Attachment and Autism: Parental Attachment Representations and Relational Behaviors in the Parent-Child Dyad

While attachment research has demonstrated that parents’ internal working models of attachment relationships tend to be transmitted to their children, affecting children’s developmental trajectories, this study specifically examines associations between adult attachment status and observable parent, child, and dyadic behaviors among children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders of relating and communicating. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was employed to derive parental working models of attachment relationships. The Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) was used to determine the quality of relational and functional behaviors in parents and their children. The sample included parents and their 4- to 16-year-old children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders. Hypothesized relationships between AAI classifications and FEAS scores were supported. Significant correlations were found between AAI classification and FEAS scores, indicating that children with autism spectrum disorders whose parents demonstrated secure attachment representations were better able to initiate and respond in two-way pre-symbolic gestural communication; organize two-way social problem-solving communication; and engage in imaginative thinking, symbolic play, and verbal communication. These findings lend support to the relevance of the parent’s state of mind pertaining to attachment status to child and parent relational behavior in cases wherein the child has been diagnosed with autism or an associated neurodevelopmental disorder of relating and communicating. A model emerges from these findings of conceptualizing relationships between parental internal models of attachment relationships and parent-child relational and functional levels that may aid in differentiating interventions.     

亲子关系与问题行为的动态相互作用模型：对儿童早期的追踪研究

通过对81名幼儿的父母历时两年的三次追踪测查,考察了父子、母子关系与儿童问题行为的动态相互作用模型。结构方程模型的分析结果表明：一方面,相邻两次测查的母子、父子关系、各种问题行为之间的路径系数都非常显著;另一方面,母子关系与退缩、攻击问题的双向作用,父子关系与攻击、违纪问题的双向作用都得到了支持,焦虑问题对父子、母子关系的作用,违纪问题对父子关系的作用也都得到了支持     

Sleep problems of parents of typically developing children and parents of children with autism

Few researchers have investigated the relation of children's sleep problems to their parents' sleep problems. Children with autism have been reported to evidence greater sleep problems than do typically developing children (C. D. Hoffman, D. P. Sweeney, J. E. Gilliam, & M. C. Lopez-Wagner, 2006; P. G. William, L. L. Sears, & A. Allard, 2004). In the present study, parents (N = 106) of children independently diagnosed with autism (4-16 years of age; M= 8.20 years, SD = 2.69 years) reported greater sleep problems for themselves than did parents (N = 168) of typically developing children (4-15 years of age; M = 8.62 years, SD = 3.28 years). Children's sleep problems were related to parents' sleep problems for both groups; in the autism group, children's level of symptomatology was not related to their parents' sleep. The authors suggest areas for further research on the sleep problems of children and their parents, the potential interaction of these problems with children's symptomatic behavior, and the relations of these factors to child, parent, and family functioning.     

The Feasibility,Appropriateness, Meaningfulness,and Effectiveness of Parenting and Family Support Programs Delivered in the Criminal Justice System: A Systematic Review

Children whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system (CJS) are at increased risk of developing social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties and are more likely than their peers to become involved in the CJS themselves. Parenting behaviour and parent-child relationships have the potential to affect children’s outcomes with positive parenting practices having the potential to moderate some of the negative outcomes associated with parental involvement in the CJS. However, many parents in the CJS may lack appropriate role models to support the development of positive parenting beliefs and practices. Parenting programs offer an opportunity for parents to enhance their parenting knowledge and behaviours and improve relationships with children. Quantitative and qualitative evidence pertaining to the implementation and effectiveness of parenting programs delivered in the CJS was included. Five databases were searched and a total of 1145 articles were identified of which 29 met the review inclusion criteria. Overall, programs were found to significantly improve parenting attitudes; however, evidence of wider effects is limited. Additionally, the findings indicate that parenting programs can be meaningful for parents. Despite this, a number of challenges for implementation were found including the transient nature of the prison population and a lack of parent-child contact. Based on these findings, recommendations for the future development and delivery of programs are discussed.     

