Longitudinal Relations Between Parent–Child Conflict and Children’s Adjustment: The Role of Children’s Sleep

Sleep was examined as a process variable in relations between verbal and physical parent–child conflict and change in children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. Participants were 282 children at T1 (M age?=?9.44 years; 48 % girls), 280 children at T2 (M age?=?10.41 years), and 275 children at T3 (M age?=?11.35 years). Children reported on parent–child conflict, sleep was assessed with actigraphy, and parents reported on children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Autoregressive effects for sleep and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were controlled to examine change over time. Supportive of intervening processes, physical parent–child conflict at T1 and increased change in internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T3 were indirectly related through their shared association with reduced sleep continuity (efficiency, long wake episodes) at T2. Findings build on a small but growing literature and highlight the importance of considering the role of sleep in relations between family conflict and child development.     

Adult Children’s Caregiver Burden and Depression: The Moderating Roles of Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction and Feedback from Others

The issue of elderly care has generated great interest because today, most of us live in an aging society. It has been found that caring for one’s elderly parents is a stressful experience that is related to negative outcomes. In addition, accompanied with the decline in fertility may make adult children feel heavier caregiver’s burden. Therefore, the current study investigates moderators that may help reduce the caregiver burden. Following the conservation of resources theory (COR), we hypothesized that feedback from others and a good parent–child relationship serve as resources that may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for his or her elderly parents. To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from 502 adult children who were primary caregivers for their elderly parents. All participants completed the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Feedback from Others Scale, and the Parent–Child Relationship Satisfaction Scale. Supporting our prediction, we found a positive correlation between the caregiver’s burden and the caregiver’s levels of depression. Furthermore, both moderation effects were significant. Consistent with our hypotheses, the relationship between caregiver burden and his or her level of depression was weaker when participants had high feedback from others or had a better parent–child relationship. Our findings highlight the view that possessing more resources may help the individual manage the stress associated with caring for elderly parents. Implications for issues related to elderly care are discussed.     

What Matters Most to the Left-Behind Children’s Life Satisfaction and School Engagement: Parent or Grandparent?

This study compared the role of the parent and grandparent in the adjustment of children who had, and who had not, been left behind when their parents moved to urban areas for work, and tested whether self-esteem mediated the association between these family relationships and child adjustment. The sample included 428 middle school students in central China, 204 of whom were left-behind children who were cared for by grandparents and 224 of whom were not left behind. The students responded to five questionnaires measuring parent–child relationships, grandparent–child relationships, self-esteem, life satisfaction and school engagement. Regression analyses showed that self-esteem mediated the association between parent–child and grandparent–child relationships and children’s adjustment, but there were different patterns of association for the non-left-behind children and left-behind children groups. Furthermore, the unique effect of parent–child relationships was higher than that of grandparent–child relationships for the non-left-behind children, but for the left-behind children, grandparent–child relationships played a more important role than grandparent–child relationships in predicting their school engagement, and parent–child relationships played a more important role in predicting their life satisfaction. Parents who are far away and grandparents who are close at hand can shape different psychological and behavioral development outcomes of left-behind children.     

Preschool Children’s Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Mother–Child,Father–Child and Teacher–Child Relationships

Prosocial behavior is considered an important dimension of positive development. Although previous research suggests the quality of children’s early relationships may influence prosocial behaviors, the specific contributions of mother, father and teacher to children’s prosocial behavior have been less examined. This is a cross-sectional study that investigates (a) the combined associations between mother–, father– and teacher–child relationships, and prosocial behavior in 168 children aged 36–72 months, and (b) the mediating role of the teacher–child relationship in the association between the parent–child relationship and prosocial behavior. Results suggested a positive link between the quality of relationships with early caregivers and children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of both father– and teacher–child relationships were found to have a direct association with children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of the mother–child relationship was indirectly linked to children’s prosocial behavior, via the teacher–child relationship. Results suggesting connections between multiple relational contexts were discussed based on the notion of internal working models proposed by attachment theory. Mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to children’s prosocial behavior were also discussed considering differences on relational styles and changing roles of mothers and fathers from dual-earner families.     

