Bedouin mothers' sense of authentic inner compass as a parenting resource: Relations with autonomy-supportive parenting and adolescents' well-being.

INTRODUCTION: Sense of authentic inner compass (AIC) is the feeling that one knows what is important to oneself because one has values, aspirations, and goals with which one deeply identifies. Past research demonstrated the benefits of AIC, but there is no published research on parental dispositions promoting youth AIC. To increase knowledge of this issue, we examined whether mothers' sense of AIC is associated with a corresponding sense of AIC in their children, and explored autonomy-supportive child-rearing practices that may serve as pathways linking mothers' AIC with adolescents' AIC and subsequent well-being. We examined a Bedouin Israeli sample because it represents a fairly patriarchal, autonomy-eschewing, context, where the benefits of mothers' authenticity and autonomy-support are not obvious. METHOD: One hundred and thirty-six mothers (Mean age = 44.33, SD = 5.22) and their children (Mean age = 13.79, SD = 0.45; 60% females) participated in a study conducted in June 2019. RESULTS: SEM analyses supported a model where mothers' sense of firm AIC was linked with adolescents' sense of firm AIC via adolescents' experience of their mothers as using the practices of inherent value demonstration and fostering inner valuing. Adolescent reported AIC in turn was associated with adolescents reported vitality and low levels of depressive symptoms. Mothers' AIC was associated with minimal use of conditional regard, which was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that mothers' AIC may be an important parenting resource, enabling mothers to convincingly demonstrate their values, as well as foster children's attunement to their authentic preferences, even in patriarchal-hierarchical contexts.

Prenatal buds of conditional regard and autonomy support: Associations with postnatal parenting and child adjustment.

Toddlerhood is a period where issues of autonomy and control in parent-child relationships become particularly intense. In response to these challenges, some parents adopt controlling practices, whereas others are more autonomy supportive. However, research has yet to examine prenatal orientations that foreshadow specific controlling or autonomy-supportive parental practices in toddlerhood and children's socioemotional functioning. In particular, literature on early childhood socialization lacks sufficient evidence on the effects of the controversial controlling practice of parental conditional positive regard. To increase our knowledge on these issues, we examined reports provided by Israeli Jewish mothers during their first pregnancy (N = 294), at 18-month postpartum (N = 226), and when the child was 42 months old (N = 134). To control for child temperament, both parents reported 8-month postpartum (N = 235) on infant temperament dispositions, which may act as precursors of later socioemotional functioning. Structural equations modeling revealed that a general prenatal maternal orientation to use conditional regard as a socialization practice predicted mothers' use of the specific practices of conditional positive and negative regard with toddlers, which then predicted internalizing problems when children reached the age of 42 months. Additionally, a general prenatal orientation toward autonomy-supportive parenting predicted mothers' perspective taking with toddlers, which then predicted children's prosocial behavior at 42 months. The effects emerged also after controlling for infants' temperamental dispositions toward negative emotionality and positive affect. Findings underlie the potential role of prenatal orientations toward conditional regard and autonomy support that, when later transform into specific early parenting practices, may serve as early markers of child socioemotional adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Peace of mind: Promoting psychological growth and reducing the suffering of combat veterans.

The Peace of Mind (POM) program was designed to enable combat veterans in Israel to process their combat experience, address difficulties in the transition to civilian life and facilitate psychological growth as a result of their military experience. During the course of the program, 1068 participants were studied at four time points. Post-traumatic symptoms were measured using the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and post-traumatic growth (PTG) was measured using the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Multilevel Modeling (MLM) was used to assess symptom and psychological trajectories for all participants and for those who began with and without PTSD symptoms, respectively. The results demonstrated that those who began the program with elevated PTSD symptoms experienced a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms following the completion of the intensive element of the program. Additionally, all participants demonstrated an increase in PTG following the intensive section of the program and this was maintained throughout follow-up. The findings indicate that the POM program is beneficial in relation to both positive and negative outcomes of traumatic military experiences though it is clear that the transition from combat to civilian life is more complex than the current measures identify and that further research needs to examine the distinct lifestyle and functional changes which occur following the program.

Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value.

Although sexual desire for one's partner is theorized to serve as a gut-level indicator of partner mate value that motivates investment in valued partners, there is scant empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Five studies addressed this possibility, examining whether experiencing sexual desire encouraged the enactment of relationship-promoting behaviors and whether perceptions of partner mate value motivated this proposed process. In a pilot study and Study 1, participants relived an activity they experienced with their partner, which was either sexual or non-sexual. Then, participants rated their desire to engage in sex and other non-sexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner (pilot study) and their partner's responsiveness to personal disclosures. Participants' enacted responsiveness was also evaluated by judges (Study 1). Results showed that experiences of desire enhanced relationship-promoting tendencies. Using experimental, daily experiences, and longitudinal methods, Studies 2-4 extended these findings, indicating that both manipulated and perceived partner mate value predicted desire, which, in turn, was associated with engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. These findings demonstrate that sexual desire functions as a mechanism encouraging investment in partners who are perceived to be worth pursuing and retaining.

Conditional Regard in the Classroom: A Double-Edged Sword.

Teachers' conditional positive and negative regard are widely endorsed teaching practices aimed to enhance students' involvement and achievement in school. Previous research has mostly tapped the need frustration and harmful psychological well-being implications of these practices. Yet knowledge of their specific effects on school engagement is scant. This study investigated the association between students' perceptions of homeroom teachers' conditional positive and negative regard and their behavioral engagement, while considering the levels at which these practices are conceptualized and operate (a teacher characteristic and a student characteristic). Participants were n = 2533 students from 107 classes in the 7th to 10th grades. Multilevel analysis found conditional positive regard was positively associated with school engagement while conditional negative regard was inversely related. These findings were obtained at both the within- and between-class levels. Based on the findings, we argue conditional regard is a double-edged sword. Consistent with previous research, we suggest conditional negative regard has an undermining effect, and we point to conditional positive regard's potential to enhance engagement. Lastly, we discuss the importance of the level of analysis and the alignment of theory with measurement.

From mothers to children and back: Bidirectional processes in the cross-generational transmission of anxiety from early childhood to early adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Maternal psychopathology and caregiving behavior are linked with child anxiety and these associations may be particularly salient when families face mass trauma together and members influence each other's symptomatology and resilience. Despite the well-known mother-to-child effects, less research addressed the longitudinal bidirectional effects of maternal and child's anxiety symptoms on each other. METHODS: Mothers and children exposed to chronic war-related trauma from Sderot, Israel, and comparison group were followed at three time-points; Early childhood (T1:N = 232, MAge = 2.76 years), late childhood (T3:N = 176, MAge = 9.3 years), and early adolescence (T4:N = 110, MAge = 11.66 years). At each time-point maternal and child's anxiety symptoms were evaluated via questionnaires and maternal sensitivity was coded from videotaped observations of parent-child interactions. Bidirectional associations were examined using traditional cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and CLPM with random intercepts (RI-CLPM). RESULTS: Trauma-exposed mothers and children exhibited more anxiety symptoms and lower maternal sensitivity. Cross-lagged panel models revealed cross-time bidirectional associations between maternal anxiety and child anxiety from early to late childhood. Child anxiety at each time-point predicted maternal anxiety and maternal sensitivity at the next stage; however, maternal sensitivity did not show longitudinal associations with child anxiety, highlighting children's role in shaping caregiving. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate bidirectional cross-generational influences of mother and child on each other's anxiety in contexts of trauma and pinpoint early childhood as a sensitive period for such mutual influences. Children's increased anxiety following trauma appears to be further exacerbated via its impact on increasing maternal anxiety and compromising sensitive caregiving, underscoring the potential benefits of parental and mother-child interventions for trauma-exposed populations.

Prenatal childbearing motivations, parenting styles, and child adjustment: A longitudinal study.

