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Journal of Family Psychology : JFP :... Mar 2024Coparenting refers to the way parents or caregivers relate to each other as parents. Marital satisfaction (MS) is the subjective evaluation of the overall quality of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Coparenting refers to the way parents or caregivers relate to each other as parents. Marital satisfaction (MS) is the subjective evaluation of the overall quality of one's relationship, including the extent to which needs, expectations, and desires are met. The coparenting relationship is distinct from, yet intimately connected to, the marital relationship. The objective of this study was to summarize and analyze current evidence regarding the association between MS and coparenting quality (CQ). Meta-analyses of 108 published and unpublished articles were conducted to evaluate the association between MS and CQ. In the meta-analysis of samples including both mothers and fathers, a medium association was found between MS and CQ, = .41; 95% CI [.37, .44]; (88) = 1253.42. Separate meta-analyses of samples including only mothers and only fathers and an analog analysis of variance examining the moderating effect of parent gender found larger effects for mothers ( = .48) than fathers ( = .42). Maternal age, paternal education level, relationship length, and number of children were also significant moderators, with larger effects being found with families with more advanced maternal age, lower paternal education, longer relationships, and more children. The country, person reporting on CQ, and measure of CQ were also found to be statistically significant moderators. This research has implications that may inform the work of parent and family support services and contribute to positive family functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Male; Female; Child; Humans; Marriage; Parenting; Parent-Child Relations; Parents; Mothers; Fathers; Personal Satisfaction
PubMed: 37747533
DOI: 10.1037/fam0001149 -
PloS One 2023Research indicates increases in coercive parenting towards children and increases in child externalizing behavior during COVID-19 as compared to the pre-pandemic period....
Research indicates increases in coercive parenting towards children and increases in child externalizing behavior during COVID-19 as compared to the pre-pandemic period. In this preregistered study, we extended previous knowledge by investigating to what extent, and under what conditions, changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior are interrelated. Ninety-five mothers and fathers of children (of age 3 prior to the pandemic) reported on coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior before and during the pandemic, and trained assistants observed the quality of mother-child and father-child attachment relationship prior to the pandemic. We employed latent change score modeling to test the extent to which changes in maternal and paternal coercive parenting and changes in child externalizing behavior across the pre-pandemic period and the onset of the first COVID-19 lockdown are interrelated. Moreover, we tested whether these linkages are moderated by changes in the other parent's coercive parenting and the quality of parent-child attachment relationship. Specifically, we tested the moderation by mother-child (father-child) attachment relationship quality in the relation between changes in mothers' (fathers') coercive parenting and changes in child externalizing behavior. We found that changes in mothers', but not fathers' coercive parenting were positively associated with changes in child externalizing behavior. We found no moderation by changes in the other parent's parenting or by parent-child attachment relationship quality. Our findings provide support for the transactional processes underlying mothers' and children's behavior in the context of non-normative stressful conditions. We recommend incorporating evidence-based (parenting) support for mothers, fathers, and young children in prevention strategies and recovery tools employed during and after future lockdowns and non-normative stressful events.
Topics: Male; Female; Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; Parenting; COVID-19; Communicable Disease Control; Parent-Child Relations; Child Behavior; Mothers
PubMed: 37824556
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290089 -
Development and Psychopathology Aug 2023Poverty increases the risk of poorer executive function (EF) in children born full-term (FT). Stressors associated with poverty, including variability in parenting...
