Responses to patronizing communication and factors that attenuate those responses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate younger (n = 52, ages 18-24) and older (n = 69, ages 61-98) adults' responses to patronizing communication in terms of (a) performance on a cognitive task (Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-III block design) and (b) physiological responses (i.e., change in cortisol levels), as well as factors that may attenuate those responses. Participants were randomly assigned to receive instructions for the task using either a patronizing or nonpatronizing speech style. Participants also completed a measure of attitudes about aging and the quantity/quality of their intergenerational interaction. Older adults (relative to younger adults) were found to be more reactive to the patronizing speech style in terms of their performance on the task as well as the change in their cortisol levels. Older adults who had more positive attitudes about aging as well as more positive intergenerational interactions were protected from the performance deficits as a result of patronizing speech style. These findings could be used to inform social programs aimed at reducing age-based stigma and improving the life course outcomes of our aging population.

Outcomes of parental investment in high-risk children.

This study assesses the combined effects of children's early medical risk (e.g., preterm status) and parental investment levels (time spent in provision of care to target children as opposed to other family members) on children's response to novel, potentially distressing stimuli. While engaged in play activities, children were exposed to stimuli that were either neutral (a speaker on television with a calm voice) or threatening (a speaker with an angry voice). A significant interaction between children's risk status and parental investment was found only for threatening stimuli. High-risk children with high-investing parents showed high visual engagement with potentially threatening responses, whereas high-risk children with low-investing parents were more likely to show visual avoidance. No comparable effects were found for low-risk children. Findings were interpreted as showing that high-risk children with a history of high parental investment are more likely to attend to potentially threatening events, an adaptive response in the presence of reliable support.

"Life stage-specific" variations in performance in response to age stereotypes.

In a test of life stage-specific responses to age-based stigma, older (n = 54, ages 62-92) and younger (n = 81, ages 17-22) adults were told that a task (Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-III block design) required either (a) speed/contemporary knowledge (YA; "youth advantage") or (b) life experience/wisdom (OA; "age advantage"). In order to investigate the role of individuals' own perceptual biases in response to age-based stigma, participants also completed a measure of perceived personal control of their life outcomes. Older adults showed lower performance on the task as a result of the additive effects of (a) exposure to a negative age-relevant stereotype and (b) being under the perceived control of others. Younger adults, however, showed higher performance on the task as a result of exposure to a negative age-relevant stereotype (a stereotype challenge effect, disconfirming the stereotype)-but only if they saw themselves under the control of powerful others. The opposed responses of the 2 age groups are interpreted as reflecting (a) differences in the permanence of their group membership and (b) uniqueness of age-based stigma. To our knowledge, this is the first test of the effects of age-relevant stereotypes on younger adults.

Adaptive calibration of children's physiological responses to family stress: the utility of evolutionary developmental theory: comment on Del Giudice et al. (2012) and Sturge-Apple et al. (2012).

Children's physiological reactions to stress are presented from the broader theoretical perspective of adaptive calibration to the environment, as rooted in life history theory. Del Giudice, Hinnant, Ellis, and El-Sheikh (2012) focus on children's physiological responses to a stressful task as a consequence of their history of family stress. Sturge-Apple, Davies, Martin, Cicchetti, and Hentges (2012) focus on the ways that children respond to a novel laboratory manipulation as a combined function of their temperament patterns and the harshness of their parental environment. The theoretical perspective employed provides an overarching framework that not only accounts for the findings presented here but also has heuristic value for future research on responses to early environmental risk. Future work in this area will benefit by inclusion of additional sympathetic nervous system (SNS) markers and neurotransmitters, inclusion of the role of gene expression in adaptive calibration, broader consideration of protective factors in the child's environment, and longitudinal work demonstrating the effects of adaptive calibration on children's future life history strategies and outcomes.

Preventing children's aggression: outcomes of an early intervention.

Mothers of medically at-risk infants were randomly assigned to a Healthy Start intervention (HV) or a cognitive reframing intervention (HV+). Outcome measures were taken at the conclusion of the intervention (1 year) and at the 3-year follow-up visit. At age 3, children in the HV+ condition (in comparison with those in the HV condition) showed fewer aggression problems (as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist). Maternal emotional unavailability (as measured by combined scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and avoidance items on the Conflict Tactics Scale) at the 1-year visit mediated the effects of the intervention on children's aggression at age 3. Findings suggest that an early, cognitively based intervention may lead to reduced child aggression as a result of increased maternal social-emotional availability within the caregiving relationship.

