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Objective: This brief report examines differences in step- versus biological family support between White, Black, and Hispanic families in the United States. Background: The increasing share of stepfamilies reflects a potential shift in family relationships. Although research finds that stepfamilies are generally less likely to engage in instrumental support than biological families, recent work suggests that the relationship between family structure and family behaviors may vary across racial/ethnic groups. Method: Using data from the 2015-2017 Add Health Parent Study, this report examines racial/ethnic differences in step- versus biological family support between parents and adult children. Specifically, parents' likelihood of and hours of providing instrumental support to adult children are assessed. Results: Findings from this report indicate for Black and White families, stepfamilies are less likely to provide instrumental support to their adult children than biological families. Among Hispanic families, however, stepfamilies are not more or less likely to provide support than biological families. When hours of instrumental support are examined, White stepfamilies provide fewer hours of support than biological families, whereas no difference is found for Black or Hispanic families. Conclusion: Findings from this study contribute to broader work that calls for more nuanced understanding of the differential effects of family structure across social groups. Future research should consider applying within-race/ethnicity analyses when examining the association between family structure and intergenerational support.

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This study used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine how parents' adult attachment influences their their own and the partners' co-parenting and parent-child relationships. Participants were from a cross-sectional sample of 1313 Chinese heterosexual married couples (fathers' Mage = 39.74, SD = 5.61; mothers' Mage = 37.55, SD = 5.04) whose biological children were pupils (Mage = 10.25, SD = 2.35). Results revealed that: (a) Couple members' actor effects from adult attachment avoidance to positive and negative co-parenting and parent-child closeness and conflict were found both significant; (b) The actor effects from adult attachment anxiety to negative co-parenting and parent-child conflict were found significant, whereas only partner effect from attachment avoidance to positive co-parenting and from attachment anxiety to parent-child conflict were significant. The results highlight the negative effects of parents' attachment avoidance and anxiety on their partners' parenting function.

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BACKGROUND: The roles of both parents' and children's educational expectations in shaping adolescent depressive symptoms have increasingly been discussed, yet in a separate manner. To date, few studies have associated parent-child mismatch in educational expectations with depressive symptoms, and less is known about the variation in the association across gender (male vs. female), educational level (primary vs. secondary), and region status (urban vs. rural) in the Chinese educational setting. METHODS: Respondents were from a nationally representative sample of adolescent students in China (sample size: 1844; age range: 10-15 years). Parent-child mismatch in educational expectations included three categories: (1) "match", (2) "mismatch-parent higher", and (3) "mismatch-parent lower". Regression analysis with inverse propensity-score weighting was employed to estimate the effect of parent-child mismatch as to educational expectations on depressive symptoms, and stratified analysis was used to examine the variation of the effect by gender, educational level, and region. RESULTS: Compared with the "match" group, the "mismatch-parent higher" group had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the pattern remained consistent between boys and girls, but differed significantly by adolescents' educational level and region status. Specifically, the pattern was more pronounced in the primary school and urban subsamples. CONCLUSIONS: Findings in this study indicated that educators and policymakers can develop tailored strategies to alleviate depressive symptoms among the "mismatch-parent higher" group, and especially for those children from primary schools and urban areas.

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OBJECTIVES: To identify factors that help explain associations between parent-staff interactions and: (1) parental depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress; and (2) parent-child bonding in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). STUDY DESIGN: Our cross-sectional mixed methods survey investigated the ways in which parental-staff interactions relate to parental distress and parent-child bonding. Parents with babies in the NICU (N = 165) completed validated measures and open-ended questions about their experiences with staff. Using a sequential explanatory approach, we examined: (1) whether and how parental self-efficacy and personal time mediated parent-staff interactions on distress and bonding; and (2) parental written accounts of experiences with staff. RESULTS: Multiple mediation analyses revealed that parent-staff interactions exhibited an: (1) indirect effect on parental depression (b = -.05, SE = .02, CI [-.10, -.01]), anxiety (b = -.08, SE = .04, CI [-.16, -.02]), and parent-child bonding (b = -.26, SE = .08, CI [-.43, -.11]) through parental self-efficacy; and (2) indirect effect on parental posttraumatic stress (b = -.08, SE = .04, CI [-.17, -.00], CSIE= -.06) through parental personal time. Thematic analyses revealed that emotional and instructional support from staff helped build parental self-efficacy. Trust with staff helped parents feel comfortable leaving the bedside and engage in basic needs (eg, eat, sleep). CONCLUSIONS: Family-staff dynamics are the foundation for high quality family-centered care. Staff who empower parents to participate in care, engage in parenting tasks, and take care of themselves may reduce their distress and improve relationships among staff, parents, and babies.

