Children whose mothers are HIV infected: Who resides in the home and is there a relationship to child psychosocial adjustment?

This study examined who resides in the home when a mother is HIV infected and whether this relates to child psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 249 inner-city African American women, 40% of whom were HIV infected, and their 6- to 11-year-old children. HIV-infected women in the symptomatic–AIDS stage were more likely than noninfected mothers to have more adults, particularly a grandmother or aunt of the child, and more adults per child residing in the home. Only the ratio of adults-to-children in the home was related to child adjustment, and this occurred primarily when mothers were in the symptomatic–AIDS stage of infection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between marital distress and child behavior problems, maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, and maternal parenting behavior.

Examined the relationship of marital adjustment to maternal personal adjustment, maternal personality, maternal perception of child adjustment, maternal parenting behavior, and child behavior using 20 maritally distressed and 20 maritally nondistressed mothers and their children (aged 3–7 yrs). Ss were given a battery of tests that included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Personality Research Form—Form A. Results indicate that, compared to mothers in the maritally nondistressed group, mothers in the distressed group perceived themselves as significantly more anxious and depressed and perceived their children as having significantly more behavior problems, particularly in the area of undercontrol. There were no differences between the groups with respect to maternal personality. Maritally distressed mothers showed less appropriate parenting behavior than did nondistressed mothers and the children of maritally distressed mothers were more deviant than were children of nondistressed mothers. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation entre l'attachement et les interactions mère-enfant en milieu naturel et expérimental à l'age scolaire.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relation between quality of mother-child interaction in a lab and home setting, and quality of attachment of school-age children. A second objective of the study is to evaluate the associations between quality of mother-child interactions, attachment and maternal psychosocial measures (social support, depression, and parental stress). Security of attachment (Separation-Reunion procedure, Main & Cassidy, 1988) and the quality of mother-child interaction was evaluated for a sample of 38 children (mean age = 6 years). Mothers also completed self-report measures for depression, stress, and social support. Concurrent to the lab assessment, quality of mother-child interaction was also evaluated during a home visit. Results indicated a strong association between interactive patterns in both settings. Moreover, interactive patterns differed in terms of attachment classification with secure children showing the most harmonious patterns and disorganized/controlling children showing the most dysfunctional patterns. Maternal psychosocial measures were not related to child security of attachment, but mothers of insecure children reported marginally more stress related to the child. Maternal psychosocial adjustment was, in part, related to dyadic mother-child interaction in the home and lab setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's fearfulness as a moderator of parenting in early socialization: Two longitudinal studies.

Findings from 2 longitudinal studies replicate and considerably extend past work on child temperament as a moderating link between parenting and successful socialization outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 106 mothers and children), child fearfulness, mother-child positive relationship, and maternal power assertion were assessed at 22 and 33 months; the outcome-children's moral self-was assessed at 56 months. In Study 2 (N = 102 mothers, fathers, and children), child fearfulness and parent-child positive relationship were assessed at 7 and 15 months; parents' power assertion was assessed at 15 months. The outcomes were children's receptive, willing stance toward the parent at 25 months, and rule-compatible conduct without supervision at 38 months. Child fearfulness significantly moderated the impact of parenting: In both studies, for relatively fearless children, mother-child positive relationship predicted future successful socialization outcomes in mother-child dyads. There was no analogous moderation effect in father-child dyads in Study 2. For relatively fearful children, fathers' power assertion in Study 2 predicted poor socialization outcomes. All Temperament × Parenting interactions appeared limited to measures obtained in the 2nd year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children conceived by gamete donation: Psychological adjustment and mother-child relationships at age 7.

An increasing number of babies are being born using donated sperm, where the child lacks a genetic link to the father, or donated eggs, where the child lacks a genetic link to the mother. This study examined the impact of telling children about their donor conception on mother-child relationships and children's psychological adjustment. Assessments of maternal positivity, maternal negativity, mother-child interaction, and child adjustment were administered to 32 egg donation, 36 donor insemination, and 54 natural conception families with a 7-year-old child. Although no differences were found for maternal negativity or child adjustment, mothers in nondisclosing gamete donation families showed less positive interaction than mothers in natural conception families, suggesting that families may benefit from openness about the child's genetic origins. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of domestic violence on the maternal-child relationship and preschool-age children's functioning.

