Childhood Family Environment Research Articles

Analyse lexicale de la qualité de vie au travail des psychiatres à l'hôpital

A qualitative study was conducted in 2013 with hospital psychiatrists working in two psychiatric hospitals of different regions in order to document the quality of work life of public hospital psychiatrists. Semi-guided interviews were conducted with psychiatrists using an interview guide. Physicians were randomized according to health institution, age, gender and adult or paediatric psychiatry speciality. Data were analysed with the Alceste software and interpreted. Sixteen psychiatrists were interviewed. Four themes, composed of sub-themes, were highlighted. The first them concerned medical and social patient care, with the child's social and family environment, structural constraints and interactions with the care network. The second them concerned quality of care with the training of healthcare workers and the relational dimension. The third them concerned working in the public hospital system with the role of the "physician-administrator", loss of the meaning of work and job satisfaction. The last theme refers to the specificity of working in psychiatry with forensic aspects and violence issues. This study suggests that psychiatrists are globally satisfied with their jobs. The main factors to be improved are working time organization to allow more time to listen to the patient, interprofessional exchanges and paramedical staff training. These data should be assessed by means of a quantitative study.

Amygdala Volume in Offspring from Multiplex for Alcohol Dependence Families: The Moderating Influence of Childhood Environment and 5-HTTLPR Variation.

The increased susceptibility for developing alcohol dependence seen in offspring from families with alcohol dependence may be related to structural and functional differences in brain circuits that influence emotional processing. Early childhood environment, genetic variation in the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) of the SLCA4 gene and allelic variation in the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gene have each been reported to be related to volumetric differences in the temporal lobe especially the amygdala. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to obtain amygdala volumes for 129 adolescent/young adult individuals who were either High-Risk (HR) offspring from families with multiple cases of alcohol dependence (N=71) or Low-Risk (LR) controls (N=58). Childhood family environment was measured prospectively using age-appropriate versions of the Family Environment Scale during a longitudinal follow-up study. The subjects were genotyped for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Val66Met and the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). Two family environment scale scores (Cohesion and Conflict), genotypic variation, and their interaction were tested for their association with amygdala volumes. Personal and prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs were considered in statistical analyses in order to more accurately determine the effects of familial risk group differences. Amygdala volume was reduced in offspring from families with multiple alcohol dependent members in comparison to offspring from control families. High-Risk offspring who were carriers of the S variant of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism had reduced amygdala volume in comparison to those with an LL genotype. Larger amygdala volume was associated with greater family cohesion but only in Low-Risk control offspring. Familial risk for alcohol dependence is an important predictor of amygdala volume even when removing cases with significant personal exposure and covarying for prenatal exposure effects. The present study provides new evidence that amygdala volume is modified by 5-HTTLPR variation in High-Risk families.

Assessing children's empathy through a Spanish adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale: parent's and child's report forms.

The aim of the current research was to study cognitive and affective empathy in children aged 6–12 years old, and their associations with children’s family environment and social adjustment. For this purpose, we developed the Spanish version of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), self- and parent-report forms. Factorial analyses confirmed a two-component model of empathy in both self- and parent-report forms. Concordance between parent–child measures of empathy was low for cognitive and affective factors. Analyses of variance on the cognitive and affective components brought a significant effect of age for self-reported cognitive empathy, with older children scoring higher than younger ones. Gender brought out a significant principal effect for self-reported affective empathy, with girls scoring higher than boys. No other main effects were found for age and gender for the rest of the factors analyzed. Children’s empathy was associated with socioeconomic status and other family socialization processes, as well as children’ social behaviors. Overall the new measures provided a coherent view of empathy in middle childhood and early adolescence when measured through self and parent reports, and illustrate the similarity of the validity of the BES in a European-Spanish culture.

