Associations between parental dispositional attributions, dismissing and coaching reactions to children's emotions, and children's problem behaviour moderated by child gender.

This study examined whether parents' attribution of their child's emotions (internalizing, externalizing) to dispositional causes is associated with children's problem behaviour (internalizing, externalizing). The mediating roles of parents' emotion-dismissing and -coaching reactions and the moderating role of child's gender was also examined. Participants were 241 US parents with a child (43% girls) between the ages of 5 and 7. Parents were presented with vignettes in which a gender-neutral child displayed internalizing and externalizing emotions and were asked to imagine their own child in the vignettes. Subsequently, parents indicated whether they attributed the child's emotion to dispositional causes and the likelihood of reacting in an emotion-dismissing and -coaching way in each situation. Child problem behaviour was measured using the CBCL. Results show that parental dispositional attributions were associated with child internalizing and externalizing problems, and this association was consistently mediated by emotion-dismissing reactions. The association between parental dispositional attributions and emotion-dismissing, as well as its indirect effect on child internalizing problems, was stronger for boys than for girls, whereas the indirect effect via emotion-coaching was stronger for girls than for boys. Thus, the parental attribution process seems to be different for boys and girls.

Emotional Regulation in Mothers and Fathers and Relations to Aggression in Hong Kong Preschool Children.

This study explored the associations among emotional regulation in mothers and fathers and preschool children's physical and relational aggression using a Hong Kong Chinese sample. This study also explored whether child gender would moderate the association between parental emotional regulation strategies and children's physical and relational aggression. Participants were 168 children aged 4-6 years. Parents reported on their own emotional regulation approaches and kindergarten class teachers rated children's aggression 6 months later. Path analyses showed that higher levels of reappraisal and lower levels of suppression by mothers was associated with higher levels of child relational aggression. There were no significant associations among fathers' emotional regulation and children's aggression. Results from multi-group analysis showed that there were no significant moderation of the associations by child gender. Results highlight the importance of mothers' emotional regulation in child aggression and suggest that the maladaptive consequences of emotional suppression are culturally relative.

Transition of Son Preference: Evidence From South Korea.

Sex ratio at birth remains highly skewed in many Asian countries because of son preference. The ratio in South Korea, however, declined beginning in 1990 and reached the natural range in 2007. We study changes in child gender effects on fertility and parental investment during this period of decreasing sex ratio at birth. We find that gender discrimination on the extensive margin (fertility), such as sex-selective abortions and son-biased stopping rules, have nearly disappeared among recent cohorts. On the intensive margin (parental inputs), boys receive higher expenditures on private academic education, have mothers with fewer hours of labor supply, and spend less time on household chores relative to girls. These gender gaps have also narrowed substantially, however, over the past two decades. We consider alternative explanations, but altogether, evidence suggests the weakening of son preference in South Korea.

Drivers of overweight mothers' food choice behaviors depend on child gender.

BACKGROUND: National data suggest a higher prevalence of obesity among boys. One possible cause could be the food choices made by parents on behalf of their children. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether and how mothers' food choices for their children differ by child gender and to understand the drivers of these differences. DESIGN: Data were analyzed from a randomized controlled trial conducted using a virtual reality-based buffet restaurant. Overweight mothers filled out questionnaires and received an information module. They were then immersed in a virtual buffet restaurant to select a lunch for their 4- to 5-year-old child. RESULTS: Of the 221 overweight mothers recruited, 55% identified their daughters as the child for whom they would be choosing the food. The caloric content of boys' meals was 43 calories higher than girls' (p = .015). This difference was due to extra calories from the less healthy food category (p = .04). Multivariate analyses identified more predictors of calorie choices for daughters' than sons' meals. Predictors of calories chosen for girls included: having both biological parents overweight (ß = 0.26; p = .003), mother's weight (ß = 0.17; p = .05), mother's education (ß = -0.28; p = .001), her restriction of her child's food intake (ß = -0.20; p = .02), and her beliefs about the importance of genetics in causing obesity (ß = 0.19; p = .03). Mother's weight was the sole predictor of boys' meal calories (ß = 0.20; p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in dietary choices made for young girls and boys may contribute to lifelong gender differences in eating patterns. A better understanding of differences in feeding choices made for girls versus boys could improve the design of childhood obesity prevention interventions.

