Paternal Positivity and Child Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis

Foster, Daniel W.; Rodrigues, Michelle; Somir, Indika; Aziz, Tahsia; Patel, Radhika A.; Ragunathan, Sharmigaa; Sokolovic, Nina; Jenkins, Jennifer M.

doi:10.1007/s10826-022-02361-7

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…These parents emphasized the importance of validating their child's emotions through listening with empathy, understanding, and respect, as well as using their child's emotional experiences as opportunities for nurturing intimacy and teaching coping skills and problem-solving. Both of these themes are consistent with Gottman and colleagues' (1996) parenting endorses (e.g., Okorn et al, 2022), and such maternal and paternal behaviors are largely positive in terms of their correlates with child outcomes (Smith et al, 2000;Foster et al, 2022).…”

Section: The Meaning Of 'Gentle Parenting' According To Gentle Parentssupporting

confidence: 81%

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

Pezalla,

Davidson

2024

Preprint

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Raising young children has always been hard, but evidence suggests that it may be getting harder. The isolation of the pandemic, the pressures to fulfill “perfect” parenting standards, and the explosion of “expert” parenting advice on social media have fueled the rise of “gentle parenting,” an approach that pivots away from older, discipline-heavy parenting typologies and which promises the development of happier, healthier children. Despite the popularity of gentle parenting, it has received no empirical scrutiny. The current study represents the first systematic investigation of what gentle parenting entails. Data were gathered from a sample (N = 100) of parents of at least one child between the ages of 2 and 7 from the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Approximately half (n = 49) of the sample identified as “gentle parents.” Inductive analyses identified this approach as one that emphasizes high levels of parental affection and parents’ and children’s emotion regulation. Gentle parenting appears to be distinct from other established measures of parenting approaches in its emphasis on boundaries, but the enactment of those boundaries is not uniform. Overall, gentle parents reported high levels of parenting satisfaction and efficacy, but a subset of gentle parents who were highly critical of themselves reported significantly lower levels of efficacy than the rest of the sample. Statements of parenting uncertainty and burnout were present in over one-third of the gentle parent sample. Implications are discussed for future research and increased support for those who identify as gentle parents.

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Section: The Meaning Of 'Gentle Parenting' According To Gentle Parentssupporting

confidence: 81%

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

Pezalla,

Davidson

2024

Preprint

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“…A third theme mentioned by around a quarter of gentle parents focused on showing physical and/or emotional affection to their child. These descriptions of hugging their child and being loving, kind, and warm are consistent with what positive parenting endorses [e.g., 40 ], and such maternal and paternal behaviors are largely positive in terms of their correlates with child outcomes [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

Pezalla,

Davidson

2024

PLoS ONE

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Raising young children has always been hard, but evidence suggests that it may be getting harder. The isolation of the pandemic, the pressures to fulfill exacting parenting standards, and the explosion of “expert” parenting advice on social media have fueled the rise of “gentle parenting,” an approach that pivots away from older, discipline-heavy parenting typologies and which promises the development of happier, healthier children. Despite the popularity of gentle parenting, it has received no empirical scrutiny. The current study represents the first systematic investigation of what gentle parenting entails. Data were gathered from a sample (N = 100) of parents of at least one child between the ages of 2 and 7 from the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Approximately half (n = 49) of the sample identified as “gentle parents.” Inductive analyses identified this approach as one that emphasizes high levels of parental affection and parents’ and children’s emotion regulation. Gentle parenting appears to be distinct from other established measures of parenting approaches in its emphasis on boundaries, yet the enactment of those boundaries is not uniform. Overall, gentle parents reported high levels of parenting satisfaction and efficacy, but a subset of gentle parents who were highly critical of themselves reported significantly lower levels of efficacy than the rest of the sample. Statements of parenting uncertainty and burnout were present in over one-third of the gentle parent sample. Implications are discussed for future research and increased support for those who identify as gentle parents.

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“…With respect to other parental variables (i.e., parental inconsistency and positive parenting) ndings were consistent with the literature. In general, negative parenting practices were associated with more problematic trajectories in boys and girls (Foster et al, 2022;Shaw, 2013), this echoing studies in which such risk factors were found to be similar across genders (Barker & Maughan, 2009). Positive parenting was not associated with the most problematic trajectories (i.e., stable high in girls and upward in boys) in either gender.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Gender differences in the development of conduct problems: trajectories, predictors, and outcomes through childhood

Álvarez-Voces,

Romero

2023

Preprint

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Gender differences in the trajectories of conduct problems (CP) have received very little attention in the literature. The present four-year longitudinal study explores gender differences in CP trajectories through early childhood, assessing gender-specific predictors and outcomes. Gender-separated CP trajectories were identified in a sample of 2,246 young children (Mage=4.25; 48.53% girls) using latent class growth analyses (LCGA). Five trajectories were found in girls (i.e., low, average, downward, upward, and stable high) and four in boys (i.e., low, average, stable high, and upward). Low socioeconomic status was related to the most problematic trajectories only in boys, whereas the interpersonal psychopathic trait (grandiose-deceitful) was more pronounced in girls with higher CP scores relative to other psychopathic traits. Meanwhile, boys’ trajectories were more varied in terms of negative outcomes (e.g., bullying, victimization) than those of girls. This study contributes to the body of work on heterogeneity in CP by identifying different trajectories according to gender, and shows the relevance of gender in understanding the predictors, development, and outcomes of CP.

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Paternal Positivity and Child Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 62 publications

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

“Trying to remain calm…but I do reach my limit sometimes”: An exploration of the meaning of gentle parenting

Gender differences in the development of conduct problems: trajectories, predictors, and outcomes through childhood

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