To have a child is among individuals' most important and meaningful decisions, with far-reaching implications. Despite evidence linking this decision to a wide variety of consequences, little is known about what motivates people to have children, and even less so about the long-term effects of different childbearing motivations on parenting and child adjustment. This study took a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, examining how prenatal maternal autonomous and controlled childbearing motivations are related to child behavior problems through parenting styles. The rationale was that prenatal autonomous (sense of volition and self-fulfillment) and controlled (feeling pressured) childbearing motivations would shape later parental styles (autonomy-supportive vs. controlling, respectively) and, consequently, child adjustment. Over a period of 2 years beginning at pregnancy, 326 Israeli mothers reported their prenatal childbearing motivations, as well as parental styles and child behavior problems 20 months postpartum. Results of a path analysis revealed that prenatal autonomous childbearing motivation predicted autonomy-supportive parenting, yet the latter was not associated with children's behavior problems. Prenatal controlled motivation predicted controlling parenting, which, in turn, predicted children's internalizing and externalizing problems. No direct effects of childbearing motivation on children's behavior problems are observed, suggesting that childbearing motivation is a distal antecedent operating through more proximal factors such as parenting style. Findings were robust to children's temperamental tendencies and sociodemographic risk factors such as maternal age, high-risk pregnancy, and preterm birth. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the discourse on motivations underlying the childbearing decision and their effects on parenting and child adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

You should know me better: Parents' temperament-insensitivity has negative motivational effects on Bedouin and Jewish adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: We studied a recently conceptualized aspect of autonomy-support and suppression, not examined so far: Sensitivity to temperament dispositions. Based on self-determination theory, we hypothesized that, across cultures, disposition-frustrating decisions would have similar negative effects on adolescents' intrinsic motivation to participate in decision-related activities, and these negative effects would not be mitigated in collectivist-hierarchical cultures, when parents make the decision. METHOD: In Study 1 (n = 570, mean age = 15.2 years), Bedouin and Jewish adolescents were presented with work modes frustrating or supporting their shyness and sociability dispositions. For example, in one frustrating work mode condition, shy participants expected to work with strangers. Then, participants indicated their intrinsic motivation to participate in the activities. Study 2 (n = 278 Bedouins and Jews, mean age = 14.9 years) was an experiment using self-report and projective measures, examining the effects of temperament-supporting versus frustrating work modes, ostensibly chosen by parents, on adolescents' intrinsic motivation to participate in relevant activities. RESULTS: Both studies showed that, across cultures, frustrating work modes had negative effects on participants' intrinsic motivation. These effects were not moderated by cultural background. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that belonging to a collectivist Bedouin culture endorsing deference and obedience to parental authority does not mitigate the negative motivational effect of parents' temperament-insensitivity, and this type of autonomy-support is important across cultures.

Teachers' Conditional Regard and Students' Need Satisfaction and Agentic Engagement: A Multilevel Motivation Mediation Model.

Teachers' conditional positive regard and conditional negative regard are common motivational techniques in the classroom. This study investigated their respective effects on adolescent students' agentic engagement, while considering students' basic psychological needs for autonomy and relatedness as potential mediators. Data collected from 30 teachers and 651 7th to 10th graders (52% female) were used to test a multilevel mediation model. The results indicated that teachers' conditional negative regard undermined students' agentic engagement by frustrating both of their autonomy and relatedness needs. Teachers' conditional positive regard thwarted students' sense of autonomy, which consequently undermined their agentic engagement. The findings are discussed in terms of conditional positive and negative regard as undesirable classroom motivational practices and the mechanisms through which they operate. The discussion also notes the importance of investigating contextual factors at the classroom level.

What Fantasies Can Do to Your Relationship: The Effects of Sexual Fantasies on Couple Interactions.

