Article

Family Routines and Rituals: A Context for Development in the Lives of Young Children

October 2007
Infants & Young Children 20(4):284-299

DOI:10.1097/01.IYC.0000290352.32170.5a

Authors:

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Naturally occurring family routines and meaningful rituals provide both a predictable structure that guides behavior and an emotional climate that supports early development. In this article, we highlight recent evidence that suggests that variations in the practice of family routines and the meaning connected to family rituals are associated with variations in socioemotional, language, academic, and social skill development. We offer definitions of routines and rituals and contrast their different elements. We briefly review how variations in routines have been found to be associated with variations in language development, academic achievement, and social skill development. We examine how variations in the emotional investment in family rituals are associated with variations in family relationship satisfaction. We place our review in the framework of the transactional model whereby characteristics of the child and parent affect each other in the creation and sustainability of routines over time. Potential mechanisms of effect (parental efficacy, behavior monitoring, family relationship coherence) are discussed. We conclude with a brief description of methods of assessment and intervention suitable for practitioners working with families of young children.

Changes in Family Dynamics and Adolescent Adjustment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2024

In this longitudinal study, we examined how adolescents’ family relationships and daily family dynamics changed during the pandemic and how these changes were associated with changes in their psychological well-being and sleep over time. Forty-three adolescents (Mage = 17.03 years) completed a survey and a 2-week daily checklist before and during the pandemic (M = 10.68 months between the two time points). On the survey, adolescents reported on their feelings of family emotional security, parental support, and perceived stress. Additionally, each day for 2 weeks, adolescents reported on family stressors that occurred, their engagement in family assistance tasks, and their feelings of distress. Participants also reported on their sleep duration and sleep quality each morning on the daily checklists. Findings indicated that adolescents perceived lower levels of family emotional security and parental support during the pandemic. The frequency of daily family stressors and adolescents’ engagement in family assistance did not change during the pandemic. Decreases in parental support were associated with higher levels of perceived stress, and increases in family assistance tasks were associated with greater feelings of daily distress, thereby suggesting that declines in parental support and increased family responsibilities were stressful for adolescents. However, spending more time assisting the family was associated with less sleep variability, which may suggest that spending more time assisting the family may have provided adolescents with a meaningful routine that was conducive for their sleep. Implications on the importance of family support and family routines for adolescent adjustment are discussed in this study.

Bedtime routines in Greek families: characteristics, barriers, and facilitators for establishing and maintaining optimal routines

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2024

Background Bedtime routines are amongst the most common, recurrent family activities with close associations for child health, development and wellbeing especially sleep. Despite the importance of bedtime routines, no previous study has examined them within the context of a Greek family. Method A mixed methods, stepped approach was used in this study. A cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and characteristics of bedtime routines (PRE) in families with young children and explored associations with parental mood (POMS) and child's sleep (CSHQ). A qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) examined barriers and facilitators for achieving optimal routines. Results Total of 54 parents with a mean age of 35.9 (SD = 5.95) completed the cross-sectional study while 20 parents participated in the interviews. There were strong positive correlations between total scores on the POMS and total scores on the CSHQ r = 0.482, p < 0.001 and strong negative correlation between total scores on the POMS and total scores on the PRE, r = −0.308, p = 0.023. In terms of barriers and facilitators, social desirability, social comparison, environmental factors and resistance from children were amongst the most common barriers to establishing a good bedtime routine. Conclusion Bedtime routines are highly prevalent in Greek families with the quality of those routines varying between households. Addressing common barriers in achieving better bedtime routines could help families benefit in the short and long-term.

Associations between Family Routines, Family Relationships, and Children’s Behavior

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2023
J Child Fam Stud

Consistent daily routines are associated with children’s well-being. Family routines provide both a predictable structure to guide behavior and an emotional environment that supports development. Enforcing family routines, improving family relationships, and creating a healthy home environment are necessary to maintain children’s psychosocial health. This study examined the associations between family routines, family relationships, and elementary school children’s behavior. Parents of 1515 third-grade students (8–9 years old) completed a self-administered questionnaire in Japan in 2017. We conducted a path analysis to examine the associations between the predictor variable of family routines, the mediating variable of family relationships, and the criterion variable of children’s behavior. A total of 717 valid responses were included in the analysis. The results showed that family routines were significantly related to children’s behavior (internalizing problem behaviors, externalizing problem behaviors, and prosocial behaviors) through family relationships (cohesiveness, expressiveness, and conflict). Family routines were positively associated with cohesiveness and expressiveness, and negatively associated with conflict. Cohesiveness was negatively associated with externalizing problem behaviors. While expressiveness was negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, it was positively associated with prosocial behaviors. Conversely, conflict was positively associated with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, and negatively associated with prosocial behaviors. Our findings indicate that family routines may protect children’s mental health from the stressors of daily life and foster interpersonal and social competence. Moreover, family routines may stabilize family relationships, reduce children’s problem behaviors, and improve social competence.

Children’s Daily Living Routine Mediates the Relations Between Parent-Child Relationships and Child Adjustment Problems During School Suspension in Hong Kong

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2023
CHILD PSYCHIAT HUM D

Young children’s adjustment problems were found to be prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such adjustment problems may be dependent on children’s relationships with their parents and children’s daily living routine in the family during the pandemic-related school suspension period. This study examines how children’s routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships and child adjustment problems during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, when schools were suspended. The study collected data from 937 parents (87.8% mothers) of children aged 5–12 (M = 7.35 years, SD = 2.09; 50.5% girls). Parents reported on parent-child relationships, children’s daily living routine, and child adjustment problems in an online survey. Our findings from structural equation modeling indicate that parent-child closeness was negatively related to child adjustment problems, whereas conflict was positively related to child adjustment problems. Children’s routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child externalizing problems. However, children’s routine did not mediate the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child internalizing problems. The findings show that parents should be helped to establish routine, especially in difficult times when young children experience turbulence in their daily life, so as to reduce their adjustment problems, in particular of an externalizing nature.

Association of parent-child interactions with parental psychological distress and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2023

Introduction The effects of psychological distress/resilience on parent-child engagement (e.g., family dinners, reading) during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well studied. Among very young children from underrepresented backgrounds enrolled in the ongoing longitudinal Bronx Mother Baby Health Study of healthy term infants, we (1) examined associations between exposures to COVID-19-related events, demographic factors and parental psychological distress and resilience; and (2) correlated these factors with parent-child engagement activities. Methods Between June 2020-August 2021, parents of 105 Bronx Mother Baby Health Study participants aged birth-25 months completed questionnaires related to exposures to COVID-19-related events, frequency of positive parent-child engagement activities, food and housing insecurity, and parental psychological distress and resilience. Families were also asked open ended questions about the pandemic's impact. Results 29.8% and 47.6% of parents reported food and housing insecurity, respectively. Greater exposures to COVID-19-related events were associated with increased parental psychological distress. Positive parent-child interactions were associated with demographic factors and higher levels of maternal education, but not with exposures to COVID-19-related events. Discussion This study adds to a growing body of literature on the negative impacts of COVID-19 exposures and psychosocial stressors on families during the pandemic, supporting the need for enhanced mental health resources and social supports for families.

Rituály vo vzdelávaní: od každodenných zvykov po ceremoniálne oslavy

Article

Dec 2024

Nina čviriková

Family rituals and the quality of adolescents’ friendships: the serial mediating role of perceived parental support and the meaning in life

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2024
CURR PSYCHOL

Adolescence is a critical period for individual’s social and emotional development, and family rituals can significantly enhance the friendship quality among adolescents. Despite this, the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study investigated the relationship between family rituals, perceived parental support, meaning in life, and friendship quality from the perspective of the transformational model of adolescent development. A sample of 857 high school students completed measures on family rituals, perceived parental support, meaning in life, and friendship quality. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the model and analyze the data. The findings indicate that family rituals are positively correlated with perceived parental support and friendship quality. Furthermore, the influence of family rituals on friendship quality is mediated by perceived parental support and meaning in life. These results offer valuable insights into how family rituals impact adolescents’ social relationships. Limitation, significance, and future research direction were also discussed.

SHIFTING ROUTINES AMONG FAMILIES WITH SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES DUE TO MANDATORY SCHOOL CLOSURES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN QUÉBEC, CANADA

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2024

Tina Giordano

This study explored the changes in routine and the social and emotional impacts experienced by families of children with parent-reported learning differences or disabilities ("disabilities") due to mandatory school closures during COVID-19 in Québec, Canada. A questionnaire was used to compare the family routines of 20 participants before and after the school closures. The study's findings highlight an overall concern regarding outcomes of long-term school closures. Family routines after the school closures included increased technology usage, decreased socialization, a cease or decline of extracurriculars and therapies, and an increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety among this cohort. The authors suggest enhanced support services, including psychosocial services and financial aid, to mitigate potential negative outcomes.

Child routines moderate a brief behavioral intervention to enhance sleep in school-aged children

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2024

Objective To examine whether child routines (the consistency or variation in children’s daily routines, household responsibilities, discipline routines, and homework routines) moderated the effectiveness of a brief behavioral intervention to enhance sleep in school-aged children. Methods Secondary analysis was conducted with a subset of 66 families with short sleeping (≤9.5 hr/day) children, 8–11 years old (female = 68%; mean age = 9.76, SD = 1.02) who completed the Child Routines Inventory at baseline and were then randomized to receive a behavioral sleep intervention (n = 32) or to control (n = 34). Sleep period was objectively measured using wrist actigraphy at baseline and 2 months post-randomization. Moderation analysis was performed using ordinary least squares regression using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results Controlling for sleep period at baseline, treatment condition was significantly related to the sleep period at 2 months post-randomization, with the intervention group achieving a longer sleep period compared to the usual sleep period group (control) (b = 46.30, p < .01). Intervention response was moderated by child routines (b = 1.43, p < .05). Specifically, the intervention produced the greatest change in sleep period for children who engaged in greater routine behaviors at baseline than those who engaged in fewer routine behaviors. Conclusions Families that engage in routine behaviors may be better equipped to adopt the behavioral modifications required to get a good night’s sleep. The findings highlight the importance of working with families to establish routine behaviors to improve responses to behavioral sleep interventions.

