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Relationships are at the heart of well-being. Parental self-efficacy emerges as a powerful construct for understanding parenting and parent–child relationships. However, person-centered approaches that allow identification of different family-specific configurations of mothers’ and fathers’ parental self-efficacy and potential within-family discrepancies remain scarce. Families are more than the sums of their parts, and holistic approaches are needed to deepen our understanding of potential family-level accumulation of relationship well-being and vulnerability. A latent profile analysis of 249 families of preadolescents identified four family profiles of parental self-efficacy: (1) low–low, (2) low–average, (3) high–average, and (4) high–high (a mother’s–a father’s parental self-efficacy within the family). We further applied the Mplus auxiliary function to explore what characterizes mothers’, fathers’, and their preadolescents’ intra- and extra-familial relationships within these profiles. Belonging to the balanced low parental self-efficacy family profile was associated with intra- and extra-familial relationship vulnerability: mothers, fathers, and preadolescents reported the highest social and emotional loneliness, parents perceived their family communication as less open, and preadolescents were evaluated as the least prosocial (in parent, teacher, and peer evaluations) and as the most antisocial (in parent evaluations). Mothers’, fathers’, and preadolescents’ intra- and extra-familial relationship well-being was the strongest in high parental self-efficacy family profiles. Promoting parental self-efficacy can be a promising way to enhance all family members’ relationship well-being. Moreover, as loneliness experiences accumulated in the balanced low parental self-efficacy family profile, efforts to tackle preadolescents’ loneliness should acknowledge the well-being of all family members.

This chapter compares music listening with the infant’s experience of care. Several scholars have argued that music can be used for scaffolding one’s self-experience. Developmental psychologists, in turn, maintain a wide consensus over the claim that, in early interaction, the attuned caregiver supports and modifies the infant’s self-experience in various ways. The chapter brings these phenomena together, illustrating how the examination of the early self/other relation can teach us something important concerning the listener/music relation. The first section elaborates on the scaffolding function of music and clarifies two ambiguities haunting the debate. The second section relocates musical scaffolding in the register of vitality forms. Once the third section has dealt with early interaction, and analyzed the basic functions of the attuned caregiver, the fourth section uses the gained insights to examine the structural similarities between music listening and early experiences of attunement. Ultimately, this investigation reveals the “thanatic function” of music.

This article uses a relationality-sensitive perspective to analyse long-term breastfeeding. The data was gathered through open invitations to write, and the article is based on the written reflections of 39 long-term breastfeeding Finnish mothers. In Finland, the breastfeeding of babies is strongly supported, but long-term breastfeeding (over 12 months) is a more conflicted issue, and the cultural norm of one year of breastfeeding is strong. Through qualitative content analysis, the article shows how mothers reflect on long-term breastfeeding’s effects on their relations with their breastfed children, partners (if any), relatives and healthcare professionals. The findings show that long-term breastfeeding is often a rewarding experience, but that it takes place in a network of relations and has effects on those relations. With a relationality-sensitive approach to breastfeeding, we can better understand how mothering is done in and through relations with others, and how mothers express the need for a change in attitudes towards long-term breastfeeding. This article gives a voice to mothers who are often silent in our society, and therefore participates in the feminist empowerment of women and especially mothers. peerReviewed

Since parental burnout can have detrimental consequences for parents, couples, and children, easy-to-use, reliable, and valid practical tools for the early detection of parental burnout are required. We developed and validated a brief scale to identify burned-out parents and parents at burnout risk. In Study 1, we developed the 5-item Brief Parental Burnout scale (BPBs) based on the gold standard measure of parental burnout, the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). We applied Item Response Theory Graded Response Model (GRM) analyses on the data of 1,725 Finnish parents. Compared against the PBA total score, the five selected items showed both high sensitivity and specificity in screening parental burnout. As expected, burned-out parents and those at burnout risk according to the BPBs displayed higher depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, and more frequent sleep disruptions than non-burned-out parents. In Study 2, we tested the sensitivity and specificity of the BPBs by using both the BPBs and the PBA as independent assessment tools in a sample of 1,088 Finnish parents. In Study 3, the high sensitivity and specificity of the BPBs found in Study 2 were replicated in an independent sample of 104 Belgian parents. We further demonstrated the concurrent validity of the BPBs test score interpretations by showing that burned-out parents, or those at burnout risk, reported higher child neglect and parental violence than non-burned-out parents. Because of its user-friendliness and the strong psychometric properties of its test score, the BPBs is a good candidate to use as a screening tool for parental burnout. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). peerReviewed

Kirja-arvio teoksesta Jenny Björklund, Maternal Abandonment and Queer Resistance in Twenty-First-Century Swedish Literature. Palgrave Macmillan. 293s.

What is it to be “an ideal parent”? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being “responsible and children/family-focused” for Asian parents, being “responsible and proper demeanor-focused” for African parents, and being “loving and responsible” for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zones—being “loving and patient,” there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized “being caring,” while French-speaking parents valued “listening” or being “present.” Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures.

Although parental burnout has been acknowledged as a unique psychological condition that can have serious consequences to families, most research so far has been conducted with mothers. The present study investigated how the descriptions of parenting-related demands and resources differ between burned-out and non-burned-out fathers. Furthermore, we examined what kinds of support or services fathers need to increase their wellbeing as parents. The participants were 10 fathers with the highest level of parental burnout symptoms, and 14 fathers with the lowest level of parental burnout symptom, out of 158 fathers who answered the questionnaire. The qualitative open-ended answers were analyzed using hierarchical thematic analysis and the accounts of the burned-out and non-burned-out fathers were compared. Furthermore, quantitative answers regarding parenting-related stress-factors were compared between the two groups. The results showed that burned-out fathers experienced more parenting-related demands than the non-burned-out fathers and reported needing financial, practical, and social support. Compared to non-burned-out fathers, the burned-out fathers reported more often being dissatisfied with the society, having difficulties integrating work and family life, and being strained by everyday life with children. The reported resources were similar with both burned-out and non-burned-out fathers and consisted mainly of happiness regarding their children. The results can be used in generating services and support for fathers to increase their wellbeing as parents.

