Theory of Mind, Self-worth and the Mother–Child Relationship

We tested the hypothesis that mother–child warmth and responsiveness would moderate the link between young children's theory of mind skills and self‐worth. Participants included 125 same‐sex pairs of 3.5 year‐old twins and their mothers. A battery of tests was individually administered to measure the children's theory of mind skills and verbal intelligence, and their self‐reported self‐worth was assessed using a puppet interview. Following visits to the families' homes, the observers completed ratings of warm responsive mother–child behavior based on videotaped unstructured and structured observations. As expected, warm responsive behavior moderated the relation between their theory of mind and the child's self‐worth. Their theory of mind was positively associated with self‐worth in warm responsive mother–child dyads, and there was weaker evidence that their theory of mind may be negatively associated with self‐worth in less warm, unresponsive mother–child dyads.     

Language Matching Among Mother‐child Dyads: Associations with Child Attachment and Emotion Reactivity

Links between mother‐infant affective matching and attachment security are well‐documented, but research on other types of behavioral matching and attachment security are lacking, as are studies that examine these constructs later in children's development. We examine language style matching (LSM) between mothers and their school‐aged children (N = 68), using interviews with each dyad member. As predicted, regressions revealed that higher mother‐child relational LSM was associated with greater child attachment security (operationalized as high security, low dismissal), and that higher LSM predicted smaller increases in children's electrodermal response to a relational probe 1.5 years later. Further, mother‐child relational LSM was a mediator in the indirect path between children's attachment security and children's reactivity. We discuss the potential utility of LSM as a measure of relationship quality and future studies that could refine our understanding of parent‐child language matching.     

Assessment issues in working with mothers who induce illness in their children

Mothers who induce illness in their children are abusing them. What must be uppermost in the mind of the child protection worker is the effect of the mother’s behaviour on the child. A good assessment of the mother is essential in making decisions about the child’s safety. Schreier & Libow (1993) estimate that nearly 10% of mothers who deliberately induce illness in their children ultimately kill them. The construction with the mother of a comprehensive genogram is an essential tool for assessment. Denial by the mother is usual and overt confrontation is usually not a helpful technique. Key assessment questions are: What are the mother’s real feelings about this child? Can the mother imagine what life will be like with a well child? Is this mother more than extremely anxious or overprotective towards her child? This difficult, complex work can arouse intense feelings in individual workers and within the assessment team. Good supervision is essential.     

Maternal Frontal EEG Asymmetry and Chronic Stressors Moderate the Link between Child Conduct Problems and Maternal Negativity

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry is associated with individual differences in positive/negative emotionality and approach/avoidance tendencies. The current study examined the moderating role of maternal resting frontal EEG asymmetry on the link between child behavior problems and maternal harsh parenting within the context of differing degrees of chronic family stressors (father unemployment, single parenthood, caring for multiple children, and household chaos). The sample included 121 mother–child pairs. Results showed that stressors and frontal EEG asymmetry together moderated the link. Child problem behaviors were moderately associated with greater maternal negativity for mothers with right frontal asymmetry, or mothers who experienced more stressors. However, no association existed between child behavior problems and maternal negativity for mothers with few stressors and left frontal asymmetry. The findings implicate transactions between household stress and a psychophysiological indicator of maternal emotional reactivity and mothers' approach/avoidance tendencies in the etiology of parental negativity toward challenging child behaviors.     

Absent presence: the ongoing impact of men's violence on the mother–child relationship

This paper draws from interviews with 45 mothers and 52 children who participated in an action research project to develop activities to support women and children in the aftermath of domestic violence. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and explore the question: In what ways does the perpetrator of abuse remain present in the lives of women and children following separation? The paper invites workers to recognize the distortions created by domestic violence that may need to be identified and addressed in the aftermath of violence. The ways in which past trauma, erosion of self‐esteem and the undermining of the mother–child relationship continues to create a shadow across the present relationship are identified. The continued presence of the perpetrator of abuse through child contact arrangements and ongoing harassment is also highlighted. The ‘absent presence’ of the abusive partner is posited as a concept to assist workers with a framework through which to understand problems in the mother–child relationship which emerge when living with and separating from a violent partner. The paper has implications for social workers orientating practice to focus on perpetrator accountability and support strengthening the mother–child relationship.     

Practitioner–mother relationships and the processes that bind them

This paper outlines a theoretical contribution to conceptualizing practitioner–mother relationships in child protection social work. It examines what is represented when these face‐to‐face encounters takes place. It suggests an intersubjective dimension where mothers are in effect asked to give an account of themselves. Drawing on humanities and social science writing, practitioner–mother relations are examined to analyse their symbolic and literal significance and the underlying purposes and assumptions that bind them. Butler's theory of recognition is utilized to alert us to the importance of supporting the narrative capacity of women caught up in child protection processes and of allowing the mother to give an account of herself as a woman and as a mother.     

