Warmth In Relationship Research Articles

Proximal Processes and Contextual Factors Associated with Early Socio-emotional Competence Development.

There is growing interest in child socio-emotional competence from parents, educators, employers and policy makers, with emphasis on developing it as early as possible. The aim of the present study was to examine contextual and proximal factors that influence socio-emotional competence development across the first five years of a child's life. We used data from 3200 mothers and their children drawn mostly from four major data collection waves (antenatal, 9 months, 2 years and 4.5 years) of the population-based longitudinal study, Growing Up in New Zealand. Regression analyses were carried out to identify the predictors of socio-emotional competence after controlling for demographics and prior score(s) of socio-emotional competence. We found that specific maternal behaviours, such as playing games and playing with toys with children, singing songs or telling stories to them, reading books with them, having rules around viewing TV, DVDs and videos, and praising children have a positive effect on socio-emotional competence. Parental relationship warmth and less family stress at 9 months also made positive contributions to socio-emotional competence at 9 months and 2 years. In contrast, attending childcare and having more siblings at home negatively predicted socio-emotional competence at 9 months. Mother's unemployment, living in neighbourhoods perceived as negative and being in contact with family and social services were negatively associated with concurrent socio-emotional competence at 2 years. Overall, more and/or stronger contemporaneous effects were found suggesting that negative effects of contextual factors may not have lasting impact on socio-emotional competence. In addition, the results showed that maternal behaviours need to be practised regularly to have positive impact on child's socio-emotional development.

The spread of political alienation from parents to adolescent children.

The present study examines the interpersonal circumstances that facilitate the spread of political alienation between parents and adolescent children. A total of 571 German adolescents (314 girls, 257 boys) and their mothers and fathers each completed questionnaires describing their own political alienation at two time points, approximately 1 year apart. In addition, adolescents completed questionnaires describing their perceptions of warmth in relationships with parents. Adolescents were in the sixth (M = 12.24 years old), eighth (M = 13.48 years old), and 10th (M = 15.51 years old) grades at the outset. Dyadic analyses revealed that initial parent political alienation predicted subsequent increases in adolescent political alienation for youth who described relationships with parents as high in warmth but not for those describing relationships as low in warmth. Mothers and fathers did not differ in terms of the magnitude of their influence. Adolescents did not influence the political alienation of their parents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The reciprocal relations between well-being and maternal and peer warmth in adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system.

Although justice system involvement increases the risk of negative outcomes for adolescents, many justice-involved youth desist from crime as adults (Sampson & Laub, 2005). There are few studies examining predictors of positive development in justice-involved adolescents. In the current study, we assess the influence of maternal and peer warmth on the development of well-being in adolescents involved in the US justice system over the course of 5years. Participants included 1216 adolescent males who experienced their first arrest. Interviews were given every year for 5 years. Well-being was measured using the EPOCH questionnaire (Kern et al., 2016) and relationship warmth was measured using a scale adapted from Conger et al. (1994). Hypotheses were tested using latent curve models with structured residuals. Baseline levels of well-being were associated with maternal (β = 0.49, p < .001) and peer warmth, β = 0.52, p < .001. When an individual's maternal warmth was higher than predicted given their maternal warmth trajectory, their subsequent well-being was higher than expected given their well-being trajectory, b = 0.07, p < .001. When an individual's peer warmth was higher than predicted, their subsequent well-being was higher than expected, b = 0.06, p < .001. These relations were reciprocal, such that well-being also predicted increased maternal and peer warmth. These findings suggest that increasing maternal or peer warmth may have cascading effects on the well-being of justice-involved adolescents. Interventions for justice-involved youth may benefit from targeting factors that increase positive development for these youth.

Links between marital and parent–child relationship in African American families: A dyadic approach.