父母成人依恋、怜悯与亲子关系质量:主客体互倚分析

本研究考察了父母的成人依恋对亲子关系的影响以及怜悯的中介作用。采用方便取样法调查广东省某市小学2~5年级学生的父母。534对父母自我报告了各自的成人依恋、怜悯和亲子关系质量。主客体互倚模型分析发现：（1）父母各自的依恋焦虑和依恋回避显著负向预测自己与孩子的关系质量（主体效应）,但无法显著预测伴侣与孩子的关系质量（客体效应）;（2）父母各自的怜悯在上述主体效应中起到中介作用;（3）母亲的怜悯在自身依恋回避对父子关系的客体效应中起到“遮掩效应”;（4）母亲的怜悯在自身依恋焦虑对父子关系的客体效应中起到中介作用。研究结果有利于从成对关系视角理解父母成人依恋如何影响亲子关系,实际干预中可以通过提高父母的怜悯能力来改善亲子关系。     

祖辈协同教养与幼儿错误信念理解能力的关系:亲子依恋与祖辈同住的作用

为考察祖辈协同教养与幼儿错误信念理解之间的关系以及幼儿亲子依恋的中介作用,采用方便抽样的方法,调查了某城市三所幼儿园345名小班至大班的祖辈协同教养幼儿及其家庭教养人。对幼儿使用操作任务考察错误信念理解能力,对其家庭教养人利用自陈式问卷收集家庭教养方式和亲子依恋等数据。结果显示：(1)祖辈协同教养类型显著影响幼儿的错误信念理解水平和亲子依恋,“有祖辈同住”协同教养幼儿的错误信念理解水平以及依恋的安全性均显著低于“无祖辈同住”协同教养幼儿;(2)亲子依恋在祖辈协同教养的民主信任和教养冲突两个维度与幼儿错误信念理解能力之间分别存在显著的中介作用;(3)祖辈协同教养类型在教养冲突、亲子依恋、错误信念理解能力的中介模型中起调节作用,在“有祖辈同住”条件下,协同教养冲突显著负向预测幼儿的亲子依恋安全感。     

Spiritual Spontaneity

Abstract

Parent-child and parent-adolescent activity groups and parent-child occupation-based intervention meet different mental health needs and provide a different service than what is typically offered in a psychiatric setting. These interventions are designed to promote and/or develop positive interactions and engagement between parents and children in co-occupations.     

Parent-child interaction and developmental outcomes in children with typical and elevated likelihood of autism

BackgroundEarly parent-child interactions have a critical impact on the developmental outcomes of the child. It has been reported that infants with a family history of autism and their parents may engage in different patterns of behaviours during interaction compared to those without a family history of autism. This study investigated the association of parent-child interactions with child developmental outcomes of those with typical and elevated likelihood of autism.MethodThis longitudinal study investigated the relationship between global attributes of parent-child interaction and the developmental outcomes of infant siblings with elevated likelihood (EL: n = 29) or typical likelihood (TL: n = 39) of developing autism. Parent-child interactions were recorded during a session of free-play when the infants were six months of age. Developmental assessments were carried out when the children were 12 and 24 months of age.ResultsThe intensity of mutuality was significantly higher in the TL group than in the EL group, and developmental outcomes were poorer in the EL group when compared to the TL group. Positive associations between parent-child interaction scores at six months and developmental outcomes at 12 months were observed only in the TL group. However, in the EL group, higher levels of infant positive affect and attentiveness paid to the caregiver is associated with lower autism symptoms. Due to the sample size and design of the study, the findings must be viewed as indicative.ConclusionThis preliminary investigation demonstrated differences in the association between parent-child interaction quality and developmental outcomes for children with typical and elevated likelihood for autism. Future studies should combine micro-analytic and macro-analytic approaches to parent-child interaction to further examine the nature of this relationship.     

The child abusing family: I. Methodological issues and parent-related characteristics of abusing families

Abstract

The physical abuse of children by their parents is a family matter and should be viewed within the context of the family unit. Unfortunately, few child abuse studies have directly examined the family unit. Rather, most studies focus on characteristics of individual members of abusing families or on dyadic relationships within abusing families. Therefore, the present paper examines the family-related variables that might contribute to child abuse. This review is divided into two parts. Part I discusses methodological considerations and parent-related aspects of abusing families, including: characteristics of abusing parents, childhood experiences of abusing parents, marital relationships of abusing parents and the perceptions and expectations that abusing parents have of their abused children. Part II of this review, which will appear in a later issue, will cover child-related aspects of abusing families, parent-child interactions in these families, environmental conditions associated with child abuse and typologies of abusing families.     

