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1. Testing reciprocal associations between child anxiety and parenting across early interventions for inhibited preschoolers

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13879  

   Novick, Danielle R. ; Meyer, Christian T. ; Wagner, Nicholas J. ; Rubin, Kenneth H. ; Danko, Christina M. ; Dougherty, Lea R. ; Druskin, Lindsay R. ; Smith, Kelly A. ; Chronis‐Tuscano, Andrea ( August 2023 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   Given the robust evidence base for the efficacy of evidence‐based treatments targeting youth anxiety, researchers have advanced beyond efficacy outcome analysis to identifymechanismsof change and treatment directionality. Grounded in developmental transactional models, interventions for young children at risk for anxiety by virtue of behaviorally inhibited temperament often target parenting and child factors implicated in the early emergence and maintenance of anxiety. In particular, overcontrolling parenting moderates risk for anxiety among highly inhibited children, just as child inhibition has been shown to elicit overcontrolling parenting. Although longitudinal research has elucidated the temporal unfolding of factors that interact to place inhibited children at risk for anxiety, reciprocal transactions between these child and parent factors in the context of early interventions remain unknown.

   This study addresses these gaps by examining mechanisms of change and treatment directionality (i.e., parent‐to‐child vs. child‐to‐parent influences) within a randomized controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers (N = 151): the multicomponent Turtle Program (‘Turtle’) and the parent‐only Cool Little Kids program (‘CLK’). Reciprocal relations between parent‐reported child anxiety, observed parenting, and parent‐reported accommodation of child anxiety were examined across four timepoints: pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment, and one‐year follow‐up (NCT02308826).

   Hypotheses were tested via latent curve models with structured residuals (LCM‐SR) and latent change score (LCS) models. LCM‐SR results were consistent with the child‐to‐parent influences found in previous research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for older anxious youth, but only emerged in Turtle. LCS analyses revealed bidirectional effects ofchangesin parent accommodation and child anxiety during and after intervention, but only in Turtle.

   Our findings coincide with developmental transactional models, suggesting that the development of child anxiety may result from child‐to‐parent influences rather than the reverse, and highlight the importance of targeting parentandchild factors simultaneously in early interventions for young, inhibited children.

    

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2. Parenting stress in caregivers of young children with ASD concerns prior to a formal diagnosis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2213  

   DesChamps, Trent D. ; Ibañez, Lisa V. ; Edmunds, Sarah R. ; Dick, Catherine C. ; Stone, Wendy L. ( October 2019 , Autism Research)

   Robust findings demonstrate that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of parenting stress that are associated with negative outcomes for families. Although the majority of research on parenting stress has focused on parents of children with an existing diagnosis, parents of young children with concerns about ASD‐related behaviors also face many unique challenges before the time of diagnosis. However, no study to date has examined patterns of parenting stress among parents of children with ASD concerns prior to a formal ASD diagnosis. Therefore, the current study investigated longitudinal trajectories of parenting stress among parents of young children with ASD concerns compared to parents of children with non‐ASD developmental concerns (e.g., language delay), and parents of children with no developmental concerns. Known predictors of parenting stress were also examined. Results from multilevel model analyses revealed that parents of children with ASD concerns experienced consistently higher levels of parenting stress across early child development compared to parents of children with non‐ASD developmental concerns and those with no concerns. Additionally, parenting efficacy, psychological functioning, social satisfaction, and child social communication behaviors predicted levels of parenting stress for all parents.Autism Res2020, 13: 82–92. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

   This study examined parenting stress across time among parents of young children with ASD concerns before receiving a diagnosis. Parents of children with ASD concerns reported consistently higher levels of parenting stress compared to parents of children with other developmental concerns and parents of children with no concerns. Also, ASD concerns predicted parenting stress in addition to other parent and child predictors of parenting stress. These findings highlight the need to better support families before an ASD diagnosis.

    

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3. Parenting moderates the etiology of callous‐unemotional traits in middle childhood

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13542  

   Tomlinson, Rachel C. ; Hyde, Luke W. ; Dotterer, Hailey L. ; Klump, Kelly L. ; Burt, S. Alexandra ( November 2021 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   Callous‐unemotional (CU) traits are associated with chronic and escalating trajectories of antisocial behavior. Extant etiologic studies suggest that heritability estimates for CU traits vary substantially, while also pointing to an environmental association between parenting and CU traits.

