The Impact of Family Financial Investment on Perceived Parent Pressure and Child Enjoyment and Commitment in Organized Youth Sport

Ninety percent of American youth participate in some form of organized youth sport between the ages of 5 and 18. Parent involvement in this context has recently been characterized as a potentially harmful force in parent–child relations, leading to debate regarding the appropriateness and level of parent involvement in organized youth sport. Despite the rising costs associated with youth sport participation, little empirical effort has been made to examine the potential impact of family financial investment on parent involvement and children's subsequent sport outcomes. The purpose of this study was to address how family financial investment in youth sport influences children's perceptions of parent pressure, sport enjoyment, and commitment to continued participation. Data from a national sample of 163 parent–child dyads illuminated an inverse association between family financial investment and child sport commitment, mediated by children's perceptions of parent pressure and sport enjoyment. The results indicated that family financial investment predicts child commitment through the sequential mediators of perceived parent pressure and child enjoyment. These findings draw attention to many avenues for future research on the potential link among family investment decisions, parent involvement behaviors, and child outcomes in organized youth sport, which may collectively inform the development of parent interventions for youth sport leagues, administrators, and parents.     

The Effect of School‐Specific Parenting Processes on Academic Achievement in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

There is inconsistency in the current literature regarding the association between dimensions of parenting processes and academic achievement for adolescents. Further, few studies have extended such an association into young adulthood. In this study, we examined the effect of three dimensions of parenting processes, including school‐specific involvement, general parental support, and parental expectations, on academic achievement in adolescence and in young adulthood. Using a large, nationally representative, and longitudinal sample, we found that results from regression analyses suggested that all three dimensions of parenting processes had a significant effect on adolescents' academic success. In particular, school‐specific involvement had a stronger effect than general parental support and parental expectations. Further, parenting processes were indirectly associated with academic achievement later in young adulthood, partially through academic achievement in adolescence. Implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Disentangling the Associations Between Contextual Stress,Sensitive Parenting,and Children's Social Development

The impact of an accumulation of sociocontextual stress on children's social skill development was examined among 167 predominantly African American mothers and their 2‐year‐old children. Two theoretical models were considered. First, based on Rutter's (1979) cumulative risk approach, an accumulation of stress was hypothesized to moderate the impact of sensitive parenting on change in social skills such that the protective effects of sensitive parenting declined when cumulative stress reached a critical threshold. Second, based on a family stress model approach, an accumulation of stress was expected to indirectly affect social skills by way of sensitive parenting; that is, sensitive parenting was expected to explain or mediate any direct links between cumulative stress and children's social skills. Results were only consistent with the moderational hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, sensitive parenting predicted increases in social skills from age 2 to 4 only under conditions of the highest cumulative stress.     

Parent Training Among Ethnic Minorities: Parenting Practices as Mediators of Change in Child Conduct Problems

In this study, we examined parenting practices as mediators of changes in child conduct problems in ethnic minority families participating in Parent Management Training—Oregon Model (PMTO). The participants included 96 Somali and Pakistani immigrant mothers and their children living in Norway. The families were randomized to PMTO or a waiting‐list control group. Self‐report assessments were made at baseline and after the intervention using standardized measures. A path model suggested that improvements in the child conduct problems were fully mediated by a reduction in harsh maternal discipline and an increase in positive parenting. When the mediation pathways were tested separately, both the reduction in harsh discipline and the increased positive parenting functioned as mediators of the reduction in child conduct problems. These findings emphasize the importance of including components that address the parent's use of both harsh and positive parenting practices when implementing parenting training among ethnic minority families.     

Parenting Styles,Food Parenting Practices and Dietary Intakes of Preschoolers

Previous evidence suggests that children’s eating behaviors were largely influenced by the parent and home eating structure. This study examined the relationship between parenting styles (including authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and uninvolved), food parenting practices (within Structure, Coercive Control, and Autonomy Support constructs) and dietary intakes of preschoolers. Children aged 3–5 years and their parents were recruited from preschools/daycare centers and parents completed the surveys (n = 166). Dietary intakes were collected using the Harvard Service Food Frequency Questionnaire (HSFFQ), parenting style was assessed using the Parenting Dimensions Inventory-Short Version (PDI-S), and food parenting practices were measured using Comprehensive Home Environment Survey (CHES). The results showed that food parenting practices had a higher number of specific significant findings on children’s nutrient and food group intakes than parenting styles. Correlation analyses showed positive parenting practices within Structure were significantly related to healthier children’s intakes (e.g., vegetables, iron, and folate) and less unhealthy dietary intakes (e.g., sweets and total fats). Regression models show that children with authoritative parents consumed more fruits compared to children with authoritarian parents and indulgent parents. The results addressed the importance of parental influences for preschoolers’ healthy dietary intakes, which suggested that future interventions and educational programs could enhance parenting practices to impact child diet.     

