Individual characteristics and environmental factors influencing preschoolers' emotional eating.

Emotional eating, which refers to eating in response to emotional states, is prevalent in early childhood. Executive function (EF) and sleep problems are related to preschoolers' self-regulatory abilities during the day and night and have been reported to be associated with their emotional eating. These associations can be stronger in emotionally stressful situations, such as controlling feeding practices. This study explored the role of preschoolers' EF and sleep problems as child characteristics, as well as maternal feeding practices as environmental factors influencing emotional eating during the preschool period. Participants included 363 Korean mothers with preschoolers aged 3- to 5-years old (190 boys, 173 girls). Mothers reported on their own feeding practices, and preschoolers' EF, sleep problems, and emotional eating. Results indicated that preschoolers' EF was negatively associated with emotional over- and undereating, and this association was stronger when mothers applied more pressure to eat. Maternal monitoring had a similar effect, with emotional overeating exerting a greater impact with low levels of maternal monitoring. Finally, maternal pressure to eat moderated the influence of preschoolers' sleep problems on emotional overeating, with higher pressure to eat predicting a stronger relationship between sleep problems and emotional overeating. These findings suggest that maternal feeding practices, which are relatively modifiable, should be considered an important element in intervention programs aimed at preventing emotional eating in preschool children.

Early childhood eating behaviors associated with risk of overweight and its socio-ecological determinants in Korean preschool children.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify preschool children's eating behaviors associated with early childhood obesity and its multi-level, socio-ecological determinants. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 364 mothers of preschool children aged 3-5 years, these children's healthy eating behaviors were assessed using a validated preschool nutrition quotient (NQ-P) questionnaire. The children's overweight or obesity statuses were determined based on body mass index percentiles from the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart. The associations between the NQ-P score and risk of overweight or obesity were examined using multivariable logistic regression. The associations of individual, maternal, physical, and media environmental factors with the NQ-P score were also examined using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Preschool children with greater NQ-P scores were at a significantly lower risk of overweight or obesity (P < 0.01). The NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with maternal body mass index and an inverse association with household income (all P < 0.05). Maternal parenting and feeding practices exhibited associations with the NQ-P score. Positive associations were observed with "warm," "structured," and "autonomy-supportive" parenting as well as monitoring feeding practices (all P < 0.05). In addition, the NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with the childcare center's anti-obesogenic environment, such as the provision of nutritional and physical-activity support and vicinity of the built food environment to the home, including access to good-quality food, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat foods (all P < 0.05). Regarding media environments, the NQ-P score demonstrated more significant associations with viewing and eating and/or cooking content displayed on online video platforms (all P < 0.05) than with that on television. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the significance of healthy eating behaviors in early-childhood-obesity prevention and underscore the importance of multilevel maternal, physical, and media environmental interventions that effectively guide eating behaviors in preschool children.

Preschoolers' secure base script representations in relations to social competence, maternal narrative style and content in a Korean sample.

A central notion of attachment theory is that the security experienced in the context of interactions with caregiver(s) is reflected in the individual's close interpersonal relationships and psychological adaptation throughout life. In this study, seventy-nine Korean preschoolers' secure base script representations were assessed to examine their relations with social competence, and maternal narrative style and content. Secure base script (SBS) was assessed using three stories from the Attachment Story Completion Task. Preschoo-lers' social competence was measured using maternal reports. Maternal narrative style and content were assessed using memory talk procedure. Results indicated that preschoolers with higher SBS scores were rated by their mothers as being more socially competent. Further, child SBS scores were significantly associated with maternal narrative style and content. Findings suggest that SBS representations are found among Korean preschoolers and SBS representations show a continuing connection to social competence and maternal narrative style and content.

Social engagement and adaptive functioning during early childhood: Identifying and distinguishing among subgroups differing with regard to social engagement.

This study tested the hypothesis that social engagement (SE) with peers is a fundamental aspect of social competence during early childhood. Relations between SE and a set of previously validated social competence indicators, as well as additional variables derived from observation and sociometric interviews were assessed using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches (N = 1453, 696 girls) in 4 samples (3 U.S.A., 1 Portuguese). Directly observed SE was positively associated with broad-band measures of socially competent behavior, peer acceptance, being a target of peers' attention, and also with broad-band personality dimensions. Using individual Q-items significantly associated with SE in 3 of our 4 samples, a hierarchical cluster analysis yielded a 5-cluster solution that grouped cases efficiently. Tests on relations between cluster membership and the set of social competence and other variables revealed significant main effects of cluster membership in the full sample and within each individual sample, separately. With the exception of tests for peer negative preference, children in the lowest SE cluster also had significantly lower overall social competence, personality functioning scores than did children in higher SE clusters. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sleep as a support for social competence, peer relations, and cognitive functioning in preschool children.

