Parent–adolescent emotion-related behavior during conflict in a clinical sample

Introduction Parents and adolescents often have conflict. Previous research has been inconsistent regarding the association between some parent behaviors during this conflict and adolescent symptoms. This study examines parents’ behaviors during a conflict resolution discussion in a clinical sample, and the relationship between parents’ behaviors and adolescents’ depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods Depression and anxiety symptoms were self-reported by 22 adolescents of ages 13–17 who were diagnosed with depression. They also participated in an observed conflict resolution task with one parent. Using observationally coded data, we utilized two linear multiple regressions to assess how parent and adolescent emotion-related behaviors related to adolescents’ depression and anxiety symptoms. Results Adolescents’ conflict behaviors were not associated with their psychopathology symptoms. Parent conflict behaviors of support and withdrawal were both negatively associated with adolescent depression and anxiety, with parent contempt marginally associated with adolescent depression. Conclusions In this clinical sample, parents of adolescents with low mood or anxiety demonstrated some reduced negative parenting behaviors (i.e., contempt and withdrawal), but also reduced positive parenting behavior (i.e., support). The results suggest that when some negative parenting behaviors are reduced, this may inadvertently reinforce depressive behaviors. The results also indicate the importance of increasing supportive parent behaviors.

Overcoming barriers in cognitive-behavioral therapy for youth anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder: Addressing parent behaviors

Exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-established treatment for anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in youth. Although a majority of youth respond to CBT, a substantial portion remain symptomatic and/or experience a return of symptoms after completing a course of treatment. This highlights the need for further improvements to this evidence-based treatment. Given that parent behaviors can negatively influence treatment, addressing parental behaviors in CBT serves as a novel and promising treatment target to improve youth's therapeutic outcomes. The authors review three common parent behaviors that influence anxiety and treatment outcomes: family accommodation, parent anxious behaviors, and management of disruptive behaviors. The authors then discuss each behavior, its effect on anxiety/OCD and treatment, and how to address the behavior within the context of CBT. In doing so, therapeutic learning can be optimized to improve CBT outcomes for youth with anxiety disorders and/or OCD.

What About the Parental Response?: The Effect of Delinquency and Anger on Parental Monitoring

Parental monitoring is a set of correlated parenting behaviors involving attention to and tracking of the child’s whereabouts, activities, and adaptations. The impact of parental monitoring is ubiquitous and has broad relevance for youth outcomes. Similarly, although less commonly investigated, youth behaviors can impact parents’ or caregivers’ responses or behaviors. Longitudinal analysis was used to assess the gendered effects of youth behaviors—defined as internalized anger, externalized anger, and delinquency—on parent behaviors (i.e., parental monitoring). Results showed that adolescent’s levels of internalized anger, externalized anger, and delinquency were predictive of parental monitoring. Specifically, as the adolescents aged, parental monitoring decreased and parental monitoring was differentiated based on gender. Results and implications for the parent–child relationship are discussed.

Understanding Parents’ Roles in Children’s Learning and Engagement in Informal Science Learning Sites

Informal science learning sites (ISLS) create opportunities for children to learn about science outside of the classroom. This study analyzed children’s learning behaviors in ISLS using video recordings of family visits to a zoo, children’s museum, or aquarium. Furthermore, parent behaviors, features of the exhibits and the presence of an educator were also examined in relation to children’s behaviors. Participants included 63 children (60.3% female) and 44 parents in 31 family groups. Results showed that parents’ science questions and explanations were positively related to children observing the exhibit. Parents’ science explanations were also negatively related to children’s science explanations. Furthermore, children were more likely to provide science explanations when the exhibit was not interactive. Lastly there were no differences in children’s behaviors based on whether an educator was present at the exhibit. This study provides further evidence that children’s interactions with others and their environment are important for children’s learning behaviors.

A Multi-Method Approach to Understand Parent Behaviors During Child Acute Pain

Parent behaviors strongly predict child responses to acute pain; less studied are the factors shaping parent behaviors. Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a physiological correlate of emotional responding. Resting or “trait” HRV is indicative of the capacity for emotion regulation, while momentary changes or “state” HRV is reflective of current emotion regulatory efforts. This study aimed to examine: (1) parent state HRV as a contributor to parent verbal behaviors before and during child pain and (2) parent trait HRV as a moderator between parent emotional states (anxiety, catastrophizing) and parent behaviors. Children 7–12 years of age completed the cold pressor task (CPT) in the presence of a primary caregiver. Parents rated their state anxiety and catastrophizing about child pain. Parent HRV was examined at 30-second epochs at rest (“trait HRV”), before (“state HRV-warm”), and during their child’s CPT (“state HRV-cold”). Parent behaviors were video recorded and coded as coping-promoting or distress-promoting. Thirty-one parents had complete cardiac, observational, and self-report data. A small to moderate negative correlation emerged between state HRV-cold and CP behaviors during CPT. Trait HRV moderated the association between parent state catastrophizing and distress-promoting behaviors. Parents experiencing state catastrophizing were more likely to engage in distress-promoting behavior if they had low trait HRV. This novel work suggests parents who generally have a low (vs. high) HRV, reflective of low capacity for emotion regulation, may be at risk of engaging in behaviors that increase child distress when catastrophizing about their child’s pain.

