Spanish version of the Parenting Sense of Competence scale: Evidence of reliability and validity

Perceived parenting competence influences parenting practices and is a decisive factor in child development and health. There is a lack of valid and reliable tools in Spain to measure perceived parenting competence. The objective was to adapt the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) and analyse its psychometric properties in a sample of 600 mothers of children aged between 6 and 12 months old from Spain. The PSOC was translated into Spanish (PSOC‐E) using a standard forward‐ and back‐translation process. Internal consistency, factor structure, and comparisons between known groups and correlations with other variables were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original two‐factor structure: satisfaction and efficacy. The PSOC‐E showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .85). Perceived parenting competence was negatively associated (P < .01) with parental depression, fatigue, and parental stress and positively associated (P < .01) with dyadic adjustment. An equivalent Spanish version of the PSOC was obtained with good evidence of reliability and validity.     

Predictors of parenting stress in portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents

Parenting stress is related to the characteristics of both the child and the parents, as well as to parent–child interactions. In adoptive families, parenting stress has been identified as an indicator of the family's adjustment to adoption. The stress experienced by parents of adopted adolescents deserves special consideration, as adolescence is a critical period in the adoptees' developmental pathway. The present study aims to identify the adoptee, parents and family related predictors of the adoptive parents' parenting stress, exploring direct and indirect effects. Fifty Portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents participated in this study. Parenting stress was measured by the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to evaluate the adoptees' (mal)adjustment, according to the parents' perspective. Variables related to the parents' experience of adoption were assessed resorting to the Parent's Interview about the Adoption Process. Results showed that parents' satisfaction and adoptees' adjustment were sequential mediators of the relationship between the parents' experience of family life and parenting stress. These findings provide new insights into adoption research in parenting stress, highlighting the importance of adoption‐related variables such as the parents' adoption experience within the family and family relationships.     

Recruitment and Retention in a Parenting Intervention: A Case Study with Parents Aging Out of the Child Welfare System

ABSTRACT

Parenting interventions are efficacious in reducing child maltreatment and negative child behaviors, yet the recruitment and retention of parents, especially vulnerable parents, in such interventions can be challenging. Prior research identifies several ways to improve recruitment and retention including laying the foundation for the intervention, fostering relationships with parents, ensuring fit of the intervention with the intended population, and identifying barriers to parents’ participation. This case study presents a process of recruiting and retaining a vulnerable group of parents, specifically parenting youth aging out of the child welfare system. In addition to outlining the strategies used, lessons learned are highlighted. Parents expressed interest in the parenting intervention, experienced significant needs, negotiated great instability in their lives, and valued the social connections facilitated by the group intervention. Despite the research team following best practices and investing significant time and resources, recruitment and retention remained challenging. Implications for future work in this area are presented.     

Searching for effective interventions for foster children under stress: a meta‐analysis

Foster children experience a lot of stress because of their life histories and changes in their family circumstances, such as foster care placement. It is important that foster parents recognize the early signs of stress in foster children and learn how to act in a non‐threatening and understanding manner. Family‐based interventions may help in this. In this paper, we report on a meta‐analysis of studies (n= 19) of the effectiveness of such interventions. All studies used a pre‐test/post‐test design. Both problem behaviour in foster children and the parenting skills of foster parents improved by 30%; however, none of the interventions were specifically intended to help young children (<4 years) to cope with stress. The importance of interventions for young foster children is discussed, as well as the necessary elements these interventions should include.     

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.     

Creative connections: parenting capacity, reading with children and practitioner assessment and intervention

This paper presents some findings from a study of the views of 33 parents from a diversity of backgrounds with children between 0 and 12. Twenty‐two parents were using family support services. They were asked about their views on ‘parenting capacity’ based on the dimensions of The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families (Department of Health et al.) which are now incorporated into the Common Assessment Framework used in Every Child Matters (Department for Education and Skills). They were also asked about reading with their children and how this enhanced their parenting capacities. Their responses were analysed using the parenting capacity dimensions of The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families. It became apparent that this common activity (parent/child reading) contributed much to children's development and to the quality of the child/parent relationship. It also enhanced parenting capacity as described in the parenting capacity dimensions. This paper presents that part of the findings which illustrates the creative connections that exist between the activity of parents and children reading together and the parenting capacity dimensions social workers use in assessment and intervention. These findings are relevant to practitioners working within current policy and practice agendas in children's services, which promote multidisciplinary working and non‐stigmatizing assessments and interventions.     

