but the twins' parents recognised unfamiliar twins' faces better when these were inverted than when upright. This inverted inversion effect could be caused by the high similarity of the face pairs as well as by experience with familiar faces of equally high similarity. We conclude that the facial expertise of twins' parents is idiosyncratic to their own children and not based on an enhanced general facial expertise.     

Mexican American Mothers and Fathers’ Prenatal Attitudes and Father Prenatal Involvement: Links to Mother–Infant Interaction and Father Engagement

The present study examines the associations between Mexican American mothers’ and fathers’ pregnancy intentions, fathers’ participation in prenatal activities and mother–infant interactions and father engagement with 9 month-old infants in a nationally representative sample of 735 infants and their parents participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort. After controlling for a host of variables, multiple regressions revealed that when mothers wanted the pregnancy, fathers engaged in more literacy and caregiving activities than when mothers did not want the pregnancy. When couples disagreed about wanting the pregnancy, fathers engaged in more literacy activities and showed more warmth than when they agreed. Relationship quality significantly moderated the effects of parents’ wantedness on mother–infant interactions and fathers’ engagement in literacy activities.     

Physical maltreatment victim to antisocial child: evidence of an environmentally mediated process

The well-documented finding that child physical maltreatment predicts later antisocial behavior has at least 2 explanations: (a). Physical maltreatment causes antisocial behavior, and (b). genetic factors transmitted from parents to children influence the likelihood that parents will be abusive and that children will engage in antisocial behavior. The authors tested these hypotheses in the representative Environmental-Risk cohort of 1116 twin pairs and their families, who were assessed when the twins were 5 and 7 years old. Mothers reported on children's experience of physical maltreatment, and mothers and teachers reported on children's antisocial behavior. The findings support the hypothesis that physical maltreatment plays a causal role in the development of children's antisocial behavior and that preventing maltreatment can prevent its violent sequelae.     

A Twin and Family Study of the Association Between Immune System Dysfunction and Dyslexia Using Blood Serum Immunoassay and Survey Data

We conducted a study of the association between developmental reading disability (DRD) and immune disorders (ID) using both survey and immunoassay data in two separate samples of families. One sample was made up of twins and their parents and was ascertained through a population-based sampling scheme. The other sample was a set of extended pedigrees selected for apparent autosomal dominant transmission of DRD. We failed to find an association between DRD and ID in either sample, regardless of the method used to assess immune system function. Even though our twin sample provided evidence that both DRD and immune conditions were significantly heritable, there was no evidence for a genetic correlation between ID and DRD nor was there any clear indication that a special subgroup of individuals may be comorbid for these conditions because of genetic reasons. How these negative findings can be reconciled with the developmental hypothesis of Geschwind, Behan, Galaburda, and colleagues, and how they may relate to the gene locus influencing DRD that has been recently located in the HLA region of the short arm of chromosome 6 is discussed.     

Sharing genes fosters identity fusion and altruism

Researchers have shown that the more genes twins share, the more they care about one another. Here, we examine a psychological mediator of such genetic influences, “identity fusion” (a visceral sense of oneness with them). Results supported this hypothesis. Relative to dizygotic twins, monozygotic twins reported stronger fusion and elevated desire to have contact and share experiences with their twin (Study 1), to forgive and grant favors to their twin after being disappointed by him/her (Study 2), and willingness to make sacrifices for their twin (Study 3). Fusion with the twin mediated the impact of zygosity on these outcomes. These findings demonstrate that genetic relatedness fosters a powerful feeling of union with one’s twin that predicts sharing, tolerance, and self-sacrificial behavior toward him or her.     

Attachment to parents and to God: a panel-data approach

ABSTRACT

Research at the nexus of attachment theory and religion has generally been constrained both by data limitations and by a view of attachment style as fixed early in life. I use three waves of data to test key hypotheses from this literature in new ways. Closeness to mother and closeness to father serve as proxies for attachment to parents and closeness to God serves as a proxy for attachment to God. The correspondence hypothesis predicts that people who feel closer to their parents feel closer to God, the compensation hypothesis predicts that people lacking a parent feel closer to God, and the socialized correspondence hypothesis predicts that people with nonreligious parents will feel less close to God if they feel closer to their parents. I find strong evidence in favor of the correspondence hypothesis, but I find no evidence in favor of the compensation hypothesis or the socialized correspondence hypothesis.     

Modeling Rater Disagreement for ADHD: Are Parents or Teachers Biased?

