Low Positive Parenting Research Articles

Fearlessness as an Underlying Mechanism Leading to Conduct Problems: Testing the INTERFEAR Model in a Community Sample in Spain.

Conduct problems (CP) in childhood and adolescence have a significant impact on the individual, family, and community. To improve treatment for CP, there is a need to improve the understanding of the developmental pathways leading to CP in boys and girls. Prior research has linked the child's fearlessness and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, as well as experiences of parental warmth and punitive parenting, to CP. However, few studies have tested the interplay of these factors in contributing to future CP development. The present study aimed to test the InterFear model, which suggests that fearlessness in early childhood leads to CP through an indirect pathway involving low positive parenting, high negative/punitive parenting, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The sample included 2467 Spanish children (48.1% girls; Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91), followed up across a five-year period. Besides a direct association between fearlessness in early childhood and future CP, the results found an indirect pathway whereby fearlessness reduces positive parenting and increases punitive parenting, which contributes to the development of CU traits and sets the stage for CP in later childhood. The specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CP via CU traits accounted for most of the variance, suggesting the existence of a temperamental pathway independent of parental variables. Further, two additional indirect pathways, exclusive of fearlessness, were identified, which started with low parental warmth and positive parenting, leading to CP via CU traits. These findings support the InterFear model, demonstrating multiple pathways to CP with the involvement of fearlessness, parenting practices, and CU traits. This model might play a pivotal role in the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for CP.

Parental Distress and Parenting Behavior in Families of Preschool Children with and Without ASD: Spillover and Buffering.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report increased distress relative to parents of children with neurotypical development. Parent well-being is generally considered a key determinant of parenting behavior, thus increased distress may spill over into less optimal parenting in families of children with ASD. However, evidence is mixed regarding the degree to which parenting is actually compromised in this population, suggesting the possibility of buffering, wherein the parenting of children with ASD may be robust against spillover from increased parental distress. The current study tested competing spillover and buffering models with regard to relations among child ASD status, parental distress, and parenting behavior. Parents of preschoolers with (n = 73) and without (n = 55) ASD completed self-report measures of parenting stress, depressive symptoms, and emotion dysregulation, as well as of positive and negative parenting behaviors.Families of preschoolers with ASD reported higher distress and negative parenting, and lower positive parenting than did their counterparts. Findings supported the spillover model for negative parenting such that increased parental distress accounted for status-group differences in negative parenting. In contrast, potential buffering was observed for positive parenting in that an inverse association between distress and parenting was observed for parents of children with neurotypical development only.Findings highlight the potential benefit of intervention to reduce parental distress in families of children with ASD, but also suggest some existing ability of these families to buffer certain parenting behaviors from deleterious effects of parent distress.

Perceived Parenting Discrepancy Profiles, Feelings about Language Brokering, and Internalizing Symptoms among Mexican-origin Adolescents in Immigrant Families.

While different patterns of perceived parenting discrepancy among mother-adolescent dyads have been shown to be associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, little is known about the pathway underlying such associations, particularly among immigrant families. The current study considered one culturally salient form of mother-adolescent communication, language brokering (i.e., adolescents translating and interpreting between host and heritage languages for mothers), in order to investigate its mediating role based on two waves of longitudinal data on Mexican-origin immigrant families. Wave 1 included 604 adolescents (54% female; Mage = 12.92, SD = 0.92) and 595 mothers (Mage = 38.89, SD = 5.74); Wave 2 was collected one year later with data from 483 adolescents. Perceived parenting discrepancy patterns at Wave 1 were captured by three profiles based on the levels of both mothers' and adolescents' perceived positive parenting (i.e., Mother High, Adolescent High, and Both High). Compared to the other two profiles, adolescents who reported much lower positive parenting than mothers at Wave 1 (i.e., Mother High) experienced more negative feelings about brokering at Wave 2, relating to more anxiety. Being in the Mother High (vs. Both High) group was also directly related to more depressive symptoms one year later. This study highlights the importance of considering culturally salient forms of communication, such as language brokering, when designing family-level interventions to reduce adolescents' internalizing symptoms by building agreement on high positive parenting among mother-adolescent dyads from immigrant families.

