Childhood To Early Adolescence Research Articles

Sibling relationship quality in early adolescence: child and maternal perceptions and daily interactions

Correspondence between child and maternal perceptions of sibling relationship quality (standards, actual ratings, problems) and children's reports of daily interactions were assessed in 40 early adolescent children (M age=11.5 yrs) and their mothers (n=32). Children completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985. Child Development, 56, 448–461) and Daily Checklist ratings of sibling interactions for 14 days. Mothers completed the Parental Expectations and Perceptions of Children's Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Kramer & Baron, 1995. Family Relations, 44, 95–103). Overall, findings revealed correspondence between child perceptions of sibling warmth and maternal ratings of standards, actual ratings, and problems in sibling warmth but not conflict and rivalry. Maternal and child perceptions of sibling relationship qualities were positively associated with children's reports of ongoing interactions. Finally, regression analyses identified unique maternal and child correlates for both happy and prosocial daily interactions. Findings are discussed in light of recent research and theory on family dynamics. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dimensions of ADHD

Investigators have found that children in early adolescence with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had delayed cortical thinning

Do Children's Behavior Problems Limit Poor Women's Labor Market Success?

Economically disadvantaged mothers face numerous barriers to stable, quality employment opportunities. One barrier that has received limited attention in previous research is having a child with significant psychological or behavioral problems. Using a representative sample of low-income mothers and early adolescent children from the Three-City Study (N = 717), we assessed whether adolescents' behavior problems prospectively predicted mothers' employment status, consistency, and quality. Lagged random-effects regression models suggested that adolescents' psychological distress and delinquency inhibited the labor market success of disadvantaged mothers, although school problems were related to greater work effort among mothers. Links between labor market success and both psychological distress and delinquency differed across mothers with male and female adolescents.

Sense of coherence in mothers and children, family relationships and participation in decision-making at home: an analysis based on Japanese parent-child pair data

Children in early adolescence and their mothers were studied to clarify the association between a child's sense of coherence (SOC) and its mother's SOC, the quality of family relationships as gauged by the mother, and the child's positive life experiences at home. An anonymous self-administered group questionnaire was given to all 1540 students of a high school in Tokyo, and a similar questionnaire was sent by mail to their legal guardians. Responses were received from 1505 students (response rate: 97.7%) and 989 legal guardians (response rate: 64.2%); questionnaires completed by legal guardians who were the mothers of the students were paired with the corresponding child's questionnaire. The SOC scores of mothers and students were calculated, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed with the student's SOC as a dependent variable. Results for boys revealed that a mother's SOC was directly related to the child's SOC, regardless of family relationships and participation in decision-making at home. For girls, a mother's SOC was related to family relationships and was indirectly related to the child's SOC through the child's participation in decision-making at home. Results revealed that for both boys and girls, a mother's SOC had an effect on the child's SOC, and this corroborates the hypothesis of Antonovsky.

Acculturation and adjustment among immigrant Chinese parents: Mediating role of parenting efficacy.

This study examined parenting efficacy beliefs as a mediator of the association between acculturation and adjustment. The sample consisted of 177 immigrant Chinese mothers and fathers with early adolescent children in Canada. Acculturation was assessed bidimensionally as Canadian and Chinese orientations. A latent psychological adjustment variable was composed of symptoms of depression, feelings of self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Results showed that relations between Canadian orientation and psychological adjustment were partially mediated by parenting efficacy. As expected, the more parents were oriented toward Canadian culture, the more efficacious they felt in their parenting, which in turn was associated with better psychological adjustment. In contrast, mediation of relations between Chinese orientation and psychological adjustment was not supported, as Chinese orientation was not associated with parenting efficacy and was positively associated with psychological adjustment for mothers only. Similar results were found when the meditational model was extended to evaluate parenting practices as an outcome (i.e., warmth, reasoning, and monitoring). That is, parenting efficacy mediated the relation between higher Canadian orientation and more positive parenting practices, whereas Chinese orientation was unrelated to parenting practices. Invariance testing suggested that the models were similar for mothers and fathers. Results support the theory that higher orientation to Canadian culture may advance feelings of parenting efficacy because parents have the cultural knowledge and skills to feel confident parenting in a new intercultural context. Further, they support the expectation that parenting efficacy beliefs, in turn, are important determinants of psychological adjustment and effective parenting for immigrant parents.

