Japanese and United States preschool children's responses to conflict and distress

Japanese and U.S. preschool children's responses to hypothetical interpersonal dilemmas were examined as a function of culture, gender, and maternal child-rearing values. U.S. children showed more anger, more aggressive behavior and language, and underregulation of emotion than Japanese children, across different contexts of assessment. Children from the 2 cultures appeared more similar on prosocial and avoidant patterns, though in some contexts U.S. children also showed more prosocial themes. Girls from both cultures expressed more prosocial themes and sometimes more anger than boys. Maternal encouragement of children's emotional expressivity was correlated with anger and aggression in children. It was more characteristic of U.S. than Japanese mothers, while emphasis on psychological discipline (reasoning; guilt and anxiety induction) was more characteristic of Japanese than U.S. mothers. The relevance of a conceptual framework that focuses on differences in Eastern and Western cultures in self-construals regarding independence and interdependence is considered.     

Mother and child interpretations of threat in ambiguous situations: Relations with child anxiety and autonomic responding.

This study examined maternal and child interpretive bias to threat (IBT) during dyadic conversation, child physiological reactivity and regulation during dyadic conversation, and maternal report of child anxiety in a community sample of 35 mothers and their 8- to 10-year-old children. Mothers and children discussed one neutral and six ambiguous scenarios, which were subsequently coded for frequency of maternal and child initiation, minimization, and expansion of threat-related themes. Child electrocardiogram data were collected during these conversations and maternal reports of child anxiety and internalizing problems were obtained. Across the sample, children initiated threat-related discussion more often than mothers. Maternal threat expansions were significantly positively correlated with child anxiety and internalizing behaviors. Maternal minimizations of threat were significantly associated with augmented child vagal tone throughout the IBT paradigm. Implications for prevention of child anxiety and directions for extending IBT research within the context of the mother–child dyad are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion regulation in mother–child narrative co-construction: Associations with children's narratives and adaptation.

The associations were studied between early mother-child co-construction of a separation–reunion narrative and children's concurrent and later (a) emotion narratives and (b) behavior problems. 51 children and their mothers were observed during a co-construction task when the children were aged 4.5 yrs. At ages 4.5 and 5.5 yrs, children's narratives were elicited using the MacArthur Story-Stem Battery (MSSB), and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed that children who were more emotionally coherent during the co-constructions had MSSB narratives that were more coherent, had more prosocial themes, and had fewer aggressive themes at ages 4.5 and 5.5 yrs. Moreover, such children had fewer behavior problems at both ages. The relations between narrative processes and emotion regulation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathology in the offspring of anxiety disorders patients.

Children of patients with an anxiety disorders diagnosis were assessed with a battery of self-report inventories and a semistructured interview schedule. The performance of these children was compared with that of children of patients with a diagnosis of dysthymic disorder, children of normal parents, and normal school children. Children of anxiety disorders patients were found to be more anxious and fearful; to report more school difficulties, more worries about family members and themselves, and more somatic complaints; and to spend more time engaged in solitary activities than children in either of the two normal groups. In addition, they were found to be more than 7 times as likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder than the two normal groups and to be twice as likely to have an anxiety disorder than the children of dysthymics. The resultant implications for familial factors in anxiety disorders are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children of methadone-dependent women: developmental outcomes

A group of 20 children was assessed for possible effects at school age of prenatal exposure to methadone. Compared to a control group of 20 nonexposed children on measures of cognitive, social, and emotional development, and of achievement, no significant differences were found on cognitive tests, although methadone exposure was associated with lower IQ scores. Methadone-exposed children exhibited greater anxiety, aggression, and rejection than did those in the control group, and their mothers reported more behavior problems.     

Which fearful toddlers should we worry about? Context, fear regulation, and anxiety risk.

In the current study, the author tested a model of risk for anxiety in fearful toddlers characterized by the toddlers' regulation of the intensity of withdrawal behavior across a variety of contexts. Participants included low-risk 24-month-old toddlers (N = 111) followed longitudinally each year through the fall of their kindergarten year. The key hypothesis was that being fearful in situations that are relatively low in threat (i.e., are predictable and controllable and in which children have many coping resources) is an early precursor to risk for anxiety development as measured by parental and teacher reports of children's anxious behaviors in kindergarten. Results supported the prediction such that it is not how much fear is expressed but when and how the fear is expressed that is important for characterizing adaptive behavior. Implications are discussed for a model of risk that includes the regulation of fear, the role of eliciting context, social wariness, and the importance of examining developmental transitions, such as the start of formal schooling. These findings have implications for the methods used to identify fearful children who may be at risk for developing anxiety-related problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thematic Apperception Test method for the differentiation of families of schizophrenics, delinquents, and "normals."

