Mother Warmth Research Articles

Evocative effects on the early caregiving environment of genetic factors underlying the development of intellectual and academic ability.

This study examined gene-environment correlation (rGE) in intellectual and academic development in 561 U.S.-based adoptees (57% male; 56% non-Latinx White, 19% multiracial, 13% Black or African American, 11% Latinx) and their birth and adoptive parents between 2003 and 2017. Birth mother intellectual and academic performance predicted adoptive mother warmth at child age 6 (β = .14, p = .038) and 7 (β = .12, p = .040) but not 4.5 years, and adoptive father warmth at 7 (β = .18, p = .007) but not 4.5 or 6 years. These rGE effects were not mediated by children's language. Contrary to theory that rGE accounts for increasing heritability of intellectual ability, parenting did not mediate genetic effects on children's language or academic performance.

어머니의 가족상호작용이 유아의 사회적 유능감에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study was to verify whether the mother's co-parenting and warmth parenting behaviors have a dual mediating effect on the effect of the mother's family interaction on the child's social competence. Methods The research subjects were 1,432 people selected using the 7th (2014) data of the Korean Children's Panel (PSKC). Correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between measurement variables using Spss 22.0 and Spss Process Macro v3.5, and the dual mediating effect of mother's co-parenting and warmth parenting behavior was examined using Process Macro's Model No. 6. Confirmed. Results First, the significant mediating effect of mother's co-parenting in the relationship between mother's family interaction and children's social competence was verified. Second, the significant mediating effect of the mother's warmth parenting behavior in the relationship between the mother's family interaction and the children's social competence was verified. Lastly, in the relationship between the mother's family interaction and the children's social competence, the mother's co-parenting and compassionate parenting behavior showed a significant dual mediating effect. Conclusions This conclusion provides basic data for the development of parent education or programs that can improve children's social competence by providing evidence that family interaction, co-parenting, and warmth parenting behavior have a significant impact on children's social competence.

A WARM RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTHER IN CHILDHOOD AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD: A RELATIONAL ANALYSIS

This research aimed to explore the association between mother’s warmth and psychological well-being. For this study it was assumed that perceived mother’s warmth would be positively correlated with psychological well-being and its six sub-constructs (i.e. positive relations with others, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy and self-acceptance). A random sample of 200 students (100 male, 100 female), of ages 20-25 year, belonging to educational institutions participated in this study. With participants’ consent demographic information was recorded and following questionnaires were filled; (1) Perceived Maternal Warmth Sub-scale of Adult PAQR/CONTROL: Mother (short form) (Rohner, 2004), (2) Psychological Well-being Scales (Ryff, 1995). Results reveal that only two hypotheses were proved. Perceived mother’s warmth is positively correlated to environmental mastery and positive relationship with others. Results indicate that perceived mother’s warmth is not a predictor of autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, personal growth and overall psychological well-being. Keywords: mother's warmth; psychological well-being; mother-child relationship.

A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of a Suicide Crisis Intervention Counselor : Becoming a Counselor Resembling Maternal Instinct

Background: South Korea continues to witness the rising trend of suicide and still keeps the dishonor of ranking No. 1 in the number of suicides among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD). As the suicide rates are increasing, counselors making an intervention in a crisis case at counseling sites are having huge psychological difficulties, as well. Objective: This study will examine the life stories of a professional that had a professional sense of vocation for interventions for the high crisis case of suicide and was active in the field, promoting an in-depth understanding of her experiences through a narrative inquiry into the process of overcoming indirect traumas and moving forward to growth. Methodology/Approach: A narrative inquiry, one of the qualitative methodologies, was carried out to understand the life experiences of a single research participant as a counselor making a suicide crisis intervention. A narrative inquiry is to understand human experiences, reorganizing the unique life of a research participant based on his stories deriving from his relations with the investigator and thus examining meanings in the organized stories. Results/Conclusion: First, the participant went through a process of finding the meanings of his life and his vocation in his life of pain as he made growth and consolidated his position as a counseling professional for suicide crisis interventions. And secondly, the participant always had his mother's warmth in the process of his vicarious traumas, post-traumatic growth, and search for the meanings of his life and his vocation, thus being able to discover a vocation of becoming a counselor conveying the stability of maternal instinct. His vocation of making more active crisis interventions was solidified as his mother's huge support and encouragement crossed with the pain of the mother of a suicide attempter. Implications: The study is meaningful in that it reveals the vulnerability of suicide crisis intervention counseling, enables to understand the growth of a counselor through competitive pain, and illuminates the necessity for total efforts to support and educate suicide crisis intervention counseling.

