Victor J. Bernstein

The role of psychopathology in the parenting of drug-dependent women

This paper explores the parenting of drug-dependent women and the contributions of comorbid psychopathology to their parenting. A sample of 32 children whose mothers were dependent on opioid drugs during pregnancy and 37 children whose mothers were not drug users were followed from birth to middle childhood. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted contrasting whether maternal substance abuse or psychopathology was more closely linked to parenting behaviors and continuity in parenting over time. Maternal drug dependence was related to whether mothers were able to remain primary caregivers for their children over time, even after controlling for psychopathology. Maternal drug use was related to unresponsive and negative parenting behavior during mother-infant interaction, but this relation was largely accounted for by the effects of comorbid maternal psychopathology on parenting, particularly symptoms of antisocial and related personality disorders. For those children whose mothers continued to care for them into middle childhood, perceptions of their mothers as rejecting were related to maternal antisocial personality and maternal depression. Substance-abuse treatment for women should be integrated with interventions addressing their mental health and parenting needs.

Parent relationship quality and infant―mother attachment

This project examined interrelations between father–mother conflict, father support of mother, maternal behavior, and infant–mother attachment within a sample of 79 African American families living in a highly stressed urban community. Father support of mother was not related to maternal parenting behavior or infant attachment. Conflicted mother–father relationships were associated with problematic maternal behavior, low maternal sensitivity, infant attachment insecurity, and infant attachment disorganization. The associations between parental conflict and both infant attachment disorganization and insecurity were buffered in families in which fathers co-resided with the mother. Consistent with theory and prior research, links were also observed between maternal sensitive-responsiveness and infant attachment security and between problematic maternal parenting and infant attachment disorganization. However, maternal parenting behavior did not mediate the relation between parental conflict and infant attachment. Results are discussed with respect to whether and under what circumstances child exposure to parent conflict can have a direct effect on infant–mother attachment that is not mediated through dyadic infant–mother interaction.

Adolescent parenting programs: Assessing parent-infant interaction

Abstract With the increasing awareness that the offspring of adolescent parents are at high risk for developmental problems, programs serving adolescent parents are introducing services designed to improve the quality of interaction between adolescent mothers and their infants. Since most program planners and evaluation researchers have had little training or experience in the highly specialized field of parent-infant interaction, this paper will provide orientation to some academic and applied issues in this area. First we will give evidence documenting the key role that the parent-infant relationship plays as a foundation for the childs later development—and in particular the evidence suggesting that adolescent parent-infant relationships place the child at risk. Second, by drawing upon experiences with the Ounce of Prevention Fund adolescent parenting programs, we will describe some of the challenges in selecting a parent-infant interaction assessment instrument for use in community-based programs.

Some Uses of the Facet Approach in Child Development

The domain of the field of child development is broad, including topics from all of the biological and social sciences. Researchers are united not by interest in a single type of human behavior or functioning, such as vision, or attitudes, or blood chemistry, but by a common approach—that of looking at variables assessed at different times or ages. Two basic questions in child development have stirred people’s interest throughout history and continue to do so: (1) What factors—biological and environmental—are primary determinants of a child’s behavior? (2) Is there continuity in human development that allows one to predict the behavior of the adult from that of the child?

Supporting Early Childhood Practitioners Through Relationship-Based, Reflective Supervision

Reflective supervision is a relationship-based practice that supports the professional development of early childhood practitioners. Reflective supervision helps practitioners cope with the intense feelings and stress that are generated when working with at-risk children and families. It allows them to focus on the purpose and goals of the program and maintain their role boundaries. This article describes the need for and purposes of reflective supervision in early childhood programs and lays out the stages of relationship formation between supervisors and practitioners. Through the use of a vignette, this article illustrates the process of reflective supervision within the context of a supervisory session.