Maternal negative emotional expression and discipline in Beijing,China: The moderating role of educational attainment

The current study shows that parental punitive discipline places children at risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems. Although some studies have analyzed the reasons for the use of discipline methods, little to no research has analyzed the moderating effects. In this study, we examine the relationship between maternal negative emotional expression and mothers’ use of disciplinary methods (psychological aggression, corporal punishment and physical maltreatment) and the moderating effects of educational attainment in Chinese societies. Five hundred and sixteen mothers with preschool-aged children were recruited to participate in this research. The Chinese versions of the Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ) and the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) were used to measure the mothers’ negative emotional expression and discipline, respectively. The results suggested that the mothers’ negative emotional expression was positively related to their disciplinary behaviors. Moreover, maternal educational attainment moderated the association between negative emotional expression and discipline. The findings of the current study highlight the importance of considering how mothers’ educational backgrounds may interact with their emotions to influence maternal disciplinary behaviors.     

Social support and parenting in poor,dangerous neighborhoods

This study investigated how stressful environmental conditions influence the relation between mothers' social support and parenting strategies, utilizing interview data from a sample of 262 poor, African American single mothers and their seventh- and eighth-grade children, as well as objective data about respondents' neighborhoods. In general, the results indicated that neighborhood conditions moderate the relation between social support and parenting behaviors. Specifically, as neighborhood conditions worsened, the positive relation between emotional support and mothers' nurturant parenting was weakened. In a similar fashion, the negative relation between instrumental social support and punishment was stronger in better neighborhoods. As the surrounding environments became poorer and more dangerous, the relation between greater instrumental support and a lower reliance on punishment was weakened. Thus, on the whole, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the positive influences of social support on parenting behavior were strained and attenuated in poorer, high-crime environments.     

Preschool outcomes of children of depressed mothers: role of maternal behavior,contextual risk,and children's brain activity

Children of depressed mothers are at risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Infants of depressed mothers exhibit behavioral disturbances and atypical frontal brain activity. The mechanisms by which children develop such vulnerabilities are not clear. Three-year-old children of mothers with (N = 65) and without (N = 59) a history of depression were assessed in terms of behavior problems and brain electrical activity. Children of mothers with chronic depression exhibited lower frontal and parietal brain activation compared with children of mothers without depression and those whose depression remitted. Depressed mothers reported higher contextual risk (e.g., marital discord and stress) and their children had more behavior problems. Children's frontal brain activation and contextual risk level mediated the relation between maternal depression and child behavior problems.     

Preschoolers' Emotional Control in the Disappointment Paradigm and Its Relation to Temperament, Emotional Knowledge, and Family Expressiveness

The present research evaluated a conceptual model that links temperament, emotional knowledge, and family expressiveness to preschoolers' emotion regulation ability. The emotional understanding of 82 preschoolers was assessed with 2 separate tasks. After the second emotional knowledge task, the children were presented a "disappointing" prize, and their facial displays of positive and negative affect were recorded. The children and their mothers also participated in a game designed to elicit maternal expressive behavior. Mothers provided information about the preschoolers' temperament and about the frequency of positive and negative affect expressed within their families Results indicated that children's positive displays when presented the "disappointing" prize were inversely related to the temperamental dimension of emotional intensity and positively associated with children's understanding of emotion. Maternal reports of sadness within the family were inversely related to children's positive affective displays. Children's negative emotional displays in the disappointment situation were inversely related to observed maternal positive emotion. The findings from this study give greater specification to the unique and joint contributions of temperament, emotional knowledge, and family expressiveness in predicting preschoolers' expressive control of emotion.     