Poverty increases the risk of poorer executive function (EF) in children born full-term (FT). Stressors associated with poverty, including variability in parenting behavior, may explain links between poverty and poorer EF, but this remains unclear for children born very preterm (VPT). We examine socioeconomic and parental psychosocial adversity on parenting behavior, and whether these factors independently or jointly influence EF in children born VPT. At age five years, 154 children (VPT = 88, FT = 66) completed parent-child interaction and EF tasks. Parental sensitivity, intrusiveness, cognitive stimulation, and positive and negative regard were coded with the Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale. Socioeconomic adversity spanned maternal demographic stressors, Income-to-Needs ratio, and Area Deprivation Index. Parents completed measures of depression, anxiety, inattention/hyperactivity, parenting stress, and social-communication interaction (SCI) problems. Parental SCI problems were associated with parenting behavior in parents of children born VPT, whereas socioeconomic adversity was significant in parents of FT children. Negative parenting behaviors, but not positive parenting behaviors, were related to child EF. This association was explained by parental depression/anxiety symptoms and socioeconomic adversity. Results persisted after adjustment for parent and child IQ. Findings may inform research on dyadic interventions that embed treatment for parental mood/affective symptoms and SCI problems to improve childhood EF.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Child; Child, Preschool; Parenting; Infant, Extremely Premature; Socioeconomic Disparities in Health; Parents; Anxiety
PubMed: 34725016
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421000961 -
Comprehensive Psychiatry Nov 2023To evaluate the effectiveness of ACT-based interventions on improving the mental health of parents of children with SHCN compared to active/inactive controls and to... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy-based interventions for improving the psychological health of parents of children with special health care needs: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
PURPOSE
To evaluate the effectiveness of ACT-based interventions on improving the mental health of parents of children with SHCN compared to active/inactive controls and to investigate the characteristics/components of the effective interventions in the included studies.
METHODS
Eight databases were searched from inception to 14 February 2023. We included all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ACT-based interventions for parents of children with SHCN published in English or Chinese journals and dissertations reporting at least one parental mental health outcome postintervention.
RESULTS
Fourteen RCTs were included. The results indicated significant improvements of ACT-based interventions in the stress (Hedges' g = -0.36), depressive symptoms (g = -0.32), anxiety (g = -0.29), distress (g = -0.29), psychological flexibility (g = 0.51), mindful awareness/mindfulness abilities (g = 0.41), and confidence/self-efficacy (g = 0.30) of parents, as well as in the emotional and behavioural problems (EBP; g = -0.39) of their children with SHCN postintervention, with moderate to high certainty of evidence. Furthermore, the optimal components of ACT-based interventions, including the intervention approaches (ACT combined with another parenting technique/program), active participants (only involving parents), delivery mode (in-person) and format (group-based format), and desirable number of sessions (4-8 sessions), were identified to inform the design of future interventions/studies.
CONCLUSION
This review highlights the positive effects of ACT-based interventions on mental health, psychological flexibility, mindful awareness/mindfulness abilities, and confidence/self-efficacy in parents and EBP in children with SHCN. Since group-based ACT combined with a parenting technique/program was identified as the optimal effective strategy, its effects could be further examined in larger-scale RCTs with parents and children with SHCN with diverse ethnic and sociodemographic characteristics.
Topics: Child; Humans; Mental Health; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Parents; Parenting; Delivery of Health Care
PubMed: 37757593
DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152426 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2023This study aimed to determine how paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence affects adult attachment to a partner during the perinatal period, using three...
This study aimed to determine how paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence affects adult attachment to a partner during the perinatal period, using three different models of attachment. We used the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to examine perceived parenting practices and adult attachment styles, respectively. The participants included 4586 Japanese women who were pregnant or who had given birth, up until one month after childbirth. We performed structural equation modeling analysis between PBI and RQ scores with three different category models, including the four-category model (secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissive attachment) as Model 1, the two-category model (model of the self and others) as Model 2, and the single-category model (total attachment style) as Model 3. Models 1 and 2 showed a good fit. Both path models showed a significant association between adult attachment style and perceived paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence, where high care and low overprotection from both paternal and maternal parents predicted adult attachment. Our findings indicate that attachment styles are best described using the four-category and two-category models, and suggest that both paternal and maternal overprotection and care influence adult attachment with a partner during the perinatal period.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Delivery, Obstetric; East Asian People; Fear; Parenting; Parents; Interpersonal Relations; Object Attachment; Child; Peripartum Period
PubMed: 37735197
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42674-1 -
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology Oct 2023Family Check-up (FCU) was introduced in Sweden more than a decade ago. Little is known about what parents experience as FCU's key mechanisms leading to changes in...