Social Communication and Parent Verbal Responsiveness Across Interaction Contexts in Toddlers on the Autism Spectrum

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2024
AM J SPEECH-LANG PAT

Purpose Interactions with caregivers during the ordinary activities that occur as families go about their everyday lives are critical to supporting children's acquisition of social communication and language skills. The purpose of this study was to examine child communication and parent verbal responsiveness across interaction contexts in 211 children ( M age = 20 months) on the autism spectrum ( n = 121), with developmental delay ( n = 46), or with typical development ( n = 44). Method Families participated in up to eight activities during an hour-long, video-recorded home observation. We tested differences in the strength of associations between diagnostic group and interaction context using linear mixed-effects models, with child rate per minute of communication and proportions of parent follow-in comments and directives as outcome variables. Child communicative functions expressed across contexts were also examined. Results Children across groups communicated at significantly higher rates per minute during book sharing and play with people compared to other interaction contexts. Most child communication was for the function of joint attention during book sharing, for social interaction during play with people, and for behavior regulation during necessary activities such as family chores and meals. On average, parents of children responded using proportionally more follow-in comments during book sharing and play compared to necessary activities, during which parents used more follow-in directives. Conclusion Results provide a glimpse into the dyadic communication that may occur within everyday activities at home, which supports the need for future intervention research and may aid clinicians seeking to identify activities that serve as important contexts for intervention.

Annual Research Review: ‘There, the dance is – at the still point of the turning world’ – dynamic systems perspectives on coregulation and dysregulation during early development

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2024
J CHILD PSYCHOL PSYC

During development we transition from coregulation (where regulatory processes are shared between child and caregiver) to self‐regulation. Most early coregulatory interactions aim to manage fluctuations in the infant's arousal and alertness; but over time, coregulatory processes become progressively elaborated to encompass other functions such as sociocommunicative development, attention and executive control. The fundamental aim of coregulation is to help maintain an optimal ‘critical state’ between hypo‐ and hyperactivity. Here, we present a dynamic framework for understanding child–caregiver coregulatory interactions in the context of psychopathology. Early coregulatory processes involve both passive entrainment, through which a child's state entrains to the caregiver's, and active contingent responsiveness, through which the caregiver changes their behaviour in response to behaviours from the child. Similar principles, of interactive but asymmetric contingency, drive joint attention and the maintenance of epistemic states as well as arousal/alertness, emotion regulation and sociocommunicative development. We describe three ways in which active child–caregiver regulation can develop atypically, in conditions such as Autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression. The most well‐known of these is insufficient contingent responsiveness, leading to reduced synchrony, which has been shown across a range of modalities in different disorders, and which is the target of most current interventions. We also present evidence that excessive contingent responsiveness and excessive synchrony can develop in some circumstances. And we show that positive feedback interactions can develop, which are contingent but mutually amplificatory child–caregiver interactions that drive the child further from their critical state. We discuss implications of these findings for future intervention research, and directions for future work.

Family events and child behavior in late childhood: a cross-sectional study

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2024
BMC Pediatr

Background Children’s social behavior develops through diverse experiences. However, the relationship between children’s experiences of celebratory events and their behavioral development has not been previously quantified. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively explore this relationship. Methods In 2020, a self-reported questionnaire was completed by 653 sixth-grade students (aged 11–12 years) and/or their caregivers in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. The main items surveyed were children’s experiences with events celebrated by their family and their behavioral development. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess children’s behavior. This questionnaire identifies behavioral and emotional problems and prosocial behavior. Multiple regression analysis was conducted with the number of family events experienced by children as the explanatory variable and their emotional and prosocial behavior as the objective variables. Results Children from families who participated in fewer family events tended to have higher problematic behavior risk scores and lower prosociality scores compared with their counterparts. Compared with children who participated in more than 20 family events, those who participated in fewer than 10 family events had more than three times the risk for exhibiting problem behaviors (odds: 3.558, 95% CI: 1.252–10.111, p = .017) and prosocial problems (odds: 3.184, 95% CI: 1.726–5.876, p < .001). Conversely, children from families who participated in more family events tended to have lower problematic behavior risk scores and higher prosociality scores. Conclusions A higher number of family events may reduce the risk of behavioral problems in children and increase their prosociality. Enjoying family events may be beneficial for social adjustment.

EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY ROUTINES ON CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Jun 2024

Children represent the joy of our world, and the environment in which they are nurtured from their earliest days plays a pivotal role in shaping their multifaceted development. Within this context, family routines emerge as fundamental elements, offering children a crucial sense of predictability and stability in their everyday lives. Through consistent adherence to routines, children not only gain a sense of security but also cultivate essential qualities such as selfconfidence, curiosity, social adeptness, self-regulation, and effective communication skills. Understanding the profound impact of these routines on children's development is paramount for optimizing outcomes across cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral domains. By establishing and maintaining consistent routines, parents influence their children's growth trajectory, nurturing their well-being and guiding them toward a future marked by health and success. This study aims to examine the effect of family routines on fostering emotional resilience, nurturing social bonds, stimulating cognitive curiosity, and shaping the evolving identity of the child. Beyond the seemingly mundane rituals of daily life, family routines serve as potent stimuli for holistic growth, creating enduring ripples that extend well into childhood and beyond. Employing a survey-based approach, this study delves into the intricate dynamics of family routines, probing into various aspects such as mealtime habits, bedtime rituals, and homework schedules, alongside evaluating children's emotional, social, and cognitive development. Through a meticulous blend of quantitative analyses and qualitative insights, gleaned from parents from diverse backgrounds, this research sheds light on the nuanced interplay between family routines and children's development. The findings underscore the pivotal role of consistent family routines in fostering children's well-being, illuminating potential pathways for interventions to nurture a supportive and conducive family environment conducive to healthy development.

The Association Between Family Rituals, Family Functioning, and Student Well-being Among Asian Undergraduates

Preprint

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Family rituals and routines are associated with family dynamics and children’s well-being. However, no study examines the specific family ritual and routine settings related to family functioning and student well-being. This study explores the association of family rituals and routine settings- such as dinnertime, weekends, and annual celebrations—on family functioning and student well-being. Likewise, it investigates whether family functioning mediates the association between family rituals and student well-being. This non-experimental quantitative research involved 622 undergraduate students from Thailand, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines with 71 percent female, and 29 percent male participants. The participants completed an online survey that included the Family Ritual Questionnaire, McMaster Family Functioning Scale, and the Student Well-being Scale (Five-Factor). Path analysis was conducted using the PROCESS module within the SMART-PLS environment to examine the proposed model. Results indicate that weekends and annual celebrations are positively associated with overall student wellbeing, whereas dinnertime is not. However, dinnertime, weekends, and annual celebrations are positively associated with family functioning. Family functioning served as a mediating factor for the positive associations of all three settings on student well-being, controlling for the effects of gender and country differences. Additionally, the study found variations in well-being across countries and variations in family functioning by gender and by country. These results emphasize the importance of fostering and maintaining family rituals and routines to enhance overall family dynamics and student well-being within Asian contexts.

TIAP: an observational procedure for assessing family relationships: a clinical case from the parenting evaluation context

Article

Full-text available

May 2024

TIAP is an observational procedure to assess family functioning detecting simultaneously the role of each participant and the interdependence of relational behaviors. In particular, the procedure requires family members to play according to different interactive configurations (parent1-children; parent2-children, all together, children and parents as separate units) and therefore different microtransitions from one configuration to another. As such, the procedure allows to study how family members coordinate to maintain stability, promote change, and encourage members to explore different interactive configurations within the family system. TIAP has been validated through several studies conducted with different non-clinical groups of families that have highlighted the salient aspects of family functioning, and significant correlations with variables external to the family system, such as children’s social–emotional competence in the educational context. This paper focuses on the use of TIAP in the contexts of assessing parental competence. Specifically, the article aims to describe, through the reference to a clinical case, the results emerged from a study conducted with 33 families involved in a parenting assessment process. The study is part of a broader collaborative project between the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Clinic of the Italian National Health Service in Parma, the University of Parma, and the Bologna Family Therapy Center. TIAP was administered to all the families involved as a complement to other tools routinely used for all cases handled by the professionals of the clinic. The coding system includes different indices. Some analyze the interactive family modes: family coordination (mutual attention and responsiveness), the responses to potentials for change (disregard, absorption, amplification), and intra-familiar exploration. Other indices concern the quality of the interactions: the relational triadic dynamic of microtransition (detaching-entrusting-welcoming-joining) and the consistency/inconsistency of the communication channels. The results highlighted how TIAP makes it possible to identify the specific interactive modalities of the different members and their interdependence and reciprocity, favoring the identification of both family weaknesses and family resources, including the children’s contribution. Furthermore, the general data trend showed that TIAP indices detect some important prognostic elements capable of guiding the court’s decisions.

To what extent do children's expressions of time actually refer to time? An investigation into the temporal and discursive usages of temporal adverbs in family interaction

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2024
J CHILD LANG

Many studies have explored children’s acquisition of temporal adverbs. However, the extent to which children’s early temporal language has discursive instead of solely temporal meanings has been largely ignored. We report two corpus-based studies that investigated temporal adverbs in Finnish child-parent interaction between the children’s ages of 1;7 and 4;11. Study 1 shows that the two corpus children used temporal adverbs to construe both temporal and discursive meanings from their early adverb production and that the children’s usage syntactically broadly reflected the input received. Study 2 shows that the discursive uses of adverbs appeared to be learned from contextually anchored caregiver constructions that convey discourse functions like urging and reassuring, and that the usage is related to the children’s and caregivers’ interactional roles. Our study adds to the literature on the acquisition of temporal adverbs by demonstrating that these items are learned also with additional discursive meanings in family interaction.

