Supportive parent-adolescent relationships as a foundation for adolescent emotion regulation and adjustment.

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of supportive parent-adolescent relationships on adolescent adjustment (i.e., prosocial behavior, aggression, depressive symptoms) both directly and indirectly (via adolescent emotion regulation). Scholars have posited that adolescent emotion regulation (ER) may serve as an underlying mechanism in the link between parenting and adolescent adjustment. Supportive parent-adolescent relationships (i.e., openness, acceptance, emotional responsiveness) may be a key emotion socialization mechanism influencing adolescent ER. Methods: The sample included 206 adolescents (Age Range= 10-18years; 51% female; 70.4% ethnic minorities) and one primary caregiver (83.3% biological mothers, 38.7% single parents). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was implemented to investigate the direct and indirect (via adolescent ER) effects of supportive parent-adolescent relationships on adolescent adjustment. We also explored whether these indirect and direct effects varied by adolescent sex and age. Results: Results suggested direct and indirect (via adolescent ER) links between supportive parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent prosocial behavior, aggressive behavior, and depressive symptoms. Moreover, evidence indicated that many of these pathways were significant for boys but not girls. No evidence of youth age as a moderator was found. Discussion: These findings highlight the important role supportive parent-adolescent relationships play in adolescent emotional and behavioral adjustment. Parenting programs could focus on facilitating a mutually responsive parent-adolescent relationship with a specific focus on the dynamic nature of emotion socialization during adolescence.

Pregnancy intendedness and happiness as predictors of maternal-foetal bonding: evidence for mediation.

INTRODUCTION: Prior research has identified associations between pregnancy intendedness and maternal-foetal bonding, but no studies have examined the potential mediation of pregnancy happiness on the development of the maternal-infant relationship. METHODS: In 2017-2018, a clinic-based pregnancy cohort of 177 low-income and racially diverse women in a South-Central U.S. state participated in a study examining their pregnancy intentions, attitudes and behaviours. Pregnancy intentions and happiness and demographic characteristics were measured during the first trimester assessment, and maternal-foetal bonding was measured with the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) during the second trimester. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations between intendedness, happiness and bonding. RESULTS: Findings indicate positive associations between intended pregnancies and pregnancy happiness and pregnancy happiness to bonding. The direct effect from intended pregnancy to maternal-foetal bonding was not significant, providing evidence for full mediation. We did not find any associations between pregnancies that were unintended or ambivalent with pregnancy happiness or maternal-foetal bonding. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy happiness provides one potential explanation for the association between intended pregnancies and maternal-foetal bonding. These findings have implications for research and practice, as inquiring about mothers' pregnancy attitudes (e.g. how happy they are about their pregnancy) may be more important for maternal psychological health outcomes, such as the maternal-child relationship, than whether or not their pregnancies were intended.

Pregnancy intendedness, maternal-fetal bonding, and postnatal maternal-infant bonding.

This study models associations between pregnancy intendedness and prenatal maternal-fetal bonding with postnatal maternal-infant bonding. Unintended pregnancies are associated with disruptions in maternal-infant bonding, which has long-term adverse implications for maternal and child well-being. Given the high proportion of births that are unintended in the United States, identifying protective factors is critical. Pregnant women (ages 16-38) were recruited from two prenatal clinics in a metropolitan city in the South Central United States at their first prenatal visit and followed throughout pregnancy and postbirth. Multiple regression analyses examined associations, mediation, and moderation. Results indicate that the more unintended/unwanted women reported their pregnancies to be, the lower they reported their maternal-infant bonding postbirth, and higher maternal-fetal bonding scores are associated with higher postnatal maternal-infant bonding. An interaction revealed that a higher level of prenatal bonding is protective for postnatal bonding among those with unintended/unwanted pregnancies. Because prenatal bonding can be enhanced through intervention, it is a promising target to reduce the risks associated with unintended pregnancy.

Este estudio modela asociaciones entre la intencionalidad de quedarse embarazada y la vinculación materno-fetal prenatal con la vinculación postnatal entre madre e infante. Los embarazos no intencionales se asocian con una vinculación entre madre e infante desorganizada, lo cual tiene implicaciones adversas a largo plazo para el bienestar materno y del niño. Dada la alta proporción de embarazos no intencionales en los Estados Unidos, es esencial identificar factores de protección. Se reclutaron mujeres embarazadas (edades de 16 a 38 años) de dos clínicas prenatales en una ciudad metropolitana en el centro sur de Estados Unidos, en su primera visita prenatal y con seguimiento a lo largo del embarazo y posterior al nacimiento. Los análisis de regresión múltiple examinaron las asociaciones, la mediación y la moderación. Los resultados indican que mientras menos intencional o deseado es el embarazo según lo reportado por las mujeres, más baja es la vinculación posterior al nacimiento tal como lo reportaron ellas, y más altos puntajes de vinculación materno-fetal se asocian con una más alta vinculación postnatal entre madre e infante. Una interacción reveló que un más alto nivel de vinculación prenatal es un factor de protección para la vinculación postnatal entre aquellas con embarazos no intencionales/deseados. Debido a que la vinculación prenatal puede mejorarse a través de la intervención, reducir los riesgos asociados con el embarazo no intencional es una meta prometedora.