Maternal supervision of children during their first 3 years of life: the influence of maternal depression and child gender.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the effect of child gender and maternal depressive symptoms on routine supervisory practices of mothers longitudinally. METHOD: Self-report supervision practices were obtained at various time points from 3 months through 3 years of age. RESULTS: From 3 to 36 months, the quantity of time mothers reported supervising decreased from 7.1 to 6.3 hours, and the proportion of time spent in an intense style decreased from 63 to 46%, whereas that spent in a peripheral style increased from 14 to 32%. Mothers reported more time supervising girls and a greater proportion of this was in an intense style. Mothers with elevated depressive symptoms reported more time supervising but a lower proportion in an intense style. CONCLUSION: Over the first 36 months of life, routine patterns of supervision change and these vary as a function of maternal depression symptoms and child gender. Implications for child injury risk are discussed.

Is Participation in Head Start Associated with Less Maternal Spanking for Boys and Girls?

Head Start includes family-oriented services to enhance parent-child relationships, but little is known about the effect of Head Start on parenting practices. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ≈ 7,000), we examined whether participation in Head Start was associated with maternal spanking, with particular attention to whether the association differed by child gender. We found that Head Start participation was associated with lower likelihood that mothers spanked their child in the past week at both preschool and kindergarten entry as well as lower likelihood that mothers would use spanking in a hypothetical situation, among boys but not girls. These beneficial effects of Head Start participation on mothers' use of spanking among boys were not reduced by additionally including maternal depression and child behavior problems.

Typology of Parent-to-Child Emotions: A Study of Japanese Parents of a Foetus up to a 12-Year-Old Child.

Background: Emotions are the fundamental origin of parent-child bonding, which is measurable by the Scale for Parent-to-Child Emotions (SPCE) based on the theories of basic and self-conscious emotions. Methods: This study is based on the data from a cross-sectional study that we previously reported. The data consist of fathers and mothers who had a child/children, whose eldest child's age was at the foetal stage up to 12 years old, and were recruited via the Internet (N = 4600). A series of cluster analyses using factor scores (theta[Ó¨]s) of all domains of the SPCE were conducted. After the clusters emerged, the fathers and mothers allocated to each cluster were compared by the child's age stage. The validation of the classifications was also conducted using ANOVAs and chi-squared tests. A discriminant function analysis was conducted. Results: The participant mothers and fathers were classified into Cluster 1 (Lack of Bonding Emotions, n = 509), Cluster 2 (Bonding Disorder, n = 1471), Cluster 3 (Ambivalent Bonding Emotions, n = 1211), and Cluster 4 (Positive Bonding, n = 1409). Across the four clusters, there were no differences in the age of the parents or the gender of the child. During the second trimester, mothers made up the majority of Cluster 4 (Positive Bonding), totalling 81 cases (37.5%), whereas fathers made up the majority of Cluster 2 (Bonding Disorder), totalling 126 cases (60.0%). The three linear discriminants (LDs) well predicted the four clusters, and their functions showed cross validation. Conclusions: The typology of the SPCE is helpful to understand individual differences in terms of parental emotional bonding.

Maternal autistic traits and anxiety in children with typical development in Chinese families: a moderated mediation model of mothers' negative emotional expressions and child gender.

