Wendy C. Gamble

A comparison of maternal sensitivity and verbal stimulation as unique predictors of infant social-emotional and cognitive development

UNLABELLED Although maternal sensitivity has been shown to influence social-emotional development, the role of verbal stimulation on infant developmental outcomes has received less exploration. Recent research has focused on intentional behaviors within the context of a mother-infant interaction as a critical influence and as distinct from sensitivity. In this investigation 6377 mother-infant dyads participated in a teaching task as part of the sample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Analyses focused in deciphering the role of maternal sensitivity and verbal stimulation as contributors to the infants social-emotional (S-E) and cognitive (Cog) development. We further hypothesized that inclusion of infant age as a moderator of maternal behaviors would illuminate any differences between younger and older infants. RESULTS For the infants S-E development, our hypothesis that maternal sensitivity would be a stronger predictor than verbal stimulation was not supported; nor did we find support for our hypothesis that the association would be moderated by age. For Cog development, only verbal stimulation had a direct positive effect on the infants cognitive ability; our findings for moderation showed that mothers spoke more to older infants than younger infants. CONCLUSION Identification of specific maternal behaviors associated with infant outcomes informs the child development field, and also provides strategies for early intervention to assist mothers with developing or maintaining a consistent relationship that includes sensitivity and verbal stimulation.

Coping with stress in sibling relationships: A comparison of children with disabled and nondisabled siblings

Abstract The central premise of this work was that the psychological well-being and sibling relationship evaluations of children with disabled and nondisabled siblings may be a function of a process involving (a) childrens experiences of daily stressful events involving their siblings, (b) their affective responses to the events, and (c) their strategies for coping with those stressors. Participating in this research were 62 children between 7 and 14 years of age, half with a younger, mentally disabled sibling and half with a nondisabled sibling. Analyses revealed that the two groups were basically similar in their ratings of the frequency and affect intensity of stressors involving their siblings, and differences between boys and girls were more common than such group differences. There was a trend for the groups to differ on their use of coping strategies, with siblings of nondisabled siblings (and girls) tending to use strategies involving thoughts about the other (e.g., “I thought that my brother was a creep”) more often. Comparing childrens ratings of their own well-being and their attitudes and behavior toward their siblings revealed that children with disabled brothers and sisters scored more poorly on some adjustment measures but rated their behavior toward their sibling more positively. Correlational analyses revealed a tendency for coping strategies involving self-directed thoughts to be positively related to the well-being and sibling relationship measures, whereas coping strategies involving other- directed thoughts were negatively related to these measures. Multiple-regression analyses revealed a tendency for coping strategies involving self-directed thoughts to be positively related to the well-being and sibling relationship measures, whereas coping strategies involving other-directed thoughts were negatively related to these measures. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that group membership was the only factor that consistently accounted for a significant portion of the variance in the adjustment measures. For the sibling relationship measures, both stressor frequency and the use of cognitive coping strategies accounted for significant portions of the variance. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for research on stress and coping in children.

Associations Among Marital Qualities, Supportive and Undermining Coparenting, and Parenting Self-Efficacy: Testing Spillover and Stress-Buffering Processes

This study examined associations among marital quality, coparenting, and parenting self-efficacy in parents of young children. Of special interest were possible spillover and stress-buffering effects of the marital and coparenting relationships. The authors sampled 175 married and cohabiting couples. Participants were recruited via an online marketing company and completed surveys on the project’s website. Maintenance strategies were associated with higher parenting self-efficacy for mothers and fathers, and for mothers, their spouse’s reports of his own maintenance behaviors were associated with increased parenting self-efficacy. Undermining coparenting predicted lower parenting self-efficacy for mothers and fathers. There was support for the spillover and stress-buffering hypotheses as evidenced by significant interactions between marital qualities and coparenting predicting to parenting self-efficacy. Findings support a connection between marital and coparenting subsystems; whereby, positivity in one of these relationships can interact to buffer the effects of negativity in the other to maintain or increase parenting self-efficacy.