During the past decade, the field of family language policy has broadened its scope and turned its attention to diverse family configurations in versatile sociolinguistic contexts. The current study contributes to this endeavor by focusing on two single-parent families who live in Finland and who strive to support Russian as a family language. Applying nexus analysis as an epistemological stance and as an analytical lens, the study takes an emic perspective on family language policy. Furthermore, it examines how family language policy is manifested and negotiated during mother–child play and what discourses shape it. The findings reveal two contrasting ways in which family language policy is manifested and negotiated in the families. Confident family language policy in one of the families is informed by the mother’s historical body (i.e., prior experience of raising children bilingually), while in the other family, discourse in place represented by divergent language ideologies plays a significant role in shaping family language policy and is connected with hesitant decisions about language use in the family.

Introduction: Preterm birth may disturb the typical development of the mother– infant relationship, when physical separation and emotional distress in the neonatal intensive care unit may increase maternal anxiety and create challenges for early interaction. This cluster-randomized controlled trial examined the effects of maternal singing during kangaroo care on mothers’ anxiety, wellbeing, and the early mother– infant relationship after preterm birth. Method: In the singing intervention group, a certified music therapist guided the mothers (n = 24) to sing or hum during daily kangaroo care during 33–40 gestational weeks (GW). In the control group, the mothers (n = 12) conducted daily kangaroo care without specific encouragement to sing. Using a convergent mixed methods design, the quantitative outcomes included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) at 35 GW and 40 GW to assess the change in maternal-state anxiety levels and parent diaries to examine intervention length. Post-intervention, the singing intervention mothers completed a self-report questionnaire consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions about their singing experiences. Results: The mothers in the singing intervention group showed a statistically significant decrease in STAI anxiety levels compared to the control group mothers. According to the self-report questionnaire results, maternal singing relaxed both mothers and infants and supported their relationship by promoting emotional closeness and creating early interaction moments. Discussion: Maternal singing can be used during neonatal hospitalization to support maternal wellbeing and early mother–infant relationship after preterm birth. However, mothers may need information, support, and privacy for singing. peerReviewed

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, different personality characteristics may have influenced parental well-being in different ways. In the present study, we combined variable and person-oriented approaches and examined relationships between resilience, parental burnout, and perfectionism during the lockdown. We first used structural equation modeling to assess the paths between variables. We then used latent profile analysis to examine different profiles of parents based on resilience, perfectionism, and symptoms of parental burnout. Finally, we examined how these profiles differ in terms of relevant background variables. The results showed that resilience predicted parental burnout negatively even after controlling for multidimensional perfectionism. Parents’ age, children's age, children's special needs, and the increase in time spent with children due to lockdown contributed independently to burning out as a parent. Three profiles were found: a resilient profile, perfectionist profile, and burned-out profile. Resilient parents were likely to be men, older, and with less financial difficulties than parents in the other two profiles, and less likely to spend increased time with their children due to lockdown than the burned-out parents. Perfectionist parents, in turn, had older children than the burned-out parents did. These results suggest that resilience may help parents overcome burnout at times of crisis.

This study aimed to examine how parental profiles during homework help (supportive versus controlling) for children in Grades 6 and 9 change over time and relate to children’s motivation and math skills. Participants included 719 mother–child dyads. Children’s perceptions of parental help and math skills were assessed in both grades; children’s math-related self-concept, interest, and mother-rated task persistence were assessed only in Grade 6. Three similar profiles of parental help appeared in both grades. Most mothers and children belonged to the Average support and control profile (around 60% in both grades); 29–33% belonged to the Average support, high control profile; and 8–11% belonged to the Low support, below average control profile. Profiles differed based on children’s self-concept, task persistence, and math skills in Grade 6. Transitions of parental homework help predicted children’s math skills in Grade 9. These findings help to conceptualize parental homework help as a multidimensional construct that may manifest in three different profiles which differentially relate to the child’s skills and motivation. peerReviewed

This study aimed at investigating the reciprocal longitudinal associations between teacher– and parent–child relationships and children’s adjustment behaviors during Grade 1, and the role of the child’s temperament in this interplay. The longitudinal study followed Lithuanian children (229 in kindergarten [T0], 337 at the beginning of Grade 1 [T1], 341 at the end of Grade 1 [T2]), their parents, and their Grade 1 teachers (n = 24). The parents and teachers reported on the quality of their relationship with the children during Grade 1. In addition, parents reported on the children’s temperament in kindergarten, and the teachers reported on the children’s adjustment behaviors during Grade 1. The results showed evocative effects of children’s adjustment behaviors at the beginning of Grade 1 on the relationship quality at the end of Grade 1. In particular, prosocial behavior positively predicted teacher–child closeness, and high externalizing problems positively predicted teacher–child and parent–child conflict. In addition, we identified two indirect paths from children’s temperamental surgency to closeness with teachers via prosocial behavior and to conflicts with teachers via externalizing problems. The results of the present study suggest that children’s characteristics, such as temperament and adjustment behaviors, predict particularly teachers’ and, to some extent, parents’ perceptions of their relationship quality with the child at the beginning of children’s school career. peerReviewed

Our study aimed to investigate the patterns of children’s relationships with their parents and teachers, the development of these relationships during Grade 1, and respective links to children’s learning (in task persistence and performance). Parents of 350 children answered questionnaires about the quality of their relationships with their children; 25 teachers answered questions about children’s task persistence at school and the quality of their relationships with their students; 350 children completed literacy and math performance tests; and six testers evaluated children’s task persistence when completing those tests. All measures were administered twice: at the start and end of Grade 1. Latent profile analyses found two meaningful child profiles that were similar at the beginning and end of Grade 1: average relationship (89% at T1, 85% at T2) and conflictual relationship (11% at T1, 15% at T2) with parents and teachers. These profiles were highly stable throughout Grade 1, except for 15 children who moved from an average relationship to a conflictual relationship profile. This declining trajectory can be characterized by poor relationships with teachers and low task persistence at the end of Grade 1, although they did not perform any worse than other children. Finally, children exhibiting conflictual relationships with their parents and teachers at the beginning of Grade 1 performed worse on spelling and subtraction tasks and demonstrated lower task-persistent behavior at the end of Grade 1 than those with average (good) relationships with parents and teachers. peerReviewed

