Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Early Childhood Impulsivity And Parenting Predict Trajectories Of Externalizing Psychopathology, Emma Stewart

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parenting is a consistent predictor of child externalizing symptoms; however, the role of caregiving variability (i.e., variation in a caregiver’s parenting behaviour) is poorly understood. We examined whether characteristic parenting style and parenting variability predicted externalizing symptoms in 409 children (M_age = 3.43 at baseline, 208 girls). We assessed parent positive affectivity (PPA), hostility, and parenting structure at child age three using three behavioural tasks designed to vary in context, examining variability by modeling a latent difference score reflecting the range for each dimension. We assessed children’s symptoms at ages three, five, eight, and 11. Lower hostility predicted fewer …

Early Adversity And Positive Parenting: Predicting Executive Functioning In Children With Asd, Elizabeth A. Kuenzel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are statistically more likely to experience early adversity; however, little is known about which types of adversity are most prevalent, the role of parenting as a protective factor, and how this early life stress impacts cognitive outcomes. We assessed adversity and parenting styles in 238 children (ASD=82) aged 6–16 years using parent report. Intellectual abilities were assessed using the WISC-V. Children with ASD had increased incidence of familial stressors compared to Typically Developing (TD) children. Positive parenting was associated with significant decreases in familial adversity for all children. Environmental stressors were associated with cognitive …

Navigating The “Blind World”: The Psychosocial And Occupational Experiences Of Parents Of Adolescents With Visual Impairments, Peiwen Cao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using a constructivist narrative inquiry approach, this research study sought to explore how parents of adolescents with visual impairments story their psychosocial and occupational experiences. Participants of the study consisted of four parents who were currently raising adolescents with visual impairments between the ages of 14 to 17. Participants took part in two in-depth narrative interviews, in which they answered several open-ended questions about their experiences of raising their adolescent children who were visually impaired. Participants also participated in a brief concluding interview session, in which they provided feedback on the narrative that I constructed based on their interview responses. …

The Serotonin Transporter Promoter Polymorphism Moderates The Continuity Of Behavioral Inhibition In Early Childhood., Victoria C Johnson, Katie R Kryski, Haroon I Sheikh, Heather J Smith, Shiva M Singh, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Persistently elevated behavioral inhibition (BI) in children is a marker of vulnerability to psychopathology. However, little research has considered the joint influences of caregiver and child factors that may moderate the continuity of BI in early childhood, particularly genetic variants that may serve as markers of biological plasticity, such as the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). We explored this issue in 371 preschoolers and their caregivers, examining whether parent characteristics (i.e., overinvolvement or anxiety disorder) and child 5-HTTLPR influenced the continuity of BI between ages 3 and 5. Measures were observational ratings of child BI, observational and questionnaire measures …

Research Brief No. 8 - A Widening Parental Leisure Gap, Glenn J. Stalker

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Who in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom have the least time for lei-sure? Our study finds that the distribution of leisure time today depends not only on gender, as previously found, but also on family and employment status. Since the 1960s, the amount of leisure time available to men and to women has become increasingly similar. However, parents of young children and those employed full-time are having increasingly less time for leisure than non-parents and those who are not employed. These analyses demonstrate the need to qualify accounts of over-work and the double-burden.

Biological And Contextual Predictors Of The Stability Of Behavioural Inhibition In Early Childhood, Victoria C. Johnson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Persistently elevated behavioural inhibition (BI) in children confers increased risk for anxiety disorders. However, little research has jointly examined exogenous and endogenous factors that may moderate BI stability in early childhood. To explore whether parent (i.e., parental overinvolvement, parent anxiety) and child (i.e., 5-HTTLPR and BDNF val66met genotype, positive emotionality) factors influenced the stability of early BI, a community sample of 371 preschoolers and their caregivers completed observational measures of child temperament, observational and questionnaire measures of parenting, and parent interviews for anxiety disorder history. Child BI at age 3 interacted with children’s 5-HTTLPR variants to predict age 5 BI; …

Policing Cyber Bullying: How Parents, Educators, And Law Enforcement Respond To Digital Harassment, Ryan Broll

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some prior research has emphasised how adults ought to address cyber bullying, yet little is known about how they actually prevent and respond to digital harassment. This study addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the formal and informal “policing” of cyber bullying by a network of security actors: parents, teachers and school administrators, and the public police. Data were collected through a mixed methods research design consisting of semi-structured qualitative interviews with eight parents, 14 teachers, and 12 members of law enforcement (n = 34) and quantitative surveys completed by 52 parents.