Family Check-up (FCU) was introduced in Sweden more than a decade ago. Little is known about what parents experience as FCU's key mechanisms leading to changes in parenting. The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish parents' satisfaction with FCU, and their experiences of facilitators and barriers for making changes in their parenting. A mixed methods approach was employed using a parent satisfaction questionnaire (n = 77) and focus groups (n = 15). General satisfaction with FCU was adequate, with an average rating of 4 on a five-point scale (range 3.1-4.6). The analysis of quantitative and qualitative data resulted in eight themes representing facilitators and four themes representing barriers, organized into three categories: (1) access and engagement; (2) therapeutic process; and (3) program components. Ease of access to FCU facilitated initial engagement. Individual tailoring and access to FCU during different phases of change facilitated sustained engagement and change. Therapeutic process facilitators were a meaningful, supportive relationship with the provider, psychological benefits for parents and benefits for the whole family. Program components that facilitated change in parenting were new learning of parenting strategies and use of helpful techniques such as videotaping and home practice. Negative experiences with service systems prior to starting FCU, parent psychological barriers, and parent-provider mismatch were described as potential barriers. Some parents desired other program formats that were not offered, and some felt that new learning was insufficient to improve child behavior. Understanding the parent perspective can contribute to successful future work with implementing FCU.
Topics: Child; Humans; Sweden; Parents; Parenting; Child Behavior
PubMed: 36891962
DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12913 -
Journal of Family Psychology : JFP :... Oct 2023Despite the critical need to understand the processes and predictors behind adolescent substance use and risk behaviors, research has focused primarily on individual...
Despite the critical need to understand the processes and predictors behind adolescent substance use and risk behaviors, research has focused primarily on individual predictors rather than family dynamics, and mothers rather than fathers. Family systems theory would suggest that children are impacted both directly by parents' behavior (e.g., modeling risk behaviors) and indirectly by their parents' behaviors toward one another (e.g., coparenting) and their relationships with their parents (mother-child and father-child closeness). This article investigates links between parental substance use at child age 9 and children's substance use and delinquent behaviors at age 15, and relational mediators of these associations (coparenting, parent-child closeness). Data from 2,453 mothers, fathers, and children from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (Reichman et al., 2001) were analyzed. Fathers' drug and alcohol use at child age 9 were not directly associated with adolescent risk behaviors at age 15, but his drug use was associated with adolescent substance use indirectly via its influence on maternal coparenting and thereafter father-child closeness. Mothers' alcohol and drug use were both directly associated with later adolescent drug use and delinquency, and indirectly with delinquency via their associations with fathers' coparenting and thereafter mother-child closeness. Implications of the findings for intervention and prevention as well as future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Male; Female; Humans; Adolescent; Child; Mothers; Fathers; Parenting; Parents; Substance-Related Disorders; Longitudinal Studies
PubMed: 36972086
DOI: 10.1037/fam0001086 -
Journal of Child Psychology and... Oct 2023Parental feeding practices (PFPs) are a key component of a child's food environment. Parent-child feeding relationships are hypothesised to be bidirectional; however, to...
Reciprocal associations between parental feeding practices and child eating behaviours from toddlerhood to early childhood: bivariate latent change analysis in the Gemini cohort.
BACKGROUND
Parental feeding practices (PFPs) are a key component of a child's food environment. Parent-child feeding relationships are hypothesised to be bidirectional; however, to date, few large prospective studies have examined this, instead focussing on unidirectional relationships. As such, the direction of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours remains unclear.
METHODS
Data were from Gemini, a population-based sample of children born in England and Wales in 2007. Children's eating behaviours and PFPs were measured at 15/16 months and 5 years using validated psychometric measures (n = 1,858 children). Bivariate Latent Change Score Modelling was used to examine the nature of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours at 15/16 months and 5 years. Models were adjusted to account for clustering of twins within families and for sex of the child, socioeconomic status, gestational age and age of the child at measurement time points.
RESULTS
A reciprocal relationship was observed between instrumental feeding and emotional overeating, with greater instrumental feeding predicting greater increases in emotional overeating (β = .09; 0.03-0.15; p = .004) and vice versa (β = .09; 0.03-0.15; p = .005). Reciprocity was also observed between encouragement to eat nutritious foods and children's enjoyment of food, with greater encouragement predicting greater increases in enjoyment of food (β = .08; 0.02-0.13; p = .006) and vice versa (β = .07; 0.02-0.11; p = .003). Parent-child associations and child-parent associations were also observed.
