Child effects on positive parenting vary with neighborhood opportunity.

Prior theoretical and empirical research has highlighted links between positive parenting and the socioeconomic characteristics of the family's neighborhood, but has yet to illuminate the etiologic origins of this association. One possibility is that the various predictors of parenting outlined by Belsky (1984; e.g., characteristics of the child, characteristics of the parent, and contextual influences) may matter more in some neighborhood contexts than in others. To examine this possibility, we conducted etiologic moderation analyses in a sample of 1,030 families of twins (average age 8 years; 51% male, 49% female; racial composition: 82% White, 10% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Indigenous, and 6% multiracial) from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children in the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Neighborhood and parenting were assessed using multiple informants and assessment strategies (neighborhood and family informants, administrative data, and videotaped parent-child interactions). Results pointed to strong evidence of etiologic moderation, such that child effects on positive mothering were prominent in neighborhoods with little opportunity and near zero in neighborhoods with ample opportunity. Such findings not only reframe the magnitude of child effects on the parenting they receive as context-dependent, but also indicate that mothers in impoverished neighborhoods may be more responsive to their children's characteristics than mothers in neighborhoods with ample opportunity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Neighborhood features moderate genetic and environmental influences on children's social information processing.

Neighborhood is a key context where children learn to process social information; however, the field has largely overlooked the ways children's individual characteristics might be moderated by neighborhood effects. We examined 1,030 six- to 11-year-olds (48.7% female; 82% White) twin pairs oversampled for neighborhood disadvantage from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children. We evaluated neighbor reports (N = 1,880) of neighborhood structural and social characteristics as moderators of genetic and environmental influences on children's social processing. Although there was no evidence of moderation for children's hostile attributions, there was robust evidence that the social and structural characteristics of the neighborhood moderated the genetic and environmental origins of children's positive expectations of aggressive behavior. Specifically, we found that genetic influences on aggressive expectations increased in the presence of neighborhood deprivation and decreased in the presence of protective social processes and availability of resources. Such findings suggest that protective neighborhood social processes may buffer against the development of aggressive expectations during middle childhood by suppressing the expression of genetic influences on those outcomes. In doing so, they suggest that neighborhood social processes may be able to promote youth resilience to neighborhood deprivation "under the skin." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Nurturance Moderates the Etiology of Youth Resilience.

Parenting behaviors are among the most robust predictors of youth resilience to adversity. Critically, however, very few studies examining these effects have been genetically-informed, and none have considered parenting as an etiologic moderator of resilience. What's more, despite the multidimensionality of resilience, extant etiologic literature has largely focused on a single domain. The current study sought to fill these respective gaps in the literature by examining whether and how parental nurturance shapes the etiology of academic, social, and psychological resilience, respectively. We employed a unique sample of twins (N = 426 pairs; ages 6-11) exposed to moderate-to-severe levels of environmental adversity (i.e., family poverty, neighborhood poverty, community violence) from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children. As expected, parental nurturance was positively correlated with all forms of resilience. Extended univariate genotype-by-environment interaction models revealed that parental nurturance significantly moderated genetic influences on all three domains of resilience (academic resilience A1= -0.53, psychological resilience A1= -1.22, social resilience A1= -0.63; all p < .05), such that as parental nurturance increased, genetic influences on youth resilience decreased. Put another way, children experiencing high levels of parental nurturance were more resilient to disadvantage, regardless of their genetic predisposition towards resilience. In the absence of nurturing parenting, however, genetic influences played an outsized role in the origins of resilience. Such findings indicate that parental nurturance may serve as a malleable protective factor that increases youth resilience regardless of genetic influences.

Parent Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Although extant cross-sectional data suggest that parents have experienced numerous challenges (e.g., homeschooling, caregiver burden) and mental health consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic, longitudinal data are needed to confirm mental health changes relative to pre-pandemic levels and identify which specific pandemic-related changes most highly predict mental health during the pandemic. In two longitudinal subsamples (N = 299 and N = 175), we assessed change in anxiety, depression, and stress before and during the pandemic and whether the accumulation of pandemic-related changes predicted observed mental health changes. On average, parents reported increased depression and anxiety, but no significant changes in reported stress. Moreover, increased interpersonal conflict, difficulty managing work and caregiving responsibilities, and increased economic challenges were the types of pandemic-related changes that most strongly predicted worse mental health, highlighting that juggling caregiving responsibilities and economic concerns, along with the pandemic's impact on interpersonal family relationships are key predictors of worsening parental mental illness symptoms.

Illuminating Associations between Parenting and Deleterious Neighborhood Characteristics via an Exhaustive Modeling Approach.

