Unrealistic expectations and problem-solving ability in maltreating and comparison mothers.

Administered a child development questionnaire, a parent opinion questionnaire, and a parent problem-solving instrument to 10 abusing mothers, 10 neglectful mothers, and 10 matched nonabusing mothers to determine differences in expectations and problem solving. Results show that both groups of maltreating Ss had significantly greater unrealistic expectations and poorer problem-solving skills than did comparison Ss. No differences were found between Ss in the 2 maltreating groups. It is suggested that interventions aimed at modifying faulty expectations and training problem-solving skills would be helpful to maltreating mothers. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abusing, neglectful, and comparison mothers' responses to child-related and non-child-related stressors.

Studied mothers with a previous history of child abuse (n?=?12) or child neglect (n?=?12) or with no known previous history of child maltreatment (n?=?12) who participated in an experiment designed to assess reactions to a number of aversive stimuli. Mean ages of the abusive, neglectful, and comparison Ss were 25.08, 26.90, and 26.10 yrs, respectively. Both child-related and non-child-related stressful stimuli were presented, and a number of dependent variables, including measures of attributional style and annoyance, were employed to assess the situational specificity of responding. Analysis of the attributional data indicated that abusing Ss consistently ascribed more malevolent intentionality to their child than the other Ss. Situation and interaction effects were also present for the attributional measure. Results from the process annoyance measures indicate that highly significant situation effects were present. In addition, the abusing mothers were more annoyed across both the social and nonsocial stressors, suggesting that a generalized pattern of hyperresponsivity exists in this group. Results are interpreted within a recently formulated cognitive-behavioral model of child abuse. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental personality factors in child abuse.

Studied whether abusing parents differ from nonabusing parents in personality variables by administering the Michigan Screening Profile of Parenting to 6 groups of mothers: (a) adjudicated abusers, (b) spouses of adjudicated abusers, (c) mothers convicted of child neglect, (d) nonabusing mothers from a college student population, (e) nonabusing mothers from a middle socioeconomic level, and (f) nonabusing mothers from a lower socioeconomic level. 107 Ss were studied, all of whom had at least one child under 5 yrs of age. Major differences occurred when comparison was made of 1 or more of the 1st 3 groups with 1 of the latter 3 groups. The groups differed significantly on 6 factor-analyzed cluster categories: (a) relationship to one's own parents, (b) tendency to becoming upset and angry, (c) tendency toward isolation and loneliness, (d) expectations of one's own children, (e) inability to separate parental and child feelings, and (f) fear of external threat and control. In all of the cases, the 1st 3 groups scored at levels of higher risk than did the latter 3 groups, whereas the abusers scored at the highest risk levels throughout. It is suggested that a therapist who helps a parent develop the ability to maintain equanimity under stress, by helping reduce deviations from the norm in characteristics related to abuse potential, is ultimately helping to reduce actual abusive behavior. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy problems, postpartum depression, and early mother–infant interactions.

24 women (mean age 24 yrs) who had received ultrasound examinations and psychological interviews during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were subsequently divided into a group of 12 Ss who had reported pregnancy problems (marital difficulties and ambivalence about the child) and another group of 12 Ss who had not. Ss were then observed at 3–5 mo postpartum in interactions with their infants and were given the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Internal–External Control Scale for Adults, measures of mothers' and infants' temperament, and a maternal developmental expectations and childrearing attitudes scale. The mothers who had experienced pregnancy problems were more depressed, anxious, and externalizing postpartum and expressed more punitive childrearing attitudes. These depressed mothers and their infants showed less optimal interaction behaviors. Results suggest that postpartum depression can be predicted from a simple set of questions regarding the mother's negative feelings about her marriage and her expectant child during the prenatal period. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Post-partum employment patterns, family-based care arrangements, and the mother–infant relationship at age two.

