Children's Adjustment Research Articles

Advancing differential susceptibility research: Development and validation of the temperamental sensitivity Q-scale.

Temperamental sensitivity (TS), which is a correlated suite of traits reflecting a lower threshold of environmental stimulation and heightened responsivity to a range of environmental contexts, is an empirically documented susceptibility factor that increases children's plasticity to supportive and harsh family environments. To expand the limited options for assessing TS, this article tested the psychometric properties of a new Q-set measure (i.e., TS Q-scale) derived from the California Child Q-Set (CCQ-Set) and completed by experimenters. Participants in Study 1 consisted of 243 mothers, their partners, and their preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years; 56% girls; 54% Black or multiracial; 16% Latinx). For Study 2, participants included 201 mothers and their young children (Mage = 2.25 years; 44% girls; 63% Black or multiracial; 11% Latinx). Both longitudinal studies utilized multimethod, multiinformant measurement batteries. The TS Q-scale evidenced satisfactory internal consistencies across both studies. Support for the convergent and discriminant validity in Study 1 was evident in its large, unique, and significantly stronger association with a standard, more extensive, observational assessment of TS when compared with conventional dimensions of temperament. In each study, the TS Q-scale significantly moderated the association between family functioning and latent change analyses of children's functioning for most of the forms of child adjustment. Supporting its predictive validity as a differential susceptibility attribute, children with higher scores on the TS Q-scale exhibited substantially better functioning than their peers in supportive socialization contexts and considerably worse functioning in harsh rearing conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental identity and socialization mediate parental racial discrimination's impact on child adjustment

AbstractObjectiveThe study explored the mediating role of Chinese American parents' ethnic–racial identity (ERI) in linking their discrimination experiences, ethnic–racial socialization (ERS), and their children's mental health, testing whether neighborhood racial diversity and perceived Chinese density moderated these mediation paths.BackgroundDuring COVID‐19, Chinese American families faced increased discrimination, impacting their mental well‐being. However, few studies have examined how parents' discrimination experiences influence their ERI, ERS practice, and ultimately their children's mental health difficulties.MethodData from 294 Chinese immigrant parents (Mage = 44.28, 79% female) were collected in two waves, 2020 and 2021. Path analysis tested if parental discrimination affects their ERI and ERS, and children's mental health. Multigroup analysis assessed if mediation models varied for families living in communities with low versus high racial diversity or Chinese density.ResultsParental racism‐related stress at T1 had significant indirect effects on parental ERS practices (higher use of maintenance of heritage culture and lower use of avoidance of outgroups practice) at T2 via parental ERI (greater private regard) at T2. Parental racial discrimination (perceived sinophobia in the media and racism‐related stress) at T1 had significant indirect effects on children's mental health difficulties at T2 via parental ERS practices (use of maintenance of heritage culture and avoidance of outgroups practices) at T2. The neighborhood racial diversity moderated the mediation model.ConclusionThese findings advance the understanding of both individual (i.e., parental ERI) and contextual factors (i.e., neighborhood racial diversity) in the complex associations between parents' discrimination experiences and children's mental health difficulties.

Factors associated with the use of oral health care services among Canadian children and youth.

This study investigates the association between dental insurance, income, and dental care access for Canadian children and youth aged 1 to 17 years. It contributes to a baseline understanding of oral health care use before the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). This study used data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (n=47,347). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were employed to assess the association of dental insurance, adjusted family net income, and other sociodemographic factors on oral health care visits and cost-related avoidance of oral health care. A large percentage of children under the age of 5 had never visited a dentist (79.8% of 1-year-olds to 16.4% of 4-year-olds). Overall, 89.6% of Canadian children and youth aged 5 to 17 had visited a dental professional within the past 12 months: 93.1% of those who were insured and 78.5% of those who were uninsured. Insured children and youth had a 4.5% cost-related avoidance of dental care, contrasting with 23.3% for uninsured children and youth. After adjustment for sociodemographic variables, children and youth with dental insurance were nearly three times more likely (odds ratio [OR]: 2.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.60 to 3.33) to have visited a dental professional in the past 12 months than uninsured children and youth. Having dental insurance (OR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.16 to 0.21) was protective against barriers to seeing a dental professional because of cost. There was a strong income gradient for both dental service outcomes. The study emphasizes the significant association of dental insurance and access to oral health care for children and youth. It highlights a significant gap between insured and uninsured children and youth and points out the influence of sociodemographic and income factors on this disparity.

Individualism, collectivism and conformity in nine countries: Relations with parenting and child adjustment.

