Enrique Arranz

Sibling relationships during adolescence

The principal objective of this study was to analyse sibling relationships during adolescence, within the context of parent and peer relationships, and their link with socioemotional adjustment. To this end, 513 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 completed instruments relating to parent – child relationships, sibling adjustment, relationships with peers, self-esteem and life satisfaction. We found important gender-based differences in the meaning and importance that sibling adjustment seems to have for adolescents. For girls, a good relationship with their siblings was linked to good relationships with their parents and peers, as well as increased self-esteem and life satisfaction. For boys, sibling relationships had no relation with other family or personal variables.

Family Context and Theory of Mind Development

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of diverse variables on theory of mind development in a group of 114 pre-school children aged between 3 years 1 month and 4 years 2 months. Development levels in diverse areas were assessed, along with the quality of family interaction, quality of attachment and the childrens performance when faced with a staggered series of theory of mind tasks ranging from simple desire situations to a false belief task. The percentage of children classified as securely attached who responded correctly to the false belief task proved significant, whereas no significant relationship was found between a correct response to this task and number of siblings or number of older siblings. We propose the development of a multi-causal model in order to continue our research into the optimum family environment for theory of mind development.

Análisis comparativo de las nuevas estructuras familiares como contextos potenciadores del desarrollo psicológico infantil

Resumen En este trabajo se analiza comparativamente la calidad de los contextos familiares en grupos de familias tradicionales, monoparentales, reconstituidas, adoptivas, homoparentales y de nacimientos múltiples. Las familias reconstituidas obtienen el perfil de calidad del contexto familiar más bajo y las familias homoparentales el perfil más alto. Los resultados conducen a la conclusión de que no es la estructura familiar en sí, sino las variables sociodemográficas y las interactivas asociadas a las mismas, las que conforman la calidad de los contextos familiares.

Quality of Family Context and Cognitive Development: A Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Study

Abstract This study analyses the relationship between psychosocial quality of family context and the cognitive development of a sample of 551 children of school age. The data were gathered at school and at home in two waves, when the children were 5 (T1) and 8 (T2) years old, respectively. In T1, three factors related to quality of family context were obtained: absence of conflict, child –family adjustment, and sociability. Two factors of cognitive development were obtained in T1 and T2. In T1, associations were found between all three factors and cognitive development. In T2, associations were found between the quality of family context and cognitive development. Cognitive development in T2 was predicted by the absence of conflict T1 factor, with a negative association. Children who were exposed to more conflicts in T1, and who scored higher on the HOME scale in T2, were found to have improved their cognitive development scores over time in comparison with their group.

The role of parents’ distancing strategies in the development of five-year-old children’s Theory of Mind

The aim of this study was to analyse the relation between parents’ distancing strategies and the performance of five-year-old children (N = 70) in Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks. The children’s performances were assessed during individual sessions held at school. The distancing strategies practiced by the parents (cognitive and linguistic scaffolding, contingency rule and decontextualisation strategies, among others) were assessed through systematic observation carried out in the family home. The results support the relationship between some of these variables (linguistic scaffolding, decontextualisation and contingency rule) and ToM development. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the need of educational and family intervention programmes which enhance the development of this ability.

Family context assessment in a public health study

OBJECTIVES To analyze the factorial structure of a new instrument to assess the quality of the family context (Etxadi-Gangoiti Scale) in a sample from the Gipuzkoa cohort of the Environment and Childhood (Infancia y Medio Ambiente [INMA]) study. METHODS Families in a sample of 433 two-year-old children were assessed in a home visit with subsequent analysis of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the data. RESULTS An exploratory factorial analysis (principal axis factoring and varimax rotation) and a confirmatory factorial analysis were carried out; partial confirmation of the original factorial structure of the instrument was obtained, which revealed the following factorial structures. Subscale (1): promotion of cognitive and linguistic development, social skills, psychomotor skills, and pretend play and imitation; subscale (2): promotion of independence and self-esteem, provision of optimal frustration, social and emotional quality of the relationship, and absence of physical punishment; subscale (3): paternal involvement, low exposure to family conflict, low frequency of family conflict, relationship with the extended family, social support, diversity of experiences, low frequency of stressful events, and low parental perception of stress. DISCUSSION The structure of the original instrument structure was partially confirmed, which was attributed to the characteristics of the sample. We stress the importance of the variability obtained in the evaluation of the families, as well as of adequate indicators of reliability in such evaluation. The new instrument could be used in public health to identify deficient family contexts and to design preventive interventions focused on parenting skills.

Relaciones entre hermanos/as y desarrollo psicológico en escolares

Resumen En este trabajo se estudia la influencia de las relaciones fraternas en el desarrollo psicológico de una muestra de escolares (N = 903). El enfoque de la teoría estructural, basada en los descriptors del grupo de hermanos/as (orden de nacimiento, diferencia de edad, tamaño de la familia y sexo) se compara con un nuevo enfoque integrador de la teoría estructural y de la teoría interactiva, la cual se centra en los procesos interactivos del grupo fraterno. No se obtuvieron resultados significativos utilizando el enfoque structural y sí se obtuvieron utilizando el nuevo enfoque. Se encontraron resultados significativos relativos a la adaptación familiar, al autoconcepto y a laspercepciones de las relaciones fraternas.

Association between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development, autistic traits and ADHD symptoms: A multicenter study in Spain

Background:Several studies have related longer breastfeeding duration to better intellectual performance in children. By contrast, few studies have investigated the potential protective effects of breastfeeding against behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and even fewer on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) traits.Methods:We examined the association between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development, attention, ADHD symptoms, and autistic traits using data from the INMA Project, a Spanish multicenter birth-cohort study, and taking into account the intensity of breastfeeding. Duration of any, predominant, and exclusive breastfeeding was documented during infancy through maternal questionnaires. Children (N = 1,346; mean age = 4.9 y) were assessed using the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities, Conners’ Kiddie Continuous Performance Test, criteria of the DSM-ADHD symptoms form list, and the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test.Results:After adjustment for several confounders, longer duration of breastfeeding was independently associated with better cognitive development and with fewer autistic traits.Conclusion:This study provides further evidence of a positive association of breastfeeding with cognitive function apart from socio-environmental factors, and also suggests a protective role against autistic traits. Results are in agreement with recommendations for prolonged breastfeeding duration to promote child development.