Maternal Supportive Parenting Research Articles

Mechanisms in the intergenerational effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on offspring externalizing symptoms: The role of maternal and paternal parenting

BackgroundAlthough maternal childhood maltreatment has been associated with offspring externalizing symptoms, little is known about the potential mechanisms that contribute to breaking the intergenerational effect of maternal childhood maltreatment. ObjectiveThe current study aimed to (a) investigate the intergenerational effect between maternal childhood maltreatment and offspring externalizing symptoms in the Chinese family; (b) examine maternal supportive and harsh parenting as potential mediators of this intergenerational effect; and (c) explore the moderating roles of paternal support parenting, as well as paternal harsh parenting, in this mediation process of maternal supportive and harsh parenting. Participants and settingThe sample consisted of 1111 mother-father-child triads from Beijing, recruited when the children were one and three years old. MethodsMothers completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and both parents completed the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment and Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Scale. ResultsOur results showed that maternal childhood maltreatment was a risk factor for offspring externalizing symptoms at T2 (β = 0.24, t = 6.51, p < .001), and this effect was mediated by maternal supportive (indirect effect = 0.03, 95%CI = [0.02, 0.05]) and harsh parenting (indirect effect = 0.03, 95%CI = [0.02, 0.07]) at T1. Furthermore, paternal harsh parenting moderated the indirect effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on child externalizing symptoms through maternal supportive parenting. ConclusionsThese findings contribute to our understanding and provide valuable information for disrupting the intergenerational effect of maternal childhood maltreatment.

Observed child behavioral self-regulation and maternal supportive parenting are associated with dynamic physiological stress reactivity in preschoolers.

This study sought to advance our understanding of how observed child self-regulation, parenting, and their interaction were associated with children's dynamic physiological stress reactivity indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity trajectories. Participants were 85 three-year-old children (54% female) and their mothers oversampled for lower income, higher stressful life events, and higher child maltreatment risk. Child behavioral regulation, assessed as compliance and noncompliance, and maternal supportive parenting were observed during a challenging dyadic puzzle task. Results showed that child RSA exhibited quadratic change across the task on average, characterized by an expected initial decrease and subsequent recovery. Child behavioral regulation and its interaction with maternal supportive parenting were associated with interindividual differences in child RSA reactivity trajectories after controlling for child resting RSA. Children with higher compliance or lower noncompliance showed RSA decreases in response to task stressors but exhibited subsequent RSA recovery only when mothers displayed higher supportive parenting. Children with lower compliance or higher noncompliance displayed negligible RSA changes overall across the task, suggesting blunted or compromised RSA reactivity, regardless of supportive parenting levels. These findings demonstrate novel evidence that preschoolers' better behavioral regulation is related to their more adaptive physiological reactivity to stressors and that supportive parenting is needed to facilitate physiological recovery even in relatively better-regulated preschoolers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Observed Child Behavioral Self-Regulation and Maternal Supportive Parenting are Associated With Dynamic Physiological Stress Reactivity in Preschoolers

Supplemental Material for Observed Child Behavioral Self-Regulation and Maternal Supportive Parenting are Associated With Dynamic Physiological Stress Reactivity in Preschoolers

Maternal depression and children’s behavioral self-regulation: the role of parenting and children’s screen time

Family processes such as maternal parenting and family screen exposure are significantly related to children’s gains in behavioral self-regulation, but the potential mechanism of these relations remains unknown. In this study, we investigated how maternal depression is associated with children’s behavioral self-regulation through the mediating role of maternal supportive parenting and children’s family screen time. A total sample of 657 Chinese children and their mothers was recruited. Results from structural equation models indicated that supportive parenting and screen time partially mediated the effect of maternal depression on children’s behavioral self-regulation by the sequential, after controlling for child demographic variables. Furthermore, supportive parenting played a partially mediating role in associations between maternal depression and children’s self-regulation. The findings provide insights into parenting practices for early childhood development in the Chinese family environment.

Duration of Breastfeeding and Supportive Paternal Caregiving in Early Childhood and the Potential Mediating Function of Maternal Caregiving.

Supportive paternal caregiving is influenced by contextual factors, including maternal caregiving behaviors. Although longer periods of breastfeeding have been found to be associated with higher levels of maternal supportive parenting, it remains unknown whether the benefits of breastfeeding also extend to fathers' supportive caregiving. This study tested the indirect relation between the duration of breastfeeding and paternal supportive parenting through maternal supportive parenting. Participating families (N = 623) were from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, a population-based longitudinal study in Southeast Norway. Path analysis was used to test associations between the duration of breastfeeding in the first year (parent report) and paternal supportive parenting (observed, 36 months), as potentially mediated by maternal supportive parenting (observed, 24 months). After controlling for sociodemographic and birth factors, a longer duration of breastfeeding was indirectly associated with higher levels of observed paternal supportive parenting through maternal supportive parenting. The current findings suggest that the longer breastfeeding duration during the first year of life (i.e., infancy) might have important implications for both maternal and paternal supportive parenting in toddlerhood.

Stable, longitudinal relations between early paternal supportive parenting and preschool‐age children's self‐regulation

AbstractThe present study assessed longitudinal relations between paternal supportive parenting in infancy (12 months) and toddlerhood (36 months) and children's observed self‐regulation skills at preschool age (48 months) in a large sample of Norwegian families (N = 771; 48% girls, 52% boys, 28% experienced some socioeconomic risk). After accounting for child sex, socioeconomic risk (6 and 12 months), and observed maternal supportive parenting (24 moths), structural equation modeling revealed that observed paternal supportive parenting with children at 36, but not 12, months was independently associated with a latent factor representing children's observed self‐regulation skills at 48 months. Further, a significant indirect pathway emerged such that paternal supportive parenting at 12 months was associated with children's self‐regulation skills at 48 months, via paternal supportive parenting at 36 months. Results are discussed with implications for supporting paternal caregiving during infancy to promote children's emerging self‐regulation skills.