Collaborating with Families for Innovative School Mental Health

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2024

In this study, a comprehensive narrative literature review is presented, examining the cross-section between family engagement and student mental health. Guided by two research questions and grounded in resiliency theory, the overlapping spheres of influence framework, and the literature on protective factors and positive childhood experiences, this study unveiled five primary themes: emphasizing the importance of educators promoting supportive relationships at home, engaging families in building teacher–student connections, collaborating to establish routines and rituals, nurturing a sense of belonging at home and at school, and fostering collaborative problem solving and self-regulation. These themes are illuminated through practical vignettes. This study guides school-based mental health practitioners and educators and provides a roadmap for future research in family–school partnership for enhancing student well-being.

Táplálkozás vagy étkezés? Az evés rítusai a menzán, különös tekintettel az asztali áldásokra

Chapter

Jan 2023

Katalin Juhász

‘Nutrition’ and ’eating’ are seemingly related concepts. However, there is an important diﬀerence between them. ‘Nutrition’ is more biological and expresses the body’s need for nourishment to survive. ‘Eating’, on the other hand, is an occasion for nourishment: a performance. The dichotomy that hunger and nutrition are biological needs, and that the way to satisfy this need is culturally determined, arises every time nutrition and eating are discussed. Ingesting food in the here and now is a communicative activity, a custom, a function and speciﬁc code of a culture. When the legal background and dietetic recommendations for school meals are being created, little attention is paid to the conditions and ways children consume food with a scientiﬁcally determined nutritional composition. Therefore, we as ethnographers investigated with our own methods, among other things, the physical environment, logistics, and customs of catering and eating in school canteens. In this entire process, the allotted time as well as the communication about food and attitude towards food of the stakeholders – food service managers, cooks, suppliers, service staﬀ, teachers accompanying children, children and their parents – are also important factors. Focusing on the communal mealtime rituals observed at the ﬁeldwork sites, especially saying grace, the study explores how and in what versions all of these are implemented in the school canteen, and what eﬀect they have on the attitude of the participants towards (canteen) food.

Mother-infant social gaze dynamics relate to infant brain activity and word segmentation

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2023

The ‘social brain’, consisting of areas sensitive to social information, supposedly gates the mechanisms involved in human language learning. Early preverbal interactions are guided by ostensive signals, such as gaze patterns, which are coordinated across body, brain, and environment. However, little is known about how the infant brain processes social gaze in naturalistic interactions and how this relates to infant language development. During free-play of 9-month-olds with their mothers, we recorded hemodynamic cortical activity of ´social brain` areas (prefrontal cortex, temporo-parietal junctions) via fNIRS, and micro-coded mother’s and infant’s social gaze. Infants’ speech processing was assessed with a word segmentation task. Using joint recurrence quantification analysis, we examined the connection between infants’ ´social brain` activity and the temporal dynamics of social gaze at intrapersonal (i.e., infant’s coordination, maternal coordination) and interpersonal (i.e., dyadic coupling) levels. Regression modeling revealed that intrapersonal dynamics in maternal social gaze (but not infant’s coordination or dyadic coupling) coordinated significantly with infant’s cortical activity. Moreover, recurrence quantification analysis revealed that intrapersonal maternal social gaze dynamics (in terms of entropy) were the best predictor of infants’ word segmentation. The findings support the importance of social interaction in language development, particularly highlighting maternal social gaze dynamics.

Učešće dece predškolskog uzrasta u rutinama vezanim za nabavku i provođenje slobodnog vremena – razlike u odnosu na pol i uzrast deteta

Conference Paper

Jan 2023

The aim of the present paper is to determine the specific patterns of connection between childrenʼs participation in family routines – going shopping, spending free time and the family's social life, depending on the sex and age of preschool children. The sample consists of 334 parents of children attending kindergarten (94.3% mothers, 5.4% fathers, while in 0.3% of cases both parents provided answers). The data used in the research were collected using an online form – Google Forms, where a questionnaire was designed for the purposes of researching childrenʼs participation in family routines. The results indicate the existence of sex differences in childrenʼs participation in the shopping routines (x² = 22.32; p ≤ .001) and lack of significant statistical differences regarding free time and the social life of the family. In both sexes, a positive and statistically significant correlation is observed between the childʼs age and his/her participation in the family's social life (ρ = .43; p ≤ .005), as well as between the child's age and his/her participation in the shopping activities (ρ = .67; p ≤ .001), where in both cases the older age of the child is associated with higher degrees of participation. The perceived differences and the direction of connection among the examined variables point to significant practical implications in the field of preventive work. The research results, limitations, and implications for further research are discussed in the paper.

A qualitative inquiry of parents of extremely picky eaters: Experiences, strategies and future directions

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2023
APPETITE

Background/aim: Picky eating is a common childhood phenomenon in younger children, impacting family relationships and mealtimes. Limited qualitative studies have explored parents' experiences of parenting an extremely picky eater. This study aimed to address this gap. Methods: This exploratory qualitative research design included participants who were Australian-based parents (n = 10) of children aged 2-6 years with a minimum picky eating score of 3.33, indicating extreme picky eating, on the Food Fussiness subscale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). Parents were interviewed online via Zoom using semi-structured interviews focused on their experiences of having a child who is a picky eater. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Five themes were identified: 1: The picky eating journey for parents. 2: Picky eating impacts families and mealtimes. 3: Parents have attempted multiple strategies to manage picky eating. 4: Emotions associated with parenting an extremely picky eater. 5: Parents of extremely picky eaters have a positive outlook for the future. Conclusion: This qualitative study demonstrates that parents' experiences of parenting an extremely picky eater are varied. Parents desire health professionals who listen to their concerns and provide evidence-based knowledge around parent feeding practices to positively impact picky eating.

Association of Parents’ Work-Related Stress and Children’s Socioemotional Competency: Indirect Effects of Family Mealtimes

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2023

Family mealtimes play an important role in promoting the physical and psychological well-being of children. However, parents’ work-related stress may impact their ability to participate in frequent family mealtimes. In dual-earner families, gendered norms may also influence parents’ shared responsibility to participate in mealtimes with their children. Prior studies have primarily focused on the mother’s role in feeding children, while the father’s participation has been relatively unexplored. We used a sample of dual-earner families consisting of heterosexual married couples with children in the United States who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort to investigate how stressors at work may affect the mother’s and father’s participation in family mealtimes and, in turn, related to the child’s socioemotional development. We tested the associations between the mother’s and father’s work-related stress on the child’s socioemotional competency from age two through preschool (age 4–5). We examined the direct and indirect effects of parents’ work-related stress on child socioemotional competency through their involvement in mealtimes. The results indicate a negative direct association between the mother’s job/financial dissatisfaction and the child’s socioemotional competency. The father’s job dissatisfaction had an adverse impact on children in terms of socioemotional competency, partially explained by the father participating less often in family mealtimes. Fathers’ job/financial dissatisfaction had a negative influence on children’s socioemotional competency, even with an increase in the mothers’ participation in family mealtimes in the absence of the fathers. The findings emphasize the importance of fathers’ involvement in mealtimes above and beyond mothers’ involvement.

Family Life & Autistic Children With Sensory Processing Differences: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis of Occupational Participation

Article

Jul 2023

Date Presented 04/21/2023 This study aimed to conduct a qualitative evidence synthesis to explore the gap identified in understanding successful occupational experiences of family participation and routines when supporting autistic children with sensory processing needs. Primary Author and Speaker: Gina Daly Contributing Authors: Jeanne Jackson, Helen Lynch

Diverse families

Chapter

Jul 2023

Michael Boampong

Mother-Infant Social Gaze Dynamics relate to Infant Brain Activity and Word Segmentation

Preprint

Jun 2023

The ‘social brain’, consisting of areas sensitive to social information, has been argued to “gate” the mechanisms involved in human language learning. Early preverbal interactions are guided by ostensive signals, such as gaze patterns, which are coordinated across body, brain, and environment. However, little is known about how the infant brain processes social gaze in naturalistic interactions and how this relates to infant language development. During free play of 9-month-olds with their mothers, we recorded hemodynamic cortical activity via functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and micro-coded the social gaze behavior. Infants’ speech processing was assessed with a word segmentation task. Using joint recurrence quantification analysis, we examined the dynamics in the connection between infants’ hemodynamic cortical activity and social gaze dynamics at intrapersonal (i.e., infant’s coordination, maternal coordination) and interpersonal (i.e., dyadic coupling) levels. Regression modeling revealed that dynamics in maternal social gaze coordinated more often with infant’s cortical activity compared to infant’s or dyadic gaze dynamics. Moreover, recurrence quantification analysis revealed that dynamics in maternal social gaze were the best predictor of infants’ word segmentation in terms of Entropy. The findings support the importance of social interaction in language development, particularly highlighting maternal social gaze dynamics.

Mother‐Infant Covariation of Positive and Negative Emotions Across the Day

Article

Dec 2024
INFANT CHILD DEV

In a sample of 110 Mexican‐origin infants ( M = 7.24 months; SD = 2.06; range, 3.78–13.04 months; 58% male) we examined the bidirectional covariation of mother and infant positive and negative emotions across the day. Further, we examined maternal emotion regulation as a potential moderator of the linkage between mother‐infant emotions. Using an Ecological Momentary Assessment design, mothers reported their positive and negative emotions three times a day, for 6 days. Analyses employed a multi‐level modelling approach to examine moment‐to‐moment covariation. Results indicated both mother and infant negative emotions, and mother and infant positive emotions significantly covary. Interestingly, maternal emotion regulation did not moderate either the covariation of negative or positive mother‐infant emotion. These analyses represent one of the first examinations of daily covariation in mother‐infant dyadic emotion.

