Parent and Child ADHD Symptoms in Relation to Parental Attitudes and Parenting: Testing the Similarity-Fit Hypothesis

Objective: We tested the similarity-fit hypothesis that predicts more positive parenting when both parent and child have high levels of ADHD symptoms compared to when only one does. Method: Mothers and fathers of 156, 5 to 13 year old sons participated (110 boys with ADHD, 46 without). Parent inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were examined, in interaction with child ADHD, as predictors of parental tolerance, empathy, encouragement of child autonomy, and positive parenting. Results: Several interactions of parent ADHD symptoms and child ADHD were detected which suggested that for parents with low levels of symptoms, the presence of child ADHD was associated with less positive parenting attitudes and behavior, but this negative relation between positive parenting and child ADHD was dampened among parents with more ADHD symptoms. Conclusions: Considered alongside the well documented parenting difficulties associated with parental ADHD, our findings suggest that parental ADHD symptoms also may help to mitigate some of the challenges facing families of children with ADHD.     

Parents’ Attributions for Negative and Positive Child Behavior in Relation to Parenting and Child Problems

Previous research has stressed the importance of parents’ attributions and parenting for child problems. Based on social cognitive models, studies have focused on the interrelations among parents’ child-responsibility attributions for negative behavior, harsh parenting, and child problems. Little is known about the extent to which child-responsibility attributions for positive behavior and other types of parenting play a role in these models. The purpose of this study was to examine whether parents’ child-responsibility attributions for positive and negative child behaviors are related to child problems, and whether these relations are mediated by harsh, lax, and positive parenting. Mothers’ and fathers’ attributions and parenting were examined separately. A community sample of 148 couples and their 9- to 12-year-old child (50% boys) participated in the study. Mothers and children participated by completing questionnaires and a laboratory interaction task. Fathers participated by completing the same questionnaires as mothers. Harsh parenting was the only parenting variable that uniquely mediated the relations between more child-responsibility attributions for (a) negative child behaviors and child problems for both parents and (b) the inverse relation between attributions for positive child behaviors and child problems for fathers. Findings confirm the importance of harsh parenting and demonstrate the importance of parents’ attributions for positive child behaviors in relation to decreasing harsh parenting and child problems. Clinically, it may be useful not only to reduce child-responsibility attributions for negative behaviors but also to increase the extent to which parents give their child credit for positive behaviors.     

Parental Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) Moderates Associations of Stress and Child Behavior With Parenting Behavior

The serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with caregiving in nonhuman animals and with affective and cognitive correlates of human parenting, yet its association with human parenting is largely unknown. Using a well-characterized sample of parents and offspring, we evaluated the association of parental 5-HTTLPR with observed positive and negative parenting behavior, as well as its biologically plausible moderation of child-related stress and disruptive child behavior as predictors of parenting. One hundred and sixty-two parents (86% mothers) and their 6- to 9-year-old children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were ascertained using multiple methods including structured interviews, rating scales, and observed parent-child interaction, yielding strong measures of key constructs. Controlling for multiple youth-level (e.g., sex, 5-HTTLPR genotype, disruptive behavior) and parent-level (e.g., demographics, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) factors, parents with an S allele exhibited significantly less observed positive parenting than those with the LL genotype. Significant Gene × Environment interactions were also observed: Child-related stress was negatively associated with observed parental negativity among SS/SL genotype parents but not LL genotype parents; next, observed disruptive child behavior was positively associated with parental negativity for both genotypes, but the effect was strongest in SS/SL parents. These preliminary findings suggest that parental 5-HTTLPR is uniquely associated with positive and negative parenting behavior, with more specific patterns according to child-related stress and disruptive child behavior. We consider implications for future research evaluating genetic influences on parenting as well as considerations for designing and delivering parenting-based interventions.     

The Role of Maternal Employment and Depression in the Psychological Adjustment of Chronically Ill, Mentally Retarded, and Well Children

Used path analysis to test a conceptual model of the relationshipamong maternal employment status, maternal depression, and reportedchild behavior problems. Ss were 95 mothers of children in 4conditions: cystic fibrosis, diabetes, mental retardation, andwell. Regardless of child chronic condition or family SES, mothersnot employed outside the home had higher levels of depressionthan employed mothers. Maternal depression, in turn, was associatedwith higher levels of reported child behavior problems. Controllingfor SES and maternal depression, mental retardation was associatedwith more child behavior problems, but chronic illness (cysticfibrosis and diabetes) was not associated with more behaviorproblems. The findings underscore the need to examine the adjustmentof children with chronic disorders in the context of their mothers'well-being, particularly when mothers are the principal informantsregarding child adjustment.     

