Maternal Differential Treatment Research Articles

Maternal differential treatment and child socioemotional competencies: A multi-informant longitudinal study of Chinese families

Research based on Western communities indicates that parents’ differential treatment may be linked to their children’s psychological and behavioral problems. Very little is known, however, about the potential implications of parental differential treatment for child socioemotional competencies or in non-Western communities. Focusing on families from Hong Kong, China, this multi-informant study tested the longitudinal associations of mothers’ differential warmth and conflict with their children’s socioemotional competencies and examined whether sibling dyad gender composition and age spacing moderated these associations. On two occasions about 12 months apart, data were collected from two children in each of 189 families and the mothers and class teachers of these children. At Time 1, older and younger children averaged 10.06 ( SD = 1.07) and 7.82 ( SD = 0.95) years of age, respectively, and 31% of older and 48% of younger children were boys. At Time 1, mothers provided demographic information and rated their warmth and conflict with each of their two children. At Times 1 and 2, teachers rated children on their emotion regulation, peer exclusion, and prosocial behaviors, and children rated their own empathy. Multilevel models revealed that, controlling for demographic factors, average mother-child relationships, and prior levels of competencies of children and their siblings, children who received less favorable treatment relative to their siblings exhibited decreases in socioemotional competencies over time. Sibling dyad gender composition and age spacing did not emerge as significant moderators, however.

Maternal Differential Treatment and Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Marital Tension and Sibling Tension?

Past research used equity theory and social comparison theory to explain the direct effect of maternal differential treatment (MDT) on psychological well-being. However, this focus on psychological pathways ignores possible social pathways, such as indirect effects of MDT on well-being through disrupting other family relationships. This study uses stress proliferation theory to argue that MDT, as a primary stressor in mother-child relationships, can produce secondary stressors in other family relationships (e.g., sibling tension and marital tension), which in turn leads to lower psychological well-being. To investigate this mechanism, we conducted multilevel mediation analysis using data collected from 720 adult children nested within 308 families, as part of the Within-Family Differences Study. We found that sibling tension mediates the association between adult children's perceptions of maternal disfavoritism and their psychological well-being-a process we call the stress proliferation of maternal disfavoritism. In contrast, adult children's perceptions of maternal favoritism cannot trigger this stress proliferation process of producing marital tension nor sibling tension. The evaluation of the stress proliferation process of maternal favoritism and disfavoritism can help us to understand the difference in effects across various dimensions of MDT. This study contributes to the literature on social relationships as social determinants of health by investigating how intergenerational relationships are connected to other family relationships to affect family members' health.

Individual and Sibling Characteristics: Parental Differential Treatment and Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors.

Adolescents' reports of parental differential treatment have been linked to increased externalizing behaviors. The current study investigated whether adolescent self-esteem and sibling relationship characteristics (age-spacing and sibling relationship quality) moderated associations between parental differential treatment and later externalizing behavior. Data was gathered at two assessments from 708 sibling pairs (94% White; 51% male; same-gender pairs <4 years apart in age). Older/younger siblings were aged MAssessment1 = 13.5/12.1 and MAssessment2 = 16.2/14.7 years. We found that higher levels of maternal differential treatment predicted greater residualized gains in externalizing behavior among older siblings who were (a) the same age as their sibling or near-to and had low self-esteem or (b) three years older than their sibling and had higher self-esteem. Higher levels of paternal differential treatment predicted greater residual gains in externalizing for older siblings with wider age ranges (regardless of self-esteem), and among older siblings with high levels of self-esteem (regardless of age difference). Surprisingly, maternal differential treatment was protective in one case: for adolescents with low self-esteem who were at least three years older than their siblings, maternal differential treatment predicted reduced externalizing behaviors. Paternal differential treatment was protective for more youth than maternal differential treatment: older siblings with low self-esteem who experienced paternal differential treatment exhibited decreased externalizing behaviors across adolescence, regardless of age difference. The findings highlight the importance of self-esteem and sibling age-spacing as particularly salient contextual influences in older siblings' perceptions of maternal and paternal differential treatment, and that maternal and especially paternal differential treatment does not always serve as a risk factor for externalizing problems.