The present study is the first to utilize twin modeling to examine whether parent-teacher disagreement for ADHD ratings is due to parent or teacher bias, or due to raters observing different but valid ADHD behaviors. A joint analysis was conducted with 106 twin pairs, including twins selected for ADHD and control twin pairs. Total ADHD scores were analyzed using multiple rater models that estimate genetic and environmental contributions common to both raters and unique to each rater. Results suggest that 1) disagreement in ADHD ratings is strongly due to parents and teachers observing different ADHD behaviors, some of which is valid and some of which is due to bias, and 2) parents may be more biased than teachers in their ADHD ratings.     

瑞典的双生子与子代研究： 通过双生子及其家庭来增加对遗传与环境互动的了解

双生子及子代研究（TOSS）收集了909对双生子及他（她）们的配偶和他（她）们的青少年子女的数据。设计该项目是为研究以下三个问题：1）遗传与环境是如何影响双生子父母的养育方式的？2）遗传与环境是如何影响成年人的家庭关系的？3）家庭关系是如何影响成年人的心理调适的？由于此研究包括了双生子及其子女,该设计可以与其他研究相比较来具体地分析遗传与环境的关联。此研究的结果有助于厘清遗传与环境在养育方式和家庭关系中的型态,同时也澄清了父母亲个人特征是如何影响他（她）们的养育方式,以及父母的个体特征是如何帮助解释了遗传对家庭关系的影响。此研究今后将进一步分析遗传与环境的关联与互动,以及候选基因与环境的关联与互动     

The linkage between infant negative temperament and parenting self‐efficacy: The role of resilience against negative performance feedback

Caring for infants with negative reactive temperament may tax parents' confidence in their caregiving ability, or parenting self‐efficacy (PSE). This may happen in particular in parents who interpret these signals as negative feedback on their performance. To test this hypothesis, 179 first‐time pregnant women were presented a caregiving simulation that provided positive and negative feedback on their attempts to comfort a crying baby. According to their PSE resilience to negative feedback during the task, they were grouped in a high resilient and low resilient group. PSE was followed up at 32 weeks of pregnancy and 3 and 12 months after birth, while perceived temperament of the child was assessed at 3 and 12 months after birth. Results showed that among women with low resilience against negative feedback, perceived negative temperament was negatively associated with PSE at 3 months, whereas no such association was observed among women with high resilience against negative feedback. Implications of the concept of resilience for the study of PSE are discussed.     

Responsive parenting: An approach to training parents of problem children

Two behavior modification groups for parents of problem children between the ages of two and ten were conducted along the lines of the Responsive Teaching Model. The two groups met for 10 and 8 weeks, respectively, with six families represented in each group. In Responsive Parenting (RP), parents are taught to observe and measure their children's problematic behavior. Subsequently, each parent develops a home project designed to modify this behavior; 11 of the 12 parents developed a successful home project. In addition, the attendance was approximately 90% and the completion of weekly assignments was close to 100%. Paper-and-pencil measures revealed that the parents were very satisfied with the parent-training group and rated their children as improved on a bipolar adjective checklist. These results are discussed with regard to implications for the delivery of mental health services for children. Future research directions are delineated.     

The impact of parental multiple sclerosis on the adjustment of children and adolescents

Thirty-one parents with multiple sclerosis (MS) participated in a study to investigate the adjustment of their children, 24 boys and 24 girls aged 4 to 16 years. The majority of parents believed that their illness had an effect on their children. The perception of parents regarding their children's problems in the areas of emotions, concentration, behavior, or social interactions indicated that the children were at three times greater risk than the general community of developing psychological problems. In contrast, actual symptom scores reported by parents revealed that, although these children were at greater risk than the general community of developing peer problems, little difference was found on hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, or total difficulties. Parental negative affect predicted both parental reports of peer problems and perceptions that the parents' illness had an effect on their children. Parental relationship satisfaction and family income did not predict parental reports of children's level of adjustment. These results indicate that children of parents with MS demonstrate more difficulties in how they relate to others, the distress they experience, and how they manage their lives, rather than revealing higher levels of symptoms. Since the data were based on parental reports of their children's problems, the results may also be due to negative affect among the parents.     

Premature twins on a neonatal intensive care unit

This paper presents observations of boy and girl twins on a neonatal intensive care unit, following them through from 10 days old to return home. The observer hypothesizes about the experience of the twins as they progress, based on detailed notes of their actions. The preoccupations of the parents are incorporated, as are reactions and interventions of staff. The place and possible functions of such observation by a child psychotherapist attached to such a unit are elaborated in the concluding section.     

