About this paper symposium

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Panel information
Panel 14. Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Paper #1
Person-Centered Examinations of Associations between Maternal Alcohol Dependence, Psychopathology, and Parenting During Dyadic Problem-Solving Tasks
Author information	Role
Dr. Debrielle Teresa Jacques, Ph.D., University of Washington	Presenting author
Abstract
Flexible, supportive, and child-focused caregiving helps infants develop independent problem-solving skills and boosts cognitive functioning. Specific parenting behaviors during dyadic parent-child learning contexts facilitate diverse aspects of child development, including scaffolding—dynamic behaviors where parents adjust support based on children’s evolving needs, competencies, and goals (Bibok et al., 2009; Mermelshtine, 2017). Implementing and recalibrating these behaviors can be complex, requiring emotional, cognitive, and regulatory efforts. Not all parents use the same broad caregiving categories (e.g., warmth, harshness), and even those that do may express them differently (e.g., yelling or physical behaviors). Some parents, especially those with alcohol dependence or psychopathology, may struggle to implement and adjust these caregiving behaviors due to deficits in socioemotional and cognitive functioning (Bates et al., 2002). However, little is known about how mothers with alcohol dependence support infants during dyadic problem-solving tasks. Moreover, few studies separate alcohol use disorder from other forms of psychopathology or parse parenting into person-centered typologies, making it unclear how caregiving profiles are linked to specific psychopathologies like alcohol use versus anxiety or depression.To address these gaps, this study used a person-centered analysis to identify unique caregiving profiles and examined their associations with a) maternal alcohol dependence and b) maternal psychopathology. Given limited research from these perspectives, no apriori hypotheses were made. Participants included 189 mother-child dyads (mean child age = 2.14 years; 56% Black, 11% Latino), with 99% of families living below the federal poverty line. Mothers completed the DIS-IV (Robins et al., 1995) assessment of lifetime psychopathology and alcohol use disorder symptoms, and dyads completed four increasingly complex problem-solving tasks (a puzzle task, a shape-sorting task, a seesaw task, and a stuck-ball retrieval task). Parenting behaviors were coded for supportive presence, quality of assistance (scaffolding), disengagement, warmth/support, and harshness/hostility. A Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted on caregiving behaviors, and profiles were regressed onto maternal lifetime alcohol use and psychopathology (anxiety, depression, PTSD) symptoms. Four distinct caregiving profiles emerged (See Figure 1): 1. Scaffolded Warmth: Warm, flexible, child-centered parenting. 2. Detached & Harsh: High disengagement and harshness/hostility with low scaffolding. 3. Indulgent Support: High warmth but low scaffolding and assistance. 4. Balanced: A moderate mix of warmth, harshness, and support. Maternal alcohol dependence significantly predicted membership in Profile 2 (Detached & Harsh) (β = .486, p = .05), but no other profiles were associated with alcohol use or broader psychopathology. These findings highlight the complexity of caregiving in dyadic problem-solving tasks, showing that parenting is multifaceted and more comprehensive than previously thought. Dynamic forms of parenting, like scaffolding, can be further broken down into specific elements that represent different categories of parenting. Moreover, caregiving profiles are not universally associated with all forms of psychopathology. Future research should examine specific manifestations of psychopathology and their pathways to unique parenting profiles. This can guide targeted interventions that more precisely address the needs of different parenting populations.