This study investigated how individualism, collectivism and conformity are associated with parenting and child adjustment in 1297 families with 10-year-old children from 13 cultural groups in nine countries. With multilevel models disaggregating between- and within-culture effects, we examined between- and within-culture associations between maternal and paternal cultural values, parenting dimensions and children's adjustment. Mothers from cultures endorsing higher collectivism and fathers from cultures endorsing lower individualism engage more frequently in warm parenting behaviours. Mothers and fathers with higher-than-average collectivism in their culture reported higher parent warmth and expectations for children's family obligations. Mothers with higher-than-average collectivism in their cultures more frequently reported warm parenting and fewer externalising problems in children, whereas mothers with higher-than-average individualism in their culture reported more child adjustment problems. Mothers with higher-than-average conformity values in their culture reported more father-displays of warmth and greater mother-reported expectations for children's family obligations. Fathers with higher-than-average individualism in their culture reported setting more rules and soliciting more knowledge about their children's whereabouts. Fathers who endorsed higher-than-average conformity in their culture displayed more warmth and expectations for children's family obligations and granted them more autonomy. Being connected to an interdependent, cohesive group appears to relate to parenting and children's adjustment.

Parental Involvement and Stress in Children's Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study with Portuguese Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period.

Parental involvement (PI) has particular relevance on children's academic adjustment and on children's general quality of life (QoL). QoL can be influenced by parental stress, specifically the stress suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the differences during the pandemic period (before, after and with no lockdown), comparing these constructs with parental educational level to provide predictors of their children's quality of life. Data collection was performed with a non-probability convenience sampling procedure. It was composed of 129 parents, mainly women (71.8%), with children aged between 6 and 12 years. The family's sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, as well as the PI, parental stress, and children's QoL. The comparison between the three times revealed an increase in the children's QoL, but no differences were found in PI. Based on the parental educational level, as defined by academic qualifications and split into superior and non-superior levels, it is possible conclude that engagement in school activities and parents' meetings increased in the parents with superior education levels and decreased in the parents with lower education levels. This study concluded that despite this difficult and uncertain pandemic period, these parents were able to maintain important aspects of their children's lives.

Family economic stress and preschooler adjustment in the Chinese Context: The role of child routines

Guided by the family stress model, this study tested competing mediating vs moderating hypotheses regarding the role of consistent child routines in the relation between family economic stress and child adjustment (i.e., behavioral problems and social skills). A total of 508 parents of preschool-aged children from China completed measures of family economic stress, child routines, and child adjustment. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating and moderating effects of consistency in child routines in separate models. Both models indicated good fit to the data. Specifically, consistency in child routines mediated the relation between economic stress and children’s behavioral outcomes. However, the competing model showed that consistency in child routines did not emerge as a moderator. The present study suggested that parents having a higher level of economic stress had more difficulties in maintaining consistent child routines in the family context, which, in turn, was associated with children’s higher levels of behavioral problems and poorer social skills. Nevertheless, consistent child routines did not buffer the negative effects of family economic stress on child adjustment.

Influence of novel CYP2C-haplotype on proton pump inhibitor pharmacokinetics in children.

In this brief report, we provide an analysis of the influence of a novel CYP2C haplotype (CYP2C:TG) on proton pump inhibitor (PPI) pharmacokinetics (PK) in children. The CYP2C:TG haplotype has been proposed to be associated with increased CYP2C19 activity. We sought to determine if this CYP2C:TG haplotype resulted in similar alterations in metabolism for proton pump inhibitors, which are primarily metabolized by CYP2C19. In a cohort of 41 children aged 6-21 participating in a PPI pharmacokinetic study, effects of the CYP2C:TG allele were assessed by fitting two linear regression models for each of the six PK outcomes assessed, the second of which accounted for the presence of the CYP2C:TG allele. The difference in R2 values between the two models was computed to quantify the variability in the outcome that could be accounted for by the CYP2C:TG allele after adjustment for the CYP2C19 genotype. We found the CYP2C:TG haplotype to have no measurable additive impact on CYP2C19-mediated metabolism of PPIs invivo in older children and adolescents. The findings of this study do not support the clinical utility of routine testing for the CYP2C:TG haplotype to guide PPI dose adjustments in children.

Parental differential warmth, hostility, and sibling differences in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analysis.

Parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings is associated with differences in children's behavioral adjustment. The current meta-analysis examined the extent to which associations between relative PDT and sibling differences in behavior problems differ by type of parenting behavior (i.e., differential hostility vs. differential warmth) and type of behavior problems (i.e., differential externalizing vs. internalizing behavior problems). In September 2021, we systematically searched APA PsycInfo and Web of Science, yielding 2,259 unique hits with 19 eligible publications reporting on 215 effect sizes from 13 unique samples. The overall association between relative PDT (i.e., receiving less warmth and more hostility than one's sibling) and sibling differences in behavior problems was small but significant. Associations were stronger for differential hostility compared to differential warmth and for differential externalizing compared to differential internalizing behavior problems. Particularly marked was the finding that siblings who received more hostility from their parents showed higher levels of externalizing behavior problems. Future research investing in further dismantling the association between within-family PDT and sibling differences in adjustment is warranted to better understand why parents treat siblings differentially and to guide family support initiatives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Children under fire: The role of maternal caregiving, reflection functioning, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

The study seeks to examine the psychological maladjustment of children who are exposed to continuous terror attacks. It is hypothesized that maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may hinder mothers' sensitive and responsive caregiving, reflective functioning, and viewing of her child (as "difficult"), which can subsequently negatively impact their children's psychological adjustment. A cohort of 235 mother-child dyads participated in the study. The children's (aged 7-11; 43% boys) psychological maladjustment was assessed by the PAQ. The mothers completed the DSM-5 checklist for PTSD, Caregiving System Functioning scale, Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and Difficult Child scale. High levels of maternal PTSD, high scores of avoidant caregiving, and low reflective functioning of the mother predicted the child's psychological maladjustment. Maternal levels of PTSD moderated the associations between maternal avoidant caregiving and reflection, and child's maladjustment, whereas perceiving the child as difficult moderated the association between maternal reflection and child maladjustment. The findings suggest that, to enhance the psychological adjustment of children confronted with stressful life situations, their mothers must be able to process their traumatizing experiences, or else they may struggle to provide their children with emotional regulation and support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

어머니의 가족건강성 인식과 중학생 자녀의 회복탄력성, 학업적 실패내성, 학교생활적응의 구조적 관계

Objectives The purposes of this study were to confirm the structural relationship among the family strength perceived by mothers, resilience, tolerance academic failure and school adjustment by middle school student.
 Methods For this purpose, a total of 834 data collected from 417 middle school children and their mothers in the metropolitan area were used for analysis. Descriptive statistics and correlations were analyzed using SPSS 23.0, and direct, indirect and mediating effects between variables were verified through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using the AMOS 23 program.
 Results The analysis results are as follows. First, the family strength perceived by mothers, middle school children's resilience, and academic failure tolerance had a direct effect on school adjustment. Second, the family strength perceived by mothers had an indirect effect on school adjustment by mediating the resilience of the middle school children. Third, the family strength perceived by mothers had no indirect effect on school adjustment by mediating the academic failure tolerance of middle school children. Fourth, in the relationship between the family strength perceived by mothers and on school adjustment showed a sequential mediating effect on middle school children's resilience and academic failure tolerance.
 Conclusions The mediating role of the child's resilience and academic failure tolerance in the relationship between family strength perceived by mothers and the child's school adjustment is verified. This suggests that in order to improve the adaptation of middle school children to school life, it is important to increase the importance of the home environment and the children's motivational capacity to respond actively and positively in failure situations.

Effect of Daily Stress on School Adjustment among Children at Community Child Centers: Mediating Roles of Inattention and Social Withdrawal

Background: This study verifies the influence of daily stress on school adjustment through inattention and social withdrawal among children at community child centers.Methods: Analyses were performed on data collected from the Child Panel Survey of the Community Child Centers, followed by a series of regression analyses.Results: First, daily stress had a negative and significant influence on school adjustment. Second, both inattention and social withdrawal among children mediated the influence of daily stress on school adjustment. Finally, the influence of daily stress on school adjustment was serially dual-mediated through inattention and social withdrawal.Conclusions: This study presents evidence-based strategies that could help the school adjustment of children at community child centers.

PARTICULARITĂȚI ALE TULBURĂRILOR DE PERSONALITATE LA PREADOLESCENȚII CARE PROVIN DIN FAMILIILE DIVORȚATE

The association between family tensions caused by transitions in parental separation and the effects of the child's adjustment to changes in separation has also been established in numerous studies. The aim of this study was to identify personality disorders in preadolescents living in divorced families compared to those in harmonious, non-divorced families, to facilitate the structuring of psychological interventions oriented/focused on ameliorating these disorders. The sample included 125 children with divorced parents and 103 children from organized families (N = 228 respondents). Self-reported data were collected using the Millon Pre-Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MPACI), authors Theodore Millon, Ph.D., DSc, Carrie Millon, Ph.D., Robert Tringone, Ph.D., Seth Grossman, PsyD. and Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC), authors I. Mervielde, Ph.D. Filip de Fruyt, Ph.D to capture trends in preadolescent personality traits in the context of divorce. The results obtained on personality characteristics of children from divorced families showed significantly differentiated scores on emerging personality patterns compared to the results reported by children from non-divorced families. Specifically, both on the MPACI, the preadolescents showed impaired psychological development in general, an imbalance in the emerging personality pattern (consistent presence of Conformist,Inhibited, Unstable patterns) and on the HiPIC with respect to Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Imagination and Conscientiousness. Our results help to complete the theoretical and practical bases of psychological science with information on the specific disorders that can be caused in children exposed, directly or indirectly, to conflict situations between their divorced parents.

