Associations Between Temperamental Negative Affectivity and Parental Anxiety Across Childhood

Extant research suggests a link between child temperamental negativity and parental anxiety and depression. However, most studies focus on temperamental negativity generally, and over fairly short longitudinal time spans. The present study extended the time span well beyond immediate postnatal infancy and explored associations between specific child temperament dimensions, both positive and negative, and parental psychopathology. We expected positive relationships between temperamental negative affectivity and parental mental health problems, but an inverse relation involving temperamental effortful control. Data were collected on child temperament, and parental anxiety and depression, using a cross-sectional design and anonymous survey methodology across five child age groups: infancy (INF; 3 - 13 months, N ≅ 83), toddler (TOD; 14 - 36 months, N ≅ 94), early childhood (EC; 3 - 7 years, N ≅ 81), middle/late childhood (MLC; 8 - 10 years, N ≅ 31), and early adolescence (EA; 10 - 15 years, N ≅ 38). REDCap survey links were published on several dozen social media outlets and relevant listservs. Across all datasets, parental respondents primarily identified as white and female. Child gender distribution was approximately equal between girls and boys. We used the Rothbart family of instruments to assess temperamental negative affectivity and effortful control in each sample (i.e., IBQ-R Short Form, ECBQ Short Form, CBQ Short Form, TMCQ Standard Form, and EATQ-R Short Form, respectively). Parental anxiety was measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), and parental depression was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Associations involving child negative affectivity were generally consistent with expectations. Results indicated positive correlations between parental anxiety and child negative affectivity in 4 out of 5 groups (INF: r(83) = .25, p = .02; TOD: r(94) = .27, p = .01; EC: r(81) = .37, p \u3c .001; EA: r(39) = .57, p \u3c .001), and between parental depression and child negative affectivity in all age groups (INF: r(81) = .26, p = .02; TOD: r(91) = .22, p = .03; EAC: r(80) = .26, p = .02; MLC: r(30) = .42, p = .02; EAA: r(37) = .42, p = .01). Effortful control was negatively, but less robustly, correlated with parental anxiety (TOD: r(94) = -.22, p = .03; EAA: r(39) = -.44, p = .02) and depression (TOD: r(91) = -.29, p = .01; MLC: r(30) = .45, p = .01). Although we make no assumptions regarding directions of effect between child temperament and parental mental health, bidirectional influences seem likely. For example, parental mental health problems probably exacerbate temperamental negative affectivity, and temperamental negative affectivity probably exacerbates parental mental health problems. This study provides an important expansion of the timeframes of associations between parental mental health and child temperament

Exploring Emotion Regulation as a Predictor of Perceived Social Support Among Caregivers of Children

Emotion regulation is defined as adjusting emotional responses to emotion-related stimuli in socially appropriate ways. Effective emotion regulation decreases the potential for social conflict and encourages helping behaviors that promote high-quality, supportive dyadic communications. Emotion regulation may impact the perception of available social support. Social support, or feeling cared by loved ones, also promotes mental health and an increased quality of life. Less clear is the extent to which skills in emotion regulation may contribute to perceptions of emotional support. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study was to explore whether emotion regulatory skills would be correlated with perceptions of social support in a sample of caregivers. Using anonymous survey methodology, data were collected on caregiver perceived social support and emotion regulation difficulties. REDCap survey links were distributed across various social media outlets and relevant listservs. The 327 caregivers who fully completed both surveys identified primarily as white and biological mothers. We measured perceived social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and emotion regulation with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. As hypothesized, perceived social support and difficulties in emotion regulation were negatively correlated r(326) = -.40, p \u3c .001. Although we make no assumptions regarding directions of effect between emotion regulatory skills and perceived social support, bidirectional influences seem likely. Given that effective emotion regulation helps to lower the intensity and duration of negative emotions, it might also affect one’s subjective perception and attainment of available support. Specifically, individuals with enhanced emotion regulatory skills may be less likely to engage in behaviors that avoid or strain relationships and may be more likely to seek support when needed. Seeking social support may ultimately create a positive feedback loop in which increased perceived social support can further improve one’s confidence and ability in regulating their emotions. Thus, this study provided useful expansion in the research of the relationships between emotion regulation and perceived social support. To further this research, however, future research could implore whether emotional regulatory skills differ among sources of social support, such as between family, friends, and significant others

Children\u27s Depression Inventory-2

Book Summary: This Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of individual differences within the domain of personality, with major sub-topics including assessment and research design, taxonomy, biological factors, evolutionary evidence, motivation, cognition and emotion, as well as gender differences, cultural considerations, and personality disorders. It is an up-to-date reference for this increasingly important area and a key resource for those who study intelligence, personality, motivation, aptitude and their variations within members of a group

Internalizing Symptoms Associated with Emotional Abuse: An Examination of Religious Social Support as a Moderating Variable

This study aims to investigate if religious social support in childhood will moderate the impact of negative outcomes associated with emotional abuse. Further, this study will examine whether and how gender and ethnicity impact this relationship. The sample includes undergraduate students attending East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Participants completed an on line survey that asked about childhood experiences (e.g., emotional abuse, emotion socialization, religious social support) as well as current mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression)