Early Parental Positive Behavior Support and Childhood Adjustment: Addressing Enduring Questions with New Methods

A large literature provides strong empirical support for the influence of parenting on child outcomes. The current study addresses enduring research questions testing the importance of early parenting behavior to children's adjustment. Specifically, we developed and tested a novel multi‐method observational measure of parental positive behavior support at age 2. Next, we tested whether early parental positive behavior support was related to child adjustment at school age, within a multi‐agent and multi‐method measurement approach and design. Observational and parent‐reported data from mother–child dyads (N = 731; 49 percent female) were collected from a high‐risk sample at age 2. Follow‐up data were collected via teacher report and child assessment at age 7.5. The results supported combining three different observational methods to assess positive behavior support at age 2 within a latent factor. Further, parents' observed positive behavior support at age 2 predicted multiple types of teacher‐reported and child‐assessed problem behavior and competencies at 7.5 years old. Results supported the validity and predictive capability of a multi‐method observational measure of parenting and the importance of a continued focus on the early years within preventive interventions.     

Parental stress and parenting in Chinese immigrant families: The mediating role of social support

As the population of Chinese immigrants has been growing rapidly in the United States, it has been understudied on the parenting behaviours as well as the roles parental stress and social support playing in parenting in this group. This study investigated whether parental stress was associated with parenting and whether this relationship was mediated by social support in a sample of 255 Chinese immigrant parents from the Survey of Asian American Families in New York City. Regression analyses with a rich array of control variables found that a higher level of parental stress and the presence of one or more stressors such as unemployment, low income, and low education were positively associated with the use of harsh discipline and parent–child conflicts and negatively associated with positive parenting practices. Social support functioned as a significant mediator in the relationships between parental stress and positive parenting practices but not in the relationships of parental stress with parent–child conflict or the use of harsh discipline.     

Parental emotion regulation strategies and parenting quality predict child internalizing symptoms in families experiencing homelessness

Adaptive emotion regulation (ER) in parents has been linked to better parenting quality and social–emotional adjustment in children from middle‐income families. In particular, early childhood may represent a sensitive period in which parenting behaviors and functioning have large effects on child social–emotional adjustment. However, little is known about how parent ER and parenting are related to child adjustment in high‐risk families. In the context of adversity, parents may struggle to maintain positive parenting behaviors and adaptive self‐regulation strategies which could jeopardize their children's adjustment. The current study investigated parents' own cognitive ER strategies and observed parenting quality in relation to young children's internalizing and externalizing problems among families experiencing homelessness. Participants included 108 primary caregivers and their 4–6‐year‐old children residing in emergency shelters. Using multiple methods, parenting and parent ER were assessed during a shelter stay and teachers subsequently provided ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing difficulties in the classroom. Parenting quality was expected to predict fewer classroom internalizing and externalizing behaviors as well as moderate the association between parent ER strategies and child outcomes. Results suggest that parenting quality buffered the effects of parent maladaptive ER strategies on child internalizing symptoms. The mediating role of parenting quality on that association was also investigated to build on prior empirical work in low‐risk samples. Parenting quality did not show expected mediating effects. Findings suggest that parents experiencing homelessness who use fewer maladaptive cognitive ER strategies and more positive parenting behaviors may protect their children against internalizing problems.     

Clinical Home Visitation for Children With Externalizing Disorders: A Randomized Study

ABSTRACT

Clinical home visitation (CHV) was empirically tested in a randomized study to determine if it could reduce a child's externalizing behaviors while alleviating parental stress. Clinic-referred waitlisted young children (n = 33) with symptoms suggesting an externalizing disorder were randomly offered a CHV intervention composed of a developmentally guided dyadic-centered syllabus. Families were recruited to participate in an experimental (n = 21) or control group (n = 12). Mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and the Child Behavior Checklist. Results of paired-samples t-tests indicated that postintervention aggression scores were significantly different from the pretest scores for the entire sample. The Difficult Child domain was the only significant PSI subscale. The results did not support definitive conclusions about CHV as an effective intervention to reduce an externalizing disorder or to alleviate parenting stress. Future research should include larger numbers of children with externalizing disorders pooled from the clinic-referred and community samples. To address the complexities involved in treating externalizing disorders, CHV could be offered as part of a multimodal intervention (e.g., CHV combined with parent and family education).     

