Maternal Education Preferences Moderate the Effects of Mandatory Employment and Education Programs on Child Positive and Problem Behaviors

Grounded in person–environment fit theory, this study examined whether low‐income mothers’ preferences for education moderated the effects of employment‐ and education‐focused welfare programs on children’s positive and problem behaviors. The sample included 1,365 families with children between ages 3 and 5 years at study entry. Results 5 years after random assignment, when children were ages 8–10 years, indicated that mothers’ education preferences did moderate program impacts on teacher‐reported child behavior problems and positive behavior. Children whose mothers were assigned to the education program were rated by teachers to have less externalizing behavior and more positive behavior than children whose mothers were assigned to the employment program but only when mothers had strong preferences for education.     

Linking Employment to Attachment: The Mediating Effects of Maternal Separation Anxiety and Interactive Behavior

This study examined the effects of maternal employment and separation anxiety on maternal interactive behavior and infant attachment. 73 mother-infant pairs participated in a laboratory free-play session when infants were 5 and 10 months of age and in the Strange Situation when the infants were 18 months of age. Maternal feelings about being separated from her infant were assessed by questionnaire at 5 months. Employed mothers returned to work before the infants' fifth month, and nonemployed mothers did not work outside the home through their infants' tenth month. Employed mothers who reported high levels of separation anxiety were more likely to exhibit intrusive behaviors at 10 months. While employment was not directly related to attachment, we found infants of high-anxiety employed mothers to develop anxious-avoidant attachments. The results suggest that maternal separation anxiety and interactive style may be important mediators between employment and later infant outcome.     

Effects of Maternal Behavior on Toddler Behavior during Separation

The influence of maternal preseparation behavior on children's separation behavior was investigated. 72 (36 female, 36 male) 15-18-month-olds met with same-gender age-mates for an 8-min play and 4-min separation session. During the play period, mothers were instructed to interact extensively or minimally with their children, or were given no instructions except to interact normally. The noninstructed group was later divided into an extensive and a minimal group. During the separation period, the effect of previous amount of maternal interaction varied according to mothers' instructions and the gender of the children. Children with mothers who were instructed to interact minimally displayed distress sooner and played less with their age-mates than children with noninstructed minimally interacting mothers. Males with minimally interacting mothers spent more time unoccupied and less time playing alone than did females. The findings demonstrate the varying influence that different instructions to mothers may have on children's separation behavior.     

Effects of Poverty and Maternal Depression on Early Child Development

Researchers have renewed an interest in the harmful consequences of poverty on child development. This study builds on this work by focusing on one mechanism that links material hardship to child outcomes, namely the mediating effect of maternal depression. Using data from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, we found that maternal depression and poverty jeopardized the development of very young boys and girls, and to a certain extent, affluence buffered the deleterious consequences of depression. Results also showed that chronic maternal depression had severe implications for both boys and girls, whereas persistent poverty had a strong effect for the development of girls. The measures of poverty and maternal depression used in this study generally had a greater impact on measures of cognitive development than motor development.     

唐氏综合症儿童的气质特点及对母亲教养行为的影响

本文介绍了由澳大利亚国家健康和医疗咨询中心提供资助的一项研究.此项研究探讨了23位唐氏综合症儿童气质特点及对他们母亲教养行为的影响.结果发现唐氏综合症的儿童与正常儿童明显差异.容易型气质的唐氏综合症儿童比困难型儿童容易引起母亲的直接教育反应和较少的负情绪语言表达;而且母亲的教养方式与唐氏综合症儿童的气质中的活动性、节律性、趋避、适应性和心境纬度有显着相关.     

