Journal of Family Psychology

Group-based versus individual parenting programs: A meta-analysis of effects on parents.
Parenting programs aim to motivate change in parents’ behaviors, perceptions, and knowledge to promote desirable changes in children’s adjustment and behavior. Parenting programs are typically delivered in a group-based or individual format, and it is unknown which format most effectively supports parents. On the one hand, group-based programs may be more effective since they provide access to peer-based support. On the other hand, individual programs may be more successful since they offer a tailored approach. Therefore, this meta-analysis investigated which delivery format is most effective in optimizing child behavior management (i.e., positive reinforcement and nonviolent discipline), parenting stress, and parental depressive symptoms. Studies were selected from the systematic review by Backhaus et al. (2023). Our sample included evaluations of 121 group-based and 41 individual programs based on social learning theory principles. Robust variance estimation indicated that parents’ child behavior management and parenting stress improved in both delivery formats. In contrast, parental depressive symptoms improved only in group-based programs. Our findings suggest that whether parents benefit more from a group-based or individual program in part depends on the outcome examined. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to understand parents’ goals to effectively guide them toward the most appropriate parenting program delivery format. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Changes in Latinx parenting behaviors during adolescence: Variation by neighborhood characteristics.
General parenting research indicates parenting shifts, such as declines in parental warmth, parent–child conflict, and parental monitoring and increases in parental autonomy support, as youth progress through adolescence. Culturally and contextually informed scholarship, however, acknowledges that stability and change in parenting behaviors among ethnically and racially minoritized families and across different neighborhood environments may follow distinct patterns. Neighborhood structural disadvantages might disrupt parenting, and parents might adapt parenting in response to neighborhood opportunities and challenges. This study explored stability and change in parenting processes (e.g., conflict, warmth, control, solicitation, autonomy support) from early to middle adolescence among Latinx families across neighborhoods that varied on key characteristics: concentrated poverty, ethnic concentration, and ethnic–racial diversity. Data derived from the “Caminos” study, which utilized an accelerated longitudinal design of 547 Latinx adolescents (MW1age = 13.31 years; 55.4% girls; 89.6% U.S. born). Two-level growth models were used to analyze 10 time points of data following adolescents from Spring of sixth to Fall of 11th grade. Parent–adolescent conflict and warmth declined linearly; parental solicitation showed a curvilinear increase that flattened over time; parental behavioral control and autonomy support remained stable. Some parenting trajectories varied systematically by neighborhood structural characteristics. This study underscored the significance of culturally and contextually informed frameworks for understanding changes in Latinx parenting during offspring adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Profiles of young children’s home environment and association with their development.
This study aimed to identify profiles of young children’s early home environment and explore their association with development in motor, inhibitory control, language, and emotional competence skills. The sample included 2,158 children (51.4% male), 35.47 months old on average. Four home environment profiles emerged: high support and high discipline (HS-HD), high support and low discipline (HS-LD), average support and average discipline (AS-AD), and low support and low discipline (LS-LD). Notably, children from higher socioeconomic status (SES) families were more likely to be associated with HS-HD and HS-LD profiles. Girls exhibited a higher likelihood of belonging to the HS-LD profile. Utilizing regression analyses, children showed the highest motor, inhibitory control, language, and emotional competence development when they were in the HS-LD home environment profile. A concerning finding is that high discipline from parents was negatively associated with children’s development, despite providing a high-quality physical environment. The text highlights the positive implications of providing a high-quality home learning environment and offers constructive recommendations for improving practice and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Routines and warmth as protective factors on the relation between housing instability and child outcomes.
Housing instability is associated with numerous poor child outcomes in domains such as behavioral and emotional problems. The impacts of housing instability on child outcomes are typically investigated in the context of sociodemographic risk; however, exploring the role of protective factors (e.g., family routines, parental warmth) in these contexts allows for a more thorough understanding of the effect of housing instability and how potential negative outcomes might be mitigated. The present study further explored the relation between early housing instability and child behavioral and emotional outcomes in middle childhood in addition to the potential moderating role of family routines and parental warmth in early childhood. Longitudinal data of 4,898 families from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study were used to explore these associations. Using structural equation modeling, the present analyses indicated that when controlling for key sociodemographic covariates, housing instability in early childhood was not related to child outcomes at age 9. Greater parental warmth at age 5 was significantly associated with lower levels of behavioral and emotional problems at age 9. Categorical models using the product indicator approach indicated that greater parental warmth attenuates the relation between moving one to two times and later child behavioral problems. Parental warmth emerged as a significant promotive factor for later child emotional problems. Further implications are discussed below. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Future parenthood ideas among child-free LGBTQ+ adults: The roles of stigma and LGBTQ+ community connections.