Assessed the dimension of Parent * Child interactional behavior from 240 TAT stories told by parents of 10 schizophrenics, 10 delinquents, and 10 "normals." A modified content analysis was applied to stories dealing with parent-child plots. Common underlying factors contributing to similar story qualities were abstracted into higher order classes of story behavior. 3 modal behavior categories were defined: personally involved, child-centered, flexible interactions (A), impersonally involved, superficial interactions (B), and overinvolved, parent-centered interactions (C). Blind rating of the stories by Categories A, B, and C significantly and reliably differentiated the 3 parental groups. Blind rating of a separate series of TAT stories told by 20 mothers of schizophrenic children and 20 mothers of normal children using the National Institute of Mental Health method significantly differentiated the 2 parental groups. Processes that may have determined the different patterns of narrated Parent-Child interactions are considered. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' understanding of others' desires: Fulfilling mine enhances my understanding of yours.

We developed a gift-giving task requiring children to identify their mother's desire, when her desire differed from theirs. We found a developmental change: 3- and 4-year-olds performed more poorly than 5-year-olds (Experiment 1). A modified version of this task (Experiment 2) revealed that 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds whose desires had been fulfilled chose an appropriate gift for their mothers significantly more often than children whose desires were unfulfilled. Children who merely anticipated desire fulfillment also outperformed children whose desires were unfulfilled. Analysis of children's verbal explanations provides converging evidence that desire fulfillment enhanced children's tendency to adopt the perspective of their mother and justify their choices by referencing her desires. Discussion focuses on why desire fulfillment enhances children's ability to consider the desires of others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictive validity of automatic self-associations for the onset of anxiety disorders.

Negative self-cognitions are assumed to play an important role in the onset of anxiety disorders. Current dual-process models emphasize the relevance of differentiating between more automatic and more deliberate self-cognitions in this respect. Therefore, this study was designed to test the prognostic value of both deliberate and automatic self-anxious associations as a generic vulnerability factor for the onset of anxiety disorders between baseline and 2-year follow-up. To test the disorder specificity of negative self-associations, we also measured self-depressed associations. Self-report measures of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, neuroticism, and fearful avoidance were included as covariates. Healthy controls (n = 593), individuals who had depression (n = 238), and individuals remitted from an anxiety disorder (n = 448) were tested as part of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. Deliberate self-anxious associations predicted the onset of anxiety disorders in all groups. Automatic self-anxious associations showed predictive validity only in individuals remitted from an anxiety disorder or in currently depressed individuals. Although deliberate self-depressed associations were related to the onset of anxiety disorders as well, automatic self-depressed associations were not. In the (remitted) patient groups, only deliberate self-anxious associations showed independent predictive value for the onset of anxiety disorders together with self-reported fearful avoidance behavior. In the healthy controls, only a composite index of negative emotionality (depressive or anxiety symptoms and neuroticism) showed independent predictive validity. This study provides the first evidence that automatic and deliberate self-anxious associations have predictive value for the future onset of anxiety disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

“My child and I are a package deal”: Balancing adult and child concerns in repartnering after divorce.

Parents who repartner after divorce must decide how to balance the potentially competing demands of their own desire for adult companionship and romance with the needs of their children for parental attention and affection. In this study, the authors assessed individual differences in divorced custodial mothers' orientation toward repartnering, characterizing it as a continuum, ranging from more child focused to more adult focused. Mothers who are more adult focused tend to be older, more educated, more likely to be employed outside the home, and exiting marriages of longer duration. In addition, using longitudinal data from in-home interviews, mothers who are more adult focused reported having lower rapport with their children, spending less time in joint activities with their children, and their children in turn reported lower rapport with their mothers. Levels of adult-focused orientation are relatively stable over time but increase when mothers become involved or interested in new partners. Using longitudinal diary data over a 2-year period, the authors demonstrated that mothers who are more child focused engage in more active management of emergent relationships in repartnered families and that adult-focused and child-focused mothers respond to different concerns. Whereas all mothers become more active in managing emergent relationships when both partner and child are resisting one another, mothers with greater child focus respond more to concerns of the child, and mothers with greater adult focus respond more to the concerns of the partner. Implications for intervention with divorced families are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The balance of employment and motherhood: Longitudinal study of mothers' feelings about separation from their first-born infants.

