Parenting Behaviors (parenting + behavior)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Using Identity Theory to Develop a Midrange Model of Parental Gatekeeping and Parenting Behavior

JOURNAL OF FAMILY THEORY & REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
Kari Adamsons
Given the socially constructed nature of parenthood, frameworks such as identity theory can help explain mothering and fathering behaviors and, particularly, parents' influence on one another's behaviors (referred to here as parental gatekeeping). Burke's (1991, 1997) identity verification model suggests that others encourage or inhibit identity-relevant behaviors via identity-behavior-feedback loops. This article proposes that such dyadic processes can explain parental gatekeeping; by combining empirical literature and propositions from identity theory and adding gender and power as moderating constructs, a midrange model of parental gatekeeping and parental behavior is derived. [source]


Interparental Conflict and Parenting Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 1 2000
Ambika Krishnakumar
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between interparental conflict and parenting using meta-analytic review techniques. One-hundred and thirty-eight effect sizes from 39 studies are analyzed. The overall average weighted effect size is ,.62, indicating a moderate association and support for the spillover hypothesis. The parenting behaviors most impacted by interparental conflict are harsh discipline and parental acceptance. Several moderating effects for subject and method characteristics are significant. [source]


Parenting and Cultures of Risk: A Comparative Analysis of Infidelity, Aggression, and Witchcraft

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 1 2007
ROBERT J. QUINLAN
Parenting behavior may respond flexibly to environmental risk to help prepare children for the environment they can expect to face as adults. In hazardous environments where child outcomes are unpredictable, unresponsive parenting could be adaptive. Child development associated with parenting practices, in turn, may influence cultural patterns related to insecurity and aggression (which we call the "risk-response model"). We test these propositions in a cross-cultural analysis. The Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS) includes indicators of parental responsiveness: father,infant sleeping proximity, father involvement, parental response to infant crying, and breastfeeding duration (age at weaning). Unresponsive parenting was associated with cultural models including greater acceptance of extramarital sex, aggression, theft, and witchcraft. Socialization practices in later childhood were not better predictors of the outcomes than was earlier parenting. We conclude that some cultural adaptations appear rooted in parenting practices that affect child development. [source]


CD38 regulates oxytocin secretion and complex social behavior

BIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2007
Jennifer A. Bartz
The peptide hormone oxytocin plays a critical role in regulating affiliative behaviors including mating, pair-bond formation, maternal/parenting behavior, social recognition, separation distress and other aspects of attachment. Jin and colleagues1 recently reported intriguing findings that CD38, a transmembrane receptor with ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity, plays a critical role in maternal nurturing behavior and social recognition by regulating oxytocin secretion. This research may have implications for understanding disorders marked by deficits in social cognition and social functioning, including autism, social anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. BioEssays 29:837,841, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Reflection in thought and action: Maternal parenting reflectivity predicts mind-minded comments and interactive behavior

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008
Katherine L. Rosenblum
Recent research has identified mothers' mental reflective functioning and verbal mind-minded comments as important predictors of subsequent infant attachment security. In the present study, we examine associations between mothers' (N = 95) parenting reflectivity expressed in an interview and observed parenting behavior, including verbal mind-minded comments and interactive behavior during interaction with their 7-month-old infants. Parenting reflectivity was coded from the Working Model of the Child Interview. Maternal behavior was assessed via observations of mother,infant interaction during free play and structured teaching tasks. Both maternal appropriate mind-minded comments as well as other indicators of maternal interactive behavior were coded. Parenting reflectivity was positively correlated with mind-minded comments and behavioral sensitivity. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that parenting reflectivity contributed to maternal behavior beyond the contributions of mothers' educational status and depression symptoms. Discussion emphasizes the importance of individual differences in parental capacity to accurately perceive and mentalize their infants' experience, and the consequences of these differences for caregiving behavior. [source]


