Do fathers matter? In search of causes and consequences of parental sensitivity

__Abstract__ Sensitivity is defined as the ability to accurately perceive and to interpret the signals implicit in the child’s behavior and to respond to them promptly and appropriately (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Mary Ainsworth was the first researcher to define the concept of sensitivity along these lines. She carefully observed parental caregiving behavior and children’s behaviors such as crying and exploration. Most importantly, she developed scales to rate caregiving behavior from detailed observations within families in naturalistic settings. Later, structured play tasks were developed which are now a frequently used method in observing parent-child interaction (Joosen, Mesman, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Van IJzendoorn, 2012). Parents generally receive instructions to play with their child with or without toys for a duration ranging from 5 to 15 minutes. This method provokes interaction between parent and child and ther

Changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior across COVID-19 and the moderating role of parent-child attachment relationship quality

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 (fatherchild) 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

Within-family associations of parent–adolescent relationship quality and adolescent affective well-being

Background: Parent–adolescent relationship quality is theorized to be an important correlate of adolescent affective well-being. Little is known about the within-family processes underlying parent–adolescent relationship quality and affective well-being over a period of months. This three-wave, preregistered study examined within- and between-family associations between parent–adolescent relationship quality (support and conflict) and adolescent well-being (negative and positive affect). In addition, we examined whether the associations differed between mothers and fathers, and for adolescents' affective well-being in different social contexts (at home, at school, with peers). Methods: The sample consisted of 244 Dutch adolescents (61.5% girls; age range: 12–17 years; mean age = 13.8 years). Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were used. Results: At the between-family level, higher levels of support and lower levels of conflict were associated with higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. At the within-family level, increases in support and decreases in conflict were concurrently associated with increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect. More parent–adolescent conflict than typical also predicted increases in negative affect, 3 months later, and more negative affect and less positive affect than typical predicted increased conflict, 3 months later. These within-family effects were largely similar for fathers and mothers. Associations for conflict occurred through bidirectional processes: Parent–adolescent conflict shaped and was shaped by adolescents' emotions at home, at school, and with peers. Conclusion: Results suggest that parent–adolescent relationship quality (especially conflict) and adolescent affective well-being cofluctuate and predict each other over time within families.</p

Wilde leesclubs:Een veldonderzoek naar cultuuroverdracht en sociale waarde

Veel onderzoek is gedaan naar het reilen en zeilen in leesclubs die aangesloten zijn bij verschillende instanties, waaronder Stichting Senia (een organisatie voor senioren die mensen met dezelfde interesse – literatuur – samenbrengt in leesclubs). Maar er bestaan ook (naar schatting) honderden leesclubs in Nederland die niet aangesloten zijn bij een organisatie. Onderzoek naar deze zogenaamde ‘wilde’ leesclubs is echter nog weinig gedaan. Het is interessant voor stichtingen als Senia als ook bibliotheken om meer te weten te komen over ‘wilde’ leesclubs en te zien hoe dergelijke leesclubs in zijn werk gaan. Zij kunnen door deze inzichten inspiratie opdoen om hun eigen leesclubs te verbeteren. Daarnaast komt men meer te weten over de achterliggende motivaties van lezers die liever in een ‘wilde’ leesclub lezen dan zich bij een overkoepelende organisatie aan te sluiten. Hierop kunnen stichtingen of bibliotheken wellicht inspelen in de toekomst. Aan de hand van een veldonderzoek naar deze wilde leesclubs met behulp van observaties, (korte) interviews en een vragenlijst wordt in dit referaat antwoord gezocht op de volgende vraag: “Hoe verhouden cultuuroverdracht en de sociale waarde zich tot elkaar in wilde leesclubs?

Collaborative learning intervention associated with small increases in home-based school involvement for lower SES families in deprived neighbourhoods

This study investigated the impact of the Dutch family-oriented collaborative learning intervention, characterised by a partnership approach and provision of personalised support. We assessed effects on parents' home-based school involvement, perceived quality of the parent-teacher relationship, and parenting skills. Fifty-six families with children in grades 1-4 (aged 4-9) were randomly assigned to an intervention or waiting list condition. Results of two path models, using cluster-robust standard errors to adjust for nesting within our data, and controlling for baseline values of our outcome variables, indicated small improvements in home-based school involvement among families in the intervention group, but no differences in the perceived quality of the parent-teacher relationship nor in parenting skills. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the idea that, under conditions of a partnership approach and provision of personalised support, efforts to support and strengthen the capacities of lower SES parents to promote child development can be fruitful

Understanding differential effectiveness of behavioral parent training from a family systems perspective: Families are greater than “some of their parts”

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is a theory-driven, evidence-based, and widely used intervention strategy for preventing and decreasing children’s disruptiv

The role of supportive parenting and stress reactivity in the development of self-regulation in early childhood

Maternal sensitivity and supportive discipline are important determinants of child self-regulation. Some evidence suggests that specific genetic or temperamental markers determine children’s susceptibility to the impact of maternal parenting on child self-regulation. Cortisol reactivity as a susceptibility marker moderating the relation between maternal parenting and child self-regulation has not yet been studied. In this longitudinal population-based study (N = 258), the moderating role of infant cortisol stress response to the Strange Situation Procedure at age 1 was examined in the association between parenting (sensitivity and supportive discipline) at age 3 and child self-regulation at age 3 and 4. Maternal sensitivity and supportive discipline were related to child immediate and prolonged delay of gratification at age 3, and maternal sensitivity was related to working memory skills at age 4. No evidence of differential susceptibility to maternal parenting was found, based on differences in infant cortisol stress response