Qualitative Analysis of Semantic Clustering in Early and Mid Adolescence

Background: Semantic fluency tasks are used in evaluating word retrieval in children. In addition to examining overall word output, semantic clustering is used to assess the strategic retrieval process involved during searching and retrieving exemplars from specified category. Limited research on analysis of word retrieval strategies in adolescents exists with respect to Indian context. Therefore, present study is an attempt to conduct qualitative analysis of semantic clustering in early and mid adolescence. Method: 30 early and mid adolescent children aged 12 – 15 years were assessed on semantic fluency with participants instructed to generate as many words as possible belonging to specific semantic categories (animal, food & vehicle) in one minute for each category. Offline analysis of responses was done on total word output, semantic clusters and mean cluster size. Mean & Standard deviation were obtained for the measures for each semantic category. Results: Total word output produced by adolescents for the animal, food and vehicle fluency tasks were 13.13, 12.4 & 10.2 respectively. Detailed qualitative analysis on clustering revealed specific & common rules of organization pattern in terms of clustering the word output under semantic sub categories for each task. The average number of clusters and mean cluster size produced by adolescent children were approximately 3.47 & 2.12 respectively. Conclusion: The present study revealed specific clustering pattern on specific semantic categories which does not reach adult like pattern of word retrieval. Routine evaluation of semantic clustering can provide additional insight into word retrieval strategies in adolescents with developmental neurological conditions.

Empathy and Self-Regulation as Mediators Between Parenting and Adolescents' Prosocial Behavior Toward Strangers, Friends, and Family

The current study examined the role of empathy and self-regulation as mediators between positive parenting (mothering and fathering) and early adolescents' prosocial behavior toward 3 targets (strangers, friends, and family). Data were taken from Time 1 and Time 2 of the Flourishing Families Project, and included reports from 500 families with an early adolescent child (mean age of child at Time 1=11.29). Analyses suggested that predictors of prosocial behavior toward the 3 targets differed, with empathy (as reported by mothers only) and self-regulation mediating the relation between positive parenting and prosocial behavior toward strangers and friends, but not toward family. Positive mothering was the only variable that was significantly related to prosocial behavior toward family. The discussion focuses on the need for continued research examining a relational approach to prosocial development.

Proactive parenting practices during early adolescence: A cluster approach

The purpose of the current study was to explore clusters of proactive parenting practices, and how they might vary as a function of parental demographics, the quality of the parent–child relationship, and the traits and behaviors of the adolescent child. Data were taken from the Flourishing Families Project, which includes 500 families with an early adolescent child ( M age = 11.49). Findings suggested that there were four clusters of parents, and patterns were similar for mothers and fathers. Findings also suggested that proactive clusters varied primarily as a function of demographics of the parent (e.g., religiosity, ethnicity, education) and the traits and behaviors of the adolescent child (e.g., empathy, internalizing and externalizing behaviors). Discussion highlights the importance of using a typological approach to study parenting, and places particular emphasis on parents’ use of pre-arming (alone, or in conjunction with other practices) in an attempt to avoid misbehavior before it occurs.

Mother-Child Conflict and Sibling Relatedness: A Test of Hypotheses From Parent-Offspring Conflict Theory

Parent–offspring conflict theory (POCT) has been underutilized in studies of human family dynamics. An implication of POCT is that the presence of siblings will increase conflict in biological parent–child dyads, and that half siblings will increase that conflict more than full siblings. Evidence consistent with this prediction was found in a longitudinal study of 236 early adolescent children and their mothers. Following parental disruption, the entry of younger maternal half siblings into the home was uniquely associated with elevated conflict between mothers and their biological children, independent of the effects of family size, socioeconomic status, and maternal depression. As predicted by the model, the effect of parental disruption on mother–child conflict was partially mediated by the entry of half siblings (but not stepfathers) into the home.

Mother and father connectedness and involvement during early adolescence.

The purpose of the current study was to explore how mother's and father's connectedness and involvement individually and collectively influence the lives of their children. Specifically, we asked how fathers' and mothers' parent-child connectedness and behavioral involvement influenced both problem behaviors (externalizing and internalizing behaviors) and positive outcomes (prosocial behaviors and hope) during early adolescence. Data for this study were taken from the Flourishing Families Project, from which 349 mothers and fathers were selected, along with their early adolescent child (mean age = 11.23 years, SD = .96). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed (even after controlling for child age, gender, and self-regulation) that mothers' and fathers' contributions differed, primarily as a function of child outcome. Namely, father (but not mother) connectedness and involvement were negatively related to adolescents' internalizing and externalizing behaviors, whereas mother (but not father) connectedness and involvement were positively related to adolescents' prosocial behaviors and hope. We also found that when one parent's involvement was low (for whatever reason), the other parent's involvement made a significant and important contribution to the child's well-being, particularly in the area of internalizing behaviors.

