Summaries: the best scientific articles for family pedagogics and upbringing summarized

What is attachment security?

Attachment security is the state of being secure or untroubled with the availability of an attachment figure. A child that is securely attached is confident in protection and trusts the attachment figure to be available and willing to provide comfort in the case of stress or threat. Having a secure attachment to parents has positive consequences for child development.

What are the theoretical arguments for children being more likely to form secure attachments with their mothers than their fathers?

Attachment to several figures tends to be hierarchically organized. The primary attachment figure is usually the mother. Also, security is influenced by the sensitivity of the response of the parents to the infant’s preferential bids for comfort and mothers tend to be more sensitive than fathers. However, more research is necessary to really test whether children are more secure with their mothers than with their fathers.

Why is children’s attachment security with both parents expected to be correlated?

There is evidence for an intergenerational transmission of security from parents to their children and security of both parents tends to be positively correlated. Also, the child’s temperament may cause similarities of attachment to different caregivers.

Do children show higher levels of attachment security with mothers than fathers?

The meta-analysis done by Pinquart (2021) found the following results:

• Attachment of children is, on average, slightly more secure with mothers than fathers.
• Attachment security with mothers and fathers is correlated.
• Correlations of attachments to mothers and fathers are larger in older children.
• Mean-level differences are larger when more children from non-intact families participate.

What could explain the larger mean-level differences when more children from non-intact families participate?

The results showed that higher attachment security with mothers compared to fathers was amplified if samples included more children from non-intact families in which the children tend to live with their mother. It is possible that the physical custody by an individual caregiver facilitates the development of a secure attachment relationship between the child and its caregiver. The development of a secure attachment with the other parents is hindered because that caregiver is less available for attending to the attachment needs.

Why can it not be concluded that young children are more likely to form secure attachments with their mothers than with their fathers?

Children tend to be slightly more secure with their mothers than with their fathers, but the size of this difference is very small in the first years of life. Larger differences emerge in non-intact families in which many fathers have limited opportunities to meet the attachment needs of their child, indicating a steeper attachment hierarchy.

What could explain the larger association of security with mothers and fathers in recent years?

A possible explanation can be found in the changes in the quality of fathers’ behavior and changes in women’s roles. Fathers are no longer simply breadwinners and are more involved in the day-to-day caretaking of their children, and women are no longer just mothering and often work outside of the home as well. This needs to be studied further.

Generation digital 

The time that adolescents spend using social media (more than three hours a day) has now surpassed the amount of time they spend on entertainment media or playing electronic games. They spend the least amount of time reading books or comic books. Adolescents aren't an homogenous group > divide: early adolescence (age 12-15) and late adolescence (age 16-19). Puberty is thought to begin at approximately eleven years of age and to conclude around fifteen.  

Early adolescence 

Characterized by intense physical changes that, in turn, affect adolescents’ emotions and cognition. Hypothalamus > sending signals to pituitary gland > start of puberty: first menstruation/ejaculation + intense state of sexual arousal.  

Besides the noticeable physical changes that puberty brings, there are other, less obvious changes that have major consequences for the way teens think and behave. These changes take place in different regions of the brain and in different ways. Gray matter is responsible for information processing. White matter consists of the pathways that connect neurons to one another. During childhood, the volume of gray matter increases significantly in many regions of the brain. Around the start of puberty, gray matter starts to decline in volume: pruning > brain is beginning to function more efficiently. White matter increases in volume throughout late childhood and adolescence > faster and more efficient communication between the different regions of the brain. The maturity of the adolescent prefrontal cortex appears to depend on their motivation to keep their appointments, to structure their thoughts, and plan their activities. 

Abstract thought and metacognition: formal-operational stage of Piaget. This thinking refers to thinking that is both logical and abstract. Moreover, early adolescents can reason hypothetically and think about what could happen in specific situations > engage in systematic problem solving. In addition to adolescents’ increasingly abstract thinking and problem-solving skills, their metacognitive skills improve significantly during this period. Once early adolescents have acquired metacognition, the ability to evaluate one’s own thoughts, they are better able to summarize what they have learned or what another person’s train of thought might have been. They can not only indicate what they know, but also say why they know it. As a result of these metacognitive skills, they are capable of introspection (that is, the ability to reflect on their own thoughts and emotions). Not surprisingly, while their metacognitive skills are increasing, their social cognition—their ability to interpret and anticipate others’ desires, emotions, and motives—is also improving. 