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure,Child Externalizing Behavior,and Maternal Stress

Objective. This study examined linkages between prenatal exposure to alcohol, current maternal alcohol use, child externalizing behavior, and maternal stress in a sample of 4- to 6-year-old children and their mothers. Design. Questionnaires, interviews, and behavioral observations were used to assess study variables in 42 mother - child dyads. Results. Current maternal alcohol use did not relate to children's behavior problems. However, children with higher levels of prenatal exposure to alcohol exhibited more externalizing behavior. In turn, higher levels of child externalizing behavior were associated with increased maternal stress. An alternative model, in which maternal stress was assumed to relate to less supportive mother - child interactions and higher levels of current maternal alcohol consumption, which in turn were expected to relate to higher rates of child externalizing behavior, did not fit the data. Conclusions. The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure likely extends to caregivers. Interventions must focus not only on affected individuals but also on their families, who may experience significant stress in trying to care for such individuals.     

Predicting Mothers' Beliefs about Preschool-Aged Children's Social Behavior: Evidence for Maternal Attitudes Moderating Child Effects

Maternal beliefs about children's social behavior may be important contributors to socialization and development, but little is known about how such beliefs form. Transactional models suggest that children's characteristics may influence parents. At 2 years of age, the shy and aggressive behaviors of 65 toddlers (28 females) were observed during interactions with an unfamiliar peer; as well, mothers described the extent to which they advocated protective and authoritarian childrearing attitudes. These variables were used to predict mothers emotions, attributions, parenting goals, and socialization strategies in response to vignettes depicting aggressive and withdrawn child behaviors 2 years later. Most child effects were moderated by maternal attitudes or gender effects. Authoritarian mothers of aggressive toddlers were most likely to report high control and anger, to blame their children for aggression, and to focus on obtaining compliance rather than teaching skills to their children. Protective mothers reported that they would use warmth and involvement to comfort withdrawn children, especially their daughters.     

Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on Children from Low-Income Families

The effects of early maternal employment (employment during the child's first 3 years) and recent maternal employment (employment during the previous 3 years) on 189 second-grade children from low-income families were examined. Maternal employment was related to a number of selection factors. In comparison to mothers who were not employed, employed mothers scored higher on a mental aptitude test and were more highly educated. Both early and recent maternal employment were also associated with measures of the current family functioning: there was less poverty and higher HOME environment scores when mothers were employed. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that children's math achievement was positively predicted by early maternal employment and children's reading achievement was positively predicted by recent maternal employment, even after controlling for selection effects and current family environment. These results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms by which maternal employment may affect children's development.     

Peer Effects on Aggressive Behavior in Norwegian Child Care Centers

This study examined whether exposure to changes in peer aggression predicted changes in child physical aggression (PA) in preschool children attending Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers. Data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study were used, including 956 children. In fixed effects models, within-child changes in exposure to peer aggression predicted changes in teacher-rated child PA across ages 2, 3, and 4. Moreover, changes in exposure to a peer group with two or more externalizing children increased teacher-rated child PA over time, but only for boys. No significant peer effects on parent-rated child PA were found. Findings point to the importance of avoiding the congregation of several problematic children, particularly boys, in the same ECEC groups.     

Prenatal Maternal Stress and Child IQ

The evidence for negative influences of maternal stress during pregnancy on child cognition remains inconclusive. This study tested the association between maternal prenatal stress and child intelligence in 4,251 mother–child dyads from a multiethnic population-based cohort in the Netherlands. A latent factor of prenatal stress was constructed, and child IQ was tested at age 6 years. In Dutch and Caribbean participants, prenatal stress was not associated with child IQ after adjustment for maternal IQ and socioeconomic status. In other ethnicities no association was found; only in the Moroccan/Turkish group a small negative association between prenatal stress and child IQ was observed. These results suggest that prenatal stress does not predict child IQ, except in children from less acculturated minority groups.     