Maternal depression, parental attributions, and adolescent psychopathology: An evaluation using observational and video-mediated recall methods.

Parenting styles associated with maternal depression are a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology, and maternal attributional styles may be a key mechanism in this relationship. Mother-adolescent dyads (N = 180; 96 male; ages 10-15) completed in-person interactions and then the mothers participated in a video-mediated recall procedure to assess maternal attributions. Maternal depression was associated with negative attributions. Negative attributions were associated with low parental acceptance, aggressive parenting, and low positive parenting. Positive maternal attributions were associated with less aggressive parenting, and more positive parenting during one interaction task. Adolescent externalizing behaviors were associated with negative attributions. Future research should evaluate whether maternal attributions mediate the association between maternal depression and both parenting behaviors and adolescent mental health.

The Influence of Different Dimensions of the Parent–Child Relationship in Childhood as Longitudinal Predictors of Substance Use in Late Adolescence. The Mediating Role of Self-Control

Abstract This study examined longitudinal links between several dimensions of parent–child relationship and adolescent substance use, and tested the role of self-control in mediating these. Data came from the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood. Validated questionnaires were used to measure parent–child domains at age 11, self-control at age 13, and substance use at ages 13, 15, 17, and 20. Low positive parenting and parental supervision, as well as aversive parenting, correlated with substance use. Linear regression model revealed that aversive parenting, low child disclosure, low positive parenting, and low parental involvement at age 11 predicted substance use at different stages of adolescence. These associations were mediated by low self-control at age 13. Involving parents and increasing their knowledge about desirable parental practices and ways to help their children to develop adequate self-control could be an effective element in substance use prevention strategies.

Mother-Adolescent Perceived Parenting Profiles and Mexican-origin Adolescents' Academic Performance.

Mothers and adolescents often perceive parenting differently, but it is unclear how different profiles of mother-adolescent perceived parenting and developmental transitions of such profiles would influence adolescent academic performance longitudinally. The current study adopted a three-wave dataset of 604 Mexican-origin adolescents (54% female; Mwave1.age = 12.92 years) and 595 mothers. Adolescents who agreed on high levels of positive parenting with their mothers in early adolescence (i.e., the Both High group) and stayed in the Both High group demonstrated the best academic performance in late adolescence. However, adolescents who changed from the Both High group in early adolescence and ended with discrepancies in perceived parenting or an agreement on low positive parenting with mothers in late adolescence had the worst academic performance. The findings suggest the plasticity of mother-adolescent relationships during adolescence, which can be an intervention target to improve Mexican-origin adolescent academic performance.

Interactions Between Child Personality and Parenting in Relation to Child Well-Being: Support for Diathesis-Stress and Differential Susceptibility Patterns.

It is well-recognized that the individual characteristics of children moderate the effects of developmental conditions on the well-being of a child. The majority of interactions follow a diathesis–stress pattern; there is also evidence for differential susceptibility and vantage sensitivity models. The present study aimed to examine interactions between parenting and child personality in relation to the well-being of a Russian child and to evaluate the models for moderated relationships. Participants were primary caregivers of 370 children aged 2–7 years. Moderation effects were examined using hierarchical multiple regression and bivariate linear models. In order to differentiate between the models of environmental sensitivity, the analysis of regions of significance was used. Consistent with a diathesis–stress framework, the results revealed that among children low in conscientiousness and high in activity, punitive parenting was a risk factor for externalizing problems; among introverted and fearful children, punitive parenting was a risk factor for internalizing problems. Positive parenting/involvement was a protective factor for internalizing behavior, only for children low in openness. The findings also demonstrate the following evidence for the differential susceptibility model: children low in Beta higher-order personality trait (also known as plasticity or personal growth) showed more total problems when faced with low positive parenting, but fewer problems when experiencing high-quality parenting.

