Journal of Family Psychology

Development of a family-level intervention for families with transgender and/or nonbinary youth: Lessons and recommendations.
Family support plays an important role in promoting resilience and health among transgender and/or nonbinary youth (TNBY), but family members often experience barriers to supporting their TNBY, including minority-adjacent stress stemming from exposure to structural stigma and antitransgender legislation. TNBY and their families need effective family-level interventions developed using community-based participatory research (CBPR), which integrates community members (e.g., TNBY, family members, service providers for families with TNBY) into the intervention development process to ensure the resulting intervention is relevant and useful. Informed by findings from the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project, we used CBPR to develop the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Conversation Toolkit, a family-level intervention designed to educate families about TNBY and facilitate conversations about gender. The toolkit was developed across 1.5 years (June 2019 to January 2021) using four integrated phases: (1) content development: digital storytelling workshop with TNBY; (2) content review: digital storyteller interviews and user focus groups; (3) content development: study team content synthesis and website development; and (4) content review: website review by TNBY, family members, and mental health providers, and intervention refinement. This article outlines the intervention development process, describes strategies employed to navigate challenges encountered along the way, and shares key learnings to inform future CBPR intervention development efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Kenyans’ perspectives on parenting roles and strategies used to raise young children in Kenya.
Research and parenting programs across the world emphasize two dimensions of parenting: warmth and control. Cross-country literature demonstrates many commonalities across samples on warmth; however, differences are evident with control, largely due to cultural and contextual nuances. Scant literature exists on parenting in Kenya, where half of Kenyans report experiencing child maltreatment typically by parents. Kenyan culture is a unique developmental niche important to understand and inform policies and parenting program development to reduce maltreatment. The purpose of this study was to understand perspectives on parenting strategies with young children, from a sample of Kenyans with varying experiences involving children (e.g., parents, community members). To our knowledge, this study is the first qualitative assessment of parenting practices among children under age 6 in Kenya. The 91 participants (62% female, all ≥ 18 years) completed interviews or focus groups. Based on a thematic data analysis, five themes emerged: (a) parental roles, (b) expressions of warmth, (c) cultural practices with children, (d) control strategies, and (e) factors impacting effective parenting. This study’s findings have several implications for both informal and formal supports of families with young children. The findings offer insight into how Kenyans engage in parental warmth and control strategies, including those that are seen as culturally acceptable or harmful, and can inform the development or adaptation of parenting programs for Kenya. Furthermore, these findings offer important considerations for local and federal leaders in how to advance Kenya’s policies and efforts to reduce childhood violence and promote healthy child development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Cultural values and parental psychology: A multilevel analysis from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium.
The present study aims to gain a greater understanding of the manner in which culture may impact parenting and, thus, child development by examining the relationship between cultural values, socialization goals (SGs), and parental ethnotheories (PEs). Specifically, this study examined links between cultural value dimensions (i.e., individualism/collectivism, power distance, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, indulgence/restraint, and long-term/short-term orientation; Hofstede et al., 2010) and autonomous as well as relational SGs and PEs. We examined data collected from mothers of toddlers (N = 865) between 17 and 40 months of age (M = 26.88 months, SD = 5.65 months; 52% boys) from 14 nations represented in the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium. We hypothesized that: (a) Cultural values consistent with independent cultural ideals would be positively associated with SGs and PEs representative of greater autonomy and independence, and (b) Cultural values consistent with interdependent ideals would be positively associated with SGs and PEs representative of greater interrelatedness. Multilevel modeling was used to regress parental psychology on Hofstede’s cultural values. Support for these hypotheses was somewhat mixed; higher ratings of culture-level indulgence were associated with higher autonomous PEs, as well as with higher relational and autonomous SGs. Furthermore, higher ratings of culture-level masculinity were associated with lower relational PEs and with lower autonomous SGs. The results suggest differences in the effects for cultural values associated with parenting versus cultural values associated with child outcomes and highlight considerations related to dichotomous cultural frameworks. The findings help explain both individual- and country-level variations in aspects of parental psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Family belief system influences on COVID-19 vaccination decisions among First Nations Australians.
