This study examined the relationship between joint decision-making ability and relationship quality in 207 sibling pairs aged 7-13. Sibling pairs completed a puzzle task and their relationship quality was assessed through surveys about intimacy, conflict, and trust. While the pairs who completed the puzzle scored slightly higher on intimacy and lower on conflict, the differences were not statistically significant. The study found no evidence that joint decision-making is linked to relationship quality in school-aged siblings, which could be due to limitations in the sample size and measures used.
For my capstone project I wanted to analyze successful childhood interventions that build non-cognitive skills. First, I identified traits that increased the likelihood of positive outcomes. Then, I pinpointed interventions that improved those traits. I drew from over fifty studies and included only those that met stringent selection standards such as experimental study design, repeat studies among different populations and significant effect sizes. Based on my findings, I advocated increased emphasis on specific interventions in schools and communities.
Parental Low Self-Control, Family Environments, and Juvenile DelinquencyGeorge Connolly
Abstract Research consistently finds that low self-control is significantly correlated with delinquency. Only recently, however, have researchers started to examine associations between parental low self-control, family environments, and child antisocial behavior. Adding to this emerging area of research, the current study examines associations between parental low self-control, aspects of the family environment, and officially recoded juvenile delinquency among a sample (N = 101) of juveniles processed through a juvenile justice assessment facility located in the Southeastern United States.Furthermore, it considers whether aspects of family environments, particularly family cohesion, family conflict, and parental efficacy, mediate the influence of parental low self-control on delinquency. The results of a series of analyses indicate that parental low self-control is correlated with various aspects of family environments and juvenile delinquency, and that the association between parental low self-control and juvenile delinquency is mediated by family environments. Supplementary analyses also suggestthat the association between parental low self-control and the family environmentmay be reciprocal.
Young Unmarried Mothers' Relationships and Their Effects on Parenting Self-Efficacy. Poster Preseted at 2010 Conference for the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).
For my capstone project I wanted to analyze successful childhood interventions that build non-cognitive skills. First, I identified traits that increased the likelihood of positive outcomes. Then, I pinpointed interventions that improved those traits. I drew from over fifty studies and included only those that met stringent selection standards such as experimental study design, repeat studies among different populations and significant effect sizes. Based on my findings, I advocated increased emphasis on specific interventions in schools and communities.
Parental Low Self-Control, Family Environments, and Juvenile DelinquencyGeorge Connolly
Abstract Research consistently finds that low self-control is significantly correlated with delinquency. Only recently, however, have researchers started to examine associations between parental low self-control, family environments, and child antisocial behavior. Adding to this emerging area of research, the current study examines associations between parental low self-control, aspects of the family environment, and officially recoded juvenile delinquency among a sample (N = 101) of juveniles processed through a juvenile justice assessment facility located in the Southeastern United States.Furthermore, it considers whether aspects of family environments, particularly family cohesion, family conflict, and parental efficacy, mediate the influence of parental low self-control on delinquency. The results of a series of analyses indicate that parental low self-control is correlated with various aspects of family environments and juvenile delinquency, and that the association between parental low self-control and juvenile delinquency is mediated by family environments. Supplementary analyses also suggestthat the association between parental low self-control and the family environmentmay be reciprocal.
Young Unmarried Mothers' Relationships and Their Effects on Parenting Self-Efficacy. Poster Preseted at 2010 Conference for the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).
Taller internacional vigilancia tecnológica: Programa Nacional VINTEC en vigi...OVTT
El 10 de octubre de 2014 se celebró en México D.F. el Taller internacional sobre vigilancia tecnológica para innovar en red, en el marco de las actividades del II Congreso Internacional RedUE-ALCUE. Se contó con la participación de disertantes internacionales, de países como Argentina, Colombia, México y España. Más información: www.ovtt.org
The Effect of Family Communication Patterns on AdoptedAdoles.docxcherry686017
The Effect of Family Communication Patterns on Adopted
Adolescent Adjustment
Martha A. Rueter and
Department of Family Social Science, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, University of
Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108 ([email protected])
Ascan F. Koerner
Department of Communication Studies, 244 Ford Hall, 224 Church St. S.E., University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis MN 55455
Abstract
Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption
status and family communication interact such that adopted adolescents in families with certain
communication patterns are at greater risk for adjustment problems. We tested this hypothesis using
a community-based sample of 384 adoptive and 208 nonadoptive families. Adolescents in these
families were, on average, 16 years of age. The results supported our hypothesis. Adopted adolescents
were at significantly greater risk for adjustment problems compared to nonadopted adolescents in
families that emphasized conformity orientation without conversation orientation and in families that
emphasized neither conformity nor conversation orientation. Adolescents in families emphasizing
conversation orientation were at lower risk for adjustment problems, regardless of adoption status.