A model of mother–child adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrants to the US☆

We examined the mother-child adjustment and child behavior problems in Arab Muslim immigrant families residing in the U.S.A. The sample of 635 mother-child dyads was comprised of mothers who emigrated from 1989 or later and had at least one early adolescent child between the ages of 11 and 15 years old who was also willing to participate. Arabic speaking research assistants collected the data from the mothers and children using established measures of maternal and child stressors, coping, and social support; maternal distress; parent-child relationship; and child behavior problems. A structural equation model (SEM) was specified a priori with 17 predicted pathways. With a few exceptions, the final SEM model was highly consistent with the proposed model and had a good fit to the data. The model accounted for 67% of the variance in child behavior problems. Child stressors, mother-child relationship, and maternal stressors were the causal variables that contributed the most to child behavior problems. The model also accounted for 27% of the variance in mother-child relationship. Child active coping, child gender, mother's education, and maternal distress were all predictive of the mother-child relationship. Mother-child relationship also mediated the effects of maternal distress and child active coping on child behavior problems. These findings indicate that immigrant mothers contribute greatly to adolescent adjustment, both as a source of risk and protection. These findings also suggest that intervening with immigrant mothers to reduce their stress and strengthening the parent-child relationship are two important areas for promoting adolescent adjustment.

A model of mother-child adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrants to the US.

We examined the mother-child adjustment and child behavior problems in Arab Muslim immigrant families residing in the U.S.A. The sample of 635 mother-child dyads was comprised of mothers who emigrated from 1989 or later and had at least one early adolescent child between the ages of 11 and 15 years old who was also willing to participate. Arabic speaking research assistants collected the data from the mothers and children using established measures of maternal and child stressors, coping, and social support; maternal distress; parent-child relationship; and child behavior problems. A structural equation model (SEM) was specified a priori with 17 predicted pathways. With a few exceptions, the final SEM model was highly consistent with the proposed model and had a good fit to the data. The model accounted for 67% of the variance in child behavior problems. Child stressors, mother-child relationship, and maternal stressors were the causal variables that contributed the most to child behavior problems. The model also accounted for 27% of the variance in mother-child relationship. Child active coping, child gender, mother's education, and maternal distress were all predictive of the mother-child relationship. Mother-child relationship also mediated the effects of maternal distress and child active coping on child behavior problems. These findings indicate that immigrant mothers contribute greatly to adolescent adjustment, both as a source of risk and protection. These findings also suggest that intervening with immigrant mothers to reduce their stress and strengthening the parent-child relationship are two important areas for promoting adolescent adjustment.

Prospective Associations Between Physical Activity And Fat Mass In Children Aged 11-13 Years: The Avon Longitudinal Study Of Parents And Children

Childhood obesity is an important public health problem. Cross-sectional studies have suggested an inverse, dose-response relationship between levels of physical activity and risk of obesity in children. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate prospective associations of physical activity (measured by accelerometer) with subsequent fat mass (measured by Dual Emission X-ray Absorptiometry) in children through ages 11-13 years. METHODS: We used prospective data from a large birth cohort study - the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. At age 11, 11,952 children were invited to participate of whom 7,159 accepted. From this group, 4,576 children (2,172 boys and 2,404 girls) were measured again at age 13 and contributed valid data on relevant variables. Our primary hypothesis was that physical activity at age 11 would predict fat mass at age 13. Gender-specific trivariate multilevel model analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Prospective associations of fat mass at age 13 (outcome) with physical activity at age 11 were strong for both total activity (accelerometer counts/min) and for min/day of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Fifteen minutes additional MVPA per day at age 11 was associated with 9% (95% CI: 6%-11%) lower fat mass in boys and 6% (95% CI: 3%-9%) in girls at age 13. An increase of 15 min/day of MVPA through ages 11-13 was associated with a 3% (95% CI: 1%-4%) lower fat mass in boys and 3% (95% CI: 2%-4%) in girls over that period. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of physical activity, especially MVPA, are prospectively associated with lower levels of fat mass in early adolescent children, although with only two measures it is difficult to ascertain direction of causality. Public health interventions to raise levels of physical activity in children will be important in the fight against obesity. Supported by NIH Grant R01 HL071248-01A1

Parental Influences on Dairy Intake in Children, and Their Role in Child Calcium-fortified Food Use