Effects of an Early Family Intervention on Children's Memory: The Mediating Effects of Cortisol Levels.

Developmental psychologists have long been concerned with the ways that early adversity influences children's long-term outcomes. In the current study, activity of the HPA axis of medically at-risk (e.g., preterm) infants was measured as a result of maternal participation in a novel cognitively-based home visitation program (versus a Healthy Start home visitation program). Maternal participation in the cognitive intervention predicted lower basal cortisol levels among infants - with reduced levels of maternal avoidance/withdrawal serving as a mediator of this relation. Lower cortisol levels in infancy, in turn, predicted higher verbal short-term memory at age 3. Short-term memory represents a cognitive ability that has importance for children's later educational outcomes. Findings provide experimental evidence concerning the pathway by which an early intervention may produce hormonal changes that can, in turn, influence children's learning outcomes.

Increases in parental investment and child health as a result of an early intervention.

Parental investment (involving time or money invested in 3-year-olds) and child health were assessed as an outcome of (a) children's risk status (preterm vs. full-term birth) and (b) maternal resources (defined here in terms of their problem-solving skills in resolving caregiving challenges). Resources were varied systematically as a function of maternal participation in a traditional home visitation program versus a novel cognitively enhanced program that facilitated parenting skills more successfully. As predicted, mothers in the traditional home visitation condition invested preferentially in low-risk children, whereas mothers in the cognitively enhanced condition invested preferentially in high-risk children (who, in turn, showed maximal health benefits). Maternal investment of time in care provision mediated the relationship between predictor variables and children's health. This pattern supports an evolutionary model of parental investment in which parents show discriminative solicitude based on the reproductive potential of the child and parents' access to relevant resources.

A cognitive approach to child mistreatment prevention among medically at-risk infants.

The authors assessed the effectiveness of a home visitation program in enhancing the early parenting history of infants born at medical risk--a population that is at risk for mistreatment. A randomized clinical trial design was used to compare the effects of a cognitively based extension of the Healthy Start home visitation program (HV+) with a visitation condition that did not include this component (HV). In the HV+ condition, they observed (a) a lower use of corporal punishment, (b) greater safety maintenance in the home, and (c) fewer reported child injuries. The sample (N = 102) was primarily Latino; however, the effects of the intervention were not qualified by ethnicity, maternal education, or immigration status.

Hormonal sensitivity of preterm versus full-term infants to the effects of maternal depression.

Comparisons were made of differences in the hormonal sensitivity of preterm versus full-term infants to maternal depression, as reflected in children's cortisol levels. In Study 1 (N=25), a comparison was made between preterm versus healthy full-term children. In Study 2 (N=80), a comparison was made between preterm infants and full-term infants with mild or moderate medical problems. Preterm infants were found to be highly reactive to maternal depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory). That is, they demonstrated higher cortisol levels when paired with depressed mothers and lower cortisol levels when paired with non-depressed mothers. No equivalent effects were found for children who were full-term, even when they had experienced other medical problems at birth. It was concluded that premature infants are exceptionally sensitive to the "emotional climate" in their home environment. As a result, they may manifest very different hormonal outcomes--with implications for their later development.

Anxiety and hostility to an "outsider," as moderated by low perceived power.

The hostile and anxious responses of young adults to an immigrant (vs. native-born) stranger were examined as a function of participants' self-perceived power. In Studies 1 and 2, individuals with low perceived social power (males, in particular) showed high anxiety toward an "outsider" but more so if that individual was an immigrant (and thus posed an ambiguous threat to their position in the hierarchy). In Study 3, young adult males competed on a reaction time test with an immigrant or native-born rival. With immigrant rivals, males with low perceived social power showed relatively high aggression toward an immigrant rival and derogation of the rival's formidability; however, they showed a more deferential pattern with native-born rivals.

Maternal variations in stress reactivity: implications for harsh parenting practices with very young children.