Background: Prior studies have focused on the effects of maternal autistic traits on children with autism, but little attention has been paid to the effects of maternal autistic traits on typically developing children, while the mechanisms of the effects are not clear. Objective: Given that, a moderated mediation model was conducted to examine the association between maternal autistic traits and typically developing children's anxiety and the underlying mechanisms. Methods and results: Participants were 648 mother-child dyads in which these children had no autistic siblings. Mothers reported their autistic traits and negative emotional expressions in the family and children's anxiety. The results indicated that children's anxiety was predicted by maternal autistic traits. Mediating analysis revealed that mothers' negative emotional expressions partially mediated the association between their autistic traits and children's anxiety. The findings also indicated that child gender moderated the relationship between maternal emotional expressions and children's anxiety. Specifically, anxiety in girls was more strongly predicted by negative emotional expressions from their mothers than in boys. Conclusion: These results have important theoretical and practical implications for reducing the adverse effect of maternal autistic traits on children's anxiety, especially for girls. The present study also reveals that maternal negative emotional expression is an important mechanism. Causal conclusions cannot be drawn based on cross-sectional research design, so it is necessary to conduct longitudinal studies in the future.

The death of an adult child and trajectories of parental depressive symptoms: A gender-based longitudinal analysis.

RATIONALE: Despite the existing body of research on the impact of child bereavement, little is known about whether time to the death of an adult child is longitudinally associated with changes in depressive symptoms among older parents. OBJECTIVE: This study examines (a) trajectories of depressive symptoms before and after the loss of an adult child and (b) whether these trajectories differ across parent-child gender dyads (father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, and mother-daughter). METHODS: Using eight waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), this study employs fixed effects models to mitigate potential bias due to unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. Gender-stratified fixed effects models were estimated to investigate potential heterogeneity in the trajectories of depressive symptoms by parent-child gender dyads. RESULTS: The result of this study revealed that depressive symptoms increased within the first year following the loss of an adult child among bereaved parents. Within a year of the loss of a child, both mothers and fathers experienced an increase in depressive symptoms. However, only fathers experienced lasting effects for up to two years. Different patterns in psychological adjustment to bereavement were observed across different parent-child gender dyads. Among daughter-bereaved fathers, depressive symptoms surged within the first year and persisted even beyond the fourth year of loss. In contrast, for other dyads, only an immediate rise in depressive symptoms within the first year of loss was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of an adult child increases the depressive symptoms of parents. This study highlights the importance of considering the different trajectories of psychological adjustment to bereavement, particularly based on parent-child gender dyads, when formulating policies for providing psychological support to older parents who have experienced the loss of their child.

Child Gender and Married Women's Overwork: Evidence from Rural-Urban Migrants in China.

Overwork is one of the risk factors for the work-related burden of disease. In China, nearly a quarter of migrant women are overworked. Working long hours can significantly increase the possibility of migrant women suffering from hypertension and hyperglycemia. The phenomenon of overtime work of migrant women and their health conditions deserves attention. Based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2016, this study indicates that giving birth to a boy may exacerbate overtime work among migrant women and having more boys in a family increases the probability of women's overwork. Empirical results confirmed the existence of son preferences in China. Compared with women who gave birth to boys, women who gave birth to girls have a lower probability of being a workaholic due to a future fertility plan. Furthermore, the overwork of women is also due to the great economic burden on families to buy a wedding house, brought on by the birth of boys. To overcome the endogenous problem caused by this omitted explanatory variable, this study uses each province's relative sex ratio at birth in 2010 as the instrumental variable of the firstborn's gender. The IV results illustrate that the birth of boys still significantly exacerbates women's overwork. Furthermore, considering age heterogeneity, the influence of son preference on women's overtime work exists throughout their labor life cycle. This paper provides a new perspective for understanding migrant women's overtime work and their health issues in urban China.

Shyness and School Engagement in Chinese Suburban Preschoolers: A Moderated Mediation Model of Teacher-Child Closeness and Child Gender.

