Self-reported Parenting Research Articles

Parent-Child Transmission of Disgust and Hand Hygiene: The Role of Vocalizations, Gestures and Other Parental Responses

Recent findings indicate that parents, in the presence of disgust elicitors, exhibit exaggerated behavioral avoidance and direct expressions of disgust toward younger children. Here we examine whether other communication channels—vocalizations and gestures—are also used to entrain disgust. We also explore whether parents transmit hand hygiene practices in a similar manner. Children’s disgust responses factored into two discrete components—expressive and felt disgust. Variance in child expressive disgust, when tested alone, was explained by a combination of parental facial and vocal disgust, moderated by child age. Children’s felt disgust, when tested alone, was weakly related to parental self-reports of disgust. Hand hygiene transmission (HHT) was observed and directed toward younger children (2–3 years). Parents who demonstrated HHT also directed more disgust-related behaviors towards their child. The age-moderated effects here suggest parents selectively direct facial and vocal expression of disgust toward young children and this has detectable consequences on their disgust behavior.

Do school-based physical activity interventions increase or reduce inequalities in health?

Little is known about the effectiveness of school-based health promotion on physical activity inequalities among children from low-income areas. This study compared the two-year change in physical activity among 10–11 year-old children attending schools with and without health promotion programs by activity level, body weight status, and socioeconomic backgrounds to assess whether health promotion programs reduce or exacerbate health inequalities. This was a quasi-experimental trial of a Comprehensive School Health (CSH) program implemented in schools located in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In the spring of 2009 and 2011, pedometer (7 full days) and demographic data were collected from cross-sectional samples of grade five children from 10 intervention and 20 comparison schools. Socioeconomic status was determined from parent self-report. Low-active, active, and high-active children were defined according to step-count tertiles. Multilevel linear regression methods adjusted for potential confounders were used to assess the relative inequity in physical activity and were compared between groups and over-time. In 2009, a greater proportion of students in the intervention schools were overweight (38% vs. 31% p = 0.03) and were less active (10,827 vs. 12,265 steps/day p < 0.001). Two years later, the relative difference in step-counts between intervention and comparison schools reduced from −15.5% to 0% among low-active students, from −13.4% to 0% among active students, and from −15.1% to −2.7% among high-active students. The relative difference between intervention and comparison schools reduced from −11.1% to −1.6% among normal weight students, from −16.8% to −1.4% among overweight students, and was balanced across socioeconomic subgroups. These findings demonstrate that CSH programs implemented in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods reduced inequalities in physical activity. Investments in school-based health promotion are a viable, promising, and important approach to improve physical activity and prevent childhood obesity, and may also reduce inequalities in health.

Parental inconsistency, impulsive choice and neural value representations in healthy adolescents.

A well-characterized potential marker for addiction is impulsive choice, stably measured by delay discounting (DD) paradigms. While genetic influences partly account for inter-individual variance in impulsivity, environmental factors such as parenting practices may have an important role. The present study investigates how inconsistent fulfillment of delayed reward promises impacts on DD. A combined correlational and experimental functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design was performed in a sample of 48 healthy adolescents (13–15 years). More specifically, neural activation during a DD task was investigated at two assessment points (T0 and T1). Adolescents' self-reports of parenting and substance use were assessed at T0. Between assessment points, we experimentally varied the reliability of delayed reward promises, measuring the impact of this intervention on DD and neural value processing at T1. In the correlational part, same-sex parent reward inconsistency was associated with steeper DD and an attenuated subjective value (SV) representation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Steeper DD was in turn associated with alcohol use during the past year. In the experimental part, the reward inconsistency manipulation resulted in an attenuation of the NAcc SV representation, similar to the parental inconsistency effect. Together, our correlational and experimental findings raise new light on how parents may influence their children's degree of impulsivity, making parenting a potential target in addiction prevention.

Making trans parents visible: Intersectionality of trans and parenting identities

This article explores the self-reported parenting challenges of 50 transgender parents based on an online survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans parents in the United States. Many trans parents transitioned after forming a family, whereas others had children after or even during transition. They coordinated their transition with parenting responsibilities, and carefully managed their visibility in parenting settings to protect their children. This analysis focuses on the challenges that trans parents faced at the intersection of their parenting and trans identities. Although trans parents share many of the concerns of cisgender parents, they also face unique challenges that must often be navigated without extensive support. Revealing these challenges increases trans parents’ visibility in society, and could help therapists and school administrators become more sensitive to the intersectional identities of trans people and the stressors unique to trans parenting.