Examined how older, college-educated White mothers' preference to be employed or to remain home with their infants affected the development of their anxiety about separation from their infants over the 1st 13? mo of motherhood. On measures of anxiety about separation, career salience, and maternal role investment, 26 mothers (mean age 27.38 yrs) who preferred employment were compared with 36 mothers (mean age 27.89 yrs) who preferred to stay at home. Measures were taken at 2 days, 7 wks, 8 mo, and 13? mo postpartum. Employment-preference mothers' anxiety about separation declined earlier and to a greater extent than that of home-preference mothers, who were more strongly invested in the maternal role but less committed to jobs or careers. Discussion centers on the importance of employment preference as opposed to actual employment status for understanding how women balance career and motherhood. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactions Between Mothers and Children: Impacts of Maternal and Child Anxiety.

This study, an expansion of an earlier study of parenting behaviors of anxious mothers, examined the relationship of both mother and child anxiety disorders to mother behavior in parent-child interactions. Participants were 68 mother-child dyads with children ranging in age from 7 to 15 years. Mothers and children completed diagnostic evaluations and engaged in conversational tasks; behaviors were rated by coders who were blind to diagnosis. Mothers of anxious children, regardless of their own anxiety, were less warm (p     

Gender differences in sexual desire: the effects of anger and anxiety

The effects of anxiety and anger on subjective sexual desire in men and women, following Kaplan's model of hypoactive desire disorders, were examined. Gender-appropriate erotic audiotapes containing statements designed to elicit anxiety, anger, or situationally appropriate feelings (control condition) were presented to 24 men and 24 women. Dependent measures included subjective anxiety and time to expressed desire to terminate the sexual encounter. Results indicated that, for women, both anger and anxiety significantly reduced desire relative to the control condition, with anger showing a more marked effect. For men, similar results were noted, although fewer differences were observed between the anxiety and anger conditions. Significantly more women (79%) than men (21%) indicated that they would have terminated the encounter during the anger condition. Results are discussed in light of potential gender differences in factors that influence sexual desire, with directions for future research highlighted.     

Freedom and therapy: From self-liberation to self-control.

This article focuses on how subjective feelings of freedom and lack of freedom can influence a client's motivation to change. Freedom can be expressed as a positive desire to act (freedom to), or by the negative impulse escape constraints (a freedom from). More often, it is the negative aspect that brings client to therapy: the desire to be liberated from the burden of thoughts and emotions which restrict their freedom to be, or to act, as they wish. In therapy, the positive aspect of freedom is often raised in the context of establishing autonomy and self-regulation as desirable goals. But shifting from notions of self-liberation to those of self-control involves exploring the complex interaction between subjective feelings of freedom, and objective limits on freedom to act. Clients may become fearful at what they perceive as too much freedom to act, in the absence of meaningful limits on choice and behavioral possibilities. This "freedom anxiety" as a clinical condition can inhibit the potential for change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of stress by mothers of children with language development disorders

Subject of this study is the maternal stress as a result of the disabilities of language impaired children. The report concentrates on the influence of the children disabilities and the maternal coping strategies on the stress in the families. The study is based on an inquiry of 98 mothers with speech and language impaired children. Nearly 50% of the mothers suffer from stress because of their children' disabilities. Special caregiving demands, family conflicts, anxiety about the child future, depressive mood, aggressive feeling or deception were often experienced by the mothers as a direct consequence of their child's problems. The correlation of this specific maternal stress with general stress factors was insignificant. The maternal stress was more due to the attention deficits and the behavioural problems of the children than to the language delay. An increased level of stress was hardly related to the severity of the impairment, but to the maternal coping strategies. Mothers applying emotion focused coping strategies experienced more stress than those who predominantly used problem focused strategies. The results prove that mothers of children with even minor disabilities feel overstrained by their children' disorders. During counseling experts should attach more importance to deal with the needs and wishes of mothers and families of language impaired children. Reduction of family stress can be achieved by intervention programs helping the mothers to improve their psychological resources.     

