Berit Hagekull

A structural modeling approach to the understanding of parenting stress

Tested and cross-validated a multidimensional model of predictors of parenting stress on data from a population-based sample of Swedish mothers (N = 1,081) with children ages 6 months to 3 years. The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire study, focusing on the explanation of variance in parenting stress. Structural equation modeling procedures permitted disentanglement of total, direct, and indirect effects. A Swedish instrument based on parts of the Parent Domain in the Parenting Stress Index was used as a measure of stress. The results provided general support for the proposed model. High workload, low social support, perception of the child as fussy-difficult, negative life events, child caretaking hassles, more children in the family, and high maternal age related directly to more stress. Child irregularity contributed indirectly to mother´s experienced stress. No buffering effects of social support were found. Forty-eight percent of the variance in the parenting stress measure was explained by the model. Implications for interventions were discussed.

Attachment and social functioning: A longitudinal study from infancy to middle childhood

A longitudinal sample of 96 children was followed from 15 months of age to 8-9 years. Attachment relationships were studied in infancy with the Strange Situation and at school age with the separation anxiety Test. Social functioning was studied at school

Religiousness and Perceived Childhood Attachment: Profiling Socialized Correspondence and Emotional Compensation

Religiousness and Perceived Childhood Attachment: : Profiling Socialized Correspondence and Emotional Compensation

A measure of parental stress in mothers with small children: dimensionality, stability and validity.

Self-reported parental stress was investigated in three samples of mothers with small children, using a Swedish version of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Dimensionality in experienced stress using items from six PSI Parent Domain subscales and eight new items was examined in factor analyses of data from a nationwide representative sample. Cross-validation proved the chosen factor pattern to be stable. Based on an oblique 5-factor solution new subscales were constructed. A second order factor analysis indicated influence from a higher order factor, seen as a general parental stress construct. High alpha coefficients revealed that homogeneous subscales had been formed. Test-retest correlations indicated good stability over a mean time period of 30 days. Influences from maternal background variables were found, but no relation to child age or gender. Global estimates of parental stress, reported child problems, mothers scoring on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and two measures of social support all correlated significantly with overall parental stress, and with some subscales. The justification of the subscale approach to parental stress was discussed. It was concluded that the PSI in its present form could be used as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring experienced parental stress in mothers of young children.

Early feeding problems in a normal population

The prevalence of parentally experienced infant feeding problems was explored in two samples (N = 841 and N = 567) of infants, aged between 30 and 71 weeks. Correlates to specific problem types were sought. One-fourth of the parents had experienced feeding problems during the infants first 6 months and more than 10% reported ongoing problems. Colic was the most commonly reported early appearing problem, while refusal of solids, poor appetite, and general refusal to eat were the most common problems after the first 6 months. Maternal health factors, severe and longlasting breastfeeding problems, and problematic mealtime behaviors were associated with colic, while vomiting was only related to breastfeeding problems. The refusal-to-eat group presented the largest number of correlates including family feeding problems, problematic meal behaviors, and health problems. The only aspects distinguishing all problem groups from controls were parental anxiety about infant health and sibling feeding problems.

Measurement of Two Social Competence Aspects in Middle Childhood.

The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The first factor, Prosocial Orientation, captured a style promoting positive social interactions; the second factor, Social Initiative, described initiative as opposed to withdrawal in social situations. Scales based on the 2 factors showed reliability in internal consistency and stability across 1 year, validity in interrater agreement concurrently and across 1 year, correspondence with observed peer behavior, and the capacity to discriminate between children of different peer status.

Seeking Security in the New Age: On Attachment and Emotional Compensation

The purpose of the present cross-sectional questionnaire study was to construct a comprehensive and reliable scale to assess new age orientation as a continuous individual difference variable. Given large increases in new age orientation in Sweden in recent years, an additional purpose was to test our emotional compensation hypothesis by studying connections of retrospective parental and adult romantic attachment in relation to new age orientation, emotionally-based religiosity, and socialization-based religiosity, as well as to study links between attachment and several aspects of spiritual change. The study group included 193 participants from upper secondary school classes, Christian youth organizations, and new age establishments in Stockholm, Sweden. The new age orientation scale was shown to be unidimensional according to an exploratory factor analysis, and to possess adequate reliability and construct validity. In line with the emotional compensation predictions, new age orientation was directly linked to attachment insecurity and emotionally-based religiosity and inversely related to socialization-based religiosity. Attachment insecurity was also linked to the experience of spiritual changes, whereas most findings pertaining to characteristics of spiritual change did not support predictions. In general, unlike perceived attachment to parents, adult romantic attachment did not display the predicted pattern of results. It was concluded that attachment theory may make an important contribution by highlighting predisposing factors for new age orientation, as representing one aspect of the emotional compensation profile, but that several methodological improvements are necessary in future studies.

Day care quality, family and child characteristics and socioemotional development

The study investigated effects of day care quality in interaction with child and family characteristics on socioemotional development concurrently at 29 months and longitudinally at 4 years. By international standards, the study was performed in high-quality day care settings and in a fairly homogeneous group of well-functioning families. In a group of 52 children (M day care experience = 12.6 months at the age of 29 months), main effects of day care quality and effects due to interactions between such quality and the background characteristics of SES, home environment quality, gender, and infant manageability were studied. Socioemotional development was studied both in terms of childrens problems (externalizing and internalizing) and positive aspects of functioning (positive emotional expressions and ego strength/effectance). The results showed a main effect of day care quality on expressions of positive emotions, and interactive effects were demonstrated for several of the other indicators of socioemotional functioning. Compensatory effects of high-quality care on externalizing behaviors for children from less advantaged homes as well as positive effects on boys internalizing problems and ego strength/effectance were among the findings. Thus, using culturally relevant measures of day care quality, clear influences can be demonstrated even in a culture with a fairly uniform and high standard of care.

Behavioral Inhibition as a Precursor of Peer Social Competence in Early School Age: The Interplay With Attachment and Nonparental Care

A sample of 81 children was followed longitudinally to assess the contributions of behavioral inhibition, early attachment security, and experience of nonparental care to individual differences in social competence. Additive, mediational, and moderator models were tried. Attachment security was assessed in the Strange Situation at 15 months of age. Behavioral inhibition at 13-15 months and 4 years, and social competence at 8 years, were captured through aggregates of ratings and observations. Social competence was predicted by all three predictor variables, but for behavioral inhibition this was true only for the 4-year measure. The effects of attachment, nonparental care, and 4-year behavioral inhibition were found to be additive, supporting a view of social competence as multiply determined. There was also support for a moderating effect of attachment, meaning that a secure attachment relationship was particularly important for infants who started out as highly inhibited.

Interactions between mothers and infants showing food refusal

Cette etude a examine les pattems dinteraction de meres et de leurs nourrissons qui refusaient toute nourriture (N = 24) et de meres et de leurs nourrissons dans un groupe controle (N = 24) pendant la prise de nourriture et le jeu. Les observations ont revele des differences importantes entre les groupes a la fois dans le comportement maternel et dans le comportement du nourrisson. Les nourrissons du groupe de cas rejetaient la nourriture plus souvent et avaient des signaux de communication moins clairs que les nourrissons controle et les meres des nourrissons cas etaient moins sensibles, moins cooperantes et avaient plus de comportement verbal enseignant/controle que le groupe controle. Ces differences se rapportaient a la fois a la prise de nourriture et aux situations de jeu. Les resultats ont des implications pour le developpement de strategies dintervention appropriees et efficaces pour les nourrissons refusant la nourriture.