Prospective Associations of Parenting and Childhood Maltreatment with Personality in Adolescent Males.

This longitudinal study examines whether early experiences with caregivers between the ages of 10 and 12 are associated with later adolescent personality at age 16 using both parent and child reports. Lower positive parenting was prospectively associated with higher neuroticism and lower extraversion and conscientiousness for both parent and self-reports of personality, as well as lower openness and agreeableness by parent report. Substantiated maltreatment was prospectively associated with greater neuroticism and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness assessed by parent report. Prospective associations were similar across Black and White participants. Positive parenting and, to a lesser extent, a lack of maltreatment were associated with adaptive personality profiles in adolescents, and associations were stronger for parent reports of personality.

Effects of Parenting Environment on Child and Adolescent Social-Emotional Brain Function.

The caregiving environment that children and adolescents experience is critically important for their social-emotional development. Parenting may affect child social-emotional outcomes through its effects in shaping the child's developing brain. Research has begun to investigate effects of parenting on child and adolescent brain function in humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Here we review these initial studies. These studies find associations between parenting behavior and child and adolescent functional activation in neural networks involved in emotional arousal, emotion regulation (ER), reward processing, cognitive control, and social-emotional information processing. Findings from these studies suggest that higher negative parenting and lower positive parenting are generally associated with heightened activation in emotional arousal networks in response to negative emotional stimuli in youth. Further, findings indicate that lower positive parenting is associated with higher response in reward processing networks to monetary reward in youth. Finally, findings show that lower positive parenting predicts lower activation in cognitive control networks during cognitive control tasks and less adaptive neural responses to parent-specific stimuli. Several studies found these associations to be moderated by child sex or psychopathology risk status and we discuss these moderating factors and discuss implications of findings for children's social-emotional development.

Positive and negative parenting in conduct disorder with high versus low levels of callous–unemotional traits

Less is known about the relationship between conduct disorder (CD), callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and positive and negative parenting in youth compared to early childhood. We combined traditional univariate analyses with a novel machine learning classifier (Angle-based Generalized Matrix Learning Vector Quantization) to classify youth (N = 756; 9-18 years) into typically developing (TD) or CD groups with or without elevated CU traits (CD/HCU, CD/LCU, respectively) using youth- and parent-reports of parenting behavior. At the group level, both CD/HCU and CD/LCU were associated with high negative and low positive parenting relative to TD. However, only positive parenting differed between the CD/HCU and CD/LCU groups. In classification analyses, performance was best when distinguishing CD/HCU from TD groups and poorest when distinguishing CD/HCU from CD/LCU groups. Positive and negative parenting were both relevant when distinguishing CD/HCU from TD, negative parenting was most relevant when distinguishing between CD/LCU and TD, and positive parenting was most relevant when distinguishing CD/HCU from CD/LCU groups. These findings suggest that while positive parenting distinguishes between CD/HCU and CD/LCU, negative parenting is associated with both CD subtypes. These results highlight the importance of considering multiple parenting behaviors in CD with varying levels of CU traits in late childhood/adolescence.

Helicopter Parenting Is Unrelated to Student Success and Well-Being: A Latent Profile Analysis of Perceived Parenting and Academic Motivation During the Transition to University

We examined helicopter parenting (e.g., intervening, assisting with tasks that emerging adults are capable of performing independently) during the transition to university relative to positive parenting (autonomy support, warmth, age-appropriate involvement) and academic motivation. Participants were n = 460 full-time, first-year undergraduates who completed surveys in September and December. In a latent profile analysis, differences were prominent for positive parenting (three profiles featured relatively low, moderate, and high levels). Amotivation was highest in combination with lower positive parenting. Intrinsic motivation was highest in combination with higher positive parenting; helicopter parenting was similar across profiles and was not meaningfully associated with end-of-semester well-being. End-of-semester outcomes were poorest for low positive parenting, but supplemental analyses showed disadvantages were already evident in September. Perceptions of parents during the transition to university likely reflect continuity from adolescent parenting environments. Results do not support the narrative that helicopter parenting is common or a barrier to student success.