Paper #2
Delineating the Impact of Neighborhood Risk on Parental Responses to Distress and Children’s Socioemotional Outcomes
Author information	Role
Leena Twal, University of Rochester, USA	Presenting author
Abstract
Parental responses to children’s distress are a key feature of emotion socialization practices, teaching children regulation strategies about appropriateness of emotional displays. Supportive strategies include behaviors like providing comfort to the child or encouraging the expression of emotions, while nonsupportive strategies include punishing or minimizing the child’s experiences and feelings (Fabes et al., 2001). However, grouping different strategies into general categories does not allow for specificity in researching outcomes. Furthermore, the function and effectiveness of parenting behaviors are influenced by the context in which families are situated (Dunbar et al., 2016; Sturge-Apple et al., 2022). What is classified as “supportive” or “nonsupportive” may differ based on the context in which these behaviors occur. The current study addresses these gaps by researching specific emotion socialization behaviors in the context of neighborhood risk to identify potential socioemotional outcomes. Specifically, we test the direct and indirect effects of neighborhood risk on children’s depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems over time through mothers’ and fathers’ use of four distress-response strategies. Data was drawn from a larger project, and sample size for current analyses include 220 family triads. There were 3 study visits tak place 1 year apart. At W1, children had Mage =2.97. To measure Neighborhood Risk, a latent variable was created using maternal reports of the Neighborhood Instability and Chaos subscales from the NOAA-R (Knight et al., 2008), as well as a reverse-scored Economic Resources composite of participants’ zip codes taken from the COI 2.0 (“DiversityDataKids”, 2023). Parental Responses to Children’s Distress were observed during an interaction task where an RA dressed in costume entered the room and stared at the dyad without speaking to or interacting with them, meant to elicit discomfort (Kochanska, 1995). Mothers and fathers participated separately with their child. Novel observational coding utilized subscales Expressive Encouragement (EE), Emotion-Focused Reactions (EFR), Problem-Focused Reactions (PFR), and Minimizing-Supportive Reactions (MSR) for the current project. Subscales from the MacArthur HBQ (Albow et al., 1999) were used to measure children’s Depression, Anxiety (averaged from Separation Anxiety and Overall Anxiety subscales), and Behavioral Problems (averaged from Conduct Problems and Overt Hostility subscales). Three separate parallel mediation structural equation models were tested, clustering parents within families. In all models, neighborhood risk was associated with decreased use of EFR (β=-.23, p<.001), PFR (β=-.36, p<.001), and MSR (β=-.23, p<.001) for mothers, and with decreased use of EFR (β=-.15, p=.025) and PFR (β=-.21, p=.003) for fathers. Fathers’ use of MSR was associated with lower levels of depression (β=-.113, p=.013). Mothers’ use of EFR (β=-.166, p=.002) and PFR (β=-.212, p=.001) behaviors were associated with lower levels of anxiety, and these mediations were significant. Fathers’ use of EE behaviors significantly predicted higher levels of behavioral problems (β=.168, p=.008). Though neighborhood risk similarly affected mothers’ and fathers’ reaction behaviors, use of strategies differentially impacted children’s socioemotional outcomes over time. These results indicate gendered contributions to parents’ influence on children’s outcomes and offer greater insight into the interaction between environmental contexts and the family system as a whole.

Paper #3
Intergenerational Impact of Child Maltreatment on Levels and Trajectories of Harsh Parenting during Adolescence
Author information	Role
Emily Dube Dunning, The Pennsylvania State University, United States	Presenting author
Abstract
Maltreatment affects nearly 600,000 children each year (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2023) and the effects of child maltreatment can endure throughout the lifespan (Carr et al., 2020). Experiencing maltreatment associates with nonoptimal outcomes across numerous domains of functioning (Cicchetti & Toth, 2016), including increased risk of engaging in harsh parenting. For instance, maltreated parents tend to report greater hostility toward children and use more aggressive conflict management (Bailey et al., 2012). Adolescence may be a particularly challenging period for parents who have experienced maltreatment given challenges associated with adolescents navigating puberty and establishing autonomy (Spring et al., 2002). The present study used a multilevel modeling framework to examine the impact of parental experience of child maltreatment on (1) levels of harsh parenting at age 12 and (2) the rate of change of harsh parenting from ages 12-16. Children’s experiences of maltreatment were accounted for in the model. We hypothesized that caregivers maltreated in childhood would use higher levels of harsh parenting than non-maltreated caregivers at the beginning of adolescence, in line with previous research. We also hypothesized that maltreated caregivers would differ in the ways their harsh parenting behaviors shifted over the course of adolescence from their non-maltreated peers. The sample was drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse & Neglect (Runyan et al., 1998). Children (n = 1354) were roughly half female (50.81%) and most were non-white (73.16%). Most families were low income. Harsh parenting was measured with sum scores of the Psychological Aggression and Physical Assault subscales of the Conflict-Tactics Scale, Parent-Child version (Straus et al., 1998). The Modified Maltreatment Coding System (English et al., 2005) used official case records to identify children who had experienced maltreatment and caregivers self-reported their own experiences of child maltreatment via the Caregiver’s History of Loss and Victimization Questionnaire (Hunter & Everson, 1991). Results indicated a significant main effect of caregiver experience of maltreatment (=2.076, p=0.016); caregivers who had experienced maltreatment used an overage of 2.1 more harsh parenting behaviors than non-maltreated caregivers. There was also a significant interaction between time and caregiver experience of maltreatment, such that all caregivers decreased in harsh parenting behaviors, but this decline was steepest for caregivers who had experienced maltreatment (=-0.12, p=0.047; see Fig 1). Results have implications for intervention programs, as they suggest that maltreated caregivers need more support in using non-harsh parenting practices than non-maltreated caregivers, particularly at the beginning of adolescence.

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