COVID-19 has changed the world in many ways, and while some families were divided by geographical distances and mandatory “stay-at-home” orders during lockdowns, others became fractured owing to decisions about vaccination. This novel exploratory qualitative study questions how family systems and COVID-19 attitudes influenced the vaccine decisions of 10 Australian First Nations individuals. Despite the significance of family in decision making, the advice of respected family members became insignificant when nonvaccination resulted in the undesirable consequences of coercive government mandates. The thematic analysis identifies themes of choice, repeated wrongs of the past, trust, relationships, isolation, and parenting anxiety. It also demonstrates the resiliency of First Nations families, evident in the creative ways family systems adapted during the pandemic. This study has implications for governments and health service planning toward community COVID-19 support systems in a postpandemic context and provides ideas for further research into First Nations service provision during health crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
“Actually, I don't do different”: Black parents’ perceptions of gender socialization of sons versus daughters.
This study expanded on research examining families’ roles in youth gender development that has investigated boys’ versus girls’ family experiences by using a within-family design to study the gender socialization of brothers versus sisters from the same families. We drew from archival data collected in 2001–2002 from an ethnic homogeneous sample of Black American mother–father families (N = 128) who were raising at least one son and one daughter; the majority of youth were adolescents (range 2–31 years). In separate home interviews, mothers and fathers described whether and how they socialized their sons versus daughters about education, their futures, and racism and discrimination. Across these three domains, most parents reported that they did not socialize their sons and daughters differently. Nonetheless, several themes emerged that illuminated race and race–gender intersectionality in parents’ socialization, both resistance and accommodation to traditional gender norms, and the role of children’s personal characteristics in parents’ socialization, with similar themes evident among parents who did and who did not report socializing sons and daughters differently. This study advances understanding of parents’ gender socialization and has implications for family-focused interventions aimed at promoting the well-being and achievement of Black American boys and girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The heterogeneity of intimate partner violence and its associations with distressed couples’ emotional communication.
To understand the ways in which heterogeneous aspects of intimate partner violence (IPV) differentially influence partners’ emotional expression during the conflict, the present study examined the unique and interactive effects among (a) types of IPV (psychological and/or physical), (b) directionality of IPV (unilateral or bilateral), and (c) couples’ conversation topic (initiated by men or women) on the trajectories of emotional arousal in distressed, different-gender couples (N = 106). Vocally encoded emotional arousal (f₀) was measured during couples’ recorded conversations. Findings from growth-curve analyses demonstrated that the level of IPV, directionality of IPV, and conversation topic were associated with different patterns of emotional arousal. First, during the discussion of the woman’s topic, escalation was observed among recipients of violence in relationships with high levels of unilateral IPV, while their partners—that is, perpetrators of IPV—demonstrated stable, flat trajectories. Second, during men’s conversations, stable levels of arousal were predominantly observed among both partners in relationships with men’s unilateral IPV and with bilateral psychological and physical IPV. Finally, for partners who engaged in low levels of IPV, men and women both showed escalating arousal across women’s conversations; however, when discussing the man’s topic, they demonstrated different patterns, with men escalating linearly and women maintaining stable levels of arousal. These findings converge to suggest a picture in which distressed partners who either engage in or experience IPV use “all-or-nothing” approaches to emotional expression during conflict—not only escalating but also containing or controlling their emotional arousal across various contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Sibling relational aggression: Developmental change and associations with family relationships across adolescence.
Sibling relational aggression is an understudied social and family process that is of developmental significance in adolescence, a period of interpersonal relationship development. This study examined developmental change in sibling relational aggression across adolescence and used multilevel actor–partner independence models to test its longitudinal associations with mother–adolescent, father–adolescent, and sibling relationship qualities. Participants were 196 adolescent (firstborn–secondborn) sibling pairs from predominantly White families who averaged 16.47 years (SD = .80) and 13.88 years (SD = 1.15) of age, respectively, at baseline. Data were collected separately from each sibling during home interviews at three timepoints, each spaced a year apart. Longitudinal growth modeling revealed declines in sibling relational aggression from early to late adolescence. Findings from longitudinal multilevel actor–partner independence models revealed a negative within-person (WP) effect of father–adolescent intimacy and a positive WP effect of father–adolescent conflict on sibling relational aggression: On occasions when adolescents reported lower intimacy or more conflict with their fathers than usual (compared to individuals’ own cross-time averages), adolescents reported experiencing more sibling relational aggression than usual. A between-person (BP) effect of mother–adolescent conflict also indicated that the cross-time average of mother–adolescent conflict was linked positively to the cross-time average of sibling relationship aggression. Primarily at the WP level, associations also emerged between lower sibling intimacy and higher sibling conflict and sibling relational aggression. For relationships with fathers and siblings, some effects were moderated by sibling structural characteristics. Discussion highlights the interplay of family relationship dynamics, including gender dynamics, and sibling relational aggression in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Links between parental monitoring and parent–adolescent conflict: A multimodal test of bidirectional relations.
