Development of a pleasure in parenting scale

Two major components of parenting have been identified: warmth and control. There has been a great deal of work on the measurement of control, but there are not many measures of parental warmth. As part of an attempt to develop better measures of warmth, we developed a scale measuring parents' pleasure in carrying out routine caretaking acts with their children. This measure was then related to other measures of positive support such as observation, observer ratings and questionnaires. As there is evidence in the literature that quality of the environment interacts with parenting, we related the measure to measures of stress, observer ratings of quality of the home, marital interaction and parental mood. Finally, we examined the relation of child variables (attachment classification, temperament rating and observed behaviours) to the parents' ratings of pleasure in the child.     

Objective and subjective assessments of parenting in hyperactive preschoolers

Objective: To evaluate whether the mother–child interactions of hyperactive preschool children and their typically developing peers differentially vary as a function of situational demands, and whether groupwise differences exist with respect to disciplinary practices and family lifestyles (e.g. level of parental investment, strategies for responding to child‐initiated provocation). Methods: Parenting practices were assessed via videotaped parent–child interactions and self‐report methods in mother–child dyads of 21 hyperactive preschoolers and 48 age‐matched control dyads. Results: Hyperactive preschoolers were significantly more non‐compliant during parent–child interactions. Mothers of hyperactive preschoolers exhibited more negative behaviour and less encouragement with heightened situational demands. Although few significant differences were reported regarding disciplinary practices, parents of hyperactive preschoolers reported greater levels of anger and child rearing difficulty, and perceived their children as more bothersome. Conclusions: Parents of hyperactive preschoolers may profit from interventions that are sensitive to the impact of situational changes on their behaviour and which address possible attributional biases regarding the source of parent–child discord. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived mother‐infant relationship difficulties in postnatal depression

Postnatal depression has been associated with mother–infant relationship difficulties, but there has been less research in clinical populations. This study aims to identify characteristics of reported mother–infant relationship difficulties in mothers with postnatal depression who had been referred to a tertiary Mother and Baby Service. Forty‐one mothers with postnatal depression completed self‐report and interview measures with regards to their mental state, social adversity, and perceptions on their relationship with their infants. Almost one‐third of mothers (31.7%) reported severe difficulties, including rejection of the infant and maternal pathological anger. A low birth weight and maternal dissatisfaction towards their social role were found to be significantly related to perceived mother–infant interaction difficulties. Self‐reports correlated satisfactorily with interview schedules. A significant proportion of mothers reported difficulties in relating to their infants which can be reliably identified by means of the self‐report measures used. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parenting Sensitivity,Parental Depression and Child Health: The Mediational Role of Parental Self-Efficacy

This paper discusses the theoretical role of parental self-efficacy, or parents' beliefs in their competence and effectiveness in the parental role, as a mediator of relations between parent–child risk and parental sensitivity. Evidence is marshalled from studies of parenting in the contexts of maternal depression and child health risk to support the premise that parent–child characteristics affect parental sensitivity indirectly via their more direct impact on parental feelings of efficacy, and that parenting efficacy represents the ‘final common pathway’ in the prediction of parenting sensitivity. Also considered in this working model are specific social-contextual factors as independent contributors to parenting efficacy and as possible moderators of relations between parent–child characteristics and self-efficacy. Implications for intervention are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infant Developmental Outcomes: A Family Systems Perspective

The aim of the current study was to examine whether parental mental health, parent–infant relationship, infant characteristics and couple's relationship factors were associated with the infant's development. Forty‐two families took part at three time points. The first, at 3 months postpartum, involved a video recorded observation (CARE‐index) of parent–infant interactions. At 5 months postpartum, in‐depth clinical interviews (the Birmingham Interview of Maternal Mental Health) assessed parental mental health and parental perceptions of their relationship with their infant, their partner and their infant's characteristics. Finally, the Bayley Scales III was carried out 17 months postpartum to assess the infants' cognitive, language and motor development. A higher mother–infant relationship quality was significantly associated with more optimal language development, whilst a higher father–infant relationship quality was associated with more advanced motor development. Additionally, maternal postnatal post‐traumatic stress disorder had a negative impact on the infant's cognitive development, whilst maternal prenatal depression was associated with a less optimal infant's language development. The largest prediction was afforded by parental perceptions of their infant's characteristics. The findings indicate that such perceptions may be crucial for the infant's development and imply that negative internal parental perceptions should be considered when assessing risk factors or designing interventions to prevent negative child outcomes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parenting and child behaviour problems: a longitudinal analysis of non‐shared environment

