Parental Hostility Research Articles

Early Parenting Characteristics Associated with Internalizing Symptoms Across Seven Waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

The aim of this study was to identify whether parenting style during a child's toddler years predicts the course of the child's internalising symptoms throughout early to middle childhood. The current study uses data from waves 1 to 7 (acquired biennially) of the infant cohort (N= 4494) of Growing up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a population-based longitudinal study. Latent class growth analysis identified four distinct longitudinal trajectories of internalizing symptoms: Low stable (66% of the children), High increasing (7%), Low increasing (17%) and High decreasing (10%). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that low self-efficacy and socioeconomic disadvantage during the toddler years were significant predictors of unfavourable (i.e., increasing) trajectories of internalizing symptoms across later childhood. Parenting hostility was a significant predictor of the low increasing trajectory. Additionally, male children were more likely than females to follow unfavourable trajectories. However, low parenting warmth was not predictive of increasing symptoms across time. Our findings highlight the importance of parenting factors in a child's early years, particularly the potentially detrimental outcomes associated with parental hostility and low self-efficacy.

Intergenerational transmission of parenting style in rural China and the mediation effect of Caregiver’s mental health

BackgroundThe quality of parenting is associated with both early childhood development and lifelong negative adult outcomes, and there is evidence to suggest that some aspects of parenting show patterns of intergenerational transmission. However, the mediating mechanisms of the intergenerational transmission of parenting style are not fully understood. AimsThis study aims to examine whether intergenerational transmission of parenting style occurs among caregivers in rural China, and whether the mental health of caregivers is a critical mediator in the transmission process across generations. MethodsThe sample consists of 194 caregivers who were recruited from an investigation in rural Jiangxi Province, China. Parenting style of both father and mother of the caregiver were self-reported by the caregiver using the simplified version of Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (s-EMBU) inventory. The current parenting style of the caregiver is assessed by using the Parenting Practice Questionnaire (PPQ). We use multivariate regression to predict the intergenerational transmission of parenting style and examine the potential mediation effects. ResultsWe found that ‘emotional warmth’ and ‘rejective’ parenting style of caregiver’s parents are positively and significantly associated with ‘warm’ and ‘hostile’ parenting style of the caregiver, respectively. The transmission of rejective, hostile parenting style across generation is fully mediated by the mental health status of the caregiver. Specifically, the mediation effect of caregiver’s depression, anxiety, and stress are all statistically significant. ConclusionsFindings in this paper support the existence of intergenerational transmission of parenting styles in rural China. Caregiver’s mental health mediate the transmission process of rejective, hostile parenting style. This raises the possibility that parenting services may benefits across generations, and provides empirical evidence for preventive services aimed at improving caregiver’s mental health and parenting styles at the early stage of child development.

Spin-Outs’ Knowledge Legacies and Parent Hostility: A Competitive Dynamics View

This study adopts a competitive dynamics perspective to illuminate how and when different types of knowledge transferred by a spin-out trigger parent hostility. Specifically, we propose based on th...

Parent Work‐to‐Family Conflict and Child Psychological Well‐Being: Moderating Role of Grandparent Coresidence

AbstractObjectiveThis study examines how grandparental coresidence influences the daily crossover of parent work‐to‐family conflict (WTFC) to child psychological well‐being.BackgroundA small but growing literature reports high levels of daily fluctuations in WTFC and its health implications for individuals, but little is known about the intergenerational crossover of WTFC in the context of multigenerational living.MethodUsing propensity score methods, we matched 129 three‐generation households with 133 two‐generation households in Zhengzhou, China based on multiple characteristics, including family member demographics, family socioeconomic status, migration status, and potential need for parenting assistance. Participants completed a daily questionnaire for 15 consecutive days. Fixed effects models estimate the association between parent WTFC and child next‐day negative affect on the two‐generation and three‐generation households, separately. Post‐estimation Wald tests for the predicted marginal effects across subgroups were performed to test whether the coefficients for parental WTFC were significantly different across groups.ResultsWe found substantial daily fluctuations in parent WTFC. After adjusting for parent daily mood, hostile parenting, parent/child physical symptoms, and parent/child previous night sleep deficiency, parent daily WTFC was positively associated with child next‐day negative affect, but only among two‐generation families.ConclusionCoresiding grandparent(s) could be an important source of social support that buffers the negative crossover of parent WTFC. Future studies are needed to identify mechanisms through which coresiding grandparent(s) help mitigate the intergenerational crossover of WTFC.

