Stop hurting each other: Bidirectional longitudinal relationships and sex differences between parents’ negative expressiveness and offspring’s problem behaviors

IF 3.2 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Early Childhood Research Quarterly Pub Date : 2024-07-24 DOI:10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.07.003

Zhaoxing Sun , Nanhua Cheng , Jiedi Liu , Mei Wu , Xiaoxu Meng , Chao Liu , Chao Jiang , Zhengyan Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This longitudinal study explored the bidirectional longitudinal relationships and sex differences in negative expressiveness among parents and internalizing/externalizing problems in their offspring. A total of 185 father-mother dyads from China participated in this study. Fathers and mothers independently completed three rounds of self-report questionnaires assessing family negative expressiveness, while mothers also reported on their offspring’s problem behaviors at the same intervals. The mean age of infants at the initial participation was 1.23 years (SD = .13). The results revealed that offspring internalizing problems at Time 1 (T1) positively predicted maternal negative expressiveness at Time 2 (T2), and maternal negative expressiveness at T1 positively predicted offspring externalizing problems at T2. Furthermore, paternal negative expressiveness at T2 mediated the relationship between early offspring externalizing problems at T1 and later internalizing problems at Time 3 (T3). The cross-lagged model also uncovered sex-specific patterns: paternal and maternal negative expressiveness predicted subsequent problem behaviors in boys, whereas problem behaviors in girls predicted paternal and maternal negative expressiveness. Notably, paternal negative expressiveness at T2 was a significant mediator for the continuity of externalizing problems in girls from T1 to T3, indicating a dynamic vicious circle with the family system. These findings highlight that the bidirectional longitudinal relationships between parents’ negative expressiveness and offspring’s problem behaviors are closely related to the sex of both parents and their offspring. Specifically, parents’ negative expressiveness exacerbated offspring’s problem behaviors (especially for boys), and offspring’s problem behaviors exacerbated parents’ negative expressiveness (especially for girls). Future interventions targeting parents’ negative expressiveness and offspring’s problem behaviors should consider the roles of sex differences among parents and infants.

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停止互相伤害父母的负面表达能力与后代问题行为之间的双向纵向关系和性别差异

这项纵向研究探讨了父母负性表达能力与后代内化/外化问题的双向纵向关系和性别差异。共有 185 对来自中国的父亲和母亲组合参与了这项研究。父亲和母亲独立完成了三轮自我报告问卷，评估家庭的负向表达能力，母亲也在相同的时间间隔内报告了其子女的问题行为。首次参与调查的婴儿平均年龄为 1.23 岁（标准差 = 0.13）。结果显示，孩子在时间 1（T1）的内化问题正向预测了母亲在时间 2（T2）的负性表达，而母亲在时间 1 的负性表达正向预测了孩子在时间 2 的外化问题。此外，父亲在 T2 阶段的负向表达能力对 T1 阶段早期后代的外部化问题与 T3 阶段后代的内部化问题之间的关系起着中介作用。交叉滞后模型还发现了性别特异性模式：父亲和母亲的负向表达能力预测了男孩随后的问题行为，而女孩的问题行为则预测了父亲和母亲的负向表达能力。值得注意的是，在 T2 阶段，父亲的负性表达能力对女孩从 T1 到 T3 阶段的外化问题的持续性有显著的中介作用，这表明家庭系统存在动态的恶性循环。这些发现突出表明，父母的负性表达能力与后代问题行为之间的双向纵向关系与父母及其后代的性别密切相关。具体来说，父母的消极表达会加剧后代的问题行为（尤其是男孩），而后代的问题行为会加剧父母的消极表达（尤其是女孩）。未来针对父母的负面表达能力和后代问题行为的干预措施应考虑到父母和婴儿之间性别差异的作用。

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来源期刊

Early Childhood Research Quarterly Multiple-

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

8.10%

发文量

109

期刊介绍： For over twenty years, Early Childhood Research Quarterly (ECRQ) has influenced the field of early childhood education and development through the publication of empirical research that meets the highest standards of scholarly and practical significance. ECRQ publishes predominantly empirical research (quantitative or qualitative methods) on issues of interest to early childhood development, theory, and educational practice (Birth through 8 years of age). The journal also occasionally publishes practitioner and/or policy perspectives, book reviews, and significant reviews of research. As an applied journal, we are interested in work that has social, policy, and educational relevance and implications and work that strengthens links between research and practice.