Mothers and fathers of young developmentally disabled and nondisabled boys: Adaptation and spousal support.

Assessed the extent to which the presence of a young developmentally disabled or nondisabled male child affected adaptation and family roles for both parents. Developmental child assessments, in-home ratings of parenting, and maternal and paternal self-assessments and interviews were included. Marital adjustment, disruptions in family life, and observed parenting of the child (but not depression) varied with disability status of child. Mothers in both groups reported more depressive symptoms and family disruptions than fathers. Fathers of disabled children assumed less responsibility than comparison fathers for child care, even in mother-employed families. Decreased father involvement in child care was specific to the disabled child, not to siblings, and was related to severity of the child's atypical behaviors. Expressive support from one's spouse was the best predictor of quality of parenting for both mothers and fathers of disabled and nondisabled sons. Disharmony between current and "appropriate" spousal support was a significant negative predictor of perceived and observed parental adaptation. The concept of harmonic responsiveness was proposed to explain how proffered support must be tuned to the perceived needs and expectations of one's spouse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers and fathers teaching 3-year-olds: Authoritative parenting and adult scaffolding of young children's learning.

Investigated variations in parental tutoring of children on the basis of Vygotsky's (1978) theorizing and concept of parental scaffolding of children's learning. Twenty-four couples and their 3-year-old children participated. Mothers and fathers worked separately with the child on three difficult tasks: a block construction task, a matrix classification task, and a story retelling task. Parental interventions were classified by level of support and were used to define the region of sensitivity to instruction, following the work of Wood (1980). Independent observers rated each parent separately on authoritative/uninvolved and authoritarian/permissive styles, following Baumrind's (1967, 1973) typology. Both mothers and fathers adjusted their support of the child as predicted. Later portions of the tutoring interactions demonstrated more fine tuning of interventions by parents than earlier portions. However, authoritative mothers and fathers were generally more likely than nonauthoritative parents to focus interventions in the region of sensitivity across tasks and to shift their interventions contingent on child success or failure. These patterns were also associated with more dyadic success on task as predicted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting satisfaction and marital satisfaction in mothers and fathers with young children.

This study examined parenting satisfaction (PS) and marital satisfaction (MS) in married couples over 4 yrs (ns ranged from 59 to 87). There was little evidence of interdomain spillover in that, for both husbands and wives, PS and MS were generally unrelated at each assessment and change in PS was unrelated to change in MS. With regard to interparent spillover, the link between spouses' MS tended to be stronger than the link between spouses' PS at each assessment, and the link between spouses' change in MS was stronger than the link between spouses' change in PS. A typology of satisfaction with family life is proposed as one way of integrating the study of marital relationships and parent–child relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective predictors of parenting satisfaction for fathers and mothers with young children.

Data from husbands and wives from 48 couples with young children (mean age?=?2.71 years) were used to assess whether each spouse's parenting satisfaction assessed 8 years after marriage (Year 8) was predicted by parents' personality characteristics, marital quality, and social support assessed at the beginning of the marriage (Year 1). With controls for all other variables, fathers' Year 8 parenting satisfaction was predicted by their own Year 1 instrumentality, whereas mothers' Year 8 parenting satisfaction was predicted by their own Year 1 expressiveness. These prospective relations were not moderated by child-related characteristics and persisted with controls for Year 8 marital satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instruction by mothers and fathers during problem solving with their young children.

Mothers and fathers of 163 5-year-olds were observed interacting with their children in dyads on 2 separate occasions on a familiar and unfamiliar cognitive activity. Within- and between-family comparisons were conducted. Few differences in the instruction provided by mothers and fathers appeared, and those that did were on the unfamiliar task. On this task, instruction by mothers, within and across families, was more responsive to children's changing skill than was instruction by fathers. Directive and disapproving comments by parents were related to poorer posttest performance by the child. High level of instruction by both parents was related to better posttest performance than was low level of instruction by parents. Contributions of parents to their children's cognitive development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coparenting, mother-infant interaction, and infant-parent attachment relationships in two-parent families.

Coparenting behavior and the quality of mothers' parenting behavior were examined in relation to parents' perceptions of their child's attachment in 60 two-parent families with 11- to 15-month-old infants (30 boys and 30 girls). Parent-child attachment was assessed using the Attachment Q-Sort. Competitive coparenting was associated with mothers' and fathers' perception of a less secure parent-child attachment relationship, whereas maternal responsiveness was associated with mothers' perception of a more secure mother-child attachment relationship. Families with mothers who were more restrictive and those with parents who were more competitive were less likely to have mothers and fathers with similar perceptions of the quality of parent-child attachment relationships. Findings support the proposal that different levels of family functioning affect the quality of parent-child relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict and dominance within families of disturbed children.