Adverse Family Influences on Emerging Adult Depressive Symptoms: A Stress Process Approach to Identifying Intervention Points

The transition to college is often a stressful time where individuals are launching from the family. Despite awareness of this crucial transitional period, few studies have examined the enduring influence of the family environment on emerging adult mental health. We utilized a stress process framework to examine the impact of an adverse family environment, which accounts for multiple dimensions of family processes including perceptions of the childhood family environment, lack of parental support, and parental psychological control, on emerging adult depressive symptoms. The study explores a process model mediated by self-efficacy and moderated by social provisions, using latent variable structural equation modeling with a sample of 154 college students from a large southeastern, United States University. As hypothesized by the stress process model, an adverse family environment was related to higher levels of emerging adult depressive symptomology indirectly through self-efficacy, such that a more aversive family environment was related to lower levels of self-efficacy and lower levels of self-efficacy were related to more depressive symptoms. Results also indicate that the presence of social provisions can alleviate the strain of an adverse family environment on an individual’s sense of self and mental health. Discussion of the importance of families and other forms of social support, during emerging adulthood, as well as implications for intervention timing and method are included.

Childhood behaviour problems predict crime and violence in late adolescence: Brazilian and British birth cohort studies.

PurposeMost children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many of which have high levels of violence. Research in high-income countries (HICs) shows that childhood behaviour problems are important precursors of crime and violence. Evidence is lacking on whether this is also true in LMICs. This study examines prevalence rates and associations between conduct problems and hyperactivity and crime and violence in Brazil and Britain.MethodsA comparison was made of birth cohorts in Brazil and Britain, including measures of behaviour problems based on parental report at age 11, and self-reports of crime at age 18 (N = 3,618 Brazil; N = 4,103 Britain). Confounders were measured in the perinatal period and at age 11 in questionnaires completed by the mother and, in Brazil, searches of police records regarding parental crime.ResultsConduct problems, hyperactivity and violent crime were more prevalent in Brazil than in Britain, but nonviolent crime was more prevalent in Britain. Sex differences in prevalence rates were larger where behaviours were less common: larger for conduct problems, hyperactivity, and violent crime in Britain, and larger for nonviolent crime in Brazil. Conduct problems and hyperactivity predicted nonviolent and violent crime similarly in both countries; the effects were partly explained by perinatal health factors and childhood family environments.ConclusionsConduct problems and hyperactivity are similar precursors of crime and violence across different social settings. Early crime and violence prevention programmes could target these behavioural difficulties and associated risks in LMICs as well as in HICs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00127-014-0976-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bullying among school-age children in the greater Beirut area: Risk and protective factors

This study investigated the prevalence of bullying at schools in the Greater Beirut Area and the extent to which differences in children's sociodemographics, family and school environment, and coping strategies could account for variation in academic achievement, PTSD and emotional and behavioral disorders. Participants were 665 male and female children of mean age 13.8 years. Results indicated that a high proportion of children had been involved in bullying on a regular basis with victims having a higher prevalence ratio than bullies and bully/victims. Verbal bullying including spreading rumors was the most common type of victimization, followed by being rejected from a group. Being bullied about one's religion or sect comprised one of the most common bullying behaviors in schools. Students rarely tried to stop a student from being bullied and teachers were reported to have done relatively little or nothing to counteract bullying. Prevalence of bullying was more among boys than girls. School bullying was not associated with academic achievement or with having difficulties in reading and math. Children who were identified as bully/victim, victim, and bully suffered from PTSD compared to those who were not identified as being involved in bullying The study showed that both bullies and victims are at-risk for short term and long-term adjustment difficulties including hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems. Child's gender and emotion-focused coping stood out as risk factors for the development of bullying behaviors whereas age, problem-focused coping, family environment, and school environment were significant protective factors.

Early menarche and childhood adversities in a nationally representative sample.

