Assessing Children's Relationships with Pet Dogs: A Multi-Method Approach.

Relationships with pet dogs are thought to provide substantial benefits for children, but the study of these relationships has been hindered by a lack of validated measures. Approaches to assessing the quality of children's pet dog relationships have tended to focus on positive relationship qualities and to rely on self-report questionnaires. The aim of this study was to develop and test multiple measures that could be used to assess both positive and negative features of children's relationships with pet dogs. In a sample of 115 children ages 9-14 years who were pet dog owners, we assessed six qualities of pet dog relationships: Affection, Nurturance of Pet, Emotional Support from Pet, Companionship, Friction with Pet, and Pets as Substitutes for People. All qualities were assessed with child questionnaires, parent questionnaires, and child daily reports of interactions with pets. We found substantial convergence in reports from different observers and across different measurement approaches. Principal components analyses and correlations suggested overlap for many of the positive qualities, which tended to be distinct from negative relationship qualities. The study provides new tools which could be used to test further how relationships with pets contribute to children's development.

Anxiety, academic achievement, and academic self-concept: Meta-analytic syntheses of their relations across developmental periods.

This systematic review examined how anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders relate to academic achievement, school dropout, and academic self-concept. Studies with children or adult samples were included in seven meta-analyses (ks for number of samples ranged from 5 to 156; N's for participants ranged from 780 to 37, 203). Results revealed significant but very small effect sizes for the relations between anxiety and overall academic achievement (r = -.06), language achievement (r = -.07), and math achievement (r = -.09), and a nonsignificant effect size for science achievement (r = -.01). Participants with greater anxiety were also significantly more likely to not complete high school (r = .11). They also had a poorer overall academic self-concept (r = -.25) and mathematics self-concept (r = -.30). Few methodological moderators (e.g., study design, age) were significant. Results show that anxiety does not strongly hinder academic achievement, but it is an important correlate of dropout and academic self-concept, which in turn could contribute to poorer life outcomes. Interventions and preventive programs need to consider ways to ameliorate the relations of anxiety with academic outcomes, especially school continuation and academic self-concept. Future studies should identify risk factors that may amplify these relations.

Parental emotion socialization: Relations with adjustment, security, and maternal depression in early adolescence.

How parents approach and teach their children about emotions are key determinants of children's healthy adjustment (Denham, 2019). Parental emotion socialization has been mostly studied in parents of young children. Our study identified emotion socialization (ES) strategies used by parents of early adolescents (Study 1) and then examined the relations of ES strategies with early adolescent adjustment, parent-child attachment, and maternal depression (Study 2). Study 1 included 171 parents of 9- to 14-year-old children who completed an open-ended questionnaire about their reactions to their children's negative emotions, which was content coded for ES strategies. We found that parents do use the 6 traditional ES strategies (problem solving, emotion focused/comforting, encouragement, minimizing, punitive, and distress) with early adolescents, while also using 3 approaches not identified in studies of parents of younger children (self-regulation, parent seeking information, parent explaining). We also found that some ES strategies are context and gender specific. Study 2 included 218 mother and child dyads (children aged 9- to 14- years). Mothers completed the Revised Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale, adapted to include items assessing the 3 new strategies, and measures of child adjustment, attachment, and maternal depression. The ES strategies loaded on 3 factors: Collaborative Coping, Negative Reactions to Child's Distress, and Low Expectation for Child's Self-Regulation. Negative Reactions to Child's Distress showed associations with children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behavior, and child attachment, while Collaborative Coping was related to prosocial behavior. Our results point to the importance of investigating additional ES strategies in early adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-Child Attachment Security and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Forgiveness.

