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Parent-child interactive processes in early childhood: implications for vulnerable families

Date

2015

Authors

Kemp, Christine, author
Lunkenheimer, Erika, advisor
MacPhee, David, committee member
Zimmerman, Toni, committee member
Orsi, Rebecca, committee member

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Abstract

The current studies examined the relation between family risk and parent-child interactive processes during early childhood. Study 1 used a cumulative risk model to examine how child maltreatment (CM) risk related to mother-child rupture and repair processes at age three (N=138 dyads). Rupture and repair were assessed using dynamic systems-based modelling of second-by-second behavioral patterns during a mother-child problem-solving task. Group-based analyses indicated that high- and low-risk families did not differ in the frequency of their repairs or the average time taken to repair a dyadic rupture. In both groups children were more likely to rupture than mothers and mothers were quicker to repair than children. Survival analyses indicated that higher risk predicted less time-to-event for mother ruptures (e.g., higher risk predicted quicker mother ruptures) but was not related to time-to-event for child rupture, child repair, or mother repair. Study 2 examined effects of mother and father psychopathology on parent-child repair and flexibility during a problem-solving task at age three (N=25 families). Actor Partner Interdependence Models (APIM; Kenny et al., 2006) were used. Results indicated that father-child dyads were significantly quicker to repair their ruptures than mother-child dyads. Contrary to hypotheses, results indicated no significant actor effects for parental psychopathology on repair proportion, repair speed, or flexibility. These studies highlighted the utility of analyzing moment-to-moment interaction patterns between parents and young children as well as the importance of taking a systemic and comprehensive assessment of family risk.

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