This study examined potential non‐shared environmental processes in middle childhood by estimating statistical associations between monozygotic (MZ) twin differences in externalizing and internalizing problems and positive social engagement, and differential maternal positivity and negativity, over 1 year. Seventy‐seven pairs of identical twins participated (M=6.08‐years old, 65% male) in two annual home visits. Observers' ratings and maternal reports were gathered. At both assessments, the twin who showed more conduct problems (maternal report and observers' ratings) and less positive social engagement (positive affect, responsiveness) received more maternal negativity and less maternal warmth (self‐reports and observers' ratings), relative to his or her genetically identical co‐twin. The same patterns held over time, for the associations between change in differential MZ twin conduct problems and social engagement and change in differential maternal behaviour. Effects for child internalizing problems were not consistent within or across raters. Overall, these results indicated that differential maternal warmth and negativity—self‐perceived and observed by others—are important aspects of sibling differentiation for both problematic and adaptive behaviours during middle childhood. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of Family and Experimental Context on Cognition in Anxious Children

Examined the influence of family on anxious children's cognition. Research by Barrett, Rapee, Dadds, and Ryan (1996) found anxious children reported increased avoidance after interacting with their parents. They labelled this finding the FEAR effect—Family Enhancement of Avoidant Responses. Whilst some subsequent studies have found similar results, others have not. These contradictory findings question whether the direction of parental influence on anxious children is determined by the perceived demands of the experimental context. Anxious children (N = 101) and their parents were asked to interpret seven ambiguous situations and to discuss what their child would do if the scenario actually occurred. Study 1 found that children in the anxious group and an externalizing control group were more likely to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening than nonclinic children were. Study 2 sought to examine changes in the children's responses from pre- to postfamily discussion, and to identify variables associated with the FEAR effect in anxious families. Interestingly, anxious children whose families completed the discussion task after they (children) had been offered treatment were more likely to show a FEAR effect than anxious families who completed the task as part of assessment. Study 3 examined predictors of enhanced avoidance in anxious families. Treatment context and maternal distress were correlated with the child's increased avoidance following family discussion. Limitations of these studies and directions for future research are discussed.     

Language development of pre‐school children born to teenage mothers

An Erratum has been published for this article in Infant and Child Development 10(4) 2001, 241. This paper compares the language development of pre‐school children born to teenage (n=22) and comparison mothers (n=20) and examines the extent to which differences in language development can be explained by social background, child and parenting factors. Mothers and children were assessed at home using a range of measures, including a structured interview, the language scales of the Child Development Inventory, the HOME Inventory, and videotaped mother‐child interaction. Results showed that children of teenage mothers perform significantly poorer than children of comparison mothers on measures of expressive language and language comprehension. Subsequent analyses showed that these differences are largely explained by differences in the parenting behaviour of teenage and comparison mothers. Specifically, maternal verbal stimulation and intrusiveness accounted for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer language comprehension, while maternal intrusiveness and involvement with the child account for the relationship between teenage motherhood and children's poorer expressive language development. These findings highlight the importance of early mother–child interaction for children's language development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low‐income parents' warmth and parent–child activities for children with disabilities,suspected delays and biological risks

Warm and responsive parenting is optimal for child development, but this style of parenting may be difficult for some parents to achieve. This study examines how parents' observed warmth and their reported frequency of parent–child activities were related to children's classifications as having biological risks or a range of disability indicators. Children were low‐income prekindergarteners who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project Longitudinal Follow‐up. Data from parent, early care and education staff reports, and direct child assessments were used to classify children into the following groups: disabilities, suspected delays, biological risks, disabilities and biological risk, suspected delays and biological risk, and no disability indicator. Socioeconomic status (ethnicity, maternal education and poverty level) and maternal depression were controlled in the analyses. The parents of children with disabilities and suspected delays evidenced significantly lower levels of warmth and less frequent parent–child activities compared with other parents. The parents of children with biological risk factors who did not also have disabilities or suspected delays did not exhibit decreased warmth and less frequent parent–child activities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HANDBOOK OF ATTACHMENT,THIRD EDITION: THEORY,RESEARCH, AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS JudeCassidy and Phillip R.Shaver (Eds.), New York: Guilford Press, 2016, 1,068 pp., ISBN 978‐1‐4625‐2529‐4