BackgroundEpidemiological evidence suggests that early menarche, defined as onset of menses at age 11 or earlier, has increased in prevalence in recent birth cohorts and is associated with multiple poor medical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. There is evidence that childhood adversities occurring prior to menarche contribute to early menarche.MethodsData collected in face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of women age 18 and over (N = 3288), as part of the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication, were analyzed. Associations between pre-menarchal childhood adversities and menarche at age 11 or earlier were estimated in discrete time survival models with statistical adjustment for age at interview, ethnicity, and body mass index. Adversities investigated included physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, biological father absence from the home, other parent loss, parent mental illness, parent substance abuse, parent criminality, inter-parental violence, serious physical illness in childhood, and family economic adversity.ResultsMean age at menarche varied across decadal birth cohorts (χ2₍₄₎ = 21.41, p < .001) ranging from a high of 12.9 years in the oldest cohort (age 59 or older at the time of interview) to a low of 12.4 in the second youngest cohort (age 28-37). Childhood adversities were also more common in younger than older cohorts. Of the 11 childhood adversities, 5 were associated with menarche at age 11 or earlier, with OR of 1.3 or greater. Each of these five adversities is associated with a 26% increase in the odds of early menarche (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.14-1.39). The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and early menarche was sustained after adjustment for co-occurring adversities. (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.21-2.6).ConclusionsEvidence from this study is consistent with hypothesized physiological effects of early childhood family environment on endocrine development. Childhood sexual abuse is the adversity most strongly associated with early menarche. However, because of the complex way that childhood adversities cluster within families, the more generalized influence of highly dysfunctional family environments cannot be ruled out.

Dundas et al. Respond to "Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity"

Most research problems in epidemiology are multifaceted and, therefore, complex. The fact that they are complex should not mean that the problems cannot be researched. Statistical methodology is responding to the complexity of the research challenges. In Merlo's invited commentary (1) on our article (2), he argues that although risk factor epidemiology can address some research questions, it is time to advance eco-epidemiology using appropriate statistical methods. Multiple membership multiple classification (MMMC) multilevel models have been around for some time (3) but are underused in social epidemiology. Multilevel models allow for individual factors (e.g., biological and lifestyle factors) and clustered groupings (e.g., neighborhoods, schools) to be studied at the same time. This enables investigation of the extent to which the different levels interact with each other or act independently of each other (4). An understanding of the factors at both individual and cluster levels and their relationships means that appropriate policy recommendations can be made (5). Multilevel models enable separation of the contribution that each environment makes to the outcome of interest (4). There is a need to assess multiple domains of socioeconomic context (6) to enable researchers to study and identify the appropriate timing and settings of interventions to address the inequalities that exist across the life course. The social context may be relevant for the individual level but not for higher levels, or the reverse may be true. In our article, we were able to separate individual, family, neighborhood, and school factors (2) and found that family environment in childhood may be relevant for interventions to improve health in adulthood, demonstrating a key concept of social epidemiology that the clusters of individuals within families are important over and above individual effects. Clustering at the family level is frequently ignored because of the small cluster size; it can be important, as we showed, with a variance partition coefficient of 10%, despite the mechanisms remaining unknown. In addition, the consequences of ignoring family as a level on the variance partition coefficient and other general contextual effects (7) is unclear. When interpreting the results of multilevel models, both measures of variance and measures of association are important. The use of these can provide a better understanding of the patterning of health and health inequalities (5). Measures of association such as odds ratios (specific contextual measures (7)) show how characteristics at the higher level are associated with the outcome measure. Measures of variance such as median odds ratios or variance partition coefficients (general contextual effects (7)) show the share of the variance attributable to the higher level. It is not enough to say that living in a deprived neighborhood has a negative effect on health, because living in a deprived neighborhood may be a proxy for an unmeasured individual-level factor; there is a need to identify how much of the variation is attributable to the context so that policy and interventions may be directed where they will have the greatest influence. There is a growing need for policy to be implemented and evaluated at multiple levels of influence—individual, family, school, workplace, and community—to address both adverse health outcomes and health inequalities. Providing evidence at higher levels is potentially more helpful for public health policy than identifying individual risk factors that may have low discriminatory accuracy. Statistical techniques and models need to be available in order to do this multiple-level evaluation. We adapted designs proposed and used elsewhere in other disciplines (such as education (8) and bird ecology (9)). Our paper demonstrated the utility and adaptability of these models for epidemiology (2), and we thank Merlo for his comment that this represents a step in the right direction.