Kirja-arvostelu teoksesta Douglas Stuart: Shuggie Bain, suom. Laura Jänisniemi, WSOY, 2022, s.496. nonPeerReviewed

In the present study, we examined what kind of parenting style groups (defined by parental warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control) can be identified among contemporary Finnish mothers and fathers and how these parenting style groups are associated with parents’ symptoms of parental burnout. Gender differences in parenting style groups, and in their associations with parental burnout, were also investigated. The survey data were gathered from 1,471 Finnish parents (91.2% mothers). The results of k-means cluster analysis identified six different parenting style groups: authoritarian (13.5%), permissive (15.2%), psychologically controlling (19.4%), uninvolved (14.4%), controlling (12.4%), and authoritative (25.1%), with the authoritative parenting style being the most common. The identified parenting style groups were equally common for mothers and fathers. The results showed further that, independently of gender, parents applying the authoritarian parenting style experienced symptoms of parental burnout the most, whereas those with the authoritative or permissive style reported these symptoms the least. Based on the results, it is suggested that child health care and family centers should pay particular attention to potential risk groups such as parents reporting symptoms of parental burnout and parents characterized by an authoritarian parenting style.

Leikitään ja keskitytään -hankkeessa tuettiin perheitä, joissa 3–5-vuotiaalla lapsella oli tarkkaamattomuuteen ja ylivilkkauteen liittyviä haasteita. Keskeinen tuen väline oli vanhemman ja lapsen yhteinen, päivittäinen leikki. Toiminta oli tarkoitettu varhaisen vaiheen ennaltaehkäiseväksi ja melko lyhyeksi tueksi. Leikitään ja keskitytään -hankkeessa leikittiin tuttuja leikkejä, muun muassa piirrettiin, pelattiin erilaisia pelejä ja sääntöleikkejä sekä tehtiin rentoutumisharjoituksia. Leikeissä, aikuisen rinnalla ja avustamana, lapset pääsivät harjoittelemaan toiminnanohjauksen taitoja, kuten vuoron odottamista, tarkkaavuuden kohdentamista tai toiminnan vauhdin säätelyä. Keskeistä oli vanhemman rooli paitsi leikkijänä myös vahvasti kasvatustietoisena leikinohjaajana. Vanhemmat ohjasivat ja antoivat palautetta 60 Oppimisen ja oppimisvaikeuksien erityislehti, 2022, Vol. 32, No. 2 © Niilo Mäki -säätiö niin, että lapsen itsesäätelyn kehitys mahdollistui leikkien edetessä. Interventio kesti kahdeksan viikon ajan. Vanhemmat ja lapset osallistuivat ryhmätapaamisiin, ja perheissä leikittiin noin 30 minuuttia päivässä. Vanhempien arvioinnit toiminnasta olivat myönteisiä. Alustavien tulosten mukaan toiminnan vaikutukset myötäilevät Uudessa Seelannissa saatuja tutkimustuloksia. Niissä vanhemman ja lapsen yhteisen ja säännöllisen leikin todettiin vähentävän lapsen aggressiivisuutta, ylivilkkautta ja tarkkaamattomuutta. peerReviewed

The purpose of this study was to find out how an adult can enable or hinder the realization of a disabled child’s agency in play interaction. We focused on the child’s play invitations, which were constructed as dispreferred by the adult. The data consisted of nine videotaped playing situations with five nurses and five disabled children in a children’s neurological ward. The microanalysis with interventionist applied conversation analysis focused on one playing situation between one nurse and one three-year-old boy with no spoken language. The nurse responded to the child’s play invitations constructed as dispreferred by her in three different ways. Two of them were about trying to control the situation, either through managing the child’s behaviour or by guiding the plot of the play. The third way of responding was negotiating through dialogical playing, which enabled the realization of the child’s agency. The findings can be utilized widely for developing child-centred practices.

Prior research indicates that adolescent boys are often more active than girls, implying a need for special attention to increase the physical activity levels of adolescent girls. Adolescents are at an age where they are especially susceptible to environmental and social influences but still have a limited amount of autonomy over their own behaviors. The effective physical activity programs implemented at this age may benefit health into adulthood. The fact that adolescents’ physical activity is influenced by many factors indicates that to achieve any behavioral change, interventions must target several levels across the socio-ecological model. During childhood, the family is the primary factor in socializing and shaping engagement in physical activity. This study is part of the Physical Education (PE) Homework Study project which was implemented in a midsized secondary school in the middle of Finland from 2016 to 2020. The goal was to develop one easily approachable way to prevent the decreasing physical activity of adolescent girls. This was done by increasing physical activity times of adolescent girls outside of the school by giving them active PE assignments. The aim was also to explore students’ and their parents’ perceptions of physically active physical education homework. In this part of the study, there were 43 interviews: 38 student interviews and 5 interviews with parents. The analysis process followed the qualitative content analysis (QCA) strategy by Schreirer. In this study, we combined the views of students and parents, and obtained a broad picture of the PE homework assignments given at school but completed at home. According to students and parents, PE homework assignments should be diverse, interesting, and challenging, they should also be provided at flexible schedules outside of school hours with family support. Physical education homework could be a potential approach to influence the physical activity of the student population by involving school curriculum and families.