Parental Influences on the Educational Outcomes of Immigrant Youth,

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2004
Grace Kao
Recent research suggests that children with immigrant parents tend to outperform their counterparts with native-born parents. This article examines whether the relative advantage of children of immigrants can be traced to differences in the character of parent-child relationships. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), I examine whether parent-child interaction varies among racial and generational groups. Descriptive tabulations suggest that immigrant parents are less likely to share decisionmaking power and to talk about school in general than are native-born parents. However, immigrant parents are more likely to talk about college, and their children report that they are closer to their parents than youth of native-born parents. While differences in parent-child interaction account for some of the differences in educational achievement between racial and generational groups, significant variation by race and generational status remains. Finally, I found significant variation between parenting behavior and its impact on GPA by race and ethnicity. [source]


Marital Processes and Parental Socialization in Families of Color: A Decade Review of Research

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2000
Vonnie C. McLoyd
Research published during the past decade on African American, Latino, and Asian American families is reviewed. Emphasis is given to selected issues within the broad domains of marriage and parenting. The first section highlights demographic trends in family formation and family structure and factors that contributed to secular changes in family structure among African Americans. In the second section, new conceptualizations of marital relations within Latino families are discussed, along with research documenting the complexities in African American men's conceptions of manhood. Studies examining within-group variation in marital conflict and racial and ethnic differences in division of household labor, marital relations, and children's adjustment to marital and family conflict also are reviewed. The third section gives attention to research on (a) paternal involvement among fathers of color; (b) the relation of parenting behavior to race and ethnicity, grandmother involvement, neighborhood and peer characteristics, and immigration; and (c) racial and ethnic socialization. The article concludes with an overview of recent advances in the study of families of color and important challenges and issues that represent research opportunities for the new decade. [source]


Variations in male parenting behavior and physiology in the common marmoset

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Toni E. Ziegler
Infant survival and wellbeing is dependent upon good parenting skills. In some species of primates, fathers are necessary to ensure both positive developmental and social outcomes for their offspring. Common marmosets and the related cotton-top tamarin monkeys provide extensive paternal care of multiple offspring and are essential for infant survival. However, we have found significant variation in a father's motivation to respond to infant stimuli. Additionally, marmoset males who are experienced fathers are significantly more motivated to respond to infants and infant stimuli than adult males who have yet to be fathers. Expectant fathers appear to be preparing for their energetic role in infant care by responding with increases in multiple reproductive hormones and showing weight gain during their mate's pregnancy. Male marmosets have been shown to be hormonally responsive to scent signals. Males show increased testosterone shortly after smelling periovulatory scents and lower levels of testosterone following presentation of their own infant's scent. These two inverse testosterone responses combined indicate that paternal males have a flexible system of responding to socially relevant odor cues. Thus males can be ready to mate when their mate is fertile while continuing to be responsive to their infants when these two events occur simultaneously. A male's hormonal and physical responsiveness to parenting may be due to pair bonding between the male and his mate. Examining the variability between males in their behavioral, physical, and hormonal responses to their mate's pregnancy, and infant stimuli provides the means for determining the mechanisms of good parenting in fathers. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Discrepancies in Perceptions of Maternal Aggression: Implications for Children of Methadone-Maintained Mothers

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Jessica L. Borelli
Despite a long history of documenting discrepancies in parent and child reports of parental care and child psychopathology, it has only been in recent years that researchers have begun to consider these discrepancies as meaningful indicators of parent,child relationship quality and as predictors of long-term child adjustment. Discrepancies in perceptions of parenting may be particularly important for the children of mothers with a history of substance abuse who may be less aware of the impact of their behavior on their child and of their child's internalizing symptoms. This study examined associations between (a) mother,child discrepancies in reports of maternal aggression, and (b) mother and child reports of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Data collected from 99 mother,child dyads (with children 4,16 years of age) during the baseline phase of a randomized clinical trial testing a parenting intervention were used in this study. Measures included parent and child versions of the Parental Acceptance,Rejection Questionnaire and the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children. Findings indicated that as children viewed their mothers as increasingly more aggressive than mothers viewed themselves, children reported more internalizing and externalizing symptoms but mothers only reported more child externalizing symptoms. Mother,child discrepancies in reports of parenting behavior have potentially meaningful implications for child emotional and behavioral problems. [source]


Economic Well-Being and Children's Social Adjustment: The Role of Family Process in an Ethnically Diverse Low-Income Sample

