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Objective: Media multitasking has been found to have a negative relationship with young people's psychological well-being. However, its relationship with self-esteem has only been examined among adults, and the mechanism underlying its association with adolescents' well-being has been unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between media multitasking and self-esteem and explore the effects of peer influence and family functioning as potential mediators of this association. Methods: A sample of 725 Chinese adolescents (55.6% girls; Mage = 14.71, SD = 1.41) completed a paper-based survey, which included questions on demographics, media multitasking, peer influence, family functioning, and self-esteem. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analyses were performed on the collected data. Results: Media multitasking (MM) showed a negative association with self-esteem (SE) (r = −0.17, p < 0.001); however, peer influence (PI) and family functioning (FF) entirely mediated this relationship, i.e., MM→FF→SE (β = −0.059, p < 0.05) and MM→PI→FF→SE (β = −0.025, p < 0.01). In addition, significant differences were found in specific mediation pathways among gender and age groups. Conclusions: Overall, these findings have important implications for understanding the relationship between media multitasking and self-esteem among adolescents, as well as the age and gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a child dies, the parents must address the changes in their relationship as well as the way that these changes affect their individual adjustment. These two perspectives are addressed in this systematic review. Five databases were systematically searched for papers published in English between January 2000 and February 2014. Of the 646 publications, 24 papers met the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that a child's death can cause cohesive as well as detrimental effects on a couple's relationship. Variables that may produce differential outcomes for the marital relationship include situational factors, such as the cause and type of death and the child's age at the time of death; dyad-level factors, such as surviving children, the pre-death characteristics of the relationship, communication and incongruent grieving; and individual-level factors, such as the family of origin's processing of trauma, social support, religious affiliation and finding meaning. Aspects such as marital quality and the couple's interdependence were found to influence each parent's individual adjustment. Larger, prospective, ethically conducted studies should be implemented to consolidate these findings. Mental health professionals may benefit from a deeper understanding of the risk and protective factors regarding marital adjustment after a child's death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring for children with mental and behavioral health conditions can lead to family strain. Research indicates that Latino children are less likely to adhere to recommended treatment for their mental health diagnoses, increasing the potential for family strain. Little research has focused on understanding the different predictors of family strain among white and Latino families of children with mental health or behavioral health diagnoses. This paper uses a model of family strain to understand how stressors, resources, and perceptions predict family strain for white and Latino parents of children with a mental or behavioral health condition. Data from a telephone survey of 268 parents of children with a mental or behavioral health condition were analyzed to understand predictors of strain using the Family Strain Index scale. Findings indicate that family strain does differ between white and Latino families. Latino families' strain was predicted by age of parent (β = −0.381, P < 0.001), perceptions of treatment quality (β = 0.306, P < 0.001), and child's current symptom burden (β = −0.390, P < 0.001). White family strain was related to their child's health status (β = −0.240, P < 0.001), symptom burden (β = −0.339, P < 0.001), and parent's level of education (β = −0.315, P < 0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In biological families, parental reflective functioning (PRF), or the parents' capacity to envision their child as being motivated by internal mental states, is known to facilitate the development of the child's theory of mind (ToM). Very few studies have investigated the relation between PRF and ToM in adoptive families, and none have simultaneously investigated the role of pre- and post-adoptive PRF. The present study is the first to examine relations between pre-adoptive reflective functioning (RF), post-adoptive PRF and children's ToM acquisition in a sample of internationally adopted children and their adoptive parents (48 children; 14 girls and 34 boys). Specifically, we investigated whether the relation between pre-adoptive RF and ToM was mediated by PRF assessed when children were aged 3.5–4 years, and whether these relations were moderated by age at adoption, which served as a proxy for early adversity. Results indicated that none of the PRF dimensions mediated the relation between pre-adoptive RF and ToM. However, pre-adoptive RF and PRF both independently predicted ToM. Moreover, age at adoption moderated these associations, with both pre-adoptive RF and dimensions of PRF assessed at child age 3.5–4 years being related to ToM only in children who were adopted at an older age (≥18 months). Highlights: Theory of Mind (ToM) development of adopted children is often challenged by difficult early life events. Adoptive parents' reflective functioning (PRF), the capacity to envision the child as being motivated by mental states, might foster the development of ToM. This study is the first to investigate the impact of both pre-adoptive and post-adoptive PRF in internationally adopted children's ToM acquisition. Pre-adoptive RF and post-adoptive interest in child mental states was related to ToM, but only in children adopted at the age of 18 months or older. Post-adoptive non-mentalizing of adoptive parents was related to weaker child ToM abilities, independent of age at adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child-caregiver attachment is important for healthy child development and is often targeted by relationship-based parenting interventions for young children. To assess the efficacy of these interventions, attachment must be measured accurately at multiple timepoints across the toddler years, coinciding with different stages of development. Among others, populations referred for treatment of externalizing behavior problems are of particular importance here. The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and Attachment Q-Set (AQS) are empirically-validated measures of child-caregiver attachment with unique strengths and weaknesses. However, there are no published investigations on concurrent relations between the two measures using clinically-referred, mental health populations. Previous research has reached mixed conclusions when comparing the observer-report AQS and SSP for children from other populations and based on child age. Using a clinical sample of 69 Australian mother-toddler dyads referred for disruptive behavior problems, this study examined associations among behavior problems, dichotomous SSP classifications of security and organization, AQS security scores, and child age. In line with hypotheses, a small to medium negative correlation between AQS security and externalizing behavior was found. Unexpectedly, no significant associations were found between dichotomous SSP security and externalizing behavior nor between SSP organization and externalizing behavior. Although AQS security scores and SSP classifications were not significantly correlated for the sample as a whole, there was a moderate positive correlation between the two measures for children aged 19–25 months. Implications for future research measuring attachment in this population, with relevance for relationship-based parenting intervention outcome studies are discussed. Highlights: AQS scores were correlated with externalizing behavior in toddlers clinically-referred for behavior problems. SSP classifications were not significantly associated with externalizing behavior in this sample. AQS scores were not significantly associated with SSP classifications for the sample as a whole. AQS scores were significantly correlated with SSP classifications for a subsample of children 19–25 months of age. Implications for measuring attachment as an intervention outcome with this population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared youth in the Florida Medicaid system prior to entry into treatment foster care or treatment group care, and compared outcomes in the 6 months after treatment. Florida Medicaid data from FY2003/04 through 2006/2007 along with Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Law Enforcement, and involuntary examination data were used to examine youth receiving out-of-home treatment. Propensity score matching was used to examine the effect of out-of-home treatment on outcomes. Males, older youth, and youth with prior involuntary examinations, felony charges, misdemeanor charges, or inpatient psychiatric treatment were more likely to be placed in treatment group care. Treatment foster care placement was more likely for youth with prior treatment foster care episodes. Propensity matching results indicated that youth in treatment foster care had greater reductions in felony charges, and were less likely to return to out-of-home treatment in the following 6 months. While often placed in group care settings, youth with prior criminal justice encounters, especially for felony charges, may be better served in treatment foster care programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective population-based study explored whether mothers who maltreat had different risk and protective factors than mothers who don't including the mother's age when they had their first child, the number of births, marital status, whether the mothers were maltreated as a child and race. This study used data from the Queensland Cross-sector Research Collaboration (QCRC) repository, which included 18,019 mothers born in Queensland during 1983 or 1984 who were aged between 30 or 31 years at the time of data extraction. Mothers were categorised as maltreating (n = 998) or non-maltreating (n = 17,021) based on whether they had substantiated contact with the child protection system, and differences in risk/protective factors were explored. Results indicated that mothers who maltreat were more likely than mothers who don't to have their first child at a younger age, significantly more children, less likely to be married, more likely to be Indigenous, and more likely to have experienced childhood maltreatment. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for culturally appropriate home visitation programmes and parenting programmes to reduce the likelihood of child maltreatment perpetration. Highlights: The Queensland population-based, longitudinal linked administrative dataset was used to create a comparison groups of mothers who maltreat and those who don't. There were significant differences between the two groups based on the risk/protective factors associated with whether there was child maltreatment across the lifecourse. The results showed significant correlations among all risk/protective factors associated with child maltreatment across the lifecourse. The strongest predictor of child maltreatment perpetration was the mother's history of maltreatment victimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During adolescence, there are important changes in both depressive symptoms and self-concept; thus, the present study aimed to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on depression and self-concept in adolescents and test whether age moderated the changes. A sample of 300 students aged between 13 and 21 years (M = 16.13, SD = 1.80), randomly assigned to either the MBI or a wait-list control group, completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Self-Concept Form-5 Questionnaire before and after implementation of the Learning to Breathe program. The intervention effects on the changes in some factors of depression and dimensions of self-concept were moderated by age. The intervention prevented increases in depression and somatic symptoms, decreased interpersonal difficulties, and increased social self-concept in older adolescents. However, in younger adolescents, there was an increase in depression, depressed affect, and somatic symptoms post-intervention. The effectiveness of mindfulness training was higher in the oldest adolescents, suggesting that MBIs should be even more precisely adapted for younger adolescents. Implications for the implementation of mindfulness programs in schools are discussed. Highlights: This study examined the impact of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) on adolescents´ depressive symptoms and self-concept. Participants' age moderated the effectiveness of mindfulness training. The MBI prevented increases in depression, depressed affect, and somatic symptoms, decreased interpersonal difficulties, and increased social self-concept in older adolescents. The findings suggest that MBIs should be even more precisely adapted for younger adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) impacts not only the child with ASD, but also the entire family system, including siblings. The present study examined perceptions of the sibling relationship in brothers and sisters of children with ASD, as well as how understanding of autism (symptoms, long-term implications of the disorder) in siblings of children with ASD is related to the sibling's perceptions of quality of the sibling relationship. Siblings (N = 44, Mean Age = 10.4 years, SD = 2.6) of children with ASD were administered an interview assessing their understanding of ASD and self-report questionnaires measuring their perception of the sibling relationship quality. The more siblings understood about ASD, the more hostility they reported by their sibling with ASD. Age of the sibling, conversely, was negatively associated with both hostile and warm behavior by the brother or sister with ASD towards the sibling. More understanding of autism may be associated with more contention within the sibling relationship, whereas older siblings may spend less time with their brother or sister with autism. Results have implications for improving sibling relationship quality, as well as elucidating the complexity of sibling relationships. These findings have further implications for the development of support systems with use of coping skills for improving the quality of the sibling relationship. Highlights: Understanding of ASD in siblings is related to quality of relationship. Siblings report of more hostility from their brother or sister with ASD associated with more understanding of ASD. Siblings' report less hostility and warmth from sibling relationship with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of family-based adversities and adolescent well-being by examining variability in substance use profiles among urban, low-income and predominantly African American adolescents (n = 2858). Latent class analysis and regressions were used to identify the nature and correlates of heterogeneity in substance use patterns among adolescents in the Mobile Youth Survey (MYS). Analyses revealed the presence of four underlying subgroups of youth: non-users (48.4%), alcohol users (17.6%), alcohol and marijuana users (31.6%), and polysubstance users (2.5%). Membership in classes varied by age and gender, with older youth and males being more likely to belong to groups characterized by the use of multiple substances. Youth who reported that someone in their household had been arrested were more likely to belong to one of the substance using groups than the non-use group, and youth who reported not having a father figure were more likely to belong to groups characterized by the use of multiple substances relative to the non-use group. Youth who reported living with two biological parents were less likely to belong to either the alcohol or the alcohol and marijuana classes than the non-use group. Results further indicated that youth in classes characterized by the use of multiple substances were more likely to exhibit externalizing problems and internalizing distress than other youth. Findings underscore the importance of identifying heterogeneity even in seemingly homogeneous samples and suggest a number of new directions for future research. Highlights: Analyses revealed the presence of four underlying substance use groups. Patterns of substance use varied by family structure and household member arrest. Polysubstance users appear to be at greatest risk for behavior problems. There is notable heterogeneity in substance use among youth in disadvantaged settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The study of mindfulness has expanded in recent decades; however, there is still limited published research on the relationship between mindfulness and parenting. Further, scarce previous research considered individual characteristics as moderators of links between mindfulness and parenting outcomes. Although distinct elements of mindfulness can be measured, most research treats mindfulness as a global construct. The current study draws from family stress and resilience theory to examine the relationship between three facets of mindfulness and parenting stress and efficacy. Further, we consider the influence of parent gender and age of the youngest child on these relationships. Methods: Multi-level regression models were utilized in a diverse sample of 1007 parents (M age = 36.07; Range = 19–70). Results: Nonreactivity of inner experience was most predictive of parenting efficacy compared to acting with awareness, whereas awareness was most predictive of lower parenting stress compared to nonreactivity. Nonjudging of inner experience was not directly related to parenting efficacy or parenting stress considering other facets of mindfulness. The link between nonjudging and parenting efficacy was stronger for fathers than mothers. The positive link between nonreactivity and parenting efficacy was stronger for parents of older children and the negative link between levels of nonreactivity and parenting stress was stronger for parents of young children. Conclusions: Although each facet is related in some way to parenting outcomes, certain areas of mindfulness may be particularly important to emphasize in mindfulness-based parenting education programs. Further, these priority facets may differ slightly based on parent and child characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Parent-child communication about substance abuse, violence, and HIV/AIDS (i.e., SAVA) may protect against intergenerational risks, as open communication can enhance children's resilience to combat adversities. We used moderation analyses to identify variables that affect mothers' comfort with communicating with their children about SAVA. Methods: Participants (Mage = 34.62 years; SD = 7.95) were mothers of youth between the ages of 6 and 14 who endorsed experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) within the last six months. Mothers reported on their experiences with IPV victimization (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale) and perpetration (History of Violence Perpetration Measure), and their comfort communicating with their children about SAVA (Parent-Child Communication about SAVA Scale). Results: More severe IPV was associated with less comfort communicating (β = −003; p < 0.01). In addition, more frequent IPV perpetration was associated with less comfort communicating (β = −2.46; p < 0.01). Moderation was supported, such that the association between experiencing IPV and comfort with communication varied by experiences with IPV perpetration (β = 0.01; p < 0.01). Child's age was a significant moderator of the relationship between bidirectional intimate partner violence (i.e., experiencing both victimization and perpetration), and comfort with communicating (β = −0.0004; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Findings highlight the negative consequences of bidirectional violence, such that mothers who are both victims and perpetrators of violence were less willing to communicate with their children. Given the crucial role of communication in promoting resilience, this lack of communication may place children on a problematic health trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to provide evidence of the cross-cultural validity of the Emotion Matching Task (EMT), as a measure of emotion knowledge in preschool children in different cultures, namely, the United States, Italy, and Spain. In particular, we analyzed: (1) the psychometric properties of the scale in each of the three subsamples; (2) the relations between sex, age, verbal ability, and EK, in the overall sample and in the three different cultures; (3) the pattern of acquisition of the various dimensions of emotion knowledge in the overall sample and in the three different countries. Methods: Participants were 500 children from Spain (N = 180), the United States (N = 158), and Italy (N = 162) from 36 to 72 months (mean age = 53.75), attending several schools and childcare centers in the three countries. Children were administered the EMT and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). Results: The EMT demonstrated adequate reliability indices for all three countries. Controlling for the influence of sex, age, and verbal ability, the results revealed between-country differences in all four dimensions of emotion knowledge. The pattern of acquisition of EK was similar in the three cultures. Conclusions: These results point to the EMT as an appropriate tool for measuring EK in young children from different cultures. Cross-culturally valid measures are needed to evaluate EK in multicultural contexts, and to test the cross-cultural effectiveness of interventions aimed at encouraging emotional competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: With the rise of internal migration in China, research has shown parental migration is linked to adolescent psychological adjustment, but little is known about the corresponding adjustment among left-behind adolescents in urban areas. More importantly, the protective factors for their adjustment are still sparsely covered in the literature. Guided by a risk and resilience ecological framework, the current study compares internalizing problem behavior (IPB) and externalizing problem behavior (EPB) between urban left-behind adolescents and their non-left-behind counterparts in mainland China. It also examines whether the direct and interactive effects of peer attachment and two facets of grit—perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interests (CI)—can mitigate problem behaviors in urban left-behind adolescents. Methods: A propensity score matching analysis was used to balance the two groups concerning age, gender, socioeconomic status, and family functioning. Finally, 246 left-behind adolescents (53.6% girls) and 492 non-left-behind counterparts (55.1% girls) aged 13–18 years were involved in this study. Results: Urban left-behind adolescents perceived higher levels of IPB and EPB compared to non-left-behind peers. Moreover, higher levels of PE buffered the association between peer attachment and IPB, whereas lower levels of PE exacerbated the association between peer attachment and EPB for urban left-behind adolescents only. Additionally, higher levels of CI buffered the association between peer attachment and EPB for both groups. Conclusions: This study concludes that peer attachment and PE have protective roles in mitigating problem behaviors among urban left-behind adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This research aims to investigate the relationship between coming out to family and coming out in sports for lesbian and gay athletes and to examine the internalization of sexual prejudice as a potential mediator of this relationship. Methods: For this purpose, disclosure of sexual orientation to family, coming out in sports and internalized sexual prejudice in sports-related contexts, age, gender, socioeconomic status, education level, political orientation, type of sport (individual vs. team sport), years of sports participation were assessed on an Italian sample of 113 lesbian athletes and 63 gay athletes between 18 and 35 years of age. Results: Findings indicated that coming out to family was significantly associated with coming out in sports. In addition, the internalization of negative attitudes toward the visibility of lesbian and gay athletes in sport settings partially mediated the relationship between coming out to family and coming out in sports. Conclusions: These findings suggest that prior experiences of coming out in family contexts may provide additional resources to prevent the internalization of sexual prejudice, and this may promote the coming out in other life contexts. Moreover, we recommend that more efforts should be made to support sexual minority athletes who are not able to disclose their identity in sports environments. Research implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Depressive symptoms in parents are associated with increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems (BEP) in preschool-aged children. It is unclear if particular symptoms of child BEP are associated with parental depression. This study describes the prevalence of (1) self-reported depressive symptoms in parents and (2) BEP in children ages 3–5 years, both measured during pediatric well-visits. It also examines the relationship between parental depressive symptoms and BEP in preschool-aged children in primary care. Methods: Caregivers (n = 2645) accompanying children ages 3–5 years old for well-visits completed the Early Childhood Screening Assessment (ECSA), a tool which assesses for child BEP and parental depressive symptoms. Spearman's rho was used to examine correlations. Logistic regression was used to predict the dichotomous outcome of depressive symptoms among caregivers based on ECSA item responses covarying for caregiver type and child age, gender and race. Results: Screening indicated that 3.1% (n = 82) of caregivers reported parental depressive symptoms and 12.5% (n = 331) of children had a positive screen for BEP. One out of 2 children (56.1%) of caregivers with depressive symptoms had positive BEP screens compared to approximately 1 in 10 (11.1%) children of caregivers without depressive symptoms (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: There was a significant relationship between caregiver depressive symptoms and child BEP symptoms, highlighting the importance of screening for both constructs. Early identification and treatment of both parental depressive symptoms and child BEP allows for appropriate referral and treatment that may mitigate adverse outcomes and promote optimal child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Parents are a critical influence on adolescents' expressions of positive affect (PA; happiness, excitement), which are important components of adaptive emotional development during this developmental period. Despite a recent proliferation of studies examining outcomes of parental response to PA, limited research has explored unique adolescent characteristics that relate to parents' specific responses to adolescent PA. Thus, the current study examined the contribution of specific adolescent characteristics (temperament, age, and gender) on dampening and enhancing responses to PA. Methods: Parents (n= 371, 49.6% mothers) of adolescents between ages 10 and 17 years (Mage = 13.5 years, 46.4% female) recruited thru Amazon Mechanical Turk completed a series of questionnaires on their offspring's temperament and their enhancing and dampening responses to youth PA. Results: Over and above parental age and gender, parent-reported adolescent positive emotionality and effortful control were uniquely related to dampening responses; however, all temperament dimensions were unrelated to enhancing responses. Adolescent age and gender were unrelated to parental PA socialization and did not moderate links between parent-reported temperament and parental dampening responses; however, there was a significant three-way inter action for temperament, age and gender for parental enhancing responses. Conclusions: Overall the findings suggest that adolescents low in effortful control and positive emotionality elicit more parental dampening responses to PA. Future research is needed to clarify the factors that contribute to parents' enhancing of PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous literature highlights attachment security as a key antecedent of early affective regulation that is frequently