Childhood and Maternal Effects on Physical Health Related Quality of Life Five Decades Later: The British 1946 Birth Cohort

Limited research has been done on the relationships between childhood factors and adult physical health related quality of life, with the underlying pathways not fully elucidated. Data from 2292 participants of the British 1946 birth cohort were used to examine the relationship of childhood characteristics and family environment with principal component summary (PCS) scores and the physical functioning (PF) subscale of the SF-36 at age 60–64 years. Impaired physical functioning was defined as the lowest quartile scores in the PF subscale. Childhood factors (father in manual social class versus non-manual (β = −2.34; 95%CI: −3.39, −1.28) and poor maternal health versus good/excellent maternal health (β = −6.18; −8.78, −3.57)) were associated with lower PCS scores at 60–64 years. Adult health behaviours (increasing BMI, lifelong smoking, and lower physical activity) at 53 years were identified as strong risk factors for lower PCS scores. After adjusting for these factors and education level (N = 1463), only poor maternal health remained unattenuated (β = −5.07; −7.62, −2.51). Similarly poor maternal health doubled the risk of reporting impaired PF (Odds ratio = 2.45; 95%CI: 1.39, 4.30); serious illness in childhood (OR = 1.44; 1.01, 2.06) and lower educational level attained were also risk factors for impaired PF (N = 1526). While findings suggest the influence of father's social class on physical health related quality of life are mediated by modifiable adult social factors and health behaviours; health professionals should also be mindful of the inter-generational risk posed by poor maternal health on the physical health related quality of life of her offspring almost five decades later.

A supportive family environment in childhood enhances the level and heritability of sense of coherence in early adulthood.

To analyze the effects of genetic and environmental factors on sense of coherence (SOC) in young adulthood and whether family environment measured in childhood modifies these effects. SOC was measured at 20-27 years of age in 3,193 Finnish twins using the Antonovsky's 13-item short scale. The twins and their parents had rated their emotional family environment independently when the twins were 12 years of age. The data were analyzed using applications of structural linear equation modeling to twin data. Females rated SOC 2.42 points lower than males. Additive genetic factors explained 39% of the variation of SOC in males and 49% in females, whereas the rest of the variation was explained by environmental factors unique to each twin individual. For the dimensions of SOC, the highest genetic correlation was found between comprehensibility and manageability (0.90 in males and 0.97 in females). SOC was strongest in the participants who had reported supportive family atmosphere and low relational tensions to parents in childhood. These participants also had higher genetic variance and lower unique environmental variance of SOC when compared to those who reported emotionally more stressful family environment. The results were similar when we used parental rating of family environment. Genetic factors are important for SOC, but genetic influences are much greater in supportive family environments. This emphasizes the importance of childhood home for the development of strong SOC.

Association of the family environment with behavioural and cognitive outcomes in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: Family environment in children with 22q11DS

Association of the family environment with behavioural and cognitive outcomes in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: Family environment in children with 22q11DS

The Relationship Between Childhood Family Environment and Adult Sexual Offending in a Sample of Sexual Offenders

The Relationship Between Childhood Family Environment and Adult Sexual Offending in a Sample of Sexual Offenders

Adverse childhood experiences: towards a clear conceptual meaning

To report an analysis of the concept of adverse childhood experiences. Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with negative physical and psychological health outcomes, but this phenomenon lacks the clear, consistent meaning necessary for use in nursing research, theory development and practice. Concept clarification. The literature search was not limited a priori by date and included publications with abstracts in English from PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Social Abstracts. The search retrieved 128 articles published from 1970-2013. The search term 'adverse childhood experiences' was used, with similar terms permitted. A snowball approach was used to expand the search to relevant literature. The articles were read and analysed following Norris's five steps for concept clarification to refine, elucidate and operationally define the concept and the context in which it occurred. Adverse childhood experiences were defined operationally as childhood events, varying in severity and often chronic, occurring in a child's family or social environment that cause harm or distress, thereby disrupting the child's physical or psychological health and development. This concept clarification should raise awareness and understanding of the diverse nature and shared characteristics of adverse childhood experiences that are believed to influence the health of individuals as they age. This clarified concept will help expand research on health consequences of adverse childhood experiences and interventions to improve health. We recommend promoting a model of primary care that pays attention to the social and familial influences on the health of individuals worldwide.

