The family drawings of at-risk children: concurrent relations with contact with incarcerated parents, caregiver behavior, and stress

The current study examined children's attachment representations as assessed with their family drawings in relation to contact with an incarcerated or estranged parent, caregiver behavior, and family stress in a high-risk sample of children (N = 44, M (age) = 8.14), 55% of whom had incarcerated parents. Greater phone, mail, and physical contact with an incarcerated parent was associated with more role reversal in children's family drawings. Additional results show that child-reports of more hostile caregiver behavior were associated with greater overall insecurity in their family drawings; child and caregiver reports of stress were associated with increased global pathology and bizarreness/dissociation in children's family drawings. Given the lack of research on concurrent familial-based correlates of ratings made of children's family drawings, these results provide additional insights into children's representations of attachment relationships in early middle childhood. Further, the results regarding contact with incarcerated parents have implications for researchers and clinicians working with families impacted by parental incarceration.     

Changes in women's alcoholic, antisocial, and depressive symptomatology over 12 years: a multilevel network of individual, familial, and neighborhood influences

In a sample of 273 adult women and their families, we examined the effects of women's psychopathology history, their social support, their husbands' and children's symptomatology, family stress, and neighborhood environment on their alcohol problems, antisocial behavior, and depression over a 12-year period during their 30s and early 40s. Women's alcohol problems and antisocial behavior decreased but their depression symptoms increased over time. Women's disorder history and their partners' parallel symptomatology were associated with their symptoms. For women's antisocial behavior, their own history of alcoholism and their partners' alcohol problems were also significant risk factors. Higher levels of social support were associated with lower levels of depression in women. Children's externalizing behavior was positively correlated with their mothers' alcohol problems and antisocial behavior, whereas children's internalizing behavior was positively correlated with their mothers' depression. Neighborhood residential instability was associated with higher levels of alcoholic and depressive symptomatology in women. Intervention efforts might target women with young children by improving social support, educational or professional training opportunity, access to family counseling, and neighborhood environment.     

Child–mother attachments in the face of grandparent HIV

Child–mother attachment, as observed in the Strange Situation (SSP), was assessed in 61 families affected by HIV and 18 neighborhood comparison families not affected by HIV, but of similar ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Children were aged one to three years at the assessment. Secure attachment was significantly less likely among children in the HIV-affected group than among comparison group children (36% versus 67%). The most common pattern of attachment in the HIV-affected group was disorganized/disoriented, observed in 41% of children (versus 22% of comparison children). Children from families that included a surviving grandparent with HIV showed disorganized attachments more often than children whose grandparents died (53% versus 36%). Child attachment classifications were not associated with families’ participation in a family-based, cognitive-behavioral HIV intervention. These results document the inter-generational impact of young mothers’ who were growing up with an HIV-infected parent. These findings suggest that families affected by HIV may benefit from interventions that address attachment issues.     

The effect of pedigree structure on detection of deletions and other null alleles

Deletions and other null alleles for genetic markers can be detected as a special case of non-Mendelian inheritance, ie when a parent and a child appear to be homozygous for different alleles. The probability to detect a deletion for a fixed overall number of investigated individuals was calculated for biallelic and multiallelic markers with varying allele frequencies. To determine the effect of increasing the number of parents and grandparents, the probability for this event was derived for a parent and one child, a trio, a trio with one grandparent and a trio with two grandparents. The results for biallelic markers show that for a fixed total number of individuals, a sample of trios with two grandparents is always more efficient than the other family types, despite a lower total number of founder chromosomes in the sample. For multiallelic markers the outcome varies. The effect of adding additional children to a nuclear family was also investigated. For nuclear families, the optimal number of children is two or three, depending on the allele frequencies. It is shown that adding children is more efficient than adding grandparents.     

