Family education to enhance the moral atmosphere of the family and the moral development of adolescents.

Examined the effects of a course for families in democratic conflict resolution on (a) the family's collective decision-making abilities, and (b) the moral reasoning of adolescent participants. 16 couples and their adolescent children were divided into 3 groups: parents and their adolescents, parents only, and a control group. Both experimental groups met for 10 weekly 2.5-hr sessions and received training in conflict resolution and the use of family meetings. Assessment was based on the Parental Attitude Research Instrument, 2 self-report inventories, a behavioral role-play test, the Kohlberg Moral Judgment Interview, and an analysis of tape recordings of the family meetings. A 1-yr follow-up assessment of the Kohlberg measure was also used. Parents in both experimental groups significantly increased their equalitarian attitudes toward family decision making. Furthermore, families in both groups significantly improved their effectiveness in collective decision making; the parent–adolescent group showed greater improvement than the parent group on most of the variables measured. Finally, the results suggest that adolescents who participated in the training significantly improved their scores in moral reasoning. This gain was maintained at follow-up. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior and interactions of children in cooperative groups in lower and middle elementary grades.

The study investigated the behaviors and interactions of children in structured and unstructured groups as they worked together on a 6-week social studies activity each term for 3 school terms. Two hundred and twelve children in Grade 1 and 184 children in Grade 3 participated in the study. Stratified random assignment occurred so that each gender-balanced group consisted of 1 high-, 2 medium-, and 1 low-ability student. The results show that the children in the structured groups were consistently more cooperative and they provided more elaborated and nonelaborated help than did their peers in the unstructured groups. The children in the structured groups in Grade 3 obtained higher reading and learning outcome scores than their peers in the unstructured groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of knowledge of social learning principles on enhancing treatment outcome and generalization in a parent training program.

Examined the efficacy of incorporating formal training in social learning principles into a behavioral parent training program as a means of enhancing treatment outcome and generalization. Two groups of parents (n?=?20) received behavioral skill training designed to modify child noncompliance. One group also received formal training in social learning principles throughout the program. Children had a mean age of 61.75 mo. Outcome measures collected prior to and after treatment and at a 2-mo follow-up included home observations by independent observers, parents' perceptions of child adjustment, and a parent consumer-satisfaction measure. Results indicate that after treatment, the group receiving social learning principles tended to perceive their children as better adjusted and tended to be more satisfied with treatment. At follow-up, parents in this group perceived their children as better adjusted and rewarded their children more. Furthermore, their children were significantly more compliant. Results suggest that temporal and setting generality are enhanced by the inclusion of social learning principles into parent training procedures. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discordant prolongation of the refractory period and repolarization time by a class III agent, E4031, in the healing phase of myocardial infarction

One hundred and ninety-eight adolescents and their mothers (N = 189) and fathers (N = 136) participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Adolescent problem behaviour was assessed by the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). In addition, parental stress and marital adjustment were determined. Results showed that mothers and fathers showed high agreement, especially about their daughters, whereas parents and adolescents showed little agreement. Agreement was higher for internalising than for externalising behaviours. In general, adolescents reported more symptomatology than their parents did. However, mothers' ratings of their children's behaviours were significantly correlated with adolescents' self-ratings, but fathers' ratings were not. Statistical tests of correlations showed that mothers experiencing stress caused by marital problems perceived more problem behaviours in their children. Fathers' perceptions were relatively unaffected by personal adjustment. However, poor marital adjustment perceived by both parents showed a significant negative relation to adolescent externalising problem behaviour.     

Toward a contingency hypothesis of empathy development.

Found that the empathy level (assessed by a version of the Feshbach and Roe Situational Test for Empathy) of 42 normal 9- and 10-yr-old children from a Greek island was negatively related to their fear of physical punishment from their parents, particularly from their fathers. Low empathy Ss also reported more spanking from and more fear of their fathers than their mothers. Ss whose fathers were away from home for most of the year scored higher in empathy. Results are explained in terms of the relatively distant and ambivalent relationship that Greek children have with their fathers, in contrast to the very positive relationship they have with their mothers. It is therefore suggested that when punishment is delivered by a parent with whom the child has a prior strong positive bonding, such punishment may not be very deleterious to the child's development of empathy. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents as agents of career development.