Although preschool-age children are at risk for witnessing domestic violence, the majority of research has focused on children ages 6 to 12 years. This study examines the mediating role of the mother-child relationship on preschool-age children's functioning in families experiencing domestic violence. Maternal report and behavioral observations of mother-child interactions were used to assess relationship quality. Participants consisted of 103 children and their mothers. The data fit the model well but indicated that some of the correlations were not in the expected direction. Although depressed mothers were struggling with parenting, other mothers appeared to be compensating for the violence by becoming more effective parents. Domestic violence negatively impacted children's behavior with their mothers in interactions but did not influence maternal report of problem behaviors, suggesting that the impact of domestic violence begins very early and in the realm of relationships rather than in mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissecting daily distress in mothers of children with ADHD: An electronic diary study.

It is well known that parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience elevated levels of caregiver stress, but little is known about the ebb and flow of parental distress as it happens, or the degree of synchrony between short-term oscillations in child behaviors and maternal distress. Electronic diaries (eDiaries) were used to dissect daily distress in natural settings. Across 7 days during nonschool hours, half-hourly eDiaries were completed independently by mothers and their 8- to 12-year-old children (51 receiving medication for ADHD and 58 comparison peers). Diary items tapped behaviors, moods, and contexts, with children reporting their own behaviors and mothers reporting on themselves and their children. Maternal distress and child ADHD-type behaviors exhibited moderate to strong associations “in the moment,” whether child behaviors were reported by mothers or children. This mother-child synchrony emerged for the comparison as well as the ADHD group, although the associations were stronger when the dyad included a child with ADHD. Because fixed-effects analyses were conducted, these patterns are not attributable to levels of psychopathology or other stable individual differences in mothers or children. Further moderation analyses revealed that the links between child behaviors and maternal distress were strengthened by maternal risk and attenuated by child behavioral self-esteem; these effects were modest but detectable. These findings can help guide not only interventions targeted on improving quality of life in families of children with ADHD, but also programs designed to help all parents identify and manage their own parenting stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive readiness to parent and intellectual-emotional development in children of adolescent mothers.

Seventy adolescent mother-child dyads were assessed longitudinally to determine relationships among prenatal maternal knowledge and attitudes about parenting, evaluated in the 3rd trimester; postnatal maternal perceptions of parenting stress and child temperament as well as maternal interactional style, evaluated when children were 6 months of age; and intellectual, linguistic, and behavioral development at 3 years of age. Mothers who were more cognitively prepared for parenting had children who displayed better intellectual development and fewer internalizing and externalizing behavioral difficulties. Mothers who were less cognitively prepared for parenting prenatally perceived their parenting role as more stressful and their children as more difficult. Although maternal interactional style did not act as a mediator, perceptions at 6 months were found to mediate the relationship between prenatal cognitive readiness and child intelligence and internalizing behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brief report: parenting stress and quality of life during treatment for childhood leukemia predicts child and parent adjustment after treatment ends

Evaluated relationships between parenting stress and parent-rated child quality of life during treatment for childhood leukemia and later parental posttraumatic stress symptoms and parent and child anxiety after completion of cancer treatment in 29 families of patients with leukemia. Correlations among in-treatment and off-treatment variables showed strong patterns of association between parenting stress during treatment and later parental adjustment, for both mothers and fathers. Parent-rated child quality of life was also significantly associated with later adjustment for mothers and children. Despite the small sample, data point to the importance and consistency of parental reactions from diagnosis through the end of treatment and have clinical implications for psychosocial services during and after treatment.     