This study examined three aspects of maternal homework involvement (i.e., the quantity, quality, and source of initiative) and their direct and indirect associations with adolescents’ task-avoidant behavior in homework situations and academic achievement. The sample consisted of Finnish mothers and their adolescents who were transitioning from primary to lower secondary school. Mothers rated the quantity of their homework involvement (i.e., monitoring and help), quality of their homework involvement (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control), and source of initiative (i.e., mother- vs. adolescent-initiated monitoring and help) at the beginning of Grade 6. They also reported on adolescents’ task avoidance in homework situations at the beginning of Grade 7. Information on adolescents’ academic achievement in the spring terms of Grades 5 and 7 was obtained from school registers. The results showed that high maternal psychological control and mother-initiated monitoring were associated with poorer subsequent academic achievement directly and indirectly through higher levels of adolescent task avoidance. Moreover, poor prior academic achievement was associated with higher levels of subsequent task avoidance directly and indirectly through high maternal psychological control and mother-initiated monitoring. Overall, the results highlight the importance of bringing mothers’ knowledge and awareness to their self-initiated and controlling involvement practices and helping them to support adolescents’ learning and motivation in more optimal ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) peerReviewed

Kirja-arvostelu teoksesta Kätlin Kaldmaa | Hanneleele Kaldmaa: Kaksi rakkaustarinaa (Kaks armastuslugu) Suom. Outi Hytönen. Aviador Kustannus 2020. 302 s. nonPeerReviewed

This chapter aims to articulate new ethical possibilities made apparent during experiences of chronic pain, and suggest an ethics of temporality apparent in the mother–child relation. I also aim to bring an understanding of the complexity and diversity of subjectivities in pain and its impact on its social, intersubjective environment. The narratives of mothers who have experienced chronic pain for more than three months help articulate a gap found in the Western model of medical knowledge. I hope to shift attention from the perspective of a patient understood as an objectified object of pain and from pain as a separate object of study to a study of the concrete embodied experiences of mothers in chronic pain. Chronic pain poses a problem both for understanding its medical source but on a more personal level it challenges the very sociality and ethical becoming of subjectivity. The focus in phenomenological approaches to the personal intersubjective dimensions of mothers in pain is usually not considered by the neurobiological model; however, the vulnerability of maternal subjectivity opens a wide range of questions that can target existing gendered gaps in medical sciences and partly in the humanities. Chronic pain in maternal subjectivities illuminates the traumas of not being with- and for-the-child, and the loss of responsibility in modes of diachronic temporality. Mothers are condemned to isolating guilt and shame, but also to their continuous attempts to restore and to hold onto their own ethical becoming, whatever the cost. To address the gender gap is to bring the pain of maternal subjectivity into a common inter-affective dimension, and to accentuate a social organization of affective space. With the help of phenomenology, I aim to reveal a horizon where the gender gap exists—in this case, the complexity of ethical situations that mothers with chronic pain experience, where moral responsibility and the ethical locus of self are questioned, which has been ignored in philosophical and medical knowledge and practice. I draw on the phenomenological methods employed in the works of Edmund Husserl, Emmanuel Levinas, Michel Henry, Arthur Frank, and Cheryl Mattingly to shape the way we understand the meaning of pain. To further support the discussion about the normativity of ethical situation in this chapter, Chapter 13 concentrates on ethical deficiencies of maternal subjectivity as constructed by Western socio-political life. peerReviewed

Suomessa on tilastojen mukaan viime vuosina ollut enemmän talousongelmaisia kotitalouksia kuin koskaan aiemmin. Talous ja sen hoitaminen näyttäisi olevan monelle suuri haaste. Nuoret aikuiset kamppailevat oman taloutensa hallinnan kanssa, ja yhä suuremmalle osalle velkaantumisesta tulee ongelma. Tutkimusten mukaan perheellä nähdään olevan iso vastuu ja vaikutus nuoren talouskasvatukseen. Perheen rahapuheella voi tutkimuksen mukaan olla merkitystä nuoren talousosaamiseen ja asenteisiin rahasta sekä positiivisesti että negatiivisesti. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on kuvata, millaisia kokemuksia nuorilla aikuisilla on lapsuuden perheen vuorovaikutuksesta, mitä ja miten rahasta perheessä puhutaan, ja mitä merkitystä nuoret aikuiset kokevat lapsuuden perheen rahapuheella heille olleen. Tutkielman aineisto koostuu 10 teemahaastattelusta, joissa haastateltiin 21−29-vuotiaita nuoria aikuisia. Aineistoa analysoitiin laadullisen sisältöanalyysin keinoin aineistolähtöisesti. Tutkielmassa muodostettiin perheen vuorovaikutuksen piirteiden mukaisesti kolme perhetyyppiä: mutkaton, ristiriitainen ja haastava perhe, ja tulokset viittaavat siihen, että perheen vuorovaikutuksella on merkitystä perheen rahapuheen laatuun. Tulosten mukaan rahapuhe voidaan toisaalta nähdä neutraalina ja helppona asiana perheessä, kun taas toisaalta se voi aiheuttaa lapsissa ja nuorissa paljon erilaisia ahdistaviakin tunteita. Tulokset osoittavat, että perheissä puhutaan rahasta hyvin eri tavoin, ja joissain perheissä rahapuhetta ei ole juuri lainkaan. Tutkielman tuloksista selvisi, että lapset kuitenkin alkavat hahmottaa rahaa ilmiönä jo joissain tapauksissa hyvin nuorina, jolloin heille voi muodostua erilaisia uskomuksia ja huolia rahasta. Rahasta puhuminen avoimesti, mutta turvallisesti, lapsen ikä huomioiden voi auttaa lasta ja nuorta ymmärtämään rahaa paremmin, ja muodostamaan terveen suhteen rahaan. Tutkielman tulokset viittaavat siihen, että rahapuheella tai sen puuttumisella voi olla paljon merkitystä nuoren aikuisen talousosaamiseen, hänen oman taloutensa hoitamiseen ja hänen asenteeseensa rahaa kohtaan. Tulevaisuudessa rahapuhetta voisi tutkia laajemmalla aineistolla, myös perheen vanhempien näkökulma.

