A prospective study of adolescent mothers’ social competence,children's effortful control and compliance and children's subsequent developmental outcomes

Previous work has established that caregiver and child temperamental characteristics are associated with child compliance. Given the critical role that parents play in this process, and that children of teen mothers are at risk for poorer developmental outcomes, it is important to understand the development of compliance in the context of at‐risk parenting such as adolescent motherhood. The current study examined child compliance (Wave 5; W5) as a mediator of the association between adolescent mothers’ social competence (Wave 4; W4) and children's behavioral and academic outcomes (Wave 6; W6), and whether this mediation varied depending on children's effortful control (W4) in a sample of 204 Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers (M_age at W4 = 19.94, SD = .99) and their children (M_age at W4 = 36.21 months, SD = .45). Adolescent mothers reported on their own social competence and their children's effortful control and externalizing problems; compliance was assessed using observational methods; and academic readiness was assessed using standardized developmental assessments. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent mothers’ social competence was positively related to children's compliance among children with high effortful control, but not among those with low effortful control. Moreover, child compliance mediated the longitudinal association between adolescent mothers’ social competence and child externalizing problems and academic readiness. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the role of child temperament in understanding how adolescent mothers’ social competence is subsequently associated with children's social and academic adjustment.     

Maternal enhancing responses to adolescents’ positive affect: Associations with adolescents’ positive affect regulation and depression

Mounting evidence indicates that deficits in positive affect (PA) regulation are implicated in youth depression. Although parental responses to youths’ PA expressions have been linked to youth regulation of negative affect, no study has directly examined whether parental responses are linked with youth PA regulation strategies. The present study utilized a novel observational measure to test whether maternal active‐constructive responses to youths’ PA were uniquely associated with youth effective PA regulation strategies and, subsequently, depressive symptoms. Ninety‐two adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 (M_age = 14.22, Girls = 62%) and their primary female caregivers (M_age = 41.40, 88% biological mothers) completed a series of questionnaires and engaged in a Plan a Day Trip interaction task. Results revealed that observed maternal active‐constructive responses to adolescents’ PA were uniquely associated with adolescents’ effective PA regulation strategies which, in turn, were related to lower depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the importance of parental responses to PA when sharing positive experiences for specifically targeting adolescents’ responses that generate and sustain PA.     

The key role of positive parenting and children’s temperament in post‐institutionalized children’s socio‐emotional adjustment after adoption placement. A RCT study

Parenting interventions represent a means for experimentally inquiring socio‐emotional change of post‐institutionalized children after adoption. We used this approach in a three time point RCT study involving 83 post‐institutionalized children (M_age = 33.5 months, SD = 17.1) and their adoptive mothers (M_age = 42.6, SD = 3.9), attending either the Video‐Feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting in adoption and foster care or a dummy intervention. Controlling for gender and age at adoption, children showed a significant change in their socio‐emotional adjustment in the specific variables inquired—that is, emotional availability‐EA, and behavioral problems—after intervention attendance. Mediation and moderated mediation models showed that maternal EA was a main factor affecting children’s EA and externalizing behavioral problems, with a key moderating role played by children’s temperament; children with high scores on temperamental negative affect benefitted most from their mothers’ increase in EA.     

The contribution of emotion knowledge,language ability,and maternal emotion socialization style to explaining toddlers’ emotion regulation

In this study, we set out to advance understanding of the association between emotion knowledge (EK) and emotion regulation (ER) in toddlerhood, by innovatively examining a model that simultaneously takes into account both individual factors, such as age, gender, and language ability, and contextual factors, such as maternal emotion socialization styles (coaching vs. dismissing). Participants were 242 toddlers (141 girls; M_age = 28.79 months, SD = 3.48) and their mothers (M_age = 35.60 years; SD = 4.95). We evaluated children’s language ability and ER via parent‐report questionnaires, assessing their EK via a direct measure individually administered at the nursery. The mothers also completed a questionnaire on their own emotion socialization style. Children’s EK was positively correlated with their ER skills as reported by their parents. Structural equation modeling showed that emotion‐dismissing maternal behaviors were significantly negatively associated with toddlers’ emotional competencies whereas maternal emotion‐coaching styles were significantly positively associated with higher levels of these competences. Finally, language ability was positively associated with ER. We discuss the theoretical and educational implications of these outcomes, as well as potential new lines of inquiry.     