Objective To understand how parental influences on dairy food intake relate to early adolescent children's use of calcium-fortified food. Design Content analysis of qualitative interviews to identify parental influences on dairy intake; calcium-fortified food survey to identify children as either calcium-fortified food users or nonusers. Setting and Participants A convenience sample of Asian (n = 56), Hispanic (n = 61), and white (n = 74) parents of children 10-13 years old, including boys (n = 86) and girls (n = 105). Variables Measured and Analysis Cluster analysis to identify groups with similar coded parental influences and chi-square analysis to determine associations between these groups and calcium-fortified food use. Results Two dominant patterns of parental influences: Cluster 1 (n = 128), with positive parental influences related to availability of dairy, milk, and cheese; positive health beliefs for dairy, and child preferences for dairy and cheese, included parents whose children were more likely to use calcium-fortified food. Cluster 2 (n = 63), with positive influences for availability of dairy and milk, included parents whose children were equally likely to be either users or nonusers of calcium-fortified food ( P < .05). Conclusion Strategies to improve parental influence on children's dairy intake might also encourage calcium-fortified food intake and improve calcium nutriture.

A Comparative Study of Problem-Based and Lecture-Based Learning in Junior Secondary School Science

The purpose of the study is to compare problem based learning (PBL) and lecture-based learning (LBL) in Hong Kong secondary students’ science achievement. Secondary One students were divided into two groups: group A (n = 37), was taught two topics: “Human Reproduction” and “Density” through PBL; group B (n = 38) was taught the same topics by LBL. Multiple choice questions and short structured response items were used to assess students’ academic performance. Pre and post tests were categorized into three domains: knowledge, comprehension and application according to Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom 1956). The results of this study suggest first that PBL is at least as effective as LBL in gaining the knowledge required to achieve the syllabus’ learning objectives; secondly, the PBL group shows a significant improvement in students’ comprehension and application of knowledge over an extended time. Seemingly, PBL is favored for knowledge retention compared to a more conventional teaching approach, by these early adolescent children in Hong Kong. An ongoing longitudinal study on students’ interactions will further determine whether students taught through PBL develop improved learning in relation to high order skills, in a local situation which still tends to focus on factual recall but where higher skills are being demanded by systemic reform.

Cultural predictors of the parenting cognitions of immigrant Chinese mothers and fathers in Canada

This study explored the predictors of parenting cognitions among 94 married immigrant Chinese couples with early-adolescent children in Canada. Mothers and fathers separately completed questionnaires assessing their culturally based parenting cognitions (interdependent childrearing goals, family obligation expectations and Chinese parent role beliefs), Chinese cultural values and exposure to Canadian culture. The parenting cognitions of mothers and fathers were quite similar. Stronger endorsement of Chinese cultural values by fathers was significantly related to stronger endorsement of culturally based parenting cognitions. The same relations were found for mothers, except in contexts where mothers participated highly in Canadian culture. For all parents, the extent of exposure to Canadian culture was not directly related to parenting cognitions. The results highlight how parenting is embedded in a cultural context and suggest that parents' ideas about childrearing may change after immigration only when core cultural values are modified.

Communication and Academic Challenges in Early Adolescence for Children Who Have Been Adopted From the Former Soviet Union

This was a Time II survey of outcomes for children, now ages 9 to 13 years, who were almost 4 years old on average when they were adopted from the former Soviet Union. As part of a larger study (see T. McGuinness, R. Ryan, & C. Broadus Robinson, 2005), parents of 55 children (M age = 11 years) were surveyed regarding their children's speech-language, behavior, and eligibility for special education. The children's mean length of institutionalization was 36 months. A total of 45, or 82%, of the children had at least one special education label. The most frequent was communication disorder, which was reported for 34 children, or 62%. The frequency of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was high, 42%. The ratio of boys to girls for communication disorders and ADHD was 1.5:1. Girls who were adopted after 36 months of age were 4 times more likely than girls who were adopted before 36 months to be labeled ADHD, and children with low birth weight exhibited learning disabilities twice as often as children with normal birth weight. Speech-language, learning, and attention deficits for late-adopted, early adolescent children were higher than expected. These children from the former Soviet Union experienced substantial preadoption adversity associated with lengthy orphanage stays and poor care. Gender and low birth weight were also factors.

