Eating problems, such as food selectivity or picky eating, are thought to be an epiphenomenon of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Yet eating problems are also common in the general pediatric ...population and overlap with ASD symptoms. However, the temporal association between ASD symptoms and eating problems is poorly understood. This study examines the bidirectional association between ASD symptoms and eating problems across child development, and investigates whether these associations differ by child sex. Participants (
= 4,930) were from the population-based Generation R Study. Parents reported their child's ASD symptoms and eating problems using the Child Behavior Checklist at 5 assessments from toddlerhood to adolescence (1.5 to 14 years, 50% girls). A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model was used to examine the lagged associations between ASD symptoms and eating problems at the within-person level, controlling for stable, trait-like differences at the between-person level. At the between-person level, there was a strong correlation between ASD symptoms and eating problems (β = .48, 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.57). Controlling for these between-person effects, there was limited evidence for consistent, predictive effects of ASD symptoms and eating problems at the within-person level. Associations did not differ by child sex. Findings suggest that ASD symptoms and eating problems may represent a cluster of traits that are highly stable from early childhood to adolescence, which have a minimal reciprocal effect at the individual-level. Future research could focus on these trait-like qualities to inform the development of supportive, family-focused interventions.
Many empirical studies suggest that higher maternal age increases the likelihood of having an autistic child. However, little is known about factors that may explain this relationship or if higher ...maternal age is related to the number of autistic-like traits in offspring. One possibility is that mothers who have a higher number of autistic-like traits, including greater challenges performing mentalizing skills, are delayed in finding a partner. The goal of our study is to assess the relationship between maternal age, mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits as independent predictors of the number of autistic-like traits in offspring.
In a population-based study in the Netherlands, information on maternal age was collected during pre- and perinatal enrolment. Maternal mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits were assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and the Autism Spectrum Quotient, respectively. Autistic-like traits in children were assessed with the Social Responsiveness Scale. A total of 5718 mother/child dyads had complete data (M
= 13.5 years; 50.2% girls).
The relationship between maternal age and autistic-like traits in offspring best fits a U-shaped curve. Furthermore, higher levels of autistic features in mothers are linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children. Lower mentalizing performance in mothers is linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children.
We were able to collect data on both autistic-like traits and the mentalizing skills test in a large population of mothers, but we did not collect these data in a large number of the fathers.
The relationships between older and younger mothers may have comparable underlying mechanisms, but it is also possible that the tails of the U-shaped curve are influenced by disparate mechanisms.
Are immigrant families at elevated risk for child maltreatment, and if so, what role do socioeconomic and family composition factors play? In a national prevalence study on child maltreatment in the ...Netherlands, child maltreatment cases were reported by 1,121 professionals from various occupational branches. Maltreating families were compared to a national representative family sample on immigrant status and parental educational level and family composition factors. The authors differentiated between traditional immigrant families who immigrated as labor migrants from Turkey, Morocco, Suriname, and the Antillean Islands, and nontraditional immigrant families who more recently immigrated from countries with severe economic hardships or political turmoil (refugees). Traditional immigrant and nontraditional immigrant families were both significantly overrepresented among maltreating families, but this overrepresentation disappeared for the traditional immigrants after correction for educational level of the parents. Nontraditional immigrant families, however, remained at increased risk for child maltreatment even after correction for educational level. It is proposed that interventions to prevent child maltreatment in immigrant families should focus on decreasing socioeconomic risks associated with low levels of education.
Self-efficacy, individuals' beliefs regarding their capacities to perform actions or control (potentially stressful or novel) events, is thought to be important for various life domains. Little ...however is known about its early precursors. This study examined the predictive effects of childhood personality and parental behaviors (i.e., overreactive discipline and warmth) for general self-efficacy in young adulthood. Furthermore, it was examined whether personality and parenting behaviors interacted and whether these interactions supported the diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility model. These aims were examined in an 11-year prospective study of 336 participants (M
at T1 = 10.83 years, range = 9-12 years, 53.9% girls). Personality and parental behaviors were reported at T1 by both mothers and fathers, whereas self-efficacy was self-reported at T2 11 years later. Hypotheses were tested in Mplus using multilevel structural equation modeling.
Results revealed that (only) emotional stability, and not parenting, predicted higher self-efficacy 11 years later. Benevolence functioned as a susceptibility marker in the association between overreactivity and self-efficacy.
