Understanding Asian parenting from a Rasch perspective

This study examines the factor structure of Asian child‐reported parenting from a Rasch perspective. Participants comprised 291 sixth graders (11 to 13 years) in Singapore. Six different aspects of parenting were measured, namely warmth, rejection, structure, chaos, autonomy support, and coercion. Rasch Analysis was used to transform ordinal data into linear measures; category functioning was examined; residual‐based principal components were analysed; differential item functioning was assessed; and items and subjects that were misfitting were removed. Results showed that parenting comprised six dimensions, namely warmth, autonomy support, structure‐control, structure‐warmth, chaos, and negative parenting. The findings suggest that it is important for Asian parents to provide guidance to their children (in structure‐control and structure‐warmth) and reaffirms the relevance of warmth in Asian parenting.     

In search of meaning: values in modern clinical behavior analysis

Skinner described behavior analysis as the field of values and purpose. However, he defined these concepts in terms of a history of reinforcement and failed to specify whether and how human and nonhuman values might differ. Human values have been seen as theoretically central within a number of nonbehavioral traditions in psychology, including humanism and positive psychology. However, these approaches have failed to provide explanations of the behavior-environment relations involved in valuing that might allow prediction and influence with respect to this phenomenon. Modern clinical behavior analysis in the form of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), however, succeeds in providing a functional definition of human values that meets this latter criterion. ACT is rooted in behavior analysis and relational frame theory (RFT) and defines values in terms of verbally established motivation. ACT empirical research into values has begun to blossom in recent years, and ACT-RFT researchers are currently investigating the concept at the most basic empirical level as well as in the applied clinical arena, heralding new interest in and insight into values within clinical behavioral psychology.     

Parental reflective functioning and theory of mind acquisition: A developmental perspective

This study investigated theory of mind (ToM) development in 83 children aged 3–5 years and its associations with parental reflective functioning (PRF), using a multidimensional and developmental approach. Results showed that ToM dimensions (i.e., affective, belief-desire, and cognitive) gradually increased with age. All dimensions of PRF (i.e., prementalizing modes, certainty about mental states, and interest and curiosity in mental states) were associated with ToM dimensions, with different dimensions being differentially related to ToM, including age-related effects.     

Observations of families in structured interactions: Parenting therapists provide reliable ratings of mothers' parenting

The reliability of observations of parenting by parenting therapists was assessed. An important predictor of externalizing behavior in children is quality of parenting. Data were videotapes of structured interactions in families with a child age 8–12 years referred to the evidence based Parent Management Training Oregon (PMTO) treatment program for child behavior problems. The therapists had clinical PMTO training but no training in systematic observation. PMTO observational coders with specific coder training were included as a reference for the therapists. Five therapists and two coders observed videotapes of 10 families and performed global evaluations of mothers' parenting skills. They used the coder's impression measure used in PMTO research. Scores were analyzed in a generalizability theory framework for the two groups of observers separately. Both observer types reliably rank‐ordered the mothers and assessed the level of parenting skills. PMTO therapists without coder training provided reliable ratings of parenting constructs relevant to the clinical PMTO program in a manner comparable to that of the trained reference coders.     

Benefitting from a different perspective: The effect of a complementary matching of psychological distance and habitual perspective on emotion regulation

Psychological distance in terms of its purpose as a psychological adjustment is currently not well understood. Some researchers claim that psychological distance serves as an emotion regulator, while others argue that psychological distance has the reverse effect, leading to cognitive avoidance and rumination. To elucidate upon this discrepancy, we propose that a complementary matching of psychological distance to one's habitual psychological distance perspective may lead to better emotion regulation when compared to the original perspective (i.e. fixing on either psychological immersion or distance). This study hypothesizes that a complementary matching of psychological distance to one's habitual perspective generally leads to better emotion regulation; specifically, individuals with high avoidant attachment, who habitually distance themselves from their experiences, may benefit from psychological immersion, while individuals with high anxious attachment, who habitually immerse themselves in their experiences, may benefit from psychological distancing. A total of 83 participants completed measures of adult attachment orientations; read a conflict scenario, triggering their attachment systems; and then rewrote that scenario using designated pronouns, thereby employing psychological immersion or psychological distance. Participants in the self‐immersed condition were asked to write from the first‐person perspective, whereas those in the self‐distancing condition were asked to write from the third‐person perspective. The results support our hypothesis of a complementary matching of psychological distance and habitual perspective.     