Although greater parent-child attachment security is linked with children's lower levels of depressive symptoms, little research has evaluated potential explanatory mechanisms. We investigated whether dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness explain the relation between attachment security with parents and early adolescents' depressive symptoms. Early adolescents (N = 105; M age = 12.3 years; 51% girls) completed questionnaires assessing their attachment security to mother and father figures, depressive symptoms, and dispositional gratitude, and an interview assessing interpersonal forgiveness. Results revealed that greater attachment security to mothers and fathers was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and greater levels of dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness. Further, dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Dispositional gratitude emerged as a mediator between attachment security with each parent and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that greater parent-child security may promote early adolescents' appreciation of positive events, which in turn may relate to fewer depressive symptoms.

Dynamics of attachment and emotion regulation in daily life: uni- and bidirectional associations.

Attachment theory proposes that the activation of the attachment system enacts emotion regulation (ER) to maintain security or cope with insecurity. However, the effects of ER on attachment states and their bidirectional influences remain poorly understood. In this ecological momentary assessment study, we examined the dynamics between attachment and ER. We hypothesised that attachment states and ER influence each other through time. Specifically, we hypothesised bidirectional short-term cycles between state attachment security and reappraisal, state attachment anxiety and rumination, and state attachment avoidance and suppression. We also tested how trait attachment is related to state attachment and ER. One hundred twenty-two participants (Mage = 26.4) completed the Experiences in Close Relationship-Revised and reported state attachment and ER seven times daily for seven days. The results were only partly consistent with our cycle hypotheses yet revealed a cycle between low state attachment security and rumination that was attenuated by reappraisal. Moreover, rumination and suppression predicted increased insecure states, and reappraisal predicted increased secure and insecure states. Finally, trait attachment showed associations with state attachment and ER. Our study suggests regulatory dynamics between attachment and ER and opens important questions about their functional relationship in maintaining attachment-related behavioural patterns and emotional well-being.

Clinical risk factors, emotional reactivity/regulation and suicidal ideation in elementary school-aged children.

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal behavior (SB) in young children is rare yet in 2019, suicide was the fifth leading cause of death in 5-12-year-old youth. Understanding the risks associated with childhood suicidal ideation (SI) and SB will determine which factors should be targeted for prevention programming. This study examined clinical characteristics and emotional reactivity/regulation (ERR) in children with (SI+) and without (SI-) SI. METHOD: One hundred seventeen children, 6-9 years, and one biological parent were enrolled. Children completed interviews concerning SI/SB and parents completed interviews/self-reports about SI/SB, psychiatric distress, and history of abuse/neglect and their child's SI/SB, mental health, and ERR. Independent t-tests and Chi-square analyses using Bonferroni correction were conducted to examine SI group differences. Variables were then screened using forward stepwise logistic regression to determine association with SI + status. The final logistic regression included variables that survived screening procedures only. RESULTS: Univariate analyses revealed SI + children were more likely to have a parental history of suicide attempt (PH+), higher rates of current psychotropic medication use, higher scores on the CBCL-DSM oriented scales (e.g., ADHD problems), and higher negative affect compared to SI- children. After analytic screening procedures, PH+, anxiety problems, ADHD problems, and anger survived. The final logistic regression revealed PH + status and anxiety problems were associated with SI + status. CONCLUSION: Long-term follow-up is needed to determine if these factors are predictive of a first-time suicide attempt in this at-risk group.

Measurement invariance across mother/child and father/child attachment relationships.

We examine the factorial structure of the Security Scale Questionnaire (SSQ), exploring measurement invariance across mother-father-child attachment relationships, child sex, and country. We used the new 21-item SSQ version that integrates both safe haven and secure base behaviors in a two factors structure. Participants were 457 children (224 girls and 233 boys), ranging from 9 to 14 years old (M = 10.84, SD = 1.02) from Portuguese and USA samples. We confirmed the SSQ's two-factor structure, although four items were unrelated to the latent structure and excluded from the final model. Results showed that SSQ can be used to study both mother/child and father/child attachment relationships. Multi-group analyses suggested measurement invariance between boys and girls and between Portuguese and USA samples. Our findings suggest that the SSQ can be considered a valid and cost-effective tool to measure perceived attachment security in middle childhood for both mother/child and father/child relationships.