Marital conflict patterns: Links with family conflict and family members’perceptions of one another

The goal of this study was to explore the effects of marital conflict on conflict patterns in the family, and on family members’perceptions of one another. Sixty‐eight two‐parent families with adolescent twins participated, with parents reporting on the conflict patterns used by the marital dyad, and by themselves in interaction with each of their twins, and adolescent twins reporting on their interactions with each other. In addition, all four family members engaged in a videotaped decision‐making interaction and then made global ratings of each other on five dimensions. Links were obtained between marital conflict patterns and parent‐child conflict patterns, and between parent‐child conflict patterns and those used in sibling relationships. In contrast, marital conflict patterns were unrelated to sibling conflict patterns. Similarly, links were found between marital conflict and fathers’perceptions of their children, and between father‐child conflict and children's perceptions of each other. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical models of conflict resolution and the transmission of conflict patterns within the family.     

Why Do Parents Seek Help When Their Children’s Behavior Is Within Normative Levels?

The purpose of this study was to address the following question: Why do parents first seek help with parenting when they report their child’s disruptive behaviors are within normative levels? Two groups were selected for study from a sample of 91 parents of 3- to 6-year-olds who sought help with parenting: Parents reporting disruptive behavior problems in the normative range (n?=?22) or above a clinical cutoff (n?=?19). Logistic regression was used to examine two competing hypotheses about family variables which may account for why parents seek help when reporting normative levels of disruptive behaviors: Alternative family stress (i.e., high levels of family stress other than child disruptive behavior) and parent enhancement and validation (i.e., enhance and validate parenting although child behavior is in normal range). No support emerged for the alternative family stress hypothesis whereas multiple indicators (better use of disciplinary strategies, seeking services for a first born child, and being more highly educated) provided support for the parent enhancement and validation hypothesis.     

Left or right? Sources of political orientation: the roles of genetic factors, cultural transmission, assortative mating, and personality

In this study, we used an extended twin family design to investigate the influences of genetic and cultural transmission as well as different sources of nonrandom mating on 2 core aspects of political orientation: acceptance of inequality and rejecting system change. In addition, we studied the sources of phenotypic links between Big Five personality traits and political beliefs using self- and other reports. Data of 1,992 individuals (224 monozygotic and 166 dizygotic twin pairs, 92 unmatched twins, 530 spouses of twins, 268 fathers, and 322 mothers) were analyzed. Genetically informative analyses showed that political attitudes are genetically but not environmentally transmitted from parents to offspring and that a substantial proportion of this genetic variance can be accounted for by genetic variance in personality traits. Beyond genetic effects and genotypic assortative mating, generation-specific environmental sources act to increase twins' and spouses' resemblance in political beliefs. The results suggest multiple sources of political orientations in a modern democracy.     

Parental Responsibility and the Morality of Selective Abortion

It is now a common opinion in Western countries that a child's impairment would probably place an unexpected burden on her parents, a burden that the parents have not committed themselves to dealing with. Therefore, selective abortion is in general a morally justified option for the parents. I argue that this view is based on biased information about the quality of life of individuals with impairments and their families. Also, a conscious decision to procreate should bring about conscious assent to assuming obligations as a parent. This implies a duty of caring for any kind of child. Consequently, if the child's condition is not such that it would make its life not worth living, and if the parents live in an environment where they are able to provide their child and themselves an adequate well-being, they do not have a morally sufficient reason to terminate the pregnancy on the grounds of fetal abnormality.     

Adolescent pregnancy: implications for prevention strategies in educational settings

Over 1 million teenagers become pregnant each year in the U.S. The most alarming increases have occurred among adolescents who are younger than 15 years of age. Variables strongly associated with teen pregnancy include minority status, low socioeconomic status, low academic achievement and occupational aspirations, and growing up in a single- parent household. A majority of teenage pregnancies are unintended, and pregnancy is the largest contributor to school dropout rate for U.S. adolescent females. During pregnancy, adolescent mothers suffer higher rates of health complications, and after childbirth they receive less education, have more children, and are more likely to be dependent on welfare. Psychologists employed in educational settings are in a unique position to be involved in adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts, and schools are increasingly considered to be appropriate environments for this purpose. Progressive school-based family planning programs have been established by the St. Paul/Ramsey Medical Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and by the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Both programs emphasize the distribution of contraceptives. An increasing number of school programs focus their efforts on helping adolescents become more responsible in their approach to sexual relationships, though they do not distribute contraceptives. A number of innovative community-based programs have also been formed that utilize multiple strategies to provide positive alternatives to pregnancy. Before setting up teen pregnancy prevention programs, school psychologists should try to learn from the lessons offered by established programs. They should also consult with teachers, administrators, students, and parents, and they should decide what instructional approaches are appropriate for their own situations.