We investigated the role of teenage everyday social ties in educational outcomes by examining the association between teenage time use and educational attainment in adulthood. The sample consisted of young people aged 10–18 from the 1979 Finnish Time Use Survey, and the same respondents’ educational attainment later in life recorded from population register data at the year of 40th birthday (n = 366 men and 393 women). We assessed the associations of time spent with the parents, on studying, leisure activities, as well as social connectedness with friends and participation in extracurricular activities, with educational outcomes. Our findings indicated that time spent with the father is positively associated with the likelihood of completing tertiary education for both daughters and sons. In particular, time spent with lower-education fathers was associated with teenagers’ future tertiary education. However, intense friendships and participation in extracurricular activities were not associated with academic achievement later in life. The findings suggest that educational attainment is partly explained by teenage time spent with the family. Less-educated fathers can enhance the attainment of higher education of their children by spending more time with their teenage children. publishedVersion

This study examined adolescent and maternal factors of the quality of maternal homework involvement and the extent to which the factors predicted adolescents' subsequent achievement through adolescents' and mothers' perceptions of the quality of maternal homework involvement. The sample consisted of 847 Finnish adolescents and their 662 mothers who both rated the quality of homework involvement (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control) in the fall of Grade 6. Adolescents rated their positive and negative academic emotions. Mothers rated their beliefs about adolescents' school success, their positive and negative emotions, and adolescents' task avoidance in homework situations. Information on adolescents' achievement was obtained from school registers. The results showed that adolescent and maternal factors were differently associated with adolescent- and mother-perceived quality of maternal homework involvement. Moreover, higher levels of adolescent task avoidance, mothers' lower beliefs, and negative emotions predicted poorer subsequent achievement via mothers' perception of high psychological control. peerReviewed

In the case of a mother with dysregulating attachment experiences and current enrolment in a parent-infant psychotherapy process, we explored which insecure, hostile/helpless, and prementalizing risk features were similar in her attachment and caregiving representations; which risk features were specific to her caregiving representations; and how these theory-defined features overlapped in detecting caregiving risks. Risk features in the attachment representations were assessed from the adult attachment interview and risk features in the caregiving representations from written psychotherapy notes. We found similar insecure (preoccupied and disorganized), prementalizing and hostile/helpless instances from both the attachment and the caregiving representations. However, confusion between self and child, greater variance in lapses into prementalizing, and specific and concrete fears and helplessness were unique to the caregiving representations. Hostile/helpless instances were found in tandem with almost all insecure and prementalizing instances, indicating this conceptualization captured risks in the caregiving representations most comprehensively. Fearful and helpless caregiving representations occurred somewhat independently from other risk conceptualizations, suggesting they need to be identified as independent phenomena. The results imply that detecting specific manifestations of intergenerational risks from caregiving representations is possible. peerReviewed

The present study examines whether characteristics of parents predict the stability of a child’s best friendships across the primary school years. Participants included 1,523 Finnish children (766 boys) who reported involvement in a total of 1,326 reciprocated friendship dyads in the 1st grade (M = 7.16 years old). At the onset of the study, mothers and fathers completed questionnaires describing their own parenting (i.e., behavioral control, psychological control, and affection toward the child) and depressive symptoms. Child scores for peer status (i.e., acceptance and rejection) were derived from 1st grade peer nomination data. Discrete-time survival analyses predicted the occurrence and timing of friendship dissolution, across 1st to 6th grades, for friendships that began in 1st grade. Parent depression and parent psychological control uniquely predicted subsequent child friendship dissolution, above and beyond the contribution of peer status variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) peerReviewed