associated with positive socioemotional outcomes in early childhood. Less is known of attachment in adolescence, particularly within underserved, stress-exposed families. The current study investigated relations among adolescents' secure base knowledge (an indicator of secure attachment), internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and stress and trauma exposure.Methods: Participants were 83 inner-city adolescents (ages 13-18 years; 72.3% African American) and one of their primary caregivers (75.9% biological mothers). Secure base knowledge was assessed utilizing the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA).Results: After controlling for adolescents' exposure to potentially stressful or traumatic events, secure base knowledge uniquely predicted fewer internalizing, but not externalizing, problems. Analyses controlled for youth receptive vocabulary, age, and gender.Conclusions: This study provides further evidence that youth attachment security contributes uniquely to fewer youth internalizing problems even within the context of numerous contextual risks. Furthermore, results add to the understanding the utility of the ASA among youth in an urban context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological dysregulation is a complex and multidimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions. Research on psychological dysregulation emphasizes its importance in relation to several psychological disorders. However, assessing psychological dysregulation is often problematic because many of the existing instruments address a specific dysregulation dimension at a time, predominantly emotional dysregulation. The Abbreviated Dysregulation Inventory (ADI) was developed to assess three dimensions of psychological dysregulation: emotional, cognitive and behavioral. This study’s goal was to analyze the factor structure, internal consistency, and validity in relation to external variables of the Portuguese version of the ADI in a sample of 511 adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years old. The 3-factor solution was confirmed, and high internal consistency was found for the three subscales. Peculiar findings on the cognitive dysregulation subscale raised issues addressed in the discussion section. Results indicated that dysregulation associates positively with aggressive behavior and negatively with quality of life. Age and gender presented small influence on the cognitive and behavioral subscales scores, respectively. Findings suggested that ADI can be a valuable self-report measure to assess cognitive, behavioral or emotional dysregulation in youths, within research and psychological intervention settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent suicide remains a major public health problem. Parenting behaviors can significantly impact the psychological well-being of youth. This study examined whether adolescent suicide differed based on specific parenting behaviors and whether the impact of such behaviors differed based on age of the adolescent. A secondary analysis of the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was performed. Results indicated that adolescents who were female, older and who had parents who never/seldom performed authoritative parenting behaviors were at elevated risk for suicidal ideation, making a suicide plan and attempting suicide. The parenting behaviors placing adolescents at highest risk for all three suicide measures were never/seldom telling their children they were proud of them, never/seldom telling them they did a good job, and never/seldom helping them with their homework. The impact of these parenting behaviors on suicide was largest among younger adolescents (12-13 year olds). Results illustrate the critical importance of authoritative parenting in helping to protect adolescents from suicide. Findings may be beneficial to professionals aimed at developing efforts to prevent adolescent suicide. Parents should be educated on authoritative parenting and specific behaviors they can perform to protect youth against suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mindfulness is increasingly applied in schools, yet little is known about long-term whole-school approaches, in which mindfulness becomes integrated in the school’s curriculum. Among the possible benefits of such an approach is its influence on children’s coping strategies and their responses to everyday challenges. To examine this possibility, the study collected data from 646 students, 9-12 years old, from three Israeli public schools using mindfulness. One school had been implementing the whole school approach for 13 years, a second school for one year, and a third had no mindfulness implementation and thus served as a comparison. Data collection was based on a questionnaire asking students to openly describe how they coped in five challenging daily-life situations. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic coding; then, the initial categories were coded into a quantitative mindfulness-based coping scoring system. The findings revealed a significant difference between schools with respect to students’ disposition to use mindfulness-based coping strategies (P < .001, R2 = .13). The regression model indicated that girls had a higher tendency to apply mindfulness-based strategies than boys, and 10-year-old children showed a greater disposition to apply mindfulness-based strategies than 9, 11 and 12-year-olds (P < .0001, R2 = .2). The study adds to the growing body of evidence pointing to the contribution of long term whole-school mindfulness-based programs to elementary school children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a sample of 955 elementary school children in central China, the present study examined family socio-economic status and parent-child relationships in relation to children’s social creativity, as well as the mediating role of personality traits in these associations. Family environment (socio-economic status and parent-child relationships) and personality traits were significantly correlated with social creativity; children openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion partly mediated the relationship between family environment and social creativity when controlling for age and sex. These results are important for explaining the roles of the family environment and individual factors in shaping children’s social creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although family social support has been linked to numerous psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes for Black adolescents, little research investigates the family support networks of these youths. Using nationally representative data from the National Survey of American Life Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), this study examines the family social support exchanges of African American and Black Caribbean adolescents. We focus specifically on the frequency of instrumental and emotional support provided by and offered to adolescents and the sociodemographic and family correlates of this support. Findings indicate that both African American and Black Caribbean adolescents provide and receive a substantial amount of support from family, though there is significant variation by age, gender, income, ethnicity, region, and country of origin within and across these populations. Further, subjective family closeness was related to both the receipt and provision of support. Overall, findings affirm the importance of investigating adolescent family support networks, as well as examining ethnic differences within the U.S. Black population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that involving families is essential to success of bullying intervention. Moral disengagement is a strong predictor of aggressive behavior including school bullying. We were interested in the proximal role of parents in late childhood and early adolescence for moral disengagement. We examined whether the relation between specific poor parenting practices and moral disengagement was mediated by expected parental approval of aggression and whether age was a moderator in a theoretical moderated mediation model. We used two-wave longitudinal data of 609 students (50% boys, 52% 5th grade, 48% 7th grade). The results are complex and differ across the two age groups. In late childhood, repeated corporal punishment was associated with higher levels of moral disengagement 1 year later, and this relation was mediated by an increase in expected parental approval of aggression. Also, low levels of monitoring and supervision were directly associated with higher levels of moral disengagement 1 year later. In early adolescence, lower levels of monitoring and supervision were associated with higher levels of moral disengagement 1 year later, and this association was partially mediated by an increase in expected parental approval of aggression. These results demonstrate that in late childhood and early adolescence, poor parenting practices, more specifically harsh discipline and poor monitoring, are relevant for moral disengagement, partly because they create the expectation of parental approval for aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we investigated whether fathers’ and mothers’ parenting behavior is differentially related to parental factors (such as age and employment), child factors (age and gender) as well as social support. Parents reported on their use of a broad range of parenting behaviors, including affection, responsivity, explaining, autonomy, support, rewarding, and punishing. We used survey data from the Netherlands for 1197 mothers and 903 fathers of children aged 2 to 