Perceptions of parenting versus parent-child interactions among incest survivors

OBJECTIVES: Although women with histories of child sexual abuse (CSA) perceive themselves as less competent mothers and report greater parenting difficulties than nonabused women, few investigators have actually observed the parenting behaviors of CSA survivors. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether incest history was related to maternal perceptions of parenting efficacy and interactional patterns with their children. The secondary aim of this study was to explore the constructs of internal working models of relationships and maternal psychological adjustment as potential mediators of the relation between incest history and parenting. METHODS: A community sample of 17 incest survivors, 18 nonabused women and their 3-6 year-old children participated. Mothers completed self-report measures of parenting efficacy, parental bonding (i.e., internal working models of relationships), and psychological adjustment. In addition, mothers interacted with their children in a problem-solving task. RESULTS: Although incest survivors reported less parenting self-efficacy than did nonabused mothers, their interactional styles with their children were positive overall and comparable to those of nonabused mothers. Specifically, survivors displayed moderate to high levels of support, assistance, and confidence, and their children showed high levels of affection towards their mothers. Incest survivors reported less bonding with their own mothers in childhood and poorer current psychological adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that incest survivors' perceptions of their parenting abilities may be more negative than their actual parenting behaviors.     

Predictors of Behavior Problems in Preschool Children of Inner-City Afro-American and Puerto Rican Adolescent Mothers

Maternal reports on the Child Behavior Checklist/2-3 (CBCL/2-3) were used to evaluate child, maternal, and environmental predictors of behavior problems in 83 preschool children of disadvantaged adolescent mothers. CBCL/2-3 scores correlated modestly with independent ratings of child difficult behaviors observed in videotaped mother-child play interactions. 13% of children had scores in the clinical range. Significant correlations were consistently found between CBCL/2-3 ratings and maternal depressive symptoms, social supports, and life stress—assessed 3 times during the first year postpartum. In hierarchical regression analyses, maternal depressive symptoms, residence with the adolescent's mother, and perceived emotional support from friends contributed most to the explained variance. A significant ethnicity and child gender interaction term also suggested that African American mothers of male children reported more behavioral problems. Findings evidence the heterogeneity of outcomes for children of disadvantaged adolescent mothers but also demonstrate how correlates of poverty negatively affect their socioemotional development.     

The Social Competence of Children Born Prematurely: Effects of Medical Complications and Parent Behaviors

36-month-old, full-term children (n = 21) and low-birthweight (LBW) children of high (n = 25) and low (n = 23) medical risk status were observed in interactions with mothers in teaching and social context. Child compliance, self-directed behaviors, and problem behaviors were evaluated as well as associations among aspects of children's social competence, mothers' behaviors, and context factors. Degree of medical risk was associated with impairments in children's self-directed behavior and quality of response to maternal directives. Mothers of LBW children showed a smaller proportion of behaviors that provided choices compared to mothers of full-term children. Medical complications, children's cognitive status, and mothers' interactive behaviors were significantly associated with LBW children's social competence. Results of regression analyses suggested that mothers and LBW children influence each others' behavior in ways similar to mothers and full-term children in both teaching and social contexts.     

Maternal and Paternal Disciplinary Styles: Relations with Preschoolers'' Playground Behavioral Orientations and Peer Status

To explore relations among parents' self-reported disciplinary styles, preschoolers' playground behavioral orientations, and peer status, 106 mothers and fathers of preschool-age children (age range = 40-71 months) participated in home disciplinary style interviews. Observations of their children's playground behavior in preschool settings and measures of sociometric status were also obtained. Results indicated that children of more inductive mothers and fathers (i.e., less power assertive) exhibited fewer disruptive playground behaviors. In addition, daughters and older preschoolers of inductive mothers exhibited more prosocial behavior. Children of inductive mothers were also more preferred by peers. Few significant relations were found between paternal discipline and child behavior/peer status. Age-related patterns of behavior also indicated that older preschoolers who engaged in more prosocial and less antisocial and disruptive playground behavior were more preferred by peers. In addition, child behaviors were found to mediate maternal discipline and peer status.     

Adult attachment, parent emotion, and observed parenting behavior: mediator and moderator models

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the AAI reported significantly lower levels of positive affectivity. Mothers classified as preoccupied reported significantly higher levels of negative affectivity and anxiety. Preoccupied mothers were observed to be significantly higher on angry/intrusive parenting, but this association was not mediated by attachment-related differences in maternal emotion. Maternal emotional well-being did, however, moderate the associations between adult attachment and parenting behavior: Dismissing attachment was significantly associated with lower warmth/responsiveness only among mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms.     

