Search

Emotional overinvolvement (EOI) in parents’ Five Minute Speech Samples (FMSSs; Magaña-Amato, 1993) is thought to measure overconcern and enmeshment with one’s child. Although related to maladaptive outcomes in studies of adult children, FMSS EOI evidences varied relations with behavior problems in studies with young children. These mixed findings may indicate that certain FMSS EOI criteria reflect inappropriate and excessive involvement with adult children, but do not indicate maladaptive processes when parenting younger children. Thus, this study evaluated relations of each FMSS EOI criterion with changes in child behavior problems from preschool to first grade in a community sample of 223 child–mother dyads (47.98% female; Wave 1 M(age) 49.08 months; 56.50% Hispanic/Latina). Maternal FMSS EOI ratings were obtained at Wave 1, and independent examiners rated child externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at Wave 1 and again 2 years later. Path analyses indicated that both the self-sacrifice/overprotection (SSOP) and statements of attitude (SOAs) FMSS EOI criteria predicted increased externalizing problems. In contrast, excessive detail and exaggerated praise were not related to child externalizing behavior problems, and Emotional Display was not evident in this sample. None of the FMSS EOI criteria evidenced significant relations with internalizing behavior problems. Multigroup comparisons indicated that the effect of SOAs on externalizing behavior problems was significant for boys but not for girls, and there were no significant group differences by race/ethnicity. These findings point to the salience of SSOP and SOAs for understanding the developmental significance of EOI in early development.

Objectives: Experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination are associated with a host of problems in adolescence and adulthood, yet little is known about if and how such experiences influence children. Likewise, ethnic-racial identity (ERI) research has focused on adolescent and adult development to the detriment of understanding if and how ERI might influence early development, particularly in the context of ethnic-racial discrimination. To address these gaps, this study tested the hypotheses that a) children's perceived experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination would predict elevated behavior problems, and b) children's ERI with respect to their exploration of the meaning of their ethnicity-race and their sense of commitment to their ethnic-racial group(s) would mitigate this relation.Method: Path analyses evaluated the prospective contribution of children's perceived ethnic-racial discrimination at age 7 (N = 172) to examiner ratings of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems one year later as moderated by child-reported ERI.Results: Perceived experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination predicted increased internalizing and externalizing behavior problems one year later, but only among children who had relatively less-well developed ERI, particularly with regard to their sense of commitment to their ethnic-racial group(s).Conclusion: These findings document the incidence and the prospective negative impact of children's experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination on their behavioral adjustment, while illuminating the heretofore underappreciated protective role of ERI on children's development in contexts of discrimination. By cultivating ERI among children, parents, educators, and other community leaders can help children navigate institutionalized racism, and the prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory practices it engenders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistent with models of environmental sensitivity (Pluess, 2015), research suggests that the effects of parents' behaviors on child adjustment are stronger among children who struggle to regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors compared with children with better self-regulation. This study extended prior research by assessing maternal representations of the child, which presumably underlie mothers' parenting behaviors, to evaluate the moderating influence of preschoolers' self-regulation on relations between mothers' representations and changes in children's negative and positive developmental adjustment outcomes from preschool to first grade. Participants were 187 mothers and their preschoolers. Mothers' representations were assessed via the coherence of their verbal narratives regarding their preschooler and teachers reported on preschoolers' self-regulation. In preschool and first grade, examiners rated children's externalizing behavior problems and ego-resilience, and teachers rated children's externalizing behavior problems and peer acceptance. Consistent with the environmental sensitivity framework, the coherence of mothers' narratives predicted changes in adjustment among children with self-regulation difficulties, but not among children with better self-regulation. Preschoolers with self-regulation difficulties whose mothers produced incoherent narratives showed increased externalizing behavior problems, decreased ego-resilience, and lower peer acceptance across the transition to school. In contrast, preschoolers with better self-regulation did not evidence such effects when their mothers produced incoherent narratives. The implications of these findings for understanding and supporting children's adjustment during the early school years are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]