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INTRODUCTION: Early childhood development is a strong predictor of long-term health outcomes, potentially mediated via epigenetics (DNA methylation). The aim of the current study was to examine how childhood experiences, punitive parenting, and an intergenerational psychotherapeutic intervention may impact DNA methylation in young children and their mothers. METHODS: Mothers and their infants/toddlers between 0 and 24 months were recruited at baseline (n = 146, 73 pairs) to participate in a randomized control trial evaluating the effectiveness of The Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH-HV) parent-infant psychotherapy compared to treatment as usual. Baseline and 12-month post-enrollment data were collected in the family's home and included self-report questionnaires, biological saliva samples, home environment observation, video-taped parent-child interaction, and audio-recorded interviews. Saliva DNA methylation was measured at the genes, nuclear receptor subfamily 3 group C member 1 (NR3C1), solute carrier family 6 member 4 (SLC6A4), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the genetic element, long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE1). RESULTS: For mothers, baseline methylation of BDNF, SLC6A4, NR3C1, or LINE1 was largely not associated with baseline measures of their childhood adversity, adverse life experiences, demographic characteristics related to structurally driven inequities, or to IMH-HV treatment effect. In infants, there were suggestions that methylation in SLC6A4 and LINE1 was associated with parenting attitudes. Infant BDNF methylation suggested an overall decrease in response to IMH-HV psychotherapy over 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings suggest that the epigenome in infants and young children may be sensitive to both early life experiences and parent-infant psychotherapy.

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Introduction: Resolution of a child's diagnosis, the process of accepting and adjusting to the reality of a child's significant diagnosis, has been often associated with decreased parental stress. Hope, a potential buffer against psychological distress, has been suggested as a potential explanation for this relationship. However, the mediating role of hope in the relationship between resolution of diagnosis and parental stress has not been explored. Methods: This study aimed to examine whether four types of hope (child, parental, societal, denial of diagnosis) mediated the relationship between resolution to an autism diagnosis and reduced parental stress. Participants included 73 parents (Mage = 43.22, SD = 7.69, female 97.3%) of autistic children (Mage = 11.15, SD = 4.56, male = 67.1%). Results: Resolution to diagnosis was negatively and significantly correlated with resolution to diagnosis, as well as child, parental and societal hope. These three hopes were also significantly and negatively correlated with parental stress. Importantly, when controlling for level of support and autism awareness, parental hope mediated the relationship between resolution to diagnosis and parental stress. Denial of diagnosis was not correlated with resolution or parental stress but did have significant but weak associate with the other hopes. Discussion: These findings suggest that hope based on parent's abilities to support their child and be supported themselves play an important role in parental stress once parents are more resolved to their child's diagnosis. Supporting parents to manage factors associated with supporting their child's needs, may benefit parents of autistic children.

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Guided by the conceptual framework of widowed parenting, the current study takes a relational approach to understand more about how the characteristics of parents of young and adult children relate to coping following the unexpected death of a partner due to COVID-19, and how these variables predict complicated grief and posttraumatic growth. A sample of 81 widowed parents completed self-report measures examining parenting self-efficacy, relationship uncertainty, coping, complicated grief, and posttraumatic growth. Results of hierarchical regression analyses suggest that, when controlling for time since death (1) relationship uncertainty and avoidant coping significantly predict complicated grief for parents in the sample with adult children, and (2) widowed parenting self-efficacy and both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping significantly predict posttraumatic growth for parents in the sample with young children. Results of the current study may inform future practices (e.g., use of Emotionally Focused Family Therapy) to aid families grieving an unexpected loss.

