Perceptions of parental and peer attachments by women with mood disorders.

The relationship between perceptions of parental and peer attachments at various ages and adult mood disorders was examined in 156 women classified as having bipolar disorder or unipolar depression or as nonpsychiatric controls. Nonpsychiatric controls reported a decreased attachment to their parents over time, but they also reported an increased closeness to their mothers in adulthood following a distant adolescence. Never hospitalized, moderately depressed Ss showed a similar trend toward decreased relatedness, but moderately depressed Ss did not report reestablishment of a close relationship with their mothers after adolescence. Severely depressed and bipolar Ss reported little attachment to their mother at all ages. Bipolar Ss also reported little connectedness to their fathers throughout their lifespan and severely depressed women felt less attached than nonpsychiatric controls to peers during development. None of the psychiatric groups reported difficulties with parental overcontrol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

Tested the hypothesis that children would report that different social-network members provide different social provisions, using 199 5th–6th grade White children. Ss completed network of relationships inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with R. S. Weiss's (1974) theory (i.e., that individuals seek specific social provisions or types of social support in their relationships with others), Ss reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Ss also reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Ss were most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought their relationships with mothers and fathers were the most important. Bases for children's differentiations of their relationships and implications for understanding social networks are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father, mother, and stranger as elicitors of attachment behaviors in infancy.

Compared fathers with mothers and strangers as elicitors of attachment behaviors in 10 male and 10 female infants from each of 3 age groups (10, 13, and 16 mo). Differential proximity-seeking behavior, distress vocalization, and stranger eye contact from a "secure base" were used to index attachment. Fathers were superior to strangers as elicitors of attachment behaviors but 2nd to mothers at all age levels. When both parents were present, Ss approached mothers twice as often as fathers. Tested with each parent separately, they traveled to the mother in a shorter time than they traveled the same distance to the father and spent more time near the mother. The amount of eye contact with strangers was greater when Ss were near mothers as compared to fathers. Distress vocalization during separation from the parents was one of the few measures which did not discriminate between mothers and fathers. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paternal influences and the father's role: A personal perspective.

Briefly reviews research and theory concerning the role of the father in child development and presents a personal perspective that sees some long-established attitudes toward child care changing. Traditionally, major responsibility for childrearing has been assumed by women. Studies show, however, that most infants become attached to both their parents, although most turn to their mothers when distressed. With older children, fathers appear to have their greatest influence on sex role development. The type and extent of their impact varies depending on the quality of the father–child relationships. Recent trends indicate an increasing involvement of fathers in child care. These trends will increase paternal contributions to the socialization process. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

The contribution of fathers to the individuation process in adolescence

Numerous studies have shown fathers to be less engaged and less involved with their children and adolescents. This paper discusses the possible function that fathers' lower involvement may play in the development of their children. Data from two studies conducted on adolescents show that on the one hand fathers spend less time and are less engaged with their adolescents, but when they are together, the nature of their interaction is distinctive. For example, fathers are more engaged in play-like activities. This apparently distant and distinctive model is what adolescents need at this period of separation--a model of a "close enough" parent that allows and respects separation and support strivings for individuation. As results show, adolescents are satisfied with the role fathers play in their lives. Moreover, fathers are perceived as models for subsequent developmental goals such as marital life. It is suggested that fathers in their natural attitude are more capable of balancing closeness and separateness than mothers do and as such they are more flexible in response to varying developmental goals of their adolescent offspring.     

Gender differences in evaluations of tobacco and alcohol advertisements.

Examined the relation between gender and reactions to different styles of advertising tobacco and alcohol products among 41 females and 34 males (aged 12–16 yrs) and their parents (39 mothers and 36 fathers). Self-monitoring was also examined as a possible correlate. Ss rated magazine advertisements oriented toward the product's image or qualities. Girls liked image-oriented advertisements more and perceived them to be more persuasive than quality-oriented advertising. This gender difference was not observed among adults. All Ss liked image-oriented more than quality-oriented advertising. Moreover, image-oriented advertisements were seen as more persuasive than quality-oriented advertisements by girls' parents who were high in self-monitoring. Results suggest that girls in early adolescence may be particularly attentive to image-oriented commercials that portray smoking and drinking as desirable behaviors. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The timing of puberty and its relationship to adolescent and parent perceptions of family interactions.