Objective: Our goal was to illuminate associations between specific characteristics of under-resourced neighborhoods (i.e., socioeconomic deprivation, danger) and specific aspects of parenting (e.g., parental praise, parental nurturance, harsh parenting, parental control). Background: Prior work has highlighted associations between level of neighborhood disadvantage and the parenting of its residents. However, this work has yet to clarify the specific characteristics of the neighborhood or the types of parenting involved. Method: Exhaustive modelling analyses were conducted in a sample of 1,030 families of twins (average age 8 years; 51% male, 49% female; the racial composition was 82% White, 10% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Indigenous, 6% multiracial) from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children. Neighborhood and parenting were assessed using multiple informants and assessment strategies (neighborhood informants, family informants, administrative data, videotaped parent-child interactions). Results: Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation (i.e., limited institutional and economic structural resources) demonstrated small but consistent associations with positive parenting behaviors and maternal control, but not with negative parenting behaviors. Neighborhood danger (i.e., recorded crime, fear of crime, exposure to community violence), by contrast, demonstrated weaker associations with parenting that dissipated once we controlled for overlap with socioeconomic deprivation. Conclusion: Danger and socioeconomic deprivation do not function as interchangeable characteristics of under-resourced neighborhoods, at least in terms of their association with positive parenting. Future studies should identify the specific mechanisms through which neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation is associated with supportive parenting.

Identifying the 'active ingredients' of socioeconomic disadvantage for youth outcomes in middle childhood.

BACKGROUND: Youth experiencing socioeconomic deprivation may be exposed to disadvantage in multiple contexts (e.g., neighborhood, family, and school). To date, however, we know little about the underlying structure of socioeconomic disadvantage, including whether the 'active ingredients' driving its robust effects are specific to one context (e.g., neighborhood) or whether the various contexts increment one another as predictors of youth outcomes. METHODS: The present study addressed this gap by examining the underlying structure of socioeconomic disadvantage across neighborhoods, families, and schools, as well as whether the various forms of disadvantage jointly predicted youth psychopathology and cognitive performance. Participants were 1,030 school-aged twin pairs from a subsample of the Michigan State University Twin Registry enriched for neighborhood disadvantage. RESULTS: Two correlated factors underlay the indicators of disadvantage. Proximal disadvantage comprised familial indicators, whereas contextual disadvantage represented deprivation in the broader school and neighborhood contexts. Results from exhaustive modeling analyses indicated that proximal and contextual disadvantage incremented one another as predictors of childhood externalizing problems, disordered eating, and reading difficulties, but not internalizing symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Disadvantage within the family and disadvantage in the broader context, respectively, appear to represent distinct constructs with additive influence, carrying unique implications for multiple behavioral outcomes during middle childhood.

Family interactions in toddlerhood influence social competence in preschool age: Accounting for genetic and prenatal influences.

Identification of early promotive and risk factors for social competence is important for fostering children's successful social development; particularly given social competence is essential for children's later academic and psychological well-being. While research suggests that the early parent-child relationship, genetics, and prenatal influences are associated with social competence, there is less research considering how these factors may operate together to shape children's social competence in early childhood. Using a genetically informed sample from the Early Growth and Development Study (N = 561), we examined multiple levels of influence (i.e., genetic, prenatal, parenting, and child characteristics) on children's social competence at 4.5 years old. Results from structural equation models showed adoptive mother overreactivity at 18 months was positively associated with child dysregulation at 27 months, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of social competence at 4.5 years. Also, child reactivity at 18 months was independently associated with higher levels of adoptive mother overreactivity at 27 months, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of social competence at 4.5 years. Finally, we found an evocative effect on adoptive fathers' overreactivity at 18 months such that prenatal birth mother distress was negatively associated with adoptive fathers' overreactivity at 18 months. Overall, this study found evidence for genetic influences, and bidirectional associations between parent and child in toddlerhood that are related to lower levels of social competence when children were 4.5 years old. We also found that the prenatal environment was associated with parenting, but not with child behavior directly. This study's ability to simultaneously examine multiple domains of influence helps provide a more comprehensive picture of important mechanisms and developmental periods for children's early social competence.

Associations between neighborhood built, social, or toxicant conditions and child externalizing behaviors in the Detroit metro area: a cross-sectional study of the neighborhood 'exposome'.