Screen media exposure in the first 2 years of life and preschool cognitive development: a longitudinal study

Associations between screen media and child cognition are complex. This study aimed to examine whether age of onset of media exposure, cumulative effect of high media exposure, and verbal interaction during screen time in the first 2 years of life were associated with 4-year-old cognition by including parenting behaviors into the final construct. There were 274 healthy participants who were followed up until age 4 years. Screen media data were collected at age 6, 12, 18 months, and 2 years. Cognition or early learning composite (ELC) was evaluated at age 2, 3, and 4 years, where the latter variable was the primary outcome. Positive parenting was obtained by Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. ELC at age 2 years was associated with later age of onset of media exposure (β = 0.113, p < 0.05), fewer months of high media exposure above the upper quartile (β = 0.282, p < 0.001), and more months of verbal interaction during screen time (β = 0.261, p < 0.001). ELC at age 4 years was associated with ELC and positive parenting at earlier ages. Delayed introduction of screen media, appropriate screen time, and increased verbal interaction during media use in the first 2 years of life were associated with better cognitive development in preschoolers. Associations between screen media exposure and children's cognitive development in existing literature mainly focused on duration of screen media viewing or the content of electronic media in which other factors are rarely explored. Earlier age of onset of media exposure, more months of excessive screen media exposure (>6.5 h/day), and fewer months of verbal interaction with children during media use in the first 2 years of life had associations with decreased preschool cognition. To mitigate undesirable effects of inappropriate screen media use on cognition, delayed introduction of screen media, appropriate electronic media exposure, and increased verbal interaction during media use with children should be recommended at health supervision visits. Lower positive parenting was a mediator for the relationship between cumulative months of high screen media exposure and decreased child cognition.

Effects of Parenting and Community Violence on Aggression-Related Social Goals: a Monozygotic Twin Differences Study.

Community violence exposure and harsh parenting have been linked to maladaptive outcomes, possibly via their effects on social cognition. The Social Information Processing (SIP) model has been used to study distinct socio-cognitive processes, demonstrating links between community violence exposure, harsh parenting, and maladaptive SIP. Though much of this research assumes these associations are causal, genetic confounds have made this assumption difficult to rigorously test. Comparisons of discordant monozygotic (MZ) twins provide one empirical test of possible causality, as differences between MZ twins must be environmental in origin. The present study examined effects of parenting and community violence exposure on SIP - specifically aggressive and avoidant social goals - in a sample of 426 MZ twin dyads (N = 852 twins, 48% female). Phenotypically, we found that lower positive parenting and greater harsh parenting were associated with greater endorsement of dominance and revenge goals. We also found that indirect and direct community violence exposure was associated with greater endorsement of avoidance goals. Using an MZ difference design, we found that the relationships between lower levels of positive parenting and endorsement of dominance and revenge goals were due, in part, to environmental processes. Moreover, the relationships between the impact of indirect and direct community violence exposure and avoidance goals, as well as between the impact of indirect community violence exposure and revenge goals, appeared to be due to non-shared environmental processes. Our results establish social and contextual experiences as important environmental influences on children's social goals, which may increase risk for later psychopathology.

Profiles of culturally salient positive parenting practices among urban-residing Black Head Start families.