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OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic alliance has been little investigated in infant and toddler therapy, with no tools specifically adapted to this population. However, we have developed the Infant-Toddler Working Alliance Inventory-Short form (IT-WAI-S) which is based on the Working Alliance Inventory. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of this original French tool, in its two versions: for parent (IT-WAI-SP) and for therapist (IT-WAI-STh). METHOD: This study included 227 families consulting with their 18-48-month-old child for emotional or behavioral disorders. The scales were filled in at the first three therapy sessions. The IT-WAI-S acceptability, internal validity, reliability and predictive validity (association with child and mother's outcomes) were evaluated. RESULTS: Confirmatory then exploratory factor analyses revealed a three-factor structure for the both scales: Negative Experience of Care Relationship, Positive Alliance and Alliance with the Child. Acceptability, reproducibility and construct validity were satisfactory for both versions. The two versions predicted the child's outcome. The IT-WAI-SP predicted also the mother's outcome. The IT-WAI-STh gave more reproducible results, whereas the IT-WAI-SP was a better predictor of the child's progress. CONCLUSION: The two IT-WAI-S versions showed good psychometric properties and could be used to study the therapeutic alliance in young children.

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Introduction: Risk-allele carriers of a Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, short-allele (MAOA-S) in males and long-allele (MAOA-L) in females, in the presence of a negative environment, are associated with alcohol misuse. Whether MAOA-S/L alleles also present susceptibility to a positive environment to mitigate the risk of alcohol misuse is unknown. Thus, we assessed the association of the three-way interaction of MAOA, maltreatment, and positive parent-child relationship with alcohol consumption among adolescents. Methods: This prospective study included 1416 adolescents (females: 59.88%) aged 16 - 19 years from Sweden, enrolled in the "Survey of Adolescent Life in Västmanland" in 2012. Adolescents self-reported alcohol consumption, maltreatment by a family (FM) or non-family member (NFM), parent-child relationship, and left saliva for MAOA genotyping. Results and discussion: We observed sex-dependent results. Females carrying MAOA-L with FM or NFM and a good parent-child relationship reported lower alcohol consumption than those with an average or poor parent-child relationship. In males, the interactions were not significant. Results suggest MAOA-L in females, conventionally regarded as a "risk", is a "plasticity" allele as it is differentially susceptible to negative and positive environments. Results highlight the importance of a good parent-child relationship in mitigating the risk of alcohol misuse in maltreated individuals carrying genetic risk. However, the interactions were not significant after adjusting to several environmental and behavioural covariates, especially parent's alcohol use, negative parent-child relationship, and nicotine use (smoking and/or snus), suggesting predictor and outcome intersection. Future studies and frameworks for preventive strategies should consider these covariates together with alcohol consumption. More studies with larger sample sizes are needed to replicate the findings.

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The quality of dyadic Parent-Child Communication (PCC) between parents and their adolescent children may be important for the adolescent's general development and mental health during adolescence. Since German instruments for measuring PCC are still lacking, this study aimed to validate the German translation of the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS), an internationally established self-report questionnaire. To examine the theoretical-based two-factor model of the PACS in a German population sample of 1044 parent-adolescent dyads, confirmatory factor analyses were used. Moreover, the cross-group measurement invariance of the instrument was assessed. Two clinical samples were used to assess discriminative validity. Bland-Altman plots were used to asses parent-adolescent agreement. The two-factor structure of the PACS was supported. Scalar measurement invariance was established for parent age groups and adolescent gender but not for adolescent age groups and parent gender. Convergent and divergent validity were established. Discriminative validity was only established for the adolescent version in the adolescent psychiatry sample. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory, and rater agreement was medium. The German translation of the PACS is a reliable and valid measurement to assess parent-adolescent communication quality per self-report. Research directions include the concordance discrepancy in clinical samples and further investigation of changes in parents' and adolescents' perspectives on communication problems and open communication. Registration: NCT05332236 (clinicaltrials.gov), first registered 2022-04-11.