S. Ramakrishna's Sancharam Novel Discloses Defensive Strategies

Literature is related to human life. It records various events of human life. In this way, S. Ramakrishnan's Sancharam is a novel literature that aims to depict the life events of Nathswara artists who have black soil as their living environment. The Sahitya Academy award-winning novel 2018 explores various issues in the life of an artist. Through this article, we can learn about the value given by the society to the two Nathswara artists born and raised in the land of black soli and the life of Nathswara artists who lived in the early period. The story revolves around two central characters, Pakiri and Rathanam. In the course of their lives, these men think of various Nathswara artists who lived in the past. One of those scholars is Thananasi. He is a proficient in reciting nataswaram, he is shown to be blind. Growing up without his mother's warmth, he yearns for love. This anxiety creates depression. He engages in certain behaviors to reduce this risk. The purpose of this paper is to examine the behaviors of Thananasi and to uncover the psychological reasons for the behaviors. His behaviors have been studied in terms of defense strategies which are one of the psychological components. Coping and retrogression are two defense strategies that manifest in these behaviors that are highlighted in this review. These defense techniques are given as a result of the research to protect his mind.

The Role of Paternal Parenting and Co-parenting Quality in Children's Academic Self-Efficacy.

This study explored the unique effect of fathers’ parenting behaviors and the quality of co-parenting described as the degree of consistency between paternal and maternal parenting behaviors on children’s academic self-efficacy. The power of both pancultural parenting behaviors (i.e., emotional warmth and rejection) and specific parenting controlling behaviors that are relatively common in Turkish culture (i.e., intrusion and guilt induction) in predicting academic self-efficacy was tested. A total of 1,931 children completed measures of parenting behaviors and academic self-efficacy in math and literature courses in their school. Overall, girls reported higher levels of literature self-efficacy, whereas boys reported higher levels of math self-efficacy. Compared to boys, girls perceived higher levels of positive parenting behaviors from both their fathers and mothers. The results of the regression analyses showed that, whereas father warmth had stronger effects on boys’ math self-efficacy, mother warmth had stronger effects on girls’ literature self-efficacy. Examination of the effects of co-parenting quality demonstrated that children with positively consistent parents (i.e., both parents having high positive and low negative parenting behaviors) reported the highest level of academic self-efficacy, whereas those having negatively consistent parents had the lowest level of academic self-efficacy. Analyses on inconsistent co-parenting, however, yielded compensatory effects, which were similar to positively consistent parents, and deterioration effects, which were similar to negatively consistent parents depending on the gender of parent and child, domain of parenting behavior, and academic efficacy. This study contributed to the current literature by showing the unique role of fathers over and beyond mothers, and confirmed the importance of positive parenting and parenting consistency in promoting children’s academic efficacy. Cultural and practical implications of the findings were discussed.