Evidence that sleep influences social and cognitive adaptation for school-age children and adolescents is accumulating rapidly, but less research focuses on the role of sleep for adaptive functioning during early childhood. We addressed these questions using actigraphy to assess sleep duration, sleep quality, and variability in sleep schedules in relation to a range of social/emotional and cognitive measures, including receptive vocabulary, emotion understanding, peer acceptance, social skills, social engagement, and temperament. Children in a convenience sample (N = 62, 40 boys, mean age = 4.15 yrs, 67% European American) wore actigraphs for 4-7 days, with sleep and wake states determined using Sadeh's scoring algorithm. Older children spent less time in bed at night and ethnic minority children (mostly African Americans) slept less at night and had lower sleep efficiency than did European American ethnic status children. Bivariate relations (controlling for sex, age, and ethnicity) between sleep variables and child adaptation scores showed that sleep duration was positively associated with peer acceptance, social skills, social engagement, receptive vocabulary, and understanding of the causes of emotions. Fewer variables were associated with nighttime sleep quality and variability and these tended to be related to outcome variables suggestive of behavioral and emotional regulation. Results suggest that sleep parameters are broadly implicated in the adjustment of preschool age children.

Growth of social competence during the preschool years: a 3-year longitudinal study.

This study examined the stability and growth over a 3-year period of individual differences in preschool children's social competence, which was assessed in three domains: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. A total of 255 children (126 girls and 129 boys) participated in this study. Growth curve analyses demonstrated both stability and change with regard to social competence over early childhood. Social competence measures and latent variables were invariant over this time period, individual differences in social competence were largely stable from year to year, and significant increases over time were observed for the domain most closely reflective of specific personal attributes skills.

Attachment representations, sleep quality and adaptive functioning in preschool age children.

Both the attachment system and sleep are considered to be important biopsychosocial regulators of development and of adaptive functioning in children, and there is a substantial literature suggesting that the two systems may be mutually influencing. To date, however, the bulk of research attempting to link these systems has focused on infancy and the results of empirical studies are mixed. Thirty-nine preschool children participated in this study (valid sleep data for 34 cases). Attachment representations were assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) and sleep was assessed using objective (i.e., actigraphy) measures. Analyses revealed that the coherence of child narratives and security scored from the ASCT were related to sleep quality indices (e.g., Sleep Activity, Wake Minutes after Sleep Onset, Sleep Efficiency). Additional analyses examined external correlates of attachment representations and tested possible interactions of attachment and sleep. No significant mediated interactions across attachment and sleep domains were found. Although the direction of effects cannot be determined, the results suggest that parent-child relationship and sleep organization are intertwined for preschool age children and the joint effects of these biopsychosocial regulators should be studied further.

Preschool children's mental representations of attachment: antecedents in their secure base behaviors and maternal attachment scripts.

This study examined the antecedents of preschool age children's mental representations of attachment, assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT). Antecedent predictors were maternal attachment scripts, assessed using the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA), and the child's secure base behaviors, assessed using the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). Participants were 121 mothers and their preschool children assessed in three samples (Portuguese sample, n = 31; US Midwestern sample, n = 38; US Southeastern sample, n = 52). AQS and ASA assessments were completed approximately 1.5 years before the ASCT data were collected. No cross-sample contrasts for the attachment variables were significant. Correlations and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the three attachment measures were significantly associated and that both maternal secure base script knowledge and children's secure base behaviors (AQS) were uniquely and significantly associated with children's mental representations of attachment (ASCT). A test of the indirect effect between maternal scripts and child representations through children's secure base behaviors was not significant.

Parental Involvement, Child Temperament, and Parents' Work Hours: Differential Relations for Mothers and Fathers.

This study examined how child temperament was related to parents' time spent accessible to and interacting with their 2-year-olds. Bivariate analyses indicated that both fathers and mothers spent more time with temperamentally challenging children than easier children on workdays, but fathers spent less time with challenging children than easier children on non-workdays. After accounting for work hours, some associations between temperament and fathers' workday involvement dropped to non-significance. For fathers, work hours also moderated the relation between irregular temperament and workday play. For mothers, work hours moderated the relation between both difficult and irregular temperament and workday interaction. Mothers also spent more time with girls (but not boys) who were temperamentally irregular. Results speak to the influence of child temperament on parenting behavior, and the differential construction of parenting roles as a function of child characteristics and patterns of work.

Hierarchical models of social competence in preschool children: a multisite, multinational study.