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2002
Rashmita S. Mistry
Using latent variable structural equation modeling, a family economic stress model that links economic well-being to child well-being in an ethnically diverse, low-income sample of 419 elementary school-age children was evaluated. The sample was 57% African American and 28% Hispanic, and most families were headed by single mothers. The results provided support for the position that family process is a critical mediator of the effects of economic hardship on children's social adjustment. Lower levels of economic well-being, and the corollary elevated perceptions of economic pressure indirectly affected parenting behavior through an adverse impact on parental psychological well-being. Distressed parents reported feeling less effective and capable in disciplinary interactions with their child and were observed to be less affectionate in parent,child interactions. In turn, less than optimal parenting predicted lower teacher ratings of children's positive social behavior and higher ratings of behavior problems. Multiple-group analyses revealed that the pathways by which economic hardship influences children's behavior appear to operate similarly for boys and girls, and for African American and Hispanic families. [source]


Maternal Distress and Parenting in the Context of Cumulative Disadvantage

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2010
JOYCE ARDITTI PH.D.
To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full-text page on Wiley InterScience (http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp). This article presents an emergent conceptual model of the features and links between cumulative disadvantage, maternal distress, and parenting practices in low-income families in which parental incarceration has occurred. The model emerged from the integration of extant conceptual and empirical research with grounded theory analysis of longitudinal ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. Fourteen exemplar family cases were used in the analysis. Results indicated that mothers in these families experienced life in the context of cumulative disadvantage, reporting a cascade of difficulties characterized by neighborhood worries, provider concerns, bureaucratic difficulties, violent intimate relationships, and the inability to meet children's needs. Mothers, however, also had an intense desire to protect their children, and to make up for past mistakes. Although, in response to high levels of maternal distress and disadvantage, most mothers exhibited harsh discipline of their children, some mothers transformed their distress by advocating for their children under difficult circumstances. Women's use of harsh discipline and advocacy was not necessarily an "either/or" phenomenon as half of the mothers included in our analysis exhibited both harsh discipline and care/advocacy behaviors. Maternal distress characterized by substance use, while connected to harsh disciplinary behavior, did not preclude mothers engaging in positive parenting behaviors. RESUMEN Este artículo presenta un modelo conceptual emergente de las características y las conexiones entre la desventaja acumulada, la angustia materna, y las prácticas de crianza de los hijos en familias de bajos recursos donde uno de los padres ha estado encarcelado. El modelo surgió de la integración de investigaciones conceptuales y empíricas existentes con un análisis de muestreo teórico de datos etnográficos longitudinales tomados de Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study ("Bienestar, Niños y Familias: Un estudio en tres ciudades"). En el análisis se usaron catorce casos ejemplares de familias. Los resultados indicaron que las madres de estas familias vivían la vida en el contexto de desventaja acumulada, ya que describieron una cascada de dificultades caracterizadas por preocupaciones con respecto al barrio donde viven, preocupaciones por el sustento económico, dificultades burocráticas, relaciones íntimas violentas y la incapacidad de satisfacer las necesidades de sus hijos. Sin embargo, las madres también tenían un profundo deseo de proteger a sus hijos y de subsanar errores del pasado. Aunque, en respuesta a los niveles altos de angustia materna y desventaja, la mayoría de las madres demostraron una disciplina severa hacia sus hijos, algunas madres transformaron su angustia apoyando a sus hijos en circunstancias difíciles. El uso de disciplina severa y apoyo por parte de las mujeres no fue necesariamente un fenómeno excluyente, ya que la mitad de las madres analizadas demostraron tanto el uso de una disciplina severa como comportamientos de cuidado y apoyo. Si bien la angustia materna caracterizada por el abuso de sustancias estuvo conectada con el uso de una disciplina severa, no excluyó que las madres tuvieran comportamientos positivos en relación con la crianza de sus hijos Palabras clave: desventaja acumulada, angustia materna, crianza de los hijos, encarcelamiento de uno de los padres, disciplina [source]


Caregiver Depressive Symptoms and Observed Family Interaction in Low-Income Children with Persistent Asthma

