Search

This study examined longitudinal links between household income and parents' education and children's trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behaviors from age 8 to 10 reported by mothers, fathers, and children. Longitudinal data from 1,190 families in 11 cultural groups in eight countries (Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and United States) were included. Multigroup structural equation models revealed that household income, but not maternal or paternal education, was related to trajectories of mother-, father-, and child-reported internalizing and externalizing problems in each of the 11 cultural groups. Our findings highlight that in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, socioeconomic risk is related to children's internalizing and externalizing problems, extending the international focus beyond children's physical health to their emotional and behavioral development.

There is strong evidence of a positive association between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes, but previous studies have suggested that the manner in which parents implement corporal punishment moderates the effects of its use. This study investigated whether severity and justness in the use of corporal punishment moderate the associations between frequency of corporal punishment and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. This question was examined using a multicultural sample from eight countries and two waves of data collected one year apart. Interviews were conducted with 998 children aged 7-10 years, and their mothers and fathers, from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. Mothers and fathers responded to questions on the frequency, severity, and justness of their use of corporal punishment; they also reported on the externalizing and internalizing behavior of their child. Children reported on their aggression. Multigroup path models revealed that across cultural groups, and as reported by mothers and fathers, there is a positive relation between the frequency of corporal punishment and externalizing child behaviors. Mother-reported severity and father-reported justness were associated with child-reported aggression. Neither severity nor justness moderated the relation between frequency of corporal punishment and child problem behavior. The null result suggests that more use of corporal punishment is harmful to children regardless of how it is implemented, but requires further substantiation as the study is unable to definitively conclude that there is no true interaction effect.

By integrating the life history theory of attachment with resource control theory, the current study examines the hypothesis that insecure attachment styles reorganized in middle childhood are alternative adaptive strategies used to prepare for upcoming competition with the peer group. A sample of 654 children in the second through seventh grades in Shanghai, China, participated in this study. The children reported attachment relationships with their mother and the use of resource control strategies in the peer group. Boys had higher avoidant attachment scores than girls, whereas girls had higher ambivalent attachment scores than boys. Moreover, avoidant attachment was positively associated with the use of coercive strategies to control resources. Ambivalent attachment was associated with the use of both coercive and prosocial strategies to control resources. A number of other gender and developmental differences were also observed. The implications for the adaptiveness of insecure attachment in middle childhood are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Using data from 195 dyads of mothers and children (age range = 8-12 years; M = 10.63) in four countries (China, India, the Philippines, and Thailand), this study examined children's perceptions of maternal hostility as a mediator of the links between physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline and children's adjustment. Both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had direct effects on mothers' reports of children's anxiety and aggression; three of these four links were mediated by children's perceptions of maternal hostility. In contrast, there were no significant direct effects of physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline on children's reports of their own anxiety and aggression. Instead, both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had indirect effects on the outcomes through children's perceptions of maternal hostility. We identified a significant interaction between perceived normativeness and use of harsh verbal discipline on children's perception of maternal hostility, but children's perception of the normativeness of physical discipline did not moderate the relation between physical discipline and perceived maternal hostility. The effects of harsh verbal discipline were more adverse when children perceived that form of discipline as being nonnormative than when children perceived that form of discipline as being normative. Results are largely consistent with a theoretical model positing that the meaning children attach to parents' discipline strategies is important in understanding associations between discipline and children's adjustment, and that cultural context is associated with children's interpretations of their parents' behavior. (Contains 1 note, 4 tables, and 1 figure.)

This study presents a model of maladaptive social interactions that includes both behavioural and communication correlates of peer acceptance and self-perceived social competence. Tested in a sample of 377 Hong Kong secondary school students, verbal and nonverbal aggression contributed concurrently and longitudinally to peer acceptance. Communication avoidance was predictive only of self-perceived social competence but not of peer acceptance, whereas, as observed in Western children, social withdrawal negatively predicted peer acceptance and self-perceived social competency. These findings are presented in a discussion of the verbal and nonverbal involvement in defining aggression and social withdrawal in adolescent social interactions. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

This exploratory study investigated Mainland Chinese children's social networks and peer group affiliations with a particular emphasis on their aggressive behaviour. The participants were 294 elementary school students in Tianjin, P. R. China (mean age 11.5 years; 161 boys). Social network analysis identified relatively large and gender-specific peer groups. Although different measures were used, the pattern of homophily characteristic of Western aggressive children was partially supported. This finding may be due to the large size of the peer groups. The results showed that some aggressive children formed friendships with nonaggressive children. Moreover, for the aggressive children who were group members, the number of within-group friendships moderated the relation between aggression and overall peer preference. In addition, despite the moderating effect of within-group friendship, the relation between aggression and peer preference remained significantly negative even at the highest levels of friendship. Aggressive children who were isolated from all peer groups had higher hyperactivity ratings and were less liked by peers than were aggressive children who were group members. These findings illustrate how culture may be an influence on patterns of peer group affiliation. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

The present study used a family systems approach to examine harsh parenting, maternal depressed affect, and marital quality in relation to children's externalising behaviour problems in a sample of 158 Hong Kong primary school children. At two time points, peers and teachers provided ratings of children's externalising behaviours, and mothers completed questionnaires assessing depressed affect, marital quality, and harsh parenting. Path analyses showed that maternal depressed affect had both direct effects on child externalising and indirect effects through harsh parenting. The effect of marital quality on child externalising was not direct but was mediated through harsh parenting. These findings reflect family processes that have similarities with those found in Western samples as well as differences in terms of how Hong Kong Chinese culture may facilitate and inhibit these processes. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This study examined longitudinal links between household income and parents' education and children's trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behaviors from age 8 to 10 reported by mothers, fathers, and children. Longitudinal data from 1,190 families in 11 cultural groups in eight countries (Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and United States) were included. Multigroup structural equation models revealed that household income, but not maternal or paternal education, was related to trajectories of mother-, father-, and child-reported internalizing and externalizing problems in each of the 11 cultural groups. Our findings highlight that in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, socioeconomic risk is related to children's internalizing and externalizing problems, extending the international focus beyond children's physical health to their emotional and behavioral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from 195 dyads of mothers and children (age range = 8-12 years; M = 10.63) in four countries (China, India, the Philippines, and Thailand), this study examined children's perceptions of maternal hostility as a mediator of the links between physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline and children's adjustment. Both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had direct effects on mothers' reports of children's anxiety and aggression; three of these four links were mediated by children's perceptions of maternal hostility. In contrast, there were no significant direct effects of physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline on children's reports of their own anxiety and aggression. Instead, both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had indirect effects on the outcomes through children's perceptions of maternal hostility. We identified a significant interaction between perceived normativeness and use of harsh verbal discipline on children's perception of maternal hostility, but children's perception of the normativeness of physical discipline did not moderate the relation between physical discipline and perceived maternal hostility. The effects of harsh verbal discipline were more adverse when children perceived that form of discipline as being nonnormative than when children perceived that form of discipline as being normative. Results are largely consistent with a theoretical model positing that the meaning children attach to parents' discipline strategies is important in understanding associations between discipline and children's adjustment, and that cultural context is associated with children's interpretations of their parents' behavior.