Fred Rothbaum

Parental caregiving and child externalizing behavior in nonclinical samples : a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 47 studies was used to shed light on inconsistencies in the concurrent association between parental caregiving and child externalizing behavior. Parent-child associations were strongest when the measure of caregiving relied on observations or interviews, as opposed to questionnaires, and when the measure tapped combinations of parent behaviors (patterns), as opposed to single behaviors. Stronger parent-child associations were also found for older than for younger children, and for mothers than for fathers. Finally, externalizing was more strongly linked to parental caregiving for boys than for girls, especially among preadolescents and their mothers. The meta-analysis helps account for inconsistencies in findings across previous studies and supports theories emphasizing reciprocity of parent and child behavior.

Quality of Parental Caregiving and Security of Attachment.

The assumption that qualitative differences in parental behavior are associated with attachment security was examined in a sample of 62 children (M age =21.5 months) who were seen separately with their mothers and fathers. Multiple measures of parental caregiving were used, including 2 qualitative behavioral rating scales and a self-report measure of attitudes and beliefs about child rearing. Analyses of the relation between these measures and maternal and paternal Strange Situation classifications of attachment security revealed effects only for mothers and only with 1 parent measure. These results add to a fairly impressive body of evidence indicating inconsistent and often weak associations between parental behavior and attachment security. Conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the parenting-attachment association were identified.

Attachment and Amae Parent—Child Closeness in the United States and Japan

Attachment investigators provide evidence that security takes similar forms and has similar antecedents and consequences in diverse cultures. However, there is also evidence that security differs across culture, and the nature of the similarities and differences are not well understood. A total of 39 mothers from the United States and 32 mothers from Japan were interviewed to assess beliefs about attachment and amae (expectations of indulgence and interdependence). Cultural similarities involved the manifestation of security and insecurity, the role of maternal responsiveness, and the link between security and desirable child characteristics. Cultural differences also emerged: There is more exploration associated with security and more anger and aggression associated with insecurity in the United States, and U.S. mothers link security with a much greater range of positive attributes than do Japanese mothers, who more often link security with accommodative behaviors. In mildly stressful situations, Japanese mothers more often attribute the childs inappropriate behavior to needs for security and interdependence and less often attribute these behaviors to egotism and self-maximization.

Immigrant-Chinese and Euro-American parents' physical closeness with young children : Themes of family relatedness

This study examined cultural differences in the expression and meaning of physical closeness. Findings indicated that immigrant-Chinese parents, as compared with Euro-American parents, sleep in closer proximity with their children; more often view independence as children growing with the family; are more likely to emphasize the family unit; and place greater importance on inhibition of expression, adherence to correct values, and hierarchy of relations. Euro-Americans, by contrast, are more accepting of nudity; place more emphasis on psychological benefits of physical closeness and on the childs expression of wants and feelings; more often view independence as celebrating the childs distinctiveness; and place greater importance on intimacy, pleasure, and spousal exclusiveness. The authors suggest that closeness is characterized by an overarching theme of harmony in immigrant-Chinese families and by an overarching theme of romance in Euro-American families.

Lovesongs in the United States and China On the Nature of Romantic Love

Prior research suggests that for Chinese as compared with Americans, love is more embedded and is less associated with intense desire. Love is defined as embedded when it is incorporated within a larger context, namely, the natural world and broad aspects of the relationship that entail devotion over time. This study included 42 popular Chinese lovesongs (half from Hong Kong and half from Mainland China) and 38 popular U.S. lovesongs. Findings indicated that Chinese songs depicted love as more embedded, but there were no cultural differences in expressions of intense desire. The Chinese lovesongs had more negative expectations about the outcome of the relationship and they conveyed more suffering than did the U.S. lovesongs. These cultural differences and similarities may be particular to romantic love and may not be common in other contexts or relationships. The findings point to the importance, but also the limits, of cultural influence on romantic love.