家庭环境与学习障碍儿童行为、自我意识、个性的相关性

目的 :探讨学习障碍 (learningdisorders ,LD)儿童的家庭环境特点及其与儿童行为、自我意识、个性特征的相关性。方法 :选用家庭环境量表中文版 (FES -CV)、Rutter儿童行为问卷 (父母问卷 )、艾森克个性问卷 (EPQ -儿童版 )和Piers -Harris儿童自我意识量表分别对 110名LD和 110名学习优秀 (对照 )组儿童进行评定。结果 :资料齐全的LD组儿童 91名 ,对照组 98名。LD组儿童的家庭在FES量表的亲密度、情感表达、成功性、知识性的评分低于对照组 (P <0 0 5 ) ,而矛盾性则高于对照组 (P <0 0 1) ;LD组儿童的行为和自我意识总分显著低于对照组 (均P <0 0 0 1) ,在EPQ的精神质和神经质得分高于对照组(P <0 0 5 ) ,内外向得分低于对照组 (P <0 0 0 1)。FES的某些环境因素分别与LD和对照组儿童的行为、自我意识、个性特点有关。结论 :LD儿童处在相对不良的家庭环境中 ,家庭环境因素对LD组和对照组儿童行为、自我意识、个性的影响不同。     

Children's coping strategies and coping efficacy: relations to parent socialization, child adjustment, and familial alcoholism

The relations of children's coping strategies and coping efficacy to parent socialization and child adjustment were examined in a sample of school-age children that included families in which some of the grandparents and/or parents had an alcoholism diagnosis. Parents and older children reported on the children's coping strategies; parents reported on their parenting behavior; and teachers reported on children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Measures of parent socialization were associated with parents' and children's reports of active coping strategies and parents' reports of both support-seeking coping and coping efficacy. Some of these relations were moderated by familial alcohol status. Children higher in parent-reported active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy were rated lower in teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing adjustment problems. The findings were consistent with the view that active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy mediated the association of parent socialization to children's psychological adjustment and that this relation was sometimes moderated by parental alcohol status.     

34名沉缅电子游戏儿童的心理行为及相关因素调查分析

目的 :探讨电子游戏依赖性儿童的心理、行为及家庭环境特点。方法 :选择用艾森克问卷(EPQ) ,Achenbach儿童行为量表 (CBCL) ,家庭环境量表 (FES)分别对 3 4例电子游戏依赖性儿童及 3 4例正常儿童进行评定。结果 :电子游戏依赖性儿童在EPQ量表的P分、L分 ,CBCL量表的社交情况、学校情况、退缩、焦虑 抑郁、社会问题、违纪问题、攻击性行为、内向性行为问题、外向性行为问题、行为问题总分的得分均显著高于对照组 (P <0 0 5 )。在FES -CV量表中的亲密度、情感表达、娱乐性、组织性、控制性得分均低于对照组 (P <0 0 5 ) ,而在家庭的矛盾性得分显著高于对照组 (P <0 0 5 )。结论 :电子游戏依赖性儿童有较多的心理、行为问题 ,某些家庭环境因素可能是儿童电子游戏依赖性的原发和促动因素之一。     

Family stability as a protective factor against psychopathology for urban children receiving psychological services.

Family stability, defined as the consistency of family activities and routines, was examined in a sample of urban families (n = 70) with children (ages 7 to 16) receiving psychological services. Parent-reported family stability was associated with lower parent-reported children's internalizing behavior problems. Child-reported family stability significantly attenuated the influence of parental depressive symptoms on parent-reported children's internalizing, externalizing, and total behavior problems, while controlling for the effect of children's age. Parental depressive symptoms were associated with problems in child adjustment only at the low level of family stability.     