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis of studies examining the determinants of behaviors performed by parents to promote the health of their child, termed "parent-for-child health behaviors," based on an extended theory of planned behavior. Specifically, the study aimed to meta-analyze correlations among theory of planned behavior constructs, planning, and past behavior, and use them to test theory predictions and effects of salient moderators. METHOD: A systematic search identified 46 studies that provided correlations between at least one theory construct and intention or behavior for parent-for-child behaviors. Theory predictions were tested using meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Studies were also coded for candidate moderators of model effects: child age, sample type, time lag between measures of theory constructs and parent-for-child health behavior, study quality, and behavior type, and the proposed model was estimated at each level of the moderator. RESULTS: Results supported theory predictions with attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predicting parent-for-child health behavior participation mediated by intention. Perceived behavioral control and planning also directly predicted behavior, and planning partially mediated effects of intention on behavior. Model effects held when controlling for past behavior, supporting the sufficiency of the theory in this behavioral domain. Few moderator effects were found on relations between theory constructs. CONCLUSION: Findings identified the social cognition determinants of parent-for-child health behaviors, and highlight the potential processes by which they relate to behavior. The current model signposts potentially modifiable targets for behavioral interventions aimed at fostering parental participation in behaviors that promote the health of their children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Tunteiden säätelyllä tarkoitetaan tunteiden voimakkuuteen, kestoon ja laatuun vaikuttamista. Tehokas tunteiden säätely edistää yksilöiden elämäntyytyväisyyttä ja mielenterveyttä. Erilaisten tunteiden säätelyn keinojen, kuten kognitiivisen uudelleen arvioimisen ja tunteiden ilmaisun tukahduttamisen, avulla yksilöiden on mahdollista saavuttaa tunteiden säätelyyn liittyviä tavoitteitaan. Tunteiden säätelyn kehitykseen vaikuttaa vanhemman ja lapsen välisen suhteen laatu sekä lapsen ominaisuudet, kuten temperamentti. Erilainen muovautuvuus -malli olettaa, että vanhemmuus vaikuttaa yksilöllisellä tavalla lapsiin. Tietyt lapset ovat ominaisuuksiensa vuoksi alttiimpia sekä vanhemmuuden kielteisille että myönteisille vaikutuksille. Lapsen haastavan temperamentin on havaittu olevan ominaisuus, joka muovaa ympäristötekijöiden vaikutusta lapsen kehitykseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tarkastella, ennustaako äiti-lapsisuhteen laatu keskilapsuudessa lapsen tunteiden säätelyn keinojen käyttöä myöhäisnuoruudessa. Hypoteesina on, että korkea äiti-lapsisuhteen laatu ennustaa korkeaa kognitiivista uudelleen arvioimista ja alhainen äiti-lapsisuhteen laatu korkeaa tunteiden ilmaisun tukahduttamista. Lisäksi tarkastellaan, toimiiko lapsen haastavuus muovaavana tekijänä äiti-lapsisuhteen ja tunteiden säätelyn keinojen välillä. Hypoteesina on, että lapsen korkea haastavuus 12 kuukauden iässä voimistaa äiti-lapsisuhteen laadun vaikutuksia tunteiden säätelyyn. Tutkimusaineisto on pitkittäistutkimuksesta, jossa on seurattu perheitä raskausajalta lasten nuoruusikään asti. Tämän tutkimuksen aineisto koostui 247 nuoresta ja heidän äideistään. Äidin ja lapsen välisen suhteen laatua kartoitettiin äidin täyttämällä kyselyllä (SFIT) lapsen ollessa 7–8-vuotias. Nuoret vastasivat tunteiden säätelyn keinoja mittaavaan itsearviokyselyyn (ERQ) 17–19-vuoden iässä. Kysely mittaa, kuinka paljon nuori käyttää kognitiivista uudelleen arvioimista sekä tunteiden ilmaisun tukahduttamista tunteiden säätelyn keinoina. Molemmat vanhemmat arvioivat lapsensa haastavuutta osana vanhemmuuden stressiä mittaavaa kyselyä (PSI), kun lapsi oli 12 kuukauden ikäinen. Tilastollisena menetelmänä käytettiin hierarkkista regressioanalyysia. Hypoteesin vastaisesti tulokset eivät osoittaneet yhteyttä äiti-lapsisuhteen laadun ja nuorten käyttämien tunteiden säätelyn keinojen välillä. Äiti-lapsisuhteen laatu keskilapsuudessa ei ollut yhteydessä lapsen kognitiiviseen uudelleen arvioimiseen eikä tunteiden ilmaisun tukahduttamiseen myöhäisnuoruudessa. Vastoin hypoteesia lapsen haastavuus ei osoittautunut muovaavaksi tekijäksi äiti-lapsisuhteen laadun ja tunteiden säätelyn keinojen välillä. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella näyttäisi siltä, että normaaliväestössä ilmenevä vaihtelu äiti-lapsisuhteen laadussa ei merkittävällä tavalla ennusta ainakaan epäsuotuisaa tunteiden säätelyä nuoruudessa. Jatkotutkimusta lapsen tunteiden säätelyn kehitykseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä tarvitaan lapsen eri ikävaiheissa ja erilaisissa riskiryhmissä.

Kirja-arvostelu teoksesta Elizabeth Strout, Pikkukaupungin tyttö, Tammi, s. 461, suom. Marja Haapio nonPeerReviewed

Background: Parental support and participation in physical activity (PA) with children and parents' acting as a role model for less sedentary behaviors (SB) are critical factors for children's healthier lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between mothers' enjoyment and participants' sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) as a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using data from Moving Sound RCT in the Pirkanmaa area of Finland. Methods: The participants were 108 mother-child dyads (child age 5-7 years) who completed the eight-week exercise intervention using a movement-to-music video program in their homes. Mothers' enjoyment was examined using a modified version of the enjoyment in sport questionnaire. The proportion of SB, standing, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, and Total PA were derived from accelerometers at baseline and during the final week of the intervention. Analyses were performed using linear mixed-effect models for (1) intervention and control groups, (2) groups based on mothers' enjoyment. Results: The results highlighted that mothers' enjoyment of exercise with their children was overall high. Although there was no difference between the intervention and control groups, mothers in the intervention group increased their enjoyment during the intervention (p = 0.007). With mothers' higher enjoyment at baseline, children's light PA increased (p < 0.001), and with mothers' lower enjoyment, children's SB increased (p = 0.010). Further, if mothers' enjoyment decreased during the study, their own LPA increased (p = 0.049), and their children's SB increased (p = 0.013). If mothers' enjoyment remained stable, children's light PA (p = 0.002) and Total PA (p = 0.034) increased. Conclusions: In this RCT, no differences were found between the intervention and control groups or groups based on mothers' enjoyment, possibly due to the low power of the study. However, mothers' enjoyment of exercise with their children increased within the intervention group, and mothers' enjoyment influenced children's SB and PA. For future studies, it would be essential to focus on children's enjoyment and factors behind the behavior change. BACKGROUND: Parental support and participation in physical activity (PA) with children and parents' acting as a role model for less sedentary behaviors (SB) are critical factors for children's healthier lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between mothers' enjoyment and participants' sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) as a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using data from Moving Sound RCT in the Pirkanmaa area of Finland. METHODS: The participants were 108 mother-child dyads (child age 5-7 years) who completed the eight-week exercise intervention using a movement-to-music video program in their homes. Mothers' enjoyment was examined using a modified version of the enjoyment in sport questionnaire. The proportion of SB, standing, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, and Total PA were derived from accelerometers at baseline and during the final week of the intervention. Analyses were performed using linear mixed-effect models for (1) intervention and control groups, (2) groups based on mothers' enjoyment. RESULTS: The results highlighted that mothers' enjoyment of exercise with their children was overall high. Although there was no difference between the intervention and control groups, mothers in the intervention group increased their enjoyment during the intervention (p = 0.007). With mothers' higher enjoyment at baseline, children's light PA increased (p

Eron jälkeinen yhteistyövanhemmuus on moniulotteinen ilmiö. Yhteistyövanhem- muutta toteuttaessaan aikuiset joutuvat pohtimaan uudella tapaa niin arvojaan, asen- teitaan kuin arkeaan. Eronneet vanhemmat tai muut lapselle läheiset aikuiset tarvitse- vat usein monenlaista tukea yhteistyövanhemmuudessaan. nonPeerReviewed