Children's Exploration of Their Surrogacy Origins in Gay Two-Father Families: Longitudinal Associations With Child Attachment Security and Parental Scaffolding During Discussions About Conception.

Evidence is lacking about the factors that are pivotal in enhancing the exploration of surrogacy origins in children of gay fathers during middle childhood. The present study examined the separate and combined influences of child attachment security and parental scaffolding (i.e., fathers' attempts to accept, encourage, and emotionally support their children's expression of thoughts and feelings) during discussions about conception on children's exploration of their surrogacy origins in 30 Italian children born to gay fathers through gestational surrogacy. Within each family, both father-child dyads (n = 60) participated in a 5-minute videotaped conversation regarding an aspect of the child's conception when children were mean aged 8.3 years (t1). At this time, children were also administered the Security Scale Questionnaire to evaluate their attachment security. Approximately 18 months later (t2; M age = 9.9 years), children were interviewed about their surrogacy origins. Linear mixed models (LMMs) for longitudinal data indicated that, with higher levels of parental scaffolding, only children who perceived greater attachment security reported greater exploration of their surrogacy origins. The findings are the first to underscore the importance of conversations about surrogacy within the context of parent-child attachment relationships, as well as the importance of fathers sensitively supporting their children as they explore their origins during middle childhood. In doing so, it is expected that fathers will likely facilitate their children's positive integration of their surrogacy conception into a coherent sense of identity during adolescence.

Attachment figures in a middle childhood Romanian sample: Does parental migration for employment matter?

This study assessed how children's choices of attachment figures are related to the quality of the parent-child relationship and parental economic migration in a Romanian sample. Two hundred and twenty-two children (n girls =130) 10-13 years of age completed the Attachment Figure Interview and a parental migration interview, and reported their attachment security with mother and father. Approximately 35.6% (n = 79) of children had mothers with a migration history and 48.7% (n = 104) of children had fathers with a migration history. Mothers, and to some extent fathers, serve as primary attachment figures. Grandparents, peers, siblings and relatives serve as secondary attachment figures in some situations. Further, children are less likely to choose mothers as primary attachment figures and show lower attachment security when their mothers rather than their fathers have a history of migration. Overall, this study provides empirical grounds to conceptualize parental migration as an attachment disruption.

Child attachment security in gay father surrogacy families: Parents as safe havens and secure bases during middle childhood.

Child attachment security and utilization of parents as safe havens and secure bases were compared in 33 surrogacy children with gay fathers and 37 donor-conceived children with lesbian mothers during middle childhood. Assessments included data coded from parent-child interactions, interviews, and questionnaires administered to children and both parents. Findings indicated that children of gay fathers perceived high attachment security and their scores did not differ from those of children with lesbian mothers or from normative scores of children with heterosexual parents. Children's greater attachment security was associated with higher levels of parental warmth, responsiveness, and willingness to serve as an attachment figure; lower levels of parental negative control and rejection; and the child's younger age. Finally, children used the primary attachment figure more as a safe haven and the secondary attachment more as a secure base, though they reported high levels of both types of support from both parents.

Attachment security is associated with the experience of specific positive emotions in middle childhood.

Adaptive emotion expression characterizes secure parent-child relationships in which children rely on attachment figures for secure base and safe haven support. We hypothesized that more securely attached children would report experiencing greater positive emotion. Children (N=92; M=11.91 years) completed the Friends and Family Interview which was coded for attachment security indicators (narrative coherence, mother and father safe haven support, mother and father secure base support). We analyzed Youth Values in Action Inventory strengths that reflected positive emotions (curiosity, zest, hope, love, gratitude). No attachment security indicators correlated with curiosity, all correlated with zest and gratitude, and four correlated with hope and love. Controlling for IQ, age, and temperament, attachment security significantly predicted positive emotion (12-19% variance); father secure base support uniquely predicted positive emotion. Our findings highlight the important role parental attachment plays in children's emotion experience and have implications for explaining why attachment might relate to children's other close relationships.

