A Longitudinal Study of Parental Depressive Symptoms and Coparenting in the First 18 Months

Although the negative impact of postpartum depression on parenting behaviors has been well established—albeit separately—for mothers and fathers, the respective and joint impact of both parents' mood on family‐group interactive behaviors, such as coparenting support and conflict behaviors between the parents, have not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the association between parental depressive symptoms and coparenting behaviors in a low‐risk sample of families with infants, exploring reciprocity between the variables, as well as gender differences between mothers and fathers regarding these links. At 3 (T1), 9 (T2), and 18 months postpartum (T3), we assessed both parents' depressive symptoms with a self‐report questionnaire and observed coparenting support and conflict during triadic mother–father–child interactions. The results revealed that higher maternal depressive symptoms at T1 were associated with lower support at T1 and T2. Conflict at T3 was associated with higher maternal depressive symptoms at T3 and, more surprisingly, with less depressive symptoms in mothers at T2 and fathers at T3. Cross‐lagged associations suggested that parental depressive symptoms were more likely to influence coparenting than the reverse. Moreover, maternal depressive symptoms were more likely to be linked to coparenting behaviors than were paternal depressive symptoms. These results confirm that parental—mostly maternal—depressive symptoms, even of mild intensity, may jeopardize the development of healthy family‐level relations, which previous research has shown to be crucial for child development.     

Mother- and father-infant interactions at 3 months of corrected age: The effect of severity of preterm birth

Early interactions of 92 preterm infants with their mothers (n = 54) and fathers (n = 38) were explored at 3 months using CARE-Index. Results showed differences in interactions based on parent's gender, with higher control in mothers and unresponsiveness in fathers, while no effect of severity of birth weight emerged.     

CAREGIVER–CHILD INTERACTION,CAREGIVER TRANSITIONS,AND GROUP SIZE AS MEDIATORS BETWEEN INTERVENTION CONDITION AND ATTACHMENT AND PHYSICAL GROWTH OUTCOMES IN INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILDREN

This report describes a secondary analysis of data from a comprehensive intervention project which included training and structural changes in three Baby Homes in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Multiple mediator models were tested according to the R.M. Baron and D.A. Kenny ( 1986 ) causal‐steps approach to examine whether caregiver–child interaction quality, number of caregiver transitions, and group size mediated the effects of the intervention on children's attachment behaviors and physical growth. The study utilized a subsample of 163 children from the original Russian Baby Home project, who were between 11 and 19 months at the time of assessment. Results from comparisons of the training and structural changes versus no intervention conditions are presented. Caregiver–child interaction quality and number of caregiver transitions fully mediated the association between intervention condition and attachment behavior. No other mediation was found. Results suggest that the quality of interaction between caregivers and children in institutional care is of primary importance to children's development, but relationship context may play a less direct mediational role, supporting caregiver–child interactions.     

FATHER–CHILD INTERACTIONS AT 3 MONTHS AND 24 MONTHS: CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHILDREN'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AT 24 MONTHS

The quality of father–child interactions has become a focus of increasing research in the field of child development. We examined the potential contribution of father–child interactions at both 3 months and 24 months to children's cognitive development at 24 months. Observational measures of father–child interactions at 3 and 24 months were used to assess the quality of fathers’ parenting (n = 192). At 24 months, the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition (N. Bayley, 1993 ) measured cognitive functioning. The association between interactions and cognitive development was examined using multiple linear regression analyses, adjusting for paternal age, education and depression, infant age, and maternal sensitivity. Children whose fathers displayed more withdrawn and depressive behaviors in father–infant interactions at 3 months scored lower on the MDI at 24 months. At 24 months, children whose fathers were more engaged and sensitive as well as those whose fathers were less controlling in their interactions scored higher on the MDI. These findings were independent of the effects of maternal sensitivity. Results indicate that father–child interactions, even from a very young age (i.e., 3 months) may influence children's cognitive development. They highlight the potential significance of interventions to promote positive parenting by fathers and policies that encourage fathers to spend more time with their young children.     

