Gender stereotypes underlie child custody decisions

Using hypothetical divorce cases we examine the role of gender stereotypes in decisions about child custody. Good mothers received greater custody allocations than did good fathers across a tightly matched pair of vignettes in three culturally distinct samples: Argentina, Brazil, and the United States (Study 1). Two follow-up studies indicated that the warmth dimension of stereotype content partly accounted for the asymmetry in custody awards: The proportion of maternal-primary custody was predicted by the tendency to ascribe warmth-related traits—such as friendliness, generosity, or trustworthiness—to mothers (Study 2) and associate them with female over male nouns (Study 3). We also found that endorsing shared custody mitigated the asymmetry in custody awards documented in our studies. Together, these results highlight the interplay of stereotyped attitudes and egalitarian commitments in the context of judicial decisions about child custody.     

Coparenting as a mediator between physical custody arrangements and children's mental health

The detrimental effects of parental break-up on children's mental health are well-documented. However, research has also shown that children living in joint physical custody (JPC) arrangements often fare better than children living in sole physical custody (SPC) arrangements. Thus, the question arises: What are the differences between JPC and SPC that account for those results? Drawing on data from the Family Models in Germany (FAMOD) study conducted in 2019, structural equation models (SEM) were estimated to deduct the mediating role of coparenting support in children's mental health in 465 JPC and 652 SPC families with children aged 2–14. The findings suggest that the better mental health observed among children in JPC families than among children in SPC families was fully mediated by coparenting support. However, this held true only for internalizing and externalizing behavior, but not for prosocial behavior as no differences between JPC and SPC were found for this dimension. The findings affirm the importance of supportive coparenting for children's well-being after family dissolution in both SPC and JPC arrangements. After breaking up, parents should be supported in their parental engagement through coparenting counseling or psychoeducation classes.     

Dimensions of maltreated children's home behavior: A factor analytic approach

This study identified dimensions of home behavior of maltreating parents and their children through exploratory factor analysis. Five child factors were identified: self-directed behavior, affiliative behavior, negativity, positive social interaction, and questioning. Five parent factors were identified: positive social interaction, caretaking, discipline, refusal, and hostility. Multivariate analyses indicated that neglected children and abused children had less positive social interaction than adequately reared children. Children showed more questioning and less negativity at older ages. Abusing parents were most hostile, whereas neglecting parents showed the least positive social interaction. Abusing parents directed less hostility toward older children than the other child-rearing groups. Parents exhibited less caretaking behavior toward older children and directed more positive social interaction toward children with higher developmental quotients. The results suggest that factor analysis is a viable means of identifying dimensions of child and parent behavior which could facilitate comparison of effects across studies.     

Development and Initial Validation of the Child Routines Inventory

The importance of establishing predictable routines during childhood consistently has been emphasized in the popular parenting literature, despite a paucity of empirical evidence. The lack of research may be partially due to a lack of suitable instruments designed to measure children's routines. This study describes development and preliminary psychometric data in support of the Child Routines Inventory (CRI), an empirically derived, content-valid, parent-report measure of commonly occurring routines in school-aged children. Principal components analysis yielded a four-factor structure (composed of 36 items), accounting for 44.2% of the total variance. The CRI was found to have excellent internal consistency ( = .90), good test-retest reliability (r = .86), and preliminary evidence of construct validity, demonstrating a moderate relationship with measures of child behavior problems and family routines. These results suggest the CRI to be a promising new measure of child routines that would benefit from further validation studies.     

The utility of screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (scared) as a tool for identifying children at high risk for prevalent anxiety disorders

Abstract

The current study examined the utility of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) as a screening tool for the identification of children at high risk for prevalent childhood anxiety disorders. The child version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (KSCID) was used as the diagnostic standard. It was investigated whether SCARED scores are indicative for the presence of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia. Five-hundred-and-thirty-seven children aged 7–14 years completed the SCARED. From this sample, 82 children were selected on the basis of their SCARED scores. A subgroup of these children scored relatively high on the generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia scale(s) of the SCARED. A comparison group of children scored relatively low on these SCARED scales. Both groups of children then received the semi-structured interview to assess to what extent they fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for the relevant anxiety disorders. Results provided some support for the predictive validity of the SCARED generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder subscales. The implications of these findings for the detection of anxiety disorders in normal children are briefly discussed.     

The Influence of Race and Income on Community Mothers’ Acceptance of Child Management Methods

The consideration of diverse family factors on parents’ acceptance of behavioral parent training (BPT) components aids in the development and delivery of culturally sensitive parenting programs. Perceptions of acceptability are particularly important to investigate among low-income and racial-minority families, as they are less likely to engage in nonadapted BPT programs. Therefore, the current study examines the synergistic effects of race and income on mothers’ acceptance of five common child management methods relevant to BPT. The relationship between mothers’ acceptability ratings and self-reported parenting practices was also explored. Participants were 106 White and Black mothers from different income levels who completed measures related to the acceptability of response cost, positive reinforcement, time-out, spanking, and medication. The results indicated that mothers from varying backgrounds differed in their acceptance of child management methods, particularly with regard to corporal punishment. Additionally, a relationship was found between parents’ acceptability ratings and their self-reported parenting behavior. The findings support the consideration of parents’ perceptions of child discipline methods when recommending and delivering BPT programs to diverse parents.     

Who benefits from independent careers? Employees,organizations, or both?

The traditional organizational career has been depicted as the classic example of how employers and employees can develop a mutually beneficial relationship; but changes in the competitive landscape and in individual work values have challenged its viability. Commentators have argued that a ‘new career’ deal, encapsulated by the notions of the protean and the boundaryless career, has emerged suggesting a shift in control of careers from organizations to individuals. Research has explored the implications for individuals' careers while largely neglecting consequences for organizations. Our paper seeks to remedy this by exploring both the individual and the organizational outcomes of independent career orientations and the extent to which organizations can manage these through high commitment human resource management (HRM) practices. Our study, conducted with 655 employee–supervisor dyads, indicates that a protean career orientation results in gains for both employees and organizations, whereas a boundaryless career orientation is associated with mutual losses. In addition, our findings suggest that high commitment HR practices play an important role in managing the outcomes of employees seeking traditional careers but have only a limited impact on those with a boundaryless career orientation.     

‘The child's past in the adult's present’: The trauma of the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944)

This study deals with the individual and collective memory of Leningrad Siege survivors who experienced mass and prolonged wartime trauma during childhood (1941–44). While much has been published about the Siege, there has to date been no investigation by psychologists into the effects of extreme deprivation on Siege victims apart from one pilot study (Gulina et al., 2005). This study is still underway. Interviews with 80 participants (68 female and 12 male) are analysed and discussed here. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and content analysis are utilized. Unpublished archival writings by children caught in the Siege have been analysed. The principal method of interpretation is based on a psychoanalytic understanding of child development, mourning and the metabolizing of traumatic experience. The subjective meaning of the Siege experience to individual children is considered