Karine Verschueren

Representation of Self and Socioemotional Competence in Kindergartners: Differential and Combined Effects of Attachment to Mother and to Father.

In the present study, we examined the differential predictive power and the joint or compensatory effects of representations of child-mother and child-father attachment for childrens representation of self and their socioemotional competence. The representations of attachment were assessed by an attachment story completion task, completed once for mother and once for father (in counterbalanced order). Eighty participants (40 boys and 40 girls), aged between 55 and 77 months (M = 5 years 3 months), took place in the study. The socioemotional competence (peer social competence, disruptive behavior, anxious/withdrawn behavior, and school adjustment) and behavioral manifestations of self-esteem were evaluated by the kindergarten teacher. The inner representation of self (positiveness of self, perceived competence, and social acceptance) was assessed in a subgroup of 50 children. Results showed that the relative predictive power of child-mother and child-father attachments differed according to the domain of child functioning that was assessed. More specifically, it was found that the childs positiveness of self was better predicted by the quality of the child-mother attachment representation than by the quality of the child-father attachment representation. In contrast, the childs anxious/withdrawn behavioral problems were better predicted by the quality of the child-father attachment representation than by the quality of the child-mother attachment representation. With regard to the joint effects of child-mother and child-father attachment, it was found that a secure attachment to one parent can compensate for or buffer against an insecure attachment to the other parent. However, the buffering effect was not complete.

The Meaning of Grandparents as Viewed by Adolescent Grandchildren: An Empirical Study in Belgium.

Why do adolescents value their grandparents? This was the leading question of an investigation among 563 adolescents and young adults in Flanders (Belgium). The Grandparent Meaning Scale which probes eleven a priori dimensions of meaning, was completed by 147 early adolescents (M = 12.5 years), 175 middle adolescents (M = 15.7 years), and 241 late adolescents (M = 18.9 years). Results show that adolescents generally find their grandparents important and feel close to them. Grandparents are valued primarily because they provide affection, reassurance of worth, and reliable alliance. Relational-affective and caregiving meanings were assigned more often to grandmothers whereas advising, teaching, and narrative roles were ascribed more frequently to grandfathers. Maternal grandparents were generally perceived as more important and closer than paternal grandparents. Early adolescents assigned more importance and meaning to their grandparents than middle and late adolescents. There were no differences between grandsons and granddaughters.

Endorsing achievement goals exacerbates the big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model predicts students’ academic self-concept to be negatively predicted by the achievement level of their reference group, controlling for individual achievement. Despite an abundance of empirical evidence supporting the BFLPE, there have been relatively few studies searching for possible moderators. Integrating the BFLPE model with Achievement Goal Theory, the present study aims to determine whether the negative effect of class-average achievement on academic self-concept is moderated by individual and class-average achievement goals. Our sample comprised of 2987 students (50% boys) from Grade 6 in 112 elementary schools in the Flemish region of Belgium (174 classes). Applying multilevel modelling, we found a stronger BFLPE when students’ individual achievement goals were higher, regardless of the specific nature of these goals. The BFLPE was not moderated by class-average levels of achievement goals. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the BFLPE is moderated by individual goal-related factors.

Middle Childhood Teacher–Child Relationships: Insights From an Attachment Perspective and Remaining Challenges

An increasing body of research points to the significance of teacher-child relationships in shaping childrens development. Extending the research literature on early childhood, this review examines the value of an attachment perspective to the study of teacher-child relationships in middle childhood. First, we discuss the conceptualization and assessment of teacher-child relationship quality from an attachment perspective. Second, we examine how attachment theory guides the search for antecedents at the child and teacher level. Third, we discuss some of the mechanisms that may explain the developmental significance of teacher-child relationships according to attachment theory. Finally, we discuss how attachment theory has inspired interventions to improve teacher-child relationship quality. We conclude that middle childhood has been understudied in attachment-based teacher-child relationship research and that insights from attachment theory and other perspectives need to be combined to progress our understanding of the role of teacher-child relationships in middle childhood.