This longitudinal study examined the relations of postpartum maternal employment profiles with infant–mother attachment security, maternal sensitivity, and concurrent child and maternal characteristics in Canada. Ss were 57 mothers (aged 21–37) and their 23–27 mo-old children. Contrary to expectations, dyads where mothers returned to outside work after 6 mo postpartum showed higher Q-sort scores on attachment security than other dyads, and higher sensitivity scores than dyads in which women were not employed outside the home in the 1st 2 yrs. Post 6-mo returners also reported less child domain parental stress, less avoidant coping, and less child externalizing behavior problems than other mothers. Results emphasize the importance of a process-oriented approach to understanding early relationships in a family context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sibling status effects: Adult expectations.

Investigated expectations or beliefs held by 278 adults (average age 25.3 yrs) about a child based on his or her sibling status alone. Ss were asked to describe what they would expect a child without brothers or sisters, a child who was the oldest in his or her family, and a child who was the youngest in his or her family to be like. Ss seemed to have higher expectations for and give more positive ratings to oldest children than to only or youngest children. The ordinal position and parental status of the S also had an effect on the ratings given. Ss who were youngest children and Ss who were only children tended to show some bias toward their own sibling group; Ss who were oldest children actually gave their own sibling status lower group ratings than did other Ss. Ss with children tended to give higher ratings to all 3 sibling groups than did Ss without children. Results are discussed in terms of how these expectations may develop and their effects on the child's development. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' attitudes about children: Associations with parental life histories and child-rearing quality.

This study examined relations among parents' perceptions of their childhood, attitudes about life, expectations for child behavior, attitudes about their child's behavior, and the child-rearing environment parents provide. Eighty mothers of 1–5 yr olds were interviewed about perceptions of receiving harsh parenting as children, current attitudes about life, developmental expectations, and views of intentionality and severity of their child's misbehavior. The home environment was measured using the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (R. H. Bradley & B. Caldwell, 1979) scale. Mothers who reported harsh parenting as children, negative attitudes about life, and unrealistic developmental expectations had negative attitudes about their own child. These attitudes were related to provision of lower quality home environments. Results support a constructivist approach to understanding parental social cognitions and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother–child interactional style in abuse, neglect, and control groups: Naturalistic observations in the home.

Examined mother–child interactional patterns in an urban environment. Three groups of mothers (n?=?12/group) were included in the study: (a) Ss with a known history of child abuse, (b) Ss with a known history of child neglect, and (c) Ss with no known history of child maltreatment. Ss and their children were observed in their homes on 3 consecutive days for 90 min each day. Interactions were described via a coding system of 11 major interactional patterns; dependent variables included verbal and nonverbal behaviors as well as measures of total interaction. Results indicate that the groups differed on several variables. Dysfunctional Ss showed significantly fewer positive behaviors than did the controls on verbal and nonverbal measures. Also, the abusive Ss showed significantly higher rates of verbal and physical aggression; the neglectful mothers had the lowest overall rates of interaction. The maltreated children also exhibited fewer positive behaviors and more aggressive behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of current theories of child maltreatment and of the treatment of dysfunctional families. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent mothers' cognitions and behaviors as at-risk indicators.

Examined how qualities of adolescent mothers (AMs) are related to their child's socioemotional development and the relationship between maternal characteristics and the AM's ratings of her child's behavior. Ss included 39 AMs (mean age 17.9 yrs) and their children (aged 4–22 mo). Multiple measures of parental characteristics were used, including self-report measures of parenting expectations and mood orientation, and a qualitative behavioral measure of involvement. Analyses compared these measures with ratings of the child's coping behavior by trained observers and mothers' ratings of their child using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Findings indicate that parenting expectations had a unique and differential power in explaining both objective child observation ratings and the mothers' PSI ratings of their children. Interactions involving maternal positive behavior were related significantly to mothers' PSI ratings of the child's acceptability or reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transactive discussions with peers and adults.

