ROLE OF FIRST‐YEAR MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT IN BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN

Drawing on economic models of child development and attachment relationship perspectives, this study examined the effect of maternal employment in the first year after childbirth on subsequent behavioral and cognitive development in low‐income children. Analyses of data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 411) revealed that despite the accompanying family income gains, maternal employment in the first year after childbirth adversely affected caregiver‐reported internalizing and externalizing behavior problems of Hispanic, Black, and White children at ages 3 and 5 years. This study also examined how paternal participation in childcare might affect children's outcomes. Results indicate that greater paternal participation eased the adverse impacts of maternal employment on internalizing behavior problems. There was no evidence that maternal employment was associated with children's memory cognitive functioning or that paternal involvement moderated children's cognitive development. These findings suggest that when early intervention programs are designed to assist low‐income families, enhancing supports (e.g., paternal involvement or parental leave) for working mothers during their child's first year may be valuable for young children's healthy development.     

Attachment and Family Processes in Children's Psychological Adjustment in Middle Childhood

This study examined the links between parent–child attachment, whole family interaction patterns, and child emotional adjustment and adaptability in a sample of 86 community families with children between the ages of 8 and 11 years. Family interactions were observed and coded with the System for Coding Interactions and Family Functioning (SCIFF; Lindahl, 2001). Both parents and each target child completed the appropriate form of the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐2nd Edition (BASC‐2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Target children also completed the Children's Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CCSQ; Yunger, Corby, & Perry, 2005). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that Secure mother–child attachment was a robust predictor of children's emotional symptoms, but father–child attachment strategies were not significant independent predictors. Positive Affect in family interactions significantly increased the amount of variance accounted for in children's emotional symptoms. In addition, Family Cohesion and Positive Affect moderated the relationship between father–child attachment and children's emotional symptoms. When data from all BASC‐2 informants (mother, father, child) were considered simultaneously and multidimensional constructs were modeled, mother–child security directly predicted children's adjustment and adaptive skills, but the influence of father–child security was fully mediated through positive family functioning. Results of the current study support the utility of considering dyadic attachment and family interaction patterns conjointly when conceptualizing and fostering positive emotional and behavioral outcomes in children.     

IMPACT OF PARENTAL BINGE EATING DISORDER: EXPLORING CHILDREN'S EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND THE QUALITY OF PARENT–CHILD FEEDING INTERACTIONS

This study examines psychopathological problems in children of parents with binge eating disorder (BED), particularly the effect of parental diagnosis on their offspring's psychopathology and the mediating power of the quality of parent–infant feeding interactions. Two hundred parents and their offspring were administered a questionnaire for the assessment of their children's psychopathology at 18 (T1) and 36 (T2) months of age. An observational measure to evaluate feeding interactions was administered at T1. Children with both parents with BED showed the highest affective, anxiety, oppositional/defiant, and autism spectrum problems, but no influence of paternal diagnosis was found on the offspring's psychopathology. Maternal BED had an influence on children's affective and autism spectrum problems, and diagnosis of BED in both parents had an effect on infants’ affective problems. Paternal BED had an effect on oppositional/defiant problems through the quality of father–infant interactions, and maternal BED had an effect on the offspring's affective and anxiety problems through the mediation of mother–infant interactions. These results suggest the importance of intervention programs focusing both on parental psychopathology and on mother–child and father–child feeding interactions in families with parents with BED.     

MOTHER–CHILD AND FATHER–CHILD PLAY INTERACTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL PLAYFULNESS AS A MODERATOR OF THE LINKS BETWEEN PARENTAL BEHAVIOR AND CHILD NEGATIVITY

Based on the premise that father–child play is an important context for children's development and that fathers “specialize” in play, similarities and differences in the role of playfulness in the father–child and mother–child relationship were examined. Participants in this study included 111 families (children's age: 1–3 years). Father–child and mother–child play interactions were videotaped and coded for parental playfulness, sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness as well as child negativity. Results indicated that mothers and fathers did not differ in playfulness and that mothers and fathers who were higher in playfulness had children with lower levels of negativity. However, playfulness differently moderated the links between parents’ and children's behaviors for mothers and fathers. A double‐risk pattern was found for mothers, such that the links between child negativity and maternal sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness were significant only for the subgroup of mothers with low levels of playfulness. When mothers had high levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. For fathers, a double‐buffer pattern was revealed, indicating that the links between child negativity and paternal sensitivity and structuring were significant only for fathers with high levels of playfulness. When fathers had low levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. These findings demonstrate the important role that parental playfulness has on parent–child interaction as well as the need to examine moderation patterns separately for fathers and mothers.     