Keywords
adjustment; adolescents; adoption; family communication patterns
Recent changes in the modern family have led researchers to pay closer attention to the growing
complexity of family structures, such as step-families, families formed through assisted
reproduction, and adoptive families. Recent reviews attest to particular interest in adoptive
families and in adopted child adjustment (cf. Bimmel, Juffer, van IJzendoorn, & Bakermans-
Kranenburg, 2003; Juffer & van IJzendoorn, 2005; Lee, 2003; O’Brien & Zamostny, 2003;
van IJ-zendoorn, Juffer, & Klein Poelhuis, 2005). These reviews compared adopted,
nonadopted, domestically adopted, and internationally adopted youth on several adjustment
dimensions, including internalizing and externalizing problems, attachment to parents, and
academic achievement. Overall, these reviews reported that most adopted children and
adolescents were well adjusted. A small but notable group, however, experienced significant
behavioral or mental health problems. It is this group that may account for mean differences
in adjustment that often are observed in studies comparing adopted to biological children
(Bimmel et al.; Brand & Brinich, 1999).
Differences in adjustment for this small group have generally been attributed to a number of
factors unique to adopted children. For example, relative to nonadoptees, adopted children
have more likely experienced early childhood adversity that can result in developmental delays
Correspondence to: Ascan F. Koerner.
This article was edited by Cheryl Buehler.
NIH Public Access
Author Manuscript
J Marriage Fam. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 August 1.
Published in final edited form as:
J Marriage Fam. 2008 August ; 70(3 ...
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter A Longitudinal FollowDustiBuckner14
Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter? A Longitudinal Follow-Up of
Adoptive Families With School-Age Children
Rachel H. Farr
University of Kentucky
Controversy continues to surround parenting by lesbian and gay (LG) adults and outcomes for their
children. As sexual minority parents increasingly adopt children, longitudinal research about child
development, parenting, and family relationships is crucial for informing such debates. In the psycho-
logical literature, family systems theory contends that children’s healthy development depends upon
healthy family functioning more so than family structure. From the framework of family stress theory,
it was expected that longitudinal outcomes for school-age children adopted in infancy could be distinct
among those with same-sex versus other-sex parents (N � 96 families). Similar findings were hypoth-
esized in terms of parent adjustment, couple relationships, and family functioning in comparing same-sex
and other-sex parent families. Results indicated that adjustment among children, parents, and couples, as
well as family functioning, were not different on the basis of parental sexual orientation (lesbian, gay, or
heterosexual) when children were school-age. Rather, children’s behavior problems and family func-
tioning during middle childhood were predicted by earlier child adjustment issues and parenting stress.
These findings are consistent with and extend previous literature about families headed by LG parents,
particularly those that have adopted children. The results have implications for advancing supportive
policies, practices, and laws related to adoption and parenting by sexual minority adults.
Keywords: middle childhood, parenting stress, couples, adoptive families, sexual orientation
Americans remain divided about their views on lesbian and gay
(LG) adults raising children, according to the Pew Research Center
(e.g., Daugherty & Copen, 2016). Controversy often centers on
whether children need a mother and a father for optimal develop-
ment, yet theoretical perspectives tend to emphasize the impor-
tance of high-quality parenting and family relationships, rather
than family structure (Lamb, 2012). Outcomes for children with
LG parents have been featured in legal and policy debates about
same-sex marriage and the adoption of children. How children fare
with same-sex parents was a pivotal consideration in the June 2015
Supreme Court decision about marriage equality (Obergefell v.
Hodges; e.g., American Psychological Association, 2015). Despite
debate, millions of sexual minority (i.e., nonheterosexual) adults
desire to be parents and many are already parents, including
adoptive parents (Riskind & Patterson, 2010). During recent years,
the number of adoptive LG parents has doubled (Gates, 2011).
According to 2010 Census data, same-sex couples are four times
more likely than other-sex couples to adopt children (Gates, 2013).
From data representing couples and single parents (2000 Census, ...
Child Gender Influences Paternal Behavior, Language, and Brain.docxbartholomeocoombs
Child Gender Influences Paternal Behavior, Language, and Brain Function
Jennifer S. Mascaro
Emory University
Kelly E. Rentscher
University of Arizona
Patrick D. Hackett
Emory University
Matthias R. Mehl
University of Arizona
James K. Rilling
Emory University
Multiple lines of research indicate that fathers often treat boys and girls differently in ways that impact
child outcomes. The complex picture that has emerged, however, is obscured by methodological
challenges inherent to the study of parental caregiving, and no studies to date have examined the
possibility that gender differences in observed real-world paternal behavior are related to differential
paternal brain responses to male and female children. Here we compare fathers of daughters and fathers
of sons in terms of naturalistically observed everyday caregiving behavior and neural responses to child
picture stimuli. Compared with fathers of sons, fathers of daughters were more attentively engaged with
their daughters, sang more to their daughters, used more analytical language and language related to
sadness and the body with their daughters, and had a stronger neural response to their daughter’s happy
facial expressions in areas of the brain important for reward and emotion regulation (medial and lateral
orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]). In contrast, fathers of sons engaged in more rough and tumble play (RTP),
used more achievement language with their sons, and had a stronger neural response to their son’s neutral
facial expressions in the medial OFC (mOFC). Whereas the mOFC response to happy faces was
negatively related to RTP, the mOFC response to neutral faces was positively related to RTP, specifically
for fathers of boys. These results indicate that real-world paternal behavior and brain function differ as
a function of child gender.