Piaget (1932) hypothesized that peer and adult–child discussions of moral dilemmas are qualitatively different and that children are more likely to use reasoning when interacting with peers. To test this hypothesis, the present study compared the interactive styles of child–child and adult–child dyads engaged in discussions of moral dilemmas, focusing on the use of logical operations (transacts). 48 7- and 11-yr-old girls were paired with either a female agemate or their mother. Ss used transacts in a higher proportion of their conversational turns when interacting with peers than when interacting with mothers. Ss produced proportionally more transactive responses when interacting with mothers because mothers produced proportionally more requests for idea clarification than did peer partners. Self-generated transacts, on the other hand, were produced proportionally more often with peers. When paired with peers, Ss produced transactive statements that operated on the partner's logic more often rather than clarifying their own logic. Results support Piaget's contention that moral discussions with peers feature a more spontaneous use of reasoning than do discussions with adults. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recall and validation of phobia origins as a function of a structured interview versus the Phobia Origins Questionnaire

Memory for fear onset events was examined in 43 dog-fearful and 48 blood/injection-fearful participants. Half of each fear type was administered the Phobia Origins Questionnaire (POQ), and half the Phobia Origins Structured Interview (POSI). Written accounts of recalled onset experiences were sent to participants' parents for verification. More participants assessed by the POQ reported a phobia onset event (93%) than did those assessed by the POSI (54%). A majority in both methods recalled conditioning-like experiences. The POQ resulted in more reports of vicarious and informational onset reports than did the POSI. Parents confirmed more onset event reports obtained by the POSI (81%) than those obtained by the POQ, (50%). In addition, in 21% of cases where a child recalled an event, a parent reported an onset event that predated the one provided by the child. Results are discussed in terms of memory mechanisms operative in autobiographical memories.     

Multimodal assessment of impulsiveness in abusing, neglecting, and nonmaltreating mothers and their preschool children.

Three groups of 12 mothers who had a history of child abuse (mean age 26.67 yrs), child neglect (mean age 25.75 yrs), or no known history of child maltreatment (mean age 29.08 yrs) and their 48–70 mo old children were compared on the nature and extent of their impulsiveness in a multimodal assessment procedure. Children were also rated by their mothers on the Revised Conners Parent Rating Scale and by their teachers on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicate that comparison mothers performed better than did abusing mothers on 2 measures of motor inhibition, a modified Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Stroop Color and Word Test. Neglectful mothers rated their children as having more conduct problems than did comparison mothers. No significant differences were found on the other child measures of impulsiveness. Implications for assessing and treating child maltreatment are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of the relationship of commitment to turnover in recent hires and tenured employees.

Hypothesized that tenure in the organization moderates the relationship between organizational commitment and turnover. 209 nurses (mean age 36 yrs) were surveyed about moral commitment and organizational tenure, and 9 mo later information about organization staying or leaving by Ss was obtained from participating institutions. Results show no relationship between commitment and turnover with Ss who had been employed less than 1 yr. More tenured Ss had an inverse relationship between commitment and turnover. It is suggested that initial organizational commitment is based more on unrealistic expectations or postdecisional justification than stable psychological attachments. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dependency in day-care and home-care children.

Compared 32 4- and 5-year-old boys and girls who attended full-time group day care with 32 home-care matched Ss on proximity-seeking and attention-seeking measures of dependency. Ss were rated on these measures when they were alone with their mothers, with their mothers and a confederate adult, and with their mothers and a confederate child. No differences between day-care and home-care Ss were obtained. However, there was an interaction between type of care and sex: Although there was no difference between day-care boys and girls, home-care girls sought proximity toward their mothers significantly more often than home-care boys. Since dependency is one of the dimensions on which sex differences are frequently found, results suggest that day-care children may be less sex typed than home-care children. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning disabilities, locus of control, and mother attitudes.