MATERNAL DEPRESSION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN HEAD START: INDIRECT EFFECTS THROUGH PARENTING

The present study used a large, nationally representative sample of Head Start children (N=3,349) from the Family and Child Experiences Survey of 2009 (FACES) to examine associations among maternal depression (measured when children were ?36 months old) and children's executive function (EF) and behavior problems (measured when children were ?48 months old). Preliminary analyses revealed that 36% of mothers in the sample had clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a path analysis with demographic controls showed a mediation effect that was significant and quite specific; mother‐reported warmth (and not mother–child reading) mediated the path between maternal depression, children's EF, and behavior problems. Findings provide empirical support for a family process model in which warm, sensitive parenting supports children's emerging self‐regulation and reduces the likelihood of early onset behavior problems in families in which children are exposed to maternal depression.     

CAREGIVER SENSITIVITY AND CONSISTENCY AND CHILDREN'S PRIOR FAMILY EXPERIENCE AS CONTEXTS FOR EARLY DEVELOPMENT WITHIN INSTITUTIONS

The current study addressed whether two institution‐wide interventions in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that increased caregiver sensitivity (Training Only: TO) or both caregiver sensitivity and consistency (Training plus Structural Changes: T+SC) promoted better socioemotional and cognitive development than did a No Intervention (NoI) institution during the first year of life for children who were placed soon after birth. It also assessed whether having spent less than 9 versus 9 to 36 months with a family prior to institutionalization was related to children's subsequent socioemotional and cognitive development within these three institutions. The Battelle Developmental Inventory (J. Newborg, J.R. Stock, L. Wnek, J. Guidubaldi, & J. Svinicki, 1988) was used to assess the socioemotional and cognitive functioning of children in NoI (n = 95), TO (n = 104), and T+SC (n = 86) at two to three time points during their first 6 to 12 months of residency. Results suggest that improving caregiver sensitivity can improve the cognitive development of infants in the first year of institutionalization whereas improving caregiver consistency in addition to sensitivity is more beneficial for socioemotional development than is sensitivity alone. Similarly, for children in T+SC, longer time with a family prior to institutionalization (consistent caregiver, unknown sensitivity) was associated with better socioemotional, but not cognitive, baseline scores and more rapid cognitive than socioemotional development during institutionalization. These results suggest caregiver sensitivity is more highly related to cognitive development whereas caregiver consistency is more related to socioemotional development in the first years of life.     

UNDERSTANDING PARENTING STRESS AND CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS AMONG HOMELESS,SUBSTANCE‐ABUSING MOTHERS

This article tested a model of parenting stress as a mediator between maternal depressive symptoms, emotion regulation, and child behavior problems using a sample of homeless, substance‐abusing mothers. Participants were 119 homeless mothers (ages 18–24 years) and their young children (ages 0–6 years). Mothers responded to questions about their depressive symptoms, emotion regulation, parenting stress, and child behavior problems. A path analysis showed that maternal depressive symptoms were positively associated with child behavior problems through increased parenting stress whereas maternal cognitive reappraisal was negatively associated with child behavior problems through decreased parenting stress. Moreover, maternal expressive suppression was negatively related to child externalizing problems. Findings support the parenting stress theory and highlight maternal parenting stress as a mechanism associated with homeless children's mental health risk. This study has significant implications for understanding the parenting processes underlying child's resilience in the context of homelessness and maternal substance use.     

PARENTAL CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY,DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS,AND PARENTING QUALITY: EFFECTS ON TODDLER SELF‐REGULATION IN CHILD WELFARE SERVICES INVOLVED FAMILIES

