Family risk and early attachment development: The differential role of parental sensitivity.

Family risks are known to be detrimental to children's attachment development. This study investigated whether parental sensitivity plays different roles in early attachment development in the context of risk: Sensitivity was hypothesized to mediate risk effects on attachment, as well as a moderator that shapes the relation between risk and attachment. Multiple family risks, parental sensitivity (defined as responsivity and supportive presence), and children's attachment security of 197 infants and toddlers (Mage  = 15.25 months) and their caregivers were assessed in a prospective study with a cohort-sequential-design in Germany. Caregivers' sensitivity served as a mediator of risk effects on attachment as well as a moderator that buffers adverse consequences of risk. Early sensitivity might be relevant in setting the stage for attachment development supporting resilience.

A los riesgos familiares se les conoce como perjudiciales para el desarrollo de la afectividad en los niños. Este estudio investigó si la sensibilidad del progenitor juega diferentes papeles en el temprano desarrollo de la afectividad en el contexto de riesgo: La hipótesis es que la sensibilidad sirve de intermediaria de los efectos del riesgo sobre la afectividad, y también como una moderadora que moldea la relación entre el riesgo y la afectividad. Los riesgos familiares múltiples, la sensibilidad del progenitor (definida como la presencia de receptividad y apoyo) y la seguridad de la afectividad del niño en 197 infantes y niños pequeñitos (M = 15.25 meses) y de quienes les cuidaban fueron evaluadas en un estudio de probabilidad con un diseño secuencial de grupo en Alemania. La sensibilidad de quien presta el cuidado sirvió como mediadora de los efectos del riesgo sobre la afectividad, así como también de moderadora que amortigua las consecuencias adversas del riesgo. La temprana sensibilidad pudiera ser relevante para sentar las bases de la fortaleza de resistencia de apoyo al desarrollo de la afectividad.

Les risques de la famille sont connus comme étant préjudiciables au développement de l'attachement des enfants. Cette étude s'est attachée à étudier si la sensibilité parentale joue des rôles différents dans le développement précoce de l'attachement dans le contexte de risque: on a pris comme hypothèse que la sensibilité a servi de médiatrice aux effets de risque sur l'attachement, et a également servi de modératrice qui forme la relation entre le risqué et l'attachement. Les risques familiaux multiples, la sensibilité parentale (définie comme réceptivité et présence de soutien), et la sécurité de l'attachement de 197 nourrissons et jeunes enfants (M = 15,25 mois) et des personnes prenant soin d'eux ont été évalués dans une étude prospective avec un plan séquentiel-cohorte, en Allemagne. La sensibilité de la personne prenant soin de l'enfant a servi de médiateur pour les effets de risque sur l'attachement ainsi que de modérateur qui amorti les conséquences adverses de risque. La sensibilité précoce peut s'avérer pertinente dans la préparation du terrain pour le développement de l'attachement qui souvient la résilience.

Child Abuse Potential in Young German Parents: Predictors, Associations with Self-reported Maltreatment and Intervention Use.

Since child maltreatment has highly negative effects on child adjustment, early identification of at-risk families is important. This study focuses on longitudinal risk factors for child maltreatment and associations between abuse risk and occurrence. It also examines whether abuse risk and involvement in early childhood intervention are associated. The sample comprises 197 German caregivers with children under 3 years of age. Data was collected in two waves. The Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory assessed abuse risk. Socio-demographic, parent, child and family-related risk factors were measured using screening tools. The analysis revealed that parental characteristics (psychopathology, own maltreatment experiences etc.) were associated with concurrent abuse risk. Longitudinal changes in abuse risk were linked to caregiver education and child-related factors. Cumulative risk did not explain more variance than specific risk factors. Significant associations with caregiver-reported abuse were found, and data suggest that some burdened families cannot be reached by early childhood intervention.

The German Version of the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents: Associations with Emotion Regulation and Psychosocial Adjustment.

Emotional awareness is an important variable for children's and adolescents' social and emotional development. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties (e.g., factor structure, internal consistencies) of scores on the German translation of the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ; Rieffe, Oosterveld, Miers, Meerum Terwogt, & Ly, 2008 ). Furthermore, to examine the concurrent validity, associations of the six subscales (Differentiating Emotions, Verbal Sharing of Emotions, Not Hiding Emotions, Bodily Unawareness, Attending to Others' Emotions, Analyses of Emotions) with emotion regulation, internalizing and externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior were investigated. Questionnaire data of 1,018 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 were analyzed. The proposed six-factor structure was replicated and internal consistencies were satisfactory. Meaningful associations of the six EAQ subscales with emotion regulation and psychosocial adjustment were found, proving the concurrent validity of this questionnaire. In general, higher emotional awareness was associated with more functional emotion regulation and prosocial behavior, and less dysfunctional emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing problems. Significant gender differences were detected and are discussed. Overall, the findings suggest that the German EAQ is a useful instrument to assess children's and adolescents' emotional awareness.

The observability of problem behavior and its relation to discrepancies between adolescents' self-report and parents' proxy report on problem behavior.

This study provides evidence regarding the relatedness of multi-informant agreement and perceived observability of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Based on 2 distinct but comparable samples of children/adolescents (Sample 1: 58.2% female and mean age of 12.51 years; Sample 2: 56.4% female and mean age of 12.35 years) and their mothers, cross-sectional as well as longitudinal analyses were conducted. Although often suggested in the literature, the results of the study do not indicate that-in general-internalizing behavior is less observable than externalizing behavior. Moreover, the results do not corroborate the suggestion that multi-informant agreement regarding internalizing behavior is lower than that of externalizing behavior. However, apart from the broad distinction of internalizing versus externalizing behavior, observability and multi-informant agreement are positively correlated with respect to reports on actual state (cross-sectional) as well as change (longitudinal) of problem behavior. The results are discussed in the context of research on multi-informant reports on problem behavior and with respect to practical implications for the assessment of problem behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record

[Growing up under adversity in Germany : Design and methods of a developmental study on risk and protective mechanisms in families with diverse psychosocial risk]. / Aufwachsen unter familiärer Belastung in Deutschland : Design und Methoden einer entwicklungspsychologischen Studie zu Risiko- und Schutzmechanismen bei Familien mit unterschiedlicher psychosozialer Belastung.