Keywords: experience sampling, fathers, fMRI, gender socialization, play
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bne0000199.supp
A number of studies argue that parents treat girls and boys
differently, and learning theory proposes that parents model and
reinforce gender stereotypes in their children (Bandura & Walters,
1977; Bussey & Bandura, 1999). For example, some research
indicates that mothers talk more (Leaper, Anderson, & Sanders,
1998; MacDonald & Parke, 1984) and are more restrictive of
physical risk-taking with daughters (Morrongiello & Hogg, 2004)
than with sons. Other research indicates that western fathers and
mothers are more elaborative in autobiographical storytelling with
girls than boys (Fivush, 2011). Moreover, parents often encourage
gender-stereotyped play behavior and household chores and dis-
courage gender-atypical behavior (Lytton & Romney, 1991), and
both mothers and fathers are more likely to engage in rough and
tumble (RTP) play with boys than with girls (McIntyre & Ed-
wards, 2009; Paquette & Dumont, 2013; Pellegrini & Smith,
1998). Related lines of research also point to differences in paren-
tal behavio.
Assessing low-income African-American pre-schoolers’
behaviour problems in relationship to community violence,
inter-partner conflict, parenting, informal social support
and social skillscfs_742 310..324
Linda M. Oravecz*, Philip J. Osteen†, Tanya L. Sharpe† and Suzanne M. Randolph‡
*Towson University, Department of Family Studies and Community Development, Towson, †University of Maryland,
School of Social Work, Baltimore, and ‡The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD, USA
A B S T R AC T
This study examined the relations among community violence expo-
sure, inter-partner conflict and informal social support and the behav-
iour problems of pre-schoolers, and explored how mothers’ parenting
skills and children’s social skills may mediate the child outcomes
associated with such exposure. Participants were 185 African-
American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start children who
completed study measures in a structured interview. Path analyses
revealed that greater inter-partner conflict was associated with more
internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems. Positive
parenting was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing
behaviours. Higher levels of child social skills were associated with
fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Child
social skills fully mediated the relationship between community vio-
lence and externalizing behaviours as well as between informal
support and externalizing behaviours. Social skills partially mediated
the relationships between positive parenting and externalizing behav-
iours. No mediating effect was found on the relationships between
inter-partner conflict and child behaviour problems. Implications of
the findings for intervention and future research are discussed.
Correspondence:
Linda M. Oravecz,
Department of Family Studies and
Community Development,
Towson University,
8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252,
USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords: African-American,
behaviour problems, community
violence
Accepted for publication: October
2010
I N T R O D U C T I O N
In the USA, nearly one in three African-American
children live in poverty (Annie E. Casey Foundation
2008), with many living in urban neighbourhoods
characterized by deteriorating housing, crime, drug
activity and community violence (e.g. Sampson et al.
1997; DeNavas-Walt et al. 2004; Elliott et al. 2006).
Additionally, adult inter-partner conflict has been
found to be more prevalent among families coping
with poverty and its related stressors than among
more affluent families (Browne & Bassuk 1997; Scott
et al. 2002). While data relative to childhood exposure
to violence worldwide are scarce, it is estimated that
4400 people die daily from inter-personal, collective
or self-directed violence (Krug et al. 2002). Previous
research examining the impact of exposure to com-
munity violence and inter-partner conflict on child
development has found a number of socio-emotional
and adjustment problems in .
Recess Quality and Social and Behavioral Health in Elementary School Studentsvideosplay360
A majority of research findings have focused on recess as instrumental to achieving minutes of physical
activity rather than focusing on the psycho-social benefits associated with a high-quality recess environment. The purpose of the
current study was to examine the relationship between recess quality and teacher-reported social, emotional, and behavioral
outcomes in children.