What leads to coordinated attention in parent–toddler interactions? Children's hearing status matters

Coordinated attention between children and their parents plays an important role in their social, language, and cognitive development. The current study used head‐mounted eye‐trackers to investigate the effects of children's prelingual hearing loss on how they achieve coordinated attention with their hearing parents during free‐flowing object play. We found that toddlers with hearing loss (age: 24–37 months) had similar overall gaze patterns (e.g., gaze length and proportion of face looking) as their normal‐hearing peers. In addition, children's hearing status did not affect how likely parents and children attended to the same object at the same time during play. However, when following parents' attention, children with hearing loss used both parents' gaze directions and hand actions as cues, whereas children with normal hearing mainly relied on parents' hand actions. The diversity of pathways leading to coordinated attention suggests the flexibility and robustness of developing systems in using multiple pathways to achieve the same functional end.     

父子(女)间面孔相似性的进化适应机制及其影响

由于受精和孕育过程发生在母亲体内, 人类受孕具有一定的隐蔽性, 同时人类早期社会存在着通奸行为, 因而, 父亲面临着父亲身份不确定性的风险。为了应对这种风险, 人类男性在生活中往往会寻求一些能表征父亲身份的线索, 其中亲子间面孔相似性被证明是辨别个体间是否存在基因关联(或血缘关系)的有效线索之一。morph软件合成、第三方评定以及当事人的主观评定是研究亲子间面孔相似性的三种基本范式。以往的研究表明当父子(女)间面孔相似性越高时, 父亲对子女的亲子投资水平越高, 父亲感知到的焦虑水平越低, 父亲的身体也越健康, 与此同时, 当父子(女)间面孔相似性越高时, 父亲对女儿会表现出更高的性厌恶水平。未来的研究可以进一步关注文化因素在该效应中的调节作用, 探寻新的研究范式以提高研究的内部效度和外部效度, 以及探讨影响亲子间面孔相似性感知的因素。     

童年亲子关系与“好资源”对未婚男性性开放态度的影响

本研究采用实验启动的方式探讨“好资源”和童年环境对未婚男性性开放态度的影响, 结果发现童年亲子关系(而不是童年经济状况)在资源线索启动和性开放态度之间存在显著调节作用。研究1采用想象启动来控制个体的资源获取状况, 结果发现：童年亲子关系差的个体在“好资源”想象时其性开放态度较“差资源”想象时明显提升。研究2采用图片情境的资源想象方式, 在研究1的基础上进一步把亲子关系细分成亲子沟通、亲子焦虑和亲子回避三个维度, 结果表明：童年亲子回避在男性资源状况启动和性开放态度之间存在显著调节作用, 童年亲子高回避的个体在“好资源”照片情境想象下其性开放态度显著提升, 而童年亲子低回避的个体在“好资源”照片情境想象下其性开放态度明显下降; 此外, 童年亲子回避在性开放态度上的主效应显著, 亲子回避程度高的个体其性开放态度也更高。两个研究共同揭示了“男人有钱就变坏”的情境和群体特殊性。     

Transitional Dynamics of Three Supervisory Styles Using Markov Chain Analysis

Counseling supervision is a critically important process that depends on the establishment of a supportive, collaborative, and developmentally enhancing working relationship. However, the actual verbal exchanges within the supervisory dyads are infrequently examined in the literature. In this study, we used Markov chain analysis to explore supervision dynamics of 34 supervisory dyads and how these dynamics varied within three supervisory styles (i.e., attractive, interpersonally sensitive, and task oriented). Among the three styles, the interpersonally sensitive supervisory style was the only discriminant variable based on which supervisory dyads exhibited statistically different state-transitional patterns (i.e., movement patterns across six supervision events). The results of this study provide implications for clinical supervisors, counselor educators, counselors-in-training, and researchers who are interested in studying process features at the microlevel.