The generality of a multilevel factorial model of social competence (SC) for preschool children was tested in a 5-group, multinational sample (N = 1,540) using confirmatory factor analysis. The model fits the observed data well, and tests constraining paths for measured variables to their respective first-order factors across samples also fit well. Equivalence of measurement models was found at sample and sex within-sample levels but not for age within sample. In 2 groups, teachers' ratings were examined as correlates of SC indicators. Composites of SC indicators were significantly associated with both positive and negative child attributes from the teachers' ratings. The findings contribute to understanding of both methodological and substantive issues concerning SC in young children.

How does culture influence the degree of romantic loneliness and closeness?

A culture promoting a strong desire for romantic relationships can greatly influence feelings of romantic loneliness and of closeness. In this study, the authors hypothesized that when not in a romantic relationship, U.S. young adults experience greater degrees of romantic loneliness because of a high desire for romantic relationships, compared with Korean young adults. The authors also predicted that when in a romantic relationship, U.S. young adults experience greater closeness to their romantic partner than do Korean young adults. Results revealed that in a sample of 227 U.S. and Korean students, U.S. students reported significantly higher levels of romantic loneliness than did Koreans when not in a romantic relationship and significantly lower levels of romantic loneliness when in a stable romantic relationship. U.S. students also reported a greater degree of closeness in romantic relationships than did Korean students. The results suggest that Western cultures' strong emphasis on the importance of romantic relationships may unduly amplify individuals' levels of loneliness.

An examination of ethnic identity and self-esteem with diverse populations: exploring variation by ethnicity and geography.

The current study examined the relationships among ethnic identity and self-esteem across multiple ethnic groups within two distinct geographical locations (N = 1,344). In the current study, for same ethnic group members, the components of ethnic identity (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) were differentially related to self-esteem based on geographical context. Furthermore, within each geographical context, the strength of the relation between each ethnic identity component and self-esteem varied based on group membership, suggesting that the variables may be more or less influential on self-esteem depending on one's group membership. Based on these results, the exploration and resolution subscales of the Ethnic Identity scale (EIS) appear to be valid and reliable with diverse samples, whereas support for the affirmation subscale of the EIS is more tenuous. Finally, these findings suggest that ethnic identity may have varying salience and meaning for same ethnic group members in different geographical contexts (e.g., Asian Americans in California vs. Asian Americans in the Midwest).

Maternal attachment script representations: longitudinal stability and associations with stylistic features of maternal narratives.

To evaluate the temporal stability of maternal attachment representations obtained using a word-prompt task, a sample of mothers (N = 55) was assessed on two occasions, 12 - 15 months apart. Each mother responded to six word-prompt sets on each assessment occasion (4 word-prompt sets were designed to prime secure base themes, 2 word-prompt sets were designed to prime different themes), and the resulting stories were scored in terms of the presence and quality of the secure base scripts evident in each story. The story scriptedness scores (average across four stories) were internally consistent at each assessment (alphas >.85) and the mean difference in scores was not significant across assessments. The cross-time correlation for the composites (aggregates of scores at each age) was positive and significant, r53 = .54. Other aspects of maternal stories were also stable (e.g., number of words used, number of sentences per story, use of words from the prompt list). Controlling for stable stylistic features of the stories did not reduce the magnitude of association for scriptedness scores across time. These results suggest that the presence and quality of secure base scripts is a stable aspect of maternal representations of attachment and that the word-prompt task is useful for prompting the script in narrative production.

Maternal secure base scripts, children's attachment security, and mother-child narrative styles.

This paper reports the results of a study examining links between maternal representations of attachment, child attachment security, and mother and child narrative styles assessed in the context of reminiscences about shared experiences. Participants were 90 mother - child dyads. Child attachment security was assessed using the attachment Q-set and maternal attachment representations were measured using a recently designed instrument that assesses the script-like qualities of those representations. Analyses examined dependencies in the mother - child memory talk data and then assessed the overlap between both mother and child reminiscing styles and the attachment variables. Narrative styles of both the mothers and their children were coherent and consistent for each dyad member. Furthermore, maternal narrative style (e.g., specific and elaborative questions, using confirming evaluation comments) was significantly related to child participation in the narrative. Maternal and child attachment variables were positively and significantly correlated, and child security was positively associated with maternal narrative style. Maternal secure base scripts were also found to be significantly related to the number of references to emotions in both mother and child narratives as well as to children's overall participation in the memory talk. The pattern of results suggests that attachment representations serve as one influence on the manner(s) in which mother - child dyads think about and discuss emotion-laden content relevant to the child's personal autobiography. Furthermore, the results are consistent with the notion that the manner in which children organize their thoughts about emotion are (at least potentially) shaped by the narrative styles of their parents.