Learning Engagement and Its Influencing Factors Among High School Students in Economically Developed Areas in China

Objective: To explore the characteristics and its relevant factors of learning engagement among high school students in economically developed areas in China. Methods: 808 high school students in Guangdong Province were selected by stratified cluster sampling. They were investigated with Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student-Chinese Version (UWES-S-CV), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), Interpersonal Comprehensive Diagnostic Scale (ICDS), Short-Form Egna Minnen AV Barndoms Uppprostran (s-EMBU), Emotional Support Questionnaire for Middle School Students to Understand Teachers (ESQUT) and a self-compiled general personal information questionnaire. Results: ⑴ The total score of UWES-S-CV, ASES, ICDS and the scores of three dimensions in UWES-S-CV, two subscales of ASES and four dimensions of ICDS, as well as the mother overprotection of s-EMBU were at the medium level. The total score of ESQUT and its four dimensions were at the medium high level. The scores of father’s and mother’s warmth of s-EMBU were at the high level, while the score of father’ negation, mother's negation and father's overprotection were at the low level. ⑵ Multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis showed that 12 factors such as student origin, school category, class category, learning interest, the teaching method used most commonly, mother's education level, learning behavior self-efficacy, learning ability self-efficacy, father's warmth, mother's warmth, care and encouragement were positively correlated with the total score of UWES-S-CV (β=.120~.433, all P<.01), while grade, family economic status, self-rated learning burden, communication and making friends, father’s negation and mother’s negation were negatively correlated with the total score of UWES-S-CV (β=-. 073~ -. 407, all P <. 05). Conclusion The learning engagement among high school students needs to be improved. Social environment, family rearing style, school education and teaching style, as well as individual factors may be the main influencing factors of high school students' learning engagement.

Sibling relationship qualities and peer and academic adjustment: A multi-informant longitudinal study of Chinese families.

Very little is known about sibling influences on child adjustment in non-Western communities. Therefore, this multi-informant study examined the longitudinal associations of sibling warmth and conflict with peer and academic adjustment and tested birth order and gender as moderators among Chinese families from Hong Kong, China. On two occasions separated by about 12 months, data were collected from two siblings in each of 189 families. Data were also collected from the mothers and class teachers of these siblings. At Time 1, older and younger siblings' ages averaged 10.06 years (SD = 1.07) and 7.82 years (SD = 0.95), respectively. Among older siblings, 31% were boys, and among younger siblings, 48% were boys. At Time 1, siblings rated their warmth and conflict with each other. At Times 1 and 2, class teachers rated siblings on their peer exclusion, prosocial/communication skills, and academic performance. At Time 1, mothers rated their warmth and conflict with each sibling and provided family demographic information. Multilevel models revealed that, controlling for mother warmth and conflict and demographic factors, sibling warmth predicted increases in prosocial/communication skills and increases in academic performance, and sibling conflict predicted decreases in academic performance. Moreover, for younger boys, sibling conflict predicted increases in peer exclusion. Theoretically, findings highlighted the unique roles of sibling warmth and conflict, as related but distinct factors, in understanding the peer and academic adjustment of Chinese children. Practically, findings pointed to the utility of improving sibling relationships to promote positive child development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Relations between Perceptions of Parental Acceptance-Rejection, Forgiveness, Vengeance, and Psychological Adjustment in Kuwaiti Youth and Adults

The current research is aimed at investigating the relations between forgiveness, vengeance, perceptions of parental acceptance-rejection, and psychological adjustment in 528 Kuwaiti males and females (mean age =30.92, and SD= 7.72 years) by using Arabic versions of the following four measures and questionnaires 1) The Heartland Scale, 2) The Vengeance Scale, 3)The Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ), and 4) The Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ). The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results revealed that forgiveness correlated significantly negative with vengeance, and significantly positive with both the perceptions of parental acceptance and healthier psychological adjustment. Vengeance correlated significantly positive with perception of parental rejection and unhealthier psychological adjustment. No significant differences were found between males and females in perception of mother warmth. Males, compared with females, were significantly higher in perceiving maternal and paternal rejection. Females, compared with males, perceived their fathers as having more warmth, Older and married participants reported significantly higher levels of healthier adjustment and forgiveness, compared with younger and unmarried participants. Males and younger participants reported significantly higher levels of vengeance, compared with females and older participants. Significant influence of education or work on the perception of parental acceptance-rejection, psychological adjustment, forgiveness No and vengeance, was found. A Multiple Mediator Model "MMM" showed that forgiveness and vengeance fully mediated and moderated the relation between perceptions of parental acceptance-rejection and psychological adjustment. Moreover, the M. M. M. analysis showed that perceptions of parental acceptance-rejection and psychological adjustment were effective predictors of the relationship between forgiveness and vengeance. Limitations of the study were considered and the significance of the results is discussed. In consideration of results, some suggestions were made for the implementation and for further research.