Compared 26 sets of clinic parents with sons referred for psychological treatment with 42 sets of nonclinic controls in a structured interaction situation from which conflict and dominance indices were derived. Crucial concerns were the internal consistency of the indices, whether they measured unitary constructs, and whether amount of verbal activity appreciably effected the frequency-type conflict measures. Split-half reliabilities of most indices were adequate; intercorrelations between dominance indices were lower than for conflict indices. But the latter were strongly related to amount of verbal activity. Interaction indices were subjected to 2 * 2 (clinic, nonclinic; child present, absent) analyses of covariance. Nonclinic parents exhibited somewhat more conflict than clinic families, but adjustment of scores for verbal activity considerably attenuated these differences. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers, fathers, and children in an urban park playground: A comparison of dyads and triads.

Observations were made of mother–child, father–child, and mother–father–child groups in an urban park playground. Results show great similarity between father–child dyads and mother–father–child triads, with mother–child dyads being consistently different. It is suggested that the similarities between triads and father-child dyads may occur because fathers and children rarely spend time alone together. Their dyadic rates of interaction and activity thus resemble those found in the triadic setting they usually experience. Group size and roles and relationships appear to exert a complex interactive effect on family-interaction patterns. The degree to which results might be situation-specific is considered, and implications for our understanding of family-interaction processes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuing the dialogue about fathers and families.

Responds to comments by J. McDonagh, D. Popenoe, M. Daly and M. Wilson, D. T. Lykken, and D. Blankenhorn (see records 2000-15774-013, 2000-15774-014, 2000-15774-015, 2000-15774-017, and 2000-15774-018, respectively) concerning the L. B. Silverstein and C. F. Auerbach (see record 1999-05337-001) examination of the essentialist perspective on fathering, family structure, and child development. Silverstein and Auerbach believe that data can only be observed and interpreted from the point of view of the researcher's values. From their perspective, the empirical research has shown that there are many different family structures within which child development can flourish. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers and fathers interacting in dyads and triads with normal and hyperactive sons.

Mother–son and father–son interactions of families with hyperactive and normal 6- to 12-yr-old sons were observed in dyadic and triadic settings. There was more frequent coercion in families with hyperactive boys, especially when mothers and sons interacted in the dyadic setting. This mother–son acrimony carried over to the triadic context, wherein fathers exhibited a rescue-coercion pattern of behavior. Fathers increased, whereas mothers decreased, their demands of sons in triads over dyads, and both fathers and sons became more aversive toward each other in triads than in dyads. This pattern was not as clearly evident in the interactions of families with normal sons. Boys in both groups of families behaved more negatively toward mothers than toward fathers in dyadic interactions. Compared with fathers, mothers made more demands and were more emotionally expressive toward their sons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipating parental death in families with young children

Voltage-activated currents from adult honey bee antennal motor neurons were characterized with in vitro studies in parallel with recordings taken from cells in situ. Two methods were used to ensure unequivocal identification of cells as antennal motor neurons: 1) selective backfilling of the neurons with fluorescent markers before dissociation for cell culture or before recording from cells in intact brains, semiintact brains, or in brain slices or 2) staining with a fluorescent marker via the patch pipette during recordings and identifying antennal motor neurons in situ on the basis of their characteristic morphology. Four voltage-activated currents were isolated in these antennal motor neurons with pharmacological, voltage, and ion substitution protocols. The neurons expressed at least two distinct K+ currents, a transient current (IA) that was blocked by 4-aminopyridine (4-5 x 10(-3) M), and a sustained current (IK(V)) that was partially blocked by tetraethylammonium (2-3 x 10(-2) M) and quinidine (5 x 10(-5) M). IA activated above -40 to -30 mV and the half-maximal voltages for steady-state activation and inactivation were -8.8 and -43.2 mV, respectively. IK(V) activated above -50 to -40 mV and the midpoint of the steady-state activation curve was +11.2 mV. IK(V) did not show steady-state inactivation. Additionally, two inward currents were isolated: a tetrodotoxin (10(-7) M)-sensitive, transient Na+ current (INa) that activated above -35 mV, with a maximum around -5 mV and a half-maximal voltage for inactivation of -72.6 mV, and a CdCl2 (5 x 10(-5) M)-sensitive Ca2+ current that activated above -45 to -40 mV, with a maximum around -15 mV. This study represents the first step in our effort to analyze the cellular and ionic mechanisms underlying the intrinsic properties and plasticity of antennal motor neurons.     

Adaptability and cohesion of dyadic relationships in families with developmentally disabled children.

In 93 families with developmentally disabled children, mothers, fathers, and 1 nondisabled sibling rated the cohesion and adaptability of family dyads using D. A. Cole and A. E. Jordan's (1989) modified version of Olson's Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (D. H. Olson et al, 1985). With these multiple perspectives of multiple relationships, multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of dyadic adaptability and cohesion. Three distinct cohesion traits representing the mother–father, father–child, and mother–child relationships were confirmed. In contrast, mother–child and father–child adaptability traits were highly correlated, suggesting a 2-trait model: parent–child adaptability and mother–father adaptability. The importance of this methodology for research on families with developmentally disabled children is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arguments and relationships within the family: Differences in young children's disputes with mother and sibling.