Academic locus of control and mothers' school-related reactions and expectations were studied in 81 learning disabled (LD) and 81 normally achieving (control) children in Grades 3–6. The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, the Intellectual subscale of the Parent Reaction Questionnaire, and the Parents Version of the Projected Academic Performance Scale were used. LD Ss indicated more external perceptions of control with respect to successful academic experiences. For failure outcomes, no difference between LD and control Ss was found; however, a trend toward increased internality was noted over grade levels for both groups. Mothers of LD Ss reported more negative and fewer positive reactions to their children. They also held lower academic performance expectations for their children than control mothers. Results are discussed in terms of the need to develop more internal control perceptions in LD children and the role of parental attitudes and expectations in school learning. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support and stress factors in child maltreatment among alcoholic families.

Investigated the relationships among social support, stress, child maltreatment, and child aggressiveness in alcoholic families. Ss were 62 fathers, 65 mothers, and 65 children (aged 3–5 yrs). Three process models based on prior research were proposed and tested against one another using path analysis. Results suggest that for fathers, social support and stress were each independent direct predictors of child maltreatment. For mothers, social support was an indirect predictor of child maltreatment, and it buffered (moderated) the effect of stress on child maltreatment. For both fathers and mothers, lifetime alcohol problems predicted extent of child maltreatment. The data also indicate that child maltreatment influenced child aggressiveness. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health status, perceptions of risk, and prevention interest for health and nonhealth problems.

Studied the effects of acute illness on unrealistic optimism about health and life events in 21 male and 22 female acutely ill college students with relatively minor illnesses. These Ss were compared with 23 male and 44 female healthy participants for response to rating comparative risk and preventability of health and nonhealth life problems such as divorce or auto accident. Healthy Ss were equally optimistic about health and nonhealth expectations, but those who were ill felt much more vulnerable to health problems in the future. It is contended that health centers may not be the optimal site for delivery of health risk reduction materials since those who are ill may have less interest or belief in prevention possibilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting behavior and emotional status of physically abusive mothers.

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Cornell Medical Index (CMI) to 8 physically abusive mothers (mean age 27.5 yrs) from low-SES families, 8 matched low-SES control mothers (mean age 26.5 yrs), and 8 matched middle-SES control mothers (mean age 32.9 yrs). Results show that abusive Ss differed from both control groups on the BDI and the Emotional Distress and Physical Symptoms scales of the CMI. Marginally significant differences were found on the Trait Anxiety scale of the STAI. No significant differences were found between control groups. Although direct observation in the home revealed no significant differences among the 3 groups on any measure of child behavior, the abusive Ss engaged in a far higher percentage of negative physical behaviors and a lower percentage of positive behaviors toward their children than did either of the control groups. A model of child abuse is suggested that proposes that parents who are in greater emotional and somatic distress may have a lower threshold for child misbehavior and may react more punitively to it. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightning-strike disaster: Effects on children's fears and worries.

Administered a fear survey to 29 10–13 yr old children and their mothers who had been participants or observers when lightning struck a soccer game with a force that knocked down most of the participants and observers and led to the death of 1 participant. Two control children were matched to each lightning-strike (LS) child for age, sex, and SES, making a total of 58 controls. In addition, measures of Ss' sleep disturbances and somatic complaints were obtained from their mothers, and the interviewer rated each LS S for the extent of emotional upset caused by the disaster. Results show that differences between the LS and control groups were most pronounced for child-reported fears. The generalization gradient was fairly consistent with expectations from classical conditioning theory. The correspondence between the mothers' and children's reports of intense storm-related fears was markedly larger in the LS Ss than in the controls. Child-reported fears showed a number of substantial relations with mother-reported sleep and somatic problems and with interviewer-rated emotional upset. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social adequacy of parents and children.

Proposes that inadequate skills for dealing with others are an important aspect of pathology and are imparted to the child by socially inadequate parents. Testing involved identifying 2 groups of male undergraduates: one high in social skills and one with a lesser degree of social competence. The mothers of the Ss were interviewed and rated for social competence. As predicted, socially skilled offspring had socially skilled mothers, while less skilled offspring had mothers low in interpersonal competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)