Grounded in a family systems perspective, we used a dyadic approach to examine longitudinal associations between parents' marital relationship qualities (marital conflict and marital satisfaction) and parent-child warmth and conflict in a sample of 180 African American families with adolescent-age children. We also tested whether these associations varied as a function of family economic strain, parents' depressive symptoms, and parent and youth gender. Results from longitudinal, Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) showed significant actor and partner effects for associations between marital satisfaction and parent-child relationships reflecting both spillover and compensation processes. With respect to compensation, on occasions when fathers experienced lower marital satisfaction than usual (i.e., compared to their own cross time average), youth reported more relationship warmth with mothers than usual. Spillover effects were moderated, such that, on occasions when parents experienced more marital satisfaction than usual, adolescents reported more warmth, but only on occasions when parents also experienced lower economic strain than usual. Neither parents' depressive symptoms nor youth gender moderated associations between marriage and parent-child relationships. Results highlight interconnections between marital and parent-child relationships within African American families, the importance of assessing experiences of multiple family members, and the role of family contextual factors for family systems processes in this sociocultural group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Family Relationships and Their Associations With Perceptions of Family Functioning in Mothers of Children With Intellectual Disability.

We explored whether reports of three dyadic relationships (marital/partner, parent-child, sibling) were related to perceptions of family functioning in 467 mothers of children with intellectual disability aged 4-15 years. Structural equation models were fitted to examine associations between relationship indicators and family functioning. The final structural model showed that partner relationship satisfaction, partner disagreement, child-parent conflict, and sibling relationship warmth accounted for the most variance in family functioning, with partner relationship satisfaction having the strongest positive association. Dimensions of dyadic relationships appear to be associated with broader constructs of family functioning in this sample of mothers, signifying the potential for systemic intervention.

The predictive power of expressed emotion and its components in relapse of schizophrenia: a meta-analysis and meta-regression

Schizophrenia is a longstanding condition and most patients experience multiple relapse in the course of the condition. High expressed emotion (HEE) has been found to be a predictor of relapse. This meta-analysis and meta-regression examined the association of global EE and relapse specifically focusing on timing of relapse and EE domains. Random-effects model was used to pool the effect estimates. Multiple random-effects meta-regression was used to compute the moderator analysis. Putative effect moderators including culture, EE measurements, age, length of condition and study quality were included. Thirty-three prospective cohort studies comprising 2284 patients were included in the descriptive review and 30 studies were included for meta-analysis and meta-regression. Findings revealed that global HEE significantly predicted more on early relapse (⩽12 months) [OR 4.87 (95% CI 3.22-7.36)] than that on late relapse (>12 months) [OR 2.13 (95% CI 1.36-3.35)]. Higher level of critical comments (CC) significantly predicted relapse [OR 2.22 (95% CI 1.16-4.26)], whereas higher level of warmth significantly protected patients from relapse [OR 0.35 (95% CI 0.15-0.85)]. None of the moderators included significantly change the results. These findings indicate that there is a dynamic interaction between EE-relapse association with time, and CC and warmth are the two important EE domains to influence relapse among patients with schizophrenia. Results also confirmed the foci of family interventions on reducing CC and improving warmth in relationship.

DINAMIKA ‘NGAJI ONLINE’ RAMADHAN DI MASA PAGEBLUK COVID-19 PADA KOMUNITAS PESANTREN

This paper reveals the dynamics of the changing therapeutic relationship of the kiai with students (santri) in learning (ngaji) from face-to-face to online models in the time of COVID-19. The research method is ethnographic-hermeneutic. In the face-to-face learning system, therapeutics occur because of the warm relationship by looking directly at the kiai's face which makes the students feel calm. In the “Ngaji Online” the therapeutic system switches to environmental settings that make students feel safe and comfortable. In the “Ngaji Online” system, the warmth of relationships begins to weaken. However, this weakness can be covered up because the spiritual relationship between the kiai and the students still feels strong. This spiritual relationship is the key to therapeutic for the Islamic boarding school.

Kehangatan Hubungan dengan Orang Tua, Pengasuh dan Teman dengan Sindrome Depresi pada Remaja Panti Asuhan di Jakarta

Depression is a mental health problem caused by multifactors and is common in adolescents. Adolescents who live in orphanages are considered vulnerable to the appearance of depression. Even so, adolescents who live in orphanages in Jakarta generally still have parents so they can establish a warmth relationship as protection against depression syndrome. In addition to parents, adolescents who live at the Orphanage also establish warmth relationships with friends and caregivers. This research was conducted to find out how the warmth of adolescent relationships with parents, caregivers and friends with depression syndrome among adolescents in orphanages. This study was conducted in 402 adolescents (male: 179; female: 223; M: 14.88) in 20 orphanages in Jakarta. The results of the study show the warmth of relationships with mothers, fathers, caregivers and friends in adolescents at the middle level and symptoms of depression at low levels. Furthermore, this study found that only the warmth of the relationship with the father correlated with depression syndrome.