Halo and association effects: Cognitive biases in teacher attunement to peer‐nominated bullies,victims, and prosocial students

This study examined whether teachers’ perceptions of students’ behavior (referring to halo effects) and the behavior of teacher‐perceived friends (referring to association effects) influenced teachers’ ability to recognize students identified as bullies, victims, and prosocial by their peers. Data came from 1,458 children (M_age = 10.5, 47.5% girls) and 56 teachers (M_age = 40.8, 66.1% females). Perceived likeability was associated with decreased odds and teachers’ perceptions of popularity and externalizing behavior were associated with increased odds for teacher attunement to bullying. Perceived likeability and affiliation were associated with decreased odds for teacher attunement to victimized students. Teachers’ perceptions of externalizing behavior were associated with decreased odds, whereas teachers’ perceptions of affiliation and academic competence were associated with increased odds for attunement to prosociality. Finally, a positive association was found between teacher attunement and the average behavior of teacher‐perceived friends for bullying, victimization, and prosociality.     

Science resource inequalities viewed as less wrong when girls are disadvantaged

In response to some resource inequalities, children give priority to moral concerns. Yet, in others, children show ingroup preferences in their evaluations and resource allocations. The present study built upon this knowledge by investigating children's and young adults’ (N = 144; 5–6-year-olds, M_age = 5.83, SD_age = .97; 9–11-year-olds, M_age = 10.74, SD_age = .68; and young adults, M_age = 19.92, SD_age = 1.10) evaluations and allocation decisions in a science inequality context. Participants viewed vignettes in which male and female groups received unequal amounts of science supplies, then evaluated the acceptability of the resource inequalities, allocated new boxes of science supplies between the groups, and provided justifications for their choices. Results revealed both children and young adults evaluated inequalities of science resources less negatively when girls were disadvantaged than when boys were disadvantaged. Further, 5- to 6-year-old participants and male participants rectified science resource inequalities to a greater extent when the inequality disadvantaged boys compared to when it disadvantaged girls. Generally, participants who used moral reasoning to justify their responses negatively evaluated and rectified the resource inequalities, whereas participants who used group-focused reasoning positively evaluated and perpetuated the inequalities, though some age and participant gender findings emerged. Together, these findings reveal subtle gender biases that may contribute to perpetuating gender-based science inequalities both in childhood and adulthood.     

Socioeconomic hardship,uncertainty about the future,and adolescent mental wellbeing over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic

Socioeconomic vulnerabilities put adolescents at risk for mental wellbeing issues, also in times of a pandemic. In the present longitudinal online survey study, we explored changes in mental wellbeing (i.e., mood and life satisfaction) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, we examined how socioeconomic hardship in online home schooling predicted adolescents’ mental wellbeing 1 year later. Third, we tested whether this relation was mediated by feelings of uncertainty about the future. Fourth, we tested whether this relation was moderated (in terms of a protective factor) by self-efficacy. In total, 177 Dutch-speaking adolescents aged 10–18 years (M_age = 15.64, SD_age = 1.72, 79% females) participated in all three 6-month separated waves (T1 = May 2020, T2 = November 2020, and T3 = May 2021). Mood results demonstrated that feelings of vigor decreased between T1 and T2, and feelings of tension and depression increased between T1, T2, and T3. Socioeconomic hardship in online home schooling in the early phase of the pandemic was negatively associated with both baseline mental wellbeing and 1 year later. Socioeconomic hardship at T1 predicted higher feelings of future uncertainty at T2, and higher levels of future uncertainty were associated with lower feelings of vigor, and higher feelings of tension and depression at T3. However, we found no evidence for mediation or moderation effects. In conclusion, the present findings illustrate the complexity of disentangling the adverse effects of socioeconomic hardship on adolescent mental wellbeing.     

The interplay of friends and parents in adolescents’ daily lives: Towards a dynamic view of social support

This daily diary study investigated the interplay of perceived friend and parent support in adolescents’ everyday lives. Specifically, we tested the interactive effects of friend and parent support on adolescent well‐being at both the intra‐ and inter‐individual level. A diverse sample of 119 adolescents (M_age = 15.36) completed diary reports for 2 weeks. Multivariate multilevel models demonstrated that on days adolescents felt more supported by their friends or parents, they experienced increases in their happiness and social connectedness. Additionally, parent support emerged as a protective factor for youth lacking friend support, although patterns differed at the intra‐ vs. inter‐individual level. The findings underscore the dynamic nature of social support in adolescents’ daily lives and highlight the interactive roles of friends and parents in promoting youth well‐being.     

