Parental distress and children's problems among single-parent families in China

The coercion model explains reciprocal relationships between parents' and children's adjustment problems, with the mediation of parenting behavior and social relationships. A survey of 301 single parents in Guangzhou, China, was performed to test such a model with reference to parental distress, perceived behavioral problems and anxiety of the eldest child, acceptance of the child, and experienced social pressure and social support. Structural equation modeling demonstrated a good fit of the coercion model as a theoretically based and simplified representation of the relationships, supporting the hypotheses that (a) the parent's acceptance helps prevent the child's behavioral problems, (b) the child's behavioral problems and anxiety contribute to the parent's distress, (c) the child's behavioral problems and anxiety invite social pressure on the parent, (d) social pressure on the parent aggravates and social support for the parent attenuates the parent's distress, (e) social pressure on and social support for the parent facilitate the parent's acceptance of his or her child. However, the effect of parental distress on acceptance of the child was not significant.     

Depressive vulnerability in parents and their 5-year-old child's temperament: A family system perspective.

The actor-partner interdependence model was used to test whether one parent's depressive vulnerability (self-criticism and dependency) was associated with the same parent's own (an intraparental association) and the other parent's (a cross-parental association) ratings of their 5-year-old child's temperament (536 parents, 268 dyads). The more vulnerable the parents were, the more the children showed negative affectivity and lack of effortful control. Significant interactions with the parent's gender and between the spouses' depressive vulnerabilities were found, highlighting the fact that child outcomes are dependent on family processes. All associations were independent of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms. The influence of personality-based depressive traits on child temperamental outcomes and effective parenting is discussed with reference to between-dyad family dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological well-being of parents with early adolescent children.

This study examined whether parents' reports of midlife identity concerns and psychological well-being are related to signs of their youngster's transition to adolescence, including pubertal status, involvement in mixed-sex social relations, and persuasive reasoning skills. The sample was composed of 129 families with a firstborn child between the ages of 10 and 15. Findings indicate only very modest direct relations between parental well-being and signs of adolescent development; instead, the relations are moderated by the strength of the parent's orientation toward his or her paid work role. Among parents with a weak orientation toward work, signs of adolescent development are negatively associated with well-being; among parents with a relatively strong orientation toward work, the associations are often positive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of psychological counseling that facilitate the grieving process of bereaved parents.

42 bereaved parents (aged 28–66 yrs) were requested to (a) listen to an audiotaped testimony of a bereaved parent's experience in coping with the death of a child during the phases of numbing, yearning and searching for the lost figure, disorganization and despair, and reorganization; (b) discuss how their experience in coping with their child's death compared to what they listened to on tape; and (c) for each phase, complete the Scale of Counseling Dimension Preferences, which depicts preferences for action orientation or insight orientation, cognition or conation, and structure or ambiguity. Results suggest that bereaved parents have generalized preferences for counseling dimensions during different phases of grieving. Findings are discussed in terms of influences that facilitate the grieving process of bereaved parents during individual psychological counseling. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Connectedness and autonomy support in parent–child relationships: Links to children's socioemotional orientation and peer relationships.

Connectedness and autonomy support in the parent-child relationship are constructs that emerge from object relations and attachment theories but that overlap with other commonly studied qualities of parent–child relationships to provide a unifying focus for research in this domain. In this study, these constructs were examined in relation to children's relational competence, including socioemotional orientation, friendship, and peer acceptance. Semistructured conversations between mothers and their 5-year-olds (N? =?192) were videotaped at home and rated for (a) connectedness between the members of the dyad and (b) the parent's support for the child's autonomy. Results showed that connectedness was correlated with children's socioemotional orientations, number of mutual friendships, and peer acceptance and that the relation between parent–child connectedness and children's peer relationships was mediated by children's prosocial-empathic orientation. Implications of these findings for theories that link parent–child relationships to the development of relational competence in children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of families of children who refuse post-divorce visits

Compared to 88 non-refusers, 12 children who refused post-divorce visits with their noncustodial parents were significantly more likely to be female, to be the oldest child at home, to be in special education, and to have at least one parent with evidence of psychopathology, particularly substance abuse, violence toward spouse, suicidal behavior, or psychosis. Most children in both groups lived primarily with their mothers.     

Child effects in studies using experimental or brief longitudinal approaches to socialization.