Jude Cassidy and Phillip R. Shaver's third edition of the Handbook of Attachment has emerged and set a new bar for formative texts on pivotal issues related to the field of attachment. This state‐of‐the‐science reference on attachment eloquently intertwines attachment theory, research, and clinical applications, giving us innovative conceptualizations and perspectives on both implications for clinical advancement and directions for future research. This handbook moves basic research findings quickly into the realm of clinical and community applications, providing the field with new information about intervention procedures and outcomes while setting the stage for theoretical advancement. New chapters reflect the way we think about the interweaving of attachment, development, and infant mental health research and application. From the authors’ opening “Overview of Attachment” to the summary overview and evaluation of the field, “The Place of Attachment in Development” by attachment‐research pioneer L. Alan Sroufe, this third edition broadly delivers the most significant and important information that the field has on attachment. Researchers, clinicians, and professionals will benefit from this handbook as it presents with the most up‐to‐date, innovative, and thorough presentation of attachment theory.     

Maternal pre‐ and postnatal anxiety and infant temperament. The generation R study

The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal anxiety that is temporary or chronic during the pre‐ and postnatal period predicts infant temperament. Mothers of 2997 infants in a population‐based birth cohort reported levels of pregnancy‐specific anxiety (Pregnancy Outcome Questionnaire) and general anxiety symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) prenatal and at 6 months postnatal. Temperament characteristics were assessed by maternal report using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire—Revised when the infants were 6 months of age. Maternal pregnancy‐specific and general anxiety during the pre‐ and postnatal period were all independently associated with perceived infant temperamental difficulties. Chronically high maternal anxiety predicted the highest perceived infant activity level and negative affectivity. These findings show that different forms of maternal anxiety during both the pre‐ and postnatal period are independently related to perceived temperamental problems in infancy. They also emphasize the significance of chronic maternal anxiety for infant mental health. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two‐year‐olds’ understanding of self‐symbols

This study investigated 48 2.5‐year‐olds’ ability to map from their own body to a two‐dimensional self‐representation and also examined relations between parents’ talk about body representations and their children's understanding of self‐symbols. Children participated in two dual‐representation tasks in which they were asked to match body parts between a symbol and its referent. In one task, they used a self‐symbol and in the other they used a symbol for a doll. Participants were also read a book about body parts by a parent. As a group, children found the self‐symbol task more difficult than the doll‐task; however, those whose parents explicitly pointed out the relation between their children's bodies and the symbols in the book performed better on the self‐symbol task. The findings demonstrate that 2‐year‐old children have difficulty comprehending a self‐symbol, even when it is two‐dimensional and approximately the same size as them, and suggest that parents’ talk about self‐symbols may facilitate their understanding.     

Investigating Maternal Touch and Infants' Self‐Regulatory Behaviours during a Modified Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face with Touch Procedure

Maternal touch and infants' self‐regulatory behaviours were examined during a modified Still‐Face with Touch (SF + T) procedure. Mothers and their 5½‐month‐old infants participated in one period of Normal interaction followed by three SF + T periods. Maternal functions of touch, and infants' self‐regulatory behaviour, affect, and attention were evaluated. Contrary to a typical SF procedure, the amount of smiling remained high while fretting remained low. High levels of maternal touching and variations in the functions of maternal touch were observed across periods. Playful touch remained high while there was an increase in nurturing touch and a decrease in attention‐getting touch from the Normal to all SF + T periods. Similar amounts of self‐regulatory behaviours were observed across periods with the exception of a decrease in bidirectional exchanges during the SF + T periods. Finally, across periods, maternal touch and infants' self‐regulatory behaviours were found to be temporally organized with infants' affect and attention. Examining how mothers use touch when other forms of communication are absent increased our understanding of the role of touch in infants' emotion regulation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parents' Emotion‐Related Beliefs,Behaviours, and Skills Predict Children's Recognition of Emotion

