Maternal general health and children's cognitive development and behaviour in the early years: findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Background Mothers often experience physical and psychological difficulties during the post‐natal period and these may continue through the early years of raising children and have negative effects on engagement and caregiving. Pathways between maternal depression, parental engagement and caregiving and children's subsequent development have been described in longitudinal studies; yet, less is known about how other aspects of maternal health may influence children's development. Methods A longitudinal analysis within the Millennium Cohort Study was conducted including 7906 families from England. Maternal general health and psychological well‐being were assessed when their children were 9 months and 3 years old, socio‐demographic characteristics were assessed at 9 months, and engagement and caregiving were assessed at 3 years. These were examined as predictors of children's learning and development and behaviour at age 5. Results There are clear associations between maternal general health and children's development with regard to both learning and development and behaviour. These effects are reduced if psychological distress is taken into account; yet, maternal general health maintains importance as a predictor for children's subsequent development. There is evidence of an association via engagement and caregiving which links maternal health to children's development and evidence of the influence of underlying socio‐demographic disadvantage. Conclusion General maternal health as well as psychological well‐being during the early years of raising children may be influential for children's development. This study suggests the need for a broader recognition of maternal health as well as psychological well‐being as a foundation for family well‐being, and speaks to support for mothers in maintaining engagement and caregiving for their children during periods of ill health.     

Twin–singleton influence on infant development: a national birth cohort study

Background While studying the development of twins, gestational age and birthweight were suggested as two of the major mediators to be considered. In addition, maternal age, maternal education, parental income and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) also should be considered as moderators. Thus the purpose of this study was to investigate the mediators and moderators of twin and singleton development. Methods Being a national birth cohort study, 21 648 infants were randomly selected and developmental measures were assessed at 6 and 18 months post partum. Children's development at 6 and 18 months were measured using the high reliable Taiwan Birth Cohort Study instrument, which measures children's development in four domains of gross motor, fine motor, language and social development. Additionally, maternal sociodemographics including maternal age, maternal education and parental income; children's characteristics including gender, birthweight, gestational age, single or multiple births, ART or natural conception information were also collected. These data were analysed using a three‐step multiple linear regression analysis and further validated using structural equation modelling. Results Parental sociodemographics, children characteristics and being twin all had effect on children's development. Additionally, ART and twin were mediators between maternal age and children's development. Mothers aged over 40 were more likely to choose ART, thus increases their likelihood of having twins. Additionally, mothers aged over 40 were more likely to give birth to premature or low‐birthweight babies, regardless if they were twin or not. Twins had a higher prevalence of prematurity or low birthweight, which also affected their development in all four domains at 6 and 18 months. Thus prematurity and low birthweight were mediating factors between twin and children's development; with these two mediating factors controlled, there were no difference between twin and singleton development. Conclusions The conceptual construct of structural equation modelling showed these factors interacted and influenced children's development through multiple pathways. Medical intervention may facilitate children's development through prenatal growth and premature care.     

Maternal stress and young children's behavioural development: a prospective pilot study from 8 to 36 months in a Finnish sample

The relationship between maternal parenting stress and infant/toddler behavioural development was examined in a longitudinal pilot study. Fifty mothers reported parenting stress via the Parenting Stress Index – Short Form when their infants were eight months old. Parents subsequently rated their children's emotional and behavioural problems with the Child Behaviour Checklist at both 18 and 36 months of age. Preliminary results suggest that mothers reporting higher stress levels in their infant's first eight months also reported greater emotional and behavioural problems in their children at 18-and 36-month follow-up assessment. Parent report of children's total and externalising problematic behaviours decreased over time, regardless of the maternal stress level. In contrast, parent report of internalising problem behaviours remained stable over time; however, at both 18-and 36-month follow-up assessments, high-stress mothers reported higher levels of internalising problems in their children than did low-stress mothers.     