To better understand within-group variability in positive parenting practices among low-income Black families, the present study, grounded in a multidimensional comparative framework, examined (a) patterns of positive parenting practices among U.S.-born African American parents and Black Caribbean immigrant parents and (b) the extent to which these patterns related to parents' daily family social support, parents' social sensitivities, and children's social-emotional outcomes. A person-oriented approach was employed with data from 524 African American and Black Caribbean immigrant parents (mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts/uncles) of preschool-aged children in Head Start. Multistage hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that although the best solution for both ethnic groups was a 5-profile solution, the particular profiles that emerged across the 2 groups were distinct. Further, different parenting practices were salient among the 'high positive parenting' profiles and 'low positive parenting' for African Americans and Caribbean immigrants. In addition, demographic factors (education, gender, and marital status) differentially related to patterns of positive parenting across the 2 ethnic groups, and these patterns of parenting were associated with children's social emotional development and parenting resources in meaningful ways. Findings underscore the importance of conducting within-group studies that examine variability across ethnocultural groups identified as belonging to the same racial group. Indeed, there was variation in the manifestations of positive parenting within and across the ethnic groups included in this study (i.e., African Americans and Caribbean immigrants) that can inform future research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record

Positive Parenting Moderates the Association between Temperament and Self-Regulation in Low-Income Toddlers

Self-regulation develops rapidly during the toddler years and underlies many important developmental outcomes, including social-emotional competence and academic achievement. It is important to understand factors that contribute to early self-regulation skills among children at risk for adjustment difficulties in these domains, such as children growing up in poverty. The current study examined mother-reported child temperament (negative affect, effortful control) and observed maternal parenting (during a mother-child free play) as contributing factors to toddlers' observed self-regulation during delay of gratification tasks at 27 months (snack delay) and 33 months (gift delay). Participants were 198 toddlers (M age = 27 months; 53% boys; 48% non-Hispanic white) and their mothers from low-income families. Mothers' negative parenting characterized by negative affect, hostility, and negative control was associated with poorer self-regulation contemporaneously. Toddlers' lower negative affect and higher effortful control predicted better self-regulation at 33 months, but positive parenting characterized by positive affect and sensitivity moderated these associations at both time points. Specifically, we found a buffering effect of high positive parenting among toddlers with a temperamental risk and a deleterious effect of low positive parenting despite toddlers' temperamental strength. Results highlight the importance of positive parenting for fostering the development of self-regulation among toddlers growing up with poverty-related and child-level risks.

Children's Reward and Punishment Sensitivity Moderates the Association of Negative and Positive Parenting Behaviors in Child ADHD Symptoms.

Atypical reward processing, including abnormal reward responsivity and sensitivity to punishment, has long been implicated in the etiology of ADHD. However, little is known about how these facets of behavior interact with positive (e.g., warmth, praise) and negative (e.g., hostility, harsh discipline) parenting behavior in the early expression of ADHD symptoms in young children. Understanding the interplay between children's reward processing and parenting may be crucial for identifying specific treatment targets in psychosocial interventions for ADHD, especially given that not all children benefit from contingency-based treatments (e.g., parent management training). The study consisted of a sample of kindergarten children (N = 201, 55% male) and their parents, who completed questionnaires about their parenting practices, their child's behaviors and participated in an observed parent-child play task in the laboratory. Children's reward responsivity and sensitivity to punishment were positively associated with child ADHD symptoms. However, children with high reward responsivity had more symptoms of ADHD but only under conditions of low negative parenting (self-reported and observed) and high self-reported positive parenting, compared to children with low reward responsivity. Children with high sensitivity to punishment had more ADHD symptoms relative to children with low sensitivity to punishment, but only under conditions in which observed praise was infrequent. Results provide evidence that individual differences in sensitivity to reward/punishment may be an important of marker of risk for ADHD, but also highlights how children's responses to positive and negative parenting behavior may vary by children's sensitivities. Clinical and treatment implications are discussed.

The intergenerational transmission of cannabis use: Associations between parental history of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder, low positive parenting, and offspring cannabis use.