Delinquency as a consequence of parental warmth and self-efficacy: Total sample and individual male and female mediation analyses

IntroductionThis study's purpose was to investigate the mediating effect of parental control self-efficacy on the parental warmth → child delinquency relationship in the mothers and fathers of early to mid-adolescent youth in a test of performance accomplishments as a prelude to parental self-efficacy. MethodsParental warmth and control self-efficacy estimates, representing parental support and control, respectively, were provided by the mothers and fathers of 3934 (2010 boys, 1924 girls) youth from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and self-reported delinquency was obtained from the child. ResultsAs predicted, parental control self-efficacy mediated the relationship between parental warmth and child delinquency, whereas parental warmth did not mediate the relationship between parental self-efficacy and child delinquency. When analyses were performed separately for boys and girls, the father warmth → father self-efficacy → child delinquency pathway achieved the most consistent results in boys and the mother warmth → mother self-efficacy → child delinquency pathway achieved the only significant effect in girls. ConclusionsThese results suggest that performance accomplishments, as characterized by a warm parent–child relationship, led to enhanced parental control self-efficacy, which, in turn, served to inhibit future delinquency in the child, thereby lending credence to a social cognitive learning theory interpretation of the parental support–control interface.

Peran Kehangatan Ibu sebagai Moderator Sosialisasi Emosi dan Regulasi Emosi Anak Usia Prasekolah

The study aimed to determine the role of emotional socialization in developing preschoolers' emotional regulation moderated by maternal warmth. Participants in this study consisted of 139 mothers who had children aged 3 to 5 years in Indonesia. This study uses a non-probability sampling approach with a moderation analysis technique using Hayes’ PROCESS Macro for SPSS. The instruments used for data collection were The Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) to measure mother's perceptions of children's emotions, Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) to measure mother's reactions to children's negative emotions, and Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire-Short Form (PARQ) to measure the level of mother's warmth. The results showed that there is an interaction between emotional socialization and maternal warmth (?= 0.006, t = 2.704, p < 0.05), which plays a role in helping the development of emotional regulation in preschool age. Emotional socialization has a significant effect on the development of emotional regulation in preschool at low maternal warmth levels. That result predicts the low development of emotional regulation of preschool children if the mother has a low level of warmth as well. Although there is a significant interaction between mother's warmth and the socialization of emotions on the development of emotional regulation of preschool children, the role that occurs is not large. This is due to the fact that the two independent variables have several similar characteristics that are likely to influence the interaction value of the two variables.

Youth Internalizing Problems and Changes in Parent-Child Relationships Across Early Adolescence: Lability and Developmental Trends.

Few longitudinal studies examine how changes in parent-child relationships are associated with changes in youth internalizing problems. In this longitudinal study, we investigated how developmental trends (linear change) and year-to-year lability (within-person fluctuations) in parental warmth and hostility across Grade 6-8 predict youth internalizing problems in Grade 9 (N = 618) and whether these linkages differ for boys and girls. Developmental trends (greater decreases in warmth, increases in hostility) were associated with more youth internalizing problems. Greater year-to-year lability (more fluctuations) in father hostility and warmth were also associated with more internalizing problems. Greater lability in mother warmth was associated with more internalizing problems for girls only. The strongest effects of lability on internalizing problems were found for youth with the highest lability scores. This study underscores the importance of differentiating developmental trends from lability in parent-child relationships, both of which may be important for youth internalizing problems.

