Single mothers' perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion, parenting stress, adverse childhood experiences in early childhood and Black children's behavior problems in middle childhood and adolescence.

This study examined the roles of neighborhood social cohesion, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and parenting stress in early childhood on child behavioral outcomes in middle childhood and adolescence among socioeconomically disadvantaged Black families. To test a model linking perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion, single mothers' parenting stress, ACEs, and behavior problems in middle childhood and adolescence. We used four waves of longitudinal data from a subsample of 800 unmarried Black mothers and their children (at child birth and ages 3, 5, 9, and 15) from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative data set. Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to measure direct and indirect effects. Mothers' perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion were significantly and negatively associated parenting stress (ß = -0.34, p < 0.05); parenting stress was significantly and positively related to adverse childhood experiences (ß = 0.40, p < 0.05) and behavior problems (ß = 0.32, p < 0.05); Adverse childhood experiences were significantly and positively related to behavior problems (ß = 0.26, p < 0.05); and behavior problems were indirectly influenced by neighborhood social cohesion through adverse childhood experiences (ß = -0.14, p < 0.05) and parenting stress (ß = 0.10, p < 0.05). Neighborhood factors may play a significant role in parenting stress, adverse childhood experiences in early childhood, and children's behavior problems in middle childhood and adolescence among some single mothers and children in economically and socially disadvantaged Black families. Interventions that enhance neighborhood social cohesion and foster supportive interactions among community members and organizations are recommended.

Latent profile analysis of adolescent temperament: Relations to happiness and health in adulthood.

INTRODUCTION: This study provides long-term evidence that profiles of temperament during adolescence are associated with happiness and health over two decades later. METHODS: Data are based on the ongoing Fullerton Longitudinal Study, a community-based sample in the United States. At 14 and 16 years, adolescents (N = 111; 52% male, 90% Euro-American) and their mothers (N = 105) completed the Dimensions of Temperament Survey-Revised, a scale designed specifically to assess adolescents' temperament across a set of attributes. When adolescents reached age 38 years in 2017, they completed scales measuring comprehensive happiness and global health. RESULTS: Latent profile analysis (LPA), a person-centered approach, was conducted for adolescents' and for mothers' temperament ratings separately. Distinct two-profile solutions, labeled more regulated and less regulated, emerged for each informant. These were comparable in features across informants. Only the adolescents' self-rated profiles, controlling for sex and family SES, revealed a conceptually meaningful and statistically significant relation to the distal outcomes of health and happiness two decades later. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with temperament profiles characterized as more regulated, in contrast to less regulated, reported being happier and healthier upon entering middle adulthood. Implications for intervention are presented.

Positive family relationships across 30 years: Predicting adult health and happiness.

In this prospective study, we examined the link between positive family relationships during childhood and adolescence and health and happiness three decades later in middle adulthood. We also investigated the stability of positive family relationships into adulthood as one possible pathway underlying this long-term association. Data were from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (FLS) an ongoing investigation in the United States initiated in 1979 when children were aged 1 year with the most recent data collected in 2017. A cross-informant methodology was employed in which mothers and children independently completed the Positive Family Relationships (PFR) scale annually when children were of ages 9-17 years. When study children reached age 38, they reported on their current PFR, global health, and comprehensive happiness. Structural equation models revealed that children's perceptions of the family during childhood and adolescence predicted both their health and happiness at age 38. Mothers' perspectives of PFR predicted greater adult children's health, but did not predict their happiness. Associations were independent of family socioeconomic status, gender, intelligence, and extraversion. Moreover, while controlling for behavior problems (proxy for health) and happiness at age 17, both children's and mothers' early PFR related to PFR at 38 years, which in turn, predicted increased health and happiness at age 38, thus providing evidence for a pathway underlying this long-term connection. Our prospective findings revealed that families in which members get along well and support each other during the childhood and adolescent years furnish a foundation for positive family relationships in adulthood, which are associated with greater health and happiness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Positive family relationships: Longitudinal network of relations.

The construct of positive family relationships (PFR), defined as family members getting along well and supporting each other, was investigated in a long-term prospective study. A newly constructed scale of positive family relationships developed using the nominal response model of item-response theory, was subject to a longitudinal network of relations analysis. The conceptualization for this research was founded on a positive psychology framework. Data derived from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study and spanned 20 years from middle childhood (age 9 years) to early adulthood (age 29 years). Evidence indicated both stability and change in PFR across time. Moderate to high stability of individual differences among families across 9 annual assessments was found from ages 9-17 years. Concomitantly across these years, there was a progressive decline in PFR. PFR proved to be independent of socioeconomic status. Specific conceptually based directional hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Multiple sources of information included intra- and cross-informant, as well as objective and ecologically valid data. The network of relations involved concurrent and predictive criterion-related variables. PFR had a pervasive relation to a variety of psychological domains across time. As predicted, PFR related (a) positively to family cohesion and inversely to family conflict, (b) positively to parental social support, (c) positively to children's self-concept, (d) positively to children's academic performance and educational attainment, and (e) inversely to children's behavior problems. The theoretical importance of the findings and the applicability of the PFR Scale for both researchers and practitioners in the field of family psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Single Parenting and Child Behavior Problems in Kindergarten.

Two waves of data from a sample of 89 poor and near-poor single black mothers and their preschool children were used to study the influences of parenting stress, physical discipline practices, and nonresident fathers' relations with their children on behavior problems in kindergarten. The results indicate that higher levels of parent stress, more frequent spanking, and less frequent father-child contact at time 1 were associated with increased teacher-reported behavior problems at time 2. In addition, more frequent contact between nonresident biological fathers and their children moderated the negative effect of harsh discipline by mothers on subsequent child behavior problems. Specifically, when contact with the father was low, maternal spanking resulted in elevated levels of behavior problems; with average contact, this negative effect of spanking was muted; and with high contact, spanking was not associated with increased behavior problems in kindergarten. The implications of these findings for future research and policy are discussed.