Longitudinal Patterns of Parental Support as Predictors of Children's Competence Motivation

The competence motivation of 77 children at 12 and 30 months was examined in relation to the quality of support they received from their parents at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 30 months. First, the quality of parental support at the separate ages was used to predict the children's competence motivation. Although the quality of parental support was moderately stable across time, only weak relationships were found between the quality of parental support the children received at earlier ages and their later competence motivation. Next, the individual patterns of parental support across time were examined in relation to children's competence motivation. Using cluster analysis, four groups of parent‐child pairs were identified with similar patterns of parental support across time: (1) increasing, (2) decreasing, (3) stable high, and (4) stable low quality of support. The children in these four groups differed significantly with regard to competence motivation. Remarkably low levels of competence motivation were found at 30 months for children receiving a decreased quality of parental support over time.     

Expressive vocabulary in 18-month-old children in relation to demographic factors, mother and child characteristics, communication style and shared reading

Background Previous research has elucidated the associations between children's language development and reading habits, and maternal education, communication style, gender and birth order. Research including maternal age and child temperament is more scarce. We studied the associations of all these factors with children's expressive vocabulary and reading habits. We also analysed the relationships of reading with expressive vocabulary, and effect sizes associated with frequent reading. Methods Questionnaires were completed by mothers of 1091 children aged 17–19 months visiting the Swedish Child Health Services. Expressive vocabulary was assessed by the Swedish Communication Screening at 18 months, a screening version of McArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Mother's perception of ability to communicate was measured by a scale constructed ad hoc from the International Child Development Programmes, a parent education curriculum. Bates' ‘difficultness’ scale was used to assess temperament. Results Good communication, low maternal age, female gender and frequent reading were significantly associated with expressive vocabulary. High maternal education, good communication, higher maternal age, female gender and being a first‐born child were significantly associated with frequent reading. Reading at least 6 times/week added more than 0.3 SD in vocabulary regardless of gender and communication. Conclusions The findings support the importance of reading and communication quality to early language development. Knowledge of the relationship between children's vocabulary and book reading in a context of joint attention is both theoretically and practically valuable to speech and language pathologists, pre‐school teachers, child health workers and other professionals.     

Parental Incarceration as a Risk Factor for Children in Homeless Families

The current study aimed to describe the prevalence of children of incarcerated parents (COIP) in a sample of homeless/highly mobile children, examine the relationship between parental incarceration and other risk factors, and investigate the effect of parental incarceration on child academic and mental health outcomes. The authors compared COIP (n = 45) to children whose parents were never incarcerated (n = 93) within a sample of 138, 4‐ to 7‐year‐old ethnically diverse children residing in emergency homeless shelters. Children's caregivers provided information about children's history of parental incarceration and other family experiences. Children's teachers reported academic and mental health outcomes in the subsequent school year. Compared to children with no history of parental incarceration, COIP experienced more negative life events. Regression models revealed that a history of parental incarceration was a significant predictor of teacher‐reported internalizing problems. These results have implications for the identification and treatment of the highest risk homeless/highly mobile children.     

Parental Behaviors and Beliefs,Child Temperament,and Attachment Disorganization

This research examined alternative mechanisms in the etiology of attachment disorganization. The authors hypothesized that negative intrusive parenting would significantly predict children's attachment disorganization at age 12 months within a diverse community sample. Of more substantial interest, the authors tested moderational mechanisms in the association between negative intrusive parenting, parental strong belief in discipline and control, child difficult temperament, and children's attachment disorganization. Using a multiple regression analytic approach, this research found that negative intrusive parenting significantly predicted children's attachment disorganization. This prediction was more significantly related to children's levels of attachment disorganization when it was paired with stronger rather than weaker parental beliefs in discipline and control. In contrast, when children had difficult temperament at 6 months, it was only when parents held very weak beliefs in discipline and control that children were at higher risk for attachment disorganization. Implications of the findings were discussed accordingly.     

