Dynamic fluctuations in maternal cardiac vagal tone moderate moment-to-moment associations between children's negative behavior and maternal emotional support.

Our primary objective was to examine the extent to which moment-to-moment associations between preschool-aged children's behavior and maternal emotional support differed for mothers showing different levels of parasympathetic engagement. We used behavioral observations of maternal and child behavior and maternal changes in cardiac vagal tone assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia in 15-s intervals during a 5-min challenging puzzle task (N = 121 dyads; 65 girls, Mage = 4.42 years). Results from multilevel models showed that increases in children's defeat (e.g., frustration, task withdrawal) coupled with maternal vagal augmentation (an index of social engagement) in a given 15-s interval predicted increases in maternal support in the next interval, whereas increases in children's defeat coupled with maternal vagal withdrawal (an index of physiological arousal) in a given 15-s interval did not predict increases in maternal support. Findings suggest that vagal augmentation in mothers may operate together with fluctuations in children's negative behaviors to predict supportive parenting in real time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Mothers' dispositional distress reactivity as a predictor of maternal support following momentary fluctuations in children's aversive behavior.

Given that maternal support promotes healthy social and emotional development in early childhood, it is important to understand the predictors of such support, especially during emotional challenges. In this study, mothers' dispositional distress reactivity (i.e., the tendency toward experiencing distress in response to children's negative emotions and behavior) was assessed as a predictor of maternal support in a given moment when children showed within-person fluctuations in aversive behavior (i.e., negative affect and disruptive behaviors) in concurrent and prior moments. Data were collected when children were 33 months of age. Mothers (N = 128) reported on their distress reactivity, and maternal support and child aversive behavior were coded in 15-s intervals during a 5-min snack-delay task. As hypothesized, multilevel models revealed that mothers' dispositional distress reactivity predicted decreases in maternal support when children showed within-person increases in aversive behavior in the prior 15-s interval but not in the concurrent interval. Findings highlight the importance of investigating the contributions of maternal dispositional tendencies to moment-to-moment changes in parenting behavior during moderate, everyday challenges with young children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Fostering parents' emotion regulation through a sibling-focused experimental intervention.

In this study, we assessed whether an intervention designed to improve children's sibling relationships, the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers program (MFWSB), may also help parents manage their emotions more effectively. Families with at least 2 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 50) or wait-list control (n = 34) group. Parents completed pre- and posttest questionnaires on sibling warmth and agonism, their emotion regulation during sibling conflict, and their global emotion regulation styles. Program participation had a direct effect on 3 of the 4 emotion regulation outcomes for mothers. Mothers in the intervention versus control group reported lower levels of dysregulation and suppression and higher levels of reappraisal at posttest, controlling for pretest regulation scores. Additionally, path models examining posttest responses showed that participation in MFWSB led to lower levels of maternal and paternal negative reactivity in the sibling context via lower levels of sibling agonism, controlling for pretest levels of negative reactivity. Alternate path models, with parents' emotion regulation as mechanisms linking MFWSB and sibling relationship quality, were tested but not supported. Results highlight the value of a sibling-focused intervention for promoting parents' abilities to regulate their emotions.

What we learn from our sisters and brothers: for better or for worse.

Siblings have considerable influence on one another's development throughout childhood, yet most human development research has neglected sibling socialization. Through this volume, we aim to enhance our understanding of how siblings play formative roles in one another's social and emotional development. We examine the mechanisms by which children are influenced by their brothers and sisters, clarify the ways in which these mechanisms of socialization are similar to and different from children's socialization experiences with parents, and consider the conditions under which sibling socialization results in positive versus negative consequences for individual development.

Meeting the long-term needs of families who adopt children out of foster care: a three-year follow-up study.

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which agency and nonagency supportive resources contributed to the stability and well-being of 34 newly adoptive families over 3 years. Results revealed significant pre- to post-adoption declines in families' contact and satisfaction with formal and informal helping resources. Greater pre-adoption contact with formal adoption agency staff predicted adoption stability and lower levels of family conflict at the 3-year assessment. The results highlight the importance of providing adoptive families with formal and informal support that meets their evolving needs.

