Jan M. A. M. Janssens

Child Rearing, Prosocial Moral Reasoning, and Prosocial Behaviour

This study examined the relations between child rearing, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviour. The sample consisted of 125 children (6-11 years of age) and both their parents. Child-rearing behaviour was assessed by both observations at home and interviews with the parents; prosocial moral reasoning by interviews with the children, and prosocial behaviour by questionnaires filled in by their teachers and classmates. Positive relations were found between prosocial moral reasoning and prosocial behaviour, but only for the youngest children. Children growing up in a supportive, authoritative, and less restrictive environment behaved more prosocially and reasoned at a higher level about prosocial moral issues.

Restrained Eating and BMI: A Longitudinal Study Among Adolescents

OBJECTIVE Although restrained eating is believed to increase overeating and weight in the long term, the opposite has also been found: Heavy individuals are more likely to diet. The objective of the current study was to test both pathways for adolescents. DESIGN A longitudinal model was used to explore the bidirectional associations between restrained eating and body mass index (BMI). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES At 3 annual waves, restrained eating and BMI were obtained from both older (M age 15.2 years old) and younger (M age 13.4 years old) adolescent boys and girls who were sibling pairs in 404 Dutch families. RESULTS Structural equation modeling showed that BMI predicted restrained eating more consistently than the other way round. The results remained the same when analyzed by sex, age, socioeconomic status, and overeating tendency. Thus, in our general survey of adolescents restrained eating did not seem to be a successful weight loss strategy, nor did it consistently predict weight increase. CONCLUSION Positive associations between restrained eating and BMI should mainly be interpreted in the sense that higher BMI predicted more restrained eating.

Attachment and problem behavior of adolescents during residential treatment

Attachment theory suggests that representations of previous attachment experiences may explain differences in psychosocial functioning. However, the nature of the association in clinical populations is unclear. Attachment representations were classified on the basis of Adult Attachment Interviews with 61 adolescents (13–20 years old; 70% female) admitted to a residential treatment institution. Group care workers rated their problem behavior. Compared to dismissing and autonomous adolescents and adolescents unresolved/disorganized with respect to trauma, adolescents with preoccupied attachment representations showed the highest levels of truancy and rule breaking, according to the institutions records, and externalizing behaviour, according to the group care workers. Unresolved/disorganized adolescents displayed lower levels of violence to staff than dismissing and autonomous adolescents. The effectiveness of residential treatment might be enhanced by taking account of the attachment strategies with which adolescents enter institutions.

Authoritarian Child Rearing, Parental Locus of Control, and the Child's Behaviour Style:

In this project, we examined the relationships among child rearing, parental locus of control about child rearing, and the childs behaviour style as perceived by parents. Both father and mother of 120 children (9-12 years old) participated. We discriminated among two types of behaviour styles, externalising (undercontrol of impulses) and internalising behaviour (overcontrol of emotions). Parents who perceived their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser, had a weak internal locus of control. Parents with a weak internal locus of control are more authoritarian, especially when they were more inclined to perceive their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser. Also, the childs behaviour style was related to child rearing. Perceived externalising child behaviour was positively related to authoritarian parental behaviour, especially for parents with a weak internal locus of control. Parents of internalising children were less authoritarian, especially when their locus of control was internal.

Evaluation of a school-based depression prevention program among adolescents from low-income areas: a randomized controlled effectiveness trial

A randomized controlled trial was conducted among a potential high-risk group of 1,343 adolescents from low-income areas in The Netherlands to test the effectiveness of the depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK) as provided by teachers in a school setting. The results showed no main effect of the program on depressive symptoms at one-year follow-up. A moderation effect was found for parental psychopathology; adolescents who had parents with psychopathology and received the OVK program had less depressive symptoms compared to adolescents with parents with psychopathology in the control condition. No moderating effects on depressive symptoms were found for gender, ethnical background, and level of baseline depressive symptoms. An iatrogenic effect of the intervention was found on the secondary outcome of clinical depressive symptoms. Based on the low level of reported depressive symptoms at baseline, it seems that our sample might not meet the characteristics of a high-risk selective group for depressive symptoms. Therefore, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the selective potential of the OVK depression prevention program. In its current form, the OVK program should not be implemented on a large scale in the natural setting for non-high-risk adolescents. Future research should focus on high-risk participants, such as children of parents with psychopathology.

Do children's perceptions and attributions mediate the effects of mothers' child-rearing actions?

