Meike Slagt

Effects of early prevention programs on adult criminal offending: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis investigated the long term effects of prevention programs conducted during early and middle childhood on criminal offending during adulthood. The analyses included 3611 participants in 9 programs. The effect size for adult criminal offending was significant, but small in magnitude (OR=1.26; 95% CI=1.06-1.50, p=.011). The effects of the programs on positive outcomes (academic attainment and involvement in productive activity, such as being engaged in school or work) were somewhat larger and more consistent than effects on crime (OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.20-1.55, p<.001). Several participant and program characteristics moderated the effectiveness of (early) prevention. Children who were more at-risk and those from a lower SES benefited more. Shorter, but more intensive programs, and programs that focus on social and behavioral skills, rather than on academic skills or family support, tend to produce larger effects. Taken together, these results indicate that early prevention programs can help put children on a more positive developmental trajectory that is maintained into adulthood, but there is still no convincing evidence that they can prevent adult crime. Implications of the findings for research, policy and clinical practice are discussed.

Differences in sensitivity to parenting depending on child temperament: A meta-analysis.

Several models of individual differences in environmental sensitivity postulate increased sensitivity of some individuals to either stressful (diathesis-stress), supportive (vantage sensitivity), or both environments (differential susceptibility). In this meta-analysis we examine whether children vary in sensitivity to parenting depending on their temperament, and if so, which model can best be used to describe this sensitivity pattern. We tested whether associations between negative parenting and negative or positive child adjustment as well as between positive parenting and positive or negative child adjustment would be stronger among children higher on putative sensitivity markers (difficult temperament, negative emotionality, surgency, and effortful control). Longitudinal studies with children up to 18 years (k = 105 samples from 84 studies, Nmean = 6,153) that reported on a parenting-by-temperament interaction predicting child adjustment were included. We found 235 independent effect sizes for associations between parenting and child adjustment. Results showed that children with a more difficult temperament (compared with those with a more easy temperament) were more vulnerable to negative parenting, but also profited more from positive parenting, supporting the differential susceptibility model. Differences in susceptibility were expressed in externalizing and internalizing problems and in social and cognitive competence. Support for differential susceptibility for negative emotionality was, however, only present when this trait was assessed during infancy. Surgency and effortful control did not consistently moderate associations between parenting and child adjustment, providing little support for differential susceptibility, diathesis-stress, or vantage sensitivity models. Finally, parenting-by-temperament interactions were more pronounced when parenting was assessed using observations compared to questionnaires. (PsycINFO Database Record

The contribution of mixed methods research to the field of childhood trauma: a narrative review focused on data integration

In mixed methods research (MMR), integrating the quantitative and the qualitative components of a study is assumed to result in additional knowledge (or “yield”). This narrative review examines the extent to which MMR is used in the field of childhood trauma and provides directions for improving mixed methods studies in this field. A systematic literature search resulted in 13 studies that were achieving four different research objectives: (a) measures and meaning, (b) intervention evaluation, (c) theory building, and (d) measurement instrument development and validation. Although some studies produced yield by integrating the components, there is room for improvement and better use of MMR’s potential. We conclude by presenting recommendations for improving the application and dissemination of MMR in childhood trauma.

My Child Redeems My Broken Dreams: On Parents Transferring Their Unfulfilled Ambitions onto Their Child.

From the early days of psychology, theorists have observed that parents sometimes transfer their own unfulfilled ambitions onto their child. We propose that parents are especially inclined to do so when they see their child as part of themselves, more so than as a separate individual. When parents see their child as part of themselves, their child’s achievements may easily come to function as a surrogate for parents’ own unfulfilled ambitions. In the present experiment, 73 parents (89% women, M age = 43 years) were randomly assigned to reflect on either their own or others’ unfulfilled ambitions. Results showed that, when faced with their own unfulfilled ambitions, parents who see their child as part of themselves want their child to fulfill their unfulfilled ambitions. This study provides the first experimental evidence to suggest that parents may desire their child to redeem their broken dreams.

Personality traits as potential susceptibility markers : Differential susceptibility to support among parents

In this study, we examined whether parents are differentially susceptible to support from their spouse and adolescent child depending on their personality traits, and whether differences in susceptibility to support among parents, in turn, are linked to the quality of support parents give to their children. Participants in this three-wave longitudinal study were 288 two-parent Dutch families with an adolescent child. Fathers were on average 43.9 years old (SD = 3.7 years), mothers were 41.7 years old (SD = 3.3 years), and adolescents (50% girls) were 14.5 years old (SD = 0.8 years). We found that the association between support from children toward their parents and subsequent support from parents toward their children was more pronounced for parents high on Openness, for better and for worse. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability did not emerge as markers of differences in susceptibility. Also, parents did not differ in their susceptibility to support from their spouse, nor were differences in susceptibility found a year later when using data from a third wave. We found very modest support for differential susceptibility, only for Openness, and depending on the source of perceived support and on the timing of measurement.