Parents who are involved with child welfare services (CWSI) often have a history of childhood adversity and depressive symptoms. Both affect parenting quality, which in turn influences child adaptive functioning. We tested a model of the relations between parental depression and child regulatory outcomes first proposed by K. Lyons‐Ruth, R. Wolfe, A. Lyubchik, and R. Steingard (2002). We hypothesized that both parental depression and parenting quality mediate the effects of parental early adversity on offspring regulatory outcomes. Participants were 123 CWSI parents and their toddlers assessed three times over a period of 6 months. At Time 1, parents reported on their childhood adversity and current depressive symptoms. At Time 2, parents’ sensitivity to their child's distress and nondistress cues was rated from a videotaped teaching task. At Time 3, observers rated children's emotional regulation, orientation/engagement, and secure base behavior. The results of a path model partly supported the hypotheses. Parent childhood adversity was associated with current depressive symptoms, which in turn related to parent sensitivity to child distress, but not nondistress. Sensitivity to distress also predicted secure base behavior. Depression directly predicted orientation/engagement, also predicted by sensitivity to nondistress. Sensitivity to distress predicted emotion regulation and orientation/engagement. Results are discussed in terms of intervention approaches for CWSI families.     

COGNITIVE AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING AT 4½ YEARS IN CHILDREN BORN TO MOTHERS WHO HAVE RECEIVED TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE‐ABUSE PROBLEMS WHILE PREGNANT

Cognitive and socioemotional functioning at 4½ years of age were examined in children born to mothers with substance‐abuse problems (n = 22) recruited from residential treatment institutions while pregnant, and then compared to children born to mothers with mental health problems (n = 18) and children from a low‐risk group (n = 26). No significant group differences in cognitive functioning were found, but the children born to mothers with substance‐abuse problems showed more caregiver‐reported socioemotional problems than did the low‐risk children, like the children born to mothers with mental health problems. Birth weight had an effect on internalizing problems at 4½ years and mediated the relation between group and socioemotional problems, although not when controlling for caregiver education, single parenthood, and anxiety and depression. At 4½ years, 7 children born to mothers with substance‐abuse problems were placed in foster care. These children had lower birth weight and higher caregiver‐rated internalizing problems. In addition to emphasizing the importance of the quality of the prenatal environment, this study suggests that families with previous substance abuse are in need of long‐term follow‐up to address socioemotional problems and enhance further positive child cognitive development. The foster‐placed children may be in particular need of long‐term follow‐up.     

DEPLOYMENT STATUS: A DIRECT OR INDIRECT EFFECT ON MOTHER–CHILD ATTACHMENT WITHIN A CANADIAN MILITARY CONTEXT?

Research has suggested that military spouses experience increased depressive symptoms and parenting stress during a military member's deployment. A relationship between maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and child attachment security has been found in the general population, as has an indication that social support may provide a buffering effect. While there appears to be an association between the emotional well‐being of military spouses and child emotional well‐being during deployment, data are limited regarding the association between maternal emotional well‐being and child attachment security. The current study explores the association between deployment status and child attachment to the nonmilitary parent (i.e., the mother in this study) in a sample of 68 Canadian military families. Results revealed a significant impact of deployment status on maternal depressive symptoms and on quality of child attachment. The impact of deployment status on attachment was not mediated through the maternal variables, and despite a main effect of social support on the maternal variables, there was no moderating effect. Thus, our results suggest that deployment may affect child attachment independently of maternal well‐being.     

THE QUALITY OF FATHER–CHILD ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS’ AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHINA

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the quality of early father–child rough‐and‐tumble play (RTP) on toddler aggressive behaviors and more fully understand how child, mother, and father characteristics were associated with higher quality father–child RTP among contemporary urban Chinese families. Participants included 42 families in Changsha, China. Play observations of fathers and their children were coded for RTP quality. The specific RTP quality of father–child reciprocity of dominance was associated with fewer toddler aggressive behaviors, as rated by both fathers and mothers. Mothers’ democratic parenting attitudes were associated with higher quality father–child RTP. These findings suggest that higher quality father–child RTP may be one way in which some fathers influence children's expression of aggressive behaviors, and the quality of father–child RTP may be influenced by the broader family, social, and cultural contexts.     

FATHER PLAY: IS IT SPECIAL?

Both mothers and fathers play with their children, but research on parent–child play interactions is conducted with mothers three times more often than it is with fathers. The articles in this special issue address this gap by focusing on the nature and quality of father–child play, across cultural contexts, and considering whether father play offers something unique and special for early human development, in infancy or early childhood. The studies show that fathers can be just as developmentally supportive as are mothers in terms of being playful and engaged with their children in ways that are related to greater child socioemotional competence, emotion regulation, and vocabulary, and to less aggression, anxiety, and negativity. We encourage future research to examine the cultural influences, family system dynamics, and specificity of timing and types of father–child play in relation to children's developmental competence.     