Parents Plus: A Parent-Implemented Intervention for Preschool Children With Developmental Language Disorders

Article

Nov 2024
LANG SPEECH HEAR SER

Purpose Parent engagement is a critical component of optimizing services for young children with disabilities, including those with language disorders. Without training, however, many parents may lack the knowledge and skills to effectively facilitate their children's language development during the essential early childhood years. The Parents Plus intervention was designed to support parents, through online training and coaching, in using focused stimulation, an evidence-based strategy for fostering early language development. Method Thirty-one parents and their children with developmental language disorder participated in a small-scale randomized controlled trial to provide a preliminary test of Parents Plus. Sixteen parent–child dyads completed the Parents Plus intervention, while 15 parent–child dyads were in the control condition. Results Findings indicate that Parents Plus shows promise in improving children's vocabulary and morphosyntactic skills. Additionally, Parents Plus emerged as a socially valid approach, with parents reporting that its goals, content, procedures, and outcomes were acceptable. Conclusion Implications for education and directions for future research are discussed.

Factor analysis of the feeding and eating in AutiSm Together Assessment

Article

Sep 2024
RES AUTISM SPECT DIS

Sustainability of Food Heritage in Birthday Rituals

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2024

For the last decade, cultural heritage has been recognized as the fourth most important field of sustainability, but insufficient empirical research has focused on social participants’ intent to inherit intangible cultural capital. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigated the influence of cultural significance and successors’ perceptions of traditional foods served during landmark birthday rituals in South Korea. The results show that, while historical stability and instrumental healing are important cultural values for South Koreans, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and a perceived female role affect the intention to preserve traditional food heritage for landmark birthdays. In addition, we examined the differences between genders and age groups in terms of the influence of perceived behavioral control and the perception of the female role and found that both impacts increased in the older group. The contributions to the field are discussed in terms of cultural sustainability and TPB, along with the managerial implications for policymakers.

Understanding Daily Routine and Schedule of Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Qualitative Study

Article

Jul 2022

Background Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by diminished sustained attention, hyperactive and impulsive behavior and is known to have an impact on the daily routine and self-regulation of children. There is a dearth of evidence for understanding the routine of the children with ADHD and their parents, which is necessary for organizing and scheduling the routine for the better management of daily occupations. Objectives This study aimed to understand the daily routine and schedule of children with ADHD in Goa. Study Design A qualitative, descriptive study design was conducted. Methods This pilot study was conducted in resource rooms and schools in Goa, India. The recruitment of 10 parents of children with ADHD was done by the convenient sampling method and parents were administered a semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interview was undertaken to understand the children's daily routine. Results Ten parents (mean ± standard deviation [SD] age 45.4 ± 7.97 years) of children with ADHD (mean ± SD age 9.5 ± 1.85 years) participated in this study. The study understood and described in depth the extent of the organized schedule and routine present, child's home and school routine and schedule, how the routine of the child affects the child and the family in terms of their socialization and how important is a routine for the family. Conclusion The study inferred that the parents of children with ADHD have difficulty in managing the daily routine of their child at home as well as in school, including the self-care routine, meal-time, bed-time routine, and study schedule. The study helped understand the importance of an organized routine with a well-defined structure in the daily life to carry out timely meaningful occupations.

Family Rituals and Coping During a Global Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Article

Aug 2024

Is it an Impossible Task? Exploring the Lived Experiences of Christian Parents With Young Children in the UK

Article

Jul 2024

Despite recognition that the early years are foundational for child development and that parents are significant influencers on a child’s spiritual development, little research has considered parental approaches to passing on faith to young children. Guided by frameworks of sociocultural theory and viewing parents as funds of knowledge, this exploratory, qualitative study involved an online survey of 71 self-identified Christian parents in the UK with children under 5 years. The results were analysed using thematic analysis to identify themes in the data. The findings indicate that Christian parents want to support their child’s spiritual development and that they find rhythms, routines, and sharing faith in everyday moments of life helpful for doing so. The project found support for parents to be varied and suggests that churches and the wider Christian community ought to intentionally evaluate the support they provide for parents and the approaches they have for doing so.

Embedding Intervention Strategies within Everyday Family Routines

Chapter

Aug 2018

RITUALS IN A RELATIONSHIP – DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTING OF INTIMACY

Article

Jan 2017

Monika Ryndzionek

Parents Report Positive Changes in Parental Feeding Practices 12 Months After Intervention

Article

Apr 2024

“Our life literally got turned upside down”: Mothers' experiences of the COVID ‐19 pandemic

Article

Apr 2024

Objective The purpose of this study is to describe how the COVID‐19 pandemic influenced the lives of families with preschool‐age children, both broadly and with respect to familial roles, relationships, and routines. Background The COVID‐19 pandemic placed a significant caregiving burden on families with young children, but the voices and experiences of these families have not been well documented in the scientific literature. Preschool‐age children undergo rapid brain development during the early childhood period, and thus these children may be especially vulnerable to the effects of pandemic‐related stress. Method We conducted a qualitative descriptive study with caregivers of preschool‐age children. A semi‐structured interview was used to elicit information about the COVID‐19 pandemic's influence on family functioning, routines, and relationships. We used inductive thematic analysis to code the data and identify themes and subthemes. Results Thirty‐five women participated in the study. Women described both positive and negative influences of the pandemic on family life. Themes included: 1) disrupted routines and the parent juggling act, 2) rattled relationships and close connections, 3) the pile‐up of pandemic related stressors, and 4) coping strategies and “coming out on the other side.” Conclusions & Implications A deeper understanding of the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on family life provides critical insight necessary to inform targeted intervention efforts and improve long‐term outcomes for families with young children.

Çocuk rutinleri ölçeği: Ölçek uyarlama çalışması / Child routines scale: Scale adaptation study

Article

Full-text available

May 2023

Çocuk rutinleri, çocuğu gelişimsel ve akademik olarak desteklemesi bakımından önemlidir. Bu çalışmada Sytsma, Kelley and Wymer (2001) tarafından geliştirilen ve özgün adı “Child Routines Inventory” olan Çocuk Rutinleri Ölçeğinin Türkçeye uyarlanması amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma deseni olarak betimsel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında 5-12 yaş arası çocuğu olan 960 anneye ulaşılmıştır. Eksik doldurulan 36 form çıkartılmış ve 924 form üzerinden geçerlik ve güvenilirlik analizleri yapılmıştır. Ölçeğin geçerliliğini belirlemek için Doğrusal Faktör Analizi (DFA) uygulanmıştır. DFA sonucunda uyum indeksleri χ2/sd 3.8; RMSEA=0.055; SRMR=0.553; NNFI=0.825 kabul edilebilir değer ile normal değer aralığında; RMR=0.050 normal değerinde bulunmuştur. Madde faktör yükleri 0,339 ile 0,885 arasında bulunmuştur. Ölçeğin güvenirliğini belirlemek için hesaplanan Cronbach Alpha katsayısı, ölçek toplam puanları için 0,91 bulunmuştur. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda uyarlanan ölçeğin 36 madde 4 boyut (Günlük yaşam rutinleri, ev içi sorumluluklar, disiplin rutinleri ve ev ödevi rutinleri) olarak Türkiye’de kullanılmasının uygun olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Growing, learning, sharing, and healing through Home Garden Network: A social capital framework

Article

Feb 2024

Objective The study addresses two research inquiries: evaluating the effectiveness of the Home Garden Network (HGN) program in attaining its four intended outcomes (learning, growing, sharing, and healing) as well as exploring the social capital mechanisms in facilitating the four outcomes. Background Drawing from Coleman's social capital theory, the HGN program was developed in response to common issues many families experience: the lack of family leisure time, dietary‐related health issues, and food insecurity. Methods Individual interviews were conducted with eight program participants. Results The findings revealed that the program produced the four intended outcomes in which the three forms of social capital (i.e., information channels, reciprocity, and social norms) served as mechanisms that explained the outcomes. Through information channels, participants learned from their network members as well as the program facilitators. Reciprocity is fostered through a system where families take turns assisting each other in growing their gardens, establishing a sense of mutual obligation. Social norms encourage the sharing of produce and plants, reinforcing a collective culture of generosity. Reciprocal relationships further strengthened their interpersonal bonding experiences, providing participants with a sense of group identity and belonging, and hence healing. In addition, families utilize their gardens as a communication starter, establishing social norms of routines and responsibilities that promote family cohesion. Conclusion The study validates the HGN program in achieving its learning, growing, sharing, and healing objectives. Implications The program offers implementation opportunities for human services organizations and land‐grant universities, aligning with social policies promoting food security and healthy lifestyles.

Routines and child development: A systematic review

Article

Dec 2023

Research has shown the importance of routines for optimal child development. A systematic review can offer a detailed overview of the evidence linking routines to child outcomes, particularly in high‐risk settings. This review aimed to elucidate the association between daily routines and child development and to pinpoint the protective role of routines in high‐risk environments. A search of PubMed and PsycINFO databases yielded literature from 1950 to June 2020. Out of 4297 initial hits, 170 studies met the selection criteria. Findings mainly indicate that routines are associated with positive developmental outcomes in children, covering cognitive, self‐regulation, social–emotional, academic skills, and overall mental and physical health. The results also underline the protective power of routines in challenging environments. The study suggests possible mechanisms through which routines influence child outcomes and recommends avenues for future research, supporting evidence‐based strategies to encourage parental use of routines.