Shyness is associated with poorer preschool engagement, but few studies have evaluated the underlying mechanisms in Chinese preschoolers. This study explored the mediating role of teacher-child closeness and the moderating role of child gender in the association between shyness and school engagement to fill this gap. With the cluster sampling method, a total of 532 young children (240 girls; Mage = 4.29 years, SD = 0.65 years) were recruited from 15 suburban kindergartens in East China. Mothers rated children's shyness, and teachers evaluated children's school engagement and teacher-child closeness five months later. The results reveal the following: (1) Shyness was related to higher cooperative participation and lower school avoidance; (2) Teacher-child closeness mediated the relationships between shyness and school engagement. Specifically, shyness negatively predicted teacher-child closeness, and teacher-child closeness positively predicted cooperative and independent participations and school liking, and negatively predicted school avoidance; (3) Child gender moderated the relationship between shyness and school engagement, and specifically, for boys but not girls, shyness was significantly linked with lower school avoidance; for girls but not boys, shyness was significantly related to higher cooperative participation and lower independent participation. These findings have implications for the school engagement of preschoolers.

"I Think It's Too Early to Know": Gender Identity Labels and Gender Expression of Young Children With Nonbinary or Binary Transgender Parents.

Little is known about gender expression among children with transgender parents. In the United States, we surveyed 64 nonbinary or binary transgender parents of children aged 18 to 71 months. Most parents reported a marginalized sexual identity and a White racial identity. Many declined to label their child's gender identity, and this was particularly true among those with younger children. Scores indicated that, on average, children's play was conventionally gendered. However, scores indicated significantly more gender-expansive play in the present sample than in normed samples, particularly among children assigned male at birth. Findings support transfamily theory (McGuire et al., 2016) and illustrate differences among families with nonbinary and binary transgender parents.

A Retrospective Cohort Study to Evaluate the Association Between Types of Nonsyndromic Oral Clefts and a Child's Gender and Maternal Age.

AIMS: To evaluate the association between nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL±P) anomaly and the affected child's gender and maternal age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of 141 newborns received at the orthodontic craniofacial clinic of the Jordanian Royal Rehabilitation Center between 2017 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Two variables were paid attention to: child's gender and maternal age. Five cleft types were considered: unilateral CLP (right; URCLP and left; ULCLP), bilateral CLP (BCLP), isolated cleft palate (CP) and isolated cleft lip (CL). Maternal age was classified into four subgroups: "26-30" years, "31-35" years, "36-40" years, and "above 40" years. Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the resultant data. RESULTS: A significant occurrence of the NSCL±P in females was found compared with males. The different cleft types were found to be significantly associated with the different maternal age groups investigated. The ULCLP was the most prevalent cleft type for affected children among all maternal age groups except the "31-35" group, at which the BCLP exceeded. CONCLUSIONS: The children's gender and the maternal age have a significant impact on defining the developing oral cleft types.

Therapeutic Response to Methylphenidate in ADHD: Role of Child and Observer Gender.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the interaction between the gender of the child and the gender of the observers (teachers, parents) on the therapeutic response (TR) noted with methylphenidate (MPH) in children with ADHD. METHOD: Children with ADHD participated in a two week double-blind, randomized, cross-over clinical trial with MPH and placebo, and the difference between the week of treatment with MPH and placebo was calculated for each measure to obtain the treatment response (TR) with MPH. The TR for differences based on the gender of child and the observer was examined by using a univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). RESULTS: 299 children (269-male, 30-female; average age 8.9±1.8 years) were evaluated by 52 male teachers, 212 female teachers; 269 female parents and 30 male parents. For the baseline week, the ANCOVA analysis for teachers yielded a significant teacher's gender x child's gender interaction. For the evaluation of TR, the ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant teacher's gender x child's gender interaction whereas no parent's gender x child's gender interactions were noted, all noted interactions were of a small effect size (eta squared <0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that there are differences in symptom assessment between parents and teachers at baseline and with TR based on the gender of the observer and the child. While clinicians need to be aware of these interactions, it remains unclear if these interactions will be clinically useful due to the small effect sizes.