Out of the Picture: A Study of Family Drawings by Children: From Step-, Single-Parent,and Non-Step Families

Investigated the family drawings of 180 children ages 5 to 7 years in various family settings, including stepfather, single-parent, complex stepfamilies, and 2-parent control families. The relations of family type and biological relatedness to omission of family members and grouping of parents were examined. Children from step- and single-parent families were more likely to exclude family members than children from "control" non-step families, and exclusion was predicted from biological relatedness. Children who were biologically related to both resident parents were also more likely to group their parents together. Omission of family members was found to be associated with children's adjustment (specifically more externalizing and internalizing behavior) as reported by teachers and parents. The results indicate that biological relatedness is a salient aspect of very young children's representations of their families. The association between adjustment and exclusion of family members and grouping of parents indicates that family drawings may be useful research and clinical tools, when used in combination with other methods of assessment.     

Interpersonal dysfunction in depressed women: impairments independent of depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND: The study explored the generality of interpersonal impairments in depressed women and examined the extent of their independence of current depressive episodes or symptoms. METHODS: 812 community women who were formerly depressed, currently depressed, or never depressed were compared on a variety of indices of interpersonal behavior and beliefs. Information was also obtained from their spouses, adolescent children, and raters. Current depressive mood and sociodemographic factors that might affect social functioning were controlled. RESULTS: Consistent with the hypotheses that interpersonal difficulties are not just consequences of depressive symptoms, formerly but not currently depressed women were significantly more impaired than never-depressed women on nearly all measures. They were less likely to be stably married, had poorer marital satisfaction, reported more spouse coercion and physical injury, had more problematic relationships with their child, friends, and extended family, reported more stressful life events with interpersonal and conflict content, and were more insecure in their beliefs about other people. Their spouses and boyfriends also reported more problems, and were themselves more likely to have diagnosable disorders. However, the groups did not differ in their children's perceptions of maternal warmth or hostility. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design precluded conclusions about the causal direction of the relationship between interpersonal impairment and depressive disorder. Since clinical depression is more often than not followed by subthreshold symptoms that are not captured by standard diagnostic instruments, such symptoms are not easily discernable from preceding or co-existing interpersonal problems. Only women were studied. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal impairment is a stable feature of depression, a significant challenge to treatment, and may reflect underlying vulnerability to the onset, and recurrence, of depressive experiences.     

Perceived family characteristic differences between depressed and anxious children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The present study compared anxious vs. depressed children's and adolescents' perceptions about their family environment. METHODS: One hundred inpatient youngsters were interviewed for the study. Of these participants, 21 who met criteria for a depressive disorder without an anxiety disorder and 18 who met criteria for an anxiety disorder without a depressive disorder were compared on several self-report family measures. These measures included the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-II (FACES-II), Family Strengths, and Social Support Questionnaire-Revised (SSQS-R). RESULTS: Youngsters with depressive disorders reported having less pride in their families and perceived their families as being less adaptable to problems than did anxious children. Also, depressed children expressed lower levels of satisfaction with their social network than did anxious children. LIMITATIONS: The fact that our study only included reports from inpatient youngsters, families of anxious and depressed children may differ in the way family members relate to one another and in the way they deal with everyday problems. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the evidence obtained in this study, anxiety and depression may be two distinct internalizing disorders with specific family characteristics.     

Families of the Developmentally Disabled (Book)

Mothers and fathers from 52 two-parent families—26 families with a normal child and 26 families with an attention-deficit-disordered/hyperactive (ADDH) child—independently completed questionnaires regarding child behavior; time for individual, couple, and family activities; extended family and community contacts; depression; and family functioning. The communication, problem solving, role allocation, behavioral control, affective responsiveness, affective involvement, and general functioning of normal and ADDH families did not differ significantly. Families of ADDH children reported fewer extended family contacts and described these as less helpful. Mothers of ADDH children reported higher depression scores than their husbands or the mothers of normal children did. Alcohol consumption was higher in families of ADDH children than in those of normal children and was higher in mothers. Mothers' depression ratings were linked both to family functioning and to child behavior, whereas fathers' depression ratings were linked only to family functioning.     