抑郁青少年父母亲职压力及其相关因素的研究

目的了解广州市在校抑郁青少年父母亲职压力情况,并探讨其亲职压力的影响因素。方法以贝克抑郁自评问卷（BDI）、亲职压力36项简表PSI-SF和家庭功能评定量表（FAD）为工具对220名中小学生及其父母进行调查。结果 1抑郁情绪组在亲职压力总分（F=5.63,P=0.004）及亲子互动失调（F=4.71,P=0.01）和困难孩子维度（F=7.24,P=0.001）的得分高于正常对照组;2单因素分析显示：家庭人均月收入少、父母受教育程度低的抑郁青少年,其父母亲职压力高（P〈0.01）;3抑郁青少年父母的亲职压力与家庭功能的角色（r=-0.572）、情感反应（r=-0.364）、情感介入（r=-0.549）、行为控制（r=-0.386）以及总功能（r=-0.292）均呈显著负相关（P〈0.01）;4多元回归分析结果显示：抑郁青少年的家庭功能的角色、情感介入、情感反应和家庭月均收入进入了亲职压力的回归方程,解释了总变异的49.6%。结论抑郁青少年父母普遍存在较高水平的亲职压力,其亲职压力受多种因素影响。     

The impact of a parent training program on inner-city African-American families

The Effective Black Parenting Program (EBPP), a culturally adapted, cognitive-behavioral parenting skill training program, was field tested on two cohorts of inner-city African-American parents and their first– and second-grade children. Pre-post changes on parental acceptance-rejection, family relationships, and on child behavior problems and social competencies were compared in a quasi-experimental design on two cohorts totalling 109 treatment and 64 control families over 1 year. Results from Cohort I indicated that the EBPP produced selected significant improvements in parental rejection, in the quality of family relationships, and in child behavior outcomes. These findings were partially confirmed in the Cohort II sample, which also included changes in the use of specific parenting behaviors. A 1-year follow-up indicated that the reductions in parental rejection and in selected child behavior problems were maintained, though a regressive trend toward more coercive parenting practices was also noted. Implications of these results are discussed, and recommendations for future research on community-based parenting programs are offered.     

Stress: A Potential Disruptor of Parent Perceptions and Family Interactions

Reviews research on the relationship between extra familial stressors (e.g., unemployment, low socioeconomic status), interpersonal stressors (e.g., marital distress, divorce), and child stressors and parents' perceptions and family interactions in families with conduct-problem children. Various stressors appear to have the power to disrupt parenting practices seriously by causing some parents to be more irritable, critical, and punitive. Such parenting behaviors increase the likelihood that children develop conduct problems, setting in motion a cycle of negative parent-child interactions and further stress on the parents. This process appears to be mediated by patents' psychological well being, quality of social support or degree of isolation, sex and drug use.     

Longitudinal Relations Between Parenting and Child Adjustment in Young Children

We studied the predictive relations between reports of parenting behavior on the one hand and academic achievement and reported behavior problems of young children on the other hand. Data were gathered for 352 children and their parents from kindergarten to 2nd grade. The results indicated that in the academic domain, low supportive and high controlling parenting practices were modestly related to poor subsequent math achievement. Children's externalizing and attention problem behavior was clearly predictive of high levels of control in mothers and low levels of support in fathers. The combination of high parental support and control was especially associated with high levels of problem behavior. However, when previous parenting and child adjustment were taken into account, the magnitude of the predictive power of parenting for child adjustment, and of child adjustment for parenting, remained limited.     

Parental reinforcement of recurrent pain: the moderating impact of child depression and anxiety on functional disability

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether children's distress moderates the relationship between parental responses to children's pain behaviors and functional disability. METHODS: Participants were 215 children (ages 8 to 16 years) diagnosed with either headaches, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or sickle cell disease. Children and parents completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographics, pain, depression, anxiety, parental solicitous responses to pain behaviors, and functional disability. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear regressions computed for parental responses to children's pain significantly predicted child functional disability, controlling for children's pain intensity. Significant interactions between parental solicitous behaviors and child depressive symptoms (beta =.74, p <.01) and between solicitous behaviors and child anxiety symptoms (beta =.91, p <.01) indicated that for children with more psychological distress, parental solicitous behaviors were associated with greater child functional disability. CONCLUSIONS: Child psychological distress may exacerbate the impact of parental solicitous responses to pain on functioning, suggesting the potential role of family intervention to enhance optimal functioning in children with recurrent pain.     

Oxytocin, cortisol, and triadic family interactions

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) supports the development of parenting in mammals primarily through its impact on parent-infant proximity and touch behaviors; however, much less is known about the links between OT and parental touch and contact in humans. In this study, we examined the relations between maternal and paternal OT and patterns of touch and contact in the family unit during triadic interactions. Thirty-seven parents and their firstborn child were seen twice: during the 2nd and 6th postpartum month. Plasma OT and salivary cortisol (CT) were assessed with ELISA methods. At six months, triadic mother-father-infant interactions were videotaped and micro-coded for patterns of proximity, touch, and gaze behavior. Triadic synchrony, defined as moments of coordination between physical proximity and affectionate touch between the parents as well as between parent and infant while both parent and child are synchronizing their social gaze, was predicted by both maternal and paternal OT. Among mothers, triadic synchrony was also independently related to lower levels of CT. Results highlight the role of OT in the early formation of the family unit at the transition to parenthood.     