Mental health of parents with young children in Hong Kong: the roles of parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy

This study aimed to explore the sources of parenting stress and the mental health of parents with kindergarten and primary school children in Hong Kong. It also examined the intervening effects of parenting self-efficacy on mental health of parents. Results indicated that parents who perceived their children as more demanding, less acceptable and less reinforcing had more parenting stress. Those who found their parental roles to be more restrictive also had more parenting stress. Lastly, parenting self-efficacy moderated the effects of parenting stress on the mental health of parents. Cultural and social factors were put forward to explain these findings and suggestions were made towards reducing the parenting stress experienced by parents with younger children in Hong Kong.     

Exploring African American and Latino Populations Perceptions of Parenting Education Programs: A Qualitative Assessment of Enablers and Barriers

Abstract

Parenting education programs aim to enhance the quality of parenting. Preferences vary between African American and Latino parents, but the context is not well known, and the ethnic/racial differences may have implications for parenting education programs. Focus groups were conducted with seven African American and eight Latino parents, and semi-structured interviews with eight key informants. This qualitative assessment provided information to identify barriers and enablers to participation in parenting education programs. Enablers included parental interest in learning about the developmental stages of their children, the convenience of locations and times, and incentives. Minority parents desired to obtain adequate parenting education. The scarcity of culturally sensitive programs, transportation, affordability, and childcare were significant barriers. There were both significant similarities and differences between the two parent groups. From the perspectives of African American, Latino parents and key informants, a range of resources are necessary to enable the participation and the delivery of high-quality parenting education. The findings from our research will help address the unmet parenting education needs of African American and Latino parents. Future research should work to develop a tailored and culturally sensitive parenting education programs to reduce the divergence between parents and service providers.     

The Effect of Socioeconomic Status and Family Structure on Parental Warmth and Parental Control in a Chinese Context: Implications for Social Work Practice

We report the results of a telephone survey conducted in 2008 in Hong Kong, which aimed to identify Chinese parents' parental warmth and parental control (guan) and to explore their relationship with the sociodemographic characteristics of the parents. The respondents perceived themselves to be warm (mean = 3.44) and educating their child (mean = 3.46). The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the five sociodemographic characteristics explained 15.8% and 8.2% of the variance in parental warmth and guan respectively. The mothers were warmer than the fathers; parents with higher monthly household income, higher educational attainment and with their smallest child young in age were warmer than parents of lower household income, lower educational attainment and with their smallest child older in age. However, parental guan did not vary among the five sociodemographic characteristics except educational attainment. Implications of the study for social work practice are discussed.     

Psychological Distress Experienced by Parents of Young Children With Congenital Heart Defects: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the existing research on the psychological distress experienced by parents whose young children (between the ages of 0 and 5 years old) have a congenital heart defect (CHD). A more detailed understanding of the distress experienced by these parents, including stress associated with the child's age, the severity of the child's diagnosis, and parent characteristics, is vital as it would allow for more targeted and individualized support for this population to enhance parental coping strategies and increase the likelihood of more positive parent–child interactions. This review of 25 studies contributes to the parenting stress literature by focusing on parents of young children and categorizing studies by publication characteristics, research methodology, and findings. The research clearly demonstrates that parents report a great deal of stress throughout the continuum of their child's health care experience. Recommendations for future research and practice implications, such as developing a stress vulnerability model specific to parenting children with CHD, clarifying the role between interdisciplinary team members regarding provision of psychosocial support to parents, and referring parents to specific community-based ongoing social support services, are presented.     

Family involvement in child welfare services: The association between socio-economic status and self-reported parenting practices

In child welfare policies, as in contemporary society in general, great attention has been given to parenting roles and investing in ‘positive’ parenting practices. Several studies have suggested that socio-economic factors frame parenting practices. There is broad evidence of a significant correlation between socio-economic inequalities and child welfare intervention rates. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated parenting practices in a child welfare population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between socio-economic status (SES) and parenting practices in a Norwegian child welfare population. The study was based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2018–2019. The sample consisted of 256 parents (71.5% females). Linear regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounding and intermediate factors, was conducted. Lower SES was associated with higher levels of positive parenting/involvement practices (b = 0.146, CI: 0.026–0.266, P = 0.018), indicating an inverse pattern compared with the general population. When adjusting for symptoms of anxiety and depression, the association was slightly attenuated but remained statistically significant. No significant association was found between SES and inconsistent discipline/other disciplinary practices. The present study offers insights that should be useful in practice and further large-scale studies.     