Maternal representations of the infant: associations with infant response to the still face

Mothers' representations of their infants may influence early development of emotional self-regulation. This study examined the associations between characteristics of mothers' (N = 100) narratives about their 7-month-old infants, maternal depression, and their infants' affect regulation during the Still Face procedure. Findings showed that (1) mothers' representations were linked with individual differences in their infants' behavior across the Still Face procedure, (2) the association between mothers' representations and their infants' behavior was mediated by parenting behavior, and (3) mothers' representations explained unique variance in their infants' affect regulation beyond the contribution of maternal depression. Although infants' displays of positive affect diminished while mothers held a still face, only infants of mothers in the balanced representation category returned to high levels of positive affect upon resuming interaction. These findings highlight the role of maternal representations in the process by which dyads repair temporary disruptions in interaction, as well as individual differences in infants' and mothers' responses to the Still Face.     

HOW HOMES INFLUENCE SCHOOLS: EARLY PARENTING PREDICTS AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S CLASSROOM SOCIAL–EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort were used to examine the extent to which early parenting predicted African American children's kindergarten social–emotional functioning. Teachers rated children's classroom social–emotional functioning in four areas (i.e., approaches to learning, self‐control, interpersonal skills, and externalizing behaviors). Mothers completed self‐report questionnaires assessing their home‐based parenting practices (i.e., warmth and home learning stimulation). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mothers who engaged in more frequent home learning stimulation (e.g., shared book reading) had children with more positive teacher ratings of approaches to learning, self‐control, interpersonal skills, and fewer externalizing behaviors. Notably, demographic characteristics also contributed to children's social–emotional functioning. Specifically, African American girls from more affluent, two‐parent homes with highly educated mothers had the most positive ratings of classroom social–emotional functioning across all four dimensions.     

Relation of maternal cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and intrusive behavior during Head Start to children's kindergarten cognitive abilities

The current study examined how parental cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and intrusiveness measured during children's prekindergarten year were related to children's verbal and nonverbal abilities 1 year later. Participants were 110 Head Start children and their caregivers from primarily rural and low-income backgrounds. Analysis of children's scores on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities confirmed the predictive utility of cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and intrusive behavior for perceptual scores (20% of the unique variance) as well as the predictive utility of emotional support and intrusive behavior for verbal scores (15% of the unique variance). Parental emotional support during guidance of problem solving (positive feedback) explained statistically significant unique variance in children's perceptual scores beyond other measures of emotional support. Cognitive stimulation moderated the relation between positive feedback and perceptual scores. Although other syntactic forms of maternal utterances such as commands did not explain statistically significant unique variance in children's scores beyond emotional support and intrusive behavior, mothers' questions did. Specific policy implications of the effects are discussed.     

Predictors of maternal support following children’s sexual abuse disclosures

Despite the importance of parental support following children’s sexual abuse (CSA) disclosures, there is a dearth of research regarding the predictors of support. Much of the prior literature is limited by the use of small sample sizes, measures of support without adequately reported psychometric properties, and inadequate or inconsistent definitions of support, which hinders the ability to accurately identify key predictors. Further, some potentially important predictors of parental support remain unexplored, including child-reported abuse stressors (e.g., family conflict, nonsupportive disclosure responses). The present study aimed to better delineate predictors of maternal belief and emotional support by examining the links between child, maternal, and family factors, and abuse characteristics as reported by both mothers and children. Two hundred and forty-seven treatment-seeking children (M age = 9.24, SD = 3.74) and their non-offending mothers were included in the study. Select demographic factors (i.e., child’s age, minority status), abuse characteristics (i.e., use of penetration, repeated CSA incidents, and amount of CSA characteristics known), and child-reported abuse stressors were tied to levels of maternal belief and/or emotional support. Maternal and family characteristics were unrelated to support. The child’s age and whether the abuse occurred more than once remained robust predictors of both aspects of support in multivariate analyses. The amount of CSA information known to the mother predicted emotional support, which may signal the utility of increasing parental knowledge of the abuse to bolster their emotional support. Findings indicate that there are several factors that may influence levels of maternal support, and children who experience certain types of CSA may be at greater risk for lower levels of belief and support.     

