Affective dynamics in mother-adolescent dyads: links to mental health and relationship quality.

Current research in developmental psychopathology has emphasised how emotion dynamics, such as affective variability, relate to psychosocial functioning. In this brief article, we examined mean differences in mothers' and adolescents' affective intensity and lability in positive and negative emotions and explored how these emotion dynamics related to depressive symptoms and mother-adolescent relationship quality. We administered individual surveys each day for one week to mother-adolescent dyads (N = 109) that inquired about positive and negative affective states. Affective intensity was measured by the mean across the week and lability by the standard deviation. Participants also reported on their depressive symptoms and adolescents reported on relationship quality. Results showed that positive affect was more intense and more variable than negative affect, and adolescents experienced more intense negative affective and less intense positive affect than mothers. Greater mother and adolescent negative affect intensity and less maternal positive affect intensity related to more depressive symptoms. Affective intensity in mothers and adolescents and affective lability in mothers related to mother-adolescent relationship quality. These findings extend the growing body of knowledge on individuals' affective intensity and variability by considering family dynamics.

Rethinking household size and children's language environment.

The number of U.S. children living in households with extended families has greatly increased in the last 4 decades. This demographic shift calls for a reevaluation of the impact of household size on children's development. Household density (HHD), measured as the ratio of people to bedrooms in a home, has been shown to negatively relate to children's language. Here, we propose that while greater HHD may result in poorer language abilities, more adults in relation to the number of children in the home may have a positive impact on children's language. To test this hypothesis, we studied relations between HHD and adult-to-child ratio with children's vocabulary scores, as well as whether maternal education and household chaos accounted for these associations. Participants included families from a range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds (N = 275; Mage = 10.85; 51% female; 51% Hispanic; annual income range less than $10,000-over $100,000). In general, higher HHD was related to lower child vocabulary scores. Conversely, higher adult-to-child ratio was related to higher child vocabulary and lower household chaos. These patterns were primarily driven by effects in Hispanic families. Our results suggest that a reevaluation of household size is needed, as more adults in the home can be protective for children's language development in larger families, an effect that may vary by culture. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

"Work through it on your own": parent-centered emotion socialization beliefs and parenting stress.

Parent-centered emotion socialization beliefs that children should manage their emotions on their own without parent support may seem convenient for parents but may actually relate to greater parenting stress if this approach is incompatible with children's developmental needs. We explored relations between mothers' and fathers' parent-centered autonomy beliefs about children's emotions and their parenting stress, controlling for child behavior problems and parent education. We also examined whether these associations varied depending on child age. Participants included 142 mothers and 60 paired fathers with a 5- to 8-year-old child who completed survey measures on parenting and child behavior. The sample was primarily White (59%) or Hispanic (20%) and low (44%) to middle income (47%). Path analyses revealed significant actor effects, such that mothers and fathers who endorsed more parent-centered emotion socialization beliefs reported greater parenting stress. Partner effects showed that mothers also reported greater parenting stress when their partners endorsed more parent-centered emotion socialization beliefs. Child age did not moderate these associations. Findings are discussed in terms of developmentally appropriate parenting expectations, gender roles for family emotion work, and practical implications.

Household chaos and mother-adolescent communication.

Household chaos creates unpredictability and stress in families' lives compromising the quality of family interaction and communication. This study examined how mother and adolescent perceptions of daily household chaos relate to adolescent disclosure of information to mothers. We also explored indirect effects through mother and adolescent responsiveness. Participants included 109 mother-adolescent dyads who completed a 7-day diary study (adolescent age 14-18 years, 49% female, 38% White, 25% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 7% Black, 13% multiple/other ethnicities). Multilevel models revealed that on days when adolescents reported more household chaos than usual, they were more likely to disclose information to their mothers. On days when mothers and adolescents perceived more household chaos, they perceived their relationship partner as less responsive, and on days when mothers and adolescents perceived less responsiveness from their relationship partner, they reported less adolescent disclosure. There was a significant indirect effect among mothers' reports at the daily level, such that on days when mothers reported more household chaos than usual, they reported their adolescents as less responsive, and in turn, as disclosing less information to them. Averages across the week showed that mothers who reported higher average levels of household chaos compared to other families reported less adolescent disclosure. Mothers and adolescents who reported more household chaos compared to other families perceived their relationship partner as less responsive, and less adolescent responsiveness predicted less adolescent-reported and mother-reported adolescent disclosure on average compared to other families. Findings are discussed in terms of relational disengagement in chaotic home environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Conflict and negotiation with preschoolers during family meals.