Assessing the Quality of the Parent–Child Relationship: Validity and Reliability of the Child–Parent Relationship Test (ChiP-C)

The ChiP-C is a clinically oriented questionnaire for assessing the quality of the child-parent relationship according to the child’s subjective appraisal. The ChiP-C is based on family systems theory and a cumulative vulnerability model. The questionnaire consists of 36 items representing three resource scales, five risk scales, and one additional scale. This article presents the theoretical framework and main psychometric properties of the ChiP-C. A school-based sample of 1,377 youth (ages 10–20; M = 14.4) and a clinic-referred consecutive sample of 197 patients (ages 10–18, M = 14.0) were surveyed. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analyses. The mean of the internal consistencies was 0.79. Systematic correlations between the ChiP-C scales and the German EMBU confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of the ChiP-C. Moreover, all ChiP-C scales were shown to be significantly correlated with psychopathological symptoms as measured by parent and youth questionnaires. The ChiP-C can be considered an economical screening instrument for a reliable and valid assessment of strengths and disturbances of the child-parent relationship according to the child’s subjective appraisal.     

Inner-City Children Living with an HIV-Seropositive Mother: Parent–Child Relationships, Perception of Social Support, and Psychological Disturbance

Despite ongoing concern about the well-being of HIV-seronegative children living in urban poverty with a seropositive mother, very little is known about this expanding population of children. In this cross-sectional study, the psychosocial adjustment of 60 ethnic minority children 11 to 16 years of age who were living with an HIV-seropositive mother was compared with that of 108 children attending public school in the same community. Results of three multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that, after allowance for differences associated with age, gender, ethnicity, and family structure, the HIV-affected group confirmed (a) greater disturbance in the parent–child relationship, (b) less social support, and (c) greater disturbance in psychological functioning. Secondary analysis of the multivariate findings indicated that the differences were characterized primarily by (a) perception of more indifference and hostility in the mother–child relationship, (b) perception of less social support available from parents, friends, and teachers, and (c) less self-esteem. The findings suggest that HIV infection and concurrent problems may compromise parent–child relationships and perception of social support in ways that leave older, seronegative children living with an infected mother at risk for psychological disturbance.     

Gender Differences in Single Parents’ Living Arrangements and Child Care Time

Although seemingly identical in their circumstances, research has found single fathers to engage less in child care than single mothers. Guided by both a structuralist and a “doing gender” perspective, we examine gender differences in single parents’ child care time and whether the presence and gender of coresident adult kin moderate this association. Our sample drawn from the 2003–2013 American Time Use Survey (N?=?10,985) consists of non-cohabiting single parents aged 18 to 64 who live with at least one own child under age 18. We first found that single fathers spent slightly less time in all types of child care except play than single mothers. Either coresident adult female kin or adult male kin, or both predicted single parents’ spending less time in child care activities, particularly management. Living only with adult male kin also predicted single parents’ lower time spent in teaching. Lastly, gender differences in single parents’ child care time were larger in any child care, play, and teaching when living with both adult female kin and male kin than when living without any kin. The presence of both female kin and male kin may relieve the parent of tasks gender-appropriate to the related household members. Additional research about the contexts of gender differences in single parents’ child care enriches our understanding of parenting by men and women.     

Parent Perception of Elementary School Aged Children’s Sleep Problems

Wide discrepancies exist concerning the reported occurrence of sleep problems for elementary school children. We describe parental perception of sleep problem behavior in elementary school aged children 5–12 years. Approximately 4% of parents reported their children experienced significant global sleep problems serious enough to adversely affect family functioning. Significant specific sleep problems reported by parents occurred for approximately 9–14% of the children in the sample. These ranges were in the low end of the ranges of sleep problems reported in previous literature for this age group.     

Peer Victimization and Depressive Symptoms: Role of Peers and Parent–Child Relationship

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of parental and peer support and gender differences in the association between peer victimization forms and depressive symptoms. The sample included 261 youths (ages 10–14). Physical victimization rates were higher for boys, whereas girls reported higher emotional victimization experiences and higher peer support. Regardless of gender, a significant moderation effect indicated that physical victimization was significantly related to depressive symptoms among youths with lower peer support. There were significant main effects of parental and peer support for both genders. The findings contribute to the literature regarding the effects of peer victimization on mental health by illustrating the protective role of peer support against depressive symptoms.     