Parental meta-emotion structure predicts family and child outcomes

Abstract

Fifty-six families with a preschool child whose parents varied widely in parental marital satisfaction were studied at two time points: at time-I when the children were 5 years old and again at time-2 when the children were 8 years old. At time-1 each parent was separately interviewed about their “meta-emotion structure”, that is, their feelings about their own emotions, and their attitudes, and responses to their children's anger and sadness. Their behaviour during this interview was coded with a meta-emotion coding system. Two meta-emotion variables were studied for each parent, awareness of the parent's own sadness, and parental “coaching” of the child's anger. We termed the high end of these variables an “emotion coaching” (EC) meta-emotion structure. Meta-emotion structure was found to relate to time-1 marital and parent-child interaction. EC-type parents had marriages that were less hostile and they were less negative and more positive during parent-child interaction. Their children showed less evidence of physiological stress, greater ability to focus attention, and had less negative play with their best friends. At time-2 those children showed higher academic achievement in mathematics and reading had fewer behaviour problems, and were physically healthier than non-EC parents. The relations between child outcome and parental meta-emotion structure were not explained by social class variables, emotional expressiveness, or the greater happiness and stability of parents with an EC-type meta-emotion structure.     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

本研究基于广州市基础教育质量监测项目,以2380名初中生及其家长为被试,构建一个有调节的中介模型,考察了家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响机制。研究发现：（1）家校合作对青少年学业成绩具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）在家校合作对青少年学业成绩的影响中,亲子沟通发挥了部分中介作用;（3）独生状况调节了家校合作→亲子沟通→学业成绩的后半段,即相对于非独生子女而言,独生子女亲子沟通对学业成绩的促进作用更为显著。     

流动儿童的亲子依恋与其城市适应的关系:心理韧性的中介作用

本研究旨在探讨流动儿童的亲子依恋与城市适应的关系,并探讨心理韧性在其中是否起到了中介作用。采用城市适应问卷、亲子依恋问卷、心理韧性量表,对北京市3所小学三到六年级的665名流动儿童进行了调查。经分析发现：（1）女生、低年级、父母教育水平高、公立学校、未转学的流动儿童能更好地城市适应;（2）亲子依恋、城市适应和心理韧性各维度两两相关;（3）亲子依恋中的自我模型和父母模型对城市适应均有直接预测效应。亲子依恋中的自我模型通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;亲子依恋中的父母模型通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;亲子依恋中的自我模型和父母模型可以共同通过心理韧性进而间接影响城市适应;心理韧性在其中均起到显著的部分中介作用。总的来说,亲子依恋可以直接影响城市适应,也可以通过心理韧性的中介作用间接影响城市适应。     

Exploring Characteristics of Children Presenting to Counseling for Grief and Loss

To date, researchers exploring childhood bereavement have largely relied on unstandardized assessment instruments and/or have independently evaluated specific constructs rather than factoring in the dimensionality of loss. The purpose of this study was to utilize psychometrically established instruments to examine the multivariate shared relationship between characteristics of bereaved children referred for counseling--their ages, genders, ethnicities, types of loss, and life stressors—and their behavioral manifestations as well as the relationship between these characteristics and levels of parent-child relational stress. Utilizing archival clinical files, we examined these characteristics from bereaved children (N?=?98) whose parents sought counseling services from two university-based counseling clinics. Two canonical correlational analyses (CCA) were conducted to examine the following: (1) relationship between characteristics of bereaved children and their subsequent behavioral manifestations, (2) relationship between characteristics of bereaved children and levels of parent-child relational stress. Correlational findings from this study provided insight into bereaved children’s manifestations of loss and levels of parent-child relational stress as contingent upon these specific characteristics. Specifically, results indicated a strong relationship between age and bereaved children’s behavioral manifestations. This finding reinforced the importance for clinicians to understand developmental implications when working with bereaved children. Furthermore, caregivers who reported minimal overall external stressors also reported less parent-child relational interference. This finding further emphasizes the importance for caregivers to maintain utmost stability for bereaved children.     