Family meals provide opportunities to observe a variety of social exchanges. This study examined the occurrence of conflict and negotiation during the understudied context of family meals, examining both mother-child and father-child interactions with children aged 3-5 (n = 65). We investigated differences in parents' sensitivity and children's affect based on the occurrence of conflict and negotiation. Results indicated conflict was common with both parents, but particularly with mothers. Negotiation occurred less often: half of the time with mothers and a third of the time with fathers. Mothers were less sensitive and children more negative when mother-child conflict occurred; mothers were more sensitive when father-child conflict occurred. Fathers were more responsive when father-child conflict occurred, but more intrusive when both mother-child and father-child conflict occurred. Mother-child negotiation was associated with responsive mothers; mothers were less negative when mother-child negotiation occurred in the absence of father-child negotiation. Findings provide a deeper understanding of family interactions between young children and parents during family meals. These interactional processes may be an essential ingredient to better understand how family meals affect young children's health and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-reported quality of life in children with cochlear implants differs across countries.

Pediatric cochlear implantation affects communication skills and quality of life, specifically how children interact with others and feel about themselves. Numerous studies worldwide examine well-being among pediatric cochlear implant users, but none to date compare condition-specific quality of life across countries. This retrospective study compares parent-reported cochlear implant-specific quality of life summary data across 14 published studies spanning 11 countries and 9 languages. Sample size ranged from 7 to 370 participants, and children across studies varied in mean chronologic age (3.1-12.2 years), implantation age (1.5-4.6 years), and cochlear implant experience (1.3-8.2 years). Parents completed the Children with Cochlear Implants: Parental Perspectives (CCIPP) questionnaire, an instrument assessing parent-reported cochlear implant-specific quality of life, in their home language. Analysis of variance tests were run for each CCIPP subscale across studies using summary data to determine significant differences between published manuscripts. Across countries, parents of children with cochlear implants appraise communication, social relations, and self-reliance most positively, and the effects of implantation and supporting the child least positively. Cross-country analyses revealed a significant effect of study (country) on quality of life ratings in each domain, with the largest differences in the communication domain. Limited access to implant-related accommodations, cultural awareness of hearing loss, and varying parent expectations may explain country differences in parental ratings of quality of life. Culturally sensitive psychoeducation for the entire family may foster improved life satisfaction for pediatric cochlear implant users and their families.

Daily variability in mothers' and fathers' feeding practices and associations with children's eating behaviors.

The current study explores daily variability in maternal and paternal pressuring, restrictive, and structure-related feeding practices and their associations with child energy regulation and food refusal. Multilevel models were run separately for mothers and fathers to understand these associations, as well as within a dyadic framework to account for the interdependence of partners. One hundred families with at least one child between 3- to 5-years old participated by completing seven days of daily diaries. Results suggest there is daily variability in feeding practices for mothers and fathers and children's energy regulation and food refusal. Mothers' daily reports (within family variability) suggested that on days when mothers used more pressure and less structure than usual, children showed more food refusal. Fathers' daily reports suggested that on days when fathers used more pressure or less structure, children showed less energy regulation. On average across the week (between family variability), maternal pressure and restriction was related to child energy regulation. Dyadic multilevel models suggested that fathers' daily feeding behavior was associated with child eating behavior, while mothers' pressure and restrictive feeding on average across the week was a better predictor of between family variability in child eating behavior. For provision of support or structure during feeding, maternal structure was related to less father-reported energy regulation and paternal structure was related to more father-reported energy regulation. The results highlight the necessity of considering both mothers' and fathers' behaviors from day-to-day to get a more authentic picture of the family feeding relationship.

Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of daily mealtime coparenting.