A Meta-Analysis of Friendship Qualities and Romantic Relationship Outcomes in Adolescence.

Romantic relationships are one of the most significant interpersonal ties in adolescence, thus understanding factors that may contribute to their formation and quality are important. The current meta-analysis focuses on links between friendship quality and romantic relationship outcomes for adolescents up to 18 years. In a series of meta-analyses (k = 28 studies, N's = 946-4,040), friendship qualities were not related to romantic involvement. However, we did find robust evidence of continuity between friendship qualities and romantic relationship qualities. Additionally, adolescents experienced more negative quality in their romantic relationships than in their friendships. These findings suggest that friendships have implications for adolescents' romantic relationships, although more research is needed on specific quality associations, and the mediators of these relations.

Parent-child attachment and children's experience and regulation of emotion: A meta-analytic review.

Attachment relationships serve as contexts within which children develop emotional capacities. This meta-analytic review assessed the strength of associations of parent-child attachment patterns with the experience and regulation of emotion in children under age 18 years. In a series of meta-analyses (k = 72 studies, N's ranged from 87 to 9,167), we examined children's positive and negative affective experiences (assessed either globally or elicited in specific contexts), emotion regulation ability, and coping strategies. More securely attached children experienced more global positive affect and less global negative affect, expressed less elicited negative affect, were better able to regulate emotions, and more often used cognitive and social support coping strategies. More avoidantly attached children experienced less global positive affect, were less able to regulate emotions, and were less likely to use cognitive or social support coping strategies. By contrast, more ambivalently attached children experienced more global and more elicited negative affect, and were less able to regulate emotions. More disorganized children experienced less global positive affect and more global negative affect. These robust findings provide evidence that attachments to parents have implications for children's emotional development, although more research is needed on whether insecure attachment patterns are associated with distinct emotion profiles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Security Scale as a measure of attachment: meta-analytic evidence of validity.

This meta-analysis evaluated the psychometric properties of the Security Scale (SS; k = 57 studies), a measure specifically designed to assess attachment in middle childhood, using several criteria: stability over time, associations with other attachment measures, relations with caregiver sensitivity, and associations with theoretically driven outcomes. The SS demonstrated moderate stability and meaningful associations with other attachment measures and caregiver sensitivity. Furthermore, the SS showed significant associations with developmental correlates of attachment: school adaptation, emotional and peer social competence, self-esteem, and behavioral problem. Some effect sizes varied as a function of socioeconomic status (SES; peer social competence and maladjustment) and publication status (emotional competence, peer social competence, and self-esteem). The association between the SS and our constructs of interest were, for the most part, independent of geographical location and child gender or age. Overall, findings suggest that the SS is a robust measure of attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence.

Middle Childhood Attachment Strategies: validation of an observational measure.

The purpose of this study was to assess behavioral manifestations of attachment in middle childhood, and to evaluate their relations with key theoretical correlates. The sample consisted of 87 children (aged 10-12 years) and their mothers. Dyads participated in an 8-min videotaped discussion of a conflict in their relationships, later scored with the Middle Childhood Attachment Strategies Coding System (MCAS) for key features of all child attachment patterns described in previous literature (secure, ambivalent, avoidant, disorganized-disoriented, caregiving/role-confused, hostile/punitive). To assess validity, relations among MCAS dimensions and other measures of attachment, parenting, and psychological adjustment were evaluated. Results provide preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of the MCAS in that its behaviorally assessed patterns were associated with theoretically relevant constructs, including maternal warmth/acceptance and psychological control, and children's social competence, depression, and behavioral problems. The MCAS opens new grounds for expanding our understanding of attachment and its outcomes in middle childhood.