Maternal Conflict Behavior Profiles and Child Social Skills

The current study examined associations between mothers’ behavioral profiles during mother‐child conflict interactions and their children's social skills. This person‐centered approach classified 181 mothers according to their levels of emotional responsiveness, intrusiveness, negativity, and engagement facilitation behaviors during an eight‐minute conflict discussion task with their child. Three distinct classes of mothers were identified using latent profile analysis: sensitive/engaged, moderately sensitive/engaged, and insensitive/disengaged. An analysis of covariance indicated that children of mothers in the sensitive/engaged group had significantly higher social skills than children of mothers in the moderately sensitive/engaged and insensitive/disengaged groups. Results suggest that mother‐child conflict interactions may benefit children's social development when mothers facilitate their children's participation in a highly sensitive manner.     

The Mother Who Didn't See Her Baby and the Hospital That Didn't See the Psychiatrist

Abstract

This paper discusses the initiation of an infant preschool child psychiatric consultation service in a tertiary level paediatric hospital, where there had been no service such as this in the past ten years. The case presented illustrates the complex nature of both feeding disorders in infants and the cases seen in this tertiary level institution. It also describes a parallel process: The mother who was uninvolved with her infant and the hospital that was indifferent to the child psychiatric-consultation service development process. An understanding of the psychodynamic aspects of the child, the mother, and the interactions between the medical team and the child psychiatrist were crucial to the success of the treatment. This psychodynamic understanding is also essential to the development of a continuing working relationship between the child psychiatric-consultation liaison service and the hospital.     

Living in the red zone: the experience of child‐to‐mother violence

Child‐to‐mother violence is an area of family violence that has received limited attention over the past 20 years but is a problem for many families. It is poorly understood in the community and this lack of understanding creates a basis for families and service providers to minimize the abused mothers' experience. This paper is drawn from a larger study that aimed to explore child‐to‐mother violence in a high‐risk geographical area and describes a qualitative theme developed from 185 participating women's narratives, ‘Living in the red zone’: the experience of child‐to‐mother violence. The red zone refers to danger and was an element throughout women's narratives. It is clear from the reflections of these women that child‐to‐mother violence is a significant and complex issue. Mothers were predominantly struggling in silence with their experiences of a child or children whose behaviour was threatening and/or abusive. Their experiences were most often minimized and/or devalued by family and community members, which may prevent affected women from seeking support. Mothers generally had limited concepts of the possibilities open to them to improve their situation, or limited access to appropriate and empathic individuals or services.     

Longitudinal dyadic analyses of emotion dysregulation and mother–child relationship quality in Chinese children with teacher‐reported oppositional defiant disorder

This study examined whether and how mothers' and children's perceptions of mother–child relationship quality mediated associations between mothers' and children's initial emotion dysregulation and children's emotion dysregulation and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms 2 years later. The participants were 155 Chinese children with teacher‐reported ODD and their mothers derived from a three‐wave (2 years apart) longitudinal study. A multiple‐informant approach and a dyadic analysis approach (i.e., actor–partner interdependent modeling) were used. The results revealed that (a) mothers' and children's emotion dysregulation was significantly related to their own and their partners’ concurrent perceptions of relationship quality; (b) mothers' and children's perceptions of relationship quality from Wave 1 to Wave 2 were stable but were also interdependent, such that one's own perception of relationship quality at Wave 1 related to the partner's perception at Wave 2; and (c) relationship quality at the two waves interdependently mediated the associations between mothers' and children's emotion dysregulation at Wave 1 and children's emotion dysregulation and ODD symptoms at Wave 3. Implications for family intervention programs targeting maternal and child emotion dysregulation and strengthening mother–child relationship quality for children with ODD were discussed.     

Contingencies in Mother–Child Teaching Interactions and Behavioral Regulation and Dysregulation in Early Childhood

Predictable patterns in early parent–child interactions may help lay the foundation for how children learn to self‐regulate. The present study examined contingencies between maternal teaching and directives and child compliance in mother–child problem‐solving interactions at age 3.5 and whether they predicted children's behavioral regulation and dysregulation (inhibitory control and externalizing behaviors) as rated by mothers, fathers, and teachers at a four‐month follow‐up (N = 100). The predictive utility of mother‐ and child‐initiated contingencies was also compared with that of frequencies of individual mother and child behaviors. Structural equation models revealed that a higher probability that maternal directives were followed by child compliance predicted better child behavioral regulation, whereas the reverse pattern and the overall frequency of maternal directives did not. For teaching, stronger mother‐ and child‐initiated contingencies and the overall frequency of maternal teaching all showed evidence for predicting better behavioral regulation. Findings depended on which caregiver was rating child outcomes. We conclude that dyadic measures are useful for understanding how parent–child interactions impact children's burgeoning regulatory abilities in early childhood.     