MEASUREMENT OF FATHER–CHILD ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND ITS RELATIONS TO CHILD BEHAVIOR

Although there is increasing evidence of paternal influence on child outcomes such as language and cognition, researchers are not yet clear on the features of father–child play that are most valuable in terms of child development. Physical play such as rough and tumble play (RTP) is a favored type of father–child play in Western societies that has been linked to children's socioemotional competence. It is important, therefore, to determine the implications of this play for child development. In this review and meta‐analysis, associations between father–child physical play and child behavior were examined. The review also focused on study methods. Sixteen studies are reviewed, N = 1,521 father–child dyads, 35% boys. Study characteristics such as definitions of physical play, play settings, play measures, and coding were examined. The meta‐analysis found weak to moderate population effects for links between father–child physical play and child aggression, social competence, emotional skills, and self‐regulation. Research investigating the effect of father–child physical play on children's development will be improved when definitions clearly identify the nature of play, settings facilitate boisterous play, and measures include frequency and quality of play interactions. This play shows promise as an enhancer of positive father–child relationships and a catalyst for child development.     

THE WORLDWIDE BURDEN OF INFANT MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDER: REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE OF THE WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR INFANT MENTAL HEALTH

Children worldwide experience mental and emotional disorders. Mental disorders occurring among young children, especially infants (birth –3 years), often go unrecognized. Prevalence rates are difficult to determine because of lack of awareness and difficulty assessing and diagnosing young children. Existing data, however, suggest that rates of disorders in young children are comparable to those of older children and adolescents (von Klitzing, Dohnert, Kroll, & Grube, 2015 ). The lack of widespread recognition of disorders of infancy is particularly concerning due to the unique positioning of infancy as foundational in the developmental process. Both the brain and behavior are in vulnerable states of development across the first 3 years of life, with potential for enduring deviations to occur in response to early trauma and deprivation. Intervention approaches for young children require sensitivity to their developmental needs within their families. The primacy of infancy as a time of unique foundational risks for disorder, the impact of trauma and violence on young children's development, the impact of family disruption on children's attachment, and existing literature on prevalence rates of early disorders are discussed. Finally, global priorities for addressing these disorders of infancy are highlighted to support prevention and intervention actions that may alleviate suffering among our youngest world citizens.     

MATERNAL INTERACTION QUALITY MODERATES EFFECTS OF PRENATAL MATERNAL EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS ON GIRLS’ INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS

The role of mother–infant interaction quality is studied in the relation between prenatal maternal emotional symptoms and child behavioral problems. Healthy pregnant, Dutch women (N = 96, M = 31.6, SD = 3.3) were allocated to the “exposed group” (n = 46), consisting of mothers with high levels of prenatal feelings of anxiety and depression, or the “low‐exposed group” (n = 50), consisting of mothers with normal levels of depressive or anxious symptoms during pregnancy. When the children (49 girls, 47 boys) were 23 to 60 months of age (M = 39.0, SD = 9.6), parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, 2000 ), and mother–child interaction quality during a home visit was rated using the Emotional Availability Scales. There were no differences in mother–child interaction quality between the prenatally exposed and low‐exposed groups. Girls exposed to high prenatal emotional symptoms showed more internalizing problems, if maternal interaction quality was less optimal. No significant effects were found for boys.     

CAREGIVER'S DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND YOUNG CHILDREN'S SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT DELAYS: A CROSS‐SECTIONAL STUDY IN POOR RURAL AREAS OF CHINA