Adolescent Relations with Their Mothers, Siblings, and Peers: An Exploration of the Roles of Maternal and Adolescent Self-Criticism

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate self-criticism as a potential mediating factor in the link between mother–adolescent relationships with aggression and perceptions of social competence. The sample consisted of 888 older (M = 14.3 years) and younger (M = 11.6 years) adolescent children from the same family. Maternal self-criticism strongly corresponded to the quality of relationships with children, and an intergenerational similarity in levels of self-criticism, particularly for older children, was found. Mother–adolescent relationships and adolescent self-criticism were significantly related to aggression and perceptions of social competence. In addition, results supported the hypothesis that self-criticism in adolescents mediates the link between mother–adolescent relationships and social competence.

Social Resources and Psychosocial Adaptation of Homeless School Aged Children

This study examined social resources and psychosocial adaptation of 38 children between the ages of 6 and 12 (21 male, 17 female) who were currently experiencing a housing crisis. Results indicate that the impact of stressors depended on the informant: mother-reported stressors significantly predicted negative parenting, internalizing, and externalizing; and child-reported stressors were inversely associated with positive parenting and school adaptation, and positively correlated with childs negative affect. Mothers were nominated over three times more frequently than any other social network member, and almost half of the children did not identify any friends in their social network. Network size did not significantly predict childrens psychosocial adaptation, but satisfaction with support was associated with less negative affect. Results suggest that social resources provide unique opportunities for the development of competence for children.

Mother, Daughter, Teenager—Who Am I? Perceptions of Adolescent Maternity in a Navajo Reservation Community

Intensive interviews focusing on perceptions of teenage parenting were conducted with Navajo teenage mothers, their mothers, and community informants. Data analyses revealed 2 central themes representing commitment to maternity or adolescence. Integration of these central themes resulted in a framework depicting four categories representing (a) teenagers highly committed to maternity and adolescence, (b) those identifying primarily with adolescence, (c) teenagers highly committed to the maternal role and minimally interested in typical adolescent activities, and (d) teenagers expressing little interest in either maternity or typical adolescent behaviors. Mothers of the teenagers provided descriptions of their daughters that supported the framework. Teenage mothers, their mothers, and community informants described the social perceptions of teenage parenting historically and within contemporary Navajo culture. Factors associated with the prevalence of adolescent parenting on the Navajo reservation are discussed, as are practical implications for model building and intervention services.

Using social cognitive theory to understand meta-parenting in parents of young children

Meta-parenting is a construct that refers to parents’ thought processes as they employ and assess parenting strategies based on their child’s behavior and perceptions of his/her developmental course. The present study examined the associations among parenting self-efficacy, positive relational maintenance, parent and child characteristics, and meta-parenting in heterosexual parents of young children. Mother’s level of education was positively associated with her maintenance behaviors and fathers’ reports of marital maintenance was positively associated with mothers’ reports of meta-parenting. Parenting self-efficacy was positively associated with meta-parenting for mothers and fathers. Child characteristics were not associated with meta-parenting. The present study contributes to current knowledge regarding the empirical associations among these variables and meta-parenting cognitions and by adopting a theoretical perspective, or Social Cognitive Theory, as a backdrop for understanding these and other possible influences.

Coparenting in Families of Mexican Descent: Exploring Stability, Antecedents, and Typologies

In this prospective study, we examined coparenting in families of Mexican descent with children in Head Start programs. A sample of 57 two-parent families participated in in-home interviews 12 months apart. Evaluations of parental agreement on child-rearing practices, perceptions of partners involvement, and joint decision making were moderately stable over 1 year. Marital quality assessed 12 months earlier significantly predicted maternal reports of coparenting, but fewer antecedents were revealed for fathers. Few associations emerged between children with difficult temperaments and coparenting. Cluster analysis identified three types of coparenting dyads: both parents reported average to above average coparenting, mothers reported below average and fathers were average or above, and fathers were below and mothers were average or above. The “equal” cluster was associated with more positive reports of martial quality and family emotional expressivity. Clusters in which one parent reported less coparenting were associated with lower marital quality.