Parents' perfectionism and its relation to child rearing behaviors

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between parents' perfectionism and self-reported parenting behaviors. The study included 786 parents (417 mothers and 369 fathers) of high school students. Results showed that parents' positive and negative perfectionism were differently related to specific forms of child rearing practices. Namely, positive perfectionism was positively, while negative perfectionism was negatively related to parental acceptance for both mothers and fathers. Mothers' and fathers' negative perfectionism was positively related to parental criticism and permissiveness. In addition, fathers' positive perfectionism was negatively associated with permissive child rearing practices. After controlling for background variables, parents' positive and negative perfectionism explained significant amounts of variance in all self-reported parenting dimensions for fathers and significantly accounted for the variance of parental acceptance and criticism for mothers. According to our findings, parents' perfectionism might have an important role in shaping parenting behaviors.

Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Predicts Increased Adult Body Mass Index

To examine the relationship between childhood and adolescent symptoms of (1) depression, (2) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and (3) conduct disorder (CD) with adult body mass index (BMI) in a prospective longitudinal study of 3294 community participants in the Ontario Child Health Survey. One thousand nine hundred ninety-two children aged 4 to 11 years and 1302 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years at study entry in 1983 underwent follow-up in 2000. Body mass index data were available for 1886 adult participants in the year 2000, which comprised the final study sample. Data were collected from youth, parents, and teachers using a combination of parental, youth, and teacher self-report and semistructured interview. Body mass index is a derived variable determined from the self-reported height and weight in 2000. Adults with depression, ADHD, or CD identified in childhood had increased body weight (BMI = 27.2 kg/m, 27.7 kg/m, and 27.9 kg/m, respectively) compared with their nonaffected peers (BMI = 24.8 kg/m; p < .001). Greater depressive symptoms in childhood were associated with increased adult BMI among boys (p = .02). Among adolescents, depression and sex interact in the association with adult BMI (p = .01). The association of childhood ADHD with adult overweight was completely accounted for by the effect of comorbid child conduct disturbance (p < .001) for both girls and boys. Greater conduct symptoms were associated with increased adult BMI (p = .04) among adolescent girls. This epidemiologic study suggests that psychopathology in childhood is associated with increased adult BMI. Early identification of psychiatric illness may present key opportunities for targeted prevention of obesity.

What Really Happens In The Home: The Medication Environment Of Urban, Minority Youth

To describe the asthma medication environment in the homes of urban minority youth, and to determine predictors of medication use, technique, and asthma control in this high risk population. Baseline data from two cohorts of minority youth with asthma in Chicago were combined for cross-sectional analysis. Bilingual research assistants (RAs) asked caregivers and children to self-report medications using pictures and observed children’s asthma medicines and inhaler technique. Adherence was determined using electronic actuation monitors and/or medication counters. The sample contained 162 mainly Latino (93%) youth ranging from 5-18 years old. Almost all were on public insurance (79%). Most had uncontrolled asthma (69% in last 4-weeks, 79% in last 12-months). Only 25% had a spacer, 78% had a quick relief medicine, and 49% had any controller. RA observations controllers showed good agreement with parent self-report (kappa=0.64) and child self-report (kappa=0.57). Children reported less parental help with medications (41%) than their parents (53%) (kappa=0.40). Only 6% of children with inhaled corticosteroids (n=54) took 4 doses/day. For the metered dose inhaler (n=141), 37% were able to properly demonstrate ≥ 6 correct steps; 33% did not actuate the medicine. Improved medication technique was associated with having an observed controller (p=0.05), having a spacer (p=0.01), more English spoken at home (p=0.02), and caregiver education level (p=0.01) but not with asthma control. This rigorous evaluation of the medication home environment of high risk youth demonstrated that many families lack critical medications, devices, technique, and adherence for proper medical management of asthma.

The Relations of Sleep and Quality of Life to School Performance in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes

This study examined parent and youth self-reports to test the hypothesis that perceived insufficient sleep duration, inconsistent sleep habits, reduced quality of life, less frequent blood glucose monitoring, and higher hemoglobin A1c would predict poorer school functioning among 50 youth with type 1 diabetes. The data suggested that a delay in bedtime on non–school nights compared with school nights was consistently related to lower grade point averages and lower reading, math, and writing test scores. Sleep duration on school nights related to writing performance and absences. Perceived disease burden predicted grade point averages and absences. These findings support the need for school psychologists to target sleep problems and quality of life in youth with diabetes as a way to help improve their school performance.

Parenting behaviors and anxious self-talk in youth and parents.

