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Although parental overprotection is theorized to have lasting negative effects throughout a child's life, there is limited empirical evidence available on its long-term significance on adolescent well-being. This preregistered, three-wave longitudinal study investigated the association of maternal and paternal perceived overprotection in early adolescence with the development of (mal)adaptive psychological, academic, and social functioning throughout adolescence. Data (N = 2229; 50.7% girls) from the longitudinal TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) in the Netherlands were used (Mage T1 = 11.11, T2 = 13.57, T3 = 16.28). At T1, adolescents reported on their mothers' and fathers' overprotection. From T1 to T3 adolescents and teachers reported about internalizing problems, academic achievement, prosocial, and antisocial behavior. The results showed concurrent associations between higher levels of perceived overprotection and higher levels of internalizing problems, antisocial behaviors, and (after controlling for parental warmth and rejection) lower levels of academic achievement. Perceived overprotection was positively associated with decreased internalizing problems over time. This longitudinal association disappeared after controlling for baseline levels of internalizing problems, suggesting that this result was less robust than expected. Mothers and fathers did not differ in their associations between perceived overprotection and (mal)adaptive functioning. The findings showed that perceived overprotection is mainly concurrently associated with (mal)adaptive adolescent functioning. Future research recommendations are discussed in terms of stability and bidirectional relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal sensitivity and supportive discipline are important determinants of child self-regulation. Some evidence suggests that specific genetic or temperamental markers determine children's susceptibility to the impact of maternal parenting on child self-regulation. Cortisol reactivity as a susceptibility marker moderating the relation between maternal parenting and child self-regulation has not yet been studied. In this longitudinal population-based study (N = 258), the moderating role of infant cortisol stress response to the Strange Situation Procedure at age 1 was examined in the association between parenting (sensitivity and supportive discipline) at age 3 and child self-regulation at age 3 and 4. Maternal sensitivity and supportive discipline were related to child immediate and prolonged delay of gratification at age 3, and maternal sensitivity was related to working memory skills at age 4. No evidence of differential susceptibility to maternal parenting was found, based on differences in infant cortisol stress response. Highlights: Maternal sensitivity and supportive discipline relate to child immediate and prolonged delay of gratification at age 3. Maternal sensitivity is related to child working memory skills at age 4. No evidence was found for differential susceptibility to maternal parenting based on child stress reactivity. Our findings emphasize the importance of parental socialization for the development of self-regulatory functions in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting stress of mothers has frequently been linked to negative child outcomes. According to Abidin's stress model, this relationship may be explained by dysfunctional parenting behaviors. In this study, we scrutinized the effects of both mothers and fathers in the pathway from parenting stress through parenting behaviors to subsequent adolescent behavior problems. We expected the association between parenting stress and adolescent behavior problems to be partially mediated by maternal and paternal parenting behaviors. Further, we expected crossover effects, i.e., that parenting stress of one parent was related to the parenting behavior of the other parent. We applied a 3-wave longitudinal design using data from 441 adolescents (52% girls) and their parents (419 fathers; 436 mothers). Parents reported on parenting stress (adolescent age range = 10.9–16.3 years). Adolescents reported on perceived parental overreactivity and warmth (age range = 12.9–18.3) and their own internalizing and externalizing problems (age range = 15.9–21.3). Despite cross-sectional significant associations between parenting stress, parenting behavior, and adolescent behavior problems, we found no evidence of longitudinal linkages. One exception was maternal parenting stress, which positively predicted later adolescent externalizing problems. Consequently, the mediating role of parenting behaviors was not supported. We found no crossover effects in the pathway from parenting stress to parenting behaviors. The discrepancies between our longitudinal and cross-sectional findings raise questions about the actual impact that parents have on their children's outcome. Though, targeting mothers' parenting stress may help to reduce adolescent externalizing problems and its ramifications at least to some extent. Highlights: This study tested Abidin's stress model from a family systems perspective, using 3-wave longitudinal data from mothers, fathers, and adolescents. Clear cross-sectional but