Parenting and children's externalizing problems in substance-abusing families.

This study tested associations in path models among positive and negative parenting and children's rule-breaking behavior, aggressive and oppositional behavior, and attention problems for families with a drug-dependent parent. A structural model tested relations between parenting and children's externalizing problems for 251 families with 399 children between the ages of 6 and 18, controlling for nonindependence of ratings at the family level. The model also tested potential moderators, including child age, gender, and ethnicity (White vs. other), and caregiver gender (families with a female substance-abusing caregiver vs. families with a male substance-abusing caregiver). Results indicated that caregiver ratings of monitoring predicted rule-breaking behavior and use of inconsistent discipline predicted ratings of all 3 externalizing syndromes, after controlling parenting and externalizing problems for the effects of the moderators and after controlling significant relations among types of parenting and types of externalizing problems.     

数学困难儿童的表征类型及其对应用题解决的影响

目的 考察数学困难儿童在不同类型应用题上的表征类型及其对应用题解决的影响.方法 通过数学成绩及教师评定选取30名数学困难和30名数学正常的小学四年级儿童为被试,采用自编应用题作为实验材料进行实验研究.结果 数学困难儿童的表征数量显著少于数学正常儿童(t=-5.672,P＜0.001)在4类应用题上,数学困难儿童都倾向采用语词表征或图画表征,对关系表征和图式表征的应用频数较低;数学困难儿童的解题成绩和速度都显著低于数学正常儿童.结论 数学困难儿童的表征类型多是不适宜表征,不利于应用题解决.     

Factors influencing maltreated children's early adjustment in foster care

Internal representations of self and primary attachment figures may be one mechanism by which maltreatment affects children's interpersonal behavior and relationships with others. Research on the continuity and influence of maltreated children's attachment representations, however, has not included youngsters removed from abusive or neglectful home environments. This paper examines the influence of maltreated children's maternal and self-representations on subsequent relationships with foster mothers and behavioral adjustment in foster care. Participants included 32 children, ages 9-13 years, who entered foster placement for the first time after a sustained relationship with a maltreating biological mother. Upon initially entering foster care, children's maternal and self-representations were significantly related to each other and to severity of maltreatment history but not to other factors believed to influence the quality of parent-child relationship (e.g., maternal mental health, partner stability). In addition, these representations significantly predicted children's subsequent views of their relationships with foster mothers. Finally, children's behavior in their foster homes was associated with maltreatment severity, internal representations assessed at entry into foster care, and to concurrent perceptions of their new foster mothers. These findings advance our understanding of foster placement's role in maltreated children's development and provide preliminary insight into the processes associated with the formation of potentially compensatory relationships.     

Children's responses to conflict between their different parents: mothers, stepfathers, nonresident fathers, and nonresident stepmothers.

Children who have experienced parental separation have potentially 3 sets of parents whose relationships may impact on them: mother and former partner, mother and stepfather, and father and new partner. Children's accounts of their response to conflict between these different parental dyads were studied, in relation to the quality of their relationships with these parents assessed with child interviews and questionnaires, and to maternal reports of the children's adjustment, in a sample of 159 children growing up in different family settings. Involvement in conflict within 1 parental dyad was chiefly unrelated to such involvement in conflict between the other parental dyads. In contrast, there was evidence for "spillover" effects in relationships within families; for instance, high frequencies of conflict between parents were linked to more troubled parent-child relationships. Children were more likely to side with the parent to whom they were biologically related than with stepparents. Involvement in mother-nonresident father conflict and in mother-stepfather conflict were both associated with adjustment problems, independent of the qualities of positivity and conflict in the relationship between child and parent. Implications for views on "family boundaries" are considered.     