Poverty and its associated factors put people at risk for depression. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of depressive symptoms (DS) of primary caregivers and socioemotional development (SED) delays of young children in poor rural areas of China, and to explore the association between them. Cross‐sectional data of 2,664 children aged 3 to 35 months and their primary caregivers were used for analysis. Characteristics of the child, caregiver, and family were collected through face‐to‐face caregiver interviews. DS were assessed by the Zung Self‐Rating Depression Scale (W.W. Zung, 1965, as cited in World Health Organization, 2016b ), and SED was evaluated by the Ages and Stage Questionnaires: Social‐Emotional (J. Squires, D. Bricker, & L. Potter, 1997). The χ² test, stratification analysis, and logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association. Among the caregivers, 40.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] [38.4, 42.1]), reported DS. Caregivers who were male, older and ethnic minorities as well as had a low level of education, a low family income, or more children were more likely to have DS. Of the children, 24.4% (95% CI [22.8, 26.0]) were recognized with SED delays. Older children displayed more delays than did younger children, but no significant differences between males and females were found. SED delays were significantly associated with mother outmigrating, male caregivers, older age, ethnic minorities, and low education or families with a single parent, low‐income, and having more children. Caregivers having DS, odds ratio (OR) = 2.40, 95% CI [1.99, 2.88], was a significant predictor of increased odds of SED delays; other factors were single‐parent family, OR = 1.99, 95% CI [1.37, 2.89], inadequate care, OR = 1.69, 95% CI [1.30, 2.21], physical punishment, OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.33, 1.95], ethnic minorities, OR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.17, 1.71], and child age in months, OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.02, 1.04], according to the logistic regression analysis. DS are prevalent among caregivers with young children in poor rural areas. Interventions to improve the mental health of caregivers and their parenting behaviors are needed to improve children's SED.     

PATERNAL AND MATERNAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING IN THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PEEL CHILD HEALTH STUDY

While past research on the care of infants has been mostly with mothers, in recent times there has been a renewed attention to the father–infant relationship. This study examined differences between mother and father parental reflective functioning (PRF) or parental mentalizing; that is, the parental capacity to reason about their own and their children's behaviors by taking into consideration intentional mental states. Data were collected from 120 couples with a 1‐year‐old child who were participants in the West Australian Peel Child Health Study. Parental mentalizing was assessed using the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ; Luyten, Mayes, Nijssens, & Fonagy, 2017 ). Results showed that mother and father mentalizing with their children was independent and that mothers scored slightly higher levels of mentalizing than did fathers. Paternal mentalizing was weakly associated with family income and father education, and was more strongly associated with family functioning than with maternal mentalizing. Implications for theorizing on PRF and fatherhood more generally are discussed.     

UNDERSTANDING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ATTACHMENT TRAUMA AND MATERNAL SELF‐EFFICACY IN DEPRESSED MOTHERS

Maternal self‐efficacy predicts sensitive and responsive caregiving. Low maternal self‐efficacy is associated with a higher incidence of postpartum depression. Maternal self‐efficacy and postpartum depression can both be buffered by social support. Maternal self‐efficacy and postpartum depression have both been linked independently, albeit in separate studies, to the experience of violent trauma, childhood maltreatment, and spousal abuse. This study proposed a model in which postpartum depression mediates the relation between attachment trauma and maternal self‐efficacy, with emotional support as a moderator. Participants were 278 first‐time mothers of infants under 14 months. Cross‐sectional data were collected online. Mothers completed questionnaires on attachment trauma, maternal self‐efficacy, postpartum depression, and emotional support. A moderated mediation model was tested in a structural equation modeling framework using Mplus’ estimate of indirect effects. Postpartum depression fully mediated the relation between trauma and maternal self‐efficacy. Emotional support moderated only the pathway between postpartum depression and maternal self‐efficacy. Attachment trauma's implications for maternal self‐efficacy should be understood in the context of overall mental health. Mothers at the greatest risk for low maternal self‐efficacy related to attachment trauma also are those suffering from postpartum depression. Emotional support buffered mothers from postpartum depression, though, which has implications for intervention and future research.     

THE MAGIC OF PLAY: LOW‐INCOME MOTHERS’ AND FATHERS’ PLAYFULNESS AND CHILDREN'S EMOTION REGULATION AND VOCABULARY SKILLS

Using data from a diverse sample of low‐income families who participated in the Early Head Start Research Evaluation Project (n = 73), we explored the association between mothers’ and fathers’ playfulness with toddlers, toddler's affect during play, and children's language and emotion regulation at prekindergarten. There were two main findings. First, fathers’ playfulness in toddlerhood was associated with children's vocabulary skills in prekindergarten whereas mothers’ playfulness was related to children's emotion regulation. Cross‐parental effects were found only for mothers. The association between mothers’ playfulness and children's vocabulary and emotion regulation was strengthened when fathers engaged in more pretend play and when children were affectively positive during the play. These findings show that playfulness is an important source of variation in the vocabulary and emotion regulation of children growing up in low‐income families. They also point to domain‐specific ways that mothers and fathers promote children's regulatory and vocabulary skills, and highlight the importance of children's positive engagement in play.