Although a wide array of variables has been found to predict harsh parenting, less is known about the linkages among these variables. It is suggested here that stress reactivity, as reflected in cortisol changes, is an important mediating variable. In a high-risk population, mothers (N = 60) with low perceived power (as measured by the Parent Attribution Test; D. B. Bugental, J. B. Blue, & M. Cruzcosa, 1989), were highly reactive to infants and toddlers with a difficult temperament pattern. In response to such children, they (a) manifested high cortisol reactivity and (b) reported greater use of harsh control practices (e.g., spanking). Cortisol reactivity was found to mediate the observed relationship between the predictor variable (the interaction between maternal "powerlessness" and the child's temperament) and parental harshness. These findings have clinical implications for the ways in which parental empowerment (via early interventions) can serve to reduce stress and thus the negative outcomes at-risk children may experience.

Predicting infant maltreatment in low-income families: the interactive effects of maternal attributions and child status at birth.

Maternal attributions and child neonatal status at birth were assessed as predictors of infant maltreatment (harsh parenting and safety neglect). The population included low-income, low-education families who were primarily Hispanic. Child maltreatment during the 1st year of life (N = 73) was predicted by neonatal status (low Apgar scores, preterm status), as moderated by mothers' attributions. The highest levels of maltreatment were shown within dyads that included a mother with low perceived power and an at-risk infant. Partial support was found for maternal depressive symptoms as mediators of harsh parenting among at-risk infants. It is suggested that lack of perceived parental power constrains investment in protective relationships and fosters sensitization to potential threat.

The hormonal costs of subtle forms of infant maltreatment.

We show here that subtle forms of maltreatment during infancy (below 1 year of age) have potential consequences for the functioning of the child's adrenocortical response system. Infants who received frequent corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) showed high hormonal reactivity to stress (a repeated separation from mother, combined with the presence of a stranger). In addition, infants who experienced frequent emotional withdrawal by their mothers (either as a result of maternal depression, or mother's strategic use of withdrawal as a control tactic) showed elevated baseline levels of cortisol. It was suggested that there are hormonal "costs" when mothers show response patterns (intentionally or unintentionally) that limit their utility as a means of buffering the child against stress. The hormonal responses shown by infants may alter the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in ways that, if continued, may foster risk for immune disorders, sensitization to later stress, cognitive deficits, and social-emotional problems.

A cognitive approach to child abuse prevention.

This investigation tested the incremental utility of cognitive retraining as a component within a program designed to prevent child maltreatment. High-risk families (N = 96) were randomly assigned to a control condition, home visitation modeled after the Healthy Start program (unenhanced home visitation), or home visitation that included a cognitive component (enhanced home visitation). Mothers were identified late during pregnancy or soon after birth, and their participation continued for 1 year. Lower levels of harsh parenting were found among mothers in the enhanced home visitation condition than among those in the unenhanced home visitation or control conditions. Prevalence of physical abuse (percentage of mothers who were abusive) during the first year was 26% in the control condition, 23% in the unenhanced home visitation condition, and 4% in the enhanced home visitation condition. Benefits were greatest in families that included a medically at-risk child. A linear pattern of benefits was found for child health; as program features were added, benefits for child health increased.

Gender, power, and violence in the family.

Attributions for parent-child relationship outcomes were assessed as a function of childhood maltreatment history. In Study 1, the attributions of maltreated children were compared with those of nonmaltreated children from a similar background. Maltreated girls (but not boys) werefound to be more likely than nonmaltreated girls to attribute lower power or control to self than to parents. Effects of maltreatment on children's attributions were found for physical but not sexual abuse. In Study 2, the attributions of parents with a history of abuse as children were compared with those of parents who had not been abused. Women (but no men) with a history of abuse attributed less power or control to self than to children. Implications are drawn for gender differences in the role of biased attributions as a consequence of physical abuse.

Attention-Grabbing Vocal Signals: Impact on Information Processing and Expectations.

Adults listened to children's verbalizations that differed in fundamental frequency (fo) or pitch, a vocal quality that has potential attention-eliciting properties. Undergraduate women listened to child messages in anticipation of a teaching interaction. As predicted, higher recall was shown for child messages accompanied by high fo than low fo; this advantage was, however, limited to younger children. Additionally, listeners showed differential expectations for their teaching success on the combined basis of child fo and their own perceptions of perceived social control (PC). As predicted, low-PC teachers expected that interactions with high-fo children would be relatively unsuccessful, whereas interactions with low-fo children would be relatively easy. Results are interpreted as reflecting differential reactions to the demands of dependent others based on cognitive representations of such relationships.