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 1 2008
MARIANNE CELANO PH.D.
This study examined the relationship between caregiver depressive symptoms and observed parenting behaviors and family processes during interactions among 101 urban, low-income Africtan American families with children with persistent asthma. Caregivers (primarily female) were assessed on four dimensions (i.e., warmth/involvement, hostility, consistent discipline, relationship quality) in three videotaped interaction tasks (loss, conflict, cohesion). The results indicated that increased depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower warmth/involvement and synchrony scores and greater hostility scores during the loss and conflict tasks. In the total sample, the highest levels of hostility and the lowest levels of warmth/involvement were found for the conflict task; nevertheless, caregivers with moderate/severe depressive symptoms showed a significantly greater increase in hostility from the loss to the conflict task than caregivers with minimal/mild depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the salience of considering task content in family observational process research to expand our understanding of depressed and nondepressed caregivers' abilities to modulate appropriately their behaviors and affect across various family interactions. Implications for improving asthma management for low-income children with persistent asthma are discussed, including the utility of multidisciplinary interventions that combine asthma education with family therapy. RESUMEN Síntomas de depresión en los responsables de los niños e interacción familiar observada en niños de familias de bajos ingresos que padecen asma crónica Este estudio examinó la relación entre los síntomas de depresión de los responsables de los niños y los comportamientos paternos y dinámicas familiares observados durante interacciones entre 101 familias afronorteamericanas, urbanas y de bajos recursos, con niños que padecen asma crónica. Los responsables de los niños (la mayoría mujeres) fueron evaluados en base a cuatro criterios: calidez/implicación, hostilidad, disciplina constante, y calidad de la relación) en tres tareas de interacción grabadas en cinta de video (pérdida, conflicto y cohesión). Los resultados demostraron que el aumento de los síntomas de depresión estaban relacionados de forma significativa con una menor puntuación en calidez/implicación y comprensión mutua, y una mayor puntuación en hostilidad durante las tareas de pérdida y conflicto. En la muestra total, los mayores niveles de hostilidad y menores niveles de calidez/implicación se encontraron en la tarea de conflicto; sin embargo, los responsables con síntomas de depresión de moderados a severos mostraron un aumento mucho mayor de la hostilidad, de la tarea de pérdida a la de conflicto, que los responsables con síntomas de mínimos a leves. Los resultados enfatizan la importancia de considerar el contenido de la tarea en la investigación observacional de familias para aumentar nuestra comprensión de las habilidades de los responsables de los niños, con o sin depresión, con el fin de modular de una manera apropiada su comportamiento y afecto en diferentes interacciones familiares. Las medidas para mejorar el control del asma en niños que padecen asma crónica y provienen de familias de bajos ingresos están en debate, incluida la utilidad de intervenciones multidisciplinarias que combinen formación sobre el asma con terapia familiar. [source]


Predictors of parenting among economically disadvantaged latina mothers: mediating and moderating factors,

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
Hazel M. Prelow
Structural equation modeling was used to examine the role of ecological risk factors, maternal psychological distress, and social network support on the parenting behaviors of 535 economically disadvantaged Latina mothers, who were surveyed for the Welfare Children, & Families: A Three City Study. We predicted that ecological risk would influence mothers' parenting through their psychological distress but that social support would buffer the effects of ecological risk on mothers' depressive symptoms. As predicted, ecological risk was associated with higher contemporaneous psychological distress, which, in turn, predicted lower positive parenting behaviors approximately 18 months later. Social network support buffered the impact of the ecological risk on mothers' symptoms of psychological distress and, thereby, also buffered its indirect effect on parenting behaviors. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Young mothers' involvement in a prenatal and postpartum support program,

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Xiaoli Wen
The involvement of 124 young mothers in a doula support program was measured in two dimensions,quantity of program contact and quality of mother,doula helping relationship. The study examined each dimension's differential associations with maternal outcomes, as well as the moderating effects of mother characteristics on these associations. Quantity of program contact was related to the quality of helping relationship, especially when rated by doulas. Both quantity and quality of involvement predicted the maternal outcomes, although not always in the expected direction. For mothers with limited vocabulary skills and better connections with the baby's father, program contact was more likely to promote positive birth experiences. A negative association between program contact and parenting behaviors was observed among mothers who were less mature or had less positive social relationships. The study suggests the multidimensionality of program involvement and the complexity of interactions between program and participant factors in producing program outcomes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Paternal Involvement with Children: The Influence of Gender Ideologies