This study tested the effectiveness of a program for parents to help their adolescent children in career planning. In a pretest–posttest control group design involving 20 families in the experimental group and 20 families as a wait-listed control group, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test improvement on five variables concerned with parent–child relations and career development. The MANOVA yielded a significant effect for groups over time. Using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures, four of five univariate tests were also significant. In addition, all parents and six adolescents were interviewed after the program to gain a qualitative assessment of program effectiveness. Interview data tended to support the varied degrees of improvement that the adolescents showed on the quantitative measures. It was concluded that parents can function effectively in fostering the career development of their children, when provided with a structured program that they can follow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of Attachment at Age 3: Construct Validity of the Preschool Attachment Classification System.

This study examined correlates of attachment at age 3 to further validate preschool separation-reunion measures. Three-year-olds (N = 150) and their mothers participated in a separation-reunion protocol, the Preschool Attachment Classification System (PACS: J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin with the MacArthur Working Group on Attachment, 1992), and a mother-child interaction session during a laboratory visit. Mothers also completed psychosocial measures and, along with teachers, evaluated child behavior problems. The secure and disorganized groups received, respectively, the highest and lowest interaction scores. Disorganized children showed a higher level of teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing problems than did secure children. Mothers of insecure children reported higher child externalizing (all insecure groups) and internalizing (avoidant group) scores, more personal distress related to emotional bonding (disorganized group), childrearing control (ambivalent group), and child hyperactivity (avoidant group). Results strongly support the validity of the PACS as a measure of attachment in 3-year-olds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term filial therapy with German mothers: Findings from a controlled study.

Filial therapy has been shown to be an effective tool in improving parent-child relationships. This study represents a starting point for investigating the effectiveness of filial therapy with German mothers and their children. A brief form of the VanFleet filial training approach was used with a group of 15 mothers attending a health retreat for 2 weeks. Dependent variables included a measure of parenting styles, behavior ratings of children, and child-mother play interaction measures. Results showed an increase in acceptance, empathy, positive attention, and educational competence for mothers who received filial therapy and a decrease in ratings of their children's behavior difficulties. Control group members did not show similar gains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance-Abusing Parents' Attitudes Toward Allowing Their Custodial Children to Participate in Treatment: A Comparison of Mothers Versus Fathers.

Attitudes of substance-abusing fathers (N = 214) and mothers (N = 106) entering outpatient treatment toward allowing their custodial children to participate in individual- or family-based interventions were examined. Only 129 parents (40%) reported they would be willing to allow their children to participate in treatment. A significantly greater proportion of mothers reported they would assent to their children participating (N = 58 [55%]) compared with fathers (N = 71 [33%]). Factors associated with parents' attitudes toward their children participating included parents' (a) referral source into treatment, (b) level of psychiatric distress, and (c) substance use frequency in the previous year. Thus, parental reluctance to allow their children to participate appears to be a significant barrier in efforts to intervene with these at-risk children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood depression, stressors and parental depression

The relationship between depression and stressors and the relationship between depression in children and depression in their parents were investigated. Depressed children aged 7-11 years (n = 20) were compared with clinical non-depressed children (n = 88) and normal children (n = 55). Children, mothers and fathers in the three groups were tested. Measures included the Children's Depression Inventory, Recent Life Events Scale, Stressor Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. The findings showed that children and mothers in the depressed group reported more stressors than other children and other mothers while fathers of children in the depressed group did not report more stressors. The findings also showed that mothers of depressed children were more depressed than mothers of normal children while there were no differences between the scores of fathers in the three groups.     

Maternal illusory control predicts socialization strategies and toddler compliance.

