Integrating childhood in the family context: Commentary on Bjorklund,Periss and Causey

Bjorklund, Periss and Causey use an evolutionary developmental perspective to highlight several reasons as to why children should be allowed to be children. Childhood is not just a training ground for adulthood, but there is a unique integrity to this phase of life. Bjorklund and colleagues suggest that several of the immature behaviours observed in children are adaptive in their own right providing children with immediate benefits for their particular age and do not necessarily (only) serve the function of providing benefits for the child later in development. The concept of ontogenetic adaptations is useful in providing a new lens on which to view infants, children, adolescents and even adults. In this commentary I focus on three issues related to their work: (1) the possibility that the overestimation tasks reviewed in their paper do not empirically verify that overestimation is related to perseverance in learning; (2) whether ontogenetic adaptations are gender specific; and (3) the costs of this extensive immaturity and how inappropriate overinvestment of parents may reflect a maladaptive response to low fertility in a resource-rich environment.     

Parent–child resemblance and kin investment: Physical resemblance or personality similarity?

Resemblance between parents and children has been suggested as an indicator of kinship. Because men, unlike women, cannot be certain about parenthood, resemblance may influence men more than women when making investment decisions. In the present paper we examine the relation of physical resemblance and personality similarity with parental investment for 90 Dutch parents and their school-age children. For mothers investment was linked to personality similarity, whereas for fathers investment was linked to physical resemblance, suggesting that fathers are influenced by physical cues when making investment decisions, whereas mothers are influenced by psychological cues.     

Does parental support moderate the effect of children's motivation and self-efficacy on physical activity and sedentary behaviour?

Objectives1) To test whether parental support moderates the direct effects of children's motivation and self-efficacy on objectively measured moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time. 2) To explore differences in the relationships between boys and girls.DesignCross-sectional observational study.MethodData were collected from 430 9–11 year old UK children and their parents; parents self-reported on the support they provided to their children to be active (through providing transport, encouragement, watching, or taking part with their child), and children self-reported their motivation and self-efficacy towards exercise. MVPA and sedentary time were measured using accelerometers.ResultsBoth parent- and child-level factors were largely positively associated with children's MVPA and negatively related to sedentary time. There was no evidence of a moderation effect of parental support on MVPA or sedentary time in boys. Parental provision of transport moderated the effect of girls' motivation on week-day MVPA; more motivated girls were less active when transport was provided. Transport and exercising with one's child moderated the effect of motivation and self-efficacy on girls' sedentary time at weekends; more motivated girls, and those with higher self-efficacy were less sedentary when parents provided more frequent transportation or took part in physical activity with them.ConclusionsThe results largely supported a model of the independent effects of parent and child determinants for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but there was evidence that some types of parent support can moderate sedentary time in girls. Further research is needed to explore the causal pathways between the observed cross-sectional results.     

The relationship between premature birth and caregiver first concern in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A brief report

The current study examines the relationship between premature birth and the age at which caregivers first become concerned with their child’s development in a sample of 84 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants were split into two groups: those born prematurely and those born full term. The results indicate that the age of caregiver first concern is significantly younger for those born prematurely than those born full term. The average age caregivers reported first becoming concerned about their child’s development was around 7 months for participants born prematurely and around 13 months for participants born full term. Possible explanations for the results and their implications are discussed.     

不对称情绪分享过程中情绪反应自我指向增强效应的初探

主客体之间产生不一致的情绪反应称之为不对称共情(Counterempathy)。在Decety提出的情绪分享过程两阶段及Goubert提出的“指向自己”和“指向他人”两种情绪反应指向的研究基础上, 构建不对称情绪分享过程的两阶段模型, 通过创建竞争环境, 检验在不对称情绪分享过程中是否存在情绪反应自我指向增强效应的这一假设。被试根据竞争对手的情绪表情(皱眉和笑脸)来完成情绪反应自我指向(判断被试者自己的输赢)和情绪反应他人指向(判断竞争对手的输赢)的实验任务。结果表明: 在不对称情绪分享过程中, 存在情绪反应自我指向的增强效应。被试不仅在自我指向任务中产生了不对称共情, 而且在他人指向任务中也产生了不对称共情, 这说明在有意识的不对称情绪分享过程中, 个体会分化出比他人指向更强烈的自我指向的情绪反应。并且, 相较他人指向任务, 个体在自我指向任务中产生了更强烈的不对称共情。尤其当竞争对手获利时, 个体会产生更强烈的指向自我的负性情绪。     

