The child's perception of the parent.

"Interviews were held with 217 children of both sexes whose ages ranged from 6-0 to 10-2. Their answers to questions related to their perception of their parents were obtained. Both girls and boys stated that fathers were less friendly and more dominant, punitive, and threatening than mothers. There was, however, a consistent tendency for the older children to be more likely than the younger children to view the parent of the same sex as more dominant and punitive. It was suggested that differential handling of boys and girls might partially account for this latter finding." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathways to Violence in the Children of Mothers Who Were Depressed Postpartum.

The impact of postnatal depression on a child's risk for violent behavior was evaluated in an urban British community sample (N=122 families). Mothers were interviewed during pregnancy, at 3 months postpartum, and when the child was 1, 4, and 11 years of age. Mothers, teachers, and children reported on violent symptoms at age 11. Structural equation modeling revealed that the child's violence was predicted by the mother's postnatal depression even when her depression during pregnancy, her later history of depression, and family characteristics were taken into account. Violence was associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and problems with anger management. Children were most violent if mothers had been depressed at 3 months and at least once thereafter. (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)     

Differential Effects of Bremazocine on Oral Phencyclidine (PCP) Self-Administration in Male and Female Rhesus Monkeys.

Sex differences exist in many phases of drug abuse, but few studies have focused on sex differences in drug abuse treatment. In this study, the effects of bremazocine, a kappa-opioid receptor agonist, were compared in age-matched male and female rhesus monkeys self-administering orally delivered phencyclidine (PCP). Bremazocine (0.00032. 0.001, and 0.0025 mg/kg, intramuscular) was administered for 5 consecutive days. 15 min prior to daily 3-hr sessions when PCP (0.25 mg/ml) and water were available under concurrent fixed-ratio schedules. Bremazocine dose-dependently decreased PCP-maintained responding and consumption (mg/kg) in males and females, and these measures were suppressed at a lower bremazocine dose in females than in males. The percentage reduction in PCP-maintained responding and intake (mg/kg) was significantly greater in females than it was in males at the low and middle doses of bremazocine, suggesting that females may be more responsive to kappa agonist treatment than males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)