Moderate discrepancy hypothesis: children and teens are most interested in media content that departs moderately from their level of cognitive and social-emotional development. Entertainment programs should not diverge too much in content or structure from their cognitive skills. Their advancing brain development means that speed and variety are the norm in this age group. It is not clear whether this new, fast-paced media entertainment environment is changing teens’ preferences for fast-paced entertainment or whether this entertainment environment is just catering to what today's teens gravitate toward. This influence is probably reciprocal. Compared to their younger peers, early adolescents prefer increasingly complex content but this should be plausible.  

children's sense of humor changes when they reach puberty. Early adolescents become interested in complex forms of humor involving irony, sarcasm, and cynicism. In addition, early adolescents begin to prefer spontaneous, witty forms of humor to the ready-made jokes and riddles popular with children. 

As children move into early adolescence, they show an increased interest in horror movies, vampires and high-risk sports. One primary explanation for this is associated with their brain development: increase in the activity of neural axons: associated with the pleasure system of the brain. In particular, dopamine is thought to co-occur with feelings of enjoyment and to reinforce a tendency to do certain activities. Some people think that base dopamine levels are lower in adolescence than in childhood and adulthood, but that levels skyrocket when adolescents have or anticipate having an exciting experience. This is thought to explain why adolescents often feel listless and bored unless they experience new or exhilarating things. The changes in de dopamine system during adolescence may lead teens to act more impulsively than children or adults and to show a greater tendency toward risk taking. This is particularly true when teens are in the company of peers, whose presence kicks the brain's reward system into higher gear.  

While cognitive development is a core aspect of the adolescent years, teens’ social-emotional development is just as significant. One of the crucial goals of adolescence is the development of autonomy (make independent decisions and care for oneself). To gain autonomy, teens have to develop three key social-emotional subgoals:  

1. Develop a stable identity;  

1. Identity consists of two aspects: self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept is how we see ourselves: who we are and who we want to become. Our self-esteem is the extent to which we value this self-concept. To develop a stable self-concept and positive self-esteem, teens need to experiment with their behavior in order to find out what those in their social environment appreciate or dislike about them. During this period of identity experimentation, teens can be moody, and their self-esteem may waver. Early adolescents tend to be more troubled by day-to-day fluctuations in self-esteem than older adolescents, since they are more likely to base their self-esteem on how people in their environment react to their behavior and appearance. 

1. Imaginary audience 

2. Personal fable 

2. Teens' increased self-focus means that they can become incredibly preoccupied with their appearance.  

3. Two things are important for adolescents trying to develop a stable self-concept and self-esteem: the approval of their social environment and the possibility of influencing that environment.  

2. Develop a sense of intimacy; 

1. Once boys and girls enter puberty, they spend more time with peers and less time with their parents. Close friendships in adolescence play a crucial role in helping youth develop their identity and practice the skills needed for intimacy.  

1. Cliques 

2. Crowds (or subcultures) 

3. Discover their sexual identity.  

1. Understand and become comfortable with one's sexuality. Unlike sexuality in childhood, sexuality in puberty is closely associated with self-consciousness and the ability to think hypothetically.  

2. Although sexuality in television and film has largely remained a staple in teens’ media diets, the emergence of digital media has brought about an entirely new way to access sexual content. Sizable numbers of teens regularly use the internet to obtain information about sex or to discuss moral, emotional, and social issues related to sex. 

3. Online sexual exploration seems to be even more important for certain minority groups, such as homosexual youth. For these groups, online communication can serve as a relatively safe way of exploring sensitive issues. 

Late adolescence 

Late adolescence (sixteen to nineteen years old) is the period that follows puberty. The physical changes continue, but they are less noticeable, and their impact on self-concept and self-esteem is milder than during early adolescence. Differences: 

• Rapid improvement of so-called executive functions: better able to control impulses, allowing them to focus and concentrate on tasks longer. 