The Association Between Reflective Functioning and Parent–Child Relationship Quality

Research consistently links adult and infant attachment styles, yet the means by which attachment is transmitted is relatively elusive. Recently, attention has been directed to the psychological underpinnings of caregiver sensitivity—originally thought to be the mechanism of transmission—as indicated by caregivers’ ability to keep in mind children’s mental states when interpreting children’s behavior, or reflective functioning. Unfortunately for researchers, extant measures of reflective functioning are time-consuming and require extensive observation and coding. A self-report measure could help facilitate the study and assessment of reflective functioning in research and clinical settings. This study investigated the relationship between parental reflective functioning and multiple aspects of the parent–child relationship, by using a new, self-report measure of reflective functioning. Participants were 79 caregivers (M _age = 31.8 years) who completed self-report measures assessing reflective functioning, parent–child relationship characteristics, perceived rejection in early relationships, attachment anxiety and avoidance in current close relationships, depression, and substance use. The results indicated that reflective functioning is a strong predictor of parent–child relationship quality (i.e., parental involvement, communication, parent satisfaction, limit setting, and parental support), independent of other potential indicators. Findings support parental reflective functioning as a contributor to the quality of parent–child relationship and suggest that a parent’s capacity to reflect on the mental states of his or her child in parent–child interactions may provide a key target for interventions that aim to improve parent–child relationships.     

Shyness,Parent–Child Relationships,and Peer Difficulties During the Middle School Transition

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The goal of the present study was to explore the potential moderating role of quality of Parent–child relationships in the relations between child...     

Like Father,like Child: Early Life Family Adversity and Children’s Bullying Behaviors in Elementary School

Family adversity has been associated with children’s bullying behaviors. The evidence is, however, dominated by mothers’ perceptions of the family environment and a focus on mothers’ behaviors. This prospective population-based study examined whether children’s bullying behaviors were associated with mother- and father-reported family adversity, assessed before and after child birth. Peer-nominations were used to assess bullying behaviors of 1298 children in elementary school (mean age 7.5 years). The following paternal risk factors were prospectively associated with children’s bullying behaviors: (1) father-reported prenatal family distress, (2) fathers’ hostility at preschool age, and (3) fathers’ harsh disciplinary practices at preschool age, but effect sizes were relatively small. The effect of maternal risk factors was less consistent, only mother-reported family distress in childhood was associated with children’s bullying behaviors. The associations were independent of background family risk factors (i.e., life stress, contextual factors, and other background factors such as parental education and risk taking record) and early childhood externalizing problems. Moreover, our results indicated that father-reported family adversity predicted children’s bullying behaviors over and above the background family risk factors, early childhood externalizing problems and mother-reported family adversity. We also demonstrated that the association of fathers’ prenatal hostility and family distress with subsequent bullying behavior of their child at school was partly mediated by fathers’ harsh disciplinary practices at preschool age. Our findings highlight the importance of fathers’ behaviors in the development of children’s bullying behaviors.     

Parenting Practices,Parenting Style,and Children’s School Achievement

This study, drawing on data from the 2002 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning (SAEP), examined the predictive effects of parenting practices and parenting style on children’s school achievement, and the predictive effects of parental expectations and parental beliefs on parenting style for 6,626 respondents with children aged 5–18 years in Canada. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, after controlling for family socioeconomic status (SES), revealed the substantial positive predictive effects of family SES, parental encouragement, parental expectations, and parental beliefs on children’s school achievement. In contrast, parental monitoring had a substantial negative predictive effect on children’s school achievement in the context of other variables. Although parental expectations were not related to parenting style, parental beliefs were positively associated with both parental encouragement and parental monitoring—the two dimensions of authoritative parenting style.     

Parental Involvement in Primary School Education: its Relationship with Children’s Academic Performance and Psychosocial Competence through Engaging Children with School

The benefits of parental involvement in children’s education have been well established but increasing evidence suggests that overparenting may have adverse effects on children. The question of whether excessive parental involvement hinders children’s academic and psychosocial development warrants further investigations. This study examined the associations of parental educational involvement at home and in school with academic performance and psychological health of 507 Chinese Grade 3 schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Parents reported on their level of involvement in children’s schooling and their children’s psychosocial issues. Children were surveyed to determine their school engagement, and their Chinese language and mathematics attainment was assessed. We also explored the underlying mechanism by testing children’s engagement with school as a mediator of the relationships. Our results showed that home-based parental educational involvement was positively associated with children’s language competence and psychosocial wellbeing, and the associations were linked through engaging children with school. However, the benefits reached a plateau at higher level of parental involvement in children’s learning at home. School-based parental involvement had an indirect effect on children’s prosocial behavior through school engagement. These findings highlight the significance of optimal level of parental involvement in children’s education at home for children’s development.     

Examining Family Living Arrangements,Economic Development,Education Expenditure and Children’s Weight from the Welfare Mix in China

Applied Research in Quality of Life - There is increased social concern regarding children’s weight in China, but there is a relative lack of research concerning its social determinants....