The present study examined the association between parental anxious self-talk, parenting behaviors, and youth anxious self-talk. Parents and youth ages 7 to 14 (M = 10.17; N = 208; 53% male) seeking treatment for anxiety were evaluated for anxiety symptoms, youth anxious self-talk, parental anxious self-talk, and youth-perceived parenting behavior. Youth and parental anxious self-talk were assessed by both child and parent self-reports; youth-perceived parenting behaviors were assessed by youth-reports. Parenting behaviors included separate ratings of paternal and maternal (a) acceptance, (b) psychological control, and (c) firm/behavioral control. Correlational analyses revealed that maternal anxious self-talk, but not paternal anxious self-talk, was significantly associated with youth's anxious self-talk. Maternal anxious self-talk had an inverse association with youth-perceived maternal acceptance, but was not associated with youth-perceived maternal psychological or behavioral control. Higher youth-perceived maternal acceptance was significantly associated with lower youth anxious self-talk. Youth-perceived maternal acceptance partially mediated the association between mother's anxious self-talk and youth's anxious self-talk. However, this mediation effect disappeared when taking into account youth depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to clinical implications and future directions in research.

Parent vs Burn-Injured Child Self-Report

Anxiety disorders are the most commonly reported form of mental health problem among youth, but they often go undiagnosed and untreated. This study examined the relationship between burn-injured youths' self-reported anxiety levels, as compared with their parent's perceptions of their child's emotional well-being. Burn-injured children were invited to voluntarily complete the Child Version of the 41-item survey, Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders, which consists of five anxiety subscales as well as a Total Anxiety Score. Parents were invited to complete the Parent Version. Sixty-three parent-child dyads, with girls (57%) and boys (43%), completed surveys. Mothers (73%) fathers (16%), and other caregivers (11%) participated. Youth mean age was 12.63 years and 60% reported visible burn scars. Matched-pairs t-tests were used to compare parent and child reports. Significantly lower mean scores were found between Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders Total Anxiety Score--Parent mean score of 10.52 vs the Youth mean score 21.06 (P<.001), as well as on all subscales including; panic disorder/somatic symptoms (P<.001), generalized anxiety disorder (P=.004), social anxiety disorder (separation anxiety (P<.001), and school avoidance (P<0.001). Results indicate that parents may be severely underestimating the psychological well-being of burn-injured youth. Findings emphasize the importance of a comprehensive approach in assessment for anxiety, involving the collection of feedback from both child and parent. Asking children for input into their psychological well-being is important. This study reinforces the need for a course of ongoing patient and parent education.

Parental ADHD symptoms and self-reports of positive parenting.

In 2 studies, we tested whether parental attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are associated with self-reports of more positive parenting, even after accounting for observed positive parenting behaviors. In Study 1, 96 mothers with sons 8-11 years of age participated; 44% of the boys were diagnosed with ADHD. The majority of mothers and sons were European Caucasian. In Study 2, 48 parents (24 mother-father pairs) with children 6-12 years of age participated. All children in Study 2 were diagnosed with ADHD, and 75% of the children were boys. More than 90% of the families were Caucasian. In both studies, parents self-reported on their positive parenting, and positive parenting was observed in parent-child interactions. In models including relevant demographic variables, other parental psychopathologies, and both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, parents with higher levels of hyperactive/impulsive symptoms self-reported engaging in significantly more positive parenting behaviors than were observed. Parental inattentive symptoms were not uniquely associated with self-reports of positive parenting. This pattern was found for both mothers and fathers, and across families with and without children diagnosed with ADHD. Results suggest that high levels of parental ADHD symptoms may be associated with over-estimation of positive parenting behaviors. Reasons for the distinction between the types of ADHD symptoms associated with higher self-reports of positive parenting and the clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

The Relationship Between Parent Report of Adaptive Behavior and Direct Assessment of Reading Ability in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study was designed to shed light on the profile of reading ability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A key aim was to examine the relationship between parent report of adaptive behavior and direct assessment of reading ability in these children. The authors investigated children's reading ability using the Wide Range Achievement Test—Fourth Edition (Wilkinson & Robertson, 2006) and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability—Third Edition (Neale, 2007). Parent report data was collected using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Second Edition (Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005). Participants were 21 children with ASD (6-11 years) and their primary caregivers. Direct assessment of children's reading ability showed that some children with ASD have difficulty learning to read and exhibit particular weaknesses in comprehension. The results revealed positive relationships between Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales scores in the Adaptive Communication domain and direct assessment of children's reading ability across 3 measures of reading (word-level accuracy, passage-level accuracy, and passage-level comprehension). Although literacy levels vary among children with ASD, some clearly struggle with reading. There is a significant relationship between parent self-report of adaptive behavior and direct assessment of children's reading ability.