17. Seemingly unrelated regression analyses were conducted to combine the regression results on the separate subsamples (fathers and mothers) and to test for differences in the coefficients between those subsamples. Our expectation that the parenting behavior of fathers is more dependent on parents’ characteristics, children’s characteristics, and social support than that of mothers was only partly confirmed by the results of our analysis. In general, our results suggest that fathers’ parenting behaviors seem to be associated with parental and child characteristics and contextual factors in ways that are similar to how these factors are associated with mothers’ parenting behaviors. Results are discussed in relation to the roles and expectations associated with motherhood and fatherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting self-efficacy is one of the important determinants that assists smooth transition to parenthood and has an impact on the parent-child relationship. The aim of the study was to test the psychometric properties of the Parenting Efficacy Scale (PES) among multi-ethnic parents in Singapore. A descriptive correlational repeated research design was adopted to test the performance measurement among 250 fathers and mothers (125 each). To examine the test-retest reliability of the PES, 211 participants (106 fathers and 105 mothers) were retested 4 weeks after the first test. Demographics such as age, ethnicity, monthly income, gender, and education were used to test the construct validity of the PES. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the single factor structure for the PES, fitting both parents. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability with Cronbach’s α coefficients of 0.91 and 0.75, respectively and intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.70 and 0.71 for fathers and mothers, respectively. The PES showed good content validity with a scale content validity index of 0.85. Parenting self-efficacy was predicted by age, ethnicity, and monthly household income. The PES is a psychometrically acceptable instrument for measuring parenting self-efficacy among multi-ethnic parents in Singapore. Hence, it can be used routinely to assess parental self-efficacy during the postnatal period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research in adoption has considered the factors and processes that underlie the adjustment of children and families. However, little research has been conducted on certain types of adoptive families, specifically on families with both adoptive and biological children often designated as mixed families. This subject is addressed by the present study which also analyzes the association between the type of adoptive family and children’s outcomes—prosocial and problem behavior—parenting stress and the relational family environment. It also examines whether children’s gender, age at adoption and the number of children in the home moderate these effects. 102 parents of adoptive children (ACF) 33 parents of both adoptive and biological children (ABCF) and 102 parents of biological children (BCF) participated in the study. Target-children were aged from 6 to 12 years. The Portuguese versions of the SDQ-P, PSI-SF and FES (Interpersonal Relationship dimension) were used. Results showed that the type of adoptive family—ACF and ABCF—significantly explained the variance of children’s behavioral problems and parenting stress. The child’s gender was shown to moderate the relationship between ACF parents and their perception of child’s prosocial behavior. The results give relevant clues as to the importance of distinct outcomes in adoptive families—ACF and ABCF—compared to families with only biological children and should, therefore, be a resource for professionals involved in the adopters’ suitability assessment and adoption intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents are the main socialization agents in the development of emotion regulation (ER). In this study, we evaluated adolescents’ and their respective parents’ perspectives about their use of two ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in daily life. In addition, we evaluated the within-family associations between adolescents’ and their parents’ use of strategies. We controlled for adolescents’ gender and age and the perceived quality of their relationships with their parents (mothers and fathers). The sample consisted of 33 12- to 18-year-old adolescent-father-mother triads, totaling 99 participants. Parents and adolescents reported their use of ER strategies in response to eight random prompts throughout the day, by means of the experience sampling method for 1 week. Participants provided 4082 reports on their momentary experiences. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to account for the hierarchical structure of the repeated daily assessments. The significant association between parents’ and adolescents’ use of ER strategies was specific to mother-adolescent dyads. The significant association between adolescents’ and their mothers’ ER strategies varied as a function of the adolescents’ age and the quality of their relationship with their mothers according to adolescents’ reports, but not as a function of adolescent gender. These findings suggest that mothers have a role in their adolescents’ emotion regulation in a developmental period characterized by autonomy from parental guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence suggests that Theory of Mind (ToM) is related to some aspects of children's temperament. Specifically, recent studies have shown that false belief understanding is positively related to shyness and withdrawn behavior and negatively associated with aggressive conduct. However, still little is known about which other aspects of temperament are related to children's ability to understand others' mental states. In the present study, we aimed to investigate relations between false belief understanding and temperament in preschool children. In the first phase of our research (T1), we administered a false belief task to 101 3- and 4- year-old Italian children. In the second phase (T2), 69 children belonging to the original sample were assessed again at 5 and 6 years of age, and their temperament was evaluated through parental ratings. Correlational analyses and independent-samples t-tests revealed significant positive relations of false belief understanding to inhibitory control and negative relations to motor activity/hyperactivity and anger/frustration (even though the latter was only marginal), whereas no relation was found to attention control. These results confirm and extend findings from previous studies. Unexpectedly, we did not find any significant association with shyness, despite evidence to the contrary from recent research. Overall, our findings show that false belief understanding relates differently to various dimensions of temperament in the preschool period and highlight the importance of conducting further investigation on the relation between ToM and temperament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the rise of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in youth, it is imperative to address understudied correlates that may contribute to NSSI. The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate NSSI in college students (N = 1703) with or without a history of parental absence. We also examined the relationships between parental absence, interpersonal (i.e., support and social constraint) factors, intrapersonal (i.e., sense-making) factors, and NSSI in our sample of primarily Caucasian/White, heterosexual, single, traditional-aged, female college students. Logistic regression indicated that the odds of reporting NSSI were 5 times higher for participants who had experienced permanent parental absence (e.g., death) compared to those who had not experienced absence. The odds of reporting NSSI were 8.5 and 7.5 times higher for those respondents who had experienced non-permanent parental absence (e.g., parental travel) and both types of parental absence, respectively, when compared to those who experienced permanent parental absence. Social support, social constraint, and sense-making made significant but small contributions to the prediction of NSSI endorsement. Participants who reported experiencing both permanent and non-permanent absence exhibited the highest level (p < .001, η2 = .09) of interpersonal reasons (e.g., to hurt someone) for engaging in NSSI. These findings can serve as a catalyst for future NSSI research (e.g., the potential importance of including parental absence as a background variable). Moreover, the results suggest the possible benefit of continued examination of: (a) the relationship between experiencing both types of parental absence and engagement in NSSI for interpersonal reasons; and (b) social support, sense-making, and social constraint as contributing factors of NSSI endorsement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School violence is a global concern that calls for international research using cross context methods. Although there are several international surveys that compare school violence across countries, they do not clearly address issues of similarities and differences in relative prevalence of different types of victimization and their relations with age, sex, and cultural group. We explored these questions among Israeli-Arab (n = 13,606), Israeli-Jewish (n = 10,637), and Chilean students in poor schools in a large Chilean city (n = 4557), using the same self-report questionnaire that measures verbal-social victimization, victimization by threats, physical victimization, and sexual