The 4C Model of Healthy Sleep for Childhood Interpersonal Trauma

Article

Dec 2023
CHILD YOUTH SERV REV

Candice A Alfano

Family Rules and Routines During the Early Phases of Pediatric Cancer Treatment: Associations With Child Emotional and Behavioral Health

Article

Nov 2023
J PEDIATR PSYCHOL

Objective Consistent family rules and routines promote positive adaptation to stress and may be protective to child emotional and behavioral functioning. Few studies have quantified family engagement in these behaviors during pediatric cancer treatment or examined associations with child emotional and behavioral health. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, 86 primary caregivers of youth ages 2–14 years (M = 7.9) with an initial diagnosis of cancer within 16 weeks reported on their frequency of engagement in family rules and routines (e.g., sleep, schoolwork, and meal routines) before their child’s cancer diagnosis and their current frequency of engagement in the same routines. Caregivers also reported demographics, psychosocial distress, and child emotional and behavioral health outcomes. Analyses examined demographic and psychosocial factors associated with engagement in rules and routines during cancer treatment, and associations with child emotional and behavioral health. Results Families reported a lower frequency of engagement in rules and routines during cancer treatment, compared to before treatment (mean difference 0.8 SDs [95% confidence interval 0.7–1.1 SDs]). Caregiver factors associated with lower engagement in rules and routines during treatment included being married, having lower educational attainment, and higher levels of psychosocial distress. Families who engaged in higher levels of rules and routines during treatment reported fewer child externalizing and behavioral challenges. There was limited evidence of association between family rules and routines and child internalizing outcomes. Conclusions Results found that engaging in family rules and routines during cancer treatment was associated with fewer child behavioral challenges during treatment. Future directions include longitudinal examinations of family rules, routines, and child emotional/behavioral outcomes to examine directional impact over time.

Nature and Natural Rhythm in the Digital World - What's in It for Child–Computer Interaction?: A narrative literature review and an initial design framework

Conference Paper

Nov 2023

Longitudinal associations between the quality of family interactions and school‐age children's narrative abilities in the context of financial insecurity

Article

Oct 2023

This longitudinal study investigates whether the quality of family interactions at 3–5 years of age predicts narrative abilities in 7–9‐year‐old children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The sample consists of 67 children and their parents receiving social welfare. Family interactions were filmed during mealtime at home and coded using the Mealtime Interaction Coding System . Children's narrative abilities were measured based on their capacity to coherently elaborate and resolve stories from the Attachment Story Completion Task . Results revealed that children exposed to family interactions of higher quality make their narratives more accessible and understandable and include more appropriate expression of affects in their stories 4 years later, even after accounting for maternal education and verbal abilities. The results of this study highlight the importance of considering family interactions in the context of financial insecurity when studying socioemotional competence in childhood.

Rituals, family connections, and BoRakgadi

Article

Oct 2023

Grace Khunou

JAG ÄR MED! Om personlig assistans och barns delaktighet i familjeaktiviteter

Book

Full-text available

Jan 2013

Barn med omfattande funktionsnedsättningar som har personlig assistans är huvudpersoner i den här boken. Boken handlar om att underlätta möjligheterna till delaktighet i familjens vardagsliv för barn och ungdomar.

Prosocial Behavior

Chapter

Mar 2022

Transgenic Rice using CRISPR Method for Patients with DM Type 2 to Extend Indonesia’s Life Expectancy After COVID-19 Pandemic

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Jul 2023

Strengthening Family Connectedness: Experiences of Families with Children with Behavioural Problems

Article

Jul 2023

Children’s behaviour is influenced by their family’s surroundings, interactions with their parents, and the connectedness that they experience within their family. Positive behaviour in children develops when they feel loved, supported, and safe in the presence of their parents. A weakened parent-child bond may lead to child behavioural problems and impact the ability of parents to create a positive social learning environment. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of families with children presenting with behavioural problems (FCBPs) in strengthening family connectedness. A qualitative research approach was used where semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 parents of children aged two to 18 reported to be presenting with behavioural problems. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, giving rise to three themes: 1) understanding family connectedness; 2) parenting children with behavioural problems; and 3) family, community, and social work interventions. The findings of the study showed that FCBPs find it difficult to strengthen their relationships with their children. Their parenting capabilities are challenged when they have a strained relationship with their children presenting with behavioural problems (CBPs). The frustration of parents in the study was heightened by limited support received from family, community, and spouses, impacting their ability to strengthen the connectedness in the family. The study recommends that parents receive specialised social work intervention to learn new skills and strategies to strengthen their relationships and cope with the behaviour of their children. Furthermore, this study recommends that social workers receive training to deal with the risky behaviour of children and to support parents to strengthen their relationships with their CBPs.

Understanding and Designing Technologies for Children’s Routines: Supporting Autonomy in the Digital Age

Conference Paper

Jun 2023

Olivia K. Richards

Barriers and facilitators of family rules and routines during pediatric cancer treatment

Article

Jun 2023

Objective: Pediatric nurses work closely with families of children with new cancer diagnoses and can provide essential supports to promote coping and adjustment. This cross-sectional qualitative study aimed to gather caregiver perspectives on barriers and facilitators to adaptive family functioning during the early phases of cancer treatment, with a focus on family rules and routines. Methods: Caregivers (N = 44) of a child diagnosed with cancer and receiving active treatment completed a semi-structured interview about their engagement in family rules and routines. Time since diagnosis was abstracted from the medical record. A multi-pass inductive coding strategy was utilized to extract themes identifying caregiver-reported facilitators and barriers to maintaining consistent family rules and routines during the first year of pediatric treatment. Results: Caregivers identified three primary contexts that presented barriers and facilitators to engagement in family rules and routines: the hospital setting (n = 40), the family system (n = 36), and the broader social and community setting (n = 26). Caregivers reported barriers primarily related to the demands of their child's treatment, additional caregiving needs, and needing to prioritize basic daily tasks (e.g., food, rest, household needs). Caregivers reported that different networks of support across contexts facilitated family rules and routines by expanding caregiver capacity in distinctive ways. Conclusions: Findings provided insight into the importance of having multiple networks of support to extend caregiving capacity in the context of cancer treatment demands. Practice implications: Providing nurses with training to facilitate problem-solving skills in the context of competing demands may provide a new avenue of clinical intervention at the bedside.

Who Does What When Partners Become Parents

Article

Full-text available

Aug 1988

Forty-seven couples who were first-time parents were assessed in late pregnancy and again at 6 and 18 months postpartum. Fifteen couples not yet decided about having a baby were assessed at equivalent times. Actual involvement in household, decision-making, and childcare roles was determined by responses to a 36-item "Who Does What?" questionnaire. Psychological involvement in parent, partner, and worker roles was also determined, as was each partner's satisfaction with behavioral and psychological involvement in each domain. On the basis of global analyses, previous studies have suggested that new parents adopt more traditional roles. Item analyses indicated that men's and women's roles change in both traditional and nontraditional ways during the transition to parenthood, depending on the item and the time of assessment. Measures of individual and couple adaption were also obtained: self-esteem, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction. Men's involvement in family tasks was correlated with their own or their wives adaption in pregnancy but became linked with adaptation at 6 months postpartum. However, at 18 months after birth husbands' involvement in family tasks was correlated only with wives' adaptation. For both parents, satisfaction with family task arrangements becomes correlated with self-esteem, parenting stress and marital quality after childbirth; these measures of adaptation are more closely linked with role satisfaction than with actual sharing of family work.

When the Toddler Takes OverChanging Challenging Routines Into Conduits for Communication

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2003

The applicability of teaching communication replacement behavior for challenging behavior has not been fully recognized by early interventionists Working With young children in their natural environments. This article describes hoW challenging routines for families can be converted into opportunities to teach communication skills and increase participation in family activities. A case description is presented to illustrate hoW routines-based intervention can extend the process and procedures of functional assessment and positive behavior support interventions to ongoing early intervention that facilitates increasingly more sophisticated communication skills. We demonstrate hoW communication skills can be targeted in an individualized fashion first as a replacement behavior serving the same function as the challenging behavior for the child and second to correspond to the interests and concerns of the family and child. This approach offers flexibility in applying a variety of effective intervention strategies Within a family-guided process.

Validating the Construct of Coercion in Family Routines: Expanding the Unit of Analysis in Behavioral Assessment with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2004

We conducted an observational study of parentchild interaction in home activity settings (routines) of families raising young children with developmental disabilities and problem behavior. Our aim was to empirically investigate the construct validity of coercion in typical but unsuccessful family routines. The long-term goal was to develop an expanded ecological unit of analysis that may contribute to sustainable behavioral family intervention. Ten children with autism and/or mental retardation and their families participated. Videotaped observations were conducted in typical but unsuccessful home routines. Parentchild interaction in routines was coded in real time and sequential analyses were conducted to test hypotheses about coercive processes. Following observation, families were interviewed about the social validity of the construct. Results confirmed the presence of statistically significant, attention-driven coercive processes in routines in which parents were occupied with nonchild-centered tasks. Results partially confirmed the presence of escape-driven coercive processes in routines in which parent demands are common. Additional analysis revealed an alternative pattern with greater magnitude. Family perspectives suggested the social validity of the construct. Results are discussed in terms of preliminary, partial evidence for coercive processes in routines of families of children with developmental disabilities. Implications for behavioral assessment and intervention design are discussed.

The Cultural Structuring of Parenting and Universal Developmental Tasks

Article

Full-text available

May 2002

Objective. This study explores middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers' beliefs and self-reported practices related to infant feeding, sleeping, and toilet training. Design. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 60 mothers (Anglo = 32, Puerto Rican = 28) in their homes when their infants were 8 months of age. Results. Compared to Puerto Rican mothers, Anglo mothers had earlier age expectations regarding feeding-related milestones, were more likely to use the strategy of providing opportunities for learning, more likely to refer to emotional components of the learning process, such as pride or self-esteem, and less likely to use parental control or guidance. Puerto Rican mothers emphasized instrumental independence, or the ability to perform tasks without help, whereas Anglo mothers focused on emotional autonomy, or concern about the child's inner self. Conclusions. Puerto Rican mothers' emphasis on encouraging instrumental independence suggests a more nuanced perspective regarding such broad rubrics as "individualism" and "sociocentrism." In particular, Puerto Rican mothers tended to view instrumental independence as necessary for meeting societal expectations. Thus, independence need not solely be associated with the values of mothers from individualistic cultures. However, Puerto Rican mothers' focus on instrumental independence is distinct from Anglo mothers' emphasis on emotional autonomy and appears to serve larger sociocentric goals.