Sleep/wake patterns and circadian typology in preschool children based on standardized parental self-reports

We studied the sleep/wake patterns and circadian typology of Japanese preschool children living in the Tokyo metropolitan area (193 boys and 190 girls, 4–6 years of age) from June to July 2012 based on a standardized parental self-reporting questionnaire. Our major findings are as follows: (1) sleep/wake timing was delayed, and the duration of nocturnal sleep (sleep period as well as time in bed) increased from that on scheduled days (weekdays) to that on free days (weekends) for all ages. (2) The duration of daily sleep (24 h), including daytime nap, was longer for 4-year-old children compared with that in 5- to 6-year-old children, but not significantly different between scheduled and free days within each age group. (3) The distribution of chronotypes was 36.3% for morning (M)-type, 48.8% for neither (N)-type and 11.2% for evening (E)-type, and this distribution was independent of sex or age. (4) Sleep/wake timing delays were observed from M-type and N-type to E-type during scheduled and free days. (5) The duration of nocturnal sleep decreased but increased for 24-h sleep time from M-type and N-type to E-type on scheduled days. (6) Sleep durations did not differ among chronotypes on free days. (7) Chronotypes were associated with parents’ diurnal preferences, mealtimes and attendance at kindergartens or childcare centers but not with sex, age, season of birth, exposure to multimedia or exposure to morning sunlight in their bedrooms. When these results were compared with those for older children and adolescents, similar sleep/wake patterns and circadian typology were observed, although to a lesser degree, in children as young as 4–6 years of age. Napping may compensate, in part, for an accumulated weekday sleep deficit. The distribution of chronotypes was associated with differences in sleep/wake timing and duration and was influenced by the parents’ diurnal preferences and lifestyles. Further research on preschool children is required to investigate whether circadian typology affects their behavioral, emotional and cognitive development.

Patient and Parental Self‐reports of Executive Functioning in a Sample of Young Female Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Before and After Cognitive Remediation Therapy

Previous studies assessing the potency of cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) have largely focused on performance-based assessments and how these change during the course of the intervention. Little is known of behavioural manifestations of such changes, and no previous studies have studied parental reports before and after CRT. Patient and parental self-reports of executive function using the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) were obtained for 17 adolescent patients in treatment for anorexia nervosa before and after CRT. Results indicated that patients scored significantly lower on the BRIEF shift subscale after CRT, whereas parental reports revealed significantly lower scores on the shift and emotional control subscales, and on the two composite indices Behavioural Regulation Index and Global Executive Composite. Case-wise comparisons support variations in executive functions in adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Changes are evaluated in light of the relationship between patients and parents and with regard to the limitations of the study design.

Assessing Anxiety in Youth with the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children

The present study examined the psychometric properties, including discriminant validity and clinical utility, of the youth self-report and parent-report forms of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) among youth with anxiety disorders. The sample included parents and youth (N = 488, 49.6% male) ages 7 to 17 who participated in the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study. Although the typical low agreement between parent and youth self-reports was found, the MASC evidenced good internal reliability across MASC subscales and informants. The main MASC subscales (i.e., Physical Symptoms, Harm Avoidance, Social Anxiety, and Separation/Panic) were examined. The Social Anxiety and Separation/Panic subscales were found to be significantly predictive of the presence and severity of social phobia and separation anxiety disorder, respectively. Using multiple informants improved the accuracy of prediction. The MASC subscales demonstrated good psychometric properties and clinical utilities in identifying youth with anxiety disorders.

Parental anxiety and concern for children undergoing dermatological surgery

Parents experience anxiety and concern about their children's anesthesia and surgeries, which can adversely affect the children's outcomes. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that influence parental fear. Because dermatological surgery is often performed in young children, we examined how a child's age and the size of the dermatological surgical area affected the levels of parental anxiety and concern. The parents' levels of anxiety and concern were accessed by parental self-reports in a prospective observational study of 106 children undergoing dermatological surgery. Correlation analysis showed that the level of parental anxiety decreased with the child's age. In contrast, the level of parental anxiety increased with the size of the surgical area. Our findings thus indicate that parents whose children undergo large-sized surgeries at a young age are at high risk. This result should be considered when performing dermatological surgery in children.