The results show that childhood emotional stability is an important long-term predictor of self-efficacy, even into emerging adulthood. Moreover, the integration of individual differences in models of parenting effects may further improve our understanding of early adults' adjustment.
Introduction: One of the most detrimental factors influencing development is growing up in poverty. According to the World Health Organization, extreme poverty is the leading cause of mortality and ...morbidity. Unfortunately, some children encounter more unhealthy and potentially detrimental circumstances than others, increasing their risk for later health problems. Poor perinatal outcomes are more often observed in deprived neighborhoods, with both more perinatal mortality and morbidity (prematurity and small for gestational age) in these neighborhoods. Additionally, growing up in families with a lower socio-economic status exposes children to more unsafe environments, making them more at risk for insecure attachment to their parents, behavioral problems, addiction, mental illnesses, deficits in cognitive development and domestic violence. In sum, children growing up in deprivation are more unhealthy, as a consequence of an increased risk of unfavorable perinatal outcomes in combination with growing up in a multidimensional unforgiving environment. We assume that the poor health status of these children is reflected in higher healthcare expenses, since they require more medical care than their healthy peers. Here, we aim to investigate the effects of deprivation on healthcare costs of young children in the Netherlands. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, using data from several national registries. All children in the Netherlands, aged zero to three years old in 2014, were included. Healthcare costs included all expenses covered by obligatory basic health insurance. Deprivation was studied using monthly household income per 1000 euro’s and neighborhood deprivation scores. The final linear regression model was built for healthcare costs as function of both deprivation variables, perinatal morbidity, ethnicity, a 3-way interaction of household income, perinatal morbidity and ethnicity (including subsequent 2-way interactions) and the 2-way interaction of deprivation index and perinatal morbidity. Results: A total of 583,625 children were included in the analyses. Both household income (β = -4.72, 95% CI -7.22, -2.23) and deprivation score (β = 19.31, 95% CI 11.11, 27.51) were significantly related to healthcare costs. Discussion and conclusion: This research shows that growing up with a lower household income and a higher neighborhood deprivation is significantly associated with higher healthcare costs in early life. These findings support the assumption that children growing up in deprivation have a poorer health status, resulting in (health) inequities already in early childhood. This inequity is particularly detrimental since the gap between poor and rich is widening, not only regarding income disparity, but also in the case of health inequality. Limitations: This research excluded children who died during, or soon after pregnancy, since these children have limited healthcare costs. Nevertheless, this outcome may be of even greater societal relevance when targeting the inequality gap. Suggestions for future research: Future research should focus attention on interventions targeting vulnerable population, before, during and after pregnancy, in order to gain highly necessary knowledge on how to provide an optimal start in life for all children. Lessons learned: More attention should be focused on marginalized populations in order to break through the intergenerational cycle of poor health.
ABSTRACT
Building on prior cross‐sectional work, this longitudinal study evaluated the proposition that maternal and paternal overreactive and authoritative parenting mediates the effect of child ...personality characteristics on externalizing behavior. Data from the Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality, and Problem Behavior were used in a moderated mediation analysis (N=434). Teachers rated children's Big Five characteristics, fathers and mothers rated their parenting, and 3 years later, children rated their externalizing behavior. Mediational analysis revealed both direct and indirect effects. Higher levels of Extraversion and lower levels of Benevolence were related directly to higher levels of child externalizing behavior. Higher levels of paternal authoritative parenting and lower levels of maternal overreactivity were related to lower scores on externalizing behavior. In addition, the relation between Benevolence, Emotional Stability, and externalizing behavior was partially mediated by parental overreactivity. Conscientiousness had an indirect effect on externalizing behavior through paternal authoritative parenting. Relations were not moderated by child gender. This study is of theoretical interest because the results demonstrate that parenting is a mediating mechanism that accounts for associations between personality and externalizing behavior.
