Mother and child

Friendships convey developmental advantages. Adolescents without friends suffer from a host of difficulties. Much more is known about which friendships are likely to be stable over time, than about maternal contributions to friendship stability. To this end, the current study examines characteristics of mother-child relationship quality (i.e., child reported social support, negativity and relationship importance) and maternal parenting practices (i.e., child-reported behavioral control and psychological control) that predict the dissolution of children’s friendships in a sample of primary school (ages 10 to 11) and middle school (ages 11 to 14) students attending seven public schools in Lithuania. A total of 574 participants (290 female, 284 male) completed identical surveys at six time points across two consecutive school years. Peer nominations provided an index of peer status (i.e., acceptance or liking and rejection or disliking), which were also included as predictors in order to control the contribution of peer status. Friendships were defined as dyads in which both partners nominated each other as friends. Dissolved Friendships were defined as dyads that were reciprocated at Time 1 but one or both partners failed to nominate the other as a friend as a subsequent time point.
Discrete time survival analyses were conducted to predict friendship dissolution from maternal parenting practices variables, mother-child relationship quality variables, peer status variables, and demographic variables (sex, dyad sex, nutrition, household structure, relationship rank). Two sets of analyses were conducted. The individual model explored the degree to which individual scores on each variable predicted friendship dissolution. The dyadic model the degree to which dyadic differences (i.e., the absolute difference between friend scores) on each variable predicted friendship dissolution.

Adult-child interactions vary between cultures. For example, Hispanic parents are characterized by a more adult-centered style of interaction with children, while European American parents are more child-centered. Little is known about the influences cultural differences may have on the ways that Spanish-English bilingual parents speak to their children in each language. To address this question, 17 monolingual Spanish-speaking Hispanic American mothers, 22 monolingual English-speaking European American mothers, and 33 Spanish-English bilingual mothers were videorecorded in toy-play interactions with their children. The bilingual mothers and children were recorded in two sessions, one in which they were instructed to speak English and one in which they were instructed to speak Spanish. Using CHILDES programs, these interactions were transcribed and coded for properties of parent-child conversation known to be related to child language outcomes and hypothesized to reflect parent-centered and child-centered styles of interaction. The parent-child conversations of the two monolingual groups were compared in order to obtain baseline cultural differences in interaction style. The parentchild conversations of the bilingual mothers when speaking Spanish and when speaking English were compared in terms of the properties that showed differences between the monolingual groups. The conversations of the monolingual Hispanic American mothers were characterized by fewer maternal word types, and proportionately fewer maternal questions, and fewer child utterances than the conversations of the monolingual European American mothers. These differences were reflected in the comparisons of the bilingual mothers’ Spanish and English interactions with the exception of number of word types. The results are consistent with the hypotheses that (1) Spanish-speaking Hispanic American mothers use a more adult-centered style of interaction with their children compared to European American mothers, who use a more child-centered style of interacting with children and that (2) Hispanic American bilingual mothers reflect aspects of these cultural differences when speaking each language with their children.

Adolescence is a period of significant changes in relationships with mothers,
specifically parent-adolescent conflict increases from childhood into adulthood. The
present investigation is designed to address these differences by using adolescent and
mother reports of conflict and relationship quality. The investigation addresses four
research questions. (1) Do characteristics of conflict with mothers differ for adolescents
with and without clinical problems? (2) Do perceptions of mother-child relationship
quality differ for adolescents with and without clinical problems? (3) Do family
characteristics moderate differences between clinical and nonclinical youth in motherchild
of conflict? (4) Do family characteristics moderate differences between clinical and
nonclinical youth in mother-child relationship quality? The results demonstrated that the
clinical group reported more conflicts, greater affect, and less post-conflict interaction
than those of the nonclinical group. The clinical group reported higher negativity than the nonclinical group. In addition, levels of positivity were higher for the nonclinical
group than for the clinical group.

A conceptualization of maternal attachment during
preadolescence was proposed, and a self-report instrument
designed to measure preadolescents' maternal attachment
style was developed. It was hypothesized that
preadolescents' attachment style is related to their social
adjustment with peers. Subjects were 229 third through
seventh graders. Results indicated that avoidant
preadolescent girls were seen by peers as demonstrating
externalizing behaviors with peers. Also, the more avoidant
the girls were, the more enemies they had. Preoccupied
preadolescent boys were viewed by peers as exhibiting
internalizing behaviors: These boys were seen as victimized,
immature, depressed, fearful, and physically weak. In
contrast, avoidant boys were perceived as aggressive,
dishonest, and physically strong.