The Impact of Parent-Child Discussions and Parent Restrictions on Adolescent Alcohol Consumption

The impact of parent influence on adolescent drinking behavior has been extensively researched, but remains unclear. This assessment used data from a survey administered in after school programs in Maui County to further examine parents'' role in preventing underage drinking. Two factors were explored for their impacts on drinking behavior: parent-child discussions and perceived parent sanctioning of alcohol use. Separate analysis was conducted for all respondents and for those who are drinkers. Youth ages 12–17 (n = 572; 46.7% female; 25.2% alcohol drinkers; 16.4% binge drinkers) participated in the study. No significant differences for the reported number of days of drinking (chi-square = 1.38, p > 0.05) and the number of days of binge drinking (chi-square = 0.31, p > 0.05) between those that did and did not have parent-child communications was found. A significant difference was found, however, for the number of drinking days (chi-square = 38.6, p < 0.05) and the number of binge drinking days (chi-square = 39.4, p < 0.05), for “all respondents” between those who perceived parent restriction and those who did not. These findings suggest that parent-child communication may be most influential when characterized in such a way as to include well-defined restrictions against alcohol use.     

Neighborhood,Parenting, and Adolescent Factors and Academic Achievement in Latino Adolescents From Immigrant Families

Abstract: Self‐report questionnaire, school records, and census block group data for 502 Latino adolescents in immigrant families were examined using multilevel modeling to test how structural neighborhood adversity, in addition to perceived neighborhood, parental, and adolescent factors, explained grade point average (GPA). The results showed perceived neighborhood risk, mothers’ education aspirations for youth, and gender were directly related to GPA. Academic motivation mediated the relationship between fathers’ and mothers’ monitoring and GPA. Implications for prevention, intervention, and policy are presented.     

Financial Parenting,Financial Coping Behaviors,and Well‐Being of Emerging Adults

The goal of this study was to consider the role of parents in the development of their children's financial independence by the time the children are old enough to enter college. Using data from 2,098 first‐year university students, we examined two pathways to emerging adults' financial, psychological, and personal well‐being, combining research on the positive effects of family financial environment and future‐oriented coping behaviors. Two findings are of particular note. The quality of parent‐child communication regarding financial topics proved to be the most potent predictor of children's financial, psychological, and personal well‐being. Further, parents' expectations had a significant indirect influence (via financial coping behaviors) on their children's well‐being. Implications for promoting financial self‐sufficiency among young adults are discussed.     

公立医院改革中公益性与积极性的演进

公益性与积极性的均衡是公立医院改革的价值取向。我国公立医院改革经历了改革开放前后公益性与积极性失衡的两个历史阶段,新时期将迈入公益性与积极性均衡的新阶段。这对当前我国公立医院改革提出了要求,也提供了方向。     

Adolescent Reports of Aggression as Predictors of Perceived Parenting Behaviors and Expectations

This study examined the associations between adolescent self‐report of aggression and adolescents' perceptions of parenting practices in a sample of African American early adolescents living in low‐income, urban communities. Sixth graders (N = 209) completed questionnaires about their aggressive behaviors and perceptions of caregivers' parenting practices at two time points during the school year. Path model findings reveal that adolescent‐reported aggression at Time 1 predicted higher levels of perceived parent psychological control and perceived parent expectations for aggressive solutions to conflicts at Time 2. Findings suggest that early adolescent aggression elicits negative parenting behaviors at a subsequent time point.     

The Influence of Maternal History of Abuse on Parenting Knowledge and Behavior

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of abuse among a sample of 681 teen, adult low, and adult high resource first-time mothers. Participants ranged in age from 14 to 36 years, with a mean of 20 years. Exposure to childhood emotional and physical abuse was associated with 6-month parenting behavior; but not parenting knowledge. Teen mothers, as opposed to adult mothers, had higher mean scores for exposure to childhood emotional and physical abuse. Adult high resource mothers reported lower mean scores on each abuse outcome than both teen and adult low resource mothers. For the total sample of mothers, as past exposure to emotional and physical abuse increased, maternal responsivity decreased, and opinions towards, and propensities for, abusive behavior increased.     