Can an Instrument Validated to Assess Parent–Child Interactions in the Laboratory Setting Be Applied to Home-Based Observations?

Background: The Toothbrushing Observations Scale (TBOS) was developed in a laboratory setting to measure child and parent behaviors during toothbrushing. However, we required an instrument to assess home based behaviors. We assessed the feasibility of applying TBOS to observations of parents and their child (<3 years of age) in urban homes.Methods: Sample consisted of 36 families recruited from university and community pediatric dental/medical clinics and a Women, Infants, and Children center in Chicago as part of a pilot study for a larger clinical trial. The average age of children in our sample was 20.7 months. Most of the parent participants were mothers (90%), and 75% of the parents identified as Hispanic. Parent–child dyads were video-recorded during home-based toothbrushing activities and footage was reviewed by two independent TBOS coders.Results: The TBOS instrument consists of 12 parent and 18 child items. We were able to code five parent and ten child items.Conclusion: The feasibility of applying the TBOS measure to our study population was somewhat limited by factors related to home-based observations and the young age of children in our study. Instruments need to be validated across natural settings, such as the home, to increase the quality and accuracy of human behavioral data.

A Clinic-Based School Readiness Coaching Intervention for Low-Income Latino Children: An Intervention Study

This intervention study assessed school readiness (SR)-related parent behaviors and perceived barriers for Latino parent-child pairs (N = 149, Mage = 4.5) after a clinic-based SR intervention (n = 74) or standard well-child care (n = 75). Intervention was a 1-hour visit with a community health worker (CHW) to assess child SR, model SR interactions, and provide SR tools and resources. Primary outcomes were parent behaviors and barriers collected by phone questionnaire. Regression analyses revealed that parents in the intervention were more likely to tell their child a story and visit the library in the last week and less likely to report barriers of limited SR knowledge. A brief, SR coaching intervention with a CHW increased SR-related parent behaviors and reduced barriers to SR. Evaluation with school entry data is underway.

SUPER scale to the rescue: reconciling what parents say and what they communicate during their child’s pain

Aim: Fully illuminating mechanisms relating parent behaviors to child pain require examining both verbal and nonverbal communication. We conducted a multimethod investigation into parent nonverbal communication and physiology, and investigated the psychometric properties of the Scheme for Understanding Parent Emotive Responses Scale to assess parent nonverbals accompanying reassurance and distraction. Materials & methods: 23 children (7–12 years of age) completed the cold pressor task with their parent (predominately mothers). Parent heart rate and heart rate variability were monitored and assessed. The Scheme for Understanding Parent Emotive Responses Scale coding of parent nonverbal behaviors (i.e., vocal cues, facial expressions, posture) was used to detect levels of fear, warmth, disengagement and humor. Results & conclusion: Preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of the scale are offered. Parent reassurance was associated with more fear, less warmth and less humor compared with distraction.

Looking or talking: Visual attention and verbal engagement during shared book reading of preschool children on the autism spectrum

Visual attention and active engagement during shared book reading are important for facilitating emergent literacy learning during the preschool years. Children on the autism spectrum often show difficulties in language and literacy development, yet research investigating potential indicators of shared book reading engagement, including visual attention and verbal engagement, for this group of preschoolers is currently limited. To better understand the relationship between children’s visual attention and verbal engagement during shared book reading, parent shared book reading behaviors, and children’s emergent literacy skills (e.g. receptive vocabulary and letter-name knowledge), we observed 40 preschoolers on the spectrum and their parents sharing an unfamiliar storybook. Videos of the shared book reading interactions were transcribed and coded for child and parent behaviors using observational coding schemes. Strong significant associations were found between children’s visual attention, verbal engagement, and parents’ use of questions and/or prompts during the shared book reading interaction. Contrary to expectations, children’s visual attention was not related to their emergent literacy skills. Overall, our findings emphasize the interplay between parent behaviors and how preschoolers on the spectrum engage in this important literacy-related context and provide directions for future research. Lay abstract Children who have an autism diagnosis often have trouble learning to talk and read. These difficulties become noticeable before children start school and may be linked to lower attention and engagement in literacy-related activities such as sharing storybooks with their parents. To date, few researchers have looked at possible ways to measure how children on the autism spectrum engage during shared storybook reading, for example, where children look or how much they talk, and how this may be related to their letter-name knowledge and their vocabulary knowledge. In this study, we analyzed videos of 40 preschoolers on the spectrum and their parents sharing an unfamiliar storybook. We wanted to see whether where children looked (i.e. toward the storybook, their parent, or elsewhere) and how much they talked were related to what their parents did (e.g. ask questions or provide prompts) and/or children’s letter-name knowledge and vocabulary. The videos were coded for different child and parent behaviors. We found that where children looked and how much they talked were strongly related to each other and what parents did during the shared book reading interaction, particularly asking questions and using prompts. In contrast to what we expected, where children looked was not related to children’s letter or vocabulary knowledge. Overall, results of the study draw attention to the connection between what parents do and what preschoolers on the spectrum do when sharing storybooks and provide directions for future research.