Supportive parenting and social and behavioral development: Does classroom emotional support moderate?

Both family and school environments are considered important proximal microsystems for young children's social and behavioral development. Numerous studies have reported associations between child-caregiver interactions in both family and school and child outcomes. The benefits of quality child-caregiver interactions across home and classroom contexts to child development may be maximized when positive interactional experiences in the home and classrooms are mutually supportive. Recent research employed multilevel models to examine the association between maternal supportive parenting and preschool children's development of social skills and problem behaviors, as well as the cross-level moderating effects of teachers' emotional support. The study took place in Guangdong province, China. A total of 388 children (Mage = 4.07, SD = 0.41) from 59 preschool classrooms and their mothers participated in this study. Results indicated that higher supportive parenting was associated with children's gains in social skills and decreases in problem behaviors; teachers' emotional support strengthened the effects of supportive parenting on children's development of social skills, but not for their problem behaviors. These findings revealed the importance of both providing young children supportive parenting at home and quality teacher-child interactions in classrooms, as family and schools work together to optimize children's social development.

Family support and mental health of Latinx children in migrant farmworker families

Our mixed-method study examined the mental health of Latinx children in migrant farmworker (LMFW) families, assessed whether acculturative stressors contributed to mental health problems, and examined whether family warmth and support counteracted the negative effects of acculturative stressors on mental health. Participants were children aged 6–18 (N = 80, mean age = 11.71, 55% male) participating in two summer Migrant Education Programs in Indiana. Overall, we found support for associations between acculturative stressors and poor mental health in LMFW children utilizing multiple data sources that included child self-reports, teacher reports, and qualitative interviews. We also found evidence in qualitative interviews and teacher reports for the positive association between perceived maternal supportive parenting and children’s mental health. Findings suggested that while LMFW children are vulnerable to anxiety and depressive problems, perceptions of family support (particularly from mothers) are especially salient for their resilience and mental health. Differences by age and child sex are also discussed.

The MAOA rs6323 polymorphism interacts with maternal supportive parenting in predicting adolescent depression: Testing the diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility hypotheses

The MAOA rs6323 polymorphism interacts with maternal supportive parenting in predicting adolescent depression: Testing the diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility hypotheses

Longitudinal associations among interest, persistence, supportive parenting, and achievement in early childhood

This study investigates two facets of children's school readiness: interest in new cognitive tasks (interest) and persistence in task completion (persistence). Little attention has been paid to the early development of these learning behaviors, although they might prove susceptible to intervention even before school entry. Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a sample of low-income children (N=1771) was followed to model bidirectional associations among interest and persistence and maternal supportive parenting between ages 1 and 3, and estimate associations between children's interest and persistence at age 3 and their academic skills at age 5. Results indicate that maternal supportive parenting influences children's interest and persistence more strongly and consistently than interest or persistence influences parenting, and that interest but not persistence transacts with parenting over time. Interest and persistence were equally predictive of children's early academic skills. Findings affirm that both interest and persistence during toddlerhood predict children's academic standing at school entry.

A developmental-contextual model of depressive symptoms in Mexican-origin female adolescents.

The current study tested a developmental-contextual model of depressive symptomatology among Mexican-origin, female early and middle adolescents and their mothers. The final sample comprised 271 dyads. We examined the interrelations among cultural (i.e., acculturation dissonance), developmental (i.e., pubertal development and autonomy expectation discrepancies), and interpersonal (i.e., mother-daughter conflict and maternal supportive parenting) factors in predicting adolescents' depressive symptoms. For both early and middle adolescents, maternal support was negatively associated with mother-daughter conflict and depressive symptoms. Mother-daughter autonomy expectation discrepancies were positively associated with mother-daughter conflict, but this association was found only among early adolescents. Further, mother-daughter acculturation dissonance was positively associated with mother-daughter conflict but only among middle adolescents. Findings call for concurrently examining the interface of developmental, relational, and cultural factors in predicting female adolescents' depressive symptomatology and the potential differences by developmental stage (e.g., early vs. middle adolescence).

Relations of maternal socialization and toddlers' effortful control to children's adjustment and social competence.

The authors examined the relations of maternal supportive parenting to effortful control and internalizing problems (i.e., separation distress, inhibition to novelty), externalizing problems, and social competence when toddlers were 18 months old (n = 256) and a year later (n = 230). Mothers completed the Coping With Toddlers' Negative Emotions Scale, and their sensitivity and warmth were observed. Toddlers' effortful control was measured with a delay task and adults' reports (Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire). Toddlers' social functioning was assessed with the Infant/Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Within each age, children's regulation significantly mediated the relation between supportive parenting and low levels of externalizing problems and separation distress, and high social competence. When using stronger tests of mediation, controlling for stability over time, the authors found only partial evidence for mediation. The findings suggest these relations may be set at an early age.

The Peer Group as a Context: Moderating Effects on Relations Between Maternal Parenting and Social and School Adjustment in Chinese Children

This 2-year longitudinal study examined, in a sample of Chinese children (initial M age = 11 years), the moderating effects of the peer group on relations between maternal supportive parenting and social and school adjustment. Data were collected from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, school records, and maternal reports. It was found that whereas group prosocial-cooperative functioning strengthened the role of supportive parenting in helping children develop social and school competence, group antisocial-destructive functioning undermined the contributions of supportive parenting to children's social and academic achievement. The results indicated the significance of the peer group as a social context for socialization and development in Chinese children.