Maternal Emotions During Mother-Toddler Interaction: Parenting in Affective Context

Objective. This study explored the emotional experiences of mothers in interacting with their 2-year-old children and examined interrelations among maternal emotion, family distress, and observations of parenting sensitivity. Design. Sixty mothers and their 2-year-old children were observed interacting during both enjoyable (free play) and challenging (waiting) interaction tasks, and mothers provided self-report information about their emotional experiences during each task. Mothers also completed self-report measures to assess family distress. Results. Mothers experienced and expressed a range of positive and negative emotions during interactions with their toddlers, however, mothers' expressed (observed) and experienced (self-reported) emotions were generally uncorrelated. Mothers reported experiencing more positive emotion during interactions characterized by less child negativity and less negative emotion during interactions characterized by child expressions of positive emotion. Mothers' self-reported emotional experiences during interactions with their children moderated the associations between family distress (as reported by mothers) and sensitive parenting behaviors (as observed during parent-child interaction). Conclusions. Findings support a conceptualization of parenting as multiply determined by child, parent, and family contextual factors, with emotion serving an integral role. Results are also discussed with regard to parenting emotion as a potential target for intervention in distressed families.     

Maternal regulation of sibling interactions in the preschool years: observational study in Japanese families

Characteristics of three maternal regulating behaviors--(1) reference to one sibling's actions or emotional states toward the other sibling, (2) encouragement of sibling interactions, (3) distraction of one sibling's attention away from the other sibling-and their associations with children's positive and negative behaviors toward their siblings were investigated through semistructured home observations for 40 sibling pairs (1-4 years, 2-8 years) and their mothers in Japanese families. Maternal regulating behaviors were observed more frequently when the younger sibling was still in an early developmental stage in the preschool years, although the findings were modest. The older sibling's negative behaviors toward the younger sibling positively correlated with maternal distraction toward the younger; alternatively, the younger sibling's negative behaviors do not correlate with maternal distraction but do correlate with maternal encouragement directed toward the older sibling. Reliable associations were found between maternal regulating behaviors and prosocial exchanges between siblings; maternal reference to the younger sibling's actions or emotional states directed toward the older sibling was associated with the older sibling's positive behavior toward the younger sibling. Maternal regulating behaviors during mother-sibling triadic interactions were associated with the quality of sibling relationships.     

Psychological and physical intimate partner violence and young children’s mental health: The role of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms and parenting behaviors

Young children are at significant risk of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), and vulnerable to exposure-related psychopathology, yet few studies investigate the effects of exposure to IPV on children under the age of 5 years. The current study investigated the role of maternal PTSD symptoms and parenting strategies in the relationship between mothers’ IPV experiences and psychopathology in their young children, ages 3–6 years in a community-based cohort of 308 mother-child dyads at high risk for family violence. Data were collected from 2011 to 2014. IPV history and maternal PTSD symptoms were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Children’s symptoms were assessed with a developmentally-sensitive psychiatric interview administered to mothers. Punitive/restrictive parenting was independently-coded from in-depth interviews with mothers about their disciplinary practices. Hypothesized direct and indirect pathways between physical and psychological IPV, maternal PTSD, maternal parenting style, and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined with mediation models. Results indicated that neither physical nor psychological IPV experienced by mothers was directly associated with children’s symptoms. However, both types of victimization were associated with maternal PTSD symptoms. Examination of indirect pathways suggested that maternal PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological and physical IPV experiences and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mothers’ restrictive/punitive parenting mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological IPV and children’s externalizing symptoms. In addition, there was a path from maternal physical IPV to child externalizing symptoms through both maternal PTSD symptoms and restrictive/punitive parenting. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parents in recovering from the sequelae of their own traumatic experiences, as their ensuing mental health symptoms and parenting behaviors may have a significant impact on their children’s emotional health.     