BACKGROUND: The specific 'active ingredients' through which neighborhood disadvantage increases risk for child psychopathology remains unclear, in large part because research to date has nearly always focused on poverty to the exclusion of other neighborhood domains. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether currently assessed neighborhood built, social, or toxicant conditions were associated with child externalizing psychopathology outcomes separately, and in a combined model, using data from the Detroit-metro county area. METHODS: We conducted principal components analyses for built, social, or toxicant conditions. Next, we fitted separate multiple regression models for each of the child externalizing psychopathology measures (oppositional defiant and conduct problems) as a function of built, social, or toxicant components. RESULTS: We found that built features (more non-profits, churches, and alcohol outlets, and less agriculture and vacant properties) were associated with conduct problems, while toxicant conditions (high percent industrial, toxins released and number of pre-1978 structures) were associated with oppositional defiance problems. There was no significant association between greenspace or social conditions and child externalizing outcomes. When examined simultaneously, only the significant independent association between built conditions and conduct problems remained. CONCLUSIONS: Built, social, and toxicant neighborhood conditions are not interchangeable aspects of a given neighborhood. What's more, built features are uniquely associated with child externalizing outcomes independently of other neighborhood characteristics. Future research should consider how changes in the built conditions of the neighborhood (e.g., development, decay) serve to shape child externalizing behaviors, with a focus on identifying potentially actionable elements.

Interpersonal complementarity as a predictor of parent-child relationship quality.

The parent-child relationship is critically important for children's functioning and long-term outcomes. Although typically measured by self-report or global codes in observed interactions, parent-child interactions actually occur on a moment-to-moment basis, with frequent shifts in behavior and affect happening in each member of the dyad. Even so, moment-to-moment interactions in these dyads are rarely studied. We sought to illuminate how complementarity, or the extent to which behavior in one member of the dyad shapes that of the other, impacts the quality of the parent-child relationship. Parent-child dyads in 1,030 families completed a cooperative video-recorded task, after which each member of the dyad was rated on warmth and control twice a second. Results illustrated high levels of warmth and control complementarity in parent-child relationships, with mothers showing more complementarity than fathers and greater control complementarity relative to warmth complementarity. Results showed mother-child and father-child warmth complementarity was associated with increased parent-child reciprocity, whereas mother-child and father-child control complementarity was associated with increased parent-child cooperation. In addition, father-child warmth complementarity was associated with a decrease in observed father-child conflict and an increase in father-child cooperation. Finally, father-child control complementarity was associated with a decrease in observed father-child reciprocity. However, no significant associations were found between complementarity and family reports of parental involvement or conflict with child. Results highlight complementarity as an important part of parent-child interactions but also indicate it is relationship- and domain specific. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Reexamining the association between the interparental relationship and parent-child interactions: Incorporating heritable influences.

Family systems research has identified two key processes (spillover and compensatory), linking interparental relationship quality to the parent-child relationship. However, previous research has focused on the parent as the sole initiator and had not often considered the role of the child in these processes. The present study adds to the literature by leveraging a genetically informed design to examine possible child evocative effects on spillover and compensatory processes. Participants were from a longitudinal parent-offspring adoption sample of 361 linked sets of adoptive parents of an adopted child (57% male), and the child's birth parents. Adoptive parents reported on child pleasure and anger at 18 months and the interparental relationship at 27 months. Parent-child interactions were observed at child age 6 years, and heritable influences were assessed via birth mother self-report at 5 months. Our results indicated a dampening effect where higher interparental warmth at child age 27 months was associated with less adoptive mother-child coercion at child age 6 years, and a compensatory effect where higher interparental conflict was associated with more adoptive father-child positive engagement. Moreover, our results indicated child-driven effects via both genetic and environmental pathways. Specifically, higher levels of birth mother negative affect (heritable characteristic) were associated with lower levels of adoptive father-child coercion. Also, child anger was positively associated with interparental conflict, and child pleasure was positively associated with interparental warmth. These findings support findings from the family literature with evidence of compensatory mechanisms, while also highlighting the active role children play in shaping family interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying Patterns of Youth Resilience to Neighborhood Disadvantage.

The present report describes the motivation for the Michigan Twin Neurogenetic Study (MTwiNS), which seeks to illuminate underlying biological mechanisms through which familial and community factors support resilience (i.e., adaptive competence in the face of adversity) in youth exposed to neighborhood disadvantage. To accomplish these goals, we must first understand how resilience manifests in this cohort. The current study uncovers evidence of three domains of youth resilience: psychiatric health, social engagement, and scholastic success. Although all three domains were relatively stable across a one-to-two year period, variability in this stability was observed. Additionally, although resilience in one domain was quite common, resilience across all 3 domains was less common. Finally, we show substantial variability in resilience within and across families, with substantial co-twin discordances that can be leveraged in future analyses that examine promotive contexts that are environmental in origin.

Understanding the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Psychopathology: Genotype-Environment Interplay.