Longitudinal Links between Expressivity and African American Parent-Adolescent Relationships: A Dyadic Approach

Parents’ and youth’s personality qualities are associated with parent-child relationships. Given that gender shapes the organization and structure of family life, gender typed personality qualities may also have implications for relationships between parents and children. We examined longitudinal linkages between expressivity, a gender typed personality quality, and parent-child warmth and conflict in a sample of African American families and tested if parental stress moderated these associations. Data came from mothers, fathers, and two adolescent-aged siblings (53% girls) from 185 families who participated in a three-year longitudinal study. In home interviews, parents and youth rated their own expressive qualities and perceptions of their relationship. Mothers and fathers also reported their family and work-related stress. Results from Actor-Partner Interdependence Models showed that youth’s expressivity positively predicted their own and their parents’ perceptions of relationship warmth and negatively predicted their own and their parents’ perceptions of conflict. Mothers’ expressivity positively predicted their own and youth’s perceptions of warmth and fathers’ expressivity positively predicted only their own perceptions of warmth. Parents’ expressivity was unrelated to conflict. Parental stress moderated the expressivity parent-youth relationship linkages differently for mothers and fathers. Youth’s expressivity more strongly predicted maternal warmth among mothers who experienced low versus high stress. Youth’s expressivity predicted lower conflict among fathers who experienced high stress. Findings underscore the utility of moving beyond biological sex to examine the role of gender typed qualities in parent-child relationships during adolescence, as well as the contexts in which those processes are embedded.

Neural responses for evaluating self and mother traits in adolescence depend on mother-adolescent relationships.

An important task in adolescence is to achieve autonomy while preserving a positive relationship with parents. Previous fMRI studies showed largely overlapping activation in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) for evaluating self and close-other traits but separable activation for self and non-close other. Possibly, more similar mPFC activation reflects closeness or warmth in relationships. We investigated neural indicators of the mother–adolescent relationship in adolescents between 11 and 21 years (N = 143). Mother–adolescent relationship was measured using (i) mothers’ and adolescents’ trait evaluations about each other, (ii) observations of warmth, negativity and emotional support in mother–adolescent conversation and (iii) similarity in adolescents’ neural activation for evaluating self vs mother traits. Results showed relatively more similar mPFC activation in adolescents who evaluated their mothers’ traits more positively, suggesting that this is possibly a neural indicator of mother–adolescent relationship quality. Furthermore, mid-adolescence was characterized by more negative mother–adolescent interaction compared to early and late adolescence. This effect co-occurred with mid-adolescent peaks in dorsal striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and superior temporal sulcus activation in evaluating traits of self vs mother. These results suggest more negative relationships and stronger self-focus in mid-adolescence.

Perceived relationship support moderates the association of contextual stress with inflammation among African Americans.

We followed 402 African American young adults from ages 24 to 29, a period of emerging committed relationships, to examine the association of contextual stress (CS), for example, experiences of financial strain, victimization, and racial discrimination, with inflammation, and to test predictions that greater perceived relationship warmth and support (PRWS) at age 29 would moderate the association between earlier CS and inflammation, using a multiplex assessment of cytokines to construct an index of the ratio between predominantly proinflammatory cytokines versus predominantly anti-inflammatory cytokines. CS experienced at age 24 was associated with greater inflammation at age 29 in the full sample (b = .112, p = .004). PRWS at age 29 moderated the association of earlier CS with inflammation (b = -.114, p = .011), but there was no significant main effect of PRWS (b = -.053, p = .265). Finally, using an internal moderator approach, we compared the association of CS with inflammation among those not in a committed relationship to those in more or less supportive relationships, showing a significant and stronger association of CS with inflammation for those with low PRWS (-1 SD; b = .182, p < .001), a weaker and nonsignificant association of CS with inflammation among those with higher PRWS (+1 SD; b = -.002, p = .975), and an intermediate and nonsignificant association of CS with inflammation among those with no committed romantic relationship (b = .077, p = .227). Results were robust to number of cytokines included in the inflammation index. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Sibling relationships of youth in foster care: A predictor of resilience