Effects of parental expectations and cultural-values orientation on career decision-making difficulties of Chinese University students

This study examined the effects of cultural-values conflict and parental expectations on the career decision-making difficulties of university students in three cities in China (Beijing, Wuhan, and Hong Kong, N = 1342). The Multidimensional Scales of Individual Traditionality and Modernity (Yang, Yu, & Ye, 1989) were used as a measure of cultural-values conflict and cultural orientation. The Living-Up-to Parental Expectation Inventory (Wang & Heppner, 2002) was used to measure parental expectations. The Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (Gati & Saka, 2001) was used as a dependent measure. It was found that levels of cultural-value conflict were associated with higher levels of career decision-making difficulties for students in the Chinese Mainland cities but not for students in Hong Kong. Perceived parental expectations and perceived self-performance in the expected areas were found to be predictive of career decision-making difficulties. Cultural-value orientation, especially endorsement of Chinese traditional values, was found to moderate the relationship between parental expectation and career decision-making difficulties. Theoretical, research and practical implications of findings were discussed.     

Parental strategies and trajectories of peer victimization in 4 to 5 year olds

This study was designed to examine how parental strategies contribute to explaining trajectories of peer victimization in young children. A total of 73 4 and 5 year old children identified as victims of peer aggression in the fall semester and their parents were recruited from 46 classrooms in 18 schools in the Netherlands. All children were followed-up twice in order to determine for whom victimization was stable. Hypothetical vignettes describing various forms of victimization were presented to one parent of each child in order to assess parental responses to victimization events. Findings indicated that autonomy supporting and autonomy neutral strategies were associated with a decrease of victimization in the first semester of the school year. No protective effects were found in the second semester. Autonomy undermining strategies were not related to the course of peer victimization. These findings underscore the importance of joint and coordinated efforts of teachers and parents as partners in supporting victimized young children at school.     

Parental involvement, child temperament, and parents' work hours: Differential relations for mothers and fathers

This study examined how child temperament was related to parents' time spent accessible to and interacting with their 2-year-olds. Bivariate analyses indicated that both fathers and mothers spent more time with temperamentally challenging children than easier children on workdays, but fathers spent less time with challenging children than easier children on non-workdays. After accounting for work hours, some associations between temperament and fathers' workday involvement dropped to non-significance. For fathers, work hours also moderated the relation between irregular temperament and workday play. For mothers, work hours moderated the relation between both difficult and irregular temperament and workday interaction. Mothers also spent more time with girls (but not boys) who were temperamentally irregular. Results speak to the influence of child temperament on parenting behavior, and the differential construction of parenting roles as a function of child characteristics and patterns of work.     

Distressed yet empathically sensitive: Preschoolers’ responses to infant crying

Using a simulated long bout of progressively intense infant crying, this study demonstrated that preschoolers responded with infant-oriented empathic concern and helping actions despite evidence of self-focused distress. Preschoolers’ helping actions were predicted by the interaction between empathic concern and cognitive inquiry.     

Increases in parental investment and child health as a result of an early intervention

Parental investment (involving time or money invested in 3-year-olds) and child health were assessed as an outcome of (a) children’s risk status (preterm vs. full-term birth) and (b) maternal resources (defined here in terms of their problem-solving skills in resolving caregiving challenges). Resources were varied systematically as a function of maternal participation in a traditional home visitation program versus a novel cognitively enhanced program that facilitated parenting skills more successfully. As predicted, mothers in the traditional home visitation condition invested preferentially in low-risk children, whereas mothers in the cognitively enhanced condition invested preferentially in high-risk children (who, in turn, showed maximal health benefits). Maternal investment of time in care provision mediated the relationship between predictor variables and children’s health. This pattern supports an evolutionary model of parental investment in which parents show discriminative solicitude based on the reproductive potential of the child and parents’ access to relevant resources.