(In)Congruent Parent–Child Reports of Parental Behaviors and Later Child Outcomes

This study evaluated hypothesized relations of (in)congruent parent–child perceptions of parental warmth and hostility at age 7 with changes in child and parent reports of children’s depressive symptoms and rule-breaking behaviors from ages 7 to 10. Dyads consisted of 193 parents (93.3% biological mothers) and children (49.2% female; 46.1% Latinx) drawn from a longitudinal study of child development. Child and parent reports of parental warmth and hostility were collected using parallel measures at age 7. Child and parent reports of child depressive symptoms and rule-breaking behaviors were collected at ages 7 and 10. After controlling for children’s prior symptomatology and individual informant effects, polynomial regression analyses revealed a significant relation between (in)congruent perceptions of parental warmth and child-reported depressive symptoms. Specifically, congruent perceptions of high parental warmth at age 7 predicted decreased levels of child-reported depressive symptoms from ages 7 to 10, whereas congruent perceptions of low parental warmth predicted increased levels of child-reported depressive symptoms, especially among daughters. (In)congruent perceptions of parental hostility were related to child-reported rule-breaking behaviors. Specifically, congruent perceptions of high parental hostility predicted increased rates of child-reported rule-breaking behaviors, whereas incongruent perceptions of high parent-reported and low child-reported parental hostility predicted decreased rates of child-reported rule-breaking behaviors, especially among sons. This study documented the adaptive significance of parent–child (in)congruence in perceptions of parenting across middle childhood and revealed the potential specificity of relations by domain of adaptation and/or gender, thereby suggesting important implications for risk identification and treatment.

Family Context and Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior: an Examination of the Influence of Family Structure, Family Transitions and Parenting.

Considerable research has been devoted to understanding the influence of the family on adolescents' risky sexual behavior, with primary focus being given to family structure, family transitions, or parenting. Using longitudinal data from the Family and Community Health Study (n = 550, 54% female, age 10.5 years at Wave 1), an African American sample, the current study goes beyond past research to examine the combined influence of all of these factors while also assessing a wider and more culturally sensitive array of family structures, family transitions, and mediators. Results demonstrated that while continuously married mother-father households were most efficacious in reducing risky sexual behavior for both males and females, mother-relative households, a common household configuration among African American families, were also beneficial for females compared to single-mother, mother-stepfather, and mother-cohabiting partner households. With regard to family transitions, mothers' number of divorces as well as her number of cohabiting breakups were associated with an increase in adolescents' risky sex. Family structure and family transition effects were partially mediated by hostile parenting, as well as adolescents' sexual attitudes and affiliation with sexually active peers. Even after accounting for the impact of these mediators, however, family structure and transitions at age 13 continued to have an effect on participation in risky sex when adolescents were 18 years of age. These results indicate that an array of family factors combine to influence the probability of adolescent participation in risky sex over time.

The Effects of Family Financial Stress and Primary Caregivers' Levels of Acculturation on Children's Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Humanitarian Refugees in Australia.

The present study evaluated the application of the basic and extended (incorporated primary caregivers’ levels of acculturation) Family Stress Model (FSM) to understand the effect of family financial stress and primary caregivers’ levels of acculturation on children’s emotional and behavioral problems among refugees in Australia. A total of 658 refugee children aged 5–17 and their primary caregivers (n = 410) from the third wave of a nationwide longitudinal project were included in this study. We used multilevel structural equation models with bootstrapping to test the indirect effects of family financial stress and caregivers’ levels of acculturation (including English proficiency, self-sufficiency, social interaction, and self-identity) on children’s emotional and behavioral problems through caregivers’ psychological distress and parenting styles. The results showed that the extended FSM improved the model fit statistics, explaining 45.8% variation in children’s emotional and behavioral problems. Family financial stress, caregivers’ English proficiency, and self-identity had indirect effects on children’s emotional and behavioral problems through caregivers’ psychological distress and hostile parenting. The findings showed that interventions aimed at reducing caregivers’ psychological distress and negative parenting could be effective in alleviating the adverse effects of family financial stress and caregivers’ low levels of acculturation on refugee children’s mental health.

Early childhood cumulative risk is associated with decreased global brain measures, cortical thickness, and cognitive functioning in school-age children.