Spillover of Marital Interactions and Parenting Stress in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Few disorders appear to be more challenging for parents than autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little is known about the extent to which parenting stress experienced by parents of children with ASD affects or is affected by marital quality. We examined daily spillover between level of parenting stress and marital interactions in a sample of 176 married couples (89.4% Caucasian, non-Hispanic) who have a child with ASD (5–12 years of age, 85% male) via a 14-day daily diary approach. On each day of the daily diary, parents individually reported on 8 positive and 8 negative marital interactions and their level of parenting stress. Dyadic multilevel modeling analyses using hierarchical linear modeling were conducted to examine same-day and lagged-effect associations between number of positive and negative marital interactions and level of parenting stress. Having a day with a higher number of negative marital interactions was associated with a higher level of parenting stress for both mothers and fathers of children with ASD. Having a day with fewer positive marital interactions was associated with having a more stressful parenting day for mothers of children with ASD. Same-day spillover was moderated by parent gender and the functioning of the child with ASD. Spillover flowed bidirectionally for mothers of children with ASD. Helping parents of children with ASD find ways to engage in positive marital interactions on stressful parenting days and avoid having negative affect, tension, and behaviors stemming from negative marital interactions spill into parenting experiences are important intervention targets.     

Callous-unemotional behaviors in young girls: shared and unique effects relative to conduct problems.

Among girls, little is known about the shared and unique associations that callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors and conduct problems have with aspects of emotional and behavioral dysregulation and with parenting practices. This study examined these associations using a large community-based sample of young girls (N = 990). The findings revealed that hyperactivity-impulsivity and negative emotionality were positively and uniquely associated with conduct problems, but not with CU behaviors, after controlling for co-occurring conduct problems. Conduct problems were also positively associated with both generalized anxiety and panic/somatic anxiety. In contrast, CU behaviors were negatively related to generalized anxiety problems after controlling for co-occurring conduct problems. The results also indicated that conduct problems were more closely associated with harsh punishment and low parental warmth among girls with low versus high CU behaviors.     

Empirical Support for a Treatment Program for Families of Young Children With Externalizing Problems

We evaluated the efficacy of a manualized multimodal treatment program for young externalizing children. Families were assigned randomly to an immediate 12-week parent and child treatment condition (n = 24) or to a delayed-treatment condition (n = 23). Parents had high attendance, high satisfaction with treatment, and increased knowledge of behavior management principles. Relative to the waitlist condition, treatment parents reported statistically and clinically significant reductions in child behavior problems, improved parenting practices (i.e., increased consistency, decreased power assertive techniques), an increased sense of efficacy, and reduced parenting stress. There was a trend toward parents improving their attitudes toward their children. In considering the process of change, we found evidence that improved parenting practices mediated reductions in child behavior problems and that child improvements mediated changes in parent attitudes and stress. Five months following treatment, teachers reported significant improvements in child behaviors, whereas parents reported that reductions in child behavior problems and parenting stress were maintained.     

Mediators and Treatment Factors in Intervention for Children Exposed to Interparental Violence

Changes in children's emotion differentiation, coping skills, parenting stress, parental psychopathology, and parent–child interaction were explored as mediators of treatment factors in two selective preventive group interventions for children exposed to interparental violence (IPV) and their parents. One hundred thirty-four IPV-exposed children (ages 6–12 years, 52% boys) and their parents were randomized to an IPV-focused or common factors community-based group intervention and completed baseline, posttest, and follow-up assessments for posttraumatic stress (PTS). A multilevel model tested mediators that included children's ability to differentiate emotions and coping skills, parenting stress, parental psychopathology, and parent–child interactions. In both conditions, exposure to nonspecific factors, specific factors unrelated to IPV and trauma-specific intervention factors was coded from videotaped child and parent sessions. Improved parental mental health mediated the link between greater exposure to nonspecific treatment factors and decreases in PTS symptoms. In addition, an increase in emotion differentiation and a decrease in parenting stress were associated with a decrease in PTS symptoms. Greater exposure to trauma-specific factors in child sessions was associated with a small decrease in emotion differentiation, an increase in coping skills, and a decrease in PTS symptoms over time. Greater exposure to nonspecific treatment factors in child and parent sessions was associated with more positive parent–child interaction. Parental mental health appears to be an important mechanism of change that can be promoted through exposure to nonspecific factors in parent intervention. For children, the effect of greater exposure to trauma-specific factors in intervention is less clear and may not have clear benefits.     