Screen Time Increases Risk of Overweight and Obesity in Active and Inactive 9-Year-Old Irish Children: A Cross Sectional Analysis

Independent associations between screen time (ST)/physical activity (PA) and overweight (OW)/obesity have been demonstrated but little research exists on the role of ST among sufficiently active children. To examine the combined influence of ST and PA on risk of OW/obesity in a nationally representative sample of 9-year-old Irish children. The sample in this cross sectional analysis contained 8568 children. Self-report parent data were used to group children into ST and PA categories and related to OW/obesity using forced entry logistic regression. High ST (> 3 hours/day), bedroom TV and mobile phone ownership increased risk of OW/obesity in high and low active children (P < .05). Low PA (<9 bouts fortnightly) was also associated with OW/obesity. In combined analyses, OW/obesity was lowest in the reference low ST/high PA group with ORs of 1.38, 1.63, and 2.07, respectively, in the low ST/low PA, high ST/high PA, and high ST/low PA groups. Access to electronic media, low socioeconomic status, parental obesity, and not engaging in sports were all related to high ST (P < .05). This study supports findings that ST is associated with OW/Obesity demonstrating this separately in high and low active children.

Indirect and direct relations between aerobic fitness, physical activity, and academic achievement in elementary school students

BackgroundThere is evidence to suggest that increasing physical activity (PA) improves academic achievement (AA) in children and that aerobic fitness is associated with both cognitive function and AA. However, it is not known how these variables are interrelated and analyses with adequate control for socioeconomic variables are needed. It was hypothesized that PA would not directly affect AA but would have an indirect effect on AA through its effect on aerobic fitness. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesized mediation using path analysis. MethodsCross-sectional data including AA, aerobic fitness, and daily PA assessed through accelerometry were collected from a large sample (N = 687) of 2nd and 3rd grade students. Demographic data were assessed via parent self-report. ResultsA total of 401 students wore the accelerometer for at least 10 h on 3 days or more and were included in the final path analysis to evaluate potential relations among PA (predictor), aerobic fitness (mediator), and WIAT-III subtest standard scores (outcomes; i.e., reading, spelling, and mathematics). Findings showed a direct effect of PA on aerobic fitness (b = .009, p < .001) and an indirect effect (mediation) of PA via fitness on math achievement (b = .003, p < .01) after controlling for student's grade, gender, body mass index, mother's education level, and household income, as well as intraclass correlations among classes and schools. Neither PA nor aerobic fitness were correlated with WIAT-III reading or spelling scores. ConclusionsMediation analysis indicated that PA exerted an influence on math achievement through its effects on aerobic fitness but was not associated with reading or spelling achievement scores.

Self-reported maternal parenting style and confidence and infant temperament in a multi-ethnic community

Ethnic minority children in the United Kingdom often experience health disadvantage. Parenting influences children's current and future health, but little is known about whether parenting behaviours and mother's perception of her infant vary by ethnicity. Using the Born in Bradford (BiB) birth cohort, which is located in an ethnically diverse and economically deprived UK city, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of mother's self-reported parenting confidence, self-efficacy, hostility and warmth, and infant temperament at six months of age. We examined responses from women of Pakistani (N = 554) and White British (N = 439) origin. Pakistani mothers reported feeling more confident about their abilities as a parent. Significantly fewer Pakistani women adopted a hostile approach to parenting, an effect that was attenuated after adjustment for socioeconomic status and mental health. Overall, women with more self-efficacious, warm and less hostile parenting styles reported significantly fewer problems with their infant's temperaments. Of women with higher self-efficacy parenting styles, Pakistani mothers were significantly more likely than White British mothers to report more problematic infant temperaments, although absolute differences were small. It is unlikely that the ethnic variation seen in children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes in childhood is attributable to differences in parenting or infant characteristics reported at six months.

WS6.1 A cross-sectional evaluation of factors influencing adherence in children with cystic fibrosis

Objectives: To evaluate adherence to enzyme supplements, vitamins and chest physiotherapy in children using a multi-method approach and to examine factors influencing adherence. Methods: Adherence to therapy was measured using scores from the self-reported parent and child ( 11 years) Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS), prescription refill history from community pharmacy and General Practitioner prescription issue history. Adherence was determined when the participant scored 80% in all applicable measurement methods. Furthermore, beliefs about medication were assessed in children 11 years and parents using a modified Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire (BMQ), quality of life was assessed using the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised and parental depressive symptoms were examined using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results: 100 children with cystic fibrosis (birth to 18 years) and their parents were recruited from the paediatric cystic fibrosis centre at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children between November 2010 and September 2011. Adherence varied between treatment and adherence measure (Table 1). Conclusion: Logistic regression analysis indicated that increased child age and low parental necessity beliefs were significant, independent drivers of non-adherence to enzyme supplements and chest physiotherapy.