   We used twin modeling to estimate additive genetic (A), shared environmental (C), and nonshared environmental (E) influences on CU traits, measured with the Inventory of Callous‐Unemotional Traits (ICU) and its subscales. Our sample included 600 twin pairs (age 6–11, 230 monozygotic) from neighborhoods with above‐average levels of family poverty, a risk factor for antisocial behavior. We examined the extent to which correlations between parenting, measured via parent and child report on the Parental Environment Questionnaire, and CU traits reflected genetic versus environmental factors. Then, we tested whether parenting moderated the heritability of CU traits.

   In the context of lower‐income neighborhoods, CU traits were moderately to highly heritable (A = 54%) with similar moderate‐to‐high nonshared environmental influences (E = 46%). Bivariate models revealed that associations between CU traits andwarmparenting were genetic (rA = .22) and environmental (rE = .19) in origin, whereas associations between CU traits andharshparenting were largely genetic in origin (rA = .70). The heritability of CU traits decreased with increasing parental warmth and decreasing harshness.

   Callous‐unemotional traits are both genetic and environmental in origin during middle childhood, but genetic influences are moderated by parenting quality. Parenting may be an important target for interventions, particularly among youth with greater genetic risk.

    

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4. Family socioeconomic status and children's screen time

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12834  

   Mollborn, Stefanie ; Limburg, Aubrey ; Pace, Jennifer ; Fomby, Paula ( April 2022 , Journal of Marriage and Family)

   This mixed‐methods study examined whether higher‐socioeconomic status (SES) children's digital technology use adhered to contemporaneous pediatric guidelines, how it compared to lower‐SES children, and why, as analyses showed, higher‐SES children's technology use far exceeded pediatric recommendations.

   2013 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines recommended limited “screen time” for children. Higher SES families tend to follow guidelines, but digital technology use—simultaneously a health behavior and a pathway for building human capital—has complex implications.

   Quantitative analyses provide new nationally representative estimates of the relationship between social class and 9‐ to 13‐year‐old children's technology time (including television), device access, and parenting rules (2014 PSID Child Development Supplement,N = 427). Qualitative analyses of 77 longitudinal higher‐SES parent interviews articulated explanatory processes.

   Higher‐SES children used technology as frequently as others and in excess of recommendations. Their device access, activities, and agency in adhering to rules, however, differed from others. Qualitative analysis uncovered processes that helped explain these findings: parents' ambivalence about technology and perception that expert guidance is absent or unrealistic, and children's exercise of agency to use technology facilitated by “concerted cultivation” parenting styles, led to higher‐SES individualistic parenting practices that supported children's increased non‐television technology use.

   Cultures and structures related to children's technology use are in flux, and classed norms and understandings are emerging to construct relevant class‐based distinctions around parenting.

    

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5. Infant eating behaviors and Milk feeding independently predict infant size

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23678  

   Barrett, Katherine J. ; Thompson, Amanda L. ( September 2021 , American Journal of Human Biology)

   This study investigates the association of infant eating behaviors with infant size, and if those associations are mediated by infant feeding.

   Mothers with infants less than 12 months of age and living in Central North Carolina were enrolled (N = 61). Data were collected at baseline and at 3‐ and 6‐month follow up visits. Modified constructs from the Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire (BEBQ) and Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) measured parents' perceptions of infant eating behaviors related to food approach (enjoyment of food, and food responsiveness) and food avoidance (food fussiness, satiety responsiveness, and slowness in eating). Linear mixed effects models tested longitudinal associations among infant eating behavior ratings, infant feeding (breastfeeding intensity, timing of introduction of complementary foods), and anthropometry (weight, length, and weight‐for‐length z‐scores). Path analyses were stratified by age and tested for direct and indirect effects of mothers' ratings of infant eating behaviors and infant feeding on infant anthropometry.

   Linear mixed models showed that general appetite was associated with higher weight‐for‐age, and satiety responsiveness was associated with lower length‐for‐age. Path analyses showed that infant milk feeding did not mediate associations. Breastfeeding intensity was independently associated with lower weight‐ and length‐for‐agez‐scores. Age at complementary feeding initiation was associated with lower length‐for‐agez‐scores.

   Associations between parental perceptions of general appetite, satiety responsiveness, and infant weight and length are observed early in life. These findings suggest that parental perceptions of infant eating behaviors may contribute to the early developmental programming of later health outcomes.

    

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