Parental cannabis use disorder (CUD) and low positive parenting (monitoring, support, and consistency) are risk factors for adolescent cannabis use. However, it is unclear whether parental cannabis use without CUD is sufficient to increase risk for low positive parenting and adolescent cannabis use. Additionally, parents may not treat each of their adolescents the same, and risk for adolescent cannabis use may increase as a result of low levels of positive parenting in families or low positive parenting unique to each adolescent. The current study prospectively tested low positive parenting as a mediator of the relation between parental cannabis use history (with parental cannabis use and CUD considered separately) and adolescent cannabis use at the family level and individual level. Participants were 363 adolescents from a multigenerational longitudinal study who reported on positive parenting when they were ages 9-16 (M = 11.6, SD = 1.40) and on cannabis use when they were ages 13-19 (M = 16.3, SD = 1.84). Parents reported on their own cannabis use and CUD. Results showed that parental CUD was associated with adolescent cannabis use (OR = 3.62, p = .047) but parental cannabis use without CUD was not, and only parental CUD predicted low positive parenting (B = -0.28, p < .05). Average levels of low positive parenting within a family partially mediated the association between parental CUD and offspring cannabis use. These findings suggest parental cannabis use alone may not impair parenting, but parental use that meets criteria for CUD does impair parenting. Additionally, average levels of positive parenting in families may be a mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of cannabis use. (PsycINFO Database Record

Supplemental Material for The Intergenerational Transmission of Cannabis Use: Associations Between Parental History of Cannabis Use and Cannabis Use Disorder, Low Positive Parenting, and Offspring Cannabis Use

Supplemental Material for The Intergenerational Transmission of Cannabis Use: Associations Between Parental History of Cannabis Use and Cannabis Use Disorder, Low Positive Parenting, and Offspring Cannabis Use

Developmental Origins of Rumination in Middle Childhood: The Roles of Early Temperament and Positive Parenting

Rumination, a thinking style characterized by a repetitive inward focus on negative cognitions, has been linked to internalizing disorders, particularly depression. Moreover, research suggests that rumination may be a cognitive vulnerability that predisposes individuals to psychopathology. Surprisingly little is known, however, about the etiology and development of rumination. The present study examined the role of specific components of child temperamental negative emotionality (sadness, fear, anger) and effortful control (inhibition), as well as parenting behaviors during early childhood on the development of rumination in middle childhood. Early childhood (age 3) temperament and parenting behaviors were assessed observationally and rumination was self-reported in middle childhood (age 9) in a large community sample (N = 425; 47.1% female). Two significant interactions emerged. First, temperamental anger interacted with inhibitory control (IC) such that high anger and low IC predicted higher levels of rumination, whereas low anger and low IC predicted lower levels of rumination. Second, IC interacted with parenting such that children with low IC and positive parenting had lower levels of rumination. In contrast, children with high IC reported similar levels of rumination regardless of parenting quality. Overall, these findings highlight the interplay of early IC with temperamental anger and positive parenting in the development of ruminative tendencies in middle childhood.

Developmental Patterns of Child Emotion Dysregulation as Predicted by Serotonin Transporter Genotype and Parenting

Individual differences in emotion regulation are central to social, academic, occupational, and psychological development, and emotion dysregulation (ED) in childhood is a risk factor for numerous developmental outcomes. The present study aimed to (a) describe the developmental trajectory of ED across early childhood (3–6 years) and (b) examine its sensitivity to youth serotonin transporter genotype, positive and negative parenting behaviors, and their interaction. Participants were 99 families in the Collaborative Family Study, a longitudinal study of children with or without developmental delays. Child ED and early parenting were coded from parent–child interactions.To examine serotonin transporter genotype as a moderator between parenting and child emotion dysregulation (ED), children with the homozygous short (SS) genotype were compared to children with the homozygous long (LL) or heterozygous (SL) genotype. We used latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) to model yearly change in ED from child age 3 to 6 years. LGCM revealed that ED decreased overall across early childhood. In addition, we observed separate Genotype × Positive and Genotype × Negative parenting behavior interactions in predictions of ED growth curves. Children with the SL/LL genotype had ED trajectories that were minimally related to positive and negative parenting behavior, whereas ED decreased more precipitously among children with the SS genotype when exposed to low negative parenting or high positive parenting. These findings provide evidence for Gene × Environment interactions (G×Es) in the development of ED in a manner that is conceptually consistent with vantage sensitivity, and they improve inferences afforded by prospective designs.