Parents' perceptions of their spouses' parenting and infant temperament as predictors of parenting and coparenting.

The present study examined how mothers' and fathers' perceptions of each others' parenting competence and infant temperament interact to predict each parent's individual behaviors during coparenting (involvement, support, and warmth) and their dyadic child-centered coparenting behavior. Data were obtained from a longitudinal study of 125 families in central Texas over their first 2 years of parenthood. Ratings of infants' temperament were obtained when infants were 6 weeks old. Each parents' perceptions of their spouse's parenting were coded from a couple interaction task when infants were 8 months old, and parents' coparenting behaviors were coded from triadic (mother-father-child) interactions obtained when children were 24 months old. Parents' perceptions of their spouse's parenting at 8 months interacted with their infants' temperament to predict their later warmth and dyadic child-centered coparenting. High maternal perceptions of fathers' parenting predicted high levels of father warmth and high levels of dyadic child-centered coparenting when infant temperamental reactivity was high. In contrast, high paternal perceptions of mothers' parenting marginally predicted high levels of mother warmth and high dyadic child-centered coparenting when infant temperamental reactivity was low. Parents' individual warmth and fathers' involvement and support were also associated with dyadic child-centered coparenting. This study should help researchers further understand how parents' attitudes toward each other's parenting interact with their infants' temperament qualities across the early years of parenthood to influence the quality of their dyadic coparenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Does Maternal Warmth Moderate Longitudinal Associations Between Infant Attention Control and Children's Inhibitory Control?

Attention control (AC) is thought to play an important role in the development of inhibitory control (IC) in children, yet there are few longitudinal studies of this association. This study used a prospective parent-child adoption design (N = 361 children) to examine whether maternal warmth at child age 27 months moderated the link between AC during infancy and IC during childhood. Tobit regression analyses indicated that low levels of infant AC at 9 months predicted low levels of IC at 6 years, controlling for birth parent IC, prenatal risk, infant distress to limitations, child sex, and openness of adoption. Adoptive mother warmth at 27 months moderated this association. In the context of higher levels of maternal warmth, the longitudinal association between low AC and low IC was attenuated. Thus, high levels of early maternal warmth may help diminish the effects of extant risk for IC deficits.

The Influences of Mother's warmth Parenting Behaviors on Children's Happiness Mediating effects of self-esteem and school adaptation : Focus on the first graders of elementary school

본 연구는 어머니의 온정적 양육행동과 초등학교 학년 자녀의 행복감의 관계에서 자아 존중감과 학교적응이 매개하는지를 살펴보는 것을 연구목적으로 한다 이 연구는 육아정책연구소에서 실시한 한국아 동패널연구 의 차년 년 조사에 참여한 가구 중에서 일반조사와 교사 온라인설문을 모두 참여한 가구의 아동 명을 대상으로 선정하였다 이 연구에서는 연구 대상의 인구학적 특성과 주요 변인의 기술통계 및 신뢰도 등의 산출을 위해 을 이용하여 분석하였다 또한 다중매개 검증을 위해 을 사용하였으며 변인들 간의 간접효과를 확인하기 위해 붓스트래핑과 팬텀 변수 를 사용하여 검증하였다 연구의 주요 결과를 살펴보면 다음과 같다 첫째 초등학교 학년 시기에 어머니의 온정적 양육행동은 자녀의 행복감에 정적인 방향으로 나타났으나 통계적으로 유의한 수준은 아니었으며 자녀의 자아 존중감과 학교적응은 행복감에 직접 적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다 둘째 어머니의 온정적 양육행동은 자아 존중감과 학교적응을 매개효과를 통해 자녀의 행복감에 간접적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다 셋째 어머니의 온정적 양육 행동과 행복감의 관계에서 자아 존중감과 학교적응은 순차적 이중매개 하는 것으로 나타났다본 연구는 아동의 행복감에 어머니의 온정적 양육행동이 간접적인 영향을 미치며 자아 존중감과 학교 적응이 중요한 영향을 미친다는 근거를 제시함으로써 학령초기 아동의 행복감 증진을 돕기 위한 노력의 일환으로 자녀의 자아 존중감을 높이고 학교적응을 돕는 자녀의 연령에 적합한 부모의 양육행동에 대한 부모교육 프로그램 마련을 위한 기초를 제공하였다는데 큰 의의를 가진다