Diversification of stem cell molecular repertoire by alternative splicing.

Complete information regarding transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulation in stem cells is necessary to understand the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation. Alternative splicing is a prevalent mode of posttranscriptional regulation, and occurs in approximately one half of all mammalian genes. The frequency and functional impact of alternative splicing in stem cells are yet to be determined. In this study we combine computational and experimental methods to identify splice variants in embryonic and hematopoietic stem cells on a genome-wide scale. Using EST collections derived from stem cells, we detect alternative splicing in >1,000 genes. Systematic RT-PCR and sequencing studies show confirmation of computational predictions at a level of 80%. We find that alternative splicing can modify multiple components of signaling pathways important for stem cell function. We also analyze the distribution of splice variants across different classes of genes. We find that tissue-specific genes have a higher tendency to undergo alternative splicing than ubiquitously expressed genes. Furthermore, the patterns of alternative splicing are only weakly conserved between orthologous genes in human and mouse. Our studies reveal extensive modification of the stem cell molecular repertoire by alternative splicing and provide insights into its overall role as a mechanism of generating genomic diversity.

Sibling relationship contributions to individual and family well-being: introduction to the special issue.

This special issue presents new findings that illustrate the ways in which sibling relationships serve as important contexts for individual development and family functioning. This collection of articles, which emphasizes effects on both normative and at-risk development, is intended to stimulate further research on the multifaceted and often contradictory contributions siblings extend to one another across the life course.

Sibling relationship quality from birth to adolescence: the enduring contributions of friends.

The purpose of the present study was to examine continuity in sibling relationships across childhood and to evaluate the degree to which children's experiences with their friends and mothers prior to their sibling's birth predict the quality of the relationship they establish with their siblings in adolescence. Twenty-eight firstborn children, who were 48 months old at the time of their sibling's birth, were observed interacting with their siblings and friends at multiple time points. The level of positive social behaviors demonstrated in their early relationships with friends continued to predict sibling relationship quality in adolescence. Firstborn children who had more positive interactions with friends prior to their sibling's birth demonstrated more prosocial interactions with both their siblings and friends in adolescence and exhibited fewer externalizing behaviors. Longitudinal associations support the hypothesis that the social competencies that young children demonstrate in their early relationships with friends may have enduring significance for their social development.

How the differential treatment of siblings is linked with parent-child relationship quality.

Little is currently known about the significance of parents' unequal treatment of siblings and their relationships with their children; for example, are high levels of differential treatment consistently indicative of poorer parent-child relationships? Associations among differential parenting practices, perceptions of the fairness of these practices, and parent-child relationship quality were assessed from the perspectives of adolescent siblings and their parents in 74 maritally intact families. Multilevel random coefficient modeling revealed that the magnitude of differential treatment was associated with more negative parent-child relationships only when adolescents perceived differential treatment to be unfair. Differential treatment judged to be fair is not linked with negative parent-child relationships. Results highlight the importance of examining all family members' viewpoints about the legitimacy of differential treatment and of encouraging family members to discuss their understanding of these events.

Children's perceptions of the fairness of parental preferential treatment and their socioemotional well-being.

Being the recipient of favored parental treatment has been identified as a correlate of enhanced socioemotional well-being. However, knowledge of children's perceptions of the legitimacy of preferential treatment may provide a more complete understanding of associations between preferential treatment and children's socioemotional well-being. The current study investigated whether children's well-being varies in accordance with their views about the fairness of preferential parental treatment. One hundred thirty-five children (M = 11.74 years) and their older siblings (M = 14.64 years) were interviewed independently about parents' distribution of affection and control. Although the amount of preferential control children reported experiencing was related to more externalizing behavior problems, lower levels of internalizing behavior problems and greater global self-esteem were indicated when children perceived that such preferential behaviors were fair.