5-HTTLPR Expression Outside the Skin: An Experimental Test of the Emotional Reactivity Hypothesis in Children

Background There is increasing evidence that variation in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 (i.e., the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism) moderates the impact of environmental stressors on child psychopathology. Emotional reactivity −the intensity of an individual’s response to other’s emotions− has been put forward as a possible mechanism underlying these gene-by-environment interactions (i.e., G×E). Compared to children homozygous for the L-allele (LL-genotypes), children carrying an S-allele (SS/SL-genotypes), specifically when they have been frequently exposed to negative emotions in the family environment, might be more emotionally reactive and therefore more susceptible to affective environmental stressors. However, the association between 5-HTTLPR and emotional reactivity in children has not yet been empirically tested. Therefore, the goal of this study was to test this association in a large-scale experiment. Methods Children (N = 521, 52.5% boys, Mage = 9.72 years) were genotyped and randomly assigned to happy, angry or neutral dynamic facial expressions and vocalizations. Motor and affective emotional reactivity were assessed through children’s self-reported negative and positive affect (n = 460) and facial electromyography activity (i.e., fEMG: the zygomaticus or “smile” muscle and the corrugator or “frown” muscle, n = 403). Parents reported on their negative and positive parenting behaviors. Results Children mimicked and experienced the emotion they were exposed to. However, neither motor reactivity nor affective reactivity to these emotions depended on children’s 5-HTTLPR genotype: SS/SL-genotypes did not manifest any stronger response to emotional stimuli than LL-genotypes. This finding remained the same when taking the broader family environment into account, controlling for kinship, age, gender and genetic ancestry, and when including a tri-allelic factor. Conclusions We found no evidence for an association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and children’s emotional reactivity. This finding is important, in discounting one potential underlying endophenotype of G×E between the 5-HTTLPR and affective environmental stressors.

Longitudinal associations between delinquent behaviour of friends and delinquent behaviour of adolescents: Moderation by adolescent personality traits

In this longitudinal study, we examined whether personality traits (parent–rated Big Five personality traits) render some adolescents more susceptible than others to delinquent behaviour of friends, predicting rank–order changes in adolescents‘ self–reported delinquent behaviour. We examine susceptibility to both perceived (reported by adolescents) and self–reported (reported by friends) delinquent behaviour of friends. Participants in this two–wave study were 285 Dutch adolescents and their best friends. The adolescents (50% girls) were 15.5 years old on average (SD = 0.8 years), and their best friends (N = 176; 58% girls) were 15.1 years old (SD = 1.5 years). Perceived (but not self–reported) delinquency of friends predicted a stronger increase in adolescent delinquency 1 year later, especially among adolescents low or average on conscientiousness. Emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion and openness did not moderate associations between delinquency of friends and delinquency of adolescents. Our findings show that low conscientiousness serves as a risk factor, increasing vulnerability to perceived delinquent behaviour of friends, while high conscientiousness serves as a protective factor, increasing resilience to perceived delinquent behaviour of friends. Our findings also show that adolescents are susceptible to, and differ in susceptibility to, friends‘ delinquent behaviour as they perceive it—not to delinquent behaviour as reported by friends themselves. Copyright

Perception is key? : Does perceptual sensitivity and parenting behavior predict children's reactivity to others' emotions?

When interacting with other people, both childrens biological predispositions and past experiences play a role in how they will process and respond to social-emotional cues. Children may partly differ in their reactions to such cues because they differ in the threshold for perceiving such cues in general. Theoretically, perceptual sensitivity (i.e., the amount of detection of slight, low-intensity stimuli from the external environment independent of visual and auditory ability) might, therefore, provide us with specific information on individual differences in susceptibility to the environment. However, the temperament trait of perceptual sensitivity is highly understudied. In an experiment, we tested whether school-aged childrens (N=521, 52.5% boys, Mage=9.72years, SD=1.51) motor (facial electromyography) and affective (self-report) reactivities to dynamic facial expressions and vocalizations is predicted by their (parent-reported) perceptual sensitivity. Our results indicate that childrens perceptual sensitivity predicts their motor reactivity to both happy and angry expressions and vocalizations. In addition, perceptual sensitivity interacted with positive (but not negative) parenting behavior in predicting childrens motor reactivity to these emotions. Our findings suggest that perceptual sensitivity might indeed provide us with information on individual differences in reactivity to social-emotional cues, both alone and in interaction with parenting behavior. Because perceptual sensitivity focuses specifically on whether children perceive cues from their environment, and not on whether these cues cause arousal and/or whether children are able to regulate this arousal, it should be considered that perceptual sensitivity lies at the root of such individual differences.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity as a Marker of Differential Susceptibility to Parenting.

In this longitudinal multiinformant study negative emotionality and sensory processing sensitivity were compared as susceptibility markers among kindergartners. Participating children (N = 264, 52.9% boys) were Dutch kindergartners (Mage = 4.77, SD = 0.60), followed across three waves, spaced seven months apart. Results show that associations between parenting and child behavior did not depend on children’s negative emotionality. Sensory processing sensitivity, however, interacted with both (changes in) negative and (changes in) positive parenting in predicting externalizing, but not prosocial, behavior. Depending on the interaction, vantage sensitivity and differential susceptibility models were supported. The findings suggest that sensory processing sensitivity may be a more proximal correlate of individual differences in susceptibility, compared with negative emotionality.