The current study is the first to examine mothers' and fathers' perceptions of mealtime-specific daily coparenting support from their partner. We investigated relations between parents' reports of mealtime-specific coparenting support, global coparenting support, and discrepancies in parents' controlling feeding practices. One-hundred families (67 participating partners) of 3- to 5-year-old children participated. Parents reported daily on coparenting support and feeding practices for seven consecutive days. Preliminary analyses pooling across the week were conducted using correlations, t-tests, and analyses of variance. Although parents' perceptions of global coparenting and mealtime-specific coparenting support were correlated, both mothers and fathers perceived less coparenting support at mealtime than overall in their parenting role. When partners were present at the dinnertime meal, parents perceived greater mealtime coparenting support and mothers also perceived greater global coparenting support from fathers compared to when partners were not present. Using a subsample of families where both mothers and fathers were present at the dinner meal, we used dyadic multilevel models to analyze daily behaviors. These models showed significant daily variability in mothers' mealtime-specific coparenting support from fathers. Fathers' mealtime coparenting support from mothers did not vary day-to-day. On days when mothers perceived greater global coparenting support from their partners, mothers also perceived greater mealtime support. After accounting for the main effects of mothers' and fathers' pressure and restriction, on days when parents reported greater discrepancies between their pressuring feeding practices, mothers perceived less mealtime coparenting support than usual. Results suggest that mealtimes are a challenging context for interparental teamwork, particularly for mothers who receive inconsistent support day-to-day.

Communicating and Connecting: Associations Between Daily Adolescent Disclosure and Mother-Adolescent Responsiveness.

Adolescents who share information with their parents tend to have more positive parent-adolescent relationships. This brief report examined daily variability in adolescents' disclosure to mothers and mother-adolescent responsiveness. Using a 7-day intensive longitudinal design with 109 mother-adolescent (14-18 years) pairs, multilevel models revealed the amount of information adolescents disclosed to mothers varied day-to-day, according to both adolescent and mother reports. On days when adolescents perceived mothers to be more responsive than usual, adolescents were more likely to disclose. On days when mothers perceived adolescents to be more responsive than usual, mothers perceived more adolescent disclosure. Lastly, more responsive adolescents disclosed more on average across the week according to both adolescent and mother reports of disclosure compared to less responsive adolescents.

Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives of Siblings of Children With Cochlear Implants.

Purpose The sibling relationship teaches children to navigate social interactions with their peers. However, the presence of an exceptionality, such as hearing loss, in one child can affect the dynamic of this relationship. This article examines quantitative and qualitative effects of having a brother or sister with a cochlear implant (CI) on siblings with typical hearing (TH) to determine how children with TH perceive their sibling with a CI and how having a CI user in the family affects the sibling's activities, emotions, and parental attention. Method Participants include 36 siblings with TH (M age = 11.6 years) of CI users (M age = 11.9 years) who completed quantitative measures of their perspectives of their brother/sister with CIs and the effect of hearing loss on themselves. Siblings with TH also could express their opinions via open-ended prompts. Results Overall, siblings with TH express positive perspectives of their brother/sister with CIs and report having a CI user in the family does not affect them much, particularly if the CI user has adequate communication skills. Responses to both quantitative and qualitative items converge on the close relationship between siblings but diverge relative to differential attention from parents (i.e., open-ended responses suggest parents spend more time with the CI user than the sibling with TH). Additionally, siblings acknowledge the presence of social communication deficits of the CI user in real-world situations. Conclusion This nuanced look at relationships among the parent, CI user, and sibling with TH highlights the importance of understanding the family system when working with children with hearing loss.

Stress in Parents of School-Age Children and Adolescents With Cochlear Implants.

Parents of children with cochlear implants (CIs) face unique challenges in caring for their child, potentially fostering parental stress. Most studies of stress in parents of CI users do not examine stress specific to having a deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) child. This study compares general and condition-specific stress (via the Family Stress Scale) in 31 parents of CI users (8-16 years) to previously published samples of DHH children, and it examines child- and CI-related factors associated with parental stress. Parents of modern-day CI users reported significantly lower stress than parents of children using older-generation CI technology and similar levels of overall stress to parents of young children preimplantation. However, significant item-level differences emerged (e.g., communication, device management) pre- versus postimplant. Child temperament significantly predicted parental stress after controlling for other variables. Intervention strategies for children with CIs should engage a family systems approach to reduce parental stress and better support the child.

Interdependence among mothers, fathers, and children from early to middle childhood: Parents' sensitivity and children's externalizing behavior.