Cette étude modèle les liens entre l'intention de la grossesse et le lien prénatal maternel-fœtal avec le lien maternel-nourrisson postnatal. Les grossesses indésirées sont liées à des perturbations du lien maternel-nourrisson, ce qui a des implications défavorables à long terme pour le bien-être maternel et de l'enfant. Etant donnée la grande proportion de naissances indésirables aux Etats-Unis, l'identification de facteurs protecteurs est critique. Des femmes enceintes (âgées de 16 à 38 ans) ont été recrutées dans deux cliniques prénatales d'une ville urbaine de la région Sud-Centrale des Etats-Unis à leur première prénatale et ont été suivies au travers de leur grossesse et après la naissance. Des analyses de régression multiple ont examiné les liens, la médiation et la modération. Les résultats indiquent que plus les femmes faisaient état de grossesses indésirées/non voulues, le moins elles faisaient état de leur lien maternel-nourrisson après la naissance. Les liens maternel-fœtal élevés étaient liés à un lien maternel-nourrisson postnatal plus élevé. Une interaction a révélé qu'un niveau de lien prénatal plus élevé est protecteur pour le lien postnatal chez celles avec des grossesses indésirées/non voulues. Parce que le lien prénatal peut être amélioré au travers de l'intervention cela en fait une cible prometteuse afin de réduire les risques liés à une grossesse indésirée.

Parent and Peer Emotion Responsivity Styles: An Extension of Gottman's Emotion Socialization Parenting Typologies.

This theoretical paper introduces six emotion socialization typologies that can be used for designating emotion responsivity styles of parents and peers of children in middle childhood, referred to as Parent and Peer Emotion Responsivity Styles (PPERS). This typology draws on theoretical foundations of meta-emotion and emotion socialization. These typologies are compliment with and extend Gottman's emotion-based parenting styles, as they are organized generally by whether the response is more positive or more negative and whether the response is more emotionally constructive or destructive, but extend the four styles to include whether the parent or peer targets the emotion directly when responding to a child's emotions, or whether they target the emotion-related behavior. On the positive end, there is the Emotion Constructive style, which targets the child's emotions directly. The other two positive styles include Emotion Responsive and Emotion Acceptive, which target the child's emotional behaviors with higher or lower levels of activity. On the negative side, there is the Emotion Destructive style which is employed to target the emotion itself, while the Emotion Punitive and Emotion Dismissive styles target the child's emotion-related behavior with varying levels of activity. Implications for the development and study of these theoretical typologies are discussed.

Best Practices for Engaging Pregnant and Postpartum Women at Risk of Substance Use in Longitudinal Research Studies: a Qualitative Examination of Participant Preferences.

There are significant barriers in engaging pregnant and postpartum women that are considered high-risk (e.g., those experiencing substance use and/or substance use disorders (SUD)) into longitudinal research studies. To improve recruitment and retention of this population in studies spanning from the prenatal period to middle childhood, it is imperative to determine ways to improve key research engagement factors. The current manuscript uses a qualitative approach to determine important factors related to recruiting, enrolling, and retaining high-risk pregnant and postpartum women. The current sample included 41 high-risk women who participated in focus groups or individual interviews. All interviews were analyzed to identify broad themes related to engaging high-risk pregnant and parenting women in a 10-year longitudinal research project. Themes were organized into key engagement factors related to the following: (1) recruitment strategies, (2) enrollment, and (3) retention of high-risk pregnant and parenting women in longitudinal research studies. Results indicated recruitment strategies related to ideal recruitment locations, material, and who should share research study information with high-risk participants. Related to enrollment, key areas disclosed focused on enrollment decision-making, factors that create interest in joining a research project, and barriers to joining a longitudinal research study. With regard to retention, themes focused on supports needed to stay in research, barriers to staying in research, and best ways to stay in contact with high-risk participants. Overall, the current qualitative data provide preliminary data that enhance the understanding of a continuum of factors that impact engagement of high-risk pregnant and postpartum women in longitudinal research with current results indicating the need to prioritize recruitment, enrollment, and retention strategies in order to effectively engage vulnerable populations in research.