OBJECTIF: La présente étude vise à examiner l'interaction entre le sexe de l'enfant et le sexe des observateurs (enseignants, parents) dans le cadre de la réponse thérapeutique (RT) notée au méthylphénidate (MPH) chez les enfants souffrant du trouble de déficit de l'attention avec hyperactivité (TDAH). MÉTHODE: Des enfants souffrant du TDAH ont participé à un essai clinique randomisé croisé de deux semaines à double insu avec MPH et placebo, et la différence entre la semaine de traitement avec MPH et celle avec placebo a été calculée pour chaque mesure afin d'obtenir la réponse au traitement (RT) avec MPH. La RT pour les différences basées sur le sexe de l'enfant et de l'observateur a été examinée à l'aide d'une analyse univariée de la variance (ANCOVA). RÉSULTATS: Deux cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf enfants (269 garçons, 30 filles; âge moyen 8,9±1,8 ans) ont été évalués par 52 enseignants de sexe masculin, 212 enseignantes de sexe féminin; 269 parents de sexe féminin et 30 parents de sexe masculin. Pour la semaine de départ, l'analyse ANCOVA des enseignants a dégagé une interaction significative entre le sexe de l'enseignant et le sexe de l'enfant. Pour l'évaluation des RT, l'analyse ANCOVA a révélé une interaction significative entre le sexe de l'enseignant et le sexe de l'enfant, alors qu'aucune interaction n'a été notée entre le sexe d'un parent et le sexe de l'enfant. Toutes les interactions notées étaient d'une petite taille de l'effet (êta carré < 0,02). CONCLUSIONS: Ces résultats suggèrent qu'il y a des différences d'évaluation des symptômes entre parents et enseignants au départ, et de la RT selon le sexe de l'observateur et le sexe de l'enfant. Bien que les cliniciens doivent être conscients de ces interactions, il demeure incertain si ces interactions seront utiles sur le plan clinique en raison des petites tailles de l'effet.

Female babies and risk-aversion: Causal evidence from hospital wards.

Using ultrasound scan data from paediatric hospitals, and the exogenous 'shock' of learning the gender of an unborn baby, the paper documents the first causal evidence that offspring gender affects adult risk-aversion. On a standard Holt-Laury criterion, parents of daughters, whether unborn or recently born, become almost twice as risk-averse as parents of sons. The study demonstrates this in longitudinal and cross-sectional data, for fathers and mothers, for babies in the womb and new-born children, and in a West European nation and East European nation. These findings may eventually aid our understanding of risky health behaviors and gender inequalities.

Quality of both parents' cognitive guidance and quantity of early childhood education: Influences on pre-mathematical development.

BACKGROUND: Only a handful of longitudinal studies have explored the effects of both parents in early parenthood on children's cognitive development, and no study has controlled for simultaneous early childhood education and care (ECEC) experiences. AIMS: To examine the similarity of each parent's cognitive guidance and contribution to children's pre-mathematical outcomes across parent gender while controlling for amount of ECEC. SAMPLE: A longitudinal study on 66 Finnish two-parent families and their children. METHODS: Both parents' autonomy support and scaffolding behaviour were observed during play interactions with the child at 2;0. Children's numerical and spatial skills were tested at 3;0 and 4;0. Parental reports on amount of ECEC in months were collected at 2;0, 3;0, and 4;0. RESULTS: The two parenting constructs were conceptually similar across parent gender as demonstrated by fairly strong measurement equivalence. While mothers on average showed more scaffolding and equal amounts of autonomy support compared to fathers during play interaction, they displayed less variability in the former and more variability in the latter behaviour. The contribution of mothers' and fathers' cognitive guidance was more similar for children's numerical than spatial development. Both parents' education positively predicted autonomy support but not amount of ECEC exposure, which was positively related to numerical development. As expected, parents' education did not predict ECEC exposure, and child gender was not related to child outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are discussed in relation to measurement invariance and gender-neutral parenting in the context of early childhood.