• Improved ability to grasp the broader context of a problem or decision: more likely to think about the future and possible careers. 

While peers remain crucial during late adolescence, the relationship between teens and their parents often improves during this time. Parents are more likely to talk to their nearly grown children about adult matters and may also ask them for help and support. Late adolescents still feel a tremendous need to communicate with peers. By this period, many friendships have developed into full-fledged, intimate, and caring relationships that resemble those between adults. The quality of their friendships becomes increasingly important. They also come to see that friendship involves give-and-take, and that loyalty and trust are paramount. Moreover, romantic relationships begin to take precedence. 

During early adolescence, teens move toward autonomy by working to discover their identity, developing intimacy, and beginning to understand their sexuality. This process continues among late adolescents, who are still working on stabilizing their identity and self-esteem. One of the largest differences between early and late adolescence is associated with sexuality. Whereas early adolescents are beginning to discover their sexuality, it is during late adolescence that most teenagers have their first sexual experience with another person.  

Conclusion 

Valkenburg Chapter 13 Social media 

The smartphone generation 

With the increasing affordability of smartphones, we are witnessing a dramatic change in how youth access and use media technologies and content. 

The seven affordances of social media 

Affordance: the possibilities that objects in our environment offer us. 

Adolescents want to attain autonomy (through stable identity, intimacy and sexuality (chapter 6)). To successfully complete these huge tasks, adolescents have to learn two communication skills: self-presentation and self-disclosure. Self-presentation is the presenting of aspects of identity within the normative standards of a certain audience. Self-disclosure is the sharing of intimate information, also according to the normative standards within a certain group. Too much or too little self-disclosure hinders the formation and maintenance of friendships and other social relationships.  

Self-presentation and self-disclosure require practice. Through self-presentation, adolescents practice certain roles in front of a varying audience. By using the feedback that they receive on their self-presentation, they are able to validate their beliefs and behavior and to integrate them in their identity. Appropriate self-disclosure enhances the forming of close friendships and romantic relationships. This happens through the norm of reciprocity: if one party tells something personal, the other is inclined to tell something personal in return. 

While previous generations of teens acquired dexterity in self-presentation and self-disclosure primary offline, the smartphone generation prefers to rely on social media to help with the development of these skills. This preference is due to the affordances of social media, which give adolescents an enhanced sense of control > make them feel more secure and self-assured on social media than in offline situations. How does this sense of control and security develop? > theories about privacy: privacy paradox: just like adults, most teens know perfectly well that social media threaten their privacy, and they are often uncomfortable with it, but do not act accordingly. Broad definition of privacy: not only informational privacy (the extent to which people can control the amount and content of their personal information that is being distributed), but also psychological privacy (our possibility to control when, what, to whom and how we share something about ourselves). Although most affordances of social media may decrease informational privacy, they may increase psychological privacy. Seen in this light, the privacy paradox is less paradoxical than it might seem at first. The affordances of social media may decrease teens’ informational privacy, yet provide them with enhanced psychological control over their communication and allow them to demonstrate their autonomy—which helps explain the immense appeal of social media for teens. 

Theories of social media effects 

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) theories focus on discovering the difference between face-to-face communication and CMC. How do characteristics of CMC influence the quality of interpersonal communication? Hyperpersonal communication model (1990): CMC encourages people to optimally present themselves (for instance, by pretending to be kinder). Meanwhile, the recipients of these optimized self-presentations are free to fill in the blanks in their impression of their partners, which may encourage them to idealize these partners > CMC relationships could become hyperpersonal: more intimate than offline relationships.  