This study examined the relation between mothers' perception of their capacity for controlling infant crying and a later measure of parent–toddler social interaction—compliance with parental requests. Fifty-seven mothers participated in (a) a laboratory task when their children were 5 months old to assess mothers' perception of control and (b) a toy-cleanup task when their children were 24 months old to assess toddler compliance. Perception-of-control scores on the laboratory task reflected accuracy of perception and ranged from accurate to greatly overestimating control, with an overestimation referred to as an illusion of control. Mothers were categorized into three illusion-of-control groups: low, moderate, and high. Toddlers of mothers in the low and high illusion-of-control groups were more likely to be categorized as highly defiant than were toddlers of mothers in the moderate-illusion group. Mothers with high illusory control were most likely to use a high power-assertion strategy (negative control), and when negotiating, their toddlers' expression of autonomy was most likely to escalate into defiance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behaviors, interactions, and perceptions of junior high school students during small-group learning.

The study investigated the behaviors, interactions, and perceptions of junior high school students as they worked in structured or unstructured cooperative learning groups on problem-solving, curriculum-based tasks in mathematics, science, and English. Two hundred twenty students in Grade 8 participated in the study, which was conducted across 3 school terms. The students worked in 4-person, gender-balanced, heterogeneous achievement groups. The results show that the children in the structured groups were more cooperative and provided more relevant verbal help and assistance to each other as they worked together in their groups than their peers in the unstructured groups. Furthermore, they had stronger perceptions of small-group work as being enjoyable and providing them with the opportunity to do quality work together. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent/child relationships in single-parent families.

The growing number of single-parent families has not been matched by an increase in our understanding of their family functioning. This study examined parent/child perceptions of relationships and actual interactions as a function of family structure. Participants were 28 Grade 10 adolescents and 28 parents, representing matched groups of mothers and fathers from 1- and 2-parent families. They completed a questionnaire regarding the quality of their relationship, were interviewed about their conflicts, and then participated in a parent/child discussion session. Both children and parents in single-parent families were found to be somewhat ambivalent in their relationships, with both greater intimacy and heightened conflict than evidenced in 2-parent families, as well as less adequate ego functioning when dealing with conflicts. No support was found, however, for the commonly held notion that children in single-parent families fare better in the custody of same-sex parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers’ and fathers’ attributions for adolescent behavior: An examination in families of depressed, subdiagnostic, and nondepressed youth.

This study examined whether parents of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms or disorder make more negative and fewer positive attributions for their adolescents’ behavior than do parents of nondepressed adolescents, and whether parental attributions for adolescents’ behavior contribute to parenting behavior, above and beyond the adolescents’ behavior. Parents and adolescents (76 girls and 48 boys) participated in videotaped problem-solving interactions (PSIs). Each parent subsequently watched the videotape and offered attributions for their adolescent’s behavior. In addition, parent and adolescent behavior during the PSIs was coded. Mothers and fathers in families of nondepressed adolescents made significantly fewer negative attributions for their children’s behavior than did parents in families of adolescents with diagnostic or subdiagnostic levels of depressive symptoms. Moreover, mothers’ and fathers’ negative attributions were related to greater levels of observed aggressive behavior and lower levels of observed facilitative behavior during the PSIs controlling for both demographic characteristics and the relative level of adolescent aggressive and facilitative behavior during the PSI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filial therapy with parents of children experiencing learning difficulties.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 10 week filial therapy training model as an intervention method for parents of children with learning difficulties. Results of the analysis of covariance revealed that the parents in the experimental group scored significantly higher after training than the parents in the control group on their attitude of acceptance of the child. The experimental group parents attained a significantly lower mean total score on level of stress related to parenting than the control group parents. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups' posttest mean scores on the total behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filial therapy with nonoffending parents of children who have been sexually abused.