The purpose of this study was to explore relations between children's temperament and their coping styles during mother-child conflict. The children in this study (47 boys and 59 girls in the fourth through seventh grades) were measured using maternal reports of nine discrete temperament dimensions. These nine dimensions were reduced to three factors labeled Agreeableness, Rhythmicity, and Restraint. The children also reported on seven dimensions of coping during conflict with their mothers. Factor analysis indicated that these seven dimensions also could be reduced to two factors, labeled Defiant Coping and Helpless Coping. Partial correlations (with the effect of age removed) showed a significant negative relation between Agreeable temperament (e.g., approachable, high mood quality) and Helpless Coping (e.g., fearful, compulsive compliance).

This thesis examined maternal caregiving as a function of maternal depression. Subjects were 184 fourth through seventh grade children and their mothers. Mothers' depression classification was determined by scores on a depression inventory. Both children and mothers responded to questionnaires developed to measure parenting style. Children also completed a peer nomination inventory to measure adjustment in the peer group. It was hypothesized that depressed mothers would be perceived as more likely to engage in negative parenting behaviors and less likely to exhibit positive caregiving. Similarly, it was expected that children with depressed mothers would exhibit greater internalizing/externalizing behavior problems in the peer group. Results were the reverse of those expected, with children of depressed mothers perceiving less use of aversive caregiving behaviors, and more positive interaction. Maternal depression was unrelated to measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to explore relations between maternal childrearing styles and children's coping styles during mother-child conflict. Mothers reported on six parenting style dimensions: coercive control, overprotective control, emotional control, constructive control, responsiveness, and positive interaction. Children (mean age 12.01 years) reported on seven dimensions of coping during conflict with their mothers: idealization of parent, endorsement of submission, endorsement of aggression, self-blame, self-efficacy, anger reaction, and fear reaction. Few relations between the maternal variables and the child variables were significant, but those that were made sense. For example, positive interaction with the mother predicted low endorsement of aggression toward her, and maternal emotional control predicted self-blaming coping. Further research should examine whether the effects of maternal styles on children's behavior problems (e.g., aggression, depression) are mediated by children's coping styles.

The relationship between the mother and the child in Duras
is most fully developed in the novels La Vie Tranquille
(1944), Un Barrage contre le Pacifique (1950), Les Petits
Chevaux de Tarquinia (1953), Moderato cantabile (1958),
and L' Amant (1984). The relationship is intense, initially
joyful but ultimately alienated. It dramatizes the
feminine needs of the mother and the filial needs of the
child, always in conflict. It weakens, as the mother undergoes
personal trials, and, as the child grows older,
love turns to hate and despair. This study of the novels
reveals a consistent structure: the mother-child relationship
in Duras is repeatedly depicted as an enslaving experience, comparable in its passionate development to a
foredoomed love affair.

This thesis examined the possibility of meaningful associations between children's attachment styles in middle childhood and children's perceptions of the parent. Participants were 199 students (94 males, 105 females) in grades three through eight (mean age = 11.03 years) from a Florida university school. The children were administered self-report measures and peer-report nomination measures. Five attachment coping strategies (preoccupied, indecisive, avoidant, coercive, and caregiving) and four aspects of perceived maternal behavior (reliable support, overprotection, harassment, and fear induction) were assessed and numerous and meaningful associations were found. For example, perceived maternal overprotection was positively associated with preoccupied coping. Significant associations were also found between our avoidant, coercive, indecisive, and caregiving coping measures and perceived maternal reliable support, harassment, and fear induction. Our numerous and significant findings lend further support for the usefulness and value of our concurrent correlational self-report measures and to justify future longitudinal research to compare alternative models.

Participants were 199 children (105 females) in grades three through eight (mean age = 11.03 years). Five attachment coping strategies were assessed (preoccupied, avoidant, indecisive, coercive, and caregiving), and four aspects of perceived maternal behavior were assessed (reliable support, harassment, overprotection, and fear induction). Numerous meaningful associations were found between the attachment measures and the perceived parenting measures. For instance, perceived maternal overprotectiveness was significantly related to preoccupied and indecisive coping strategies, whereas perceived maternal harassment, fear induction, and reliable support were related in various ways to avoidant, indecisive, coercive, and caregiving attachment coping strategies. In general, the associations found between the perceived parenting measures and the attachment measures support the construct validity of the self-report measures of attachment and confirm that self-report measures are a fruitful way to assess attachment style in middle childhood.