Mothering under pressure: Environmental, child, and dyadic correlates of maternal self-efficacy among low-income women.

In this study, the authors examine environmental, child, and dyadic correlates of mothers' perceptions of parenting self-efficacy among a group of women raising toddlers in an urban area of concentrated poverty (N?=?44). Findings suggest that women's self-efficacy is inversely related to the number of environmental risks and to child's temperamental difficulty. Although observed measures of dyadic conflict were not directly related to women's ratings of self-efficacy, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that mother–toddler conflict served as a moderator. Specifically, higher maternal self-efficacy was associated with fewer risks for women experiencing higher levels of conflict. For mothers experiencing lower levels of conflict with their children, maternal self-efficacy was inversely associated with child's temperamental difficulty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother–child problem solving: Continuity through the early childhood years.

Maternal ratings of child temperament and observed maternal behaviors in the home were collected when children were 18 months old. Both variables were examined as predictors of mothers' problem solving behaviors with their toddlers at 30 months and the children's independent problem solving at 5 years. Maternal instructional behavior in the home at 18 months and maternal ratings of temperament at 18 months predicted maternal behaviors when the children were 30 months old and child performance in a cognitive problem-solving task. maternal cognitive assistance during the 18- and 30-month tasks also predicted child cognitive task performance in the laboratory at 5 years of age. These same maternal behaviors were related to the child's performance on the Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (D. Wechsler, 1967) at age 5, and lack of maternal assistance was related to teacher ratings of learning problems at age 5. (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)     

Sources of child vocabulary competence: a multivariate model

This study examines sources of individual variation in child vocabulary competence in the context of a multivariate developmental ecological model. Maternal sociodemographic characteristics, personological characteristics, and vocabulary, as well as child gender, social competence, and vocabulary competence were evaluated simultaneously in 126 children aged 1;8 and their mothers. Measures of child vocabulary competence included two measures each of spontaneous speech, experimenter assessments, and maternal reports. Maternal measures, from proximal to distal, included vocabulary, verbal intelligence, personality, attitudes toward parenting, knowledge of parenting, and SES. Structural equation modelling supported several direct unique predictive relations: child gender (girls higher) and social competence as well as maternal attitudes toward parenting predicted child vocabulary competence, and mothers' vocabulary predicted child vocabulary comprehension and two measures of mother-reported child vocabulary expression. In addition, children's vocabulary competence was influenced indirectly by mothers' vocabulary, social personality, and knowledge of child development. Maternal vocabulary itself was positively influenced by SES, maternal verbal intelligence, and mothers' knowledge about parenting. Individual variation in child vocabulary competence might best be understood as arising within a nexus of contextual factors both proximal and distal to the child.     

Parental perceptions of child behavior problems, parenting self-esteem, and mothers' reported stress in younger and older hyperactive and normal children.

40 parents of younger and older hyperactives (Hs; aged 5 yrs 1 mo and 8 yrs 4 mo, respectively) and 51 parents of age-matched normal controls completed measures of hyperactivity and child behavior, parenting self-esteem (PSE), and parenting stress. PSE was lower in parents of Hs than in parents of controls. Self-esteem related to skill/knowledge as a parent was age related, with parents of older Hs reporting the lowest levels; self-esteem related to valuing/comfort in the parenting role was not related to the child's age. Mothers of Hs, especially younger ones, reported markedly higher levels of stress associated with both child characteristics and their own feelings, such as depression, self-blame, and social isolation. Consistent inverse relationships were found between PSE and perceptions of child problems, whereas ratings of child disturbance and maternal stress were positively correlated. Findings are discussed in terms of the social contexts surrounding hyperactivity and the need for multidimensional assessments and interventions in families of Hs. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood safety and social involvement: Associations with parenting behaviors and depressive symptoms among African-American and Euro-American mothers.

The relation between neighborhood characteristics and parenting and the mediating role of maternal depressive symptoms was examined among African American and Euro-American mothers of kindergarten children. Mothers' ratings of neighborhood safety were related to disciplinary strategies for both African American and Euro-American mothers but not to expressions of affection. Interviewers' ratings of safety were related to mothers' use of hostile socialization strategies. Both mothers' and interviewers' reports of safety were linked with maternal depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms mediated the relation between neighborhood safety and inconsistent discipline, suggesting that the influence of safety on inconsistent discipline was due to its impact on maternal depression. Although there were similarities across ethnic groups, the relation between social involvement and mothers' withdrawal of interactions with their children differed across groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work, parenting, and the socialization of children.

Examined how adults' investments in work and parenting impinge on socialization practices and perceptions of children's behavior. One hundred ninety-four employed mothers and 104 employed fathers, each with an employed spouse and a 3- to 4-year-old child, completed questionnaires about work and parenting, socialization practices, and perceptions of their children's behavior. Among the findings of particular interest: (a) Parental investment was a stronger predictor of fathers' and mothers' demands for mature behavior than was work investment; (b) women with high commitments to both work and parenting were more likely than others to engage in authoritative parenting; (c) parenting styles were related to mothers' ratings of their children's behavior; and (d) differences in involvement in parenting were associated with differences in how favorably fathers and mothers described their children. Taken together, the results suggest that men's and women's degree of investment in parenting is more consequential for their socialization practices and views of their children than is their degree of investment in work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluative pressure in mothers: Effects of situation, maternal, and child characteristics on autonomy supportive versus controlling behavior.