Attachment and Parenting: The Mediating Role of Work‐Family Balance in Portuguese Parents of Preschool Children

Given the increasingly challenging task of balancing multiple adult life roles in contemporary society, this study examined the influences of both conflicting and (positively) synergistic work and family roles in mediating associations between the quality of adult attachment and both parental satisfaction and parenting stress. Participants were 242 Portuguese fathers and mothers involved in dual‐earner relationships and in parenting preschool‐aged children. Structural Equations Modeling analyses yielded findings demonstrating that the paths from romantic attachment (avoidance and anxiety) to parenting stress and satisfaction were fully explained by work‐family dimensions, especially the conflict dimension. Implications of these findings for parent education and intervention are discussed.     

Mothers’ Perceptions of Barriers,Parenting Alliance,and Adolescent Fathers’ Engagement With their Children*

Abstract: The current study utilized a social exchange perspective to examine relations among 74 adolescent mothers’ perceptions of barriers to father engagement, parenting alliance strength, and nonresident fathers’ engagement in caregiving and nurturing activities with their children. Even after accounting for mothers’ perceptions of barrier strength, mothers who viewed the parenting alliance as strong also perceived fathers as more engaged in caregiving activities. A more complex pattern emerged for mothers’ perceptions of father engagement in nurturing activities, such that relations between barrier strength and fathers’ nurturing depended on the parents’ relationship status and parenting alliance strength. Our findings suggest the importance of helping young parents strengthen their coparenting relationship in order to foster fathers’ engagement with their children.     

The Contributions of Parenting to Social Competencies and Positive Values in Middle School Youth: Positive Family Communication,Maintaining Standards,and Supportive Family Relationships

Abstract: Three aspects of parenting, positive family communication, facilitation of supportive family relationships, and maintenance of standards in the family, were examined as predictors of positive values and social competencies in sixth‐ (n = 1,453), seventh‐ (n = 3,732), and eighth‐ (n = 4,474) grade youth. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parenting processes were significant indicators of youth outcomes, both independently and in interaction with each other. Whereas perceptions of parenting processes declined across grade level, the effects of parenting on youth outcomes did not. Parental contributions to basic youth competencies continue to be an important contribution to positive youth development work throughout early adolescence.     

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Home Clutter on Parenting

The purpose of this study was to examine multiple predictors of maternal authoritarian parenting including (a) cluttered homes, (b) child characteristics (i.e., emotional temperament), and (c) maternal characteristics (i.e., tense/nervousness). Data were gathered from 177 mothers of young children between ages 3 and 5 (95 male, 82 female children) attending two early childhood programs in a midsized community in the western United States. Structural equation modeling (AMOS 19.0) was used to examine the strength of the relationships within the model. Results showed that authoritarian parenting was positively predicted by home clutter and mother tenseness/nervousness, and mediational analyses shed light on the nature of these relationships.     

公立医院公益性与积极性均衡的三种思路

公益性与积极性均衡是公立医院改革的价值取向。本文提出公立医院改革实现公益性与积极性均衡的三种思路,即宏观思路、中观思路和微观思路,力图找到公益性与积极性均衡的有效路径,为当前我国公立医院改革提供参考。     

乙型病毒性肝炎直接经济负担及对家庭经济影响分析

目的:明确急慢性乙肝、乙肝所致肝硬化和肝癌病人年直接经济负担,分析其对家庭经济影响。方法:从在医院住院治疗的乙肝病人中选取调查对象进行问卷调查,并查阅调查对象出院病历登录住院费用。结果:重型乙肝、原发性肝癌、肝硬化失代偿期、代偿期、慢性乙肝和急性乙肝的年直接费用分别为7.72万元、6.64万元、5.21万元、3.35万元、2.16万元和1.91万元。直接费用占家庭年收入的比重从慢性乙肝16.40%上升到重型乙肝94.80%,分析其占人均年收入的比重,原发性肝癌最高,为3.26倍。结论:乙肝给家庭带来沉重的经济负担,积极防控乙肝病毒感染具有巨大的社会效益和经济效益。     

Recruitment and Retention of High-Risk Families into a Preventive Parent Training Intervention

This article describes the process of developing, implementing, and evaluating recruitment and retention strategies for an eight session preventive parenting program designed for high-risk minority parents from low-income inner-city communities. The program was offered in both Spanish and English to a sample of 142 one- and two-parent families (78% Mexican immigrant or Mexican American, 15% African American, and 9% Anglo, Native American, and other). Recruitment and retention strategies resulted in a 70% participation rate with 48% of the families attending 5-8 sessions and 22% attending 1-4 sessions. Attendance rates were higher for married and cohabiting mothers than for single mothers and for Spanish speaking mothers compared to English-speaking Latino mothers. New categories are presented to improve future reporting of recruitment and retention data.