Examined whether children's arguments differ in disputes with mother and with sibling as well as how arguments used in family interaction relate to later assessment of social understanding. 50 children (aged 33 mo) were observed interacting with the mother and sibling in 2 visits in the child's home, and family conversation was recorded and subsequently transcribed. Results showed correlations between partners' arguments in conflict within dyads, but children's argument with their mothers was not related to that used when in dispute with their siblings. Children's use of argument with sibling was also predictive of sociocognitive performance assessed 7 mo later. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does mother know best? Mothers and fathers interacting with preschool sons and daughters.

Studied the interactional teaching patterns of 36 fathers and mothers with their 6-yr-old sons and daughters. Parents were asked to play with their child using a jigsaw puzzle and to teach the child to remember 24 picture cards that could be divided into conceptual categories. It was found that parents' instructional behaviors did not differ as a function of their own sex but rather on the basis of their child's sex. Parents attempted to teach their sons more general problem-solving strategies and were both more directive and more approving or disapproving of their sons than of their daughters. Parents interacted with their daughters in a more cooperative, concrete, and specific fashion; and daughters were given more feedback about their performance. The teaching interaction was effective in helping the child remember more items than they recalled without training. Several explanations for these sex-of-child effects are proposed. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' relationships with their mothers and fathers: Associations with depressive disorder and subdiagnostic symptomatology.

Family relationships across 3 groups of adolescents were compared: (a) those with unipolar depressive disorders (n=82); (b) those with subdiagnostic depressive symptoms (n=78); and (c) those without emotional or behavioral difficulties (n=83). Results based on multisource, multimethod constructs indicated that depressed adolescents, as well as those with subdiagnostic symptomatology, experience less supportive and more conflictual relationships with each of their parents than do healthy adolescents. These findings are notable in demonstrating that adverse father-adolescent relationships are associated with depressive symptomatology in much the same way as mother-adolescent relationships. As well, the findings add to the emerging evidence that adolescents with subdiagnostic symptoms experience difficulties in social relationships similar to those experienced by adolescents with depressive disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers and blankets as agents for promoting play and exploration by young children in a novel environment: The effects of social and nonsocial attachment objects.

A total of 64 blanket-attached and nonattached children (32.5 mo of age) were exposed to a novel play setting involving either the child's mother, blanket, favorite hard toy, or no object at all. Blanket-attached Ss with blankets present showed no distress and explored and played (a) as much as Ss with their mothers present, (b) more than blanket-nonattached Ss in situations when blankets were available, and (c) more than all Ss in situations where the favorite toy or no object was available. When the familiar object was subsequently removed from the playroom, Ss previously exposed to their mothers postponed distress behavior more than those exposed to the other objects. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers, fathers, stepfathers, and siblings as providers of supervision, acceptance, and autonomy to young adolescents.

This study examined whether 124 young adolescents living with 2 biological parents and at least 1 sibling (TP) and 27 young adolescents living with mothers, stepfathers, and at least 1 sibling (SF) differed in the extent to which they agreed that mothers, fathers or stepfathers, and siblings often provided supervision, acceptance, and opportunities for autonomy. Support was obtained for the view that the family systems of TP adolescents, more than the family systems of SF adolescents, are hierarchically organized in terms of which specific family members are involved in socialization processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment relationships among children with aggressive behavior problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns.

Reviews attachment-related studies of early aggression to show that aggressive behavior toward peers is related to disorganized or controlling patterns of attachment behavior toward parents but not to avoidant or ambivalent patterns. Longitudinal attachment studies indicate that risk factors identified in cross-sectional studies of aggressive school-age children, such as family adversity, parental hostility, parental depression, and child cognitive deficits, are already evident in infancy and predictive of later aggression, before the onset of coercive child behavior. In infancy, these risk factors are associated with disorganized attachment behaviors toward the caregiver characterized by signs of fear or dysphoria, irresolvable conflict between opposing behavioral tendencies, and elevated cortisol levels after separation. Disorganized attachment behaviors, in turn, predict aggression in school-age children with other family factors controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two-career families: Demographic variables, parenting, and competence in young children.

Data on parenting were collected for 30 families with 1 or 2 3–5.8 yr old children, using home observations, observer ratings, and self-reports. Children's competence was assessed by a preschool behavior Q-sort. Patterns of employment and socioeconomic status (SES) differed for mothers and fathers, apparently in response to the demands of the childbearing and rearing. For both parents, SES was related across methods to parental warmth. Paternal variables were more strongly associated with children's competence than were maternal variables. Partial correlation analyses suggested that the links between paternal measures and competence were mediated by father warmth. These results have implications for models of the processes connecting demographic variables, parenting, and child outcomes. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coparenting early school-age children: An examination of mother-father interdependence within families.

Mothers and fathers within families are assumed to exert mutual influences on each other (i.e., to be interdependent). However, there is little evidence on the nature of this interdependence. Mother–father interdependence was examined in a middle-class, White nonclinic sample in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, consisting of intact families with an early school-age child. Interdependence was investigated in the forms of correlation, similarity, and complementarity for variables in 4 domains of parenting. For individual variables there was a substantial degree of similarity. However, there was considerable diversity and complexity in the pattern of similarity and difference, across variables and for different families. Interdependence appears to take various forms in different families. Better marital quality and greater similarity of personality were not related to more mother–father similarity. Explanations for similarity are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)