Bidirectional relations among empathy‐related traits,prosocial moral reasoning,and prosocial behaviors

This study examined the longitudinal links among empathic concern, perspective taking, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors. Four hundred and seventeen adolescents (225 girls; M_age = 14.70 years) from public schools in Spain completed measures of those constructs in three successive years. Path analyses showed support for the notion that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning accounted for the relations between perspective taking in earlier adolescence and later altruistic and public forms of helping. Moreover, there was support for a reverse causal model such that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning mediated the relations between altruistic (but not public) helping behaviors in earlier adolescence and later perspective taking. The implications for cognitive developmental and social cognitive theories of prosocial development were discussed.     

Cultural differences in maternal emotion control values and children's expressive flexibility

Expressive flexibility is the ability to express or suppress one's emotions to meet the demands of the situation. Recent work suggests that expressive flexibility is associated with better adjustment. However, few studies have focused on expressive flexibility in children. In addition, there is a dearth of research on possible correlates, such as culture, parental emotion socialization, and socioeconomic status, that may be associated with expressive flexibility competencies in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in children's expressive flexibility, maternal emotion control values (ECVs), and their relations to family socioeconomic status (SES) during middle childhood in a sample of European American (N = 31, M age = 9.61 years; 54.8% males), Korean American (N = 38, M age = 9.16 years; 55.3% males) and South Korean children (N = 77, M age = 9.74 years; 51.9% males). Mothers reported on demographics and their emotion control values. Children's expressive flexibility ability was assessed using a lab-based observational measure. Multivariate analyses of covariance controlling for SES, child age, and gender suggested significant cultural differences in expressive flexibility, with the U.S. children (both European and Korean Americans) scoring higher on expressive flexibility compared to their South Korean counterparts. Results also suggested significant cultural differences regarding maternal ECVs; Korean Americans were more similar to South Koreans, both scoring higher on ECVs than European Americans. Socioeconomic status, but not maternal ECVs, were associated with children's expressive flexibility, independent of child age, sex, and culture.     

Body Image and Body Change Strategies Within Friendship Dyads and Groups: Implications for Adolescent Appearance‐based Rejection Sensitivity

Appearance‐based rejection sensitivity (appearance‐RS) consists of concerns about, and expectations of, rejection because of one's appearance (Park). This study examined dyadic‐ and group‐level friendship characteristics as correlates of early adolescents' appearance‐RS. Using subgroups of an initial sample of 380 participants, appearance‐RS was examined within best friend relationships (N = 132, M_age = 13.84) and friendship groups (N = 186, M_age = 13.83). Overall, best friends were similar in their appearance‐RS, body dissatisfaction, restrictive dieting, appearance‐conditional self‐worth, appearance values, and self‐rated attractiveness. Similarities between individuals and their friendship groups were consistent with the findings for dyads, except for self‐rated attractiveness and dieting. Appearance‐RS was higher in adolescents whose best friends and friendship groups reported greater restrictive dieting and appearance‐conditional self‐worth. In general, associations did not differ for boys and girls, but having a higher proportion of boys in the friendship group was associated with lowered appearance concerns.     

Cognitive reappraisal and need to belong predict prosociality in Mexican-origin adolescents

This 2-year longitudinal study examined Mexican-origin adolescents’ need to belong and cognitive reappraisal as predictors of multiple forms of prosocial behavior (i.e., general, emotional, and public prosocial behaviors). Prosocial behaviors, which are actions intended to benefit others, are hallmarks of social proficiency in adolescence and are influenced by intrapersonal abilities and motivations that typically develop during adolescence. Yet, few studies of Mexican-origin or other U.S. Latinx youths have examined whether such individual difference characteristics, specifically social motivation and emotion regulation skills, support prosocial behavior. In a sample of 229 Mexican-origin youth (M_age = 17.18 years, SD = .42, 110 girls), need to belong, cognitive reappraisal, and general prosocial behaviors were assessed at ages 17 and 19. Emotional and public forms of prosociality also were assessed at age 19. Cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with concurrent general prosociality at age 17, whereas need to belong was positively associated with concurrent public prosociality at age 19. Moderation analyses revealed that general and emotional types of prosocial behaviors at age 19 were lowest for youth with both lower need to belong and less use of cognitive reappraisal at 19 years. Greater cognitive reappraisal skills and need to belong may reflect distinct motivations for engaging in varying forms of prosocial behavior in late adolescence.     