Sadness, Anger, and Frustration: Gendered Patterns in Early Adolescents’ and Their Parents’ Emotion Talk

The present study was designed to investigate gender patterns in early adolescents’ and their parents’ verbal expression of three gender-stereotyped emotions: anger, sadness, and frustration. Parents and their early adolescent children discussed four interpersonal dilemmas and answered questions regarding those dilemmas in mother–child and father–child dyads. Consistent with previous literature regarding gender stereotypes in emotion expression, daughters used a higher frequency of emotion words than sons did during conversations with their mothers and fathers. Additional analyses regarding the three specific emotions under investigation, however, revealed findings that were inconsistent with conventional gender stereotypes. Contrary to expectations, in conversations with fathers, sons used a higher proportion of references to sadness than did daughters. Daughters used a higher proportion of references to frustration than did sons in their conversations with both mothers and fathers. Mothers and fathers used a higher proportion of references to frustration with daughters than with sons. No gender differences were found in parents’ or children’s references to anger. The results call into question culturally accepted gender stereotypes about sadness, anger, and frustration.

Temporal changes in sebum excretion and propionibacterial colonization in preadolescent children with and without acne

It is generally accepted that the onset of sebum secretion occurs before puberty in boys and girls as a result of increasing androgen output during the adrenarche. Propionibacteria are part of the commensal skin flora and, in adults, are found in highest numbers in sebum-rich areas of skin such as the face and upper trunk. Previous studies investigating the association between sebum output and propionibacterial population densities have been cross-sectional and have been carried out mainly in adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the onset of sebum secretion and expansion of the propionibacterial flora in a population of early adolescent children aged between 5.5 and 12 years, and to evaluate the temporal relation between the two factors longitudinally. In addition, the study aimed to evaluate the change with age in sebaceous gland activity and propionibacterial colonization on the skin and in the nares between children who developed acne and those who did not. Biannual examinations of volunteers included age, pubertal (Tanner) stage, weight and height, lesion counting on the face, propionibacterial colonization on the skin surface and in the nares and sebum secretion. A longitudinal analysis based on all observations of each subject throughout the study was applied to examine the change of sebaceous gland activity and propionibacterial colonization with age and pubertal stage. A generalized estimating equation was used with a 0.05 level of significance. The commencement of sebum production was asynchronous, with only a small number of follicles initially starting to secrete sebum onto the skin surface. The number of secreting follicles and the area of sebum increased with age and pubertal stage (P < 0.0001, P < 0.05, respectively). Numbers of propionibacteria on the skin tended to increase after the age of 9 years, but not significantly so. In contrast, numbers of propionibacteria in the nares increased significantly with age (P < 0.0001) but not with pubertal maturation. Children who developed acne had higher sebum output and propionibacterial densities with increasing age than children who did not develop acne. This effect was significant for the increase of total sebum area with age in pubertal children (P = 0.0023), the increase in number of secreting follicles with age (P = 0.020) in prepubertal children, and the increase in propionibacteria densities in the nares with age (P = 0.0005) in pubertal children. Sebaceous gland activity and propionibacterial numbers on the skin surface remained unchanged with increasing age in children who did not develop acne. Propionibacterial population densities in the nares increased with age regardless of the development of acne. Onset of sebum secretion and consequently expansion of the propionibacterial skin flora occur earlier in children who develop acne than in children of the same age and pubertal status who do not develop acne. These observations suggest that postponing the onset of sebum production or the expansion of the propionibacterial skin flora until after puberty may represent ways of preventing the disease or minimizing its severity. Determinants of propionibacterial colonization on the skin and in the nares may be different.

Memory in Early Adolescents Born Prematurely: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation

This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the functional neuroanatomy of the hippocampus and head of the caudate nucleus during 2 different types of memory tasks in a sample of 9 early adolescent children who were born preterm (neonatal intensive care unit [NICU] sample) and a group of 9 age-matched control children who were born at term. The investigation employed delayed match to sample (DMS), delayed nonmatch to sample (DNMS), and spatial memory span tasks, as well as 2 analogous perceptuomotor tasks that placed no demands on memory. The general question examined was whether preterm children show different levels of hippocampal and caudate activation during these tasks when compared to children born at term. The findings indicated that the 2 groups did not differ in functional activation of the hippocampus during the DMS and DNMS tasks. During the encoding phase of the spatial memory span task, the DMS perceptuomotor task, and the spatial memory span perceptuomotor task, the NICU sample showed greater activation change in the right caudate nucleus, and less right caudate activation change during the test phase. During the spatial span perceptuomotor task, the preterm group showed reduced activation change in the left caudate nucleus during both the encoding and test phase. Also, during the DMS perceptuomotor task, the NICU group showed increased activation change in the left caudate nucleus during encoding and decreased activation change at test. The implications of these findings for understanding the functional neuroanatomy of memory deficits are discussed, as is the potential for distinguishing the effects of neural plasticity from those of typical brain maturational processes.