This study examined the effects of situational pressure and maternal characteristics (social contingent self-worth, controlling parenting attitudes) on mothers' autonomy support versus control in the social domain. Sixty 4th-grade children and their mothers worked on a laboratory task in preparation for meeting new children, with mothers in either an evaluation (mothers told their child would be evaluated by other children) or no-evaluation (no mention of evaluation) condition. Mothers in the evaluation condition spent more time giving answers to their children. Mothers with controlling parenting attitudes exhibited more controlling behavior. Further, mothers with high social contingent self-worth in the evaluation condition were most controlling. Results suggest the importance of interactions between situations and maternal characteristics in determining levels of mothers' autonomy support versus control and have implications for helping parents support children's autonomy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of child-centered perspectives in a model of parenting

The mediating role of mothers' child-centered perspectives was examined in a longitudinal study of 323 children. The conceptual model of parenting was tested to determine whether maternal perspectives mediated the relations between the parenting resources of social support, child-rearing history, and self-esteem and the child's developmental level with parenting behavior. This conceptual model was compared to alternative models using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that mothers' perspectives directly related to parenting behavior in two different contexts as well as mediated the relations between maternal resources and behavior. Maternal self-esteem also mediated the relation between social support and child-rearing history with child-centered perspectives. Results support the importance of examining child-centered perspectives as an influence on parental competence as well as the importance of examining how parenting resources interrelate with one another to impact parenting behavior.     

Trajectories of externalizing behavior from age 2 to age 9: Relations with gender, temperament, ethnicity, parenting, and rater.

Trajectories of children's externalizing behavior were examined using multilevel growth curve modeling of data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. According to ratings by both mothers and caregivers/teachers when children were 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 years old, externalizing behavior declined with age. However, mothers rated children as higher in externalizing behavior than did caregivers and teachers. Higher levels of age 9 externalizing behavior were predicted by the following factors: child male gender (for caregiver/teacher reports only), infant difficult temperament (for children with harsh mothers only), harsher maternal attitude toward discipline, higher level of maternal depression (for maternal reports only), and lower level of maternal sensitivity (especially for boys). Caregivers and teachers reported higher levels of externalizing behavior in African American children than in European American children, increasingly so over time; mothers' ratings revealed the reverse. The declining slope of externalizing behavior was predicted by infant difficult temperament for mother reports only. Additional analyses suggested that the association between parenting and externalizing behavior was bidirectional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genotype-environment correlations in late childhood and early adolescence: antisocial behavioral problems and coercive parenting

A key question for understanding the interplay between nature and nurture in development is the direction of effects in socialization. A longitudinal adoption design provides a unique opportunity to investigate this issue in terms of genotype-environment correlations for behavioral problems. As part of the Colorado Adoption Project, adopted children were classified as being at genetic risk (N = 38) or not at genetic risk (N = 50) for antisocial behavior based on their biological mothers' self-report history of antisocial behavior collected prior to the birth of the child. From age 7 through age 12, adoptive parents reported on the negative control, positive parenting, and inconsistent parenting they use in managing their child's behavior. Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that children at genetic risk were consistently more likely to receive negative parenting from their adoptive parents than children not at genetic risk, indicating an evocative genotype-environment correlation. However, the findings also showed that most of the association between negative parenting and children's externalizing behavior was not explicable on the basis of an evocative gene-environment correlation and that an additional environmentally mediated parental effect on children's behavior was plausible.     

Maternal attributions and child oppositional behavior: A longitudinal study of boys with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The authors examined changes over a 1-year period in mothers' attributions for child behavior and child oppositional behavior among 53 mothers and nonproblem sons and 44 mothers and sons with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Boys averaged 8 years of age (SD = 11 months) at Time 1. Families were primarily of European Canadian cultural background and most were middle to upper middle class. Initial levels of child oppositionality did not predict changes in mothers' attributions over time. However, initial levels of mothers' attributions of oppositional child behavior to internal, stable, and global causes positively predicted child oppositional behavior, controlling for ADHD versus nonproblem status and the child's initial level of oppositional behavior. Although initial levels of overreactive and nonresponsive parenting also positively predicted child oppositional behavior, the contribution of mothers' attributions remained significant even with parenting variables controlled. Results suggest that mothers' attributions of child oppositional behavior to internal, stable, and global causes may contribute to maintenance of child problems over time and that these parenting cognitions have importance as intervention targets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' perceptions of sibling adjustment and family life in childhood chronic illness

Researchers who study the effects of chronic illness on well siblings have generally focused on individual characteristics and their relationships with psychological adjustment. More recently, researchers suggest that sibling adjustment can be best understood within the context of the family. The purpose of this study was to examine variations in sibling behavioral adjustment in relation to mothers' perceptions of the illness experience and family life. Based on mothers' ratings on the behavior problem scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), five siblings considered poorly adjusted and five very well-adjusted siblings were compared with respect to mothers' reports of individual family member's response to illness, illness management, parenting philosophy, presence of other stressors, availability of social supports, and impact of illness on family members and family life. Two major differences were found between mothers who rated healthy siblings either poorly or very well adjusted: (a) effects of illness on the healthy sibling, the ill child, and the marital relationship and (b) perceived controllability of the chronic illness. Devising ways of helping mothers feel confident in managing their child's illness is integral to creating an environment that promotes optimal development of their ill child and the child's siblings.     