Joint roles of parenting and nutritional status for child development: Evidence from rural Cambodia

Substantial work has demonstrated that early nutrition and home environments, including the degree to which children receive cognitive stimulation and emotional support from parents, play a profound role in influencing early childhood development. Yet, less work has documented the joint influences of parenting and nutritional status on child development among children in the preschool years living in low‐income countries. Using panel data from 2016 to 2017 on the parenting, nutritional status, and early developmental outcomes (executive function, language, early numeracy, and socioemotional problems) of 6,508 Cambodian children ages 3–5 years, our findings demonstrate that inequities in early development associated with family wealth are evident at age 3 and increase among children ages 4 and 5 years. Using hierarchical regression analysis, a significant share of these inequalities is explained by differences in parenting and early nutritional status, measured by stunting. Better‐educated parents engage in more stimulating and supportive parenting practices. However, the positive association between parenting and language and early numeracy outcomes is 35–54% stronger for non‐stunted children, and parental activities explain only about 8–14% of the cognitive gap between the lowest and highest wealth quintiles. The results highlight the need for additional research outlining interactions between environmental factors that link family wealth and child development.     

马克思对经济主体的伦理分析

经济主体的伦理分析是马克思经济伦理思想的主要内容之一。马克思从人类主体活动的社会形式角度,把人类社会分成三个形态。对应于三种形态,经济主体的表现形式为原始丰富的人、异化的人、全面发展的人,在马克思看来,一定社会形态下现实的不同的人表现出不同的伦理特性。     

Transmission of values from adolescents to their parents: the role of value content and authoritative parenting

The intergenerational transmission of values is a bidirectional process. To date, however, adolescents' influence on parental values has rarely been investigated. In the present study, we analyzed the transmission of values from adolescents (aged 11 to 17 years) to their mothers and fathers across a one-year interval in 431 mother-child dyads and 346 father-child dyads. Transmission of values from adolescents to parents was observed regarding topics that are salient in adolescence (the usefulness of new technology, beliefs concerning the traditional way of life, the importance of religion) but not regarding topics that become salient later. In addition, the transmission of adolescents' values to their parents was mainly observed in families with above-average levels of authoritative parenting (i.e., parents are receptive and supportive). However, adolescents' religious values were also transmitted to their parents in families with below-average levels of authoritative parenting. Transmission of values from parents to adolescents was also investigated.     

核心家庭父亲协同教养对青少年抑郁的影响:父子依恋和母子依恋的中介作用

基于家庭系统理论,采用父亲协同教养、父子依恋、母子依恋和抑郁量表,对河南省某中学初中一、二年级,高中一、二年级共计890名来自核心家庭的青少年进行调查,探索父亲协同教养各维度（团结、一致、冲突、贬低）与青少年抑郁之间的关系,以及父子依恋和母子依恋在二者关系中的中介作用。结果表明：（1）在控制其它维度作用的情况下,父亲协同教养中的团结和冲突对青少年抑郁具有显著的预测作用,一致和贬低对抑郁的预测作用不显著,表明团结、冲突对青少年抑郁具有显著的“独特效应”;（2）团结、一致、冲突、贬低性协同教养均对母子依恋具有显著影响,支持家庭系统中的“交叉效应”;团结、冲突对父子依恋具有显著影响,支持家庭系统中的“外溢效应”;（3）中介效应分析的结果表明,团结、一致、冲突对抑郁的直接效应不显著,母子依恋在团结与青少年抑郁、冲突与青少年抑郁的关系中起到完全中介作用,但父子依恋的中介作用不显著。本研究有助于增进对父亲协同教养的认知,对于指导家庭教育实践、促进青少年心理积极发展具有重要的意义。     

Spike coding from the perspective of a neurone

In this paper, we compare existing methods for quantifying the coding capacity of a spike train, and review recent developments in the application of information theory to neural coding. We present novel methods for characterising single-unit activity based on the perspective of a downstream neurone and propose a simple yet universally applicable framework to characterise the order of complexity of neural coding by single units. We establish four orders of complexity in the capacity for neural coding. First-order coding, quantified by firing rates, is conveyed by frequencies and is thus entirely described by first moment processes. Second-order coding, represented by the variability of interspike intervals, is quantified by the log interval entropy. Third-order coding is the result of spike motifs that associate adjacent inter-spike intervals beyond chance levels; it is described by the joint interval histogram, and is measured by the mutual information between adjacent log intervals. Finally, nonstationarities in activity represent coding of the fourth-order that arise from the effects of a known or unknown stimulus.     