BACKGROUND: Adversity has consistently been found to predict poor mental health outcomes in youth. Perhaps the most omnipresent form of adversity in the past several decades has been the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, a global health crisis linked to elevated rates of numerous forms of youth psychopathology. The ongoing nature of the pandemic renders it critical to identify the mechanisms underlying its effects on mental health. METHODS: The current study examines pandemic-related disruption across multiple domains (e.g., home life, finances) as an etiologic moderator of several common forms of youth psychopathology. Participants were 637 adolescent twin pairs from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children (TBED-C). Mothers reported on disruption experienced by the family, using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. RESULTS: A series of biometric genotype-by-environment interaction models revealed that disruption augmented the nonshared environmental contributions to emotional distress and conduct problems but had little effect on the etiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity problems. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that identical and fraternal twin similarity in both emotional symptoms and conduct problems decreased with greater disruption, such that children in the same family became less alike, and did so regardless of their degree of genetic resemblance. Put differently, each twin sibling appeared to have their own idiosyncratic experience of pandemic-related disruptions, with downstream consequences for their mental health.

The role of child negative emotionality in parenting and child adjustment: Gene-environment interplay.

BACKGROUND: Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) describes a process through which children's heritable characteristics influence their rearing environments. The current study examined whether heritable influences on parenting and children's behavioural outcomes operate through child negative emotionality. METHOD: Using data from the Early Growth and Development Study, we examined associations among adoptive parent reports of child anger and sadness at 4.5 years, adoptive parents' hostile and warm parenting at 6 years and child behavioural problems and social competence at age 7. Birth parent temperament was included to test whether child effects on parents reflect evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE). RESULTS: Child anger at 4.5 years evoked hostile parenting from adoptive parents at 6 years, which was subsequently related to child problem behaviours at 7 years. Evocative rGE effects were identified for adoptive parents' hostile parenting. CONCLUSIONS: By employing a genetically informed design, we found that birth parent temperament was related to child negative emotionality. Adoptive parents were sensitive to child negative emotionality, and this sensitivity was linked to the child's later adjustment.

The Etiology of Resilience to Disadvantage.

BACKGROUND: Although early-life exposure to chronic disadvantage is associated with deleterious outcomes, 40-60% of exposed youth continue to thrive. To date, little is known about the etiology of these resilient outcomes. METHODS: The current study examined child twin families living in disadvantaged contexts (N=417 pairs) to elucidate the etiology of resilience. We evaluated maternal reports of the Child Behavior Checklist to examine three domains of resilience and general resilience. RESULTS: Genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental influences significantly contributed to social resilience (22%, 61%, 17%, respectively) and psychiatric resilience (40%, 28%, 32%, respectively), but academic resilience was influenced only by genetic and nonshared environmental influences (65% and 35%, respectively). These three domains loaded significantly onto a latent resilience factor, with factor loadings ranging from .60 to .34. A common pathway model revealed that the variance common to all three forms of resilience was predominantly explained by genetic and non-shared environmental influences (50% and 35%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These results support recent conceptualizations of resilience as a multifaceted construct influenced by both genetic and environmental influences, only some of which overlap across the various domains of resilience.

Capturing temporal dynamics of fear behaviors on a moment-to-moment basis.

Identifying patterns of fearful behaviors early and accurately is essential to identify children who may be at increased risk for psychopathology. Previous work focused on the total amount of fear by using composites across time. However, considering the temporal dynamics of fear expression might offer novel insights into the identification of children at risk. One hundred and twenty-five toddlers participated in high- and low-fear tasks. Data were modeled using a novel two-step approach. First, a hidden Markov model estimated latent fear states and transitions across states over time. Results revealed children's behavior was best represented by six behavioral states. Next, these states were analyzed using sequence clustering to identify groups of children with similar dynamic trajectories through the states. A four-cluster solution found groups of children varied in fear response and regulation process: "external regulators" (using the caregiver as a regulation tool), "low reactive" (low reaction to stimulus), "fearful explorers" (managing their own internal state with minimal assistance from the caregiver), and "high fear" (fearful/at-caregiver state regardless of task). The combination of analytic tools enabled fine-grained examination of the processes of fearful temperament. These insights may help prevention programs target behaviors that perpetuate anxious behavior in the moment.

Preschoolers' emotion expression and regulation: relations with school adjustment.

Children's expression and regulation of emotions are building blocks of their experiences in classrooms. Thus, the authors' primary goal was to investigate whether preschoolers' expression or ability to regulate emotions were associated with teachers' ratings of school adjustment. A secondary goal was to investigate how boys and girls differed across these associations. Children's social-emotional behaviors in Head Start and private childcare center classrooms were observed, and using a series of measures, teachers' ratings of children's social competence, attitudes toward school, positive teacher relationships, and cooperative participation were collected. Three factors of children's school adjustment were extracted from these indicators. A series of hierarchical regressions revealed that emotion expression and regulation were indeed associated with children's reported school adjustment, with the strongest associations stemming from children's negative emotion expression and their emotion dysregulation. Many of these associations were also different for boys and girls. The results corroborate and extend the authors' earlier findings, and have implications for social-emotional programming to maximize children's early school success.