Based on data from 710 2-parent families enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, this article examined dyadic and family-level interdependence among indicators of family members' competence over time. A cross-lagged model that included children and both parents was used to simultaneously test relations among observed maternal sensitivity, observed paternal sensitivity, and children's externalizing behavior from 54 months to fifth grade. Testing 3 principal hypotheses, the study supported basic assumptions of a transactional family systems approach: (a) mother-child and father-child relations were independent predictors of change in children's and parents' behavior across middle childhood; (b) at all assessments, each parents' sensitive parenting predicted subsequent change in the other's sensitive parenting; and (c) both dyadic indirect effects between two family members and family-level indirect effects among all 3 family members were found. When predicting each members' behavior over time, a model that included both dyadic and family-level relations was superior to models that included only dyadic relations. Tests of 2 exploratory hypotheses suggested that (a) fathers' parenting predicted changes in mothers' parenting as equally as mothers' parenting predicted changes in fathers' parenting; and (b) mothers' parenting tended to be more influential early in development, and fathers' parenting was more influential later in development. The results suggest that individual development within families reflects complex dyadic and family-level interdependence among the behaviors of mothers, fathers, and their children over time. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal associations between family members' internalizing symptoms across middle childhood.

An individual's internalizing symptoms have been shown to relate to greater symptoms in family members. However, an examination of how family members' symptoms are associated with one another is needed with a model including mothers, fathers, and children. Using 633 families from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the current study examines relations between different family members' internalizing symptoms over time. In the archival data set, mothers', fathers', and children's internalizing symptoms at first, third, and fifth grades were assessed during home and laboratory visits. We tested a cross-lagged path model to assess transactional associations with family income-to-needs ratio and child gender as covariates. In the model, more maternal internalizing symptoms at first and third grades were associated with greater child symptoms at third and fifth grades. More child symptoms at first and third grades were associated with greater maternal symptoms at third and fifth grades. Additionally, more child symptoms at third grade were associated with greater paternal symptoms at fifth grade. These results highlight the importance of examining how family members' internalizing symptoms are associated longitudinally in understanding family systems processes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Relations between mothers' daily work, home, and relationship stress with characteristics of mother-child conflict interactions.

This study examined whether daily variations in levels of mothers' work, home, and relationship stress were related to collaborative and oppositional qualities of mother-child conflict interactions across 1 week. Mothers reported on 1 specific conflict interaction with their 5- to 8-year-old child and their work, home, and relationship stress through online surveys each day for 7 consecutive days. Diary data from 142 mothers were analyzed in 6 multilevel models, each including within- and between-family levels of a stressor predicting collaborative or oppositional conflict qualities. Results suggested that families in the sample differed from each other, and also varied during the week, in collaborative and oppositional conflict qualities as well as stress in all 3 domains. Mothers reported a greater degree of oppositional conflict qualities on days characterized by higher perceptions of home chaos. Additionally, mothers who reported higher average levels of negativity in romantic relationships endorsed oppositional conflict qualities to a greater extent than mothers with lower relationship negativity. Two multilevel models including all 3 stressors in relation to collaborative and oppositional conflict revealed that for mothers managing multiple roles, average romantic relationship stress was the most important unique contributor to mother-child conflict qualities and daily relationship stress was particularly influential among mothers with sons compared to those with daughters. Results support the spillover hypothesis of stress within the family system and are discussed in terms of mothers' coping mechanisms and emotional engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mothers' and Fathers' Reports of their Supportive Responses to their Children's Negative Emotions over Time.

OBJECTIVE: Parents' emotion socialization practices are thought to be moderately stable over time; however, a partner's socialization practices could initiate change. DESIGN: We examined mothers' and fathers' reports of their supportive responses to their children's negative emotions when the target child was 7 years old and again at age 10. We tested a dyadic, longitudinal path model with 111 mother-father pairs. RESULTS: Significant actor and partner effects emerged. Parents' age 7 responses predicted their own age 10 responses and their partners' later responses. CONCLUSIONS: Parents' reported responses to children's negative emotions during middle childhood are predicted by their own earlier responses and by their partners' responses.

Childhood body mass index trajectories predicting cardiovascular risk in adolescence.

