Transition to Parenthood Study
Parenting behaviors are among the most robust predictors of child outcomes, and the primary influence on early childhood development. Parenting quality can be a critical protective factor or an additional risk factor for children. Some parents are thought to engage in more maladaptive parenting behaviors (harsh, inconsistent, and over-reactive), due to stressors, resource depletion, and their own caregiving histories (e.g., Miller & Davis 1997; McLoyd & Wilson, 1991). Yet, even in the face of considerable adversity, there are parents who engage in adaptive parenting behaviors with their young children (Cook et al., 2012; McGroder, 2000). Little is known about what accounts for this variability, but we argue that internal processes, including parent cognitions and emotions, are vital to understanding these individual differences. Infancy and early childhood offers a unique context for this research due to the substantial cognitive-emotional demand placed on parents as they try to respond to child needs and experience recurrent parenting challenges. Based on Social Information Processing Theory, cognitive-emotional processes organize and motivate parenting behaviors (Azar, 2002; Dix, 1991). Parents who demonstrate adaptive cognitive and emotional patterns of responding should process child information efficiently, appreciate the child’s changing needs, and view child behavioral challenges as governed by modifiable internal states, rather than static personality traits.The goal of this study is to understand first-time mothers’ cognitive-emotional processes during the transition to parenthood. The hope is that this work will lead to the refinement of an integrated model of how these processes uniquely and in combination influence parenting behaviors, and in turn the intergenerational transmission of regulatory abilities.
Planning is underway.
The Socialization of Self-Compassion
Self-compassion involves being kind and understanding to oneself during times of failure or pain, construing one’s personal experiences as part of the human condition and holding painful thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness (Neff, 2003). Self-compassion has been shown to have adaptive psychological benefits, including buffering against threat-induced anxiety, better psychological well-being (Neff, 2011; Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007), and more positive behaviors in close relationships (Neff & Beretvas, 2013). Yet little is known about how self-compassion is fostered during key developmental periods. This study aims to understand parental influences on the development of self-compassion and regulatory capacities during times of distress among young adults.
Data collection is underway.
Collaborators:
Links between Parent Cognitions and Parenting Quality among Low-Income Mothers of Preschoolers
Parents are crucial in shaping child development, yet cognitive factors contributing to parenting behaviors within low-income families are not well understood. Children living in poverty disproportionately suffer from mental health problems (SAMHSA, 2007), so there is a critical need to better understand individual differences among low-income parents. For some parents, the capacity for sensitive caregiving is diminished in the context of stressful life circumstances associated with poverty (Luthar, 1999). This study investigates multiple factors that may account for variability in parenting quality among low-income families, focusing on the unique and combined effects of parent cognitions, family risk, and child behavior problems.
Data collection has been completed. Data analysis and manuscript writing are underway.
Brown University Collaborators:
Funding Sources:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) – K01MH077097 (PI: Shepard)
UNC Charlotte Faculty Research Grant (PI: Armstrong)
Early Childhood Emotion Regulation: The Integration of Language and Emotional Processes
In an age period when children’s ability to understand and express language develops rapidly, evidence indicates that parental talk about emotions scaffolds children’s own use of this language (Taumoepeau & Ruffman, 2006, 2008). As children begin to use emotion language, it should aid their ability to understand feeling states and contribute to their appreciation that emotions can be modified. As children are increasingly able to verbalize their wants, feelings, and thoughts, they should also be better equipped to reflect on and manage internal states. It is likely that a child’s emerging language skills interact with environmental inputs in ways that contribute to children’s use of language to self-regulate emotional reactions. Although it is well-established that emotion talk is important for children’s emotion understanding and prosocial behavior, the combined influence of parent and child emotion talk on the development of emotion regulation, specifically, has not been documented in the literature. This longitudinal study examines how parent and child emotion talk work in concert over time to influence the development of emotion regulation in young children.
Data collection has been completed. Manuscript writing is underway.
Penn State University Collaborators:
Funding Sources:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) – R01MH061388 (PI: Cole)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) – F31HD063318 (PI: Armstrong)