‘He didn't mean to hit mom,I think’: positioning,agency and point in adolescents' narratives about domestic violence

This paper analyses the narratives of adolescents who have experienced domestic violence. It focuses on what we can learn about being an adolescent who experiences domestic violence, using a narrative approach. Attentive to both form and content, the paper sheds light on why the narrative is being told, who the actors in the narratives are, who are positioned in the forefront/background and what the point of the narrative is. The analysis shows that through the storytelling, the father's position as the reluctant/dangerous/weak aggressor is negotiated, the mother is positioned both in the background as a victim and in the forefront as an actor resisting his violent behaviour. The children position themselves as actors with power to alter the progress, to protect and stop the violence. The point of the narratives is to describe the father as the aggressor, and to describe the important role of the children. This picture of the father, mother and child questions the traditional understanding of the father as the aggressor, the mother as the victim and the child as a powerless bystander being exposed to the violence, and underlines the complexities of the dynamics in families living with domestic violence.     

Romantic partner satisfaction among low‐income mothers: Links to child‐peer and teacher relationships via mother‐child conflict

The current project explores maternal inter‐parental (IP) romantic partner satisfaction in relation to mother‐child conflict and later peer and teacher relations from early to middle childhood among a sample of low‐income, ethnically diverse mothers (N = 271) who were part of a longitudinal study testing the effectiveness of the Family Check‐Up intervention. We hypothesized spillover effects from IP dissatisfaction during early childhood to mother‐child conflict two years later. Greater mother‐child conflict in turn was expected to lead to poorer peer relations and greater conflict with teachers in middle childhood. The results support a spillover effect from lower IP satisfaction at age 3 to higher mother‐child conflict at age 5 to poorer peer relations and greater conflict with teachers at school at ages 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5. Mother‐child conflict significantly mediates these pathways. The results support the importance of IP satisfaction and mother‐child conflict in early childhood as critical factors in pathways leading to low‐income children's social relationships at school during middle childhood.     

Child Sexual Abuse Allegations in the Context of Divorce: Issues for Mothers

Correspondence to Catherine Humphreys, Department of Applied Social Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL Summary The investigation and assessment of allegations of child sexualabuse constitute a difficult and contentious area for practitionersinvolved in this process. When these allegations emerge in thecontext of divorce, the problems of assessment appear to becompounded. This paper argues that when mothers raise concernsabout child sexual abuse during divorce proceedings these areoften construed as vindictive or misguided. Such constructionsof mothers have significant implications for the protection,or lack of protection of children in these circumstances. Theway in which this ‘knowledge’ about mothers hasdeveloped is explored and held up against the results of empiricalstudies which show that there is little basis for this constructionof mothers. Possible explanations for this incongruity are suggestedwith a view to progressing child protection in this area. As the court cases go on I can see the hopelessness of the wholething. It's getting stronger in me to want to take the law intomy own hands. I wouldn't say it's revenge, it's not ... I meana mother protects its young. You wouldn't see a lioness lettingsomething attack its young. (A mother expressing her desperation that the Family Court ofAustralia has ordered her to send her child on visits to herex-husband who she believes sexually abused their child.)     

Mother–Child Conversations of Emotionally Salient Events: Exploring the Functions of Emotional Reminiscing in European-American and Chinese Families

This study explores the functional variations in mother–child conversations of emotionally salient events in European‐American and Chinese families. Thirty Chinese and 31 European‐American 3‐year‐old children and their mothers participated. Mothers were asked to discuss with their children at home two specific one‐point‐in‐time events in which they both participated. One event was extremely positive to the child, one extremely stressful. American mothers initiated more interactive and elaborative conversations that focused on the child's roles and predilections in the story, and they employed a ‘cognitive approach’ to emotional regulation by providing explanations for the cause of children's feeling states. Chinese mothers took a directive role in posing and repeating memory questions and focusing on social interaction, and they used a ‘behavioral approach’ to emotional regulation by emphasizing discipline and proper conduct to their children. Findings are discussed in light of cultural influences on the functions of emotional reminiscing for self and relationship construction and emotional regulation.     

Linking illicit substance misuse during pregnancy and child abuse: what is the quality of the evidence?