From Stress to Learning: Attachment Theory Meets Goal Orientation Theory

Few investigators have explored connections between attachment theory and goal orientation theory. Although the theories differ in important ways, we suggest there is a striking similarity in their depiction of an adaptive pathway leading from stress to learning goals and constructive strategies, and a contrasting pathway leading from stress to self-validation goals and defensive strategies. We review evidence from two leading investigators—Mario Mikulincer in adult attachment theory and Carol Dweck in goal orientation theory—to show that, following failure and other setbacks, learning as compared to self-validation goals are more likely to lead to cognitive openness, problem-solving, support-seeking, and adaptive emotion regulation. The theories differ in their understanding of the views underlying learning and self-validation goals, and those differences have led to qualitatively different interventions. We suggest how attachment and goal orientation theory interventions can be integrated to maximize optimal functioning in stressful conditions.

Caregiver Sensitivity in Cultural Context: Japanese and U.S. Teachers' Beliefs about Anticipating and Responding to Children's Needs.

Abstract Western investigators assume that caregiver sensitivity takes similar forms and has similar outcomes in all cultures. However, cultural research suggests that sensitivity in the West has more to do with responsiveness to childrens explicit expression of need, and that sensitivity in non-Western communities has more to do with anticipation of childrens needs and receptivity to subtle and nonverbal cues. To date, no studies have directly assessed these differences. The present study examines interviews of 20 preschool teachers, 9 from the United States and 11 from Japan. Teachers were presented with scenarios and asked whether it is better to anticipate or respond to childrens needs. Findings support the hypothesis that U.S. teachers prefer to respond to explicit expressions of need and that Japanese teachers prefer to anticipate childrens needs. U.S. teachers also emphasize that children should learn to depend on themselves, that children are responsible for clarifying their own needs, and that childrens self-expression should be encouraged. By contrast, Japanese teachers emphasize that children should learn to depend on their teachers, that teachers are responsible for clarifying childrens needs, and that teachers must make assumptions about childrens needs. These findings have implications for helping Japanese children and their parents adapt to the U.S. preschool setting.

How goals and beliefs lead people into and out of depression.

There is evidence that beliefs (cognitive vulnerabilities) and goals (to prove self-worth) contribute to depression but little consideration of how they work in tandem. Synthesizing research on beliefs and goals leads us to four propositions: (a) People with cognitive vulnerabilities often adopt self-worth goals (seeking to prove self-worth and to avoid proof of worthlessness). People with the opposite beliefs often adopt learning goals. (b) Stressors trigger depression largely because they lead people with self-worth goals to focus narrowly on goals to avoid proof of worthlessness. The same stressors do not lead people with learning goals to become depressed. (c) People with goals to avoid proof of worthlessness adopt defensive self-handicapping behaviors (e.g., effort withdrawal, rumination) when dealing with stressors, because those behaviors serve their goals. The same stressors lead people with learning goals to adopt constructive, problem-solving strategies. (d) A key to alleviating depression is fostering a shift from self-worth goals to learning goals and from the beliefs underlying self-worth goals to the opposite beliefs.

Maternal Control and Two-year-olds' Compliance and Defiance

Studies of parental caregiving and child compliance/defiance have yielded inconsistent and often weak findings. In this study, we investigated whether differences in the predictive power of maternal control in relation to child behaviour varied as a function of the type of measure employed. We hypothesised that ratings of maternal behaviour would predict child behaviour better than would maternal frequencies because ratings take the childs needs into account in assessing maternal behaviour. A sample of 95 mothers and their 2-year-old children were observed in laboratory and home settings. It was found that maternal ratings and frequency counts predicted child defiance equally well within the laboratory setting. Across settings, only maternal ratings correlated with child defiance, and this correlation was significantly greater than that between maternal frequencies and child defiance. The frequencies and ratings provided evidence of convergent validity for one another as measures of quality of maternal control.

Trade-Offs in the Study of Culture and Development: Theories, Methods, and Values.

The commentators are unanimous in their support for our general orientation to culture and development, and for the pathways we have identified, and they suggest ways to enrich our approach to theory, methods, and values. We view their main suggestions as relating to trade-offs: between theories that highlight generalizations or exceptions; between methods that rely on one-, two-, or multiculture studies; and between values involving individuation or accommodation. Here, we describe ways to find an optimal balance in each instance.