Ross Shegog - The Secret of Seven Stones: A Game to Impact Youth Skills and P...SeriousGamesAssoc
Presenter: Ross Shegog, Associate Professor, University of Texas
Few game-based interventions target sexual health and even fewer target parent-youth communication. The presentation describes the development and testing of an online adventure game, ‘The Secret of Seven Stones’ (SSS), to engage parents and youth (11-14 yrs.) to go beyond ‘the sex talk’ to impact youth decisions related to friendships, dating, and sex. SSS, informed by parent-youth dyads and previous empirical data, provides behavioral skills training in 15 domains (drawn from over 1300 learning objectives) encompassing responsible decision making about friendships, dating relationships, and sex. SSS features 18 game levels that include 50 interactive skills training clusters, 54 card ‘battle’ sequences, and 7 game-mediated parent-youth ‘PEP’ talks. As youth play SSS, parents receive progress updates and cues to receive resources to guide communication with their youth. SSS offers insight into an intergenerational gaming approach for health prevention, found feasible for a RCT efficacy trial.
1. Exploring Correlates of Joint Decision-Making in School-aged Sibling Pairs
Gianluca Mazzarini1
, Marie Elaine Ortega1
, Lina Benson1
, Marianne Lacsamana1
, Shirley McGuire1
& Nancy Segal2
University of San Francisco1
; California State University, Fullerton2
Introduction
Funding
ConclusionsResults
Measures
Participants
Research Question
Twins, Adoptees, Peers, and Sibling (TAPS) Study.
University of San Francisco and California State
University, Fullerton.Funded by: The National Institute of
Mental Health (R01 MH63351)
Participants were 207 sibling and twin
pairs, aged 7 to 13, who participated in
the Twins, Adoptees, Peers, and
Siblings (TAPS) Study.
The families were predominantly middle
class, with 63% of European ancestry.
The children were interviewed about
their family relationships by trained
testers as part of a three-hour home
interview.
Pairs with children who experienced
birth difficulties that may affect
behavioral development were excluded.
Joint decision-making:
Sibling and twin pairs were videotaped
and asked to work together to
complete a puzzle task. Independent
coders recorded the total time spent
completing the puzzle. Puzzle task
inter-rater reliability was 0.98.
Children were split into two groups:
164 pairs completed the task on time
and 42 were unable to complete it
within the 3-minute time limit.
Relationship Quality:
Children were interviewed about
sibling intimacy (α = .81), conflict (α = .
92), trust (α = .84) by a trained tester.
Pairs who completed the task were higher
in sibling intimacy (M = 26.7) compared to
pairs who did not (M = 25.8; t(1) = -0.83,
n.s.).
Pairs who completed the task were similar
in sibling trust (M = 33.5) compared to pairs
who did not (M = 33.4; t(1) = -1.23, n.s.),
but lower in sibling conflict (M = 16.4)
compared to pairs who did not (M = 17.2;
t(1) = 0.76, n.s.).
While means were in the expected
direction, they were not significantly
different from each other.
Positive sibling interactions may promote
the development of prosocial skills in
children (Stormshak et al., 1996).
Previous research has demonstrated
that reciprocal sibling interactions are
positively associated with warmth,
mutual esteem, happy daily exchanges,
and negatively related to rivalry and
dominance in different-aged sibling pairs
(Karos et al., 2007).
Research also suggests that having a
supportive, cooperative sibling
relationship in childhood helps children
navigate stressful circumstances, such
as parental divorce (McGuire &
Shanahan, 2010).
The purpose of the current study was to
examine a key aspect of a mutual sibling
relationships, joint decision-making.
Examining correlates of how well siblings
solve problems during the middle
childhood years could contribute to our
understanding of how well they will work
together in future stressful
circumstances, such as caring for a sick
parent (Ingersoll-Dayton, Neal, Ha, &
Hammer, 2003).
References
Karos, L., Howe, N., & Aquan-Assee, J. (2007). Reciprocal
and complementary sibling interactions, relationship
quality and socio-emotional problem solving. Infant And
Child Development, 16(6), 577-596. doi:10.1002/icd.492.
Ingersoll-Dayton, B., Neal, M. B., Ha, J.-h. and Hammer, L.
B. (2003), Redressing inequity in parent care among
siblings. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65: 201–212.
doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00201.x
McGuire, S., & Shanahan, L., (2010). Sibling relationships
in evolving family contexts. Child Development
Perspectives, 4, 72-79.
Stormshak, E. A., Bellanti, C. J., & Bierman, K. L. (1996).
The quality of sibling relationships and the development
of social competence and behavioral control in aggressive
children. Developmental Psychology, 32(1), 79.
The study focused on the research
question: Is joint decision-making in
school-aged sibling pairs linked to
children’s reports of sibling conflict,
trust, and intimacy?
Sibilng Relationship Quality
The hypothesis that completing a
decision-making task would be linked to
sibling relationship quality was not
supported in this sample of school-aged
siblings and twins.
Several factors could be contributing to
the lack of significant results, including
the the reliance on sibling report of
relationship quality.
In addition, the sample size may not
have been large enough and the
measure of decision-making may not
have been sensitive enough to detect
subtle effects.
Future analyses will include examining
parent reports of sibling relationship
quality and the role of structural variables
in predicting group differences.