Does war contribute to family violence against children? Findings from a two-generational multi-informant study in Northern Uganda

After 20 years of civil war in Northern Uganda, the continuity of violence within the family constitutes a major challenge to children's healthy development in the post-conflict era. Previous exposure to trauma and ongoing psychopathology in guardians potentially contribute to parental perpetration against children and dysfunctional interactions in the child's family ecology that increase children's risk of maltreatment. In order to investigate distal and proximal risk factors of child victimization, we first aimed to identify factors leading to more self-reported perpetration in guardians. Second, we examined factors in the child's family environment that promote child-reported experiences of maltreatment. Using a two-generational design we interviewed 368 children, 365 female guardians, and 304 male guardians from seven war-affected rural communities in Northern Uganda on the basis of standardized questionnaires. We found that the strongest predictors of self-reported aggressive parenting behaviors toward the child were guardians’ own experiences of childhood maltreatment, followed by female guardians’ victimization experiences in their intimate relationship and male guardians’ posttrautmatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol-related problems. Regarding children's self-report of victimization in the family, proximal factors including violence between adults in the household and male guardians’ PTSD symptom severity level predicted higher levels of maltreatment. Distal variables such as female guardians’ history of childhood victimization and female guardians’ exposure to traumatic war events also increased children's report of maltreatment. The current findings suggest that in the context of organized violence, an intergenerational cycle of violence persists that is exacerbated by female guardians’ re-victimization experiences and male guardians’ psychopathological symptoms.

Family Conflict in Childhood and Adolescence and Depressive Symptoms in Emerging Adulthood: Mediation by Disengagement Coping

Exposure to family conflict in childhood increases risk for later life psychological maladjustment. The family environment shapes the development of coping strategies used to manage interpersonal stressors, representing a pathway through which adverse family experiences impact later emotional functioning. In 2 studies, we evaluated engagement and disengagement coping as mediators of the relation between family conflict in childhood and depressive symptoms in young adulthood. Study 1 included participants from continuously married families exposed to higher and lower quality childhood family environments and found that disengagement partially mediated the relation between family conflict and depressive symptoms. Study 2 examined these relations among emerging adults who experienced parental divorce. Results indicated that disengagement coping fully mediated the relation between family conflict and depression. Engagement did not emerge as a mediator in either study. Elevated family conflict across varying family structures might be associated with poor adjustment via disengaged responses to stress.

Family and Neighborhood Correlates of Overweight and Obesogenic Behaviors Among Chinese Children

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing rapidly in China. However, research on its modifiable environmental determinants to inform preventive interventions is limited. This paper reports a cross-sectional study that aimed to identify family and neighborhood environmental correlates of overweight and related health behavior among Chinese primary school-aged children in urban areas. Routinely collected height and weight data of third year students (8-10 years) from four primary schools in socioeconomically distinct districts of two southern cities of China was obtained. Using the WHO 2007 reference values, children were categorized into overweight/obese or non-overweight. Parents of the same children completed a questionnaire, comprising mainly validated questions, about family and perceived neighborhood environments, parental physical activity habits, and the child's dietary and physical activity patterns. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between these environmental factors and childhood overweight or whether or not the child engages in at least 1 h daily moderate to vigorous physical activity. Multiple linear regression analysis was undertaken to examine the association between environmental factors and the frequency of consumption of unhealthy snacks, fruit, and vegetables in children. Data on 497 children were available. Children who were mainly cared for by their grandparents were over twice as likely to be overweight/obese (adjusted OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.19-3.47) and to have higher consumption of unhealthy snacks and sugar-added drinks (B = 2.13, 95% CI 0.87-3.40), compared with children who were mainly cared for by their parents or other adult. Children who lived with at least two grandparents in the household were at higher risk for being overweight/obese than children who lived without any grandparent (adjusted OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.00-2.94). No evidence was found for associations between perceived neighborhood environmental characteristics and child's weight status and obesogenic behaviors in this study. Children's family environment, particularly the living-in grandparents, should be targeted in future preventive interventions among China's southern urban populations.