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin, miten lasten syntymän jälkeen vammautuneet äidit rakensivat identiteettiään äiteinä vammautumisensa jälkeen. Tutkimusaineisto koostui viiden vammautuneen naisen haastatteluista, jotka analysoitiin narratiivisesti. Vammautuneiden äitien kertomuksista löytyi neljä kerronnallista jännitettä, joiden kautta he rakensivat äitiysidentiteettiään: 1) merkityksetön vai merkityksellinen elämä, 2) lapsen rakkauden menettäminen vai äidin ensisijaisen aseman säilyttäminen, 3) kyvyttömyys toimia äitinä vai äitinä selviytyminen sekä 4) riippuvaisuus lapsesta vai hoivan antajana toimiminen. Tutkimuksemme perusteella voidaan sanoa, että äitiydestä ja lapsista muodostui naisille tärkeä suojaavatekijä vammautumisen tuomiin elämänmuutoksiin sopeutumisessa ja he pystyivät rakentamaan voimaantuneen äitiysidentiteetin vammautumisen jälkeen. peerReviewed

Tässä luvussa luodaan katsaus siihen, mitä tutkimustiedon valossa tiedetään vanhempien ja kodin merkityksestä kouluoppimiselle ja mihin kotiympäristön ja perhevuorovaikutuksen osa-alueisiin olisi syytä kiinnittää huomiota pyrittäessä tukemaan erityisesti niiden lasten oppimista, joilla on oppimisessaan vaikeuksia. Tässä luvussa käytetään käsitettä vanhemmat, jolla viitataan kaikkiin vanhemmuuden tehtäviä hoitaviin huoltajiin. Keskeisenä näkökulmana tuodaan esiin oppimiseen liittyvien prosessien yksilöllisyys ja kaksisuuntaisuus: vanhempien osallistumisen merkitys lapsen oppimiselle voi olla erilainen riippuen lapsesta, ja lapsen ominaisuudet vaikuttavat siihen, miten vanhemmat hänen kanssaan toimivat ja millaista tukea he lapselleen tarjoavat. nonPeerReviewed

Miten päihdetyössä määritellään lasten ja aikuisten välisiä suhteita, kun vanhemmat käyttävät ongelmallisesti päihteitä? Millainen toiminta on lapsille päihdetyön avunsaajana mahdollista? Artikkelissa kysymyksiin vastataan päihdetyön erikoislehdestä vuosina 2000–2013 kerätyn aineisto avulla. Parental substance abuse is known to cause a range of problems for children. This article looks at how childadult relations are defined in professional texts dealing with parental substance abuse and associated problems. The dataset consists of 86 texts published in 2000– 2013 in the A-Clinic Foundation’s Tiimi journal, which is dedicated to issues of substance abuse prevention and treatment. The meanings given to children whose parents had substance abuse problems were studied using the method of frame analysis. The analysis revealed four frames in which childhood and child-adult relations are defined in different ways: the legal frame, psycho-emotional frame, development frame and everyday life frame. The legal frame views children as victims of parents who abuse substances. In the psycho-emotional frame, the focus is on the negative emotions engendered in children by parents’ substance abuse. The development frame constructs children as not yet adults; they are seen as young individuals in the process of becoming adults. In the everyday life frame, the child is mostly seen as the object of maternal care. Despite their differences, there are also some similarities between these four frames. For example, in all of them adults appear as active and children mostly as passive agents. Research and practice should focus more critically on childhood, intergenerational relationships and substance abuse issues, all of which are complex phenomena revolving around social interaction. More attention needs to be paid to the role of society and the local community in enabling a good childhood when children have substance abusing parents. peerReviewed

Background Children who are not accepted in their peer group are at risk of developing internalizing problem behaviors. It is possible, however, that supportive parenting can provide a buffer against the detrimental effects of low peer acceptance. Objective This study examined maternal and paternal affection and psychological control as moderators of the association between children’s peer acceptance during the critical transition to primary school and level and subsequent development of internalizing problem behaviors from first to sixth grade. Method A total of 608 children (264 girls, 344 boys) were rated by their teachers on their internalizing problems in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Children’s peer acceptance was measured in the first grade using a sociometric nomination procedure. At the same time point, mothers (n = 432) and fathers (n = 281) completed questionnaires measuring their levels of affection and psychological control. Results The results of latent growth curve modelling showed, first, that on average children’s internalizing problems decreased over the school years. Second, peer acceptance was associated with the development of internalizing problems: the higher the peer acceptance, the bigger the decrease—and the lower the peer acceptance, the smaller the decrease—in the level of internalizing problems across time. However, high maternal affection provided a buffer against this impact of low peer acceptance. Among boys, low levels of maternal psychological control also provided a buffer against the effects of low peer acceptance. No significant results were found on the moderating role of fathers’ parenting styles. Conclusion Overall, the results suggested that mothers’ emotionally sensitive and supporting caregiving may protect children from the harmful long-term effects of low peer acceptance. peerReviewed

Isä on lapselle tärkeä. Hänen kanssaan potkitaan palloa, herkutellaan kahdestaan tai askarrellaan hamahelmillä. Lapsi näkee isänsä yhä useammin myös keittiössä tekemässä ruokaa. Tällaisia asioita lapset kertoivat isästään, mutta mitä nämä tarinat kertovat meille nykypäivän isyydestä? Materialla näyttää olevan monenlaisia tehtäviä lasten arjessa ja lapsen ja isän suhteessa. Näyttää myös siltä, että lasten käsitykset ja kokemukset miesvanhemmasta sekä tukevat että rikkovat perinteistä mieskuvaa ja perheen sukupuoliroolijakoja. nonPeerReviewed