Children exposed to multiple risk factors early in life are increasingly more likely to suffer from a host of cognitive impairments across development. However, little work has identified the neurobiological mechanisms linking early cumulative risk and cognitive functioning. The current study examined the impact of cumulative risk assessed during early childhood on neural and cognitive outcomes measured 3years later when children were school-aged. Participants included 63 children assessed during preschool (age: M=4.23years, SD=0.84) and 3years later (age: M=7.19years, SD=0.89). Early cumulative risk was defined by the presence of low family income, a single parent household, low parental education, child exposure to parental depression, child exposure to high parental hostility, and high levels of stressful life events. Children's exposure to stressors in the past year, cognitive abilities, and brain structure were assessed at follow-up. Early cumulative risk was prospectively associated with reduced total gray matter volume, cortex volume, right superior parietal and inferior parietal thickness, and poorer attention shifting and memory. Right superior parietal thickness mediated associations between early risk and recall memory. Results highlight neural variations associated with early cumulative risk and suggest potential neural pathways from early risk to later childhood cognitive impairments.

The associations among parental warmth and hostility and student engagement in math and the mediating role of effortful control among Chinese children.

The associations among parenting behaviors, effortful control, and student engagement in math were examined in a sample of Chinese children. The sample was composed of 778 students (Mage = 10.43 years, SD = 0.99) from Grades 4 to 6 in Shanghai, China. Children completed questionnaires to assess parental warmth and hostility, effortful control, and student engagement in math. The results indicated that parental warmth was positively correlated with math engagement whereas parental hostility was negatively correlated with math engagement. In addition, mediational analyses indicated that effortful control fully mediated the association between parental hostility and math engagement, but partially mediated the association between parental warmth and math engagement. This study offers insights into a mediating mechanism linking the relationships among parenting behaviors, effortful control, and math engagement.

\u201cDon\u2019t leave me this way!\u201d Drivers of parental hostility and employee spin-offs\u2019 performance

Many entrepreneurs commercialize an idea they initially developed as employees of an incumbent firm. While some face retaliatory reactions from their (former) employer, others are left alone or even supported. It is not clear, however, why some employee spin-offs face parental hostility while others do not, and to what extent this parental hostility affects employee spin-offs’ performance. Integrating the resource-based view with insights on competition and retaliation, we propose that parental hostility increases with the (perceived) competitive threat posed by an employee spin-off. Specifically, we advance employee spin-offs’ initial strategic actions (offering substitute products, hiring employees of the parent, and attempting to first develop the idea inside the parent) as key drivers of parental hostility and consequent spin-off performance. Results from a pooled dataset of 1083 employee spin-offs in Germany confirm that these initial strategic actions trigger parental hostility, which in turn, and contrary to expectations, positively affects employee spin-offs’ innovation and economic performance. These results advance the literature on employee spin-offs in several ways and have important practical implications.

Examining social-ecological correlates of youth gang entry among serious juvenile offenders: A survival analysis.

Decades of research have categorized risk and protective factors for youth gang involvement in social contexts that include individual, family, peer, school, and community factors. However, most studies are cross-sectional and only examine 1 or 2 social-ecological contexts. This study, which used a time-to-event model with time-variant and time-invariant predictors, adds to this literature by using longitudinal social-ecological factors to examine increases in the hazard of gang entry among serious juvenile offenders followed for 7 years during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Lower socioeconomic status (SES), higher rates of exposure to violence, self-reported offending, and time spent in jail were associated with higher hazards rates of gang entry. Temperance (suppression of aggression and impulse control) was associated with decreases in the hazard of gang entry. Among family characteristics, higher parental hostility and having a father who had been arrested were associated with increases in the hazard of gang entry. Resistance to peer influence was a protective factor for gang entry. In addition, individuals who reported associating with delinquent peers or who had a higher proportion of friends who had been arrested had significant increases in the hazard for gang entry. School orientation was a significant protective factor, and neighborhood disorganization was associated with increases in the hazard for gang entry. Strategies for early intervention and prevention efforts are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Disentangling nature from nurture in examining the interplay between parent-child relationships, ADHD, and early academic attainment.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable and is associated with lower educational attainment. ADHD is linked to family adversity, including hostile parenting. Questions remain regarding the role of genetic and environmental factors underlying processes through which ADHD symptoms develop and influence academic attainment. This study employed a parent-offspring adoption design (N = 345) to examine the interplay between genetic susceptibility to child attention problems (birth mother ADHD symptoms) and adoptive parent (mother and father) hostility on child lower academic outcomes, via child ADHD symptoms. Questionnaires assessed birth mother ADHD symptoms, adoptive parent (mother and father) hostility to child, early child impulsivity/activation, and child ADHD symptoms. The Woodcock-Johnson test was used to examine child reading and math aptitude. Building on a previous study (Harold et al., 2013, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(10), 1038-1046), heritable influences were found: birth mother ADHD symptoms predicted child impulsivity/activation. In turn, child impulsivity/activation (4.5 years) evoked maternal and paternal hostility, which was associated with children's ADHD continuity (6 years). Both maternal and paternal hostility (4.5 years) contributed to impairments in math but not reading (7 years), via impacts on ADHD symptoms (6 years). Findings highlight the importance of early child behavior dysregulation evoking parent hostility in both mothers and fathers, with maternal and paternal hostility contributing to the continuation of ADHD symptoms and lower levels of later math ability. Early interventions may be important for the promotion of child math skills in those with ADHD symptoms, especially where children have high levels of early behavior dysregulation.

