Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries

Exposure to neighborhood danger during childhood has negative effects that permeate multiple dimensions of childhood. The current study examined whether mothers’, fathers’, and children’s perceptions of neighborhood danger are related to child aggression, whether parental monitoring moderates this relation, and whether harsh parenting mediates this relation. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 1293 children (age M = 10.68, SD = 0.66; 51% girls) and their mothers (n = 1282) and fathers (n = 1075) in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Perceptions of greater neighborhood danger were associated with more child aggression in all nine countries according to mothers’ and fathers’ reports and in five of the nine countries according to children’s reports. Parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between perception of neighborhood danger and child aggression. The mediating role of harsh parenting was inconsistent across countries and reporters. Implications for further research are discussed, and include examination of more specific aspects of parental monitoring as well as more objective measures of neighborhood danger

Positive parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior in eight countries

Background Research supports the beneficial role of prosocial behaviors on children\u27s adjustment and successful youth development. Empirical studies point to reciprocal relations between negative parenting and children\u27s maladjustment, but reciprocal relations between positive parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior are understudied. In this study reciprocal relations between two different dimensions of positive parenting (quality of the mother–child relationship and the use of balanced positive discipline) and children\u27s prosocial behavior were examined in Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Methods Mother–child dyads (N = 1105) provided data over 2 years in two waves (Mage of child in wave 1 = 9.31 years, SD = 0.73; 50% female). Results A model of reciprocal relations between parenting dimensions, but not among parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior, emerged. In particular, children with higher levels of prosocial behavior at age 9 elicited higher levels of mother–child relationship quality in the following year. Conclusions Findings yielded similar relations across countries, evidencing that being prosocial in late childhood contributes to some degree to the enhancement of a nurturing and involved mother–child relationship in countries that vary widely on sociodemographic profiles and psychological characteristics. Policy and intervention implications of this study are discussed

Directions in locative media

Editor's NoteIn 2002, Jeremy Hight was involved in the project 34 North 118 West, one of the seminal works of what became known as locative media. He also wrote one of the seminal texts of the field, Narrative Archaeology. Here he discusses the process of conceptualizing and making the work and how it has fueled his latest projects with locative narratives. � 2008 IEEE.2 page(s

Effects of parental monitoring and exposure to community violence on antisocial behavior and anxiety/depression among adolescents

The aim of the research was to investigate the influence of gender, exposure to community violence, and parental monitoring upon antisocial behavior and anxiety/depression in adolescence. Involved in the study were 489 adolescents (290 males and 189 females) from 4 secondary schools in the city of Naples, Italy. The age of participants ranged from 16 to 19 (mean age = 17.53, standard deviation = 1.24). All were in the 3rd (11th grade) or 5th year (13th grade) of high school. Self-reported measures were used to assess antisocial behavior, symptoms of anxiety/depression, parental monitoring and exposure to community violence as a victim or as a witness. First of all we tested, through a hierarchical multiple regression, the independent contribution of gender, exposure to community violence and parental monitoring upon antisocial behavior and symptoms of anxiety/depression; then we tested the moderating role of gender and parental monitoring on the negative effects of exposure to violence. The results show that male gender, high level of exposure to community violence (both as a victim and a witness), and low level of parental monitoring predict a higher involvement in antisocial behavior. Female gender, being a victim and low level of parental monitoring predict symptoms of anxiety/depression. Furthermore, parental monitoring and gender play a moderating role, minimizing or amplifying the negative effects of exposure to community violence. The results of the research suggest that a similar pattern of risk and protective factors can give rise to multiple paths of adaptive or maladaptive development

The contribution of school-related parental monitoring, self-determination, and self-efficacy to academic achievement

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of school-related parental monitoring (SR-PM), self-determined motivation, and academic self-efficacy to academic achievement across time. The authors hypothesized that SR-PM would affect academic achievement indirectly via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy beliefs. The participants were 501 adolescents (220 boys; 281 girls) in Grades 6 and 9 as well as their mothers and fathers. We carried out a 2-year, multi-informant study in which the authors assessed SR-PM (maternal and paternal reports), self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy (self-report), and academic achievement (school records). The authors used structural equation model analysis to test the hypotheses. The analysis shows that SR-PM was positively associated with self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy and that self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy affected academic achievement. Furthermore, analyses of indirect effects showed that SR-PM influences academic achievement via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy

Attributions and attitudes of mothers and fathers in Italy

Objective. The present study examined mean level similarities and differences as well as correlations between mothers' and fathers' attributions regarding successes and failures in caregiving situations and progressive versus authoritarian attitudes. Design. Interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers in 177 Italian families from Rome and Naples. Results. Fathers' attributions reflected higher perceived control over failure than did mothers' attributions, whereas mothers reported attitudes that were more progressive than did fathers. Only the difference in progressive attitudes remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Site differences emerged for 4 of the 7 attributions and attitudes examined; 3 remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. The authors found medium effect sizes for concordance between parents in the same family for authoritarian attitudes and modernity of attitudes after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Conclusions. This work elucidates ways that parent gender and cultural context relate to attributions regarding parents' success and failure in caregiving situations and to progressive versus authoritarian parenting attitudes

Controllo Psicologico in Adolescenti Italiani e Colombiani: uno Studio Longitudinale Diadico

Il Controllo Psicologico (CP) si riferisce al controllo che i genitori esercitano sui figli attraverso strategie che includono la svalutazione e l’induzione di colpa limitandone ed invalidandone l’esperienza psicologica ed emotiva (Barber, 1996). Numerosi studi hanno dimostrato l’importanza che il CP ha sull’adattamento dei figli e sul funzionamento familiare (Symeou & Gerogiou, 2017), sottolineandone la forte valenza culturale (Chen et al., 2016). Tuttavia, la letteratura riporta risultati contrastanti su come il CP sia utilizzato in modo differente da parte di madri e padri e molti studi, che collegano il CP con l'adattamento dei figli, valutano solo il CP della madre o lo valutano senza differenziare le influenze materne da quelle paterne (Soenens et al., 2010). Questi aspetti sono inoltre stati scarsamente testati cross-culturalmente. Il presente studio si pone l’obiettivo di estendere la letteratura sul CP considerando il contributo di entrambi i genitori analizzando le influenze dirette e reciproche sull’uso del CP nel tempo e l’effetto di queste dinamiche sul disadattamento dei figli adolescenti. In secondo luogo, in linea con gli studi che ipotizzano un’universalità del CP tra le culture (Gargurevich & Soenens, 2016), il presente contributo si propone di esplorare la presenza di similarità o differenze nelle associazioni diadiche e longitudinali tra famiglie Italiane e Colombiane. Metodo: Lo studio include famiglie Italiane (N=147) e Colombiane (N=74) che partecipano allo studio longitudinale cross-culturale “Parenting Behavior and Child Adjustment Across Cultures” (Lansford, 2011). L’età media dei ragazzi nei tre tempi considerati nello studio era 13,26 (T1), 14.24 (T2) e 15,33 (T3) anni. Il CP è stato valutato dai genitori attraverso la Psychological Control Scale (Barber et al., 1996), mentre i figli hanno valutato il proprio comportamento attraverso la Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach,1991). Sono stati implementati l’Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM, Kenny et al., 2006) e l’Analisi Multigruppo per il confronto tra i due paesi. Risultati: I risultati mostrano come l’utilizzo di CP da parte di padri e madri sia stabile nel tempo (actor effects) e come entrambi si influenzino reciprocamente (partner effects). Il CP materno (T2) è associato positivamente ai comportamenti antisociali dei figli (T3; β=.20, p<.01), mentre un’associazione negativa è stata riscontrata tra il CP paterno (T2) ed i sintomi internalizzanti (T3; β=-.14, p<.01). Le stesse associazioni sono state riscontrate confrontando le famiglie Italiane e Colombiane. Conclusioni: Il presente studio offre una prospettiva del CP, inclusiva delle componenti intra-familiari e diadiche, longitudinali e cross-culturali. I risultati emersi dallo studio offrono a ricercatori e professionisti elementi importanti per la pianificazione di interventi sul CP che tengano conto della natura della famiglia come sistema interdipendente e culturalmente caratterizzato