Maternal inattention and impulsivity and parenting behaviors.

This study extends previous research by examining whether maternal inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are associated with different parenting behaviors. Ninety-six mother-son dyads participated in the study, and the boys ranged between 4 and 8 years of age. Maternal inattention was uniquely and positively associated with mothers' use of inconsistent discipline and lower involvement with the child after controlling for impulsivity and the control variables of child age, maternal depression and hostility, family socioeconomic status, and child behavior problems. Maternal impulsivity was uniquely and negatively associated with mothers' use of positive reinforcement after similar controls. Possible reasons for the different patterns of associations between maternal inattention and impulsivity, and parenting and the clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

INVOLVING PARENTS IN A COMMUNITY‐BASED,CULTURALLY GROUNDED MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION FOR AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH: PARENT PERSPECTIVES,CHALLENGES, AND RESULTS

An important predictor of youth well‐being and resilience is the presence of nurturing adults in a youth's life. Parents are ideally situated to fulfill this role but often face challenges and stressors that impede their ability to provide adequate support and guidance. American Indian parents may also be affected by intergenerational transmission of trauma and loss of traditional parenting practices, as a result of forced boarding school and/or relocation. Members of a community‐university partnership sought to interrupt cycles of violence and poor mental health of youth through a culturally‐grounded intervention for youth and their parents that focused on healing historical trauma, strengthening positive parenting practices and social skills, reconnecting to traditional cultural knowledge, and improving parent‐child relationships/communication. This article describes parental involvement and its challenges and provides mixed‐method results for 10 parents related to enculturation, parenting practices, parent‐child communication, family cohesion, historical loss and associated symptoms, and community involvement.     

A preliminary study of parental stress and child behaviour in families with twins conceived by in-vitro fertilization

This paper reports on a preliminary study of parenting quality, parental stress and child behaviour in families with twins conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in comparison with families with naturally conceived twins. No differences were found between the types of family in parenting quality or child behaviour. However, parents whose children were conceived by IVF reported greater stress associated with parenting than parents with naturally conceived twins.      

Family processes among Latino Early Head Start families: Understanding the role of caregiver acculturation

The Family Stress Model (FSM) provides a framework for how economic pressure can impact family processes and outcomes, including parent's mental health, parenting, and child problem behaviors. Although the FSM has been widely replicated, samples disproportionately impacted by poverty, including early childhood samples and in particular Latino families with young children, have been largely excluded from FSM research. Therefore, among a sample of Latino Early Head Start children (N = 127), the current study evaluated a modified FSM to understand the direct and indirect pathways among economic pressure, parental depression, parenting self‐efficacy, the parent–child relationship, child problem behaviors, and parental acculturation. Results showed that the majority of the direct FSM pathways were well‐replicated among Latino caregivers of young children. Further analyses illuminated how some pathways were replicated among more but not among less‐acculturated Latino parents. Implications for future FSM research with Latino families as well as for parent‐focused interventions are discussed.     

"难管教儿童"的心理健康与父母教养方式

目的:探讨难管教儿童的心理健康及其父母教养方式.方法:随机抽取长沙某特殊训练营学校的难管教儿童120名和普通中学生105名,用EMBU来评估父母教养方式,用SCL-90来评估难管教儿童的心理健康水平.结果:难管教儿童的心理健康水平显著低于常模.普通中学生父母教养方式的情感温暖的得分显著高于难管教儿童:而普通中学生的父亲惩罚严厉、父亲过分干涉、父亲拒绝否认、父亲过度保护、母亲干涉保护、母亲拒绝否认、母亲惩罚严厉的得分显著低于难管教儿童.结论:难管教儿童心理健康水平较低,其父母较多使用消极的教养方式,较少的使用积极教养方式.     

Maternal mind-mindedness during infancy,general parenting sensitivity and observed child feeding behavior: a longitudinal study

Maternal mind-mindedness, or the tendency to view the child as a mental agent, has been shown to predict sensitive and responsive parenting behavior. As yet the role of mind-mindedness has not been explored in the context of feeding interactions. This study evaluates the relations between maternal mind-mindedness at 6 months of infant age and subsequently observed maternal sensitivity and feeding behaviors with children at age 1 year. Maternal mind-mindedness was greater in mothers who had breast-fed compared to formula-fed. Controlling for breast-feeding, mind-mindedness at 6 months was correlated with observations of more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors at 1 year of age. Mind-mindedness was also associated with greater general maternal sensitivity in play and this general parenting sensitivity mediated the effect of mind-mindedness on more sensitive and positive feeding behaviors. Interventions to promote maternal tendency to consider their child’s mental states may encourage more adaptive parental feeding behaviors.