家庭环境与大学生抑郁和疏离感的关系

为了了解大学生的抑郁和疏离感状况及其影响因素,随机整群抽取了江苏省19所高校1900名大学生,进行了问卷调查,并对CES D量表、Alienation量表得分和心理健康的可能家庭影响因素进行了单因素方差分析。分析结果显示,14.7%的大学生CES-D量表得分≥20,3.3%的大学生Alienation量表得分≤30;是否独生子女、家庭所在地、家庭月收入、家庭凝聚力、家庭沟通、家庭冲突、父母受教育程度、职业、情感表达等,对大学生的抑郁和疏离感有不同程度的影响。由此可见,家庭因素仍然是影响大学生心理健康的重要因素。     

Parental socialization of mental health in Chinese American families: What parents say and do,and how youth make meaning

Parental mental health socialization is a process by which parents shape how youth develop and maintain beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding mental health and help-seeking behaviors. Although culture shapes parental mental health socialization, few studies have examined specific parental socialization practices regarding mental health and help-seeking, especially as a culturally anchored process. Using a qualitative approach, this study explores youth-reported parental socialization of mental health within Chinese American families by examining focus group data from 69 Chinese American high school and college students. Findings revealed that youth received parental messages that conveyed culturally anchored conceptualizations of mental health that included stigmatized views of mental illness and perceptions of mental distress as not a legitimate problem. Parents responded to youth distress in culturally consonant ways: by encouraging culturally specific coping methods, dismissing or minimizing distress, or responding with silence. Youth engaged in the active interpretation of parental messages through cultural brokering, bridging the gap between their parents’ messages and mainstream notions of mental health and help-seeking. Overall, our findings point to the significant role of culture in parental mental health socialization in Chinese American families and the need to integrate culturally specific understandings of mental health into future interventions for Asian American youth.     

Physical punishment and the parenting cycle: a survey of Northern Irish parents

The intergenerational transmission of physical punishment was examined in a questionnaire study of Northern Irish parents (n=371). Participants completed measures of commitment to and use of physical punishment, hostility and a retrospective parenting report on their parents' disciplinary behaviours. The results reveal that 91% of Northern Irish parents report using physical punishment to discipline their children (including 44% who smack only ‘very rarely’). Retrospective reports of working class parents suggest that physical punishment by grandparents at low, medium and high levels corresponds to the levels of reported punishment used by participants with their own children. Middle class parents who reported low or medium levels of parental discipline displayed a similar pattern of intergenerational transmission. However, middle class parents who reported receiving higher levels of punishment were found to use lower rates of punishment with their children. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

父母对儿童青少年媒介使用的积极干预

积极干预是指父母在孩子使用媒介前后或者使用过程中, 通过解释和讨论等互动形式对媒介内容、使用方式等提供指导。随着电子媒介在家庭中的普及, 父母如何正确引导儿童青少年的媒介使用行为受到了研究者的关注。父母对媒介使用进行积极干预对儿童青少年认知发展、社会性发展等诸多方面产生了积极作用, 例如提高儿童对媒介内容的批判能力, 有效减少暴力内容可能产生的消极影响等。影响积极干预行为的因素可归纳为两大类：家庭因素和儿童个体因素。未来研究可从完善测量方法, 探究父母干预行为与儿童青少年媒介使用之间相互影响的机制, 建构影响因素模型, 提高积极干预的有效性等角度进行深入探索。     

The Role of Family Processes and Coping Strategies in the Relationship Between Parental Chronic Illness and Childhood Internalizing Problems

Sixty-nine families (father, mother, and one child) in which the father had hemophilia, approximately half of whom were HIV positive, were assessed in an examination of the relationship between parental chronic illness, family functioning, child coping strategies, and child adjustment. Latent variable path analyses with partial least-squares estimation procedures (PLS) were used to test a model of the relationship between parental chronic illness, family process variables, child coping strategies, and child internalizing behavior problems. The severity of the father's illness predicted family process variables, which predicted the coping style of the child. The use of more avoidant coping strategies was associated with more internalizing problems.