Although a growing body of research has documented parenting desires and intentions among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more identities (LGBTQ+) individuals, LGBTQ+ individuals also experience stigmatization and barriers to family formation. The present study examines how experiences of stigmatization are related to thoughts of future parenthood (i.e., parenting desires, parenting intentions, and LGBTQ+ parent socialization self-efficacy) among child-free LGBTQ+ adults. Additionally, we examined the role of connection to the LGBTQ+ community in moderating associations with stigma and in statistically predicting LGBTQ+ parent socialization self-efficacy. Participants (N = 433) reported on their thoughts about future parenthood, experiences of stigmatization, and LGBTQ+ community connection though an online cross-sectional survey. Results from multigroup path analysis showed that greater experiences of stigmatization were associated with greater parenting desires for cisgender women and greater parenting intentions across sexual and gender identity groups. Associations between stigma and parenting intentions were moderated by community connection, such that the positive association between stigma and parenting intentions was only significant at high levels of community connection. Finally, greater community connection was positively associated with LGBTQ+ parent socialization self-efficacy, but socialization self-efficacy was not associated with parenting desires or intentions. These findings suggest that connection to the LGBTQ+ community may play a role in thoughts about future parenthood for child-free LGBTQ+ individuals, especially among those who experience stigmatization. Clinicians and family practitioners can consider facilitating connections to the community as a way of supporting LGBTQ+ individuals who are interested in family formation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Parental anxiety symptoms, parenting confidence, and family functioning following a youth’s hospitalization for suicide risk.
The posthospitalization period following a youth’s psychiatric emergency is characterized by marked risk for suicide attempts and rehospitalization. Parental anxiety and uncertainty about parenting strategies may become particularly salient during this period due to fear of youth relapse. These parental factors, then, may negatively impact family functioning, a factor known to mitigate suicide risk. The present study tested a theoretical model to elucidate the relationship between parenting factors and family functioning during this transition period, specifically, whether parental anxiety symptoms and parenting confidence are related and contribute to family functioning longitudinally following youth psychiatric hospitalization. The sample included 147 adolescents and a primary caregiver enrolled in a clinical trial. At baseline (BL) and 6 months (M6), caregivers completed measures of global anxiety symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory) and parenting confidence (Parenting Relationship Questionnaire). Observer-rated family problem solving and limit setting were assessed (Family Assessment Task) at BL and 12 months (M12). These two measures of family functioning were included in separate path analyses that examined the temporal relations between constructs. After accounting for demographics, BL levels of parenting variables, BL youth functioning, and the presence or absence of youth suicide attempts during follow-up, BL parenting confidence negatively predicted M6 parent anxiety in both models. Additionally, M6 parenting confidence positively predicted M12 problem solving and limit setting. Bidirectional relations between parenting confidence and global anxiety were not supported, nor did global anxiety predict family functioning. Findings suggest that specifically addressing parenting confidence in youth treatment may be beneficial to support family adjustment, particularly following crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
“Everyone blames you”: Stigma and caregiver burden among parents of children with substance use disorder.
Recent increases in drug overdose deaths have created a significant public health crisis in the United States. Individuals diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD) often rely on their social support network as they engage in treatment and recovery. While support from parents, in particular, can be vital in recovery, stress associated with supporting loved ones with SUD can have detrimental effects on health and well-being. Stigma toward parents and loved ones further complicates the support they can offer. The present study explores caregiver burden and stigma experienced by parents of children with SUD. The impact of these experiences on their ability to access support and resources, both for themselves and their children, is of particular interest. In-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted with 25 parents (92% mothers) of children (ages 17–32 years old) with SUD. Qualitative thematic analysis resulted in three themes: (1) caregiving and associated burden, (2) parent experiences with SUD stigma, and (3) impact of stigma on caregiver support. Experiences of burden and stigma were prevalent; parents reported stigma directed at them due to their child’s diagnosis (associative stigma) as well as psychological distress they experienced witnessing their children experience stigma (vicarious stigma). Fear of judgment and shame led parents to avoid disclosing their child’s SUD to others and impeded help-seeking behavior. When parents did seek formal help, resources were limited and insufficient. The findings underscore the need for increased understanding and acceptance from the community, emphasizing the potential role of education in reshaping perceptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Interparental conflict spillover: Examining parental depression risk pathways.