The measurement of overt aggression from fantasy.

"A set of specially devised pictures was individually administered to 118 boys aged 6-1 to 10-2 and the stories scored for five different categories of aggressive content. On the basis of teacher ratings of fighting behavior with age mates, the sample was divided into five groups differing in degree of overt aggressivity. The children who were rated as most likely to initiate fighting behavior produced significantly more fighting themes than those boys rated as extremely nonaggressive." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Affective Structure of Supportive Parenting: Depressive Symptoms, Immediate Emotions, and Child-Oriented Motivation.

This study investigated the maternal concerns and emotions that may regulate one form of sensitive parenting, support for children's immediate desires or intentions. While reviewing a videotape of interactions with their 1-year-olds, mothers who varied on depressive symptoms reported concerns and emotions they had during the interaction. Emotions reflected outcomes either to children (child-oriented concerns) or to mothers themselves (parent-oriented concerns). Child-oriented concerns were associated with fewer negative emotions and more supportive behavior. Supportive parenting was high among mothers who experienced high joy and worry and low anger, sadness, and guilt. However, relations depended on whether emotions were child or parent oriented: Supportive behavior occurred more when emotions were child oriented. In addition, as depressive symptoms increased, mothers reported fewer child-oriented concerns, fewer child-oriented positive emotions, and more parent-oriented negative emotions. They also displayed less supportive behavior. Findings suggest that support for children's immediate intentions may be regulated by parents' concerns, immediate emotions, and depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterizing interactions between anxious mothers and their children.

The present study assessed interactions between anxious mothers and their children, using observational techniques to elucidate potential mechanisms of anxiety transmission. Results revealed that anxious mothers were less warm and positive in their interactions with their children, less granting of autonomy, and more critical and catastrophizing in comparison with normal control mothers. Maternal anxiety status appeared to be the primary predictor of maternal warmth during interactions. Child anxiety status was most predictive of maternal granting of autonomy behavior. Maternal behaviors exhibited during interactions were the most salient predictors of child anxiety. Interventions focusing on family interactions that take into account the contributions of both members of the dyad may be more effective in curbing transmission than interventions that solely address maternal or child symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children of Armageddon. Common developmental threats in high-conflict divorcing families

This article traces how parental vulnerability to the feelings of humiliation and loss (inherent in highly conflicted divorce and custody litigation) distorts parenting capacities and parent-child relationships in distinctive ways, putting children at risk for specific kinds of developmental difficulties. Pre-oedipal children often fail to achieve a complete separation from their primary caretakers. Oedipal children, already struggling with separation issues, manifest sexualized anxiety and discomfort with gender identity. By latency, these children present as fragmented within themselves and in relationships with others. Each stage-specific response is discussed and illustrated. It is argued that mental health and legal professionals can use this in-depth understanding of child responses to help parents reframe their disputing agendas in terms of the child's developmental concerns and preoccupations to produce custody settlements that are more protective of the child's best interests.     

Smoking and nicotine dependence. Results from a sample of 14- to 24-year-olds in Germany

Ths paper describes the distribution of dependence criteria and diagnoses in a sample of 14- to 24-year-olds from Munich, Germany (n = 3,021; 71% response rate), evaluates differences between nondependent and dependent smokers and examines associations of smoking with other substances, affective and anxiety disorders. Assessment was made using the M-CIDI. The lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV nicotine dependence in the total sample is 19%, rising to 52% among regular smokers. No gender differences were seen in the progression from regular smoking to nicotine dependence, although men were more likely than women to initiate regular use. Analysis of daily cigarette use identified a significant dose-response relationship with the number of endorsed DSM-IV dependence criteria with unsuccessful cut-backs being the most prevalent criterion. As compared to nondependent smokers, dependent smokers were more likely to associate negative health effects with smoking and to have a desire to change and attempt a change in their pattern of use. Regular use of nicotine was found to be significantly associated with other substance and nonsubstance disorders, although dependent regular use was more strongly associated with these disorders than nondependent regular use. These results indicate that daily smoking is a behavior which is resistant to change despite an expressed desire and repeated cut-back attempts. Although initiation of regular smoking among nonsmokers does not occur frequently after the early twenties, the risk for dependent smoking among regular users persists into adulthood and is associated with a range of mental disorders.