The Mother-Child Relationship and Children’s Behaviours: A Multilevel Analysis in Two Countries

We examined the influences of culture, maternal malaise, household chaos, and both family-wide and child-specific aspects of parenting on children’s adjustment in a socioeconomically diverse sample of 118 English and 100 Turkish families. Each family included two children aged 4-8 years, enabling the separation of within- and between-family factors by modelling the multilevel structure of the data. Mothers reported about the parent-child relationship, contextual factors, child behaviours (internalising, externalising and prosocial). Maternal differential treatment, age, and gender were tested as sources of within-family variance, and culture, household chaos, maternal malaise, and family-wide parenting were tested as sources of between-family variance. The current study adds to the literature by showing the effects of maternal treatment were different for Turkish and English children. Conversely, similar effects across cultures were revealed for age, gender, household chaos and maternal malaise.

The Long Arm of Maternal Differential Treatment: Effects of Recalled and Current Favoritism on Adult Children's Psychological Well-Being.

In this article, we draw from classic theories of social psychology and the life course to compare the effects of current and recalled perceived maternal differential treatment (MDT) on the depressive symptoms of adult children in midlife. To address this question, we used data collected from 746 adult children nested within 293 later-life families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study. Multilevel regression revealed that both recollections of maternal differentiation from childhood and perceptions of mothers' current disfavoritism regarding conflict predicted depressive symptoms, whereas perceptions of current favoritism regarding emotional closeness did not. Taken together, the findings from this investigation reflect principles of theories of social comparison and the life course in that both perceptions of current MDT and MDT recalled from childhood affect children's well-being in midlife. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature highlighting the role of within-family differences in parent-child relationships on well-being across the life course.

Maternal differential treatment in later life families and within-family variations in adult sibling closeness.

In this article, we explore within-family differences in the closeness of sibling ties in adulthood. Specifically, we consider the sibship as a network and investigate the ways in which perceptions of mothers' differential treatment play a role in within-family variations in sibling closeness in midlife. Data were analyzed from 2,067 adult sibling dyads nested within 216 later life families, collected as part of the Within-Family Differences Study-II. Respondents reported the greatest closeness to siblings whom they perceived as favored by their mothers when they were not favored themselves, whereas respondents were less likely to choose siblings whom they perceived as disfavored by their mothers when they did not perceive themselves as disfavored. Variability in the strength of sibling ties within families suggests that some individuals receive greater benefits from this relationship than do their brothers and sisters. These findings shed new light on such within-family variations in sibling closeness by identifying how specific patterns of maternal differential treatment draw offspring toward some siblings and away from others.

Multilevel Mediation: Cumulative Contextual Risk, Maternal Differential Treatment, and Children's Behavior Within Families

This study tests the hypothesis that links between contextual risk and children's outcomes are partially explained by differential parenting. Using multi-informant measurement and including up to four children per family (Mage =3.51, SD=2.38) in a sample of 397 families, indirect effects (through maternal differential parenting: self-reported and observed) of cumulative contextual risk on four child outcomes were investigated. Cumulative risk was associated with higher levels of differential parenting and, in turn, with higher levels of behavioral problems. Indirect effects were strongest for attentional and social problems but also evident for aggression. The link between differential parenting and outcome was moderated by favoritism, but this was only evident for maternal report and strongest for aggression.

Maternal Sensitivity: Evidence of Stability across Time, Contexts, and Measurement Instruments

Although maternal sensitivity is widely understood as having a direct impact on the quality of the mother–child relationship, empirical evidence supporting this has been inconsistent, possibly because of varied definitions of the construct and limitations of measurements. The Maternal Behavior Q‐Set (MBQS) appears to be a promising measure of sensitivity, showing associations with attachment security (r = .60) higher than those reported (r = .24) in a highly‐regarded meta‐analysis of other sensitivity measures. The present study aimed to further establish the validity and utility of the MBQS by exploring its consistency with a contingency‐based measure of sensitivity, while also seeking evidence of stability across contexts and times. Seventy‐two mothers and their 10‐month‐olds participated in a procedure that included two episodes of Floor Play and Reunions following maternal differential treatment. Mothers were scored on contingent responsivity and warmth. At 12 months, the dyads underwent the Strange Situation Procedure where sensitivity was assessed using a 72‐item version of the MBQS. The findings revealed the stability of maternal sensitivity across times, contexts, and measures. However, linkages applied only to 10‐month scores from reunion, not play, episodes, supporting Pederson and Moran's (1995) assertion that high‐demand circumstances reveal more meaningful differences in maternal sensitivity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