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BACKGROUND: After societal change in Kyrgyz Republic, the pattern of parent-child interaction in the changing parenting culture is an important factor influencing the positive development of Kyrgyz children. This study is aim to assess the quality of parent-child interactions in Kyrgyzstan by analyzing the interaction patterns and playfulness of children during free play at home. METHODS: This was a descriptive pilot study using video-recorded observations to explore parent-child interactions. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System and a playfulness instrument were used to assess the patterns and quality of the interaction. A total of 20 dyads of children aged 24 to 58 months and their parents, living in migrant communities of Kyrgyzstan, participated in this study. RESULTS: Major parent-child interaction patterns included 731 turns of parent-child dyads during 1040 episodes. Verbal as well as nonverbal behaviors of parents were observed while interacting with their children. Parents used direct and indirect commands most frequently, while praise was used the least in interactions. Children frequently used compliance as well as noncompliance when they interacted with their parents. Children had low playfulness scores while interacting with their parents. Cognitive spontaneity was the component with the lowest score among all subdomains of playfulness. CONCLUSION: Future studies are recommended to develop strategies to facilitate parents' active interaction with their children, promote children's playfulness, and improve the quality of their mutual interaction.

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Parents and children who have recently immigrated from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong face various challenges, including psychological and sociocultural adaptation difficulties. In collaboration with community partners, our research team has developed and implemented culturally sensitive and preventive parent-child parallel interventions to enhance positive adaptation among immigrant parents and children. Two interventions were conducted in this randomized controlled trial: an emotion regulation (ER) arm, which addressed psychological adaptation by reducing parent-child conflicts and improving emotions, and an information provision (IP) arm targeting sociocultural adaptation by increasing participants' knowledge about Hong Kong. The study randomly assigned 113 and 73 parent-child pairs (allocation ratio 3:2) into the ER and IP arms, respectively. Parents and children attended four two-hour weekly sessions of their assigned intervention and completed assessments before, immediately after, and one month following the intervention. The results showed that in the ER arm, parents showed improved positive affect, and children reported decreases in parent-child conflicts more than their counterparts in the IP arm. In the IP arm, parents and children increased their knowledge, and parents decreased sociocultural adaptation difficulties more than their counterparts in the ER arm. In addition, the moderation analyses showed that in both interventions, parents and children with elevated baseline depressive symptoms obtained greater benefits relative to their counterparts with fewer symptoms. Such marked improvements were seen among parents in negative affect and adaptation difficulties and among children in parent-child conflict, positive and negative affect in the ER arm. More improvements were noted among parents in negative affect and sociocultural adaptation difficulties and among children in negative affect in the IP arm. Future studies are suggested to develop and provide parent-child parallel interventions targeting both psychological and sociocultural adaptations to parents and children with heightened baseline depressive symptoms to facilitate their positive adaptation in Hong Kong.

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PURPOSE: Rural adolescent pregnancy is a serious public health issue, largely due to low contraceptive use. Existing data focuses on urban populations. Using a positive youth development framework, we examine associations between modifiable protective factors and birth control use in a rural population. METHODS: Prior to an evidence-based health education program, students in 10th grade health class in two low-to-middle income rural schools completed surveys. For contraceptive use at last sex, students could check all methods that applied which were collapsed into three rank-ordered categories: none, condoms only, and hormonal contraception. Predictor variables included sexual self-efficacy (six items, α = 0.66, "able to say no"), parent connectedness (five items, α = 0.94, "satisfaction with your parent/guardian?"), language acculturation (one item, "in your home do you speak…"), school connectedness (five items, α = 0.85, "I feel close to people at my school") and adverse childhood experiences (eight item score). These variables were entered into a multivariable logistic ordinal regression. RESULTS: The sample (N = 287) was 52% female, 48% LatinX and 49% white. Higher sexual self-efficacy and parent connectedness scores significantly increased the odds of using more effective birth control. Higher language acculturation (more likely to speak another language at home) suggested less likely to use more effective birth control. School connection and adverse childhood experiences were not significant in the final model. DISCUSSION: Contraception focused interventions in rural communities should address modifiable protective factors, such as self-efficacy and parent connection. Interventions need to be trauma-informed and language accessible.