Few empirical investigations have been conducted examining sibling relationships among youth in foster care, and even fewer have explored relationship warmth as a protective factor. With a sample of 246 youth from a non-profit organization's summer camp program, Camp To Belong, this study examined the association between a warm sibling relationship and resilience for youth in foster care. A warm sibling relationship significantly predicted individual resilience for both middle childhood and adolescence developmental periods. Younger youth with poorer sibling relationship warmth had lower resilience. The implications of these findings are important given that resilience is a factor associated with improved outcomes in the face of adversity. The promotion of sibling relationships, a readily available resource, can be drawn upon by those in clinical practice to improve outcomes for youth in foster care.

The Longitudinal Association of Relationship Quality and Reoffending Among First-Time Juvenile Offenders and Their Mothers.

To understand how youth desist from crime after their first arrest, it is necessary to investigate their primary support system: their parents. As such, this study examined the reciprocal effects of justice system contact on the mother-child dyad. Interviews with 317 mothers and their sons from Orange County, CA, Jefferson Parish, LA, and Philadelphia, PA were conducted semiannually over two and a half years. At the beginning of the study, the sons were first-time offenders aged 13-17 and mostly non-White (i.e., 19.2 White, 56.5 Latino, 21.5 Black, and 2.8% another race/ethnicity). The results revealed that a high quality initial mother-son relationship reduces youths' re-offending over time. Furthermore, as mothers perceived that their sons were offending more, they reported less warmth in their relationships with their sons two and a half years later. Interestingly, youth's age emerged as a moderator. First, older youth were less likely to engage in reoffending if they had a warm maternal relationship. Second, decreases in relationship warmth associated with re-offending were steeper for younger youth. The findings have implications for juvenile justice policy in terms of improving probationary outcomes for youth offenders, and alleviating the financial and emotional burden on justice system-involved families.

Understanding the Contribution of a Father's Warmth on His Child's Social Skills

Secondary analyses from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were conducted to investigate whether the impact of father-child relationship quality at 54 months and warmth in the father-child relationship at first grade were related to his child’s social skills in the third grade, while controlling for mother-child interaction, father’s personality, SES, and attachment. It was further investigated whether warmth in the relationship at first grade mediated the effect of the quality of the relationship on social skills. Participants included 856 families taken from the NICHD Study of Early Child Childcare for secondary analyses. Analyses indicated that the quality of interactions between a father and his 54-month old child was directly related to his child’s social skills at 3rd grade. Latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) found that the quality of early father-child interactions influences a child’s later social outcomes through the development of a warm father-child relationship for daughters but not for sons. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

The role of parents' romantic relationship warmth and hostility in child feeding practices and children's eating behaviours

This research examined the associations between parents' reports of the quality of their romantic relationships with their partner/spouse, their feeding interactions with their children, and their children's eating behaviours. One hundred and fifty-six married/cohabiting mothers of young children completed self-report measures of their romantic relationship quality, child feeding practices and children's eating behaviours. Reports of a less warm, more hostile romantic relationship were associated with children's less adaptive eating behaviours. More hostile relationship quality was also related to greater restriction of their children's food intake. The quality of parents' romantic relationships is associated with parental feeding practices and children's eating behaviours. Further work should examine the emotional tone of mealtimes in order to discover whether this may be the mechanism of the relationship.

It takes two to tango: How parents’ and adolescents’ personalities link to the quality of their mutual relationship.

According to J. Belsky's (1984) process model of parenting, both adolescents' and parents' personality should exert a significant impact on the quality of their mutual relationship. Using multi-informant, symmetric data on the Big Five personality traits and the relationship quality of mothers, fathers, and two adolescent children, the current study set out to test this prediction. Adolescents' agreeableness and parents' extraversion emerged as predictors of relationship warmth, whereas parents' openness emerged as a predictor of low restrictive control. In addition, some gender-specific effects emerged. Overall, parents' and adolescents' traits equally predicted the amount of relationship warmth, whereas adolescents' unique personality more strongly predicted the amount of restrictive control. The predictive power of adolescents' personality increased with age. Personality characteristics that affected relationship quality were partly shared between parents and their adolescent children. Findings support Belsky's (1984) notion that both parents' and children's personality predict the quality of their mutual relationship, though the relative predictive power of children and parents depends on the type of outcome variable and the age of the children.

Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, Toronto, 11th July 1982

During the period in which these papers were given, there were great achievements on the ecumenical scene, as the quest to restore the Church’s unity was pursued enthusiastically by all the major Christiandenominations. The Papal visit of John Paul II to England in 1982 witnessed a warmth in relationships between the Church of England and the Catholic Church that had not been experienced since the early 16th century Reformation in England to which More fell victim. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission was achieving considerable doctrinal consensus and revisionist scholarship was encouraging an historical review by which the faithful Catholic and the confessing Protestant could look upon each other respectfully and appreciatively. It is to this ecumenical theme that James McConica turns in his contribution.

Siblings as Confidants: Emotional Understanding, Relationship Warmth, and Sibling Self‐Disclosure

Associations among (a) self‐disclosures between early adolescent siblings, (b) emotional understanding, and (c) relationship warmth were investigated. Grade 5–6 children (M age = 11.5 years) were interviewed concerning the incidence of disclosures to closest‐in‐age siblings (20 = older, 20 = younger), feelings regarding disclosing (or not), and sibling relationship quality. Warmth was measured with the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Furman &amp; Buhrmester, 1985) and emotional understanding was assessed with the Hypothetical Relationships Picture Task (adapted from Schneider, 1989, &amp; Aquan‐Assee, 1992). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated self‐disclosure was positively associated with feeling good about sharing and negatively associated with reports of not trusting or not receiving emotional support from their sibling. Sibling relationship warmth was a key characteristic associated with both emotional understanding and self‐disclosure; female target children demonstrated greater emotional understanding. Warmth, but not emotional understanding, was associated with self‐disclosure. Findings are discussed in light of the importance of links between affective relationships and children’s social‐emotional understanding.

Children's Perceptions of Relationships with Siblings, Friends, and Mothers: Compensatory Processes and Links with Adjustment

Links between children's psychological adjustment and individual differences in their perceptions of relationships with siblings, mothers, and friends were studied in a sample of 85 second-graders. Results indicated that characteristics of these relationships were significantly correlated with children's loneliness, depressive mood, self-esteem, and behavioral conduct. There were some links among children's perceptions of their relationships with siblings, friends, and mothers. A compensatory model of associations among adjustment and warmth in children's relationships with friends and mothers was supported. Children who reported that their relationships with either mothers, friends, or mothers and friends were characterized by high levels of warmth had significantly better adjustment outcomes than children who reported low levels of warmth in relationships with both friends and mothers. The importance of the network of children's relationships for their mental health is discussed.

The psychology of grief and mourning in Judaism

In the mental health and pastoral counseling literature concerned with death, the term "grief is used without a precise or consistent meaning. While it is generally understood as the emotional response of the bereaved person to his loss, in some writings it is meant as though it were a separate emotion with its own set of characteristics. To others, it is used to refer to a complex combination of emotional reactions. The problem is primarily a matter of conceptualization. Because the behav ioral responses to bereavement are relatively universal, the differences between writers are in the concepts they use to classify these behaviors. Concepts are, in turn, the expression of a theoretical framework: psychological, social psychologi cal, medical, psychoanalytic, or pastoral psychological. Yet beyond these theo retical positions with their respective concepts, there does emerge a pattern of reactions characteristic of grief. There is a reaction equivalent to denial of death. Lindemann has referred to it as an "intense preoccupation with the image of the deceased" sometimes taking the form of imagined dialogue.1 Spiro points out that in order to protect himself from emotional collapse, "the bereaved first uses the defense of denial. He rejects reality by refusing to believe that the loved object has really died."2 Jackson refers to this response as "substitution" wherein "the old room, the clothes, the plot in the cemetery become more than the physical symbols of the person. In a sense, they become part of the person for the bereaved. . . . "3 In addition, there can be distinguished a response of distancing of self from others effected through withdrawal (turning inward) and hostility (a driving away). Lindemann describes this as a "disconcerting loss of warmth in relation ship to other people, and a tendency to respond with irritability and anger, a wish not to be bothered by others. . . . "4 More often in the literature, with drawal and hostility are treated as separate categories of response. For example, drawing on Hornets conceptualization of the predominant interpersonal behav