Parenting in mothers with and without attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

The authors examined the impact of maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on parenting behaviors. Sixty mothers between the ages of 31 and 50 with (n = 30) and without (n = 30) ADHD and their 8- to 14-year-old children with ADHD completed self-report and laboratory measures of monitoring of child behavior, consistency in parenting, and parenting problem-solving abilities. These parenting behaviors were selected because of their established links to the development of child behavior problems. As predicted, mothers with ADHD were found to be poorer at monitoring child behavior and less consistent disciplinarians compared with mothers without ADHD. There was some evidence to support the prediction that mothers with ADHD were less effective at problem solving about childrearing issues than control mothers. The differences between the 2 groups of mothers persisted after child oppositional and conduct-disordered behavior were controlled. These results indicate that parenting is an area of functioning that requires more attention in adult ADHD research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between child sleep disturbances and maternal sleep, mood, and parenting stress: A pilot study.

Although sleep disturbances in children are common, little is known about the relationship between children's sleep disruptions and maternal sleep and daytime functioning. Forty-seven mothers completed measures of sleep, depression, parenting stress, fatigue, and sleepiness. Significant differences in maternal mood and parenting stress were found between mothers of children with and without significant sleep disturbances. Regression analyses showed that the quality of the children's sleep significantly predicted the quality of maternal sleep. In addition, maternal sleep quality was a significant predictor of maternal mood, stress, and fatigue. Results from this pilot study support the need for future research examining the relationship between child sleep disturbances and maternal daytime functioning, and they highlight the importance of screening for and treating pediatric sleep disruptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In vitro fertilization and the family: Quality of parenting, family functioning, and child psychosocial adjustment.

This study examined associations between homologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) and quality of parenting, family functioning, and emotional and behavioral adjustment of 3–7-year-old children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Taiwan with 54 IVF mother–child pairs and 59 mother–child pairs with children conceived naturally. IVF mothers reported a greater level of protectiveness toward their children than control mothers. Teachers, blind to condition, rated IVF mothers as displaying greater warmth but not overprotective or intrusive parenting behaviors toward their children. Teachers scored children of IVF as having fewer behavioral problems than control children. In contrast, IVF mothers reported less satisfaction with aspects of family functioning. Family composition moderated parenting stress: IVF mothers with only 1 child perceived less parenting stress than did those in the control group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal depression and parenting in relation to child internalizing symptoms and asthma disease activity.

This study tested a hypothesized model of the relationship between maternal depression and child psychological and physical dysfunction mediated by parenting and medication adherence. A sample of 242 children with asthma, aged 7 to 17, participated with their mothers. Maternal depression was assessed by self-report, and parenting was observed during family interaction tasks. Internalizing symptoms were assessed by self- and clinician reports. Asthma disease activity was assessed according to National Heart Lung and Blood Institute guidelines, and medication adherence was evaluated with a 24-hr recall method. Structural equation modeling indicated that negative parenting partially mediated the relationship between maternal depression and child internalizing symptoms. Child internalizing symptoms, in turn, mediated the associations between both maternal depression and negative parenting and asthma disease activity. Medication adherence did not mediate the link from maternal depression to disease activity. Thus, maternal depression was linked to child psychological dysfunction both directly and indirectly via negative parenting but linked to physical dysfunction only indirectly through psychological dysfunction. These findings suggest that diagnosing and treating depression in mothers of children with asthma would enhance child well-being both psychologically and physically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal cocaine use and the caregiving environment during early childhood.

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of the caregiving environment for young children of polydrug cocaine-using mothers. Three aspects of the caregiving environment were examined: physical and social settings for development, maternal psychosocial functioning, and child rearing customs and attitudes. It was hypothesized that maternal cocaine use would be associated with more negative caregiving environments. Results indicated that cocaine-using mothers were more likely to have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, experience or witness community violence, and use negative discipline and that their children were more likely to remain in foster care for longer periods of time, experience more changes in primary caregivers, and be visited by male caregivers less often. The implications of these findings for child adjustment and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral correlates of maternal depressive symptomatology in conduct-disorder children.