형제와 비교한 아동의 학업성취가 자신의 학업적 자아개념에 미치는 영향: 어머니의 차별적 양육행동의 매개적 역할

This study examined the impact of academic achievement and maternal differential treatment on academic self-concept among adolescent siblings. The sample consisted of 438 students attending middle schools in Seoul (M

Maternal Differential Treatment and Child Adjustment: A Multi‐informant Approach

AbstractThe study aimed to replicate previous links with children's adjustment as well as using children's reports of maternal differential treatment (MDT) to test whether difference scores or favouritism scores demonstrate stronger links with child outcome. Finally, it tested for a unique prediction of children's adjustment from distinct aspects and informants of MDT. The sample consisted of 173 working‐ and middle‐class English families with two children aged four to eight years. Mothers provided reports of the mother–child relationship, and both mothers and fathers provided reports of the children's problematic behaviour. The children also provided reports of parent–child relationships and perceived favouritism via a puppet interview. Results confirmed moderate links between MDT and children's adjustment and showed that difference scores provided a better prediction of adjustment than did the favouritism scores. Finally, the results showed that mothers' reports of differential positive feelings were the most salient aspect of MDT for older siblings whereas mothers' reports of negative feelings and positive discipline were the most salient aspects of MDT for younger siblings.

Change in maternal perception of sibling negativity: within- and between-family influences.

Change in maternal report of sibling negativity was investigated in 313 sibling dyads from 171 families taking part in a longitudinal, general population survey in the United Kingdom. The inclusion of multiple dyads per family allowed for the emergence of 3 novel elements for sibling research: an examination of within-family similarity on sibling relationship quality, modeling within-family similarity as a function of the shared environment and the differentiation of family-wide and dyad-specific predictors. Moderate similarity on sibling negativity was found across different sibling dyads and similarity was higher in 2 versus lone-parent families. Maternal negativity, genetic relatedness, age of the oldest child in the dyad, and the interaction between lone-parent status and maternal differential treatment were found to predict change in sibling negativity.

Maternal differential treatment of siblings and children's behavioral problems: A longitudinal study

AbstractResearchers have examined links between maternal differential treatment of siblings and children's adjustment; however, little is known about the longitudinal nature of these associations. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal differential treatment of the siblings, direct parenting of older siblings, and older siblings' behavior problems across middle childhood. Eighty-two families were interviewed twice in their homes when the siblings averaged 4.7 and 7.7 years of age and, again when they averaged 7.9 and 10.5 years of age. Mothers completed questionnaires about parenting and older siblings' adjustment during the summer after the older siblings' 7th and 11th birthdays. Teachers completed questionnaires about the older siblings' adjustment and returned them through the mail. There was significant stability in the mothers' reports of differential treatment and significant associations between mothers' reports of maternal differential discipline and differential attention and mothers' and teachers' reports of older siblings' externalizing problems across time. Direct parenting measures were not correlated with differential treatment or older siblings' behavior problems across time.

Siblings' adjustment in middle childhood: Links with mother-child relationships

Associations between siblings' behavior problems and mother-child relationships were examined when older siblings were approximately 7 years old and 3 years later when younger siblings reached the same age. Children's behavior problems were positively associated with mothers' controlling behavior and negatively associated with mothers' affectionate behavior. Both different-age differential maternal behavior—differences in mother's behavior to siblings assessed at the same point in time when siblings were different ages-and same-age differential maternal behavior—differences in mothers' behavior to siblings assessed across a 3-year interval when siblings were the same age—were associated with children's adjustment. Children who received more maternal control and less maternal affection than their siblings had more behavior problems than other children. The magnitude of difference between siblings in behavior problems was correlated with the extent of maternal differential treatment but was not significantly associated with age or gender differences between siblings.