International Comparison of Family Court Professionals’ Perceptions of Parental Alienation and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

In contested child custody cases, controversy exists as to family court professionals’ attitudes regarding parental alienation (PA). Prior research shows that U.S. family court professionals are more likely to believe a case involves PA when a mother claims the father is abusing their child than when a father makes the same allegation. Critics of PA believe that statutorily recognizing PA could encourage professionals to further discredit reports of maltreatment, particularly reports by mothers, as alienation. Comparing family court professionals’ views in Brazil (where PA is statutorily recognized) and the United States (where PA is not statutorily recognized) permits study of the possible relations between formal recognition of PA and case recommendations. Brazilian and U.S. family court professionals (N = 365) read three scenarios varying in the inclusion or exclusion of allegations of parental hostility or allegations of child maltreatment. For each scenario, the alienating parent’s gender was experimentally varied between subjects. Participants rated the likelihood of each case involving PA and the appropriateness of three potential case recommendations. Analyses revealed significant differences between Brazilian and U.S. professionals: In the scenarios involving allegations of parental hostility and sexual abuse, Brazilian (relative to U.S. professionals) rated parents as more alienating but endorsed referring cases of maltreatment to child protective services at a lower rate. Participants also differed in their case recommendations depending on the gender of the alienating parent. Implications for laws, family court professionals’ evaluations, and children’s rights to protection in family court matters are discussed.

Longitudinal examination of pathways to peer problems in middle childhood: A siblings-reared-apart design.

To advance research from Dishion and others on associations between parenting and peer problems across childhood, we used a sample of 177 sibling pairs reared apart since birth (because of adoption of one of the siblings) to examine associations between parental hostility and children's peer problems when children were ages 7 and 9.5 years (n = 329 children). We extended conventional cross-lagged parent-peer models by incorporating child inhibitory control as an additional predictor and examining genetic contributions via birth mother psychopathology. Path models indicated a cross-lagged association from parental hostility to later peer problems. When child inhibitory control was included, birth mother internalizing symptoms were associated with poorer child inhibitory control, which was associated with more parental hostility and peer problems. The cross-lagged paths from parental hostility to peer problems were no longer significant in the full model. Multigroup analyses revealed that the path from birth mother internalizing symptoms to child inhibitory control was significantly higher for birth parent-reared children, indicating the possible contribution of passive gene-environment correlation to this association. Exploratory analyses suggested that each child's unique rearing context contributed to his or her inhibitory control and peer behavior. Implications for the development of evidence-based interventions are discussed.

A life history approach to understanding juvenile offending and aggression

Abstract Life history theory has been used to understand how harsh and unpredictable environments contribute to risk behaviors. The theory suggests that exposure to negative environments leads individuals to adopt a “fast” life strategy, which is hypothesized to make individuals more likely to engage in risky behavior that is associated with immediate rewards. Using data from a sample of 1216 justice-involved male youth, we defined distinct groups of youth with a “fast” versus “slow” life strategy, based on their scores on measures of sensation seeking, impulse control, future orientation, consideration of others, and suppression of aggression. A logistic regression was used to test how different environmental factors predicted LH strategy group membership. Having a fast strategy was associated with greater victimization, higher parental hostility, and lower quality home environments. Growth curve models were used to examine group differences in offending and aggression over five years. Youth with a fast life strategy engaged in more violent and non-violent offending, as well as more relational and physical aggression. Although there were significant decreases in these behaviors within both groups over the five years, these group differences remained consistent over time.

Parenting and prenatal risk as moderators of genetic influences on conduct problems during middle childhood.