Mealtime Behavior and Parent-Child Interaction: A Comparison of Children with Feeding Problems, and Nonclinic Controls

Examined the role of family interaction factors in dietary complianceproblems reported by parents of children with cystic fibrosis(CF). The family mealtime interactions of children with CF,children with feeding problems and nonclinic controls were observed,and parents monitored children's eating behavior at home. Parentsof children with CF reported more concern about feeding problemsand recorded more disruptive mealtime behavior than parentsof nonclinic children. Observational data showed children withCF to display overall rates of disruptive mealtime behaviornot significantly different from either comparison group. Mothersof children with CF were observed to engage in higher ratesof aversive interaction with their child than did mothers ofnonclinic controls. Fathers of children with CF reported lowermarital satisfaction than fathers of controls. Both mothersand fathers of children with CF reported lower parenting self-efficacythan non-CF families. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Embryo donation families: mothers' decisions regarding disclosure of donor conception

BACKGROUND: Previous data suggest that parents who adopt a child tend to support full disclosure while donor conception families prefer to keep the method of conception relatively private. It is not known whether parents in embryo donation families will tend towards the adoption model, therefore, we studied families with a child conceived using donated embryos. METHODS: A total of 21 embryo donation families with a child aged 2-5 years were recruited through UK fertility clinics. Mothers were administered a standardized semi-structured interview, obtaining data on the extent of their disclosure to children and other family members and their reasons for this decision. RESULTS: At the time of interview, 9% of mothers had told their child how they had conceived; 24% of mothers reported that they were planning to tell the child in future; 43% had decided that they would never tell the child, and the remaining 24% were undecided. However, nearly three-quarter of mothers (72%) had disclosed to other family members. Maternal grandparents were more likely to have been told than paternal grandparents (P < 0.025). Reasons cited for non-disclosure to the child included the desire to protect the child, the belief that disclosure is unnecessary, and the concern that family relationships would be damaged. Reasons in favour of disclosure included the desire to avoid accidental disclosure and the belief that the child has the right to know. CONCLUSIONS: Embryo donation mothers were similar to parents of donor insemination and oocyte donation children in their attitudes towards disclosure of donor conception.     

Mothers' representations of relationships with their children: relations with mother characteristics and feeding sensitivity

OBJECTIVE: To examine parenting representations and feeding interactions of mothers and their children with cerebral palsy (CP) and the extent to which mothers' representations predict their feeding behavior beyond other mother and child characteristics. METHODS: Fifty-eight mothers of children with mild to severe CP ages 16 to 52 months were interviewed with an adapted form of the Parent Development Interview (PDI). Correlation and regression analyses examined relations between representations (compliance with parental requests, achievement, secure base, enmeshment, worry about the child's future, and emotional pain), demographic characteristics, diagnostic severity, and developmental status. RESULTS: Mothers with more compliance-related concerns showed less sensitivity, acceptance, and delight during feeding. Mothers experiencing more emotional pain displayed more hostility. Mothers reporting worries about the child displayed sensitivity and delight. Representations of compliance-related experiences and worry about the child's future accounted for significant increments in explained variance in mothers' feeding behavior, after we controlled for children's skills and abilities. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest maternal representations of relationships are associated with caregiving behavior for mothers of children with CP apart from other child and maternal characteristics and may be a useful focus for research and practice related to parenting children with special needs.     

Physically abusive mothers' responses following episodes of child noncompliance and compliance

The authors used sequential analysis to examine specific interaction patterns between physically abusive mothers and their children following episodes of noncompliance and compliance. Fifteen abusive and 15 nonabusive, low-risk mother-child dyads were observed, and their behaviors were coded for specific interactions. The children in the study ranged in age from 2 to 6 years. Results indicated that after noncompliance occurred, physically abusive mothers were more likely than nonabusive mothers to respond negatively and give another command. When child compliance occurred, there were no group differences in the likelihood of praising their children's prosocial behavior, but physically abusive mothers were less likely than nonabusive mothers to engage in other forms of positive behavior (e.g., positive touch) after compliance. Clinical implications are discussed in the context of working with physically abusive families.