Reciprocal Relations Between Maternal Depression and Child Behavior Problems in Families Served by Head Start

This study used longitudinal cross-lagged modeling to examine reciprocal relations between maternal depression and child behavior problems. Data were drawn from 3,119 children (40% Hispanic, 30% African American, 20% White, and 10% other) from the Family and Child Experiences Survey of 2009 (a nationally representative sample of children served by Head Start). Results documented reciprocal relations between maternal depression and child behavior problems across early childhood (i.e., child age 3–5). Furthermore, the effect of child behavior problems on maternal depression was moderated by child race/ethnicity during children’s first year in Head Start, such that the negative effect of child behavior problems on African American mothers’ depression was more pronounced compared to Hispanics and other racial/ethnic groups.     

Enhancing Maternal Interactive Behavior and Child Social Competence in Low Birth Weight, Premature Infants

Effects of a comprehensive early intervention program for low birth weight, premature infants—the Infant Health and Development Program—on mother-child interaction were examined at 30 months ( N = 683). Small significant positive effects were found: Intervention mothers had higher ratings on quality of assistance; intervention children had higher ratings on persistence and enthusiasm and on an overall child rating of competence and involvement and lower ratings on percentage of time off-task; intervention dyads were rated as more synchronous. Of a set of initial status variables indexing biological and environmental risk, only 2 treatment interactions were found. Intervention group black children had higher ratings on enthusiasm and lower percentage of time off-task. Independent of treatment, maternal ethnicity and education were significant predictors of maternal and dyadic ratings, while ethnicity and birth weight predicted child ratings. Implications for early intervention and center-based care are discussed.     

Latino Maternal Literacy Beliefs and Practices Mediating Socioeconomic Status and Maternal Education Effects in Predicting Child Receptive Vocabulary

Research Findings: This study investigated the association between Mexican American maternal education and socioeconomic status (SES) and child vocabulary as mediated by parental reading beliefs, home literacy environment (HLE), and parent–child shared reading frequency. As part of a larger study, maternal reports of education level, SES, HLE, and reading beliefs along with child expressive and receptive vocabulary were collected for 252 mothers and their preschool children from 2 demographically similar school districts in 1 county. Correlations were moderate and positive, with higher levels of maternal education related to family income, HLE, book availability, and children’s expressive and receptive vocabulary. Consistent with long-standing evidence, maternal education and SES were predictors of children’s vocabulary, albeit indirectly through maternal reading beliefs, HLE, and reading frequency. Practice or Policy: Findings extend current knowledge about specific pathways through which social class variables impact children’s language. Policy implications, directions for future research, and study limitations are noted.     

Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Postpartum Depressive Symptoms on Children's Behavior Problems

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may confer infant susceptibility to the postpartum environment. Among infants with higher RSA, there may be a positive relation between depressive symptoms across the first 6 months postpartum (PPD) and later behavior problems, and toddlers’ dysregulation during mother–child interactions may partially explain the effects. Among a sample of low-income Mexican-American families, infant RSA (N = 322; 46% male) was assessed at 6 weeks of age; mothers (M_age = 27.8, SD = 6.5) reported PPD symptoms every 3 weeks from 6 to 24 weeks and infant behavior problems at 36 months. Dysregulation was observed at 24 months. PPD was positively associated with behavior problems only among infants with lower RSA; however, this relation was not mediated by dysregulation.     

Maternal Negativity and Children's Externalizing Behavior

Maternal negativity in parent-child interactions related to both the presence and persistence of child externalizing behavior problems. We examined how behavior of 120 mothers and their children in an interaction task at preschool related to assessments of child behavior problems at preschool, first grade, and third grade. At preschool and first-grade, children were assigned to three groups: comparison, moderate externalizing, and pervasive externalizing; at both timepoints the pervasive externalizing group had greater maternal negativity assessed at preschool. Maternal negativity was predicted, beyond the child's disruptive behavior in the task, by two variables: mother's perception of low spousal agreement and support related to child problems and depression. At third grade, child symptoms and diagnoses of ADHD and ODD were predicted by mothers' commands and repeat commands, though not negativity, in the preschool interaction task. Implications of these findings for early family intervention are discussed.     