CONCLUSION
These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that certain feeding practices are used as a 'natural' response to a child expressing a greater interest in and enthusiasm for food, but at the same time, such practices impact the development of eating behaviours by nurturing and encouraging the expression of higher emotional overeating and greater enjoyment of food in preschool years. The findings provide important insights into the PFPs and eating behaviour traits that could be targeted as part of a tailored feeding intervention to support parents of children during the preschool formative years.
Topics: Child, Preschool; Humans; Child; Prospective Studies; Child Behavior; Feeding Behavior; Parents; Hyperphagia; Surveys and Questionnaires; Parenting
PubMed: 37183771
DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13819 -
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine &... Apr 2024In recent years, there has been an increase in the delivery and evaluation of parent education programs within youth sport. Subsequently, some recent reviews of these... (Review)
Review
In recent years, there has been an increase in the delivery and evaluation of parent education programs within youth sport. Subsequently, some recent reviews of these programs have been conducted. However, one consistent issue across many of the programs and associated review papers is the lack of an appropriate evaluation framework to guide the planning or associated reporting of the outcomes of the interventions. This has limited understanding of the overall impact of sport parenting interventions. Thus, the purposes of the current study were as follows: (a) to identify commonalities in the reporting and evaluation of parent education programs; (b) to identify gaps in the reporting and evaluation of parent education programs; (c) to draw these insights together to provide suggestions regarding how the RE-AIM could be used to enhance planning and evaluation of evidence-based programs for parent education in sport. Specifically, utilizing the RE-AIM framework to provide insights into pertinent evaluation metrics, this integrative review aimed to identify commonalities and gaps in the reporting of parent education programs. The RE-AIM framework considers the essential elements to assess the external and internal validity of interventions through five dimensions: Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (Am J Public Health. 1999;89(9):1322-1327). Subsequently, the review aimed to provide suggestions regarding strategies to enhance the planning and evaluation of evidence-based programs for parent education in sport. Overall, the analysis demonstrated that most studies presented some pertinent evaluation information related to the RE-AIM framework, such as the number of participants and contacts made, the measures used, and the program level. However, the studies also lacked information on participant exclusion criteria, the method used to select the delivery agent (e.g., parents engaged in the program), and cost measures. Overall, the current study identified various areas where programs could be enhanced, specifically related to reporting procedural elements (e.g., program design, target population, and costs) pertaining to the implementation of parent education programs.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Sports; Parents; Parenting; Program Evaluation
PubMed: 38581216
DOI: 10.1111/sms.14620 -
South African Family Practice :... Dec 2023Children roaming the streets estimated at 1 in 10 by a 2021 United Nation Children's Funds (UNICEF) report is a growing problem, in cities of lower- and middle-income...
BACKGROUND
Children roaming the streets estimated at 1 in 10 by a 2021 United Nation Children's Funds (UNICEF) report is a growing problem, in cities of lower- and middle-income African countries. Studies of street children with no family ties abound, but there is a paucity of studies on children on the street who exist within families and return home daily. We explored the family dynamics of children on the streets of Ibadan, emphasising family structure, resources and relationships.
METHODS
Using an exploratory design based on a qualitative approach 53 participants were interviewed, including children on the streets, parental figures, child-welfare officers and street shop owners. Participants were selected from streets in the five urban local government areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. Recorded data were transcribed, and framework analysis was performed.
RESULTS
The family dynamics included family structural problems, poor family resources and poor parent-child relationships. The family structural problems included: broken homes, large families and ambivalence around polygamy as subthemes. Family resources comprised: poor economic resources, poor social resources, educational challenges, cultural ambivalence and spiritual backdrops. The family relationships patterns included: poor adaptability, economic-oriented partnership, poor growth support, poor emotional connection and poor family bonding.
CONCLUSION
The dynamics driving a family's choice for child streetism in Ibadan, mostly to hawk, are devaluation of family life, parenting irresponsibility, and poor filial relationship, underscored by economic constraints and socio-cultural decadence. The results of this research buttress the need for family-level interventions to forestall the escalating phenomenon of child streetism in Ibadan, Nigeria.Contribution: This research highlights the family dynamics of children on the streets, and buttresses family-level interventions are necessary to forestall escalating child-streetism in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Topics: Humans; Child; Nigeria; Parents; Child Welfare; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Parenting
PubMed: 38112016
DOI: 10.4102/safp.v65i1.5774