PURPOSE: The present study compared growth parameters of girls' and boys' body mass index (BMI) trajectories from infancy to middle childhood and evaluated these parameters as predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in adolescence. METHODS: Using 657 children from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, quadratic growth curve analyses were conducted to establish growth parameters (intercept, slope, and quadratic term) for girls and boys from age 15 months to 10.5 years. Parameters were compared across gender and evaluated as predictors of a CVD risk index at the age of 15 years, controlling for characteristics of the adiposity rebound (AR) including age at which it occurred and children's BMI at the rebound. RESULTS: Boys had more extreme trajectories of growth than girls with higher initial BMI at age 15 months (intercept), more rapid declines in BMI before the AR (slope), and sharper rebound growth in BMI after the rebound (quadratic term). For boys and girls, higher intercept, slope, and quadratic term values predicted higher CVD risk at the age of 15 years, controlling for characteristics of the AR. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that individuals at risk for developing CVD later in life may be identified before the AR by elevated BMI at 15 months and slow BMI declines. Because of the importance of early intervention in altering lifelong health trajectories, consistent BMI monitoring is essential in identifying high-risk children.

Longitudinal associations of childhood parenting and adolescent health: the mediating influence of social competence.

The current study examined a process through which parenting during the primary school transition contributes to cardiovascular health in adolescence, a foundational period for adult health trajectories. Using path analyses, social competence was tested as a mediator between parental sensitivity and adolescent health among 884 families. Results indicated that mothers' and fathers' sensitivity was associated with increasing social competence from first grade (age 7) to sixth grade (age 12), which was associated with higher awakening cortisol in ninth grade (age 15) and decreasing blood pressure from sixth to ninth grade. Results suggest that social competence mediates associations between childhood parenting and adolescent cardiovascular risk, and may be protective to children's health over time.

Emotional reactivity, self-control and children's hostile attributions over middle childhood.

Hostile attribution bias, a child's tendency to interpret ambiguous social information as threatening or hostile, has been discussed as an important point in which social, emotional and cognitive information intersect. This study explores the natural changes that occur in children's hostile attributions across three grades during middle childhood and examines how emotional reactivity and self-control at third, fourth and fifth grade independently and interactively relate to these trajectories. Participants included 919 children whose mothers reported on their emotional reactivity, whose teachers reported on their self-control and who completed an attribution bias interview, all at grades 3, 4 and 5. Results revealed that among children with a greater tendency to make hostile attributions at third grade, lower self-control at third grade was associated with greater initial hostile attribution bias and less decline in biases over time. Additionally, greater emotional reactivity at fourth grade was associated with declines in these children's hostile attributions, but only when self-control was also higher at fourth grade.

Early physiological regulation predicts the trajectory of externalizing behaviors across the preschool period.

Early assessments of children's physiological functioning are shown to predict subsequent developmental outcomes. However, individual changes that occur in the development of physiological systems may be associated with the pattern of change in behavior across time. Thus, we examined change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of physiological regulation, as a time-varying predictor in order to assess whether RSA change at ages 3, 4, and 5 uniquely influenced the trajectory of externalizing behaviors from age 3 to 5. Results indicated that only at age 3 was RSA change significantly associated with decreases in externalizing behaviors over time. RSA change scores at ages 4 and 5 were unrelated to trajectories of externalizing behavior, suggesting that the ability to physiologically regulate by age 3 may contribute to the development of skills that facilitate more control over behavior throughout preschool, and therefore may be more strongly associated with the pattern of change in externalizing behaviors than later physiological regulation.

Characteristics of mother-child conflict and child sex predicting resolution.

Data from 190 mothers and their 5- to 7-year-old children were used to evaluate how characteristics of mother-child conflict discussions contribute to the likelihood of reaching a compromise, a win-loss resolution, or a standoff. Dyads discussed 2 topics they reported having disagreements about that were emotionally arousing. Coders rated global measurements of mothers' emotional responsiveness, intrusiveness, and negativity; children's negativity; and the frequency of mothers' and children's constructive and oppositional comments. Child sex was examined as a moderator of the relation between discussion characteristics and resolution reached. Results indicated that more constructive comments by mothers and children increased the likelihood of reaching a resolution versus a standoff, but only children's constructive comments differentiated between a compromise and a win-loss resolution favoring mothers. Dyads with more emotionally responsive mothers who made fewer oppositional comments were also more likely to reach a compromise versus a win-loss resolution. A significant interaction with child sex revealed that, for boys, the use of more child oppositional comments was associated with a higher likelihood of reaching a standoff versus a compromise. Girls' oppositional comments did not predict resolution type. These results are discussed in terms of the children's developmental level and parents' socialization goals.