Drawing upon nodal governance theory as …

Links Between White Matter Microstructure And Cortisol Reactivity To Stress In Early Childhood: Evidence For Moderation By Parenting., Haroon I Sheikh, Marc F Joanisse, Sarah M Mackrell, Katie R Kryski, Heather J Smith, Shiva M Singh, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (measured via cortisol reactivity) may be a biological marker of risk for depression and anxiety, possibly even early in development. However, the structural neural correlates of early cortisol reactivity are not well known, although these would potentially inform broader models of mechanisms of risk, especially if the early environment further shapes these relationships. Therefore, we examined links between white matter architecture and young girls' cortisol reactivity and whether early caregiving moderated these links. We recruited 45 6-year-old girls based on whether they had previously shown high or low cortisol reactivity to a stress task at …

Associations Between Maternal Personality And Parenting: A Multi-Informant Approach, Brigitte Hanna

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

More is known about contextual factors associated with parenting than associations between intrinsic characteristics of parents, namely personality, and parenting. The current study investigated associations between parent personality and parenting behaviours with known relevance for child outcomes. A community sample of 385 mothers of preschool-aged children completed self-report measures of personality traits. Informant reports and observer ratings of maternal personality were also obtained. Parenting was assessed observationally during a mother-child interaction in the home. Personality traits were associated with both positive and negative parenting. The magnitude of these associations was generally modest, with the strongest effects emerging for the trait …

Growing Up Our Way : The First Year Of Life In Remote Aboriginal Australia, Sue Kruske, Suzanne Belton, Molly Wardaguga, Conceptual Narjic

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

In this study, we attempted to explore the experiences and beliefs of Aboriginal families as they cared for their children in the first year of life. We collected family stories concerning child rearing, development, behavior, health, and wellbeing between each infant’s birth and first birthday. We found significant differences in parenting behaviors and childrearing practices between Aboriginal groups and mainstream Australians. Aboriginal parents perceived their children to be autonomous individuals with responsibilities toward a large family group. The children were active agents in determining their own needs, highly prized, and included in all aspects of community life. Concurrent with poverty, …

Parenting At Midnight: Measuring Parents' Thoughts And Strategies To Help Young Children Sleep Through The Night, Aimee J. Coulombe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Throughout the night, brief periods of arousal are common and not necessarily indicative of problematic sleep. Awakening without an easy return to sleep (“night-waking”), however, can be problematic for parents and children alike. Approximately 30% of preschool-aged children wake at least once per night and require parental intervention (“help or assistance”). Although parents’ responses to children’s night-waking (i.e., parents’ night-waking strategies) can determine the course of night-waking over time, very little is known about night-waking strategy use among parents of preschool-aged children. The purpose of the present dissertation was to lay the foundation upon which a better understanding of the …

Splashpads, Swings, And Shade: Parents' Preferences For Neighbourhood Parks, Patricia Tucker, Jason Gilliland, Jennifer D. Irwin

Geography & Environment Publications

Background

Physical activity is a modifiable behavior that can help curtail the increasing worldwide problem of childhood obesity. Appropriate recreational opportunities, including neighborhood parks, are particularly important for promoting physical activity among children. Because children's use of parks is mainly under the influence of their parents, understanding parents' preferences is essential for creating the most inviting and usable park space to facilitate children's physical activity.

Methods

Eighty-two intercept interviews were conducted with a heterogeneous sample of parents / guardians watching their children at neighborhood parks in London, Ontario. Parents / guardians were asked questions about how often they frequent the …