few longitudinal linkages were found between parenting stress, parenting behavior, and adolescent behavior problems. Only maternal parenting stress was related to later adolescent externalizing problems, but not to internalizing problems nor parenting behaviors. These nuanced findings raise questions about the actual impact that parents have on their children's outcomes. We recommend further longitudinal research to unravel any bidirectional influences between mothers, fathers, and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the association between mothers' and fathers' harsh parenting and sensitive parenting practices and child's executive functions (EF) in early childhood in 607 families. We focused on three broad dimensions of child EF: Emergent metacognition, inhibitory self‐control, and flexibility measured with the parent‐reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function‐Preschool Version. Less sensitive parenting of the mother and harsher parenting of the father were related to lower scores of emergent metacognition and inhibitory self‐control. Parenting was not associated with child flexibility. This study extends previous research on the association between parenting and EF by the focus on the role of the father and demonstrates independent effects of mother and father on child EF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective.Relations between maternal and paternal expressed emotion during pregnancy and observed sensitive parenting behavior of mothers (N = 553) and fathers (N = 518) in early childhood were examined.Design.Expressed emotion, represented by emotional overinvolvement and criticism, was measured around the 34th week of gestation using an adapted version of the Five-Minute Speech Sample. Maternal and paternal sensitivity, indexed by supportiveness and intrusiveness, was observed in a semi-structured interaction between parent and child at age 4. Multilevel analyses were conducted to account for shared variance among the families. Associations between expressed emotion and sensitive parenting behavior were subsequently stratified by parent gender.Results. Emotional overinvolvement during pregnancy was associated with lower levels of sensitive parenting. More specifically, mothers’ emotional overinvolvement was related to lower levels of supportive parenting, and fathers’ overinvolvement was related to higher levels of intrusiveness. Criticism during pregnancy was not associated with dimensions of sensitivity.Conclusions.Mothers’ and fathers’ emotional overinvolvement before the birth of their child was differently related to supportive and intrusive parenting 4 years later, suggesting gender-specific effects of parental expressed emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Little is known about the genetic determinants of sensitive parenting. Two earlier studies examined the effect of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5- HTTLPR) on sensitive parenting, but reported opposite results. In a large cohort we further examined whether 5- HTTLPR is a predictor of observed maternal sensitivity and whether observed child social fearfulness moderates the effect of 5- HTTLPR on maternal sensitivity. Methods The population-based cohort consisted of 767 mother-child dyads. Maternal sensitivity was repeatedly observed at the child's age of 14 months, 36 months and 48 months. Sensitivity was coded using the Ainsworth's rating scales for sensitivity and cooperation and the revised Erickson rating scales for Supportive presence and Intrusiveness. Child social fearfulness was observed using the Stranger Approach episode of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery at 36 months. Results Repeated measurement analyses showed a consistent main effect of maternal 5- HTTLPR on sensitivity; mothers carrying the S-allele were more sensitive toward their children ( p = .005). This effect was not explained by the child's 5- HTTLPR genotype. We found no evidence that child social fearfulness moderated the effect of 5- HTTLPR on sensitivity. Conclusions This study suggests that variations in maternal 5- HTTLPR genotype appear to be involved in the etiology of parenting behavior. The observed effects of this genetic variation are consistent with the notion that parenting may have a genetic component, but large studies are needed to find the specific small molecular effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Dutch cohort study Generation R (N = 1,523), we investigate to what extent the association between father involvement and toddler's behavioral and emotional problems varies by child's gender. This research addresses important limitations in prior work by (a) differentiating between different father involvement tasks, (b) incorporating a diverse set of behavioral and emotional problems, and (c) using a prospective design to answer our research question. Our findings reveal that the negative association between father involvement and toddler's behavioral and emotional problems only holds for boys, and mainly for behavioral problems. The results showed that it is fathers' relatively stronger involvement in tasks labeled as 'responsibility' which contributed to toddlers' lower levels of behavioral problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]