Research addressing the underlying functions of sexual fantasies has mainly focused on variables associated with frequency and content of fantasies. Relatively less is known about how sexual fantasizing affects the relationship. Four studies examined the contribution of fantasizing about one's partner ("dyadic fantasies") to relationship outcomes. In Studies 1 and 2, participants fantasized either about their partner or about someone else and rated their desire to engage in sex and other nonsexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner. In Studies 3 and 4, romantic partners recorded their fantasies and relationship interactions each evening for a period of 21 and 42 days, respectively. In Study 4, partners also provided daily reports on relationship perceptions. Overall, dyadic fantasizing was associated with heightened desire and increased engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. Relationship perceptions explained the link between dyadic fantasies and relationship-promoting behaviors, suggesting that such fantasies benefit the relationship by enhancing partner and relationship appeal.

Spouses' prenatal autonomous motivation to have a child and postpartum depression symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: Maternal postpartum depression symptoms (PDS) are linked with negative personal, family, and child developmental outcomes. However, paternal PDS, let alone dyadic process, are understudied. Grounded in the Self-Determination Theory of motivation, this longitudinal study examined whether mothers' and fathers' type of prenatal motivation to have a child predicted depression symptoms 3-6 months after birth. METHOD: The data (N = 90 heterosexual couples) were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. RESULTS: Dyadic analyses showed that a person's prenatal autonomous motivation to have a child significantly predicted own PDS and partner's PDS. Importantly, these finding were equivalent across genders. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of dyadic prenatal motivational processes as antecedents of PDS.

The Association Between Political Violence and the Connection Between Bullying and Suicidality Among Palestinian Youth.

We examined the association between protracted political violence and the connection between bullying and suicidality among Palestinian adolescents. Data were collected from a representative sample of Palestinian students (N = 5,713) from 100 schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem who completed an in-class survey. Students who were victims of bullying or bully victims who were exposed to political violence were at higher risk for suicide attempts compared to students who were victims of bullying or bully victims but not exposed to political violence. Political violence moderated the association between bullying and suicide attempts after controlling for socio demographic and other mental health variables.

Involvement in care in pediatric cancer patients: implications for treatment compliance, mental health and health-related quality of life.

PURPOSE: The present study developed a new measure of involvement in care of pediatric oncology patients termed the Child Involvement in Care Scale (CICS), and empirically examined the mental health consequences of involvement in care for children with cancer. METHOD: The CICS was administered to 236 children with cancer aged 8-12 who were recruited from three large hospitals in Israel. The children also completed questionnaires on their mental-health symptoms and emotional well-being. The children's parents completed measures on their child's compliance with treatment and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 2-factor structure (knowledge and participation), representing different aspects of involvement in care. Compliance with treatment served as a mediator for the relationships between involvement in care and health-related outcomes. Involvement in care was positively associated with higher treatment compliance. In addition, treatment compliance was positively associated with HRQOL and positive emotions but negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms. CONCLUSION: Pediatric cancer patients' involvement in the process of care is linked to better treatment compliance and mental health outcomes. Additional research is needed to examine the specific conditions and contexts in which involvement in care contributes to mental health and subjective well-being of children with cancer.

Benefits of emotional integration and costs of emotional distancing.

OBJECTIVE: Three studies explored the consequences of the self-determination theory conception of integrative emotion regulation (IER; Ryan & Deci, 2017), which involves an interested stance toward emotions. Emotional, physiological, and cognitive consequences of IER were compared to the consequences of emotional distancing (ED), in relation to a fear-eliciting film. METHOD: In Study 1, we manipulated emotion regulation by prompting students' (N = 90) IER and ED and also included a control group. Then we tested groups' defensive versus nondefensive emotional processing, coded from post-film written texts. Study 2 (N = 90) and Study 3 (N = 135) used the same emotion regulation manipulations but exposed participants to the fear-eliciting film twice, 72 hr apart, to examine each style's protection from adverse emotional, physiological, and cognitive costs at second exposure. RESULTS: Participants who had been prompted to practice IER were expected to benefit more than participants in the ED and control groups at second exposure, as manifested in lower arousal and better cognitive capacity. Overall, results supported our hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: The current studies provide some support for the assumption that in comparison to ED, taking interest in and accepting one's negative emotions are linked with less defensive processing of negative experiences and with better functioning.