The authors analyzed whether the relation between maternal child-rearing behaviors and a childs self-regulation was mediated by the accuracy in the childs perceptions of the mothers goals and methods and by the direction of attributions for the mothers intentions. Sixty mothers with children 7-10 years old were asked how and why they would react in 15 hypothetical situations. Children were interviewed to assess the accuracy of their perceptions and the direction of their attributions. To assess the childrens self-regulation, mothers and children were observed planning an excursion. LISREL analysis showed that the reported use of both control and demandingness and of responsiveness has a positive influence on the accuracy of childrens perceptions and, in turn, on their self-regulation. However, part of the positive impact of control and demandingness on childrens self-regulation was due to the effect of positive attributions on the accuracy of perceptions.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: psychometric properties of the parent and teacher version in children aged 4–7

BackgroundThe Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is one of the most employed screening instruments. Although there is a large research body investigating its psychometric properties, reliability and validity are not yet fully tested using modern techniques. Therefore, we investigate reliability, construct validity, measurement invariance, and predictive validity of the parent and teacher version in children aged 4–7. Besides, we intend to replicate previous studies by investigating test-retest reliability and criterion validity.MethodsIn a Dutch community sample 2,238 teachers and 1,513 parents filled out questionnaires regarding problem behaviors and parenting, while 1,831 children reported on sociometric measures at T1. These children were followed-up during three consecutive years. Reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, construct validity was examined by Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and predictive validity was examined by calculating developmental profiles and linking these to measures of inadequate parenting, parenting stress and social preference. Further, mean scores and percentiles were examined in order to establish norms.ResultsOmega was consistently higher than alpha regarding reliability. The original five-factor structure was replicated, and measurement invariance was established on a configural level. Further, higher SDQ scores were associated with future indices of higher inadequate parenting, higher parenting stress and lower social preference. Finally, previous results on test-retest reliability and criterion validity were replicated.ConclusionsThis study is the first to show SDQ scores are predictively valid, attesting to the feasibility of the SDQ as a screening instrument. Future research into predictive validity of the SDQ is warranted.

The Co-Development of Parenting Stress and Childhood Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Although the detrimental influence of parenting stress on child problem behavior is well established, it remains unknown how these constructs affect each other over time. In accordance with a transactional model, this study investigates how the development of internalizing and externalizing problems is related to the development of parenting stress in children aged 4–9. Mothers of 1582 children participated in three one-year interval data waves. Internalizing and externalizing problems as well as parenting stress were assessed by maternal self-report. Interrelated development of parenting with internalizing and externalizing problems was examined using Latent Growth Modeling. Directionality of effects was further investigated by using cross-lagged models. Parenting stress and externalizing problems showed a decrease over time, whereas internalizing problems remained stable. Initial levels of parenting stress were related to initial levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Decreases in parenting stress were related to larger decreases in externalizing problems and to the (stable) course of internalizing problems. Some evidence for reciprocity was found such that externalizing problems were associated with parenting stress and vice versa over time, specifically for boys. Our findings support the transactional model in explaining psychopathology.

Does parental psychological control relate to internalizing and externalizing problems in early childhood? An examination using the Berkeley puppet interview

Parental psychological control has been linked to symptoms of psychopathology in adolescence, yet less is known about its correlates in childhood. The current study is among the first to address whether psychological control is related to internalizing and externalizing problems in early childhood. A community sample of 298 children aged 7.04 (SD = 1.15) years participated. Along with two other parenting dimensions (i.e., responsiveness and behavioural control), psychological control, internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed by means of the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Psychological control was associated with internalizing and externalizing problems, and this association remained significant while controlling for parental behavioural control and responsiveness. Results suggest that the maladaptive correlates of psychological control also manifest in developmental periods prior to adolescence. Still, it is unknown how psychological control and child psychopathology are related over time in childhood.

The Impact of Various Parental Mental Disorders on Children’s Diagnoses: A Systematic Review

Children of mentally ill parents are at high risk of developing problems themselves. They are often identified and approached as a homogeneous group, despite diversity in parental diagnoses. Some studies demonstrate evidence for transgenerational equifinality (children of parents with various disorders are at risk of similar problems) and multifinality (children are at risk of a broad spectrum of problems). At the same time, other studies indicate transgenerational specificity (child problems are specifically related to the parent’s diagnosis) and concordance (children are mainly at risk of the same disorder as their parent). Better insight into the similarities and differences between children of parents with various mental disorders is needed and may inform the development and evaluation of future preventive interventions for children and their families. Accordingly, we systematically compared 76 studies on diagnoses in children of parents with the most prevalent axis I disorders: unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. Methodological characteristics of the studies were compared, and outcomes were analyzed for the presence of transgenerational equifinality, multifinality, specificity, and concordance. Also, the strengths of the relationships between child and parent diagnoses were investigated. This review showed that multifinality and equifinality appear to be more of a characteristic of children of unipolar and bipolar parents than of children of anxious parents, whose risk is mainly restricted to developing anxiety disorders. For all children, risk transmission is assumed to be partly specific since the studies indicate a strong tendency for children to develop the same disorder as their parent.