Development of the Family Ritual Questionnaire: Initial Reliability and Validation Studies

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1993

In light of the increasing interest in the role of family rituals in promoting mental health, a self-report questionnaire was developed. The Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ) assesses family rituals across 7 settings ranging from dinnertime to religious celebrations and across 8 dimensions ranging from roles to symbolic significance. Four studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FRQ. Adequate internal consistency, construct validity in comparison to the Family Environment Scale (R. H. Moos and B. S. Moos, 1986), test–retest reliability, and within-family agreement were established. The symbolic significance associated with family rituals was positively related to adolescent self-esteem and negatively related to adolescent anxiety. Clinical implications for the importance of symbolic meaning associated with family rituals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Levels of Family Assessment: II. Impact of Maternal Psychopathology on Family Functioning

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1998

The association of maternal and contextual risk factors with whole-family, marital, and parent–child levels of family functioning was examined. Maternal mental illness and multiple contextual risk best predicted whole-family functioning, but each was related to marital and parent–child levels as well. Nonspecific indicators of maternal illness, rather than diagnostic category, were the better predictors of family functioning. The multiple contextual risk index was the variable most associated with all levels of family functioning, more so than any indicator of maternal illness. These results indicate (a) that maternal mental illness and family functioning are strongly associated and (b) that variation in the conceptualization and measurement strategy for risk and family functioning affects the conclusions of research. The importance of clear conceptualization of family levels and psychopathology risk in families of young children is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

"Thunder Is When the Angels Are Upstairs Bowling": Narratives and Explanations at the Dinner Table

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1994

The domain of narrative is often assumed to be the first extended discourse genre accessible to young children, and a natural mode for representing and remembering information. Ultimately, however, children must move beyond narrative to include other genres within their competency, such as explanation. Furthermore, narrative and explanation share a number of features that might lead one to expect more or less parallel development. We studied the occurrence of narrative and explanatory sequences of talk during mealtimes in 31 lowincome families with preschool-aged children. Narrative and explanatory sequences constituted approximately equal percentages of the total talk, but explanatory sequences were much briefer and more frequent than narrative sequences. Equivalent measures of narrative and explanatory talk showed moderate correlations, suggesting that families that engaged in one type of discourse also engaged in the other; this suggestion was confirmed by the finding that a large proportion of explanatory utterance were also parts of narratives. As 3- and 4-year-olds, children participated more competently in narrative than in explanatory discourse, though they requested many explanations at all ages. (Discourse Genres; Explanation; Development)

Family‐Oriented Program Models and Professional Helpgiving Practices*

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2002
FAM RELAT

The relationship between different models of family level interventions and two components of practitioner helpgiving (relational practices and participatory practices) was examined in two studies of parents of young children involved in different kinds of family oriented helpgiving programs. Relational and participatory aspects of helpgiving were found to be practiced less often in professionally centered programs compared to other kinds of family oriented programs. Participatory helpgiving practices that provided parents with (a) choices and options and (b) opportunities to be involved in both solutions to problems and acquisition of knowledge and skills that strengthen functioning were more likely to be found in programs that were family centered. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of the models used to structure social and human services program practices.

Exploring Children's Emotional Security as a Mediator of the Link between Marital Relations and Child Adjustment

Article

Full-text available

Feb 1998
CHILD DEV

Guided by the emotional security hypothesis, this study examined whether links between marital relations and children's adjustment were mediated by children's emotional security, as evidenced by their emotional reactivity (e.g., vigilance, distress), regulation of exposure to parent affect (avoidance, involvement), and internal representations in the context of interparental relations. Multiple methods and contexts were used to assess 6- to 9-year-olds' emotional security in response to standardized, simulated conflicts involving parents. Latent variable path analysis supported a theoretical pathway whereby marital dysfunction was linked with adjustment problems as mediated by response processes indicative of emotional insecurity in relation to parental conflicts. Emotional reactivity and internal representations were most closely linked with marital relations and child adjustment, especially with regard to internalizing symptoms. The importance of understanding children's emotional security in the context of the marital subsystem is discussed.

Maternal Psychological Functioning, Family Processes, and Child Adjustment in Rural, Single-Parent, African American Families

Article

Full-text available

Nov 1997

A family process model was tested, linking adequacy of family financial resources to academic and psychosocial adjustment among 156 African American 6- to 9-year-old children with single mothers who lived in the rural South. Seventy five percent of the sample lived in poverty. Lack of adequate financial resources was associated with more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem among mothers. Self-esteem was linked with family routines and mother–child relationship quality. The paths from mother–child relationship quality and family routines to child academic and psychosocial adjustment were mediated by the development of child self-regulation. An alternative partially mediated model improved the fit of the data for families with boys.

Exploring Children's Emotional Security as a Mediator of the Link between Marital Relations and Child Adjustment

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1998

Family Rituals as a Protective Factor for Children With Asthma

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2000

To examine how one aspect of family life, notably family rituals and routines, may protect children with asthma from anxiety-related symptoms. Eighty-six families (43 children with asthma, 43 healthy comparison children) participated in the study. Children completed measures of anxiety (Revised Child Manifest Anxiety Scale) and health. Parents completed measures of stress (Parenting Stress Index), family rituals (Family Routines Questionnaire), and family health. Families that reported more meaning in their family routines had children who reported lower levels of anxiety. Mother endorsement of family ritual meaning and father endorsement of family ritual routine were most strongly related to lower levels of anxiety. Support for the protective function of meaningful family rituals was stronger when a general health stress model was used rather than the presence or absence of asthma alone. Family rituals may serve a protective function for children with asthma under conditions of heightened parenting stress.

Observational assessment of family functioning at mealtime in preschool children with cystic fibrosis

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2001

To examine functioning during a dinner meal in families of a child with a chronic illness that requires dietary treatment recommendations, as compared to families of a child without a chronic illness. Ratings of seven dimensions of family functioning on the McMaster Mealtime Family Interaction Coding System (MICS) were obtained on 29 families of children with CF and 29 families of children with no chronic illness, ages 2 to 6 years, during a videotaped dinner meal at home. Ratings of families with a child with CF were significantly lower than those for families of children without a chronic illness on Overall Family Functioning and five of the six MICS dimensions: Communication, Interpersonal Involvement, Affect Management, Behavior Control, and Role Allocation and approached significance on the Task Accomplishment dimension. The ratings of families of a child with CF were in the "clinically significant" range on all subcales, including Task ACCOMPLISHMENT. This study suggests that family functioning at mealtimes may be different in families of children with CF in which explicit dietary guidelines exist than in families of children with no illness or dietary guidelines. These results are discussed in terms of global family functioning and treatment approaches to dietary treatment recommendations.

Puerto Rican understandings of child disability: Methods for the cultural validation of standardized measures of child health

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2003

Validating the cultural context of health is important for obtaining accurate and useful information from standardized measures of child health adapted for cross-cultural applications. This paper describes the application of ethnographic triangulation for cultural validation of a measure of childhood disability, the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) for use with children living in Puerto Rico. The key concepts include macro-level forces such as geography, demography, and economics, specific activities children performed and their key social interactions, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and patterns of behavior surrounding independence in children and childhood disability, as well as the definition of childhood disability. Methods utilize principal components analysis to establish the validity of cultural concepts and multiple regression analysis to identify intracultural variation. Findings suggest culturally specific modifications to the PEDI, provide contextual information for informed interpretation of test scores, and point to the need to re-standardize normative values for use with Puerto Rican children. Without this type of information, Puerto Rican children may appear more disabled than expected for their level of impairment or not to be making improvements in functional status. The methods also allow for cultural boundaries to be quantitatively established, rather than presupposed.

The vineland adaptive behavior scales

Article

Jan 1989

Transactional regulation: The developmental ecology of early intervention

Article

Jan 2000

The stories that families tell: Narrative coherence, narrative interaction, and relationship beliefs

Article

Jan 1999

Personal narratives are receiving considerable interest as reflections of important psychological processes. Less attention, however, has been paid to how narratives are constructed among family members and serve as markers of family relationship functioning that directly affect child development. As a group activity, the telling of family stories may be one way that families regulate social interactions. As reflections of individual and family beliefs, family stories also may be a way that representations of relationships are passed down across generations. The Family Narrative Consortium was formed by a group of family researchers who aimed to devise a system by which family stories could be coded reliably. The consortium members were interested in how narratives about personal experiences could be considered a central aspect of the family's attempt to make sense of their social world and to share representations of relationships with their children. The narratives used in the collaborative project came from family interviews conducted with four different samples using four different interview protocols. The data sets were originally part of larger research projects aimed at studying a variety of family processes including intimate couple formation, family rituals, family adoption, and effects of parental psychiatric illness on the family. Three dimensions were proposed as part of the coding scheme: Narrative Coherence, Narrative Interaction, and Relationship Beliefs. Family narratives are proposed to involve the process of creating a coherent statement about family events, the exchange of information among family members, and attribution of meaning to family experiences. Analyses conducted across the samples and within each site provided support for the reliability and validity of the narrative scales. The consortium members conclude that narratives provide access to the insider's view of the family, can detect interactional and representational as pects of family process, and are important markers of family functioning. Furthermore, the study of family narratives emphasizes how the meaning-making process comes to life in family interaction and transacts with representations of family relationships.

Development of the Family Ritual Questionnaire: Initial Reliability and Validation Studies

Article

Mar 1993

In light of the increasing interest in the role of family rituals in promoting mental health, a self-report questionnaire was developed. The Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ) assesses family rituals across 7 settings ranging from dinnertime to religious celebrations and across 8 dimensions ranging from roles to symbolic significance. Four studies were conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FRQ. Adequate internal consistency, construct validity in comparison to the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986), test-retest reliability, and within-family agreement were established. The symbolic significance associated with family rituals was positively related to adolescent self-esteem and negatively related to adolescent anxiety. Clinical implications for the importance of symbolic meaning associated with family rituals are discussed.