133 parent–adolescent dyads, composed of 49 fathers (aged 33–61 yrs), 84 mothers (aged 32–53 yrs), and 69 sons and 64 daughters between the ages of 10 and 17 yrs, enrolled in a 1-wk family oriented summer educational program completed questionnaires evaluating family interactions in terms of support, control, and conflict. Pubertal maturation was assessed by visible signs of secondary sex characteristics. Results indicate that the relative timing of pubescence was of far greater importance to the perceptions of parents than of their adolescent children in regard to family interactions. In general, relations with early maturing sons and late maturing daughters were perceived to be superior for parents. Parents perceived less conflict with early maturing sons than with normally and late maturing sons, more conflict with early maturing daughters than early maturing sons, and more conflict with late maturing sons than daughters. Early maturing daughters were perceived to be a source of stress and anxiety for parents. Fathers perceived that they received more affection from early than normally and late maturing sons, and mothers of early maturers felt more stressed than mothers of normally or late maturing children. Early maturing daughters reported more conflict with parents than did their normally and late maturing peers. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loneliness among children and young adolescents.

Investigated differences in loneliness involving parents and peers and the relations between loneliness, choices of a "first comfort figure" (FCF), and social sensitivity as perceived by peers. 60 female and 52 male 5th graders, 97 female and 45 male 7th graders, and 66 female and 73 male 9th graders were given a loneliness scale and a sociometric measure of perceived social sensitivity. Results indicate that age differences in parent-related loneliness were marginally significant. Seventh graders seemed to have fewer loneliness experiences in their relationships with parents than 5th and 9th graders. Boys more frequently reported those feelings than girls. Ss who indicated both parents as their FCFs had the lowest scores for parent-related loneliness, whereas those who indicated friends as their FCFs had the highest scores for parent-related loneliness. With respect to peer-related loneliness, no age or sex differences were found. However, girls who chose both parents as their FCFs were more lonely than boys who did the same, and boys who chose their fathers as their FCFs mentioned more peer-related loneliness feelings than the girls who made this choice. Ss perceived as socially sensitive by their classmates less frequently mentioned peer-related loneliness feelings. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' job insecurity affects children's academic performance through cognitive difficulties.

The authors developed and tested a model in which children who perceive their parents to be insecure about their jobs are distracted cognitively, which in turn affects their academic performance negatively. Participants were 102 female and 18 male undergraduates (mean age?=?18 years), their fathers (mean age?=?49 years), and their mothers (mean age?=?47 years). Students completed questionnaires measuring perceived parental job insecurity, identification with parents, and cognitive difficulties; 3 months later, they also reported their midyear grades. Fathers and mothers each completed questionnaires assessing their job insecurity. Support for the model was obtained using LISREL 8, and as predicted, children's identification with their mothers and fathers moderated the relationship between their perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' job insecurity and their own cognitive difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between women and their parents: Implications for midlife well-being.

The rapid changes in women's roles during the 1970s gave the graduates of the Radcliffe College class of 1964 opportunities for life experiences markedly different from those of either their mothers or their fathers. This longitudinal study of 89 Radcliffe graduates examined the ways in which women in midlife find continuity with their parents and the implications of experiences of continuity for women's relationships with parents and for women's self-esteem and well-being. Support was found for a model linking women's educational and occupational similarity to their parents to later perceptions of parental influence, perceived parental influence to parent–daughter relationship quality, and parent–daughter relationship quality to self-esteem and subsequent well-being. The quality of women's relationships with their fathers did not predict subsequent well-being, perhaps because of fathers' decreased involvement in their adult daughters' lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent attributions for inattentive-overactive, oppositional-defiant, and prosocial behaviours in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Compared attributions for and reactions to inattentive-overactive (IO), oppositional-defiant (OD), and prosocial (PRO) child behaviors among parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 26 mothers and 14 fathers of 7.1–14-yr-olds completed a written analogue measure, and 16 mothers and 11 fathers recalled examples of their own child's behavior. On the analogue measure, parents assumed less responsibility for IO child behaviors compared to either OD or PRO behaviors and reacted more negatively to IO and OD behaviors than to PRO behaviors. Also on the analogue measure, parents responded less positively to PRO behaviors presented in the context of IO or OD behaviors compared to PRO behaviors presented in the context of other PRO behaviors, and IO behaviors were rated as less controllable by the child and less of the parent's responsibility when they were presented in the context of OD behaviors. On the recalled behavior measure, parents also reacted more negatively to IO and OD behaviors, and saw these behaviors as less controllable by the child than PRO behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathers and mothers of school-age children with developmental disabilities: parental stress, family functioning, and social support

Thirty pairs of fathers and mothers who had school-age children with mental retardation and other disabilities were compared with each other and with 32 father and mother pairs of parents of children without disabilities. Responses to family scales indicated that fathers and mothers of children with developmental disabilities did not differ from each other nor from fathers and mothers of children without disabilities in parental stress, family social support, or family functioning. However, parents of children with disabilities experienced a disproportionately greater level of stress relating to their children than did those of children without disabilities. Fathers' and mothers' stress was associated with aspects of family functioning as perceived by themselves and their spouses.     