This study examines interactions of heritable influences, prenatal substance use, and postnatal parental warmth and hostility on the development of conduct problems in middle childhood for boys and girls. Participants are 561 linked families, collected in 2 cohorts, including birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Heritable influences on internalizing and externalizing (including substance use) problems were derived from birth mothers' and fathers' symptoms, diagnoses, and age of onset from diagnostic interviews, and the proportion of first-degree relatives with the same type of problems. Smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and alcohol use during pregnancy were assessed retrospectively from birth mothers at 5 months postpartum. Earlier externalizing problems and parental warmth and hostility and were assessed at 1 assessment prior to the outcome (Cohort II: 4.5 years; Cohort I: 7 years). Conduct problems were symptoms from a diagnostic interview assessed at age 6 (Cohort II) or 8 (Cohort I). Findings from regression analyses suggest that (a) SDP plays an important role for the development of conduct problems, (b) some relatively well-accepted effects (e.g., parental hostility) were less important when simultaneously considering multiple factors influencing the development of conduct problems, and (c) main effects of genetic risk and SDP, and interactions among genetic risk and postnatal warmth, SDP and postnatal warmth, and genetic risk, SDP, and postnatal hostility for conduct problems were important for boys' but not girls' conduct problems. Replication is needed, but the current results provide preliminary but empirically grounded hypotheses for future research testing complex developmental models of conduct problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Mothers' and fathers' self-regulation capacity, dysfunctional attributions and hostile parenting during early adolescence: A process-oriented approach

The parent-child relationship undergoes substantial reorganization over the transition to adolescence. Navigating this change is a challenge for parents because teens desire more behavioral autonomy as well as input in decision-making processes. Although it has been demonstrated that changes in parental socialization approaches facilitates adolescent adjustment, very little work has been devoted to understanding the underlying mechanisms supporting parents' abilities to adjust caregiving during this period. Guided by self-regulation models of parenting, the present study examined how parental physiological and cognitive regulatory capacities were associated with hostile and insensitive parent conflict behavior over time. From a process-oriented perspective, we tested the explanatory role of parents' dysfunctional child-oriented attributions in this association. A sample of 193 fathers, mothers, and their early adolescent (ages 12-14) participated in laboratory-based research assessments spaced approximately 1 year apart. Parental physiological regulation was measured using square root of the mean of successive differences during a conflict task; cognitive regulation was indicated by set-shifting capacity. Results showed that parental difficulties in vagal regulation during parent-adolescent conflict were associated with increased hostile conflict behavior over time; however, greater set-shifting capacity moderated this association for fathers only. In turn, father's dysfunctional attributions regarding adolescent behavior mediated the moderating effect. The results highlight how models of self-regulation and social cognition may explain the determinants of hostile parenting with differential implications for fathers during adolescence.

Multidomain risk factors in early childhood and depression symptoms in 6-year-olds: A longitudinal pathway model.

This study examined effects of risk factors in multiple domains measured in preschool and kindergarten on age 6 depression symptoms, and on changes in symptom levels between ages 4 and 6. Two models were examined in a large, diverse (N = 796) community sample of children and parents. Risk variables included SES, stress, conflict, parental depression, parental hostility, support, scaffolding, child negative affect (NA), effortful control (EC), sensory regulation (SR), and attachment security. Model 1 included effects of risk factors at ages 4 and 5 on child depression symptoms at age 6. Model 2 also included depression symptoms at all three ages to examine changes in these symptoms. Model 1 revealed that age 4 and 5 parental depression, NA, EC, and SR predicted age 6 child depression levels, Several age 4 variables had indirect pathways to age 6 depression via age 5 EC. Model 2 revealed that preschool depression was the only age 4 variable, and EC and SR were the only age 5 variables that significantly predicted increases in age 6 depression. These findings highlight the role of self-regulation in child depression and suggest that targeting self-regulation may be an effective prevention and intervention strategy.

Parental hostility predicts elevated cortisol reactivity in preschool age children

Parental hostility predicts elevated cortisol reactivity in preschool age children

Hostile interactions in the family: Patterns and links to youth externalizing problems.

In line with family systems theory, we examined patterns of hostile interactions within families and their associations with externalizing problems among early-adolescent children. Using hostility scores based on observational data of six dyadic interactions during a triadic interaction (n = 462) (i.e., child-to-mother, mother-to-child, child-to-father, father-to-child, mother-to-father, father-to-mother)-Latent Profile Analysis supported three distinct profiles of hostility. The Low/Moderate Hostile profile included families with the lowest levels of hostility across dyads; families in the Mutual Parent-Child Hostile profile scored higher on parent-child hostility, but lower on interparental hostility; the Hostile Parent profile showed higher levels of parent-to-child and interparental hostility, but lower child-to-parent hostility. Concerning links to youth outcomes, youth in the Mutual Parent-Child Hostile profile reported the highest level of externalizing problems, both concurrently and longitudinally. These results point to the importance of examining larger family patterns of hostility to fully understand the association between family hostility and youth adjustment.