Reproductive risk and continuum of caretaking casualty

Chapter

Jan 1975

Family Rituals in the Early Stages of Parenthood

Article

Aug 1993

Organization of the family system at two points in early parenthood was examined through the study of family rituals. Fifty-four couples whose oldest child was 12 months of age or less and sixty-one couples whose oldest child was between 24 and 66 months of age participated in the study. Family rituals were assessed through the Family Ritual Questionnaire and couple interviews. Marital satisfaction was assessed through the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. As predicted, the preschool family group reported the practice of more family rituals and ascribed more meaning to their family rituals than did the infant family group. Significant main effects for group and family ritual meaning were found for mothers' and fathers' marital satisfaction. The protective function of family rituals for marital satisfaction was examined through cluster analyses. Preschool families who reported more meaningful family rituals also reported more marital satisfaction.

Family Functioning in School-Age Children With Cystic Fibrosis: An Observational Assessment of Family Interactions in the Mealtime Environment

Article

Mar 2005

David M Janicke

Objective To examine, using direct observation methodology, differences in family functioning at mealtime between families of school-age children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and families of school-age children without a chronic illness. Method Family functioning was rated using the McMaster Mealtime Interaction Coding System (MICS) during a videotaped dinner among 28 families of children with CF and 27 families of non-ill, age-matched peers. Families were rated on overall family functioning and on six dimensions of the MICS: task accomplishment, communication, affect management, interpersonal involvement, behavior control, and role allocation. Results Ratings for families of a child with CF were significantly lower than they were for comparison families on overall family functioning and on four of the six MICS dimensions: communication, affect management, interpersonal involvement, and behavioral control. Moreover, a significantly greater percentage of families of children with CF were rated in the unhealthy range on overall family functioning and on five of six MICS dimensions. There was no relationship between family functioning and child weight status for children with CF. Conclusions The current study suggests that for families of school-age children with CF, the family system is negatively affected during mealtime. Dietary interventions need to address family-centered, as well as child-centered, interventions to help families manage challenges presented during the family meal.

The Role of Selected Family Environment Factors in Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment

Article

Jan 1986

This article reports findings of the NASP-KSU nationwide study of the impact of divorce on children. Results are based on a multifactored assessment of children's adjustment using a number of social, academic, and health criteria. The role of selected family environment factors in facilitating children's post-divorce adjustment is examined, utilizing the nationwide sample of 341 divorced family children. Concurrent and longitudinal predictions of children's adjustment from selected home environment factors provide valuable information for professionals working with divorced families. The significance of family interpersonal relationships, childrearing styles, parental satisfaction, and home routines for facilitating children's post-divorce adjustment is discussed.

Recapturing Desired Family Routines: A Parent-Professional Behavioral Collaboration

Article

Mar 2004

Children with complex disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders and Landau Kleffner syndrome often lack means to participate in everyday family routines. Serious problem behaviors may result from their challenges in responding to and initiating communicative interactions. These behaviors can change routine family activities such that the child and other family members (parents, siblings) are dissatisfied with these routines. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of functional assessment and positive behavior support carried out in equal partnership with family members to reduce a child's challenging behavior and increase his or her engagement in three family-chosen home activities. A multiple-baseline design across routines was used to determine the effectiveness of intervention in reducing challenging behavior and increasing engagement in the routines. Additionally, the study explored outcomes for positive and negative parentchild interactions within the three targeted routines. Following parent implementation of positive behavior support, results indicated (1) reductions in challenging behavior, (2) increases in the child's engagement, (3) increases in positive parentchild interactions, (4) decreases in negative parentchild interactions, and (5) increased number of days that the child slept through the night. Social validation by parent observers provided additional support for the effect of the intervention on the child's behavior and childparent interaction.

Effects of Embedding Caregiver-Implemented Teaching Strategies in Daily Routines on Children's Communication Outcomes

Article

Apr 2004

Effects of instructing caregivers to implement teaching strategies within daily routines were investigated using a multiple baseline design across caregiver strategies and participants. Four toddlers with developmental delays participated in intervention conducted by their primary caregiver within the family's preferred play routines. To assess generalization, caregiver teaching strategy use was observed during other caregiving and outdoor play routines. Caregiver strategy use increased subsequent to instruction within indoor play routines. Generalization to other routines, however, was limited in three of the four dyads. All four children demonstrated gains in communication objectives and test scores across multiple developmental domains improved. This study demonstrates the viability of teaching caregivers to embed effective teaching strategies within daily routines to improve the communication skills of toddlers.

Weaving Interventions into the Fabric of Everyday Life: An Approach to Family Assessment

Article

Oct 1995

In response to legislative mandates, the focus in early childhood special education has shifted from the child to the child in the context of the family. This shift has major implications for assessment as well as for intervention. In this article we describe an ecocultural approach for assessing families of young children with developmental problems. It is an approach that has grown out of empirical work and that we believe has clinical utility in designing interventions for young children and their families.

Exploring Familial Processes in Urban, Low-income African American Families

Article

Jul 2003

A family process model was created to explore the direct and indirect links between financial resources, maternal optimism, maternal depression, routine, and various indices of adolescent adjustment among urban African American families. These processes have been explored among rural African American and European American families but not urban African American families. The sample consists of interview data from 164 low-income African American mothers and their adolescent children. The results are congruent with the hypothesized model of family processes. Financial resources are significantly associated with maternal optimism and depression but not routine. Also, maternal optimism is significantly associated with routine although depression is not. Routine is significantly associated with academic self-concept and school engagement but not depression and problem behavior. Maternal optimism and depression do not mediate the relation between financial resources and routine.

Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., Thomas D. Cook, Jacquelynne Eccles, Glen H. Elder, Jr., and Arnold Sameroff, Managing to Make It: Urban Families and Adolescent Success :Managing to Make It: Urban Families and Adolescent Success

Article

Mar 2000

Rebekah Levine Coley

Using Family Context to Inform Intervention Planning for the Treatment of a Child with Autism

Article

Jan 2000

Children with autism often engage in problem behavior that can be highly disruptive to ongoing family practices and routines. This case study demonstrated child and family outcomes related to two distinct treatment approaches for challenging behavior (prescriptive vs. contextualized) in a family raising a child with autism. The processes of behavior change directed either solely by the interventionist (prescriptive) and in collaboration with the family (contextualized) were compared. The family-directed intervention involved an assessment of family context (i.e., via discussion of daily routines) to inform the design of a behavioral support plan. Information gathered from the assessment of family routines was used to (a) help select specific behavioral strategies that were compatible with family characteristics and preferences, and (b) construct teaching methods that fit with the family's ongoing practices, routines, and interaction goals. More favorable results (i.e., reductions in challenging behavior, an increase in on-task behavior) were observed within the contextualized treatment-planning phase than were observed within the prescriptive treatment-planning phase. The procedures and results are discussed in relation to the emerging literature documenting the importance of contextualizing behavioral supports applied within family settings.

Long-term socialisation goals and the construction of infants’ social networks among middle class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers

Article

Sep 2001

This study examined the relation between mothers’ long-term socialisation goals and the social networks they construct for their infants. Middle class Anglo (n = 32) and Puerto Rican (n = 28) mothers were interviewed regarding: (a) their long-term socialisation goals; (b) how often their infants’ typically have contact with friends and family members; and (c) specific family circumstances which might influence contact with relatives, including geographic distance, maternal employment status, and child care arrangements. Study results indicated that mothers’ long-term socialisation goals were correlated with the type and frequency of social contacts they structured for their infants. Moreover, limited evidence was found for the influence of group membership on frequency of contact with relatives, despite individual variations in family circumstances. Results are interpreted as illuminating one aspect of the interface between cultural beliefs and socialisation practices within the constructs of individualism/sociocentrism.

Ecocultural Understanding of Children's Development Pathways

Article

Jul 2002
HUM DEV

Thomas S. Weisner

Every cultural community provides developmental pathways for children within some ecological&hyphen;cultural (ecocultural) context. Cultural pathways are made up of everyday routines of life, and routines are made up of cultural activities children engage. Activities (bedtime, playing video games, homework, watching TV, cooking dinner, soccer practice, visiting grandma, babysitting for money, algebra class) are useful units for cultural analysis because they are meaningful units for parents and children, and they are amenable to ethnographic fieldwork, systemic observation, and interviewing. Activities crystallize culture directly in everyday experience, because they include values and goals, resources needed to make the activity happen, people in relationships, the tasks the activity is there to accomplish, emotions and motives of those engaged in the activity, and a script defining the appropriate, normative way to engage in that activity. The Ecocultural Family Interview provides a window into children's and families' daily routines and activities.

Adding Culture to Studies of Development: Toward Changes in Procedure and Theory

Article

Jul 2002
HUM DEV

Jacqueline J. Goodnow

This paper asks how an interest in culture and in development can be combined to the benefit of both and at the level of theory and procedures. Three steps are considered, noting for each some existing moves and some recommended extensions. The first step has to do with the sampling of people. Here the main existing move has been toward greater social diversity in sampling. The extensions have to do with giving closer attention to the bases for choice, the ‘subjects’ view of events, within&hyphen;group diversity or consensus, and one’s own culture. The second step has to do with sampling tasks and situations. Here the existing moves have been toward the greater use of everyday tasks, life&hyphen;course problems, and tasks that involve two or more people: all shifts based on changes in concepts of ability and its bases. The extensions have to do with considering larger groups (going beyond dyads), the impact of audiences, the expectations people hold about appropriate contributions to shared tasks, and the conceptual bases for choice. The third step consists of alertness to unexpected or missing pieces in data or theory. It is illustrated by progressions within research by Peggy Miller and by the author and her colleagues (e.g., progressions in the latter case from Piagetian tasks to parents’ concepts of development and household divisions of labour).