Examined the effectiveness of a 10 wk filial therapy training model as a method of intervention for nonoffending parents (24–56 yrs old) and their children (4–10 yrs old) who have experienced sexual abuse. Ss were assigned to either an experimental or control group and were given pretraining sessions and assessments. The parents in the experimental group then conducted weekly 30 min special play sessions with their children, as recommended by Landreth (1991). One session was videotaped. The parents received constructive feedback and support from the facilitator and group members during meetings. A posttest battery of instruments was administered to parents and children following the training sessions. Analyses of covariance revealed that the nonoffending parents in the experimental group significantly increased their level of empathy in their interactions with their children, significantly increased their attitude of acceptance toward their children, and significantly reduced their level of stress. Measures of the children's behavior, anxiety, emotional adjustment, and self-concept indicated positive trends. The authors maintain that this study supports filial therapy as an effective intervention for nonoffending parents and their children who have experienced sexual abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mathematics, vocabulary, and reading development in Chinese American and European American children over the primary school years.

Forty European American (EA; 20 girls, 20 boys) and 40 second-generation Chinese American (CA; 20 girls, 20 boys) preschool and kindergarten children (mean age at Time 1?=?5.7 years) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers participated in 3 data collections (1993, 1995, and 1997) to investigate sociocultural and family factors that contribute to children's academic achievement. CA children outscored EA children in mathematics at all 3 times. Initially, EA children outscored CA children in receptive English vocabulary, but CA children caught up to EA children at Time 3. CA children were better readers than EA children at Time 3. According to parental self-reports, CA parents structured their children's time to a greater degree, used more formal teaching methods, and assigned their children more homework. Parents' work-oriented methods and child-specific beliefs at Time 1 influenced children's mathematics performance at Time 3. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognition and posing of emotional expressions by abused children and their mothers.

Twenty abused and 20 nonabused pairs of children (3 to 7 years of age) and their mothers participated in a facial expression posing task and a facial expression recognition task. The expressions produced by subjects were judged on emotion content by naive raters and were coded using Friesen and Ekman's (1984) Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EMFACS). Data analysis indicated that abused children and their mothers pose less recognizable expressions than nonabused children and mothers. Although abused children were less accurate than nonabused children in recognizing emotional expressions, there was no difference in recognition accuracy between the two groups of mothers. A significant correlation between mothers' posing scores and children's recognition scores was also obtained. These results suggest that abused children may not observe easily interpreted voluntary displays of emotion by their mothers as often as nonabused children. This may partially explain the difference in recognition (and production) abilities of abused and nonabused children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early intervention for parents at risk of child abuse and neglect: A preliminary investigation.

An early intervention program for young parents and children who have been identified as being at risk of child maltreatment was evaluated. Thirty mother–child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) an information group offered by the child protection agency (which served as a control condition) or (b) a special program of behavioral parent training in addition to the agency group. Self-report measures indicated that significant improvements in parenting risk and child behavior problems at posttest and at 3-month follow-up were evident only for mothers who received parent training in addition to information groups. Home observation data were inconclusive, possibly due to the limited opportunities to observe behaviors of interest. Both groups showed improvements in their child-rearing environments and in their children's adaptive behaviors at follow-up. Caseworker ratings of clients' risks of maltreatment and abilities to manage their families at 1-year follow-up significantly favored the families who received parent training in addition to information. Methodological and treatment issues arising from this preliminary investigation of early intervention with diverse population of high-risk parents and children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of a child-care training program for parents at-risk for child neglect.

Evaluated a home-based parent training program aimed at teaching crucial childcare skills (e.g., diapering, bathing, feeding, safety) to 22 low-IQ mothers of children (aged 1–23 mo) considered at-risk for child neglect. Ss were randomly assigned to a training or control group. Posttests showed that the mean percent correct score (88%) of the training group was then similar to that of 12 nonhandicapped comparison mothers, with both significantly greater than the mean (61%) of the control group. The training group maintained improvements up to 76 wks following training, and the control group, when subsequently trained, had a mean score of 92%. Finally, where it could be observed, the health of children improved concomitant with the parents learning proper childcare. Parent training in childcare may help reduce the likelihood of child neglect due to parental incompetency. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)