Maternal Personality: Longitudinal Associations to Parenting Behavior and Maternal Emotional Expressions toward Toddlers

OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal associations among maternal personality, emotional expressions, and parenting were examined. DESIGN: Maternal parenting (sensitivity and intrusiveness) and positive emotional expressions were observed during a free-play session with toddlers at 18 (T1, n = 246) and 30 (T3, n = 216) months. Mothers completed a personality measure at T1 and a questionnaire measuring their emotional expressiveness (positive and negative) when toddlers were 24 months old (T2, n = 213). RESULTS: Dimensions of maternal personality and maternal emotional expressiveness were related to individual differences in maternal parenting behaviors, in particular to maternal sensitivity. Conscientiousness and Agreeableness at T1 were positively associated with observed positive emotional expressions at T1. Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and Extraversion at T1 also were positively related to positive emotional expressions reported by mothers at T2. Maternal positive emotional expressions (T1 and T2), in turn, were associated with more sensitive behavior observed with toddlers at T3. CONCLUSION: In addition to direct effects of maternal personality on maternal parenting, mothers' emotional expressiveness was found to be a possible pathway for explaining relations of maternal personality and parenting.     

Stability and social-behavioral consequences of toddlers' inhibited temperament and parenting behaviors

A prospective longitudinal design was employed to ascertain whether different types of behavioral inhibition (i.e., traditional, peer-social) were stable from toddler to preschool age, and whether inhibited temperament and/or parenting style would predict children's subsequent social and behavioral problems. At Time 1, 108 toddlers (54 males, 54 females) and their mothers were observed in the Traditional Inhibition Paradigm and in a toddler-peer session; then at age 4 years, 88 children were observed with unfamiliar peers, and maternal ratings of psychological functioning were obtained. How mothers and their toddlers interacted was also observed. Results revealed meaningful connections between toddler inhibition, maternal intrusive control and derision, and nonsocial behaviors at age 4. Both forms of toddler inhibition predicted socially reticent behavior during free play at 4 years. If mothers demonstrated relatively high frequencies of intrusive control and/or derisive comments, then the association between their toddlers' peer inhibition and 4-year social reticence was significant and positive; whereas if mothers were neither intrusive nor derisive, then toddlers' peer inhibition and 4-year reticence were not significantly associated. Thus, maternal behaviors moderated the relation between toddlers' peer inhibition and preschoolers' social reticence.     

Single mothers in low-wage jobs: financial strain, parenting, and preschoolers' outcomes

Using data from an ongoing study of 93 single Black mothers of preschoolers who had been welfare recipients, but were employed in low-wage jobs at baseline, this study tests a model of how maternal education, economic conditions (earnings and financial strain), and the availability of instrumental support influence maternal psychological functioning, parenting, and child development. Results indicate that maternal educational attainment was positively associated with earnings, which, together with instrumental support, were negatively associated with financial strain. Financial strain, in turn, was implicated in elevated levels of depressive symptoms, which were directly and negatively implicated in parenting quality. The quality of parenting was associated with children's behavior problems and preschool ability. Specifically, mothers with higher scores on the HOME scale, our measure of involved, supportive parenting, had children with fewer behavior problems and better preschool ability.     

More Than Meets the Eye: Parental and Infant Contributors to Maternal and Paternal Reports of Early Infant Difficultness

Objectives. This study examined correspondences among maternal and paternal ratings of infant temperament, parental psychological functioning, and infant behavior. Design. Participants included 120 families. When infants were 6 weeks old, mothers and fathers completed the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ); reported on their own levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress; and completed a 3-day diary of their infants' behavior. Infant irritability was assessed in a laboratory situation. Results. Fathers rated their infants' temperament somewhat more negatively, but there was significant correspondence between maternal and paternal ratings on the temperament factors of fussiness, unadaptability, dullness, and a difficultness composite. Higher infant difficultness was consistently associated with parenting stress. Infant behavioral fussiness, as measured by 3-day diaries, was significantly correlated with temperament ratings by both parents and with irritability observed in the laboratory setting. Maternal psychological distress was weakly predictive of ratings of infant difficultness; infant behaviors (diary and laboratory-based irritability) accounted for 15 to 17% of the variance. Paternal psychological distress and infant behaviors contributed equally to difficultness ratings. Conclusions. Mothers and fathers are influenced by somewhat different factors in perceiving their babies' temperament, but both maternal and paternal reports have a basis in laboratory- and diary-based behaviors. Results indicate the strong contributing influence of infant irritability to the perception of difficult temperament and support the validity of parental reports of infant irritability in the first 6 weeks of life.