CMC theories, like many traditional media effects theories, are rooted in a reception model. That is, both types of theories assume that media or technologies have a unidirectional impact on recipients. And in both types of theories, it is too often forgotten that users of social media can simultaneously be both recipients and senders of communication. Another issue that has received too little attention in both types of theories is that the production and distribution of media content may have effects not only on its recipients, but also on the senders. This phenomenon, in which our beliefs and behavior exert an influence on ourselves, has been referred to as an expression effect. An expression effect occurs when a sender internalizes the behavior that she shows or the beliefs that she discloses, so that her self-concept or behavior changes. Expression effects are best explained via Daryl Bem's self-perception theory, which postulates that people like to be consistent in their beliefs, attitudes, and conduct. The affordances of social media provide users with an opportunity to experiment with forms of behavior that can influence their self-concept.  

Social-emotional effects of social media 

When it comes to identity formation: self-concept clarity, self-esteem, self-awareness and narcissism. Intimacy: friendships and connectedness, and cyberbullying. Sexuality: sexual self-expression as well as stranger danger. 

Self-concept clarity 

Self-concept clarity is the degree to which out beliefs about our identity are clearly defined and stable.  

• Fragmentation hypothesis: because it is very easy for teens to experiment with their identity online, they are faced with too many different views online > experience confusion and difficulty in integrating all these new views in their identity. 

• Or: social media may improve self-concept clarity because the many different views can serve as a model and sounding board while they develop and corroborate their identity. 

• Expression effect: adolescents differ in the way they use social media, and these differences predict the effects that they experience. 

Self-esteem 

Self-esteem is the degree to which we value ourselves. Two main predictors of self-esteem: the feeling that we have control of our environment, and the approval that we hope to get from that environment. Social media offer teens both, by providing numerous possibilities for control and positive feedback. Studies indicate that online communication increases adolescents’ self-esteem. Negative feedback > decrease in self-esteem. Finally, the benefits of social media on self-esteem are most pronounced for those who use social media to connect with their close friends.35 Overall, then, it seems that for most adolescents, social media are conducive to supporting self-esteem, but for a minority, social media are problematic 

Self-awareness 

Private self-awareness is our tendency to pay attention to the inner aspects of our identity. Public self-awareness is our attention to the way we are perceived by others. Individuals with strong public awareness are very good at predicting how others will respond to them and adjusting their self-presentation accordingly. Adolescents who are more active on social media have greater public self-awareness than their less active counterparts. But: these studies are correlational, which do not allow for cause-and-effect inferences: social media may increase public self-awareness, but it may also be the case that teens with greater public self-awareness use social media more extensively. 

Narcissism 

Narcissists are excessively preoccupied by others’ opinion of them, and they will go to great lengths to be positively assessed. They have an inflated self-image and overblown self-confidence. We should ask ourselves whether narcissism is a negative trait. Some psychologists argue that narcissism, on a modest scale, is conductive to self-development. A modest dose of narcissism is probably adaptive, functional, and beneficial to social well-being. Too much, on the other hand, leans toward pathology and is harmful.  

Friendships and connectedness 

Newer social media applications encourage users to communicate with their existing friends. Recent studies into the effects of online communication have found that online communication leads to increased social involvement. Longitudinal research suggests that social media invite adolescents to share intimate feelings with their offline friends, for instance, about love, sex, and things they would be somewhat embarrassed to discuss offline. This is due to the affordances of social media, which, as discussed, foster teens’ perception of social and psychological privacy. By disclosing something personal to a friend, we invite the friend to share something personal with us. This mutual and gradually more intimate self-disclosure is how friendships and romantic relationships are formed and maintained. It seems that especially for teens, this norm of reciprocity takes place online as well as offline. 

Cyberbullying 

Cyberbullying takes places when online applications are used to insult, exclude, or in any other way hurt others. As with offline bullying, cyberbullying is not an incidental, one-time attack, but comprises purposeful and repeated aggressive actions by individuals or groups, against which the victims cannot easily defend themselves. Cyberbullying occurs particularly often between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, and although boys, in general, bully more than girls do offline, boys and girls seem to have an equal share in online bullying. If differences are found, it is the girls who cyberbully the most. The prevalence of cyberbullying seems to have remained relatively stable (continuing to occur less frequently than offline bullying).  

Cyberbullying is a troubling and undesired side effect of the affordances of the social media. The affordances lead to an increased chance of engaging in uninhibited behavior, and of the impact of that behavior being less visible. They afford greater ease in distributing bullying communications and enhance their visibility among a wider audience. Online and offline bullying are correlated.  