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Parental food education has been recognized among the important factors influencing children's food literacy; however, the intrinsic mechanisms through which this influence occurs are unclear. In this study, a mediation model was constructed to explore this issue, using the parent-child relationship and learning motivation as mediating variables. In total, 204 children, aged 9-14 years old, responded to questionnaires on parental food education, children's food literacy, the parent-child relationship, and learning motivation, which were used to measure the variables of interest. The results showed that parental food education was significantly and positively related to the parent-child relationship, learning motivation, and children's food literacy; the parent-child relationship was significantly and positively related to learning motivation; and learning motivation was significantly and positively related to children's food literacy. Parental food education influenced children's food literacy in the following two main ways: the mediating role of learning motivation and the chain-mediating roles of the parent-child relationship and learning motivation. In addition, we attempt to explore the moderating role of the teaching stage between parental food education and the parent-child relationship, learning motivation, and children's food literacy. In this paper, we discuss possible guidelines for family food education and children's health based on the findings of the current study.

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BACKGROUND: The review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child relationship interventions for families of children with intellectual disability up to 12 years old. METHODS: Quasi-experimental or randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions targeting the parent-child relationship where ≥50% of children had an intellectual disability were included. Meta-analyses of parent-child relationship outcomes and child outcomes used standardised mean difference as the effect size. RESULTS: Twenty-seven papers were included (N = 1325). Parent-child relationship outcomes improved significantly (n = 1325; g = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.64, 1.52) with a large effect size that was robust to sensitivity analyses. Child developmental outcomes improved significantly (n = 1082; g = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.07), and indicated a large effect size for child socialisation and communication. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that interventions targeting parent-child relationship quality are associated with substantial improvements in parent-child relationship and may improve child outcomes related to socialisation and communication.

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This study examined whether variation in parent-child conversations about scientific processes can be explained by child gender and the science-related resources available to parents, known as scientific capital. Parents of 4- and 5-year-old children (N = 70) from across the United States completed a survey of science capital and were then videotaped with their children at home interacting with two science activities (i.e., balance scale and circuit toy). Videos were transcribed and analyzed for parents' science process language. Results indicated that parents' science process language occurred significantly more often during conversations with boys, among families with higher levels of scientific capital, and during the scale activity. Gender differences in science process language were not apparent at higher levels of science capital and during the scale activity. These effects speak to the need for measuring child, family, and contextual characteristics when identifying factors that promote children's early science engagement and learning. Results are discussed in terms of future interventions that could build scientific capital as a means to counteract stereotypes around gender and science.

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We conducted a time series analysis of parents' autonomy supportive and directive language and parents' and children's STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) talk during and after a problem-solving activity (i.e., tinkering). Parent and child dyads (N = 61 children; Mage = 8.10 years; 31 boys; 54% White) were observed at home via Zoom. After tinkering, a researcher elicited children's reflections, and approximately 2 weeks later dyads reminisced together about the experience. During tinkering, the more autonomy supportive STEM talk parents used in 1 min, the more children talked about STEM in the next minute. During reminiscing, parents' autonomy support was also associated with children's STEM talk. Results suggest the importance of considering how both the content and style of parents' talk can support children's STEM engagement.