家庭健康生产视角下儿童健康的影响因素及其相对贡献度研究

目的：基于家庭健康生产视角,探究家庭客观因素及监护人的主观能动性对儿童健康的影响以及各维度因素的相对贡献度,为促进儿童健康提供依据。方法：基于2015年中国健康与营养调查数据,使用线性回归模型、Logistic模型分别探究家庭健康生产相关因素对0~18岁儿童年龄别身高Z评分、超重/肥胖以及自评健康的影响,并使用Shapley分解法计算各因素对儿童健康影响的相对贡献度。结果：家庭系统客观因素、母亲健康遗传、对儿童的健康管理均影响子代HAZ、超重/肥胖以及自评健康;Shapley分解显示,除去亲代对儿童的健康遗传,家庭居住区域、家庭健康生产客观因素以及监护人的健康管理对儿童健康的影响贡献度较高。结论：建议关注家庭健康生产客观因素与监护人的主观能动性对儿童健康的影响,尤其加强对母亲的健康教育,提升其健康管理能力。     

The relationship between proxy reported health-related quality of life and parental distress: gender differences

Objective Although primary caregiver proxy reports of health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) are often used for healthcare decision making when child self‐reports are unable to be collected (because of a variety of reasons such as child illness, disability or age), we have little understanding of the correlates of parent‐proxy reports. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between parental depression and parent‐proxy reported QOL for primary caregivers (mothers and fathers), using a multidimensional HRQOL instrument. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would be negatively correlated with maternal reported HRQOL, but that paternal depression would not be correlated with paternal reported HRQOL. Methods Data were from parents of children aged 4–5 years (n = 4983) involved in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. A questionnaire assessing parental depression (Kessler‐6) and proxy reported HRQOL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) was completed by the primary caregiver. Results For maternal primary caregivers, maternal depression was negatively correlated with all domains of maternal proxy reports of HRQOL (r = ?0.24 to r = ?0.36). For paternal primary caregivers, there was no relationship between paternal depression and paternal proxy reports of HRQOL. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that maternal depression was a significant predictor of total HRQOL, accounting for 12% of the variance. For paternal mental health, depression did not predict parent‐proxy reported total HRQOL. Conclusion These results highlight the importance of assessing maternal mental health when measuring proxy reported QOL. Further research is needed in this area to examine the relationship between parental depression and proxy reported HRQOL (including both mothers and fathers, where possible), as well as child self‐reported HRQOL.     

Do parental neighbourhood perceptions contribute to child behaviour problems? A study of disadvantaged children

Abstract

Over the past decade disadvantaged communities are increasingly the target for intervention, with the introduction of a number of Area Based Initiatives (ABIs) designed to reduce the effects of poverty on children. However, an exclusive focus on the neighbourhood can overlook interactions between individuals' characteristics and their surroundings. Neighbourhood deprivation, parental mental health, parental personality, family stress and harsh discipline were included in a study of predictions of children's behaviour problems in a sample of 463 children aged 5 years and 12 years living in three disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England. Children's primary caregivers (primarily mothers) were given a structured questionnaire administered in the home as a face-to-face interview about the neighbourhood, the family, parenting, parental personality, parental mental current health and child behaviour. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that child factors (younger age group) and gender (male), neighbourhood factors (attachment and non-family networks), parental personality (agreeableness) and parent–child interactions (harsh discipline and family stress) accounted for 37% of the total variance in child behaviour problems. Interactions between parental mental health, parental personality, parenting and children's well-being need to be considered when introducing interventions related to neighbourhood deprivation and local disorder; these factors may inhibit some vulnerable families from the benefits of interventions.     