harassment. As hypothesized, we found similarities in the patterns of relative prevalence of victimization types, as well as study group, sex, and age main effects and interactions. These effects were evident even when the lowest third SES group in Israel was compared with the Chilean students. These findings suggest group differences in prevalence of student victimization, and at the same time cultural invariance in relative prevalence of victimization types and their relations with sex and age. We discuss the need for more international comparative research in this field that takes into account cultural values and the structure and organizations of schools within the different educational systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to investigate how family functioning (defined as the ability that family members hold to manage stressful events, and intimate and social relationships), the degree to which family members feel happy and fulfilled with each other (called family satisfaction), and the demographical characteristics of siblings (age and gender) impacted on sibling relationships. The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and Behavioral Systems constituted the theoretical frameworks that guided our study. Eighty-six typically developing adolescents and young adults having a sister or a brother with autism spectrum disorder were enrolled. Results indicated that the youngest age group (early adolescents) reported to engage more frequently in negative behaviors with their siblings with ASD than the two older age groups (middle adolescents and young adults). No significant differences were found among the three age groups regarding behaviors derived from attachment, caregiving and affiliative systems. Family satisfaction and age significantly predicted behaviors during sibling interactions. Suggestions on prevention and intervention programs were discussed in order to prevent parentification among typically developing siblings and decrease episodes of quarrels and overt conflicts between brothers and sisters with and without ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent and child relationships continuously evolve, part of an ongoing dialectic that derives from developmental changes in both parent and child. The focus of this study is on changes in the strength of association among four types of parenting behaviors considered important for children's development: supportive presence, respect for autonomy, stimulation, and hostility. Mother-child interaction was observed for 1229 parent-child dyads at 36 months, 54 months, 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 5th grade using similar observational paradigms. The association between respect for autonomy and supportive presence was strong at age three and continued to be strong over time. The association between respect for autonomy and stimulation was modest but also showed little change from age three to 5th grade. Respect for autonomy was negatively associated with maternal hostility, but the relation was complex. It was stronger at 54 months than 36 months but then became weaker through time. Supportive presence showed a moderate relation with stimulation at age 3 but the association became weaker over time. Supportive presence showed an expected negative association with hostility, a relation that changed little over time. The relation between hostility and stimulation also became weaker over time. In effect, there appears to be a shifting pattern of relations between maternal behaviors during early and middle childhood, one that reflects an evolving dialectic in the mother-child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon the work-home resources model, this study examined the implications of mothers' evening and weekend shifts for youths' time with mother, alone, and hanging out with peers unsupervised, with attention to both the amount and day-to-day consistency of time use. Data came from 173 mothers who worked in the long-term care industry and their youths who provided daily diaries. Multilevel modeling revealed that youths whose mothers worked more evening shifts on average spent less time with their mothers compared to youths whose mothers worked fewer evening shifts. Youths whose mothers worked more weekend shifts, however, spent more time with their mothers and exhibited less consistency in their time in all three activity domains compared to youths whose mothers worked fewer weekend shifts. Girls, not boys, spent less time alone on days when mothers worked weekend shifts than on days with standard shifts. Older but not younger adolescents spent more time hanging out with friends on evening and weekend shift days, and their unsupervised peer time was less consistent across days when mothers worked more evening shifts. These effects adjusted for sociodemographic and day characteristics, including school day, number of children in the household, mothers' marital status and work hours, and time with fathers. Our results illuminate the importance of the timing and day of mothers' work for youths' daily activities. Future interventions should consider how to increase mothers' resources to deal with constraints on parenting due to their work during nonstandard hours, with attention to child gender and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clemson University researchers have conducted a multi-agency, multi-cohort study on juvenile offending and recidivism. Important features of the study are a sample size of approximately 100,000 delinquents and 100,000 non-delinquents; the merging of data sets from a state department of juvenile justice with those of departments of mental health, social services, education, and (adult) law enforcement; and statistical analyses focusing on the role of age, race, gender, child maltreatment, mental health disorders and school-related disabilities on juvenile referrals, prosecutions, re-offending and incarceration. Published findings strongly support earlier empirical and clinical work on influences on juvenile delinquency. The present article emphasizes our findings related to five important issues: the impact of prosecution on repeat offending, the effects of the juvenile's race on solicitor recommendations, the significance of one-time juvenile offending, the empirical support for the concept of "resilience," and the magnitude of associations between childhood history and later criminal offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying children with symptoms of anxiety before they develop clinical disorders is important. The objective of our study was to examine the latent factor structure of the MASC (youth report version) in a large self-selected sample of school children in 4th to 6th grade, and examine if the measure had a comparable factor structure for gender and age. Gender and age differences in anxiety symptoms were also examined. Children ( N = 1686, 53.8% female) were recruited from schools during pretest of an ongoing randomized, controlled, indicative intervention. Latent variable modelling was used to determine the underlying concepts of the MASC. We found good model fit for the four-factor model, however some items on the Harm/Avoidance scale had low factor loadings. Invariance analysis indicated that the MASC had similar factor structure (comparable meaning) for boys and girls and for younger and older children in this sample. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on all subscales and on the Total Anxiety scale. Age differences were only found on the Separation Anxiety scale. Overall, the original four-factor structure of the MASC was confirmed within a large sample of school children and was invariant across gender and age. However, the Harm/avoidance scale warrants some attention. The MASC is a potentially useful measure to be used for screening purposes in a school setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on cumulative risk is growing, however, little work has occurred in low- or middle-income countries, and few studies have focused on processes linking risk to outcomes. This study explored relations between components of cumulative risk and adjustment in a sample of 324 South African youth ( M age = 13.11 years; SD = 1.54 years; 65% female; 56% Black/African; 14% Colored; 23% Indian; 7% White), and tested competing models of emotion dysregulation as a mediator or moderator of risk-adjustment links. Data was collected from youth and their female caregivers during home interviews. Structural equation models and regression analyses accounting for age and sex contributions revealed that emotion dysregulation mediated associations between sociodemographic risk and internalizing symptoms, externalizing problem behavior, and drug use severity, and moderated links between psychosocial risk and internalizing symptoms and externalizing problem behavior. For the mediator models, sociodemographic risk was associated with impaired emotion regulation, which in turn was linked with heightened adjustment difficulties. For the moderator models, psychosocial risk was linked with adjustment problems only when emotion dysregulation was high. These data indicate the importance of disentangling components of cumulative risk. Future research within the South African cultural context might build on these findings by adapting and testing school- or family-based prevention or intervention programs that include modules on emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to estimate the relationship between child alcohol problems, sociodemographic characteristics, externalizing behavior, parental and peer alcohol use, and family violence by using a cross-sectional community