RESUMEN
Mutual regulation during the naturalistic interaction of 150 mothers and their 4-month-old infants was investigated from a dynamic systems perspective. Microanalyses of a wide range of behaviors and analysis of contingencies indicated that a 3-s time period best captured contingencies. Both mothers and infants communicated primarily through vocal signals and responses, although maternal touches and infant looks also elicited responses. Although more expressive mothers did not have infants who behaved similarly, levels of contingent responsiveness between partners were significantly associated and occurred within distinct behavioral channels, suggesting coregulated interactional processes in which contingently responsive mothers shape their infants' communications toward mutual similarity. Mothers were more influential than infants over object play, whereas infants were more influential than mothers over expressive behavior. Interactional context consistently influenced contingent responsiveness; there was less mutual responsiveness when the infant was exploring, being held, or looking.
Asunto(s)
Conducta Materna/psicología , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , Madres/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
The father's role in the coparenting partnership is reviewed from an evolutionary and family systems perspective. Whenever two individuals are available to parent a child, a coparenting relationship exists. The coparenting relationship is developed within the framework of the mother-child attachment relationship. The father's entrance into this system tends to be determined by individual characteristics of the father, which set a baseline level of the father's motivation to parent, and by maternal gatekeeping proclivities, which discourage or facilitate paternal involvement. Three approaches to the coparenting relationship are presented : multidimensional assessments of the division of labor, the parenting alliance, and coparenting interactions. Father's relationships within different family subsystems appear to be less differentiated than those of mothers, leaving coparenting partnerships vulnerable to father's satisfaction with family and marital relationships. The father's commitment to family and the mother's ability to allow fathers some autonomy in parenting are critical factors in coparenting relationships.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Two studies assessed the validity of the Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents (FISCA), a multidimensional parent-report questionnaire. METHOD: In study 1, quasi-exploratory and confirmatory procedures tested whether FISCA data for 804 inpatients (mean age = 13.4, 456 boys), collected October 1994 through December 1995, fit a 3-factor model. Study 2 (n = 330) used survival and discriminant analyses to predict recidivism status at 3 and 6 months follow-up from FISCA scores at intake. RESULTS: The 8 FISCA scales reduced to 3 factors describing undercontrolled aggression, social role violations, and self-focused aspects of child functional impairment. Serious impairment on the Aggression and School scales each predicted a 3-fold increase in recidivism risk. Together, impairment scores for Aggression, School, Thinking, and Delinquency correctly identified 73% of the recidivists. However, 51% of the nonrecidivists also were classified as recidivists. CONCLUSIONS: Although these data initially support the FISCA's validity, they underscore the need for more effective strategies to identify severely impaired children whose problems will be sporadic or short-lived.
Asunto(s)
Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/diagnóstico , Determinación de la Personalidad/estadística & datos numéricos , Socialización , Adolescente , Niño , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Psicometría , Recurrencia , Reproducibilidad de los ResultadosRESUMEN
This study assessed agreement between parents' and adolescent inpatients' scores on caretaker and self-report versions of the Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents (FISCA and FISCA-SR). Self-report data describing impairment in eight domains were collected from 375 inpatients (M age = 15.0 years, 55% females), with parent data available for 233 (62%). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated structural congruence between a hypothesized, three-factor model, based on a prior study of the parent FISCA, and an observed model, based on responses to the FISCA-SR (GFI = .95). Correlations (measuring relative agreement) and paired comparisons of means (assessing absolute agreement) generally identified stronger agreement in "public" than "private" domains of impairment, and greater relative than absolute agreement in covert, antisocial domains.
Asunto(s)
Conducta del Adolescente/clasificación , Trastornos Mentales/clasificación , Relaciones Padres-Hijo , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Personas con Discapacidad , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Índice de Severidad de la EnfermedadRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient facilities are in need of standardized behavior rating scales to assess continuous change in patient behaviors. This study used daily staff ratings to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Child Behavior Rating Form (CBRF-A). METHOD: Three hundred eighty-seven inpatients, aged 3 to 17 years, were rated daily by unit staff. Subsamples of patients and/or their parents completed additional measures of behavior problems (Child Behavior Checklist, Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents) to assess the instrument's validity. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses identified 5 behavior problem dimensions (Oppositionalism, Attention Problems, Overactivity, Withdrawal/Depression, and Anxiety), a second-order Externalizing dimension, and 2 positive behavior dimensions (Positive/Adaptive Social and Compliance/Self-Control). The scales were found to be internally consistent and showed expected age differences, and the scale factor structures were relatively stable over 1- and 2-week intervals. The scales correlated meaningfully with parent ratings of child behavior problems and functional impairment and were predictive of total hospital days. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the CBRF-A appear adequate for daily inpatient rating; additional research is needed to determine the usefulness of the CBRF-A in assessing treatment and medication effects over the hospital stay.
Asunto(s)
Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/diagnóstico , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica/normas , Adolescente , Niño , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/clasificación , Trastornos de la Conducta Infantil/terapia , Preescolar , Femenino , Hospitalización , Humanos , Masculino , Pronóstico , Psicometría , Valores de Referencia , Sensibilidad y EspecificidadRESUMEN
Study 1 assessed whether trait reactance in disturbed adolescents (ages 12 to 17) is part of the same constellation of personality variables associated with reactance in adults, and Study 2 examined whether reactance predicts inpatient treatment duration and outcomes. Correlations between reactance and MMPI-A variables among 76 inpatients (41 girls) showed that reactance is associated with oppositional, nonaffiliative, and narcissistic traits in disturbed adolescents as well as adults. Reactance predicted longer hospital stays among 176 adolescents (90 girls), and also changes in aggression, mood problems, and substance abuse among those in middle (n=89) but not early (n=87) adolescence. Additional analyses identified "typically male" and "typically female" patterns of reactance-change relationships. The clinical significance and utility of these findings are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Conducta del Adolescente/psicología , Nivel de Alerta , Trastornos de la Personalidad/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Afecto , Agresión , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Trastornos de la Personalidad/terapia , Pronóstico , Autoimagen , Factores Sexuales , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Hypothesized that two types of "depressogenic" preoccupations (self-critical and interpersonal), measured by the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents (DEQ-A; Blatt, Shaffer, Bars, & Quinlan, 1992), would mediate associations between perceived difficulties with parents and adolescent depression. Adolescent inpatients between 11 and 17 years of age (N = 295; 158 girls) in an acute-care psychiatric hospital completed the DEQ-A, a Reynolds (1986, 1989) depression questionnaire, and measures that assess experiences of alienation (vs. dependency) and separation-individuation conflicts in the adolescent-parent relationship. Alienation and counterdependency in relation to parents were associated with self-critical concerns; excessive closeness and dependency with interpersonal concerns; and separation-individuation conflicts with both types of concerns. Self-critical and interpersonal concerns were linked to adolescent depression and accounted for most of the variance initially explained by difficulties with parents.