Sexual self-exploration 

Adolescents routinely use social media to obtain advice about sexual issues or to discuss the moral, emotional and social aspects of sex. This applies in particular to gay and bisexual adolescents. More than ever before, increasing numbers of teens are turning to social media as a means of expressing their sexuality. This is particularly evident through two related phenomena: sexting and the sexy selfie. Sexting refers to the sending or posting of sexual messages, photos or videos. Sexting seems primarily motivated by self-presentation. The sexy selfie typically consists of sexy poses rather than nude or seminude body displays. Interestingly, sexy selfies have consequences not necessarily for the sender of the pictures but rather for their recipients. Specifically, teens who are exposed to sexy selfies via social media are more likely than teens who are less exposed to such selfies to subsequently initiate sexual behavior. The researchers suggest that as a result of repeatedly seeing sexy selfies via social media, teens may start to believe that sexual activity is common in their peer group and may feel increased pressure to engage in sexual activities.  

Stranger danger 

Sexual grooming occurs when someone approaches a child or a teen with the intent of eventually initiating offline sexual contact. Sexual abuse is still committed more often by offline acquaintances than online strangers. The teens who are the most vulnerable to grooming are girls and gay boys. Furthermore, teens who are uncertain about their sexual identity, who were abused as children, and who have already demonstrated offline risk behavior are also particularly vulnerable.  

Cognitive effects of social media 

Media multitasking (using multiple media at the same time). There are two main explanations for the dramatic uptick in media multitasking: 1) changes in the traditional media landscape increasingly call on media consumers to be able to multitask while consuming the content; 2) many of today's television programs assume some level of multitasking. Smartphones accustom us to ingest “fast entertainment". Concern: as youth become acculturated to the continual switching of activities and attention, they will eventually lose the ability to concentrate.  

Studies on the relationship between media multitasking and cognitive control: 

• Media multitasking is negatively related to sustained attention, which implies that teens more often engage in media multitasking are less able to concentrate on relevant tasks. Media multitasking was unrelated to other aspects of cognitive control.  

• Fervid media multitaskers switch between tasks more efficiently than their less ardent counterparts. 

• But: correlational studies > is there causation? 

Shallow thinking: whether social media can harm our capacity for concentration and contemplation as well as our ability to store and recall information. Digital dementia: we no longer need to make effort to store information in our memories > we no longer need to train our own memory > our memory functions will decline over time. Although popular assumptions claim that today's socially mediated world is creating a population of shallow thinkers, there is insufficient evidence to back up this assertion.  

What is this article about?

This article is about parental sensitivity to their infants in different contexts and to what degree the context of the situation plays a role in the displayed sensitivity.

Parental sensitivity is defined by the parents’ ability to interpret and react according to their children’s signals, resulting in positive outcomes in the child, including attachment security and adaptive cognitive development. Parental sensitivity is usually measured by short observations in a broad range of settings. It is not yet examined how the different settings might influence parental sensitivity, even though many different settings have been used for observation so far. Little is known about the stability and consistency of parental sensitivity across different contexts. Furthermore, the question arises if mothers are more sensitive to their children’s needs compared to fathers.

This is what this study will focus on.

How has the study been conducted?

Dutch expecting parents were asked to participate in this study. 132 couples joined the prenatal assessment, 119 a follow-up 4-months assessment.

During the 4-months assessment, both parents have been observed separately, but with the exact same amount of observations.

The parents were video taped with their infant during 4 settings. A free play on the parent’s lap or on the floor, a SFP baseline, a SFP reunion and a routine caregiving task.

SFP is a so called Still-Face Paradigm, a stress inducing factor in interaction with infants.

During the first task, parents played with their infant for 5 minutes, without a toy. During the SFP tasks, parent and infant first interacted as they would usually do, followed by a “still face episode”, in which the parent kept a neutral face and gave no response to the infant. After this "still face episode" a reunion followed, in which the parent interacted with the infant again. The last task consisted of a caregiving task, such as bathing or changing diapers.