During adolescence, youth increase in both independence and conflict with parents. Parents vary in how much they know about their adolescents’ whereabouts and activities and how they acquire this information (i.e., the sources of what parents know). We probed how parental knowledge of adolescents’ whereabouts and activities—and their information sources—relates to (a) domains of parent–adolescent conflict (fighting about, or having different beliefs about, daily life topics) and (b) parent and adolescent attachment-related behavior during a conflict discussion task. Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model, we tested links between parental knowledge and its sources and conflict processes. Eighty-seven adolescents (Mage = 15.18; 55% female) and parents completed surveys about parental knowledge and its sources (i.e., parental solicitation of adolescents’ activities, adolescent disclosure to parents about their activities) and separate interviews on conflict domains. A subset of parent–adolescent dyads (n = 65) interacted for 5 min about an adolescent-identified conflict topic. Different beliefs about daily life topics related to parental knowledge: parents’ reports of greater different beliefs about daily life topics predicted less knowledge of adolescents’ activities/whereabouts, solicitation, and disclosure, for both parent and adolescent reports of these domains. For adolescents, greater different beliefs related to less solicitation and disclosure. Only adolescent reports of parental knowledge, solicitation, and disclosure predicted attachment-related behaviors both dyad members displayed during the conflict discussion task. Findings reveal links between parental knowledge of adolescents’ activities and conflict processes and demonstrate dyadic interdependence between parental knowledge of adolescents’ activities and conflict processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
“More quality time” but “no breaks”: COVID-19 parenting among predominantly White, married, U.S. mothers.
Family life dramatically changed following the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Parents faced school and childcare closures, employment changes, and other disruptions to daily life. This study utilized online survey data collected in late April 2020 (N = 1,009) of parents’ experiences parenting children from 0 to 12 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents in the study were primarily White (82%), married (82%), and women (89%) with one or two children (75.1%). This qualitative study explored the challenges and rewards of parenting during a public health crisis. Parents responded to separate open-ended questions asking about the rewards and challenges of parenting during COVID-19. The responses to each question were coded independently and then combined to identify broader overarching themes. Using descriptive qualitative analysis, we identified six themes related to both parenting challenges and rewards: shifting roles and responsibilities, structure and routine changes, staying at home, relationship changes, parental adaptation and well-being, child well-being, and emotional experiences. A subset of parents reported the same experiences as being both rewarding and challenging, which reflects the duality and complexity of parenting during the pandemic. These findings are interpreted through a positive psychology lens and highlight the benefit finding that exists even when parents are in extremely stressful situations. We discuss the implications of this research for better supporting parents both during and outside of major crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Different patterns of endorsement of intensive mothering beliefs: Associations with parenting guilt and parental burnout.
The unrealistic expectations rooted in intensive mothering beliefs can negatively impact maternal well-being. The present study investigates associations between intensive mothering beliefs, parenting guilt, and parental burnout using a person-centered approach. We first examined whether different profiles of mothers exist based on their endorsement of the five subbeliefs of the Intensive Parenting Attitudes Questionnaire. We then tested associations between these profiles and parenting guilt and parental burnout and whether mothers’ demographic characteristics predicted profile membership. Using data from 291 mothers (61% White, 15% Black/African American) with at least one child under 6 years old, we identified four profiles of mothers. Two distinct patterns of intensive mothering endorsement emerged: mothers who exhibited consistent levels of endorsement across the five subbeliefs (i.e., high endorsement, moderate endorsement, and low endorsement) and mothers who were characterized by higher endorsement on fulfillment, stimulation, and child-centered but lower endorsement on essentialism and challenging (i.e., selective endorsement). Profile membership contributed to differences in parenting guilt and parental burnout. Parenting guilt was the highest in the profile characterized by the high levels of endorsement across all five subbeliefs (high endorsement) and was significantly higher than low endorsement. Parental burnout was the lowest in the selective endorsement and was significantly lower than in the high endorsement and moderate endorsement. These results highlight the heterogeneity of subscribing to intensive mothering beliefs and suggest that magnitude and patterns of endorsement of intensive mothering beliefs differentially contribute to parenting-related well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal of Family Psychology - Vol 38, Iss 7