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2004
Ronald E. Bulanda
Although prior social science research has established the ability of gender ideologies to influence the domestic division of labor, it has neglected to disentangle their potentially unique influence on paternal involvement with children. Past research examining the influence of gender ideology on parenting behaviors does not acknowledge potential differences that may result from accounting for each parent's gender ideology. Using both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 1,088), I assess the effect of both mother's and father's gender ideology on two measures of paternal involvement. Whereas egalitarian fathers demonstrate greater involvement than traditional fathers, mother's gender ideology failed to predict paternal involvement. Egalitarian mothers do not appear to negotiate greater father involvement successfully. [source]


Families With Young Children: A Review of Research in the 1990s

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2000
David H. Demo
Research conducted in the past decade on families with young children concentrated on 5 broad topics: (a) the transition to parenthood; (b) the importance of maternal sensitivity for children's attachment security and subsequent adjustment and social competence; (c) the effectiveness of particular parenting styles and practices; (d) interparental, familial, and broader societal factors influencing parenting behaviors and child adjustment; and (e) the impact of family structure and household composition on children's well-being. Our review documents substantial diversity in family structures, parenting arrangements, and childrearing values and practices both within and across ethnic and racial groups. Collectively, the evidence suggests that in most families with young children, parents and children seem to be doing well. We conclude that substantial work is required to expand the study of families with young children beyond mother-child dyads in White, middle-class, two-parent, first-marriage families. [source]


Personal Characteristics and Resilience to Economic Hardship and Its Consequences: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Illustrations

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 6 2009
M. Brent Donnellan
ABSTRACT This article describes a theoretical model that links personal characteristics with resilience to economic hardship and its psychological and interpersonal consequences. This transactional model integrates social influence and social selection perspectives concerning the relation between socioeconomic circumstances and the development of individuals and families. In addition, this article discusses methodological and conceptual issues related to investigating the effects of personal characteristics in this context. Finally, initial empirical support for some of the key predictions from the proposed model are provided using longitudinal data collected from a sample of Midwestern families. Specifically, adolescent academic achievement, self-reports of Conscientiousness, and self-reports of low Neuroticism during adolescence predicted relevant outcomes in adulthood such as less economic pressure, more satisfying romantic relationships, and less harsh parenting behaviors. These preliminary findings support the hypothesized model and extend research concerning the life course outcomes associated with personal characteristics. [source]


Linking Changes in Parenting to Parent,Child Relationship Quality and Youth Self-Control: The Strong African American Families Program

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2005
Gene H. Brody
A randomized prevention trial was conducted contrasting families who took part in the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF), a preventive intervention for rural African American mothers and their 11-year-olds, with control families. SAAF is based on a conceptual model positing that changes in intervention-targeted parenting behaviors would enhance responsive-supportive parent,child relationships and youths' self-control, which protect rural African American youths from substance use and early sexual activity. Parenting variables included involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, communication about sex, and clear expectations for alcohol use. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that intervention-induced changes in parenting were linked with changes in responsive,supportive parent,child relationships and youth self-control. [source]


Pathways Among Exposure to Violence, Maternal Depression, Family Structure, and Child Outcomes Through Parenting: A Multigroup Analysis

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
T'Pring R. Westbrook
The present study examined the impact of proximal (maternal depression, family structure) and distal (exposure to violence) risk factors on parenting characteristics (warmth, control), which were in turn hypothesized to affect child social-emotional functioning. Using the Family and Child Experiences Study (FACES) 2000 cohort, findings revealed that study variables were significant predictors of child social-emotional functioning. Despite limited significant pathways in the structural equation models, the cumulative effect of the variables resulted in models accounting for 21%,37% of the outcome. Multigroup analysis revealed that although the amount of variance explained varied, the model held across subgroups. Findings support theories such as the family stress model that suggest that family risk factors negatively influencing children's development through influencing parenting behaviors. Findings also support considering both warmth and control as key parenting dimensions. It may be impractical for practitioners to address the myriad of potential risks encountered by low-income families, but parents can be equipped with mental health services, parent education, and other assistance to help them maintain positive parenting practices in the face of challenges. [source]