The effect of parental burnout on psychological adjustment among Chinese children with developmental disabilities: the roles of parental autonomy support and psychological control

Objectives Children with developmental disabilities (DD) suffer from adverse psychological adjustment due to parental burnout. The current study aimed to examine how parental burnout affected psychological adjustment in children with DD, and the roles of parental psychological control and autonomy support as mediators. Methods In the current study, 332 Chinese parents of children with DD were investigated using the Chinese versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Parental Autonomy Support Scale, Psychological Control Questionnaire, Parent Self-Report, and Parental Burnout Assessment. The data analysis approaches included correlation and mediation effect analyses. Results The results indicated that parental burnout was negatively correlated with prosocial behavior and positively correlated with emotional/behavioral problems. Moreover, the mediation analysis showed that the effect of parental burnout on prosocial behavior was mediated by both parental autonomy support and psychological control, whereas the effect on emotional/behavioral problems was mediated by psychological control. Conclusions These findings provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between parental burnout, parental psychological control, autonomy support, and psychological adjustment in children with DD, and provide theoretical guidance and empirical evidence for strategies to improve psychological adjustment in children with DD.

Adult Perceptions of Child Adjustment in Institutional versus Family Care in Ghana

Research on institutional child care consistently has documented detrimental developmental outcomes. However, recent work in Ghana revealed a range in patterns of adjustment among children living in institutional care. The developmental patterns of children living in institutional care often were not significantly different from patterns seen among children living in families. A grounded-theory approach was used to understand Ghanaian adults’ perceptions of adjustment of children living in both institutional care and with families, and their beliefs about contributions to positive functioning. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 caregivers, social workers, and teachers recruited from the Accra region in Ghana. Thematic analysis of responses was used to identify common themes described in the interviews. Interviews with participants revealed beliefs that children may struggle in one or more areas while still having strengths. Having basic needs met, a stable home, and a high level of adult support were the most common factors believed to contribute to positive functioning in both groups of children. Future studies or interventions targeting these areas will likely gain buy-in from stakeholders.

The moderating effects of parental psychological control on the relationship between unsociability and socio-emotional functioning among Chinese children.

There have been studies indicating that children's unsociability was associated with poorer socio-emotional functioning in China. Although some researchers have found that parenting behavior would influence the relationship between children's unsociability and adjustment, the role of parental psychological control has not been explored. This study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of parental psychological control on the relationship between unsociability and socio-emotional functioning in Chinese children. A total of 1,275 students from Grades 3 to 7 (637 boys, Mage = 10.78 years, SD = 1.55 years) were selected from four public schools in Shanghai to participate in this study. Data of unsociability, peer victimization and social preference were collected from peer-nominations, and data of parental psychological control, depressive symptoms and social anxiety were collected from self-reports. There were positive associations between unsociability and peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety, as well as a negative association between unsociability and social preference. Parental psychological control moderated these associations, specifically, the associations between unsociability and peer victimization, social preference, and depressive symptoms were stronger, and the association between unsociability and social anxiety was only significant among children with higher level of parental psychological control. The findings in the current study highlight the importance of parental psychological control in the socio-emotional functioning of unsociable children in the Chinese context, enlightening educators that improving parenting behavior is essential for children's development.

Negative Co-Parenting and Children's Adjustment: The Role of Children's Appraisals and Triangulation

Existing literature has outlined how negative co-parenting could affect children's ad-justment through children's subjective appraisals and triangulation. However, no stud-ies have investigated whether children's cognitive appraisals and two distinct forms of children's triangulation (feelings and involvement) could be serial mediators of the associations between negative co-parenting and children's adjustment. Mediation analyses were performed using a sample of 125 Italian families of children aged 8-14. Results showed that negative co-parenting was linked to children's threat and self-blame appraisals. Data also suggested how both children's subjective appraisals (threat and self-blame) were associated with the two forms of children's triangulation (direct involvement and subjective triangulation). Finally, the results indicated two specific pathways for the serial mediation of children's cognitive appraisals and triangulation in the association between negative co-parenting and children's adjustment. On the one hand, subjective triangulation predicts children's internalizing behaviors. On the other hand, triangulation involvement promotes children's externalizing behaviors. .

