Maternal responsivity to infants in the “High Chair” assessment: Longitudinal relations with toddler outcomes in a diverse,low-income sample

Infant–parent interactions occur across many situations, yet most home-based assessments of parenting behaviors are conducted under conditions of low stress, such as free play. In this study, low-income mothers from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project were observed at home interacting with their 14-month-olds in the mildly stressful “High Chair” assessment (n = 1718 dyads). This methodological study tested whether High Chair maternal responsiveness and detachment predicted later toddler cognitive and emotion outcomes, over and above equivalent maternal predictors during free play. High Chair responsiveness and detachment were significant, although modest, predictors of child cognitive and emotion outcomes, over and above maternal responsiveness and detachment during free play; except High Chair responsiveness did not predict the emotion outcome. There were no significant differences between ethnic groups in prediction of outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of the methodological value of assessing parenting behaviors across diverse situations and populations.     

小学生学校适应的发展特点及其与父母教养方式关系的研究

通过对178名小学生两年的追踪研究,考察小学生学校适应的发展特点,并进一步探讨父母教养方式对学校适应及其发展变化的影响。采用多层线性模型(HLM)方法的分析结果发现:(1)一年级小学生第一学期末(T2)的同伴关系、学校态度和学业行为表现都较好,随着入学时间延长,同伴关系和学业行为呈上升趋势,而学校态度呈下降趋势;(2)父亲学历正向预测T2时的同伴关系和学校态度;家庭收入负向预测T2时的学校态度;权威教养方式正向预测T2时的学业行为;专制教养方式负向预测T2时的同伴关系和学业行为;(3)母亲学历显著正向预测同伴关系随时间变化的速度;权威教养方式显著正向预测同伴关系和学校态度随时间变化的速度。     

Maternal speech to infants at 1 and 3 months of age

The goal of this study was to assess maternal speech and in relation to changes in infant social behavior occurring around the second month post birth. Sixty infants interacted with their mother at 1 and 3 months of age in a face-to-face context. At 3 months, infants gazed, smiled, and positively vocalized significantly more than at 1 month. These findings point to a transition in infant social behavior at around the second month post birth. In addition, maternal speech to infants increased between these times in both amount and complexity, possibly in response to an increase in infant social behavior. Maternal speech was related to infant positive vocalizing at 3 months, suggesting mothers especially monitored infant vocalizing at 3 months. Individual differences in maternal speech were stable across visits.     

大学生自我概念、父母教养方式及其关系的研究

目的:探讨父母教养方式与大学生自我概念的关系。方法:采用父母教养方式评价量表(EMBU)和田纳西自我概念量表(TSCS)对281大学生进行测评。结果:(1)大学生自我概念(除自我批评之外)与父母的情感温暖呈显著的正相关,与父亲的拒绝否认、过度保护,母亲的拒绝否认、惩罚严厉呈极显著的负相关;(2)不同自我概念水平大学生的父母教养方式存在显著差异;(3)母亲的情感温暖对大学生的自我概念形成有显著的积极影响,父亲的拒绝否认和过度保护对大学生的自我概念有显著的消极影响。结论:父母教养方式与大学生自我概念的发展密切相关。     

Welfare policies and adolescents: exploring the roles of sibling care, maternal work schedules, and economic resources

This study uses data from three longitudinal experimental evaluations of US state welfare reform programs to examine whether program‐induced changes in families' reliance on sibling care are linked with the effects of welfare programs on selected schooling outcomes of high risk, low‐income adolescents. The findings from two of the welfare programs indicate that increased reliance on sibling care was concomitant with unfavorable effects of the programs on adolescent schooling outcomes. In the third welfare program examined, the program did not yield any increases in the use of sibling care or unfavorable effects on adolescent schooling outcomes, suggesting that sibling care is one likely contributor to the negative effects of welfare programs on adolescent schooling outcomes. These findings are discussed in terms of the pattern of the programs’ effects on families' income, as well as maternal work on nonstandard schedules, aside from the programs’ effects on maternal employment, which play contributory roles in shaping the extent to which welfare programs led to less favorable effects on the schooling outcomes of adolescents with younger siblings.     

Externalizing behavior trajectories: The role of parenting, sibling relationships and child personality

Based on longitudinal multilevel modeling and using a multi-informant strategy, this study examines trajectories of externalizing problem behavior (EPB) in childhood as predicted by parental behavior (absolute level of parenting [ALP] and parental differential treatment [PDT]), parental self-efficacy (PSE), child personality and sibling relationships. Besides main effects, several interactions were tested. The effects of changes in parenting on changes in EPB were also examined. A total of 119 families from the French-speaking area of Belgium rearing a child (3- to 5-year-olds at the onset of the study) referred for EPB were studied. The effects of both level-of and changes-in mothers' ALP were partially confirmed, but for fathers, only ALP was predictive. There were some significant interactions between ALP and PDT for both parents. Mothers' PSE explained some variance in EPB, additional to that explained by the parenting measures. Some parenting by personality and by sibling relationship interactions were found.     

Discrimination of facial expression by 5-month-old infants of nondepressed and clinically depressed mothers

Five-month-old infants of nondepressed and clinically depressed mothers were habituated to either a face with a neutral expression or the same face with a smile. Infants of nondepressed mothers subsequently discriminated between neutral and smiling facial expressions, whereas infants of clinically depressed mothers failed to make the same discrimination.     

Prem Baby Triple P a new parenting intervention for parents of infants born very preterm: acceptability and barriers

Over 10% of preterm infants develop major disabilities, 50% develop behavioural problems and 40% need special education ( [Huddy et al., 2001] and [0185] ). Prem Baby Triple P is a new variant of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) adapted specifically for parents of very preterm infants. The aim of this study is to assess the acceptability of Prem Baby Triple P to parents of infants born preterm and to test whether parental attributions and parental perception of infant health/developmental status are barriers to intervention acceptability. One hundred and twenty-three parents of preterm infants participated, 83 parents of very preterm infants and 40 parents of preterm infants. In addition, 32 parents of term infants participated as a comparison group. The acceptability of Prem Baby Triple P was moderately high and did not differ significantly across the three groups. Parental attributions were not found to be barriers to intervention acceptability and parental perceptions that their infant is less healthy/developmentally delayed facilitated Prem Baby Triple P acceptance in parents of infants born very preterm. This suggests that the planned Prem Baby Triple P content is acceptable to parents of infants born very preterm and sensitised to medical and developmental issues. These findings, as social validation data, will contribute towards the further development of Prem Baby Triple P and a future randomised controlled trial.     

Parenting in relation to child and adolescent vocational development

Processes of child and adolescent vocational development include acquisition of knowledge, beliefs, and values about work options and requirements, exploration of interests that will be relevant for occupational interest development, development of academic aspirations, self-efficacy, expectations, and attainment. These elements serve to provide preparation for entry into a range of occupations and provide for the establishment of vocational aspirations, occupational self-efficacy, expectations, planning, and attainment. Parenting occurs within a family context influenced by a myriad of factors, including availability of financial capital, human capital, social capital, child agency, work-family interfacing, family roles, family structure, and the historical conditions affecting parents. These family contextual factors promote our understanding of differences in parenting in relation to child and adolescent vocational development. Far more complex than specific steps to entering the labor market per se, child and adolescent vocational development includes the interfacing of parenting and developmental processes.