What are the results of this study and how can they be interpreted?

Overall, parents who were more sensitive in one context, also showed higher sensitivity in the other three contexts. The highest correlation was shown between the two SFP tasks, but this is logical since both tasks are part of the same overall task. There was no significant difference in sensitivity between mother and father in all four settings.

The mean score of sensitivity during the caregiving task was higher compared to during free play. Sensitivity was the lowest during the SFP tasks.

It can be assumed that the amount of experience with a task influences the parents’ sensitivity. In less experienced contexts it is more difficult to pick up and correctly interpret the signs of the infants. Furthermore, this study showed that there are no differences in sensitivity between mothers and fathers.

What is Gendered Parenting?

The term gendered parenting describes the information parents convey in their interactions, messages and behaviour about how girls and boys are supposed to behave according to social norms.

Parents generally use similar broad parenting styles with both sons and daughters and studies show there are few differences in how boys and girls are parented in terms of warmth, sensitive responsiveness, or parental control. Theories on gendered child development suggest that parents form gendered expectations and evaluations, which appear in more specific parenting practices. Explicit messages to children about gender are rare in societies which value gender equality, and gender stereotypes are mostly implicit and unconscious. In such societies, parents are less likely to report gender-stereotypical ideas as they would not be accepted. While there is a lack of evidence for sex differences in broad parenting styles or explicit gendered parenting practices, gendered socialization is mainly expressed through specific parenting practices that are mostly implicit. These covert behaviors and statements convey messages about differential expectations of girls and boys without stating these messages overtly. These practices can be divided into direct and indirect messages that concern the child and others around them. Gendered socialization is particularly relevant in early childhood when children first start to understand major principles of gender.

Direct Messages

The gendered parenting practices that parents display towards their children convey expectations based on sex and can shape their development. Parents choose the films, books, and toys to which their children are exposed, which can convey gendered messages and encourage certain gender roles. Exposure to highly gender-stereotyped products can affect children's gendered thoughts and behaviors. These choices can lead to differences in skills and later development between boys and girls. Sex differences in children's behavior are not present in infancy but emerge slowly in early childhood. Gendered parenting precedes behavioral differences, with parents often responding differently to the same behaviors in girls and boys. Parental expectations and demands regarding how sons and daughters should behave can send differential messages of approval or disapproval. Children pick up on these evaluations and notice gendered behavior and evaluative messages regarding others' actions.

Indirect Messages

Indirect gendered parenting practices communicate gender stereotypes to children. Researchers study these processes by observing parents' responses to materials that challenge gender stereotypes. The most common way to measure these implicit messages is by asking parents to read books to their children featuring gender-neutral or human characters engaging in gender-stereotypical and counter-stereotypical activities. Overall, parental modeling shapes children’s gender roles and expectations, even when these roles are not explicitly taught. Children infer gendered patterns and behavioral rules from the actions they observe, leading to the development of general ideas and expectations about gender roles. These expectations then guide children’s social behavior towards others and perpetuate gender stereotypes.

What can be concluded from this study?

Based on the review conducted in this study, it can be concluded that expectations about gender roles are also conveyed in indirect messages. It is the parent’s responsibility to uncover and be aware of this responsibility.

Gendered parenting also occurs even if the parents do not want to engage in it, due to unconscious gender stereotypes. Acknowledging different conceptualizations of gender is important to decrease gender stereotypes.

What is this article about?

The aim of this review is to examine the utility and validity of direct observation as a research technique in family interaction and behavior in family setting.

Direct observational research is used to gather information about typical behavior of the participants. However, participants are often required to engage in unusual settings, such as a laboratory, or to engage in certain behaviors on the researcher's demand. Furthermore, knowing that the behavior will be observed can influence the participants' behavior. Therefore, the validity and utility of direct observational techniques is often questioned.

Where does direct observational technique comes from?

To assess children’s social behavior, systematic observational techniques were first developed in the 1930s within the school setting. Hereby, psychometric issues were taken into consideration as well. Specialized on the nature of parent-child interaction, a coding system for observational technique was developed in the 1970s. Many of the systems that were developed during this time are still used.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of observational methods?