Mother-Adolescent Communication in Low-Income, Latino Families during Language Brokering: Examining the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load

ABSTRACTLow-English proficiency parents often have their bilingual children translate, called language brokering. Brokering can be stressful for low-income, Latino adolescents, who are already at-risk for depression. We tested the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) in a new context (in 100 low-income, Latino mother-adolescent dyads who engaged in language brokering) and extended TRRL by proposing security- and threat-based behaviors and appraisals can be represented by interaction goals. We examined mother warmth, mother brokering interaction goals of supporting and monitoring the adolescent, adolescent brokering feelings, and adolescent depressive symptoms. Mothers’ support goal was a protective factor against adolescent depression, but only when adolescents also inferred mothers pursued this goal. Adolescent positive brokering feelings were also a protective factor, as when positive feelings were high, the positive association between negative feelings and depression was not present. Findings supported TRRL propositions about relational maintenance, security-based goals, emotional reserves, and mental health.

Parental Involvement and Adolescents' Academic Achievement: Latent Profiles of Mother and Father Warmth as a Moderating Influence.

Parental involvement in their adolescents' education plays an important role in promoting their children's academic outcomes. Yet, more research is needed to examine the relationship between parenting practices and parental warmth as well as to consider the potential joint contribution of warmth from both fathers and mothers. Thus, the primary purpose of the current study is to examine the extent to which patterns of parental warmth across fathers and mothers moderate the association between parental involvement and adolescents' grade point average (GPA) and school engagement behaviors. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify disparate profiles of fathers' and mothers' warmth within a nationally representative sample of 2,306 youths (51% male; mean age=15.31years, SD=1.50; 77% non-Hispanic White) residing in opposite-sex, two-parent families from Wave I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Latent-class enumeration processes support a five-profile solution characterized by differences in levels of parental warmth and congruency across parents: (a) Congruent High Warmth, (b) Congruent Moderate Warmth, (c) Congruent Low Warmth, (d) Incongruent High Mother/Low Father Warmth, and (e) Incongruent Low Father/Lower Mother Warmth. Subsequent multiple linear regression analyses reveal a moderating effect for Congruent Low Warmth on the relationship between parental involvement and adolescents' GPA. Ultimately, the results show that variation in parental warmth exists across fathers and mothers with differing impact on adolescents' outcomes. Excluding one parent without considering the joint effects of both parents will not produce an accurate and precise understanding of parenting in research or practice.

The Effects of Mother's Warmth Parenting, Control Parenting and Child Executive Function Difficulty on the School Adjustment in the First Grade

The Effects of Mother's Warmth Parenting, Control Parenting and Child Executive Function Difficulty on the School Adjustment in the First Grade

Çocuklukta Onaylamayan Çevre Ölçeği (ÇOÇÖ) Türkçe Formu’nun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması

Objective: Invalidating Environment Scale (ICES) was developed by Mountford et al. (1) in order to retrospectively assess the childhood experiences of invalidation. As it is known that there is not such a tool that assesses the invalidating environment in Turkish sample, the current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the scale and to adopt it to Turkish language. Method: The scale was first translated into Turkish and after that, back translation was made into the original language which is English. 303 university students participated in the study. Along with the ICES, EMBU (Egna Minnen Barndoms Uppfostran; My memories of upbringing) and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale were also administered. Results: According to the results of the explanatory factor analysis both mother and father forms of the scale are found to support one factor structure just as in the original scale. When the results of the confirmatory factor analysis were examined, it was seen that the obtained values were acceptable for both forms. It was found that ICES mother form has positive and low associations with EMBU mother over protection and Rosenberg Self esteem scales, while it has also positive and moderate association with EMBU mother rejection subscale. On the other hand ICES mother form was found to be negatively and highly associated with EMBU mother warmth subscale. When it comes to ICES father form, the same correlations with the mother form were found. According to the results of the current study Chronbach’s alpha coefficients of ICES for mother and father forms were found as .84 and .87 respectively. Conclusion: The findings of the current study show that Turkish version of the Invalidating Environment Scale has acceptable levels of reliability and validity.

Book of the Generations

Book of the Generations Kelli Jo Ford (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Beulah Springs, Oklahoma 1974 [End Page 145] 1 When Lula stepped into the yard, the stray cat Justine held took off so fast it scratched her and sent the porch swing sideways. Justine had been feeding the stray, hoping to find its litter of kittens in spite of her mother's disdain for extra mouths or creatures prone to parasites. She tried to smooth cat hair from her lap. She'd wanted everything to be perfect when she told her mom that she'd tracked down her father in Texas and used the neighbor's phone to call him. "That thing's going to give you worms." Lula dropped her purse onto the porch. She hadn't been able to catch a ride from work. With a deep sigh, she untucked her blouse and undid the long green polyester skirt she'd started sewing as soon as she'd seen the Help Wanted sign at the insurance office. She was a secretary now, and as she liked to tell Justine, people called her "Mrs." and complimented her handwriting. "I'll wash up," Justine said. She'd already decided today wasn't the day. Like yesterday. And the day before that. "At least let me say hi." Lula kicked off dusty pumps and let her weight drop into the swing beside Justine. The swing skittered haywire as Lula pulled bobby pins from her bun, scratching her scalp. Her long salt-and-pepper braid fell past her shoulder and curled under her breast. "Bless us, Lord," she said, the words nearly a song. She closed her eyes, and as she whispered an impromptu prayer, she touched the end of her braid to the mole on her lip that she still called her beauty mark. As a girl, Justine had pored over the pictures from Lula's time at Chilocco Indian School, trying to see her mother in the stone-cold fox who stared out from the old photographs. Lula's clothes hung loosely, even more faded than the other girls' in the pictures, but something about her gaze—framed by short black curls, of all things—made it seem as if she were the only one in the photo. If Marilyn Monroe had come of age in an Indian boarding school and had fierce brown eyes instead of scared blue ones, that would have been young Lula. Justine kept the old pictures in a box hidden in the top of the closet where she kept her Rolling Stones and a mood ring, other forbidden things. She hadn't thought of the pictures in ages, but she did now as she watched her mom in prayer. [End Page 146] Lula whispered "Amen," caught Justine staring at her. "Granny's out gathering wild onions with Aunt Celia," Justine said quickly. "Late in the year for it," Lula said. She unrolled her nylon stockings and wiggled her toes in the air. In the way of Cherokee women, Lula could still make you feel that she held down the Earth around her one moment and then seem almost like a girl the next. "Did you do your homework?" "I swept and did the rugs too." "My Teeny," Lula said, calling her the name that had stuck when Justine's middle sister hadn't been able to say her name. Together they pushed the swing back and let it fall forward. Justine closed her eyes. In the cool air that had come with the night's rain, her mother's warmth felt nice, which made the words she'd been practicing feel all the worse. "Evenings like this make me wonder how a body would want to set their bones anywhere other than these hills," Lula said. Justine opened her eyes. The two-bedroom house they rented with her Granny sat on the edge of Beulah Springs, the outer walls almost as much tar paper as asphalt shingle. She had her own room, now that her sisters had married themselves out of state, but her mother and Granny still split a room barely big enough for one. Hand-sewn curtains strung on...