The social transmission of risk: Maternal stress physiology, synchronous parenting, and well-being mediate the effects of war exposure on child psychopathology.

While chronic early stress increases child susceptibility to psychopathology, risk and resilience trajectories are shaped by maternal social influences whose role requires much further research in longitudinal studies. We examined the social transmission of risk by assessing paths leading from war-exposure to child symptoms as mediated by 3 sources of maternal social influence; stress physiology, synchronous parenting, and psychiatric disorder. Mothers and children living in a zone of continuous war were assessed in early childhood (1.5-5 years) and the current study revisited families in late (9-11years) childhood (N = 177; N = 101 war-exposed; N = 76 controls). At both time-points, maternal and child's salivary cortisol (SC), social behavior, and externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed. In late childhood, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were also measured and mother and child underwent psychiatric diagnosis. The social transmission model was tested against 2 alternative models; 1 proposing direct impact of war on children without maternal mediation, the other predicting late-childhood symptoms from early childhood variables, not change trajectories. Path analysis controlling for early childhood variables supported our conceptual model. Whereas maternal psychopathology was directly linked with child symptoms, defining direct mediation, the impact of maternal stress hormones was indirect and passed through stress contagion mechanisms involving coupling between maternal and child's HCC and SC. Similarly, maternal synchrony linked with child social engagement as the pathway to reduced symptomatology. Findings underscore the critical role of maternal stress physiology, attuned behavior, and well-being in shaping child psychopathology amid adversity and specify direct and indirect paths by which mothers stand between war and the child. (PsycINFO Database Record

Secondary Traumatization and Differentiation Among the Wives of Former POWs: A Reciprocal Association.

Repercussions of war captivity may transmit to spouses of former prisoners of war (POW) via posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Overidentification with their partners underlies the PTSS experienced by former wives of POWs, thus implying impaired self-differentiation. Although wives' indirect exposure to their husbands' captivity and subsequent PTSS has been associated with the wives' PTSS and differentiation, the combined effects remain unclear. Furthermore, previous cross-sectional studies could not illuminate directionality. This prospective study investigates (a) the moderating role of indirect exposure to captivity in the association between husbands' PTSS and wives' PTSS and differentiation; and (b) the directionality of the association between wives' differentiation and PTSS over time. The wives of both former POWs (n = 143) and combatants (n = 102) were assessed 30 (T1) and 38 (T2) years after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The wives of former POWs endorsed higher PTSS and fusion differentiation, η2p = .06 to .14. Indirect exposure to captivity moderated the associations between husbands' PTSS and wives' PTSS, Cohen's f2 = .01 to .03. The association between the wives' differentiation and PTSS over time was bidirectional, ß = -0.18 to 0.68; R2 = .54 to .73. Results suggest a vicious cycle between PTSS and differentiation, and the need for clinical interventions that further differentiation for spouses of prolonged trauma victims.

Posttraumatic Growth and Dyadic Adjustment among War Veterans and their Wives.

The controversy regarding the nature of posttraumatic growth includes two main competing claims: one which argues that posttraumatic growth reflects authentic positive changes and the other which argues that posttraumatic growth reflects illusory defenses. While the former might suggest that posttraumatic growth enhances intimacy and close relationships, the latter might imply that posttraumatic growth hinders interpersonal relations. The present study aimed to test these claims by investigating the association between posttraumatic growth and dyadic adjustment over time at both the individual and dyadic levels, and the potential role of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Former prisoners of war and comparable war veterans and their wives (n = 229) were assessed twice, 30-31 (T1) and 35-38 (T2) years after the 1973 Yom Kippur War in Israel, with regard to posttraumatic growth, posttraumatic stress symptoms and dyadic adjustment. Results indicated that posttraumatic growth was associated with both elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms and low dyadic adjustment among both husbands and wives. Posttraumatic stress symptoms at T1 and T2 mediated the association between posttraumatic growth and dyadic adjustment. Wives' posttraumatic growth at T1 predicted posttraumatic growth and dyadic adjustment of the husbands at T2. The higher the wives' posttraumatic growth, the higher the posttraumatic growth and the lower the dyadic adjustment of the husbands in the subsequent measure. The findings suggest that posttraumatic growth reflects defensive beliefs which undermine marital relationships and that posttraumatic growth might be transmitted between spouses and implicated in the deterioration of the marital relationship over time.