Analyzes 14 studies relevant to the 1st author's (see record 1971-07958-001) control system model of how parents and children regulate each other through upper limit (reducing, redirecting) or lower limit (priming, stimulating) controls. Predictions from the control theory concerning reactions of parents or adults to child characteristics were confirmed, and a coherent pattern of results emerged from studies of independence–dependence, activity–hyperactivity, and person orientation. For example, child independence elicited nondirective adult behavior, whereas instrumental dependence elicited directive, lower limit controls. This research also examined the relation of person orientation to moral development and parental attitudes. To produce child effects, the investigators in these studies primarily used 4 new research approaches that isolate effects of participants—the contrived participant, altered behavior, altered perception, and sample selection approaches. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generalization effects of parent training across stimulus settings

Five parents of nonverbal children were trained in two home settings to modify antecedents and consequences to their children's vocalizations. Generalization effects of the parent training on both the parent's and children's behaviors under different stimulus conditions were investigated using multiple-baseline designs. Increases in parent prompting and reinforcing their children's vocalizations generalized only minimally to a new setting in the home where parent training had not occurred. Child increases in vocalizations produced by the parents in the training settings did generalize to this new setting in the home. There was minimal generalization of child vocalizations to a free-play setting at school. In a formal speech session conducted by a behavior specialist at school, only one child showed definite increases in acquisition rate as a function of the parents starting to train the sound at home.     

Using the Marschak Interaction Method Rating System for Chinese families: Relationship between parent-child interaction pattern and child's social behavior.

This study investigated the use of the Marschak Interaction Method Rating System (MIMRS) in assessing parent–child interaction patterns and its relationship with preschool children's social behavior in a Chinese sample. Fifty-two preschoolers and their parents (either mother or father) participated in the study. The MIMRS demonstrated moderate to high internal consistency. There was also a moderate positive correlation between the MIMRS and the Kinship Centre Attachment Questionnaire (Kappenberg & Halpern, 2006). With reference to parent–child interaction and the child's social behavior, a negative relationship was identified between child anger/aggressive behavior and parent's nurturing toward his or her child. In addition, a child's demonstration of exploratory behavior, reciprocity with parent, and regulatory capacities were positively related to that child's social competence and negatively related to the child's anger/aggressive behavior. The practical uses of the MIMRS as a screening tool for working with parents and children in a non-Western culture are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Altered antigen presentation in mice lacking H2-O

The phenomenon of transgenerational traumatization has currently become widely recognized and described, although the task of disentangling the underlying interactional mechanisms remains a difficult one. These transgenerational mechanisms were first detected in families of the survivors of the Holocaust, but they may be equally prominent in families of parents who have been traumatized in other ways, for example, as victims of child neglect and abuse, as orphaned children, or during military service. In cases in which parents have themselves been subjected to early parental deprivation, one or more children may become projectively identified with a parent's (posttraumatic) "bad child"-self, whereas the parent him/herself has identified with--enacts the role of--the idealized internal "martyr" parent. A case study is presented describing the individual and family therapeutic treatment of a woman who, as a child, had been traumatically separated from her parents.     

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)     

"Casebook for providers of psychological services": Erratum.

Corrects a statement in the article in the American Psychologist (see record 1988-37041-001), which presented cases to provide clarification of the General Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services as approved by the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives in February 1987. The correction states that the statement (p. 558), "The psychologist recognized the illegality of doing psychological evaluations on minor children without the knowledge and permission of their custodial parent," was overbroad. The legality or illegality of doing psychological evaluations of minor children at the request of noncustodial parents is determined by state law. The correction concludes with the advice that state law and regulations should be carefully researched to determine the legal status of such evaluations at the request of noncustodial parents. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stepchildren's Perceptions of Noncustodial Mothers and Noncustodial Fathers: Differences in Socioemotional Involvement and Associations With Adolescent Adjustment Problems.

Caucasian stepchildren (aged 10-18) in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development (NEAD) project rated noncustodial (NC) parents' socioemotional involvement. Stepfamilies had been together at least 5 years. Adolescents with NC mothers (n = 56) reported more phone calls, mail, overnight visits, and social support than adolescents with NC fathers (n = 143). The association between perceived social support and adolescent adjustment was compared for NC mothers versus NC fathers by using structural equation modeling; the association was stronger for NC mothers. No effects for sex of child or interactions of sex of child/sex of NC parent were obtained. NC fathers might increase their influence in adolescents' lives by behaving more like NC mothers (more frequent phone calls, overnights, etc.). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A combined motivation and parent–child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial.

Objective: A package of parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) combined with a self-motivational (SM) orientation previously was found in a laboratory trial to reduce child abuse recidivism compared with services as usual (SAU). Objectives of the present study were to test effectiveness in a field agency rather than in a laboratory setting and to dismantle the SM versus SAU orientation and PCIT versus SAU parenting component effects. Method: Participants were 192 parents in child welfare with an average of 6 prior referrals and most with all of their children removed. Following a 2 × 2 sequentially randomized experimental design, parents were randomized first to orientation condition (SM vs. SAU) and then subsequently randomized to a parenting condition (PCIT vs. SAU). Cases were followed for child welfare recidivism for a median of 904 days. An imputation-based approach was used to estimate recidivism survival complicated by significant treatment-related differences in timing and frequency of children returned home. Results: A significant orientation condition by parenting condition interaction favoring the SM + PCIT combination was found for reducing future child welfare reports, and this effect was stronger when children were returned to the home sooner rather than later. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that previous laboratory results can be replicated in a field implementation setting and among parents with chronic and severe child welfare histories, supporting a synergistic SM + PCIT benefit. Methodological considerations for analyzing child welfare event history data complicated by differential risk deprivation are also emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of Kuwaiti parents toward physical punishment of children