Family-Infant Congruence: Routines and Rhythmicity in Family Adaptations to a Young Infant

Article

Jun 1985

Previous work suggests that the degree of match or congruence between the behavioral characteristics of infants and their families may significantly influence the nature of their interactions and the success of their mutual adaptation. We examined this hypothesis in a cross-sectional study of infant-family congruence on 1 behavioral measure: the degree of rhythmicity, defined for both infants and families as the extent of predictable regularity in ongoing daily life. Questionnaires sampling demographic, behavioral, and adaptive outcome variables were completed by 285 mothers who had infants ranging in age from 2 to 13 months and who had at least 1 other child. Infant rhythmicity was measured using the Perception of Baby Temperament Scale, and family rhythmicity was assessed with the Family Routines Inventory. Multivariate analyses confirmed that the level of congruence between infant and family rhythmicity was significantly associated with mothers' perceptions of overall family adjustment, controlling for other, potentially confounding independent variables. Results are discussed in the context of prior studies examining goodness-of-fit between the characteristics of children and their caregivers.

Parent—Professional Collaboration for Positive Behavior Support in the Home

Article

Nov 2002

Over the past feW years, a number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of combining positive behavior support and family-centered intervention in home settings. Family-centered positive behavior support is often conducted Within the context of natural routines that occur regularly in home or community settings. The purpose of this article is to describe many of the unique challenges and benefits related to assessment, intervention design, and implementation that are inherent in parent—professional collaboration for positive behavior support. This is accomplished through an example of a partnership that resulted in the provision of a variety of visual supports to a young child With autism Who exhibited severe problem behaviors during daily routines.

Meaningful Differences in Everyday Experience of Young American Children

Article

Jan 1995

Review of Child Development Research

Article

Mar 1975

Martin Wolins

Bridges to literacy: Early routines that promote later school success

Article

Jan 2002

Growing up in a divorced family: Initial and long-term perspectives on children's adjustment

Article

Jan 1987

Studied differences between intact families (IFs) and divorced families (DFs) in the US, and predictors of adjustment of DF children, using data provided by 144 psychologists on 341 children from DFs and 358 from IFs in 1981–1982 and 2-yr follow-up data provided by 32 psychologists on 46 children from DFs and 77 from IFs. Initially, Ss were in Grades 1, 3, and 5; IF Ss did better in classroom behavior; communication, social, and daily living skills; full-scale IQ; and reading, spelling, and math. IF Ss had higher peer popularity, less school absenteeism, more internal locus of control, and better general health, which persisted to a greater extent for boys than girls at follow-up. Issues of DF Ss' socioemotional and academic adjustment are childrearing practices, home routines, family interpersonal relations, custodial parenting satisfaction, cognitive mediators, income and other socioeconomic status (SES) variables, family and community support, and classroom environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

The social context of development.

Article

Arnold J. Sameroff

the goal of this presentation is to expand upon our understanding of the environment in order to lay a basis for more complex paradigms in both research and practice [on child development] developmental models / transactional model [biological basis of developmental models, regulatory systems] / applying the transactional model [remediation, redefinition, reeducation] / understanding environments (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Diversity, Early Socialization, and Temporal Development: The Dual Perspective Revisited

Article

Jan 1993

Dolores G. Norton

Examined the importance of a sense of time, its evolution in early socialization, and the relationship of parent–child interactions to the development of a sense of time. Ss were 26 low-income mothers with high school educations or less and their children who had been participating in a 9-yr longitudinal study of the environment and early development of low-income children. Mothers and children were videotaped in the hospital at birth and in the home. Children completed the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities when 3 yrs old. Children whose mothers spoke to them more about time in daily conversations tended to rank higher on seriation measures than did children whose mothers talked to them less about time. Children whose mothers talked to them using the quantitative, objective units of physical time tended to score higher on seriation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Tales of pediatric asthma management: Family-based strategies related to medical adherence and health care utilization

Article

Oct 2003
J Pediatr

To examine how family management styles, garnered from parent interviews about the effect of asthma on family life, are related to medical adherence and health care utilization. Eighty parents with a child with asthma were interviewed. Computerized monitoring of medication use was collected every 2 months for 1 year. Parents and children completed measures of medical adherence and health care utilization at the time of the interview and at 1-year follow-up. Three categories of disease management were identified: reactive, coordinated care, and family partnerships. Group comparisons were made by using analysis of variance with medical adherence and health care utilization as dependent variables. Management strategies revealed in the interview were distinguishable by adherence rates at the time of interview and 1 year after. Interview categories were also predictive of emergency department use at 1-year follow-up. The reactive group received a diagnosis of asthma 1 year after noting symptoms, in contrast with the other groups, who received a diagnosis within 6 months. The use of semistructured interviews may reveal important information about how families manage asthma. Further work may help identify areas amenable to intervention and provide a better understanding of why some families delay treatment.

III. Dinnertime Stories: Connecting Family Practices with Relationship Beliefs and Child Adjustment

Article

Jan 2003
MONOGR SOC RES CHILD

V. Maternal Depression, Family Functioning, and Child Outcomes: A Narrative Assessment

Article

Jan 2003
MONOGR SOC RES CHILD

Attention to Language: Lessons Learned at the Dinner Table

Article

Aug 2001
SOC DEV

The ordinary discourse of parents, and to a lesser degree young children, includes a surprising amount of attention to language. The dinner table conversations of 22 middle class families, each with a child between 2 and 51/2 years of age, were recorded. Transcripts of these conversations were analyzed for the presence and function of language-focused terms, words such as say, ask, tell, and speak. More than 11% of mothers’, 7% of fathers’, and 4% of children’s utterances contained a language-focused term. Metalinguistic uses (e.g., reporting and commenting on speech) exceeded pragmatic uses (e.g., controlling when and how speech occurs). Mothers more than fathers, and fathers more than children, talked about language. Mothers’, but not fathers, use of language-focused terms was positively correlated with children’s use of language-focused terms. The findings suggest that in the course of routine social interactions, parents provide children with potentially important information about the communicative functions of language.

Managing to Make It: Urban Families and Adolescent Success

Book

Jan 1999

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighborhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. Sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in Managing to Make It. This unique studyâthe first in the MacArthur Foundation Studies on Successful Adolescent Development seriesâfocuses on how and why youth are able to overcome social disadvantages. Based on nearly 500 interviews and case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, Managing to Make It lays out in detail the creative means parents use to manage risks and opportunities in their communities. More importantly, it also depicts the strategies parents develop to steer their children away from risk and toward resources that foster positive development and lead to success. "Indispensible to anyone concerned about breaking the cycle of poverty and helplessness among at-risk adolescents, this book has a readable, graphic style easily grasped by those unfamiliar with statistical techniques." âLibrary Journal

Dimensions of Family Rituals Across Two Generations: Relation to Adolescent Identity

Article

Jul 1992

Barbara H Fiese

Family rituals are considered part of a generational process that fosters a sense of identity for individual members and is reflective of the family's shared belief system. The symbolic significance attached to family rituals is considered central to the force of family rituals. Three questions were addressed in the study: (1) Are the dimensions of family rituals viewed similarly across generations?; (2) Is level of ritualization related to adolescent identity?; (3) If there is disagreement about the relative level of ritualization in a family, is there a negative relation to adolescent identity? A total of 77 families with an adolescent member completed the Family Ritual Questionnaire, and the adolescents completed a measure of self-esteem. Results of a factor analysis demonstrated shared representation of family rituals across two generations, with one factor loading on the symbolic qualities of family rituals and the second factor loading on the routine aspects of family rituals. Positive relations were found between adolescent identity and the family's report of symbolic significance and affect associated with family rituals. A negative relation was found between mother-adolescent disagreement about family rituals and adolescent feelings of belonging. Distinguishing between meaning and routine aspects of family rituals is discussed as well as clinical implications.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland II)

Article

Jul 1985

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales represent a revision of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale, which, over the last sixty years, has made major contributions to our knowledge of adaptive behavior assessment and our understanding of mental retardation characteristics of adaptive behavior / construction of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales / validity assessments of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales / administration / scoring / interpretation / case examples / uses of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Family Rituals

Article

Oct 1984

Family rituals, consisting of celebrations, traditions, and patterned family interactions, are defined and illustrated in this paper. The power of ritual practice in families is explained by three underlying processes — transformation, communication, and stabilization — concepts whose roots lie in anthropology and ethology. We propose that all families struggle with finding a suitable role for rituals in their collective lives but their actual achievement varies greatly. Commitment to ritual and adaptability of ritual practice throughout the family life cycle are important considerations. The utility of these concepts in the assessment and treatment of families is discussed.

The Family Routines Inventory: Development and validation

Article

Feb 1983

This report builds upon pertinent theoretical considerations regarding the nature and importance of routinization within families and describes the development and validation of a standardized inventory to measure family routines. The Family Routines Inventory (FRI) measures 28 positive, strength-promoting family routines, those observable, repetitive behaviours which involve two or more family members and which occur with predictable regularity in the daily life of a family. The 28 routines were selected from an extensive list of 104 routines obtained through family interviews. Scoring options for the inventory were identified based on their face validity and consistency with the underlying theoretical construct. The inventory was subsequently administered to a diverse group of families for reliability and validity testing. This testing identified an optimal scoring method (frequency score) for the inventory and revealed that the Family Routines Inventory, which measures the extent and importance of routinization within a given family, appears to be a reliable and valid measure of family cohesion, solidarity, order and overall satisfaction with family life.

Mothers' Concepts of Young Children's Areas of Personal Freedom

Article

Sep 1996

Family Routines and Rituals: A Context for Development in the Lives of Young Children

Abstract

No full-text available