Link Between Parenting Style and Offspring Empathy as Mediated by a Relationship of Familial Emotional Climate and Emotional Regulation

A human’s capacity to empathize with others enhances their ability to not only connect, but also communicate with those around them (cite). One’s ability to empathize with others is a skill which is developed through transactional processes with those in their environment. Parenting style has been identified as one such predictor of empathy, with permissive parenting predicting lower levels of offspring empathy and authorative parenting predicting higher levels of empathy. Children who have better control over their emotions through emotional regulation, also tend to exhibit higher levels of empathy. Examining variables within the parent-child dyad which may contribute to the development of empathy in adulthood could inform both parents and health professionals on ways to foster healthy emotional development in children. We hypothesize that one’s views of their parents’ parenting style from childhood will be related to current empathy. Further, we hypothesize that the relation between parenting style and empathy will be explained by the impact of parenting style on family emotion climate during childhood, which, in turn, will predict emotion regulation abilities, which will predict empathy. Participants (N= 474, age M = 20.38, SD = 4.7) were recruited through the REACH (Religion, Emotions, and Current Health) survey study, in which data was collected via self-report. Retrospective measures regarding the participant’s childhood include the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) which was used to assess parenting style, and the Parent Attitude Toward Children’s Expressiveness Scale (PACES) which was used to examine the participant’s perceptions of how accepting their parents were of their emotions during childhood (accepting emotion climate). Measures examining current emotional regulation and empathy were the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). Direct bivariate analyses and multivariate analyses will be conducted using SPSS and the PROCESS macro. Although authoritarian parenting has not been significantly linked with a lessened ability for children to regulate emotions, we predict this relationship may become significant through a serial mediation of the emotional climate of the home and emotional regulation. We hypothesize authoritarian parenting will predict a less accepting family emotion climate, which will in turn predict difficulties in emotional regulation and thus result in lower levels of empathy. Conversely, Authoritative parenting is proposed to predict a more accepting family emotion climate and better ability regulating emotions, which is hypothesized to in turn predict greater empathy

Internalizing Symptoms Associated with Emotional Abuse: An Examiniation of Religious Social Support as a Moderating Variable

Emotional abuse in childhood is linked to an increased risk for internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety in adulthood. Religious social support offers a promising defense in maintaining mental well-being in the face of trauma. This study aims to investigate if religious social support in childhood will moderate the impact of negative outcomes associated with emotional abuse. Further, this study will examine whether and how gender and ethnicity impact this relationship. The sample includes undergraduate students attending East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in the southeastern United States (n = 554, 61% female, 11% Black, M age = 20.38 SD = 4.69). Participants completed an online survey that asked about childhood experiences (e.g., emotional abuse, emotion socialization, religious social support) as well as current mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression). Data was analyzed using Statistical Software for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Bivariate relations were examined through Pearson’s correlations and moderated moderation was tested via the Hayes Process Macro (version 3.0, Model 3). Results indicated that religious social support from childhood was negatively related to depression (r = -.23, p = .00) and anxiety (r = -.24, p = 00) whereas negative religious experiences from childhood were positively related to depression (r = .35, p = .00) and anxiety (r = .32, p = .00). Harsh emotional parenting from childhood was positively related to depression (r = .56, p = .00) and anxiety (r = .24, p = .00) in adulthood. Results did not find support for moderated moderation for predicting depression F[1, 360] = .25; ; R2 \u3c .001; p = .62) or anxiety F[1, 360] = .31; R2 \u3c .001; p = .58). Chi-squared indicated no significant differences in the percentage of individuals who endorsed childhood emotional abuse due to ethnicity, gender, or the interaction of ethnicity and gender. There are limitations to retrospective report of experiences from childhood. Future research would benefit from longitudinal designs that follow children across time to better understand whether and how religious social support may be a buffer for emotional abuse experienced in childhood

Childhood Maltreatment and Motherhood: Implications for Maternal Well-Being and Mothering

Book Summary: This volume offers an overview of the latest research on perinatal adaptation among women who have faced trauma, loss and/or adversity, both in childhood and/or as an adult, and describes the varied trajectories of adaptive and maladaptive coping that follow. The range of outcomes considered span from health-limiting (e.g. mental illness, substance use, unhealthy life style behaviours) to health-promoting (e.g. resilience and posttraumatic growth). These outcomes are examined both in relation to mothers’ experience of motherhood and parenting, and with regard to their children’s lives. Interpersonal trauma, experienced in childhood and/or or adulthood, can have a profound effect on how women experience the transition into motherhood – from pregnancy, to childbirth, and postpartum caregiving. Women across the globe are exposed to high rates of interpersonal violence, and face the physical and emotional consequences of such events. The shift into motherhood is an emotionally evocative period in a woman’s life, entailing not only challenges, but also the potential for healing and growth. Individual chapters will present state-of-the-art research, and will also highlight the voices of women who have personally experienced trauma, illustrating the effects on their experiences as mothers. Throughout the book, the consistent emphasis is on clinical implications and on ways that providers can create a context for healing and growth with the help of current evidence-based and promising treatment methods