Mindfulness in parenting adolescents:love breeds love,hate breeds hate

ABSTRACT

After several years of intensive parental skills training for parents of adolescents, extra topics were arising that were not covered in the program’s curriculum. Stress, uncertainness, and strong emotions in dealing with adolescents and how to make positive contact were important issues that parents were still concerned about when leaving the group. This article describes the experiences of how extramindful parenting group training was used after the formal parenting skills training group ended. Parents were then learning to listen to the child with full attention, emotional awareness of the self and child, self-regulation in the parenting relationship, and self-compassion.     

Parental self‐esteem,parent–child relationships,and authoritative parenting of Chinese migrant parents of left‐behind children: Implications for social policy and services

In this study, we aimed to examine whether and how parental self‐esteem and parent–child relationships interact and associate with the authoritative parenting of Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant mothers and fathers of left‐behind children. Results from a cross‐sectional survey of 295 Chinese migrant parents living in Shenzhen revealed no statistically significant differences between migrant mothers and fathers in parental self‐esteem, parent–child relationships, and authoritative parenting. Both parental self‐esteem and parent‐child relationships had positive associations with authoritative parenting among two groups of respondents; however, the perceived parent–child relationship quality was a more important predictor than parental self‐esteem. There was also an interaction effect between parental self‐esteem and parent–child relationships on migrant mothers’ authoritative parenting. The findings indicate that migrant parents’ perception of their encounters with their children has a profound influence on their parenting behaviors. Social services should, thus, be provided to strengthen both virtual and face‐to‐face parent–child interactions via mobile phone parenting and periodic visits. New policies should be developed to provide migrant parents with more options regarding family reunion.     

A preliminary review of the parenting assessment and skill development service: A 10-day residential service for families at risk of child maltreatment

Tweddle's Parenting Assessment and Skill Development Service (PASDS) is a 10-day residential programme for families at risk of child maltreatment. The service aims to conduct a comprehensive parenting capacity assessment to inform case management and improve parenting practices. The aims of the study were to (1) describe the psychosocial functioning of parents taking part in PASDS, (2) describe the key parenting assessment outcomes, and (3) explore parents' experiences of participation in PASDS including (a) perceived barriers and enablers of participation and (b) perceived outcomes for their family. Participants were 18 parents who participated in Tweddle's PASDS in Melbourne, Australia. A mixed methods study comprising a case file review and qualitative interviews was conducted. Parents accessing PASDS had experienced adverse childhood events, and many were experiencing mental health difficulties. Interviews with parents revealed perceived benefits of PASDS in improving parenting knowledge and skills, family relationships, and parenting confidence. At the time of discharge, 33% of families were assessed as unable to provide independent care for their child. The current findings have important implications for the further evaluation of evidenced-based services which can improve the accuracy of parenting capacity assessments, aiding in child protection decision-making related to child placement and safety.     

Tuning in to Teens: Improving Parent Emotion Socialization to Reduce Youth Internalizing Difficulties

Research in child development suggests that parents' emotional competence and emotion socialization practices are related to children's emotional functioning, including child internalizing difficulties. This research has not yet been translated into intervention or prevention programs targeting parents of older children and adolescents. The current study examined the efficacy of the Tuning in to Teens parenting program in improving emotion socialization practices in parents of preadolescents and reducing youth internalizing difficulties. Schools were randomized into intervention and control conditions. Data were collected from 225 parents and 224 youth during the young person's final year of elementary school (sixth grade) and again 10 months later in their first year of secondary school (seventh grade). Multilevel analyses showed significant improvements in parental emotion socialization and reductions in youth internalizing difficulties for the intervention condition. This study provides support for the efficacy of the TINT parenting program with a community sample.     

'My Mom Makes Me So Angry!' Adolescent Perceptions of Mother–Child Interactions as Correlates of Adolescent Emotions

The purpose of the current study was to examine adolescents’ perceptions of mother–child interactions as correlates of adolescents’ positive, negative, and guilt emotions. Two hundred thirty‐four adolescents (M age = 16.39, SD = 1.17) completed measures assessing parenting practices in response to typical mother–child interactions in both positive and negative contexts. Adolescents also reported on the appropriateness of parenting practices, their parents’ intentions, and their own emotional responses. Multiple regression analyses suggested that in positive contexts, parenting practices, appropriateness, and parental intent were related to adolescent emotions; but in negative contexts, only parental appropriateness was related to adolescent emotions. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering aspects of socialization other than parental discipline when studying adolescent emotions, and it highlights the importance of positive socialization contexts.