Predictors of Children's Emotional Distress in a Mother-Absent Situation: Implications for Caregiving Research

Abstract

Although many factors have been found to be associated with caregiving behavior among preschool-age siblings, few studies have considered the older child's emotional responses to the distress of a younger sibling in the mother's absence. In this study, the authors considered both individual and family factors that predict older and younger sibling distress in a mother-absent situation designed to elicit caregiving behavior. For both older and younger siblings, the strongest predictor of distress following the mother's departure was distress in the other sibling, suggesting the importance of situational factors. Individual and family factors, however, were also found to predict child distress. Among older siblings, shy and sociable temperaments were associated with greater distress during the mother's absence. Higher levels of parenting stress were found to be associated with less distress among both older and younger siblings in the mother-absent situation. Results are discussed in terms of individual and family environment influences on the sibling relationship.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence: Influences of parenting, family distress, and siblings.

“…Hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) analyses were performed on older sibling trauma and younger sibling trauma in violent and nonviolent groups to assess for specific first-order (main) and moderator effects (Frazier, Tix, & Barron, 2004). In addition to drawing on available theory and research (Adamson & Thompson, 1998; Cowan & Cowan, 2006; El-Sheikh, 1997; Levendosky & Graham-Bermann, 2000; O’Laughlin et al, 2000; Wolfe et al, 1985), variables identified as potential predictors were demographic characteristics, maternal characteristics, or mother–child interaction variables that varied significantly across violent and nonviolent groups and that correlated to the outcome variable, older–younger sibling trauma. To control for multicollinearity, predictor, moderator, and product terms were centered–standardized around a mean of zero (Aiken & West, 1991).…”

“…Although mothers’ mental health may play a central role in their children’s adjustment, recent work on nonviolent families has revealed that adult siblings of individuals with high levels of emotional distress may vicariously experience traumatization (Sra, 2013), particularly if their sibling became disturbed before the age of 18 (Friedrich, Lively, & Buckwalter, 1999). It is interesting to note that earlier O’Laughlin, Meeker, and Bischoff’s (2000) study on nonviolent families showed that the combination of older sibling distress and parenting stress had a notable influence on younger sibling distress, with the opposite true in the case of the older sibling. Given these findings, it is likely that maternal stress may not operate in isolation but rather in interaction with older sibling distress to moderate the level of distress in younger siblings.…”

“…Although Holden and Ritchie (1991) found maternal stress alone to impact the development of children exposed to IPV, work by O'laughlin, Meeker, and Bischoff (2000) on nonviolent families indicated that maternal stress interacted with older sibling distress to moderate the level of distress in the younger sibling. Clearly, the unique experience of each sibling may contribute to variation in their individual adjustment.…”

Trastorno de ansiedad por separación

“…Se ha observado que los niños inhibidos y temerosos presentan un sistema autonómico con el tono simpático aumentado por lo que tendrían un mayor riesgo de desarrollar patología ansiosa 12 , y un mayor riesgo de presentar trastornos ansiosos no sólo en la infancia sino que también en la adolescencia 13 . Se cree que el temperamento y el comportamiento inhibido, tienen una importante base genética 14 Pronóstico Tendencia a la regresión y remisión espontánea El trastorno se inicia en la infancia y puede prolongarse La resolución ayuda a la autonomía emocional hacia la adultez, pudiendo asociarse posteriormente a y a las relaciones interpersonales seguras psicopatología de tipo ansioso o de ánimo depresivo miento del trastorno de ansiedad por separación.…”

Examining Complex Links among Shyness, Fear Regulation, and Parental Emotional Socialization in the Prediction of Young Children's Socio-Emotional Functioning

“…Thus, these environments provide young children with a great deal of support in their exploration of social interactions with peers (Coplan, Findlay, & Schneider, 2010). Although shy children may initially experience greater distress in such a novel and stimulating environment (Dettling et al, 1999;O'Laughlin, Meeker, & Bischoff, 2000), they typically adjust well over time and experience comparative gains in social competence. Additionally, shy children in preschool may also develop high quality relationships with educators, which can serve to attenuate social maladjustment and promote positive interactions with peers (Hipson & Séguin, 2016).…”