Pet Dogs: Does their presence influence preadolescents' emotional responses to a social stressor?

Despite interest in human-animal interaction, few studies have tested whether the presence of a dog facilitates children's emotional responding. Preadolescents (n = 99) were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test either with or without their pet dog. Children rated their positive and negative affect, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was assessed throughout the session. Children reported higher positive affect when they completed the task with their pet dog, although there were no differences for negative affect or HF-HRV. Children who had more physical contact with their dog at baseline reported higher positive affect. The findings suggest contact with pets is associated with enhanced positive affect.

Parent-child attachment: meta-analysis of associations with parenting behaviors in middle childhood and adolescence.

Maternal sensitivity predicts mother-child attachment in young children, but no meta-analysis has investigated the link between parenting and parent-child attachment in older children. This study examined the relationship between parent-child attachment and multiple components of parenting in children 5-18 years of age. A series of meta-analyses showed that parents of children with more secure attachment are more responsive, more supportive of the child's autonomy, use more behavioral control strategies, and use less harsh control strategies. Parents of children with more avoidant attachment were less responsive and used less behavioral control strategies. Ambivalent attachment was not significantly related to any of the parenting behaviors, and there were not enough studies to reliably test the relationship between disorganized attachment and parenting. There were few significant moderators. The findings inform new areas for future research, as well as family interventions for at-risk youth.

Attachment and emotion regulation in middle childhood: changes in affect and vagal tone during a social stress task.

In middle childhood, more securely attached children show better emotion regulation when assessed as general tendencies (e.g. coping style), but studies looking at emotion in response to specific stressors have revealed mixed results. This study examined how attachment security, avoidance, and ambivalence - assessed with a story stem task (99 children, 9-11 years old) - relate to dynamic indices of affective and autonomic responses (baseline, reactivity, recovery). Reports of positive and negative affect, and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), were assessed during a social stressor task. Securely attached children did not show reactivity effects, although they did show greater recovery of positive affect after the task ended. Avoidant children showed both less reactivity and recovery of negative affect, suggesting a dampened emotional response. Ambivalent children showed more reactivity and more recovery of negative affect. Autonomic response changes were only evident for ambivalent children, who showed less suppression of HF-HRV variability under stress.

Perceptions of Parent-Child Attachment Relationships and Friendship Qualities: Predictors of Romantic Relationship Involvement and Quality in Adolescence.

Relationships with parents and friends are important contexts for developing romantic relationship skills. Parents and friends may influence both the timing of involvement and the quality of romantic relationships. Three models of the joint influence of parents and friends (direct effects model, mediation model, and moderator model) have been proposed. The present study uses data from a longitudinal study (n = 1012; 49.8% female; 81.1% Caucasian) to examine how attachment and friendship quality at age 10 years predict romantic relationship involvement and quality at ages 12 and 15 years. The results supported the direct effects model, with attachment and friendship quality uniquely predicting different romantic relationship outcomes. The findings provide further support for the important influence of family and friends on early romantic relationships.

Preadolescents' Relationships with Pet Dogs: Relationship Continuity and Associations with Adjustment.

Research on human-animal interaction in children has been studied in isolation rather than integrated with core theories of children's relationships. This study is one of the first to examine how children's relationships with pet dogs are related to their human relationships (parent-child attachments, friendships) and to child adjustment, and to include observational assessment of children's interactions with their pet dog. Children (9 to 11 years old, n = 99) completed questionnaires regarding relationships with pet dogs, parents, and friends. Half the children were observed interacting with their pet dog. Children and teachers reported children's adjustment. Children who felt closer to their dogs were more securely attached to mothers and fathers, and reported more positive qualities and less conflict with friends. Children with more secure attachments to mothers, and greater companionship with dogs, interacted more with their dogs. Parental attachment and friendship quality, but not the pet dog relationship, were related to child adjustment.