OBJECTIVE: The major aim was to describe parental attitudes to physical punishments and examine their sociodemographic correlates. A related aim was to assess the association of parents' own experience of physical punishment with attitudes to punishment of children. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the second week of December, 1996 in five general clinics covering the major administrative areas of Kuwait: 337 Kuwaiti mothers and fathers with at least one living child were contacted; 95% were successfully interviewed using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Eighty-six percent of parents agreed with physical punishment as a means of child disciplining. Agreement with punishment was higher in case of serious misbehaviors such as stealing (63%), sniffing glue and using drugs (77%). Multiple regression results showed that parent's lower level of education and Bedouin ethnicity were positively associated with agreement on physical punishment. Larger percentages of parents who had experienced physical punishments themselves agreed with such punishment to discipline their children, but this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In recent years education has become widespread for both sexes. An inverse association between educational level and agreement on physical beating suggest that attitudes to this form of child disciplining are changing. Those with a Bedouin ethnic background still adhere more strictly to the traditional forms of child disciplining including physical beating. There is a need for conducting research on the possible negative psychosocial impacts of physical punishment in view of findings from other countries.     

Family economic stress and adjustment of early adolescent girls.

Proposes a family process model that links economic stress in family life to prosocial and problematic adolescent adjustment. With a sample of 220 7th-grade girls living in intact families in the rural Midwest, the theoretical constructs in the model were measured using both trained observer and family member reports. In general, results were consistent with the proposed model. Economic pressures led to depression and demoralization for both parents, the result of which was greater marital conflict and disruptions in skillful parenting. The emotions and behaviors of both mothers and fathers were almost equally affected by financial difficulties, and disruptions in each parent's childrearing behaviors had adverse consequences for adolescent development. Parents' depressed mood and disrupted childrearing practices both directly affected girls' adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effectiveness of a partnership-centered approach in conjoint behavioral consultation.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the extent to which a partnership orientation in conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) may predict case outcomes and determine the relationship between a partnership orientation and implementation integrity of CBC. CBC is a problem-solving process by which families and teachers work collaboratively with a consultant to address students' academic, behavioral, and social needs. Twenty children, their parents and teachers, and consultants were involved in CBC services. Outcomes included parent and teacher ratings of acceptability, satisfaction, perceptions of effectiveness, and child performance across home and school settings. Partnership orientation scores and process integrity data were collected across interviews for each case. Results suggest that both parents and teachers consistently find CBC to be an acceptable, effective, and satisfactory form of service delivery. Findings reveal that consultants can conduct CBC interview objectives effectively within a partnership orientation. A partnership orientation in CBC was significant in predicting teachers' acceptability and satisfaction with the process; however, parents' acceptability and satisfaction with the CBC process was not predicted by a partnership orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting of adult children in an Israeli sample: Parents are always parents.

This qualitative study examines the role of parents with regard to their adult children, by exploring parents' experiences, meanings, and the underlying psychological processes of their parental role. In-depth interviews with healthy Israeli parents (N = 23) aged 56 to 69 explored their perceptions about their parental role. Narrative analysis techniques focused on the content and on the form of the narratives were applied. Five important internal dialectic dimensions emerged: emotional connection and separation; the child as narcissistic extension of the parent and the parent's desire to let the child individuate; growing importance of familial connections and the perceived generation gap; parents' balancing personal needs and the children's needs, and finally, maintaining a hierarchical stance and an equal stance. The results are integrated into the developing theory of intergenerational ambivalence, suggesting a dialectical configuration for the role of parent to adult children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of support and interpersonal stress in the networks of married caregiving daughters: findings from a 2-year longitudinal study

This research uses data collected on 57 married daughters and 1,069 members of their social networks to examine patterns of social support and interpersonal stress across the first two years of caring for parents with dementia. Reports by the caregivers indicated that friends were the most prominent source of emotional support, while siblings were the greatest source of instrumental support and interpersonal stress, both shortly after the parent's diagnosis and two years later. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that associates who had cared for family members themselves were more likely to have been sources of instrumental support both shortly after diagnosis and two years later. Caregiving similarity was also the most important factor in explaining both emotional support and interpersonal stress at T1; however, its effect diminished across the subsequent two years. These findings suggest that experiential similarity may become less important in explaining some dimensions of interpersonal relations as individuals move further from status transitions.