Family adversity comprises many risk factors for parents and children. The German early intervention approach Frühe Hilfen aims at providing enduring, effective, and scientifically validated prevention and intervention for effective child protection against those risks. The study on risk and protective mechanisms in the development of families with diverse psychosocial risks aims at identifying those mechanisms that cause and stabilize or moderate and diminish maltreatment and neglect, as well as cognitive, social, and emotional developmental deviations in risk families, specifically in the current German social and child protection system. The study examines the development of competence and early behavior problems in a sample of infants and toddlers and the interaction quality with their caregivers by applying a longitudinal sequential-cohort design. The assessments include developmental tests, systematic observations, and questionnaire data. First results suggest stable risk group membership and moderate stability of single risk factors.

Parents' Perceived Similarity to Their Children, and Parents' Perspective Taking Efforts: Associations of Cross-Informant Discrepancies with Adolescent Problem Behavior.

The main goal of this study is to provide empirical evidence for a theoretical mechanism underlying cross-informant discrepancies (CID), which occur between reports of different informants (e.g., children/adolescents and parents) of children's/adolescents' problem behavior. Studies comprehensively corroborate the existence of CID. However, an explanation of CID is rudimentary and inconsistent. Respective research often suffers from methodological problems and is often atheoretical. Addressing these critics, this study uses polynomial regression and is based on research on mind perception and anchoring-and-adjustment theory. It was assumed that higher CID are associated with parents' perceived similarity to their children, whereas lower CID are related to parents' perspective-taking efforts. Analyses were based on N = 168 parent-child dyads (children's mean age: 12.50 years). Reports on problem behavior displayed substantial mean differences and medium-sized correlations. Polynomial regressions on CID partly supported the influence of parents' perceived similarity and perspective taking efforts on CID. Results are discussed in the context of a possible theoretical fundament for CID.

Rumination and symptom reports in children and adolescents: results of a cross-sectional and experimental study.

This study explores the relationship between a ruminative response style and symptom reports in children and adolescents of grades 5, 7 and 9 from German secondary schools. Questionnaires were used to assess rumination and symptom reports. A group of children and adolescents (N = 140) were asked to think first about the items before responding to them (increased attention condition), while a second group (N = 260) served as control group (standard condition). The assumption was that rumination and also additional attention to the symptoms by instruction would increase the reported frequency of experiencing somatic and psychological symptoms. The results showed significant relations between symptom reports and rumination, which increased with grade. There were sex differences for somatic symptom reports with increased symptom frequencies in girls, which were mediated by rumination. Moreover, instructing participants to think first about the items led to an increase in reported symptoms. It is concluded that an increased attention to symptoms of distress increases symptom reports, which may be induced momentarily by instruction and also more generally by a ruminative response style. Conclusions regarding prevention and concerning instructions in symptom report questionnaires are outlined.

Sex, gender, coping, and self-efficacy: mediation of sex differences in pain perception in children and adolescents.

Sex differences in pain perception have been reported in an expanding literature based on adult samples in epidemiological as well as laboratory studies. Especially with respect to the latter, studies with children and adolescents do not consistently show that females report higher pain ratings and display lower pain tolerance than males. The first aim of the presented studies is to comparably examine sex differences in children and adolescents based on experimental and questionnaire approach indices of pain perception. The second aim is to examine the contribution of three prominent psychosocial factors (gender-role expectations, coping with pain, and pain self-efficacy) to these sex differences. In Study 1, a total of 118 children and adolescents from grades 5 to 9 were tested with the Cold Pressor Task (CPT) and a Pain Perception Questionnaire. In Study 2, 148 participants additionally reported on their gender-role expectations, coping with pain, and pain self-efficacy. Although the results reveal only medium-sized correlations between the CPT and the questionnaire measures, both measures indicate substantial sex differences in pain perception in both studies. In Study 2, sex differences are also present for masculinity, femininity, catastrophizing as well as pain self-efficacy. However, while the relation between sex and the CPT rating is partially mediated by pain self-efficacy, catastrophizing partially mediates the relation between sex and the questionnaire based pain ratings. The results of both studies are discussed with respect to the difference between experimental assessments of pain perception and assessments by questionnaire in children and adolescents.

Developmental changes in coping: situational and methodological influences.

Previous studies on the development of coping have shown rather inconsistent findings regarding the developmental trajectories for different coping dimensions. The aim of this study is to search for possible influences that might explain these inconsistencies. The analysis focuses on methodological influences (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional assessments) and situational influences. Two samples of children were traced longitudinally with yearly assessments from grade 2 to 5 (sample 1, N =432) and from grade 4 to 7 (sample 2, N =366). A third sample (N =849) was added with cross-sectional assessments from grade 2 to 7. The assessed coping dimensions were related to (a) problem solving, (b) seeking social support, (c) palliative coping, (d) externalizing emotional coping, and (e) avoidant coping. The use of the coping strategies had to be assessed for six stress-evoking situations. The results show only small differences between the longitudinal and the cross-sectional coping assessments. There are, however, clear situational influences on the choice of the coping strategies and also on the resulting developmental trajectories.