Maternal Negativity and Children's Externalizing Behavior

Maternal negativity in parent-child interactions related to both the presence and persistence of child externalizing behavior problems. We examined how behavior of 120 mothers and their children in an interaction task at preschool related to assessments of child behavior problems at preschool, first grade, and third grade. At preschool and first-grade, children were assigned to three groups: comparison, moderate externalizing, and pervasive externalizing; at both timepoints the pervasive externalizing group had greater maternal negativity assessed at preschool. Maternal negativity was predicted, beyond the child's disruptive behavior in the task, by two variables: mother's perception of low spousal agreement and support related to child problems and depression. At third grade, child symptoms and diagnoses of ADHD and ODD were predicted by mothers' commands and repeat commands, though not negativity, in the preschool interaction task. Implications of these findings for early family intervention are discussed.     

Effects of Mexican Immigrant Parents’ Daily Workplace Discrimination on Child Behavior and Family Functioning

This study investigated Mexican immigrant parents’ reports of perceived workplace discrimination and their children's behavior, parents’ moods, and parent–child interactions. Parents of one hundred and thirty‐eight 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children were asked to complete one survey daily for 2 weeks (N = 1,592 days). On days when fathers perceived discrimination, fathers and mothers reported more externalizing child behaviors, and mothers reported fewer positive child behaviors. When mothers perceived discrimination, they reported more externalizing child behaviors; fathers reported more internalizing child behaviors. Parents reported worse mood on days with perceived discrimination. Perceived discrimination was not strongly related to parent–child interactions. For fathers, but less so for mothers, those whose psychological acculturation indicated separation had more negative relations between daily perceived workplace discrimination and child and family outcomes.     

Maternal Warmth Moderates the Link Between Physical Punishment and Child Externalizing Problems: A Parent - Offspring Behavior Genetic Analysis

Objective. We estimate the correlation between interviewer-rated harshness of maternal physical discipline and parent-rated child externalizing problems and test whether it varies as a function of maternal warmth or mother - child genetic similarity. Design. Using a parent - offspring behavior genetic design, we included 297 3- to 8-year-old children in 169 biological and adoptive families. Parents completed ratings of child externalizing problems and their feelings of warmth toward their children. They were interviewed about discipline, and global ratings of maternal warmth following a home visit were made. Results. The correlation between interviewer-rated harshness of discipline and parent-rated child externalizing problems was. 27. However, this correlation was moderated by mothers' and observers' reports of maternal warmth: lower-warmth mothers, r =.36 to. 40; higher-warmth mothers, r =. 10 to. 19. This pattern held for genetically related and unrelated (i.e., adoptive) mother - child pairs regardless of child age, sex, or age of placement. Conclusion. The link between harsh parenting and child externalizing problems is strongest when the mother - child relationship lacks warmth. This result is consistent whether the mother and child are genetically similar, thus ruling out passive gene - environment correlation as an explanation.     

Maternal Sensitivity and Child Wariness in the Transition to Kindergarten

Objective. This study tested maternal sensitivity as a moderator of the stability of wary behavior between 15 months and the transition to school. Design. Observational data from 15-month-old children and their mothers, kindergarten teacher reports, and maternal reports during the transition to kindergarten from 215 children from 3 sites (North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; 1994), Study of Early Child Care are used. Results. Findings indicate significant stability of inhibition from 15 months to the transition to kindergarten and a significant interaction between maternal sensitivity and 15-month wariness in predicting inhibition in the transition to kindergarten. Among children who displayed wariness at 15 months, greater maternal sensitivity was associated with less inhibition during the transition to kindergarten. For children who did not display wariness at 15 months, there was no relation between maternal sensitivity and inhibition in the transition to kindergarten. Conclusions. These findings suggest moderate stability of this early temperamental characteristic and point to the importance of responsive parenting in its modification.