Spillover from interparental conflict (IPC) to the parent–child relationship is a risk factor for adolescent emotional, social, and behavioral maladjustment. Parental depression increases the risk for more frequent and intense IPC over periods of months to years, but relatively little is known about whether parental depressive symptoms increase the risk for IPC and/or the propensity for spillover on short timescales. Using daily diary methods, we tested two hypotheses to evaluate whether parental depressive symptoms predict increased risk for IPC spillover: (a) a stress generation hypothesis, in which higher levels of parental depressive symptoms are associated with a greater tendency to experience IPC, which elevates risk for spillover, and (b) a spillover propensity hypothesis, in which parental depressive symptoms strengthen the within-person linkage between daily couple conflict and poorer parent–adolescent relations. We analyzed data from 150 adolescents and caregivers from two-caregiver families who completed baseline and 21-day daily diary surveys. Consistent with a stress generation hypothesis, parents who were higher in baseline depressive symptoms reported higher levels of IPC over 21 days. At the daily level, there was evidence of spillover from IPC to higher parent–adolescent conflict and lower parent–adolescent closeness, but there was no evidence for increased propensity for spillover by parents’ baseline depressive symptoms or daily depressed mood. Rather, there was a direct association between higher daily parental depressed mood and poorer daily parent–adolescent relationship quality (lower closeness, higher conflict). Ameliorating parental depressive symptoms may improve parent–adolescent relationship quality directly, as well as indirectly by decreasing the risk for IPC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Interplay between interparental relationship quality and infant temperament predicts toddler transdiagnostic psychopathology.
Although exposure to interparental conflict (IPC) in late childhood and adolescence appears to be a robust risk factor for the development of child psychopathology, less work has examined how very early exposure to IPC poses risk for the development of psychopathology in the first 2 years of life. Further, it is unclear whether IPC is uniquely related to child psychopathology relative to other critical dimensions of the interparental relationship. This study aimed to investigate the unique effects of IPC and low levels of emotional intimacy in the interparental relationship during pregnancy and infancy on toddler psychopathology and whether children with higher negative emotionality during infancy were most vulnerable to these conditions. One hundred fifty-one cohabitating couples completed semistructured interviews and questionnaires once during pregnancy and three times postpartum. Results demonstrated that consistent and sustained interparental emotional intimacy, first observed during pregnancy and persisting throughout infancy, was a unique predictor of toddler psychopathology, controlling for sustained and persistent exposure to IPC. The negative association between emotional intimacy and toddler general psychopathology was stronger at higher levels of infant negative emotionality. Results highlight the importance of early exposure to a warm, affectionate interparental relationship for healthy child socioemotional development. These findings have potential for informing early prevention and intervention efforts, including prenatal programs, aimed at reducing psychopathology across the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Dyadic investigations of past traumatic events and affectionate touch frequency in couples.
Past traumatic events negatively affect romantic relationships, yet their impact on affectionate touch, an important predictor of psychological and relational well-being, remains unknown. In two preregistered studies with nonclinical samples, we hypothesized that traumatic events are negatively associated with affectionate touch frequency for both the victim (i.e., actor effect) and their romantic partner (i.e., partner effect). We also expected this negative link to be stronger for the people perceiving relatively low responsiveness and/or high insensitivity in their partner. We used secondary data from 70 Swiss couples in Study 1 and collected data online from 441 couples living in the United States or United Kingdom in Study 2. All couples were heterosexual, and both studies were dyadic and cross-sectional. Unlike our hypotheses, analyses with Actor–Partner Interdependence Models revealed no negative associations between past traumatic events and affectionate touch. In Study 1, we found no significant actor effects but small-sized positive partner effects of men’s traumatic events on women’s affectionate touch frequency. In Study 2, however, two out of three actor effects and one partner effect were positive with negligible to small sizes. Neither perceived partner responsiveness nor insensitivity had a moderating role. The association between past traumatic experiences and affectionate touch was inconsistently nonsignificant or positive but consistently nonnegative across our two studies. Our research demonstrated that past traumatic events did not inhibit individuals from expressing love and care to their partner through affectionate touch in our sample, even for varying levels of perceived partner responsiveness (insensitivity). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal of Family Psychology - Vol 38, Iss 8