Children’s reasoning about unequal gender‐based distributions

Children ages 7 (N = 56, M_age = 7.24, SD = 0.83), 9 (N = 55, M_age = 9.25, SD = 0.52), and 11 (N = 52, M_age = 11.60, SD = 0.79), and emerging adults (N = 50, M_age = 20.76, SD = 0.87) judged distributions of different items to boys and girls, when the items distributed varied by gender valence (related or unrelated to gender norms) and equivalency (equivalent or unequal). Distributions were judged to be acceptable most when the items were consistent with gender norms, especially for participants at ages 7 and 9, indicating that in middle childhood, children judge unequal treatment as fair when it is related to gender norms. Items were judged to be more likable when they were gendered, and likability judgments predicted more positive evaluations of the distributions, even when controlling for age.     

The roles of caregivers and friends in adolescent daily emotion dynamics

Daily emotion dynamics provide valuable information about individuals’ emotion processes as they go about their lives. Emotion dynamics such as emotion levels (mean), emotion variability (degree of fluctuation), and emotion network density (strength of temporal connections among emotions) are associated with risks for various psychopathology in youth and adults. Prior work has shown that caregivers and friends play crucial socializing roles in adolescent emotional well-being, but less is known about their roles in daily emotion dynamics. This study examined whether caregiver emotion coaching, caregiver-adolescent closeness, and friendship quality were associated with adolescents’ emotion levels, emotion variability, and emotion network density. Further, we examined whether caregiver-adolescent closeness moderated the associations between coaching and emotion dynamics. Participants were 150 adolescents (61% girls; M_age = 14.75) and one of their caregivers (95% female; M_age = 43.35) who completed a baseline survey and 21 daily surveys. Results showed that caregiver emotion coaching interacted with caregiver-adolescent closeness in predicting emotion levels and variability. Specifically, when closeness was higher, emotion coaching was significantly associated with lower sadness and anger levels, higher happiness levels, and lower happiness variability. Caregiver emotion coaching, independent of closeness, was also associated with lower anxiety levels, lower sadness variability, and lower emotion network density. Friendship quality was significantly associated with lower levels of sadness, anxiety, and anger, higher levels of happiness, and lower variability in anxiety and anger. These findings suggest that caregivers and friends are central to everyday emotion levels and variability and a more flexible emotion system in adolescents.     

Culture,parenting, and language: Respeto in Latine mother–child interactions

The cultural value of respeto (respect) is central to Latine parenting. Yet, how respeto manifests in the interactions of Latine parents and their young children remains unexamined. Low‐income Mexican immigrant Spanish‐speaking mothers and their 2.5‐year‐old toddlers (N = 128) were video‐recorded during play (M_age = 30.2 months, SD = 0.52), and two culturally informed items of respeto were coded: parent calm authority and child affiliative obedience. Respeto related to standard ratings of mother and child interactions (e.g., maternal sensitivity and child engagement) but also captured unique features of parent–child interactions. Respeto related to mothers' and toddlers' language production and discourse during the interaction, and explained unique variance in language variables above standard ratings of mother–child interaction. This is the first effort to document a culturally salient aspect of dyadic interaction in Mexican immigrant mothers and young children and to show that respeto relates to language use during mother–child interactions.     

Parenting and children’s negative emotionality,self‐regulation,and academic skills: The moderating role of fathers’ residency

We examined whether fathers’ residency modified the associations among mothers’ supportiveness, father involvement, children’s negative emotionality during toddlerhood and children’s academic skills in pre‐kindergarten via children’s self‐regulation. Participants were 2,291 mothers (M_age = 23.24 years) and children (M_age = 14.99 months at Wave 1; 50.7% girls) in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Results revealed distinctive associations by fathers’ residency: self‐regulation mediated the association between mothers’ supportiveness and academic skills only in resident‐father‐families. Self‐regulation mediated the association between negative emotionality and academic skills only in nonresident‐father‐families. The findings highlight the family processes of mothers, fathers, and children in low‐income family contexts that contribute to children’s academic skills, and how those family processes may vary by fathers’ residency status.     