Children who are able to recognize others' emotions are successful in a variety of socioemotional domains, yet we know little about how school‐aged children's abilities develop, particularly in the family context. We hypothesized that children develop emotion recognition skill as a function of parents' own emotion‐related beliefs, behaviours, and skills. We examined parents' beliefs about the value of emotion and guidance of children's emotion, parents' emotion labelling and teaching behaviours, and parents' skill in recognizing children's emotions in relation to their school‐aged children's emotion recognition skills. Sixty‐nine parent–child dyads completed questionnaires, participated in dyadic laboratory tasks, and identified their own emotions and emotions felt by the other participant from videotaped segments. Regression analyses indicate that parents' beliefs, behaviours, and skills together account for 37% of the variance in child emotion recognition ability, even after controlling for parent and child expressive clarity. The findings suggest the importance of the family milieu in the development of children's emotion recognition skill in middle childhood and add to accumulating evidence suggesting important age‐related shifts in the relation between parental emotion socialization and child emotional development. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of child temperament on low‐income preschool children's relationships with their parents and teachers

The current study examined the associations between low‐income preschool children's temperament (reactive and regulatory) and their relationships with parents and teachers. In particular, we focused on the moderating role of regulatory temperament on reactive temperament in the prediction of closeness and conflict with parents and teachers. Two hundred ninety‐one children (M = 53.88 months, SD = 6.44 months), their parents, and teachers from 3 different preschools serving low‐income children in 2 midwestern cities in the United States participated. Parents reported on temperament and parent–child relationships, and teachers reported on teacher–child relationships. Hierarchical regression models using SAS PROC MIXED were employed to allow for nesting of children within classrooms. After controlling for child age, gender, ethnicity, and parent education, children's reactive temperament was negatively associated with parent–child closeness and positively associated with parent–child conflict and teacher–child conflict. Children's regulatory temperament was positively related to teacher–child closeness and negatively associated with teacher–child conflict. Regulatory temperament moderated the association between reactive temperament and teacher–child closeness. These findings suggest that although reactive temperament potentially undermines closeness in relationships with teachers, regulatory temperament can buffer the influence of reactive temperament on teacher–child closeness.

Highlights

• This study examined the association between children's temperament and their relationships with parents and teachers.
• Reactive temperament was positively associated with parent/teacher–child conflict and negatively associated with parent–child closeness. Regulatory temperament was a moderator for the association between reactive temperament and teacher–child closeness.
• Improving children's regulatory temperament may be helpful for children with the reactive temperament to have better social relationships with their teachers.

     

Self-Perceived Competence as a Mediator Between Maternal Feedback and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

Self-report, other-report, clinical interview, and behavioral observations of evaluative maternal feedback (e.g., positive feedback, criticism), adolescent depressive symptoms, and self-perceived competence were obtained from 72 adolescents and their mothers. Most path analyses supported the hypothesis that adolescent self-perceived competence completely mediates the relation between negative maternal feedback and adolescent depressive symptoms, even after controlling for prior levels of depression. Consistent with Cole's competency-based model of depression (D. A. Cole, 1990), these results suggest that high levels of negative maternal feedback (coupled with low levels of positive feedback) are associated with adolescent negative self-perceptions, which in turn place adolescents at risk for depressive symptoms.     

Bidirectional influences in mother–toddler dyads: an examination of the relative influence of mothers' and children's behaviours

This study examined bidirectional relationship between mothers' lax and overreactive discipline and children's misbehaviour and negative effect. We examined the moment‐to‐moment stability of mothers' and children's behaviours (actor effects) and mothers' and children's influence on their partners' subsequent behaviours (partner effects). Participants were 71 mothers and their 24‐ to 48‐month‐old children observed during a 30‐min interaction. Both children and mothers exhibited stability in their own behaviours and influenced the subsequent behaviours of their partners. Additionally, a comparison of partner effects indicated that overreactive discipline more strongly predicted child's negative effect than child's negative effect predicted overreactive discipline. In contrast, although a child's negative effect predicted lax discipline, lax discipline did not predict subsequent child's negative effect. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.