Gendered Perceptions of Migration Among Ghanaian Children in Transnational Care.

This study empirically measures the perceptions towards maternal and paternal migration of male and female children who stay behind in Ghana. It analyses survey data collected in 2010 among secondary school children aged 11-18 in four urban areas with high out-migration rates: the greater Accra region, Kumasi, Sunyani and Cape Coast (N = 1965). The results show significant gendered differences in how children perceive parental migration. Specifically, female children have more positive views towards maternal and paternal migration when parents are abroad and in a stable marital relationship, when the assessed parent is abroad but the other parent is the caregiver in Ghana, when there is a frequent change in the care arrangement, and when female children receive remittances. These findings were not replicated for male children. The analysis highlights the sensitivity of the results to the gender of the child and to the characteristics of children's transnational lives that are being analysed.

Maternal concerns and perceptions of elementary school-age children's weight status.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics associated with maternal concerns for her child becoming overweight, and how these concerns are related to her perceptions of her child's weight. DESIGN: A school-based sample of 55 children and their mothers from Houston, Texas, participated in a cross-sectional survey. Mothers reported on their concerns and perceptions regarding their child's weight. Child and mother height and weight were directly assessed to calculate body mass index (BMI). Covariate-adjusted logistic regression models were conducted. RESULTS: Over one-third of mothers misperceived their child's weight status [9% (n = 5) overestimated; 27% (n = 15) underestimated]. Mothers of sons were less accurate compared with mothers of daughters. For every one unit increase in maternal BMI, mothers had 13% higher odds of being concerned of their child becoming overweight. Concerned mothers had 82% lower odds of underestimating their child's weight. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: In order for school-based childhood obesity prevention and intervention programs to be successful, parents must accurately perceive their elementary school-age child's weight status. School nurses can be vital to these efforts through proper training and resources. Nurses can use the "School Nurse Childhood Obesity Toolkit" and motivational interviewing techniques to address parental concerns and perceptions prior to teaching behavior modification strategies to children/families.

Parenting and Children's Internalizing Symptoms: How Important are Parents?

Parenting behaviors are associated with children's internalizing symptoms, however, it is not often examined which factors could possibly influence this relationship. The goals of this study were twofold. One goal was to examine whether the association between parenting and children's internalizing symptoms would increase if parenting behaviors were assessed behaviorally and in a context where the child displayed specific anxious behaviors. Another goal was to examine whether this relationship was influenced by the age and gender of the child, and by possible parenting differences between mothers and fathers. These questions were examined in a sample of 211 children aged 4-12 years; 140 community children and 71 clinically referred anxious children. Parents completed questionnaires regarding children's internalizing symptoms and parenting behaviors (positive reinforcement, punishment, force, reinforcement of dependency, and modeling/reassurance). In line with expectations, more punishment and less modeling/reassurance by parents were related to more internalizing symptoms in children. Child gender, child age, parent gender and clinical anxiety status were not found to influence the relationship between parenting and children's internalizing symptoms. Our results suggest that paternal parenting is as important as maternal parenting with respect to children's internalizing symptoms, and therefore, fathers could be included in child treatment as well.

Health care for gender variant or gender non-conforming children.

Most children explore various aspects of gender and sexuality as children. Youth with consistent, persistent, and insistent gender non-conformity or gender dysphoria are important to identify in the pre- and early-pubertal years as early intervention and support may be lifesaving. Those whose gender non-conformity persists into puberty and adolescence are most likely to identify as transgender. Blocking pubertal development at Tanner stage 2 for pre-pubertal, gender non-conforming children is a relatively new but reversible and highly beneficial strategy to delay puberty, giving patients and families time to come up with a transition plan. Early identification, collaborative support from healthcare providers and mental health clinicians, and supportive interventions for both children and families grappling with gender variance may improve social and mental health outcomes for what has traditionally been considered a high-risk, vulnerable population.