The Human Coparental Bond Implicates Distinct Corticostriatal Pathways: Longitudinal Impact on Family Formation and Child Well-Being.

Alloparental care, the cooperative care of offspring by group members other than the biological mother, has been widely practiced since early hominin evolution to increase infant survival and thriving. The coparental bond-a relationship of solidarity and commitment between two adults who join their effort to care for children-is a central contributor to children's well-being and sociality; yet, the neural basis of coparenting has not been studied in humans. Here, we followed 84 first-time co-parents (42 couples) across the first 6 years of family formation, including opposite-sex and same-sex couples, measured brain response to coparental stimuli, observed collaborative and undermining coparental behaviors in infancy and preschool, assayed oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP), and measured coparenting and child behavior problems at 6 years. Across family types, coparental stimuli activated the striatum, specifically the ventral striatum and caudate, striatal nodes implicated in motivational goal-directed social behavior. Psychophysiological interaction analysis indicated that both nodes were functionally coupled with the vmPFC in support of the human coparental bond and this connectivity was stronger as collaborative coparental behavior increased. Furthermore, caudate functional connectivity patterns differentiated distinct corticostriatal pathways associated with two stable coparental behavioral styles; stronger caudate-vmPFC connectivity was associated with more collaborative coparenting and was linked to OT, whereas a stronger caudate-dACC connectivity was associated with increase in undermining coparenting and was related to AVP. Finally, dyadic path-analysis model indicated that the parental caudate-vmPFC connectivity in infancy predicted lower child externalizing symptoms at 6 years as mediated by collaborative coparenting in preschool. Findings indicate that the coparental bond is underpinned by striatal activations and corticostriatal connectivity similar to other human affiliative bonds; highlight specific corticostriatal pathways as defining distinct coparental orientations that underpin family life; chart brain-hormone-behavior constellations for the mature, child-orientated coparental bond; and demonstrate the flexibility of this bond across family constellations and its unique contribution to child well-being.

Mother-child adrenocortical synchrony; Moderation by dyadic relational behavior.

Mother-child adrenocortical synchrony, the coupling of cortisol (CT) secretion in mother and child, has been associated with shared parent-child experiences and maladaptive familial contexts. Yet, few studies tested adrenocortical synchrony in diurnal CT patterns. Guided by the bio-behavioral synchrony model, we examined whether mother-child relational behavior and maternal psychopathology may moderate the degree of concordance between mother and child's diurnal CT. Ninety-seven mothers and their six-year old children participated in two groups; mothers diagnosed with major depression disorder (N=28) and non-depressed controls (N=69). Mother-child interactions were observed and coded for dyadic reciprocity and dyadic tension and diurnal cortisol was collected from mother and child over two consecutive weekend days. Concordance between maternal and child's diurnal CT was found, significant above and beyond time of measurement. Maternal depression, while associated with attenuated child diurnal CT variability, was unrelated to adrenocortical synchrony. Higher child diurnal CT production predicted a stronger linkage between maternal and child's diurnal CT, suggesting that greater child physiological stress is associated with increased susceptibility to the influences of maternal stress physiology. Mother-child reciprocity was related to lower adrenocortical synchrony. Findings suggest that higher adrenocortical synchrony is associated with greater physiological stress and less adaptive dyadic relational patterns. Results raise the possibility that diurnal adrenocortical synchrony taps a unique aspect of HPA-axis functioning whose role in the cross-generational transfer of stress physiology requires further research.