Women's theories of menstruation and biases in recall of menstrual symptoms.

In this study, the relation between women's theories of menstrual distress and their recollections of physical and affective symptoms was examined. Ss completed daily questionnaires in which they evaluated themselves on several physical and affective symptoms. Later, some Ss were asked to recall the ratings they had made on a day when they were menstruating; others recalled a day when they were not menstruating. At the time of recall, all Ss were in the intermenstrual phase. Finally, Ss completed a measure designed to assess their theories of how they are typically affected by menstruation. The recollections of Ss who recalled the menstrual state were biased so as to be consistent with their theories of menstrual distress: The more a woman believed in the phenomenon of menstrual distress, the more she exaggerated, in recall, the negativity of her symptoms during her last period. The recollections of women asked to recall the intermenstrual state were unrelated to their theories of menstruation. Daily questionnaire ratings revealed that physical symptoms varied with menstrual cycle phase, whereas affective symptoms did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting and antisocial behavior: A model of the relationship between adolescent self-disclosure, parental closeness, parental control, and adolescent antisocial behavior.

This study used data collected from a sample of 840 Italian adolescents (418 boys; M age = 12.58) and their parents (657 mothers; M age = 43.78) to explore the relations between parenting, adolescent self-disclosure, and antisocial behavior. In the hypothesized model, parenting practices (e.g., parental monitoring and control) have direct effects on parental knowledge and antisocial behavior. Parenting style (e.g., parent–child closeness), on the other hand, is directly related to adolescent self-disclosure, which in turn is positively related to parental knowledge and negatively related to adolescents’ antisocial behavior. A structural equation model, which incorporated data from parents and adolescents, largely supported the hypothesized model. Gender-specific models also found some gender differences among adolescents and parents, as the hypothesized model adequately fit the subsample of mothers but not fathers. Mothers’ closeness to girls predicted their knowledge of their daughters’ behavior; mothers’ control predicted boys’ antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal Associations Between Adolescent Sexual Activity and Quality of Youth-Parent Interactions.

The authors examined differences in adolescents' relationships with their parents before and after adolescent first sexual activity. Participants were 13,570 members of the core sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Waves 1 and 2. Path analyses examined changes in parent-adolescent closeness, shared activities, and problem-focused interactions associated with changes in sexual activity separately for sons and daughters and for mothers and fathers. Race, religion, age, urbanicity, and parents' education were controls. Results confirm that increased problem-focused interactions and decreased parental closeness and shared activities both precede and follow adolescent sexual activity. Maintaining positive parental relations after adolescent first sexual activity is discussed as a means to reduce risks associated with sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature of love.

Compared 3 alternative structural models of the nature of love, assessed the validity of each of these models for a variety of close relationships, and predicted success of close relationships on the basis of instruments used to assess love and other personal characteristics. The present study investigated whether love is better characterized as C. Spearman's (1927) unifactorial entity that is unitary and nondecomposable into underlying constituents; (2) G. H. Thomson's (1939) entity comprising a large number of affective, cognitive, and motivational bonds that, in the experience of love, are jointly sampled; or (3) L. L. Thurstone's (1938) entity comprising a small number of correlated primary factors of roughly equal importance and salience in the experience of love. 35 male and 50 female 18–70 yr olds completed psychometric instruments measuring their demographic backgrounds, personality characteristics, love history, and feelings of love in close relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, same-sex best friends, and spouses or lovers. Factor analysis of the love scales suggested that love is best characterized in terms of the Thomsonian "bonds" model and that the structure of love is quite similar across the various close relationships in which one engages. It is concluded that success of close relationships can be predicted from a set of measures that includes a love scale and measures of personal attributes. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.

This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process—a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the develoment of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy—secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent—and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that (a) relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, (b) the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and (c) attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)