Effects of Social Support and Conflict on Parenting Among Homeless Mothers

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2009
Jaime V. Marra MA
Research has shown that having a supportive social network is generally beneficial for individuals, particularly those who arc homeless or at risk of homelessness. However, conflict within these networks may diminish the positive effects of social support on well-being, and these effects may be felt acutely within a vulnerable population with multiple needs. This study examined the impact of conflict and social support on parenting behaviors in a sample of mothers who are homeless and were involved in a study of case management interventions of varying intensity. We found that women who reported high emotional and instrumental social support self-reported greater improvements in parenting consistency over time than those who reported lower levels of support. However, three-way interactions showed that conflict in support networks was a risk factor for harsh parenting practices among participants who reported lower levels of instrumental social support. Results suggest that social support may enhance homeless mothers' ability' to provide consistent parenting, but that these benefits may he undermined if conflict occurs in combination with limited levels of instrumental social support. [source]


Ego Development, Psychopathology, and Parenting Problems in Substance-Abusing Mothers

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2008
Nancy Suchman PhD
The authors examined maternal ego development in relation to psychopathology and parenting problems in a sample of substance abusing mothers. Given predilections at higher levels of ego development for introspection and guilt, the authors expected mothers at higher levels to report more psychopathology. Given predilections at lower levels of ego development for dichotomous perceptions and limited conceptions of causation, the authors expected mothers at low levels to report more problematic parenting behaviors. Intelligence was expected to correlate but not overlap with ego development. Subjects were 182 mothers who expressed interest in a randomized clinical trial for a new parenting intervention. Measures included the Washington University Sentence Completion Task,Short Form, the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test. Results of correlation and multivariate analyses of variance confirmed predictions. Implications for future development of interventions for substance abusing mothers are discussed. [source]


Family context and young children's responses to earthquake

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 9 2007
Laura J. Proctor
Background:, Family context can affect children's vulnerability to various stresses, but little is known regarding the role of family variables on children's reactions to natural disaster. This prospective study examined the influence of predisaster observed parenting behaviors and postdisaster parental stress on young children's distress following an earthquake. Methods:, Participants were 117 two-parent families with a child age 4,5 at the initial assessment. The families experienced different degrees of impact from the earthquake. Pre-earthquake family context comprised observations of parents' positive and negative behaviors during a parent,child play task. Eight months after the earthquake, mothers reported symptoms of parental stress and children's distress. Results:, Earthquake impact and children's distress symptoms were moderately correlated (r = .44), but certain pre-earthquake parental behaviors moderated the relationship. The dose,response association between earthquake impact and children's symptoms did not hold for families in which fathers showed high levels of negative behaviors with daughters, or mothers showed low levels of positive behaviors with sons. In addition, results consistent with full mediation for boys (and partial mediation for girls) indicated that 86% of the total effect of earthquake impact on boys' distress (and 29% on girls' distress) occurred through the mediator of reported parental stress. Conclusions:, These findings demonstrate that young children's responses to an abrupt, negative environmental event, such as an earthquake, are influenced in part by the nature of the parent,child relationship prior to the event as well as by the responses parents exhibit following the event. [source]


Parents Do Matter: Trajectories of Change in Externalizing and Internalizing Problems in Early Adolescence

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
Nancy L. Galambos
This study examined the relative influence of three parenting behaviors (support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and deviant peers on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. A white, working-to-middle-class sample of adolescents and their mothers and fathers in two-earner families participated in a 3½-year longitudinal study (N=lies). The study began when the adolescents were in sixth grade (M age=rs). Analyses showed that parents' firm behavioral control seemed to halt the upward trajectory in externalizing problems among adolescents with deviant peers. Initial levels of internalizing problems were higher among adolescents with parents who reported lower levels of behavioral control and among adolescents with deviant peers. This study suggests that parenting exerts an important influence in adolescents' lives and may do so even in the face of potentially negative peer influence. [source]