THE DYNAMICS OF INCOME‐RELATED HEALTH INEQUALITY AMONG AMERICAN CHILDREN

We estimate and decompose income‐related inequality in child health in the USA and analyze its dynamics using the recently introduced health mobility index. Data come from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 waves of the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The findings show that income‐related child health inequality remains stable as children grow up and enter adolescence. The main factor underlying income‐related child health inequality is income itself, although other factors, such as maternal education, also play a role. Decomposition of income‐related health mobility indicates that health changes over time are more favorable to children with lower initial family incomes versus children with higher initial family incomes. However, offsetting this effect, our findings also suggest that changes in income ranking over time are positively related to children's subsequent health status. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal and environmental pathways to participation in young children with and without mild motor disabilities

Objective Participation in everyday activities has a positive influence upon health and well‐being and is considered as an outcome measure. According to recent models child participation is the product of the dynamic interaction between health states and both individual and environmental factors. Children with mild developmental disabilities often present decreased participation in everyday activities. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which individual and environmental factors explain the participation of young children, with and without mild motor disabilities. Methods The study population included 58 kindergarten children together with their parents (29 children with mild motor disabilities who were referred to occupational therapy and 29 children without motor disabilities). Both groups of children were matched for: age; gender; age of parents; and socio‐economic status (SES). We assessed participation using the Child Participation Questionnaire (intensity, diversity, independence, child enjoyment and parental satisfaction) and we assessed children's self‐efficacy and motor abilities for individual factors. Parental self‐efficacy and SES were collected by questionnaires. Results Participation diversity (number of activities) was predicted by child and mother self‐efficacy and by SES. Child independence and enjoyment as well as parental satisfaction were predicted by child motor ability but mainly by maternal self‐efficacy. Results suggest that the total explained variance is more than double when the environmental variables (parental self‐efficacy and SES) are inserted to the participation model. Conclusions Maternal self‐efficacy and SES serve as facilitators to increased participation and well‐being of children with mild motor disabilities.     

Do You See What I See? Parent and Child Reports of Parental Monitoring of Media

Research on parental monitoring of children's media use suggests parents can reduce the negative effects of media exposure on children, although this research is rarely conducted with elementary school children and leaves open questions about whether parents or children are better reporters. Participants were 1,323 children, their parents, and teachers. Parents and children reported on four aspects of monitoring for TV and video games: co‐using, limit setting on amount, limit setting on content, and active mediation. Parents gave much higher estimates than did children. Monitoring was moderated by child age, child sex, parent marital status, parent education, and parent income. Although parent‐ and child‐reported monitoring correlated rather poorly, both types were almost equally good predictors of children's screen time, media violence exposure, and teacher reports of school performance. When there were differences, the child reports tended to be slightly better predictors, demonstrating the validity of child reports of parental monitoring.     

Supporting secure parent–child attachments: the role of the non‐parental caregiver

Parent–child attachment has been extensively confirmed as a central contributing factor to children's positive developmental outcomes. Theory and research imply that the non‐parental caregiver is an important figure that may assist parents in the development of a secure attachment relationship with their infants. Specific practices that increase daily face‐to‐face time of the parent and child, reinforce baby's budding attachment with the parent and reinforce the parent's close relationship with baby are suggested in this article. These recommendations, if incorporated as program practices, have substantial ramifications for non‐parental caregivers, center directors, parents and children. Furthermore, directions for confirmatory resource and public police development are implied.     

Family income and child cognitive and behavioural development in the United Kingdom: does money matter?

This study investigates the extent to which family income is associated with an extensive range of child cognitive and behavioural outcomes in a cohort of almost 19 000 British children born between 2000 and 2001. Merging the economists' and developmental psychologists' approaches, it also attempts to identify the main mechanisms through which family economic resources translate into better developmental outcomes for children. The relative and joint relevance of three groups of mediating factors (parental stress, parental investment and other family‐related pathways), identified from the recent economic and psychological literature, are examined both in a cross‐sectional (‘mopping‐up’ approach) and in a panel data (fixed effects models) context. Results indicate a weak or absent direct effect of family economic resources on child development after controlling for potential mediating mechanisms. The study also identifies key mediating factors (e.g. maternal depression, a cognitively stimulating home environment, parenting practices and length of breastfeeding) that could be targeted by government initiatives in order to effectively improve children's intellectual development and behaviour beyond what income redistribution can achieve. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do economic downturns affect the mental health of children? Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey

Research linking economic conditions and health often does not consider children's mental health problems, which are the most common and consequential health issues for children and adolescents. We examine the effects of unemployment rates and housing prices on well‐validated child and adolescent mental health outcomes and use of special education services for emotional problems in the 2001–2013 National Health Interview Survey. We find that the effects of economic conditions on children's mental health are clinically and economically meaningful; children's mental health outcomes worsen as the economy weakens. The effects of economic conditions on child and adolescent mental health are pervasive, found in almost every subgroup that we examine. The use of special education services for emotional problems also rises when economic conditions worsen. Our analyses of possible mechanisms that link economic conditions to child mental health suggest that parental unemployment cannot fully explain the relationship between economic conditions and child mental health.     

Parental attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour: A case of Malaysia

The aim of this study was twofold: to explore the influential factors of parents’ attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour, and to know the types of children's antisocial behaviour caused by being a single-parent family. The sample comprised 1,434 secondary school children from the state of Johore, Malaysia. Results from the structured questionnaire showed that the children were at risk of involvement in antisocial behaviour when their parental controls were either absent or ineffective owing to three risk factors: the absence of parents at home, the number of children in the family, and single-parent family households. The finding of the study has significant policy implications for improvement of parental care to develop child care services in Malaysia.     

The influence of maternal employment on children's learning growth and the role of parental involvement

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, this study employed a latent growth curve model to examine how parental involvement explains the association between maternal employment status and children's math and reading achievement growth from kindergarten through the third grade. To address this issue, three types of parental involvement – school participation, parent–child interaction, and educational trips – were considered. Our findings indicated that maternal employment can be both beneficial and detrimental to children's educational development depending on the mother's number of working hours. Students whose mothers were employed part time exhibited an advantage in academic learning because of increased rates of school participation and parent–child interaction, whereas students of mothers employed full time appeared to experience a lower learning growth, given lower rate of school participation and fewer educational trips than students of unemployed mothers. These findings highlight the importance of family context in understanding work–family relationships.     

Child and parent characteristics,parental expectations,and child behaviours related to preschool children's interest in literacy

The current study examined the relations between children's literacy interest and parent and child characteristics (i.e. parents' education level and child's gender), parental expectations of their child's school attainment and achievement and the child's positive and problem behaviours. Participants were 61 preschoolers from predominately low‐income families enrolled in local preschool programmes. Parents completed questionnaires reporting demographic characteristics, parents' expectations and their child's literacy interest. Preschool teachers reported on children's behaviours in the classroom using standard behaviour‐rating scales. Child gender was marginally related to child literacy interest, but parent education was not significantly correlated with interest. Parents' expectation of their child's school achievement was significantly correlated with child literacy interest, but parental expectations about attainment were not. Overall, teachers' reports of children's positive and problem behaviours were correlated with child literacy interest in the expected direction. Interpretation and implications of the findings and future directions for research are discussed.     

Parental perceptions of children's agency: Parental warmth,school achievement and adjustment

The present study examined Swedish mothers’ and fathers’ warmth towards their children in relation to their children's agency. It also examined the longitudinal relation between agency and children's externalising, internalising, and school achievement. Swedish children's mothers and fathers (N?=?93) were interviewed at three time points (when children were 8, 9, and 10 years old) about their warmth towards their children, children's agency, and children's externalising and internalising behaviours and school achievement. Parental warmth at Time 1 was significantly correlated with child agency at Time 2, which was significantly correlated with child externalising and internalising behaviours and academic achievement at Time 3. There were no differences between girls and boys. Results from this study indicate that Swedish parents’ warmth is directly related to subsequent perceptions of children's agency, which in turn are related to subsequently lower child externalising and internalising problems and higher academic achievement. These findings held in the context of a three-year longitudinal study and for both boys and girls, suggesting the importance of child agency in the link between parental warmth and children's adjustment.