Effects of early maternal employment on toddlers, mothers, and fathers.

Investigated the effects of early maternal employment on toddler development and mothers' and fathers' parenting styles using a family system orientation. The 75 families with firstborn 20-mo-olds varied in maternal employment status (nonemployed, part-, and full-time). Observations were conducted of qualitative dimensions of parent–child relationships (toddler–mother and toddler–father attachment and child–parent problem-solving behavior), quantitative dimensions of family time allocation, and parental childrearing attitudes. Each mother had been employed outside the home prior to the baby's birth. 24 mothers had not been employed since the birth of their children; 23 mothers were employed part-time. Results indicate that maternal employment was not related to toddler outcomes (security of attachment or problem-solving behavior). It was related to the amount of time mothers spent with their children and to some childrearing attitudes and behaviors of fathers and mothers. Findings highlight the importance of examining direct (mother–child) and indirect (father–child) effects in the study of early maternal employment and the ability of families to adapt to a variety of lifestyles. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Child extrafamilial sexual abuse: predicting parent and child functioning

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the emotional and behavioral adjustment of parents and children within 3 months and 1 year after the discovery of child extrafamilial sexual abuse. METHOD: Ninety-two case parents (63 mothers, 29 fathers) and 56 children were compared to a nonclinical comparison group of 136 parents (74 mothers, 62 fathers) and 75 children. Parent adjustment was assessed using self-report measures while child functioning was assessed using a combination of child-, parent- and teacher-report measures. RESULTS: Mothers, fathers and sexually abused children experienced clinically significant effects both initially and at 12 months post-disclosure. Children's perceptions of self-blame and guilt for the abuse and the extent of traumatization predicted their self-reported symtomatology at 3 months and 1 year post-disclosure. Child age and gender also significantly contributed to the prediction of many of the child outcome measures. No abuse-related variable was related to any child self-report measure. Mothers' satisfaction in the parenting role, perceived support and intrusive symptoms predicted their initial emotional functioning. Avoidant symptoms, child's internalizing behavior and mothers' initial emotional functioning were significant predictors of longer-term emotional functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the need to address children's abuse-related attributions and underscore the need to expand our focus beyond the child victims to the traumatized families.     

Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of child deviance: Roles of child behavior, parental depression, and marital satisfaction.

Investigated relationships among parental adjustment, parental perception of child behavior, and an independent measure of child behavior, using 61 consecutive referrals to a university psychology clinic of 5–14 yr olds with home or school problems. 61 mothers (41 of whom were married) and 41 fathers completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Marital Adjustment Test, and the Conners Parent Rating Scale. Children's teachers completed the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Mothers' ratings of their children's behavior were significantly correlated with teachers' ratings, but fathers' ratings were not. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that teachers' ratings accounted for the greatest amount of variance in the prediction of mothers' ratings of child externalizing problems, followed by maternal depression. Results confirm earlier findings of a relation of maternal depression to maternal perception of child externalizing behavior problems but indicate a stronger correlation between maternal ratings and independent measures of child behavior. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Parenting Scale: A measure of dysfunctional parenting in discipline situations.

Designed a rating scale to measure dysfunctional discipline practices in parents of young children. Three stable factors of dysfunctional discipline style were identified: (1) Laxness, (2) Overreactivity, and (3) Verbosity. The Parenting Scale exhibited adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Mothers of clinic children reported more dysfunctional parenting than did mothers of nonclinic children. Parenting Scale scores were related to maternal ratings of child behavior and marital discord. Most important, Parenting Scale scores correlated significantly with observational measures of dysfunctional discipline and child misbehavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' differential treatment of their adolescent childbearing and nonchildbearing children: Contrasts between and within families.

This study examined mothers' differential treatment of adolescent sibling pairs in 2 family contexts: families with and without an adolescent childbearing daughter. Results based on mothers' ratings and children's ratings revealed that the mothers of childbearing daughters treated all of their children less affectionately than did the mothers of nonchildbearing adolescents. In families with a childbearing daughter, mothers expected a brighter future for and treated their never-pregnant daughter(s) more favorably than their childbearing daughter, and mothers' harsh treatment toward their children was correlated with high financial stress, excessive time spent caring for their daughter's child, and younger children's sexual behavior and drug and alcohol use. Findings highlight the preferential parenting that occurs within the families of childbearing teens and suggest its ramifications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)