sample of 320 Ukrainian children (9-16 years of age, 50% boys) and their parents. Participants answered questions from the Drinking and Drug History and Current Use Patterns Questionnaire, the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Child Behavior Checklist. Fifty-two percent of children reported alcohol use within the past year and 32% experienced alcohol-related problems. The average number of reported alcohol problems was 11.19 (SD = 63.65). Five robust regression models examined correlates of early problem drinking in Ukraine. The final model indicated older child age ( β = 0.21, p < 0.001), more symptoms of externalizing behavior ( β = 0.17, p < 0.01), and higher peer alcohol use ( β = 0.23, p < 0.001) were significantly and positively associated with child alcohol problems. Results of the final model explained 32% of the variance in child alcohol problems, F(8, 311) = 10.76, p < 0.001. In conclusion, the findings suggest that older age, exposure to high-risk alcohol permeated peer environments, impulsivity, and rule-breaking behaviors are linked with the trajectory of early alcohol abuse among Ukrainian children. Mechanisms that reduce the harmful influence of these risk factors on alcohol consumption need to be in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecure attachment can contribute to various psychological problems including body dissatisfaction. It is not clarified which attachment quality, anxiety or avoidance predict lower body satisfaction, and the relationship of maternal and paternal patterns has not been distinguished yet. Our aim was to test these aspects in adolescents. Participants of the large cross-sectional survey were Hungarian children and adolescents ( N = 5214, 51.6 % boys, mean age 14.8 years, SD = 2.6 years). Measures included self-reported body weight and height data, body satisfaction scale, the Experience in Close Relationships Scale-Relationship Structures, and the Child Depression Inventory. Boys had significantly higher body satisfaction, and worse maternal attachment than girls, who showed worse paternal attachment and higher depression. Higher paternal anxiety and avoidance, and maternal avoidance predicted lower body satisfaction in both genders adjusted for age and BMI ( R = 6.1-12.5 %). Depression fully mediated the relationship between dysfunctional maternal attachment and lower body satisfaction in both genders, between dysfunctional paternal attachment and lower body satisfaction in girls, while only partially mediated between dysfunctional paternal attachment and lower body satisfaction in boys. Dysfunctional parental attachment was associated with adolescents' lower body dissatisfaction, mediated by the level of depression. The importance of paternal attachment was highlighted in boys' body concerns. Results suggest that handling negative moods, parental anxiety and avoidance may be useful in the case conceptualizations and treatments related to adolescents' body dissatisfaction that requires further assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between family disruption and child socio-emotional and behavioral development is a relatively well-examined but as yet unresolved issue, and the conclusions of previous research have been ambiguous. Further, some studies have indicated that associations may depend on other risk factors, yet the question of heterogeneity has been relatively little discussed. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess associations between family disruption on the one hand and teacher-rated and self-reported outcomes on subscales from the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd edition (BASC-2) and the Behavior and Emotional Screening System (BESS) on the other, among a Danish sample of 817 normally developing schoolchildren. Specifically, we assessed (a) the extent to which background factors explained unadjusted associations and (b) whether associations were heterogeneous across the distribution of outcome measures. Results from ordinary least squares (OLS) models showed that relative to children from intact families, children from disrupted families had higher problem scores on BASC-2 subscales Externalizing Problems, Study Skills and School Problems even after controlling for a wide range of background factors. Quantile regression (QR) models showed that associations with Externalizing Problems and Study Skills were stronger among children with higher problem scores. Certain behavioral problems may therefore indicate increased vulnerability towards adverse events, such as family disruption. General screening for such problems could provide an opportunity to identify children in need of special attention and support against the potentially negative outcomes of family disruption for their school experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation is a core developmental process that is related to children's academic success and mental health. A small body of research has documented that maltreated children show deficits in this developmental arena. The current study was designed to add to the limited literature on emotion regulation in maltreated children in foster care. Emotion regulation tasks were administered to preschool foster children, videotaped, and later coded. Parenting was assessed via coded observations of mother-child interactions. Mothers reported on their experience of depressive symptomatology. We examined the relation of foster parenting and foster mother depression, as well as child characteristics and child welfare experiences, to emotion regulation, specifically in the joy and anger domains. Findings revealed that maternal depression and parental structuring significantly contributed to children's anger regulation, but not to their regulation of joy. These findings are considered in the context of future research with respect to young maltreated children in foster care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study described 6-year to 12-year-old children's responses 7 and 13 months after siblings' NICU/PICU/ED death. Using semi-structured interviews, at 7 months, children were asked about events around their sibling's death. At both 7 and 13 months, children were asked about their thoughts and feelings about the deceased, concerns or fears, and life changes since the death. Thirty one children (58% female), recruited from four South Florida hospitals and Florida obituaries, participated. Children's mean age was 8.4 years; 64.5% were Black, 22.5% Hispanic, 13% White. Interviews were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Resulting themes: circumstances of the death, burial events, thinking about and talking to the deceased sibling, fears, and life changes. Most children knew their sibling's cause of death, attended funeral/memorials, thought about and talked to their deceased sibling, reported changes in family and themselves over the 13 months. Fears (something happening to themselves, parents, other siblings-death, cancer, being snatched away) decreased from 7 to 13 months especially in 7-year to 9-year-olds. Seven-year to 9-year-olds reported the greatest change in themselves from 7 to 13 months. More Black children and girls thought about the deceased and reported more changes in themselves over the 13 months. School aged children thought about and talked with their deceased sibling, reported changes in themselves and their family and their fears decreased over the first 13 months after their sibling's death [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies on attachment in middle childhood suggest that dismissing children tend to underreport their psychological distress relative to physiological indices of distress. However, this has yet to be examined in the context of behavioral indicators of distress. In this longitudinal study, a community sample of children ( N = 34, M = 9.59 years) completed the Child Attachment Interview at Time 1. Three years later, they returned and completed the Trier Social Stress Task for Children (TSST-C), providing ratings of their state anxiety before and after the stressor. Four raters coded children's behavioral signs of anxiety (e.g., non-signaling gestures, eye movement, posture, facial expression) on a 7-point scale during the storytelling and arithmetic tasks in the TSST-C. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that greater attachment dismissal was associated with greater behavioral anxiety in both the story and math tasks, but was not associated with greater increases in self-reported anxiety. Dismissal prospectively predicted increased divergence of behavioral and self-reported anxiety, such that higher dismissal was associated with higher divergence scores (i.e., underreporting of anxiety relative to behavioral indicators). We discuss these results in terms of their contribution to understanding attachment and emotion in an understudied developmental phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to date on child and adolescent anxiety and depression have focused predominantly on major ethnic groups. Very few studies to date have been conducted on specific ethnic minority groups and the relatively few studies on these ethnic minority samples have produced mixed findings. The following question therefore still remains: Do specific ethnic subgroups differ with respect to their expression of anxiety and depression? And do these differences differ as a function of reporter type (i.e., youth versus parent)? If the expression of internalizing symptoms differs across specific ethnic subgroups, these differences could inform approaches to assessing and treating these populations. In the current study, we therefore examined ethnic differences in anxiety and depression symptoms in ethnic subgroups. A total of 629 children and adolescents from various public and private schools, aged 8-18 years ( M = 12.37, SD = 2.8) and their caregivers completed anxiety and depression scales. Multiple indicators, multiple causes confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the following specific ethic subgroups were associated with significantly greater anxiety and depression relative to Caucasian youth: Chinese American, Filipino American, Japanese American, and Native Hawaiian. These results were found only among parent (but not youth) reports. Age and low SES status was also associated with more internalizing problems among Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese American youth. Implications related to ethnic minority subgroup differences and the role of multi-informant reports in understanding the relationship between anxiety, depression and ethnic minority subgroups are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional and behavioral (EB) problems in children are associated with increased perceptions of strain in parenting. Among children receiving services, parenting stress has been linked to initiating services for their children, and may strain the relationship between parent and child. In contrast, parental engagement and empowerment in services is an important quality indicator for positive treatment outcomes. However, no known studies have examined the association between parent empowerment in their child's services and their perceptions of stress related to parenting a child with significant mental health needs. Further, no studies have explored whether empowerment moderates the relationship between the child's symptoms and parental perceptions of stress. The current study examined the impact of child EB problems and parent empowerment on parenting stress. Among a sample of 525 parents of children receiving school-based services for disruptive behavior disorders, child EB problems significantly predicted parenting stress. Parent empowerment also correlated with lower parenting stress, as hypothesized. Although parent empowerment was not found to moderate the relationship between child symptomatology and parenting stress, the relationship between parent empowerment and parenting stress differed based on child gender and age. Parent empowerment was associated with lower parenting stress more for parents of females and younger children than for parents of males and older children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of parental attachment on adolescent development. However, few studies have specifically investigated the different effects of paternal attachment and maternal attachment on adolescent development. The current study examined the different effects of paternal attachment and maternal attachment on adolescent psychological health (e.g., self-esteem, depression, life-satisfaction), and the moderating roles of gender, age, and one-child status. Participants were 1506 secondary school students (50.2 % male, grades 7-12) from six regions of China. Results suggested that paternal attachment had stronger effects on adolescents' depressive symptoms than did maternal attachment after controlling for all covariates (e.g., family setting, gender, grade, one-child status, father's and mother's education levels). Moreover, multi-group analysis indicated that the stronger impact of paternal attachment on depressive symptoms in comparison to maternal attachment was only evident in high school boys and only children. This study demonstrated the important role of father-adolescent attachment in adolescent psychological health. Future research, clinical implications, and limitations of the present study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined associations between child symptoms, demographic variables, parent and family characteristics in a long-term follow-up study of 214 outpatient children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The children's mean age was 12.6 ( SD = 2.1) years, and the mean interval from diagnosis to follow-up was 3.7 ( SD = 2.2) years. We compared the characteristics of the clinical group with a community group ( n = 110) recruited from the same catchment area. Parents filled out questionnaires on child symptoms, parent characteristics, and family functioning. The results showed that parents of young boys (<13 years) experienced more parenting stressors than those of adolescent boys (≥13 years), but the opposite was true for parents of girls. Parents of children with both ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in the clinical range experienced significantly more parent and family dysfunctions than those of children with ADHD only (even after controlling for levels of ADHD symptoms in the child). Parents of children in the community group experienced significantly less parent and family dysfunctions than those of children with ADHD. Partial correlations between parent characteristics and child symptoms showed that oppositional symptoms were most strongly associated with parent and family dysfunction. Fathers experienced significantly less parenting stress, parental efficacy, and child involvement than mothers. We conclude that parents of children with ADHD experienced considerable strain related to a broad range of parent and family characteristics. Assessment of such characteristics should be part of routine assessment procedures and a prerequisite for family-focused treatment of children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When risky child and family circumstances cannot be resolved at home, (temporary) 24-h out-of-home placement of the child may be an alternative strategy. To identify specific placement risks and needs, care professionals must have information about the child and his or her family, care history, and social-cultural characteristics at admission to out-of-home care. However, to date information on case characteristics and particular their similarities and differences across the three main types of out-of-home settings (namely foster care, family-style group care, and residential care) is largely lacking. This review compiles and compares characteristics of school-aged children of average intelligence and their families at the time of each child's admission to one of the three care modalities. A scoping review technique that provides a broad search strategy and ensures sufficient coverage of the available literature is used. Based on the 36 studies included, there is consensus that the majority of normally intelligent children in care demonstrate severe developmental and behavioral problems. However, the severeness as well as the kinds of defining characteristics present differ among the children in foster care, family-style group care, and residential care. The review also identifies several existing knowledge gaps regarding relevant risk factors. Future research is recommended to fill these gaps and determine the developmental pathway in relation to children's risks and needs at admission. This will contribute to the development of an evidence-based risks and needs assessment tool that will enable care professionals to make informed referrals to a specific type of out-of-home care when such a placement is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated relationships between dimensions of anxiety, age, gender, and school adjustment in students with specific learning disabilities (SLD). The 177 students with SLD completed measures of anxiety and school adjustment. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicated that age and gender together were not significant predictors of attitude to school, and that after the influence of age and gender had been removed students with more physiological and social anxiety, but less worry tended to have poorer attitudes toward school. A second hierarchical regression indicated that younger students reported more negative attitudes toward teachers, and after controlling for age and gender, students with more social anxiety reported more negative attitudes toward teachers. Implications for school personnel are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the role of parental rearing behaviors in the development of children's anxiety problems has predominantly adopted a dimensional approach studying the effects of isolated parenting behaviors such as overprotection and rejection, while mainly focusing on the mother. Our study was set up to identify parenting typologies of both mothers and fathers, and to explore their relationship with children's anxiety symptoms. Three-hundred-and-ninety non-clinical Portuguese children aged 8-12 years completed a self-report questionnaire on anxiety disorder symptoms, while their fathers (27-64 years of age) and mothers (24-65 years of age) filled in two scales on parental rearing behaviors as well as an index of parental anxiety. Cluster analysis revealed three parenting typologies that were similar for mothers and fathers, and were labeled as overinvolved, disengaged, and supportive parenting. Only the disengaged typology of mothers was associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms on children. Disengaged parents and Overinvolved fathers were associated with higher levels of parental anxiety whereas overinvolved parents evidenced more anxiety/worry about the child. These results suggest that the study of parenting typologies, contextualized within a cultural background, are an invaluable approach because it can be used to explore the effects that different combinations of various parenting behaviors may have on childhood anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]