Marital conflict and support seeking by parents in adolescence: empirical support for the parentification construct

Parentification, a parent-child dynamic wherein children come to provide ongoing emotional support for their parents, has been documented extensively in the clinical literature; however, it rarely has been studied systematically. Using a community sample of 83 couples and their adolescent children (mean age = 15.26 years; 52% male, 48% female), the authors linked adolescent self-report of parentification to specific youth and adult behaviors using multiple methods and examined its associations with youth adjustment problems. The parentification measure demonstrated strong internal consistency and 1-year stability. Parentification was associated with marital conflict, youth perceptions of threat, low warmth in the parent-child relationship, and the tendency for youths to intervene in marital conflict. Links were also found with youth reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior and poorer competency in close friendships. These findings thus support the parentification construct and provide evidence that parentification may contribute to poor youth outcomes by burdening children with developmentally inappropriate responsibilities.     

The sleep patterns and problems of clinically anxious children

Childhood sleep problems have been associated with a range of adverse cognitive and academic outcomes, as well as increased impulsivity and emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. The aim of the study was to examine subjective reports of sleep-related problems in children with anxiety disorders during school and weekend nights. Thirty-seven children with clinically-diagnosed anxiety disorders and 26 non-clinical children aged 7-12 years completed an on-line sleep diary to track sleep patterns across school nights and weekend nights. Anxious children reported going to bed significantly later (p = 0.03) and had significantly less sleep (p = 0.006) on school nights compared to non-anxious children. No significant differences in sleep onset latency, number of awakenings or time awake during the night, daytime sleepiness, or fatigue were found between the two groups. On the weekends, anxious children fell asleep quicker and were less awake during the night than on weeknights. School-aged anxiety disordered children showed a sleep pattern that differs from their non-anxious peers. Although the mean 30 min less sleep experienced by anxious children may initially seem small, the potential consequences on daytime performance from an accumulation of such a sleep deficit may be significant, and further investigation is warranted.     

Benefits of recreational dance and behavior analysis for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders: A literature review

Dance can be an entertaining experience that offers multiple benefits for those who participate. Unlike typically developing populations, studies examining benefits of recreational dance for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders are limited. In this review, we conducted a literature search, where “dance” was cross‐listed with all neurodevelopmental disorders across five databases, yielding 19 articles. Twelve studies involved children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders aged 3–19 years, two studies included both adolescents and adults aged 14–22 years, and five studies included adults aged 20–65 years. Given the effectiveness of applied behavior analysis in enhancing skill development, it is encouraging that eight studies explicitly identified behavioral components. Results suggest potential benefits of recreational dance across studies using self‐report and objective measures, but limited research with sound methodology exists. There is a need for controlled research with measurable outcomes to evaluate programs tailored to these populations to improve core challenges and secondary outcomes such as quality of life.     

Parent-Child Endorsement Discrepancies among Youth at Chronic-Risk for Depression

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems among U.S. adolescents, particularly among Latinos. Parent-child ratings of the presence and severity of child depressive symptoms show only low-to-moderate agreement. However, research has failed to examine discrepancies in populations with the highest levels of unmet need and little is known about patterns and predictors of parent-child agreement in ratings of depressive symptoms among ethnic minority families in community settings. Using a sample of 184 low-income, predominantly Latino, 5th through 7th grade students (63.6% female) at chronic risk for depression, this study utilized exploratory Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to uncover patterns of parent-child endorsement of core diagnostic depressive symptoms. Overall, children reported higher levels of core (i.e., depressed mood, anhedonia, irritability) and secondary (e.g., sleep disturbances) depressive symptoms relative to their parents. The three latent classes identified include a low endorsement and high agreement class (LH), high endorsement and high agreement class (HH), and high child endorsement and low agreement class (HCL). Multinomial regression models revealed that previous mental health service use and higher externalizing problems were associated with HH class membership, relative to HCL class membership. Findings provide evidence that a substantial number of children may have depressive symptoms that go undetected by their parents. Access to services among children at-risk for depression may be increased with psychoeducation to improve parental awareness and stigma reduction.