The scale of human cooperation and conflict is outstanding and evolutionarily challenging to explain. Cooperative and hostile behaviours have deep evolutionary roots and adaptive functions. However, theoretical models differ in how they explain these functions. Thus, my thesis aims to empirically test functional predictions about human cooperation and conflict. These experiments use a behavioural ecological framework, and pay also attention to the effects of social and developmental environments. In the first two chapters, I studied how group composition affects cooperation and individual success, and how people react to information of each other’s cooperative behaviour. I found that cooperative contributions increased with greater group heterogeneity for those with high baseline cooperativeness, and decreased for those with lower baseline cooperativeness. However, people were insensitive to pre-information of group composition, even though group composition was essential for cooperation to be successful. In Chapter III, I compared evolutionary theories of human intergroup conflict by empirically testing whether intergroup aggression is motivated by public goods as predicted by models of group selection (i.e. Parochial Altruism models) or by private goods as predicted by models of individual selection (i.e. Male Warrior and Chimpanzee models). My results challenge group selection models by implying that private goods motivate intergroup hostilities even when they are socially inefficient. In chapter IV, I propose and test a hypothesis that harsh parental treatment intensifies group-beneficial prosocial and bellicose norms and thus contributes to group success in intergroup conflicts. I found, in accordance with my hypothesis, that harsh parental treatment increased both these traits in males and harsh parenting may thus bear cultural evolutionary consequences. Together, my results contribute further knowledge to our evolutionary understanding of the dynamics, backgrounds and patterns of human cooperation and conflict.

The present study examined adolescents’ and mothers’ temperament types and their roles in the socioemotional functioning of early adolescents. A total of 869 sixth-grade students and 668 mothers participated in the study. The students rated their temperament and socioemotional functioning and the mothers rated their own temperament. Latent profile analyses identified four temperament types among the adolescents (resilient, reserved, average, and mixed) and three types among the mothers (resilient, average, and mixed). The results showed that the adolescents with resilient or reserved temperaments reported significantly fewer conduct problems and emotional symptoms, less hyperactivity, and higher prosociality than adolescents with a mixed temperament type. The most adaptive adolescent–mother temperament matches were between a resilient or reserved adolescent and a resilient or average mother; these adolescents reported the highest levels of socioemotional functioning. Mothers with mixed or average temperaments were related to fewer conduct problems and emotional symptoms and less hyperactivity among adolescents with a mixed temperament, while mothers with a resilient temperament type were beneficial for prosocial behavior among adolescents with a mixed temperament. These findings increase understanding of the role of temperament and the interplay between adolescents’ and mothers’ temperaments in the development of early adolescents’ socioemotional adjustment.

Tämä tutkimus on osa Jyväskylän yliopiston psykologian laitoksen tutkijoiden toteuttamaa ja Suomen Akatemian rahoittamaa TIKAPUU – Alakoulusta yläkouluun -tutkimushanketta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää yksinäisyyden ja omaehtoisen yksinolon yhteyttä varhaisnuorten kouluviihtyvyyteen. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli tarkastella, ovatko yksinäisyyden ja omaehtoisen yksinolon yhteydet kouluviihtyvyyteen erilaisia sen mukaan, missä määrin nuori pystyy uskoutumaan vanhemmilleen. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu syksyllä 2014 tutkimukseen osallistuneista kuudesluokkalaisista nuorista (N = 856). Oppilaat vastasivat kysymyksiin yksinäisyydestä, omaehtoisesta yksinolemisesta, kouluviihtyvyydestä sekä vanhemmille uskoutumisesta. Tulokset osoittivat, että mitä enemmän nuori koki yksinäisyyttä tai oli omaehtoisesti yksin, sitä heikommin hän tunsi viihtyvänsä koulussa. Vanhemmille uskoutuminen oli puolestaan yhteydessä nuorten parempaan kouluviihtyvyyteen. Nuorten yksinäisyyden yhteys kouluviihtyvyyteen ei riippunut vanhemmille uskoutumisesta. Sen sijaan omaehtoisen yksinolon ja kouluviihtyvyyden välisen yhteyden voimakkuudelle vanhemmille uskoutumisella oli merkitystä. Tulosten pohjalta voidaan todeta, että yksinäisyys ja omaehtoinen yksinolo ovat kielteisesti yhteydessä nuorten kouluviihtyvyyteen. Toisaalta vanhemmille uskoutuminen lisäsi nuorten kouluviihtyvyyttä, ja runsaan vanhemmille uskoutumisen havaittiin suojaavan yksinolon kielteiseltä yhteydeltä kouluviihtyvyyteen. peerReviewed

Jokainen meistä muodostanee mielessään jonkinlaisia merkityksiä ja mielleyhtymiä kuullessaan kirjainyhdistelmän adhd ja rientänee jakamaan tekemiään arjen diagnooseja tuttavistaan (”sillä ja sillä varmaan on se adhd, koska…”) tai, leikkimielisesti kenties, itsestään (”mulla on varmaan se adhd, koska…”). Diagnostisiin ja lääketieteellisiin selitysmalleihin kiinnittyvät tavat tehdä sosiaalisia, vuorovaikutuksessa tapahtuvia ilmiöitä ymmärrettäväksi on yleisesti hyväksytty kodin ja koulun arjen käytänteisiin. Väitöskirjatutkimuksessa, jonka tematiikkaan tämä lectio praecursoria johdattelee, tutkittiin 18 diagnosoidun lapsen äidin ja 13 diagnosoidun nuoren aktiivisuuden ja tarkkaavuuden häiriön (adhd) diagnoosille antamia merkityksiä. Tämä tutkimus on vetoomus niiden lasten puolesta, jotka tulevat piilotetuiksi stereotypioiden ja leimojen taakse – jotka lopulta itse piiloutuvat niiden taakse – sekä vetoomus sellaisten vuorovaikutuskäytänteiden puolesta, jotka ottavat lasten tunteet ja tarpeet huomioon ja siten tukevat heidän kasvuaan ja kehitystään. Lapsen kohtaamiseen ei tarvita diagnooseja eikä muita identiteettileimoja. nonPeerReviewed