In most Australian states, legislation makes provision for professionals to report their concerns about the future welfare of an unborn child to appropriate authorities. The legislation establishes guidance for the implementation of family supports to minimize future child protection involvement. Given the legislation and the potential benefits, empirical research linking substance misuse during pregnancy and child protection involvement is relatively limited. We review 21 original studies linking substance misuse during pregnancy with child protection outcomes and the potential generalizability of results to the Australian context. The majority of studies reviewed were conducted in the USA and were mostly retrospective. Other differences between studies include sample sizes, comparison groups, study setting, participants’ ethnicity and pattern of drug use. In the postnatal literature, it is well established that child abuse is associated with a complex array of factors including partner, as well as broader family factors and yet, the studies reviewed focus upon maternal substance abuse without including the wider context. Given the available evidence‐based literature, it is difficult to come to definitive conclusions that can assist clinicians involved in frontline decision‐making for early intervention. Well‐designed research, accessible by antenatal health‐care professionals, is needed to adopt an evidence‐based approach to risk assessment in the prenatal context.     

Maternal Meta-emotion Philosophy and Adolescent Depressive Symptomatology

The current study examined the relations between maternal meta‐emotion philosophy and adolescent depressive symptoms, as well as general adolescent adjustment and the quality of parent–child interaction. Consistent with previous findings on children in the preschool period and middle childhood, it was expected that an emotion coaching meta‐emotion philosophy would be associated with fewer depressive symptoms, higher levels of adjustment and lower frequencies and less reciprocity of aversive and dysphoric affect during mother–child interaction. Maternal meta‐emotion interviews, observations of mother–child interaction and assessments of adolescent adjustment were obtained. Results indicated that mothers of adolescents with high levels of depressive symptoms were less accepting and expressive of their own emotions than were mothers of adolescents with low levels of depressive symptoms. A mother's acceptance of her own emotion was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, higher self‐esteem and fewer externalizing problems in young adolescents. A mother's emotion coaching was associated with lower frequency and less likelihood of the reciprocity of aversive and dysphoric affect during mother–child interaction. Discussion highlights the role of maternal meta‐emotion philosophy in creating emotional closeness in families with high and low levels of depressive symptomatology.     

The Effect of Father–Toddler and Mother– Toddler Role Reversal on the Development of Behavior Problems in Kindergarten

Role reversal is a relationship disturbance in which a parent looks to a child to meet a parent's need for comfort, parenting, intimacy or play, and the child attempts to meet these needs. The current study examined, within a developmental psychopathology framework, the effect of father and mother role reversal with toddlers on the development of attention problems, externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and social problems in kindergarten. In a normative sample, N=57, role reversal was assessed in an observational paradigm, and teachers rated behavior problems. Father role reversal predicted attention problems and externalizing symptoms, whereas mother role reversal predicted social problems. Gender was an important moderator such that father role reversal predicted social problems for boys and mother role reversal predicted social problems for girls. The importance of a developmental psychopathology perspective, the role of fathers, and implications for the development of diagnosable disorders and for preventive interventions are discussed.     

Maternal Religiosity,Family Resources and Stressors,and Parent–Child Attachment Security in Northern Ireland

This study explores the associations between mothers' religiosity, and families' and children's functioning in a stratified random sample of 695 Catholic and Protestant mother–child dyads in socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region which has experienced centuries of sectarian conflict between Protestant Unionists and Catholics Nationalists. Findings based on mother and child surveys indicated that even in this context of historical political violence associated with religious affiliation, mothers' religiosity played a consistently positive role, including associations with multiple indicators of better family functioning (i.e., more cohesion and behavioral control and less conflict, psychological distress, and adjustment problems) and greater parent–child attachment security. Mothers' religiosity also moderated the association between parent–child attachment security and family resources and family stressors, enhancing positive effects of cohesion and mother behavioral control on mother–child attachment security, and providing protection against risks associated with mothers' psychological distress. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the role of religiosity in serving as a protective or risk factor for children and families.     

Parental Emotion Coaching and Child Emotion Regulation as Protective Factors for Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

We assessed linkages of mothers' emotion coaching and children's emotion regulation and emotion lability/negativity with children's adjustment in 72 mother–child dyads seeking treatment for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Dyads completed the questionnaires and discussed emotion‐related family events. Maternal emotion coaching was associated with children's emotion regulation, which in turn was related to higher mother‐reported adaptive skills, higher child‐reported internalizing symptoms, and lower child‐reported adjustment. When children were high in emotion lability/negativity, mothers' emotion coaching was associated with lower mother and child reports of externalizing behavior. Results suggest the role of emotion regulation and emotion lability in child awareness of socio‐emotional problems and support the potential of maternal emotion coaching as a protective factor for children with ODD, especially for those high in emotion lability.