Parenting attitudes, career adaptability, and bicultural acceptance perceived by multicultural youth

AbstractThis study explores whether the development of career adjustment and biculturalism among multicultural adolescents in Korean society changes over a three‐year longitudinal period. To this end, a latent growth model (LGM) was adopted to examine the development of career adjustment and biculturalism among such adolescents. This study determines how the parenting attitudes in multicultural families affect the career adjustment and bicultural acceptance of multicultural children in a society with high educational expectations. This study tracks how permissive and authoritarian parents' attitudes change over time in terms of their relationship with their multicultural children, the networks of education and social stability that they establish for multicultural youths, and how they improve parental awareness of their children. For this purpose, taking into account the characteristics of the variables identified in the panel data, parenting attitudes are divided into two types: uninvolved and authoritarian. This study used the data from 2014 to 2016 of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study included indicators for bicultural acceptance, career adaptability, and parental nurturing attitudes. The results are as follows: First, this study found that authoritarian parenting attitudes and bicultural acceptance attitudes have positive outcomes, and permissive parenting attitudes, bicultural acceptance attitudes, and career adaptability showed no relationship. Second, career adaptability and bicultural acceptance had a positive (+) effect on career adaptability based on parenting attitudes and a negative (−) one on bicultural acceptance. In addition, authoritarian parental attitudes had a negative (−) impact on career adaptability. Third, authoritarian parental attitudes demonstrated significance for bicultural acceptance, and the rate of change in bicultural acceptance was negative (−) over time.

Cultural values, parenting and child adjustment in Colombia.

This study examined associations of mothers' and fathers' individualism, collectivism and conformity values with parenting (warmth, rules/limit-setting, knowledge solicitation and expectations regarding children's family obligations) and child internalising and externalising behaviours in Colombia. Mothers, fathers and children (N = 100) from Medellín, Colombia were interviewed when children were, on average, 10 years old. Higher maternal collectivism and conformity values were associated with higher maternal warmth and fewer child externalising problems, whereas higher paternal collectivism was associated with lower maternal warmth and more child externalising problems. Fathers' cultural values also were related to their expectations regarding children's family obligations. The findings suggest differences in how mothers' and fathers' cultural values are related to parenting and child adjustment in Colombia, as well as the need to examine cultural values beyond individualism, collectivism and conformity values.

Hot and cool executive function in the development of behavioral problems in grade school.

Despite the well-established link between children's executive function and behavioral adjustment, it remains unclear whether the hot and cool aspects of executive function are uniquely associated with children's behavioral problems. Using longitudinal data spanning in the grade school (N = 1,140), this study aimed to examine whether hot and cool executive function skills may be uniquely related to the development of behavioral problems. Hot and cool executive function skills were measured with tasks, standardized tests, and questionnaires at 54 months and in the first grade, respectively. Internalizing and externalizing problems were evaluated by teachers using questionnaires throughout the grade school. The results indicated that, independent of each other, hot and cool executive function skills were uniquely and negatively related to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems over time at the between-individual level, adjusting for within-individual fluctuations. Moreover, internalizing and externalizing problems were positively related at the between-individual level across the grade school. Findings provide needed evidence to clarify the relations between hot and cool executive function and children's behavioral problems, emphasizing the importance of both aspects of executive function in understanding the development of behavioral problems in school-age children.

Linking school- and classroom-level characteristics to child adjustment: A representative study of children from Hong Kong, China.

The school is one of the most salient developmental contexts for children. However, little is known about the associations linking the school environment to child adjustment in a non-Western context, not to mention the potential processes that may mediate these associations. This study examined the associations of school- and classroom-level characteristics with child adjustment and tested whether these associations were mediated by teacher-child relationship qualities. Cross-sectional data were collected on a representative sample of 1777 children (mean age = 55.14 months; 50% of them were girls) from 100 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China. Using self-reported questionnaires, teachers rated their school-level environments, their classroom chaos, their closeness and conflict with children and children's socioemotional competence and academic ability. Meanwhile, parents rated children's behavioural problems. Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that the school-level environment and classroom chaos were uniquely associated with children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Moreover, the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child socioemotional and academic adjustment were mediated by teacher-child closeness and conflict, whereas the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child behavioural problems were mediated by teacher-child conflict only. Findings indicated how school- and classroom-level characteristics may be uniquely associated with child adjustment and how teacher-child relationships may be implicated in the underlying mechanism, highlighting the potential utility of targeting school- and classroom-level environments and teacher-child relationships in promoting child development.