We contrasted two predictive models of the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology on child behavior in a study of 51 mothers and their conduct-disorder children. Relations between global measures of maternal distress and child adjustment and observational measures of mother–child interaction were examined. Children of distressed mothers were more maladjusted than children of nondistressed mothers, when maladjustment was measured on the basis of a global rating, but "better" adjusted when measured on the basis of interactional measures. Measures of maternal indiscriminate responding to the child may account for these findings. Results suggest that (a) although conduct-disorder children are generally more maladjusted when their mothers are distressed, they display this maladjustment in a selective fashion, and (b) maternal distress acts as an adverse contextual factor that maintains mother–child interactional difficulties by disrupting the attentional and monitoring skills required for contingent responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive coping, affective distress, and maternal sensitivity: Mothers of children with Down syndrome.

This study investigated relations among maternal cognitive coping style (approach-avoidance), affective state, and sensitivity. Fifty-six mothers and their children with Down syndrome were followed for 2 years. Cognitive coping and affective distress inventories were administered and sensitivity was rated on the basis of mother-child observations. Results indicated that approach and avoidance have been widely studied under different designations and are stable across time. These cognitive coping variables may mediate the stress of parenting a child with a disability in complex ways. Mothers with a strong tendency to monitor stressors report greater affective distress than do mothers who adopt a less vigilant coping style. At the same time, cognitive avoidance of stressors and affective distress reduce the behavioral sensitivity of the mother toward her child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal psychological functioning, family processes, and child adjustment in rural, single-parent, African American families.

A family process model was tested, linking adequacy of family financial resources to academic and psychosocial adjustment among 156 African American 6- to 9-year-old children with single mothers who lived in the rural South. Seventy five percent of the sample lived in poverty. Lack of adequate financial resources was associated with more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem among mothers. Self-esteem was linked with family routines and mother–child relationship quality. The paths from mother–child relationship quality and family routines to child academic and psychosocial adjustment were mediated by the development of child self-regulation. An alternative partially mediated model improved the fit of the data for families with boys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional exchange in mother-child dyads: Stability, mutual influence, and associations with maternal depression and child problem behavior.

This study examined the stability of the child and maternal affective expression and maternal responsiveness and the mutual influence of child and maternal expression of emotion. The authors tested whether maternal depression and child problem behavior were associated with the pattern of emotional exchange within the mother-child dyads. The sample consisted of 69 mother-child dyads (children aged 2-5 years), with 32 of the mothers having childhood-onset depression. Mothers were mostly stable in their affective expression (positive and negative) and responsiveness, whereas children were only stable in positive expression. Within the dyads, mothers seemed to play a more important role in regulating children's later emotional expression. Maternal depression was associated with concurrent maternal responsiveness and their reduced positive expression over time. Results are discussed in relation to the differential function of parental general positivity and responsiveness and the interpersonal transmission of emotional problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergence among multiple methods of measuring positivity and negativity in the family environment: Relation to depression in mothers and their children.

The present study addressed the following questions: (a) To what extent do different methods of measuring the family environment converge onto a single latent construct? (b) How are the constructs of positive and of negative family environment related? (c) Do the associations among various methods of measuring the family environment differ as a function of children's gender or of risk? and (d) How are the latent constructs of family environment related to depression in mothers and their children? Participants were 240 children (mean age = 11.86 years, SD = 0.57) and their mothers, who varied with regard to their history of depression. Family environment was measured with self-report questionnaires completed separately by mothers and by children, observations of mother-child interactions, and a 5-min speech sample of each mother talking about her child. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that different methods for assessment of the family environment converged and that the constructs of positive and of negative family environments were significantly related to each other and to depression in both mothers and their children. These findings may help inform future intervention efforts by highlighting specific parenting dimensions that are strongly associated with maternal and with child depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactions Between Mothers and Children: Impacts of Maternal and Child Anxiety.

This study, an expansion of an earlier study of parenting behaviors of anxious mothers, examined the relationship of both mother and child anxiety disorders to mother behavior in parent-child interactions. Participants were 68 mother-child dyads with children ranging in age from 7 to 15 years. Mothers and children completed diagnostic evaluations and engaged in conversational tasks; behaviors were rated by coders who were blind to diagnosis. Mothers of anxious children, regardless of their own anxiety, were less warm (p