In the current meta-analysis, we investigated the link between child and adolescent sibling relationship quality (warmth, conflict and differential treatment) and internalizing and externalizing ...problems, and potential moderators of these associations. From 34 studies, we obtained 85 effect sizes, based on 12,257 children and adolescents. Results showed that more sibling warmth, less sibling conflict and less differential treatment were all significantly associated with less internalizing and externalizing problems. Effect sizes for sibling conflict were stronger than for sibling warmth and differential treatment, and associations for internalizing and externalizing problems were similar in strength. Effect sizes were moderated by sibling gender combination (stronger effects for higher percentage brother pairs), age difference between siblings (stronger effects for smaller age differences), and developmental period (stronger effect sizes for children than for adolescents). These results indicate that the sibling context is important when considering psychopathology. In addition to the overwhelming evidence of the impact of parent–child and marital relationships on child and adolescent development, the present meta-analysis is a reminder that the sibling relationship warrants more attention in research as well as in clinical settings.
► We did a meta-analyses on child sibling relationship quality and problem behavior. ► More sibling warmth was linked to less internalizing and externalizing problems. ► More sibling conflict and differential treatment were linked to more problems. ► Effect sizes were stronger for conflict than for warmth and differential treatment. ► Significant moderators were gender combination, age difference and age period.
Abstract Entrepreneurial personality research has mostly used cross‐sectional data, giving rise to the question of whether the results can be used to predict entrepreneurial outcomes. Using a unique ...longitudinal dataset, we investigate whether and from what age personality in childhood and adolescence predicts entrepreneurial intention in young adulthood. We cover a time span of 17 years by assessing personality at four different developmental phases (6–9, 9–12, 12–15, and 14–17 years of age) and one measurement of entrepreneurial intention in young adulthood (23–26 years of age). We employ a variable‐oriented approach by studying the Big Five traits—imagination, conscientiousness, extraversion, benevolence, and emotional stability—individually and a person‐oriented approach by studying the “entrepreneurial personality profile,” a configuration of these traits. Extraversion as measured at 9–12 years already predicts entrepreneurial intention in young adulthood. This relationship becomes stronger as the age at which extraversion is measured increases. Unlike earlier literature, we do not find clear prospective relationships regarding the other traits. Our study presents insights into the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and highlights the importance of extraversion in childhood and adolescence. The difference between our results and those of previous cross‐sectional research highlights the importance of using longitudinal data.
The current study proposes a flexible approach to studying informant discrepancies: Latent Difference Scores modeling (LDS). The LDS approach is demonstrated using an empirical example in which ...associations between mother-adolescent and father-adolescent discrepant parenting perceptions, and concurrent and later adolescent externalizing behaviors, were investigated. Early adolescents (N = 477, aged 12-15 years), mothers (N = 470), and fathers (N = 440) filled out questionnaires about mothers' and fathers' parenting. Results using the LDS approach are compared to results obtained by the 2 existing approaches for informant discrepancies: Observed Difference Scores modeling (ODS) and Polynomial Regression Analyses (PRA). Results from the LDS approach show that adolescents perceive their mothers' and fathers' parenting less favorably than mothers and fathers themselves, and that stronger mother-adolescent discrepancies are consistently related to stronger father-adolescent discrepancies. Parent-adolescent discrepancies were concurrently associated with more aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, but not longitudinally. Results generalized across the 2 discrepancy approaches, but only very few significant associations were found in the PRA. Advantages and limitations of all 3 approaches to studying informant discrepancies are discussed.
Public Significance Statement
This study shows that parents perceive their own behaviors more favorably (i.e., higher levels of positive parenting, lower levels of negative parenting) than adolescents view parents' behaviors. Mother-adolescent and father-adolescent discrepant perceptions of different types of parenting are consistently interrelated, and parent-child disagreement is associated with concurrent but not later levels of aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors.
Evidence exists that there is low agreement between multiple informants reporting on children's and adolescents' behavior problems. Few studies, however, focus on agreement between informants in ...specific age groups. This study examined correspondence and disagreement between mother, father, and teacher reports of problem behavior by analyzing CBCL and TRF data of 2 nonclinical samples of 5- to 6-year-old preschool children (N = 424). Findings indicated that interrater agreement was low to moderate. This was shown by the intercorrelations, the explained variance in regression analyses and the little overlap in the number of children rated as behaviorally disturbed by all 3 informants. Agreement between mother and father reports was highest, whereas agreement between mother and teacher reports was lowest. Disagreement between informants was highest for internalizing problems. Potential explanations for the lack of agreement are discussed. Guidelines are formulated to refine assessment and optimize clinical decision-making processes.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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