The relations between maternal mental state talk and preschoolers’ behavioral adaptation and school readiness: moderation by emotion situation knowledge

This study investigated the extent to which associations between mothers' elaborated talk about mental states and preschoolers’ behavioral adaptation (i.e., social competence and internalizing and externalizing behavior) and school readiness were moderated by emotion situation knowledge. Families (N = 120) were mostly middle‐income and White and 70 of the preschoolers (M = 50.65 months, SD = 6.19) were boys. Results revealed a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and social competence, but only for children average and high in emotion situation knowledge. For children low in emotion situation knowledge, there was a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and internalizing behavior. There also was a negative relation between elaborated maternal mental state talk and school readiness for preschoolers low in emotion situation knowledge. Findings highlight the importance of considering emotion situation knowledge when examining associations between elaborated maternal mental state talk and young children’s social behavioral adaptation and readiness for school.     

Turkish adaptation of the mindful parenting inventories for parents and children

Mindful parenting is a burgeoning global research interest. This study adapted the existing 18-item parallel mindful parenting inventories for parents and children (MPIP/MPIC) into Turkish, examining their psychometric properties and validation in 154 mothers living in Türkiye (M_age = 42.74 years, SD_age = 5.06 years) and their typically developing children (n = 154, M_age = 13.19 years, SD_age = 1.64 years). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to validate the existing factor structure of the MPIP/MPIC for the Turkish version. Multiple-group CFA was used to test the measurement invariance between mothers and children. Pearson correlations and regression analyses were used to assess the validity of the MPIP/MPIC against established measures of mindfulness and positive parenting (testing convergent validity) and child behaviours (testing concurrent and predictive validity). CFA supported that the Turkish MPIP/MPIC structure was similar to that in the UK, consisting of four dimensions: Self-Regulation in Parenting, Acceptance and Compassion towards Child, Being in the Moment with Child, and Awareness of Child, each with satisfactory internal consistency. Partial measurement invariance was found between parents and children, with mothers reporting somewhat higher scores for the Being in the Moment with Child and Awareness of Child than children. Overall, the convergent and concurrent validity of the Turkish MPIP/MPIC was supported. In addition, MPIP predicted mother-reported child behaviours, and MPIC predicted child-reported child behaviours over and above mothers’ dispositional mindfulness and positive parenting (predictive validity). The Turkish parallel MPIP/MPIC show promise for use with mothers in Türkiye and children to assess mindful parenting.     

Adolescents’ perceptions of social risk and prosocial tendencies: Developmental change and individual differences

Many prosocial behaviors involve social risks such as speaking out against a popular opinion, bias, group norm, or authority. However, little is known about whether adolescents’ prosocial tendencies develop over time with their perceptions of social risks. This accelerated longitudinal study used within-subject growth-curve analyses to test the link between adolescents' prosocial tendencies and social risk perceptions. Adolescents completed self-reports annually for 3 years (N = 893; M_age = 12.30 years, 10–14 years at Wave 1, and 10–17 years across the full study period; 50% girls, 33% White non-Latinx, 27% Latinx, 20% African American, 20% mixed/other race). The association between social risk tolerance and prosocial tendencies changed significantly across adolescence. Specifically, for younger adolescents, more prosocial tendencies were associated significantly with less social risk tolerance, whereas for relatively older adolescents, more prosocial tendencies were associated marginally with more social risk tolerance. Additional individual differences by empathy (but not sensation seeking) emerged. These findings suggest that prosocial tendencies across adolescence may be associated with an underlying ability to tolerate social risks.     

Using a “child's‐eye view” of social success to understand the importance of school readiness at the transition to formal schooling

Recent research into school readiness has highlighted the importance of not only children's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills, but also the degree to which they have family support in the home. The current study examines the association between social success upon school entry and teacher‐ratings of school readiness as assessed by the Brief Early Skills and Support Index (BESSI), controlling for language ability. Importantly, social success was assessed using a “child's‐eye view” with peer‐reported assessments of both social preference and reciprocated friendships. A total of 244 children (131 boys, M_age = 61 months, SD = 4.78 months) in their first year of formal schooling participated. Child school readiness was found to be important for social preference, with the association being more marked for boys versus girls. Family support was the only independent predictor of children's reciprocated friendships. The use of the BESSI, with its broad scope compared to other measures of school readiness, highlights the importance of focusing both on a child's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills at school entry and their family support when exploring the association of school readiness to children's social success at the transition to formal schooling.