Family environment and adult resilience: contributions of positive parenting and the oxytocin receptor gene

BackgroundAbundant research shows that childhood adversity increases the risk for adult psychopathology while research on influences of positive family environment on risk for psychopathology is limited. Similarly, a growing body of research examines genetic and gene by environment predictors of psychopathology, yet such research on predictors of resilience is sparse.ObjectivesWe examined the role of positive factors in childhood family environment (CFE) and the OXTR rs53576 genotype in predicting levels of adult resilient coping and positive affect. We also examined whether the relationship between positive factors in the CFEs and adult resilient coping and positive affect varied across OXTR rs53576 genotype.MethodsWe gathered self-report data on childhood environment, trauma history, and adult resilience and positive affect in a sample of 971 African American adults.ResultsWe found that positive CFE was positively associated with higher levels of resilient coping and positive affect in adulthood after controlling for childhood maltreatment, other trauma, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. We did not find a direct effect of OXTR 53576 on a combined resilient coping/positive-affect-dependent variable, but we did find an interaction of OXTR rs53576 with family environment.ConclusionsOur data suggest that even in the face of adversity, positive aspects of the family environment may contribute to resilience. These results highlight the importance of considering protective developmental experiences and the interaction of such experiences with genetic variants in risk and resilience research.

Developmental effects of family environment on outcomes in pediatric cochlear implant recipients.

To examine and compare the family environment of preschool- and school-age children with cochlear implants and assess its influence on children's executive function and spoken language skills. Retrospective between-subjects design. Outpatient research laboratory. Prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants and no additional disabilities and their families. Cochlear implantation and speech-language therapy. Parents completed the Family Environment Scale and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (or the preschool version). Children were tested using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 and either the Preschool Language Scales-4 or the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4. The family environments of children with cochlear implants differed from normative data obtained from hearing children, but average scores were within 1 standard deviation of norms on all subscales. Families of school-age children reported higher levels of control than those of preschool-age children. Preschool-age children had fewer problems with emotional control when families reported higher levels of support and lower levels of conflict. School-age children had fewer problems with inhibition but more problems with shifting of attention when families reported lower levels of conflict. School-age children's receptive vocabularies were enhanced by families with lower levels of control and higher levels of organization. Family environment and its relation to language skills and executive function development differed across the age groups in this sample of children with cochlear implants. Because family dynamics is one developmental/environmental factor that can be altered with therapy and education, the present results have important clinical implications for family-based interventions for deaf children with cochlear implants.

Childhood family environment, social competence, and health across the lifespan

Childhood family adversity increases the risk of a wide range of psychological and physical health problems later in life, prompting research into developmental pathways linking childhood experiences to adult health. The current paper discusses a social-biological pathway by which childhood family relationships influence the development of the social and emotional skills necessary for adaptive behavioral and biological responses to stress. Failures in the development of social and emotional competence during childhood may lead to dysregulated responses to stress and difficulties in social relationships across the lifespan. Over time, the cumulative impact of dysregulated stress responses and low social support may increase the risk of mental and physical health problems later in life.

Childhood family factors predict developmental trajectories of hostility and anger: a prospective study from childhood into middle adulthood

Low socio-economic status (SES), and a conflictive, cold and unsupportive family environment in childhood have been associated with early adulthood hostility. However, it is unknown whether this association changes in magnitude with age from childhood to adulthood. We investigated whether childhood family factors (SES and parental child-rearing style) predicted differential development of offspring hostility and anger from early to middle adulthood. Between 2041 and 2316 participants (age range 3-18 years at baseline) were selected from the longitudinal Young Finns study. The participants were followed for 27 years between 1980 and 2007. Childhood SES and parent's self-reported child-rearing style were measured twice: at baseline and 3 years after baseline. Hostility and anger were assessed with self-report questionnaires at 12, 17, 21 and 27 years after baseline. Low parental SES and hostile child-rearing style at baseline predicted higher mean levels of offspring anger and hostility. Low parental SES and one of the hostile child-rearing style components (strict disciplinary style) became more strongly associated with offspring hostility with age, suggesting an accumulating effect. Childhood family factors predict the development of hostility and anger over 27 years and some of these family factors have a long-term accumulating effect on the development of hostility.