16 research outputs found

    Parenting and Attachment among Low-Income African-American and Caucasian Preschoolers

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    Despite a plethora of research on parenting and infant attachment, much less is known about the contributions of parenting to preschool attachment, particularly within different racial groups. This study seeks to build on the extant literature by evaluating whether similar associations between parenting and attachment can be observed in African American and Caucasian families, and whether race moderates them. Seventy-four primary caregivers and their preschool children (51% African American, 49% Caucasian, 46% male) from similar urban, low income backgrounds participated in two visits four weeks apart when children were between four and five years of age. Attachment was scored from videotapes of the Strange Situation paradigm using the preschool classification system developed by Cassidy, Marvin, and the MacArthur Working Group. Parenting was assessed using a multi-method, multi-context approach: in the child’s home, in the laboratory, and via parent-report. Seventy-three percent of the children were classified as securely attached. Warm, responsive parenting behavior (but not race) predicted attachment. Although parents of African American and Caucasian children demonstrated some significant differences in parenting behaviors, race did not moderate the relationship between parenting and child attachment. These findings highlight the direct role that parenting plays over and above race in determining attachment security during the preschool period

    Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Families

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    Research Findings:Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young childre

    Developmental effects of exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in early childhood: A review of the literature

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    Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a prevalent social problem in the United States and women of childbearing age are the most likely victims. The young children born to these women are impacted, however, women are not routinely asked about IPV even when there is evidence that their child has been abused. To highlight the importance of routinely screening for IPV in child welfare and other social service agencies this article reviews typical social-emotional development and physiological/neurological development in early childhood and the impact that IPV and trauma have on these domains of development. Early intervention with young children and caregivers living with IPV provides a significant buffer to the negative effects that witnessing IPV have on children's development and their relationships with caregivers.Intimate Partner Violence Trauma Infant Development

    Parental Reflective Functioning Moderates the Relationship Between Difficult Temperament in Infancy and Behavior Problems in Toddlerhood

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    This study assessed the links between infant negative affect, parental reflective functioning (RF), and toddler behavior problems in a sample of 84 women and their infants. Mothers provided self-report demographic data and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised during a home visit when the infant was 7 months old. They also completed the Child Behavior Checklist over the phone when their infant was 18 months old. During a lab visit when their infant was 16 months old, mothers participated in the Parent Development Interview–Revised Short Form, which was coded for RF. Results suggest that parental RF was not associated with infant negative affect or toddler behavior problems. However, infant negative affect correlated positively with toddler behavior problems and both correlated with cumulative sociodemographic risk. Results of a moderation analysis revealed that RF moderated the relationship between infant negative affect and toddler behavior problems, such that when parental RF was high there was a nonsignificant relationship between infant negative affect and toddler behavior problems

    LoTTS parent-infant interaction coding scale: Ease of use and reliability in a sample of high-risk mothers and their infants

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    Reliable and valid measurement of parent-infant interactions is necessary to demonstrate parental skill acquisition, but existing observational coding schemes are too complex for practical use in most human service settings. The LoTTS Parent-Infant Interaction Coding System (LPICS) was developed specifically to require minimal training and to be maximally useful for human service (rather than research) settings. The LPICS consists of three global scales and four behavioral counts. Undergraduate students participated in approximately 9 h of training and coding using the LPICS. Low inter-rater reliability scores initially necessitated modifications to the LPICS in order to enhance reliability. The revised scoring procedure showed more promise, particularly for three behavior counts: talking to the infant (ICC = .86, excellent), touching the infant (ICC = .90, excellent), and smiling at the infant (ICC = .66, good), and one global scale: parental warmth (ICC = .58, fair). The revised LPICS may have utility as a brief, simple, and easy-to-teach observational measure of parent-infant interactions.Parent-infant interaction Coding systems Inter-rater reliability Ease of use

    Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Families

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    Research Findings:Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young childre

    Maternal history of adverse experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms impact toddlers’ early socioemotional wellbeing: The benefits of infant mental health-home visiting

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    Background: The present study examined the efficacy of the Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health-Home Visiting (IMH-HV) infant mental health treatment to promote the socioemotional wellbeing of infants and young children. Science illuminates the role of parental “co-regulation” of infant emotion as a pathway to young children’s capacity for self-regulation. The synchrony of parent–infant interaction begins to shape the infant’s own nascent regulatory capacities. Parents with a history of childhood adversity, such as maltreatment or witnessing family violence, and who struggle with symptoms of post-traumatic stress may have greater challenges in co-regulating their infant, thus increasing the risk of their children exhibiting social and emotional problems such as anxiety, aggression, and depression. Early intervention that targets the infant–parent relationship may help buffer the effect of parental risk on child outcomes. Methods: Participants were 58 mother–infant/toddler dyads enrolled in a longitudinal randomized control trial testing the efficacy of the relationship-based IMH-HV treatment model. Families were eligible based on child age (\u3c24 months at enrollment) and endorsement of at least two of four socio-demographic factors commonly endorsed in community mental health settings: elevated depression symptoms, three or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) parenting stress, and/or child behavior or development concerns. This study included dyads whose children were born at the time of study enrollment and completed 12-month post-baseline follow-up visits. Parents reported on their own history of ACEs and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as their toddler’s socioemotional development (e.g., empathy, prosocial skills, aggression, anxiety, prolonged tantrums). Results: Maternal ACEs predicted more toddler emotional problems through their effect on maternal PTSD symptoms. Parents who received IMH-HV treatment reported more positive toddler socioemotional wellbeing at follow-up relative to the control condition. The most positive socioemotional outcomes were for toddlers of mothers with low to moderate PTSD symptoms who received IMH-HV treatment. Conclusion: Results indicate the efficacy of IMH-HV services in promoting more optimal child socioemotional wellbeing even when mothers reported mild to moderate PTSD symptoms. Results also highlight the need to assess parental trauma when infants and young children present with socioemotional difficulties

    Relationships heal: Reducing harsh parenting and child abuse potential with relationship-based parent-infant home visiting

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    Background: Childhood maltreatment and harsh parenting can have lasting effects on young children\u27s development, and home visiting interventions provide critical opportunities to mitigate this risk. Objective: This study aimed to examine associations between participation in the Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH-HV) and both harsh parenting and child abuse potential. Participants and Setting: Participants were 76 mothers and their infants/toddlers (M age = 9.9 months at baseline) receiving IMH-HV with Community Mental Health Service Provider agencies in Michigan. Methods: Data were collected at baseline (shortly after initiation of services), and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post baseline assessment. Mothers provided demographic information and completed several questionnaire measures including the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (BCAP). Harsh parenting was rated by a trained research assistant using subscales from the Home Observation of Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Treatment dosage was collected from IMH-HV clinicians. Results: Mothers with higher numbers of IMH-HV visits showed lower levels of observed harsh parenting over the three time points in the study (estimate = 0.050, p = 0.002) and higher cumulative societal factors associated with oppression (SFAO) predicted higher harsh parenting over the three time points. A higher number of IMH-HV visits also predicted lower child abuse potential across the time points of the study (estimate = −0.78, p = 0.043), controlling for SFAO. Conclusions: Participation in the Michigan Model of IMH-HV, delivered in the community, is associated with reductions in both harsh parenting and child abuse potential

    Attachment Predicts College Students\u27 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Families

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    Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children. © 2015 Taylor & Franci
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