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This qualitative study explored language brokers' conceptualizations of their roles and responsibilities within the family in Sydney, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to obtain retrospective accounts of language brokering experiences from 14 self-identified language brokers, 10 females and four males aged between 19 to 49 years (Mean age = 31) who started brokering between ages 7 to 16 (M = 11). Participants were from varied ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds (Turkish, Lebanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese and Greek/German). Thematic analysis identified three primary themes: "Hidden Carers: When Parent-Child Roles are Reversed"; "Lost Childhoods: Personal Sacrifice for the Good of the Family"; and "Protecting Parents: Language Brokers as Custodians of Information." Findings revealed that language brokering constitutes a form of hidden caregiving that carries with it several ramifications for the individual and their family. These findings have important implications for future research and policymakers working towards developing culturally responsive interventions that improve the health and wellbeing of language brokers and the resettlement experiences of migrants and their families.

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Intra-individual response time variability (IIRTV) during cognitive performance is increasingly recognized as an important indicator of attentional control (AC) and related brain region function. However, what determinants contribute to preschoolers' IIRTV received little attention. The present study explored the interaction of dopaminergic polygenic composite score (DPCS) and the parent-child relationship in relation to preschoolers' IIRTV. In the initial sample, 452 preschoolers (M age = 5.17, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. The modified Flanker task was used to evaluate children's IIRTV and their parents were requested to complete the Parent-Child Relationship Scale to assess the parent-child relationship (closeness/conflict). DNA data were extracted from children's saliva samples, and a DPCS was created by the number of COMT, DAT1, and DRD2 alleles associated with lower dopamine levels. Results showed that DPCS significantly interacted with the parent-child closeness to impact preschoolers' IIRTV. Specifically, preschoolers with higher DPCS exhibited lower IIRTV under higher levels of the parent-child closeness, and greater IIRTV under lower levels of the parent-child closeness compared to those with lower DPCS, which supported the differential susceptibility theory (DST). A direct replication attempt with 280 preschoolers (M age = 4.80, SD = 0.86) was conducted to investigate whether the results were in accordance with our exploratory outcomes. The interactive effect of DPCS and the parent-child closeness on IIRTV was confirmed. Additionally, the significant interactive effect of DPCS and the parent-child conflict on IIRTV was found in the replication study. The findings indicate that preschoolers' IIRTV, as an indicator of AC and related brain region function, is influenced by the interactions of dopaminergic genotypes and the parent-child relationship. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated the Gene × Environment mechanism to underline the intra-individual response time variability as an indicator of attentional control (AC) in Chinese preschoolers. Dopaminergic polygenic composite score (COMT, DAT1, and DRD2) interacted with the parent-child relationship to predict preschoolers' intra-individual reaction time variability. A direct replication attempt has been conducted, and the results were in accordance with our exploratory outcomes, which increased the credibility of the present findings. The findings highlight the importance of considering precursors, including polygenic and environmental factors, which contribute to the development of early cognitive performance such as AC.

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AIM: To determine whether a strength-based home-visiting program enhances parent-child interaction during the first year at home for children born extremely preterm (gestational age < 28). METHODS: A randomised controlled trial of 130 infants born extremely preterm 2018-2021 in Stockholm, allocated to either the Stockholm preterm interaction-based intervention (SPIBI) (n = 66) or an extended follow-up program (n = 64). The intervention group received ten home visits during the first year by a trained interventionist following SPIBI guidelines: an interaction-based intervention supporting sensitive parental responses to infants' signals. The primary outcome of emotional availability was assessed at 12 months corrected age (CA) using the emotional availability scales (EAS). RESULTS: At 1-year CA, data were collected from 115/130 (89%) of the included children. There were no significant group differences in emotional availability at 12 months CA. A secondary analysis showed an effect modifier in families with mothers self-rated as depressed at discharge, with the outcome favouring intervention in the EAS dimension of child involvement. CONCLUSION: The SPIBI had no significant main effect on emotional availability at 12 months CA. Children of self-reported depressed mothers displayed superior involvement behaviour in the intervention group, prompting further research on risk groups and potential modifications of post-discharge interventions.