One advantage of using direct observations of parent-child interaction is they can be carried out at the participants' homes. It is unknown whether or not an unusual setting, such as laboratory circumstances, would impact parent-child interaction. Observations are limited to private settings, as public spaces can be an additional stress factor for parents.

Direct observations provide information about real behavior, such as shouts or hugs. The definition of such behavior of interest is devised by the researcher rather than the parent in order to avoid personal bias. Direct observations can also be useful in planning and evaluation interventions. Some behavior might only be observed through direct observation, rather than through self-report, as the behavior might be automatic and fast. Furthermore, observable behavior is objective, whereas self-reports reflect the perception of the participants.

On the other hand, the time-consuming nature of direct observations reflects the technique’s major drawback. This includes training observers, carrying out the observation itself, coding the interaction and ensuring inter-observer reliability. Thus, only a limited number of observational session can be carried out, which sometimes lead to unstable datasets.

How can direct observation become more valid?

Validity of direct observational data can be ensured through an observational coding system. However, the validity of those coding systems need to be ensured as well, especially for studies in which the question arises whether or not self-report would be an easier and cheaper method of research. In some studies inter-observer reliability is difficult to conduct since the participants’ behavior differ from day to day. Additionally, test-retest reliability is not always reported in studies.

Stoolmiller et al. (2000) developed a method called “censoring” to correct statistical data. They claimed that addressing reliability issues is important to avoid underestimation of data and intervention effects.

Does direct observation reflect natural behavior?

While assessing validity of direct observational behavior it is important to consider the conditions under which the data has been collected, whether or not the conditions were entirely natural. The behavior of interest has to reflect the behavior that usually occurs in problem settings. Moreover, the parental behavior during direct observations has to be similar to how they usually act.

Which factors might influence the behavior of participant’s?

The observer’s presence

The observer’s presence always influences the behavior to a certain extend. However, approaches have been developed to limit this effect. Firstly, different levels of the observer’s intrusiveness can be compared. Secondly, it is assumed that the participant’s reactivity to the observer declines after a while and when they get used to it.

Recent studies have been conducted with video recording, rather than with the traditional pen-and-paper approach. Little is yet known about the effect of video observing on the participant’s behavior.

Informing the participants about possible reactivity to being observed has not shown to be effective yet. However, reactivity can be reduced by not observing behavior the first 10 minutes. Furthermore, always being observed by the same observer can help participants to behave more natural.

There are different opinions on whether or not the observer should communicate with the participants during the observed situation. More research in different strategies to reduce reactivity is needed.

The task imposed by the observer

Parent-child interaction is often assessed by  using an artificial task in order to ensure a comparison between subjects and to increase reliability of findings.

Therefore, some participants have to interact in a setting that seems unnatural to them, which influences their parent-child interaction.

Location of the observations

Different studies on the effect of the nature and location of the study found different results.  One study found a moderate to high correlation between behavior at home and in a clinical setting, meaning that parent and child behaved in a similar way in both settings. Another study found similar behavior in some variables, but not in others. Also, the similarity of behavior differs with the age of the child. One study found poor correlation between home and laboratory setting in parent-child interaction when the child was one year old.

How can this review be concluded?

To conclude, the observer should be cautious in making assumptions about the similarity of parent-child interactions in natural settings and under laboratory circumstances. However, the participants’ reactivity to the observer does not necessarily lessen the validity of the results. The effect of video observing on the participants’ reactivity remains unclear. Furthermore, the observer needs to be cautious when generalizing the results.

More studies are needed to examine the effect of video observing on participants’ reactivity and the effect of the nature of the tasks.

The development of healthy romantic relationships and sexuality is a lifelong process that begins with romantic feelings and sexual experimentation early in life. During adolescence and young adulthood, individuals explore these aspects of their lives, and social contexts and interpersonal relationships with parents, peers, and partners play a significant role in shaping their experiences. This special issue aims to advance our understanding of how romantic relationships and sexuality develop in the context of these social domains.

How have perspectives in the field changed?

In the past, romantic relationships and sexual activities of youth were often seen as risky behaviors associated with negative outcomes. However, there has been a shift in perspective towards viewing these experiences as normative tasks in adolescent development. Research has shown that early romantic relationships and sexual activity are prevalent among teenagers in Western countries, indicating their expected behavior patterns.

This change in perspective has led to a focus on understanding how most adolescents develop their romantic relationships and sexuality in a normative way, rather than solely identifying factors that prevent involvement in such relationships. This shift has also allowed for the identification of truly risky versus normative developmental trajectories, leading to a better understanding of young people's educational and healthcare needs.

Furthermore, the ecological perspective highlights the importance of socio-contextual factors in shaping adolescent behaviors and relationships. Research has demonstrated the significant role of parents, peers, and partners in influencing romantic relationships and sexual development. Attachment theory suggests that adolescents' relationships with their parents influence their later relationships with romantic partners. Friendships also play a crucial role in developing skills and expectations for romantic relationships. Additionally, characteristics of romantic partners themselves, such as personality traits and self-esteem, contribute to the quality of adolescents' romantic relationships.

In terms of sexual development, a positive and supportive relationship with parents has been found to be protective and associated with delayed initiation of sexual behavior and safer sexual practices. Peers' sexual norms, especially descriptive norms, have been shown to influence adolescents' own sexual activity. The role of romantic partners in adolescents' sexual behaviors is still an area that requires further research.

Overall, this shift towards a normative perspective and recognition of the importance of social contexts has expanded our understanding of adolescent romantic relationships and sexual development, and has implications for effective education programs and healthcare interventions.

What are the strengths of previous studies in the field?

Previous studies have several strengths that contribute to the literature on romantic and sexual development during adolescence and young adulthood within the social contexts of relationships with parents, peers, and partners.

One significant strength is the advancement of a developmental perspective. These studies cover major developmental stages, from early adolescence to young adulthood, and examine how romantic relationships and sexual behaviors evolve over time. They also investigate the role of age in shaping the influence of socio-contextual factors, revealing that peer approval becomes less important as individuals transition from adolescence to young adulthood.

Another strength is the advancement of an ecological perspective. The studies explore multiple social contexts simultaneously and examine interactions between parents, peers, and partners. By considering how these different relationships interact and influence young people's romantic and sexual experiences, they provide a more comprehensive understanding of the processes involved.

The studies also employ state-of-the-art research methods. Some studies utilize longitudinal designs, allowing researchers to investigate developmental processes over time. Others use innovative techniques such as online questionnaires, daily diary assessments, and observations of dyadic interactions. These methods enhance the accuracy and depth of data collection, particularly for sensitive topics like romantic relationships and sexuality.

Furthermore, the studies adopt a broad conceptualization of sexuality. Rather than focusing solely on heterosexual intercourse, they encompass a range of sexual behaviors and also consider cognitive and emotional aspects of young people's sexuality. This broader approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of emerging sexual activity and the factors influencing it.

Overall, the studies presented in this special issue contribute valuable insights into the developmental and contextual factors shaping romantic and sexual experiences during adolescence and young adulthood. Their strengths lie in their developmental and ecological perspectives, utilization of state-of-the-art research methods, and broad conceptualization of sexuality.

What directions should be followed in future research?

First, there is a need to shift the focus from viewing romantic relationships and sexual behaviors as inherently risky to recognizing their positive aspects. Researchers have started exploring the positive outcomes associated with young people's romantic relationships and sexuality, such as happiness, self-worth, social competence, and support. Further investigation is required to understand how socio-contextual factors contribute to these positive outcomes.

Second, there is a need to consider bidirectional relationships between individuals and contexts. While longitudinal research designs have been employed to understand how social contexts influence romantic and sexual development over time, most studies focus on unidirectional socialization processes. It is essential to recognize that young people not only influenced by social contexts but also select and affect their social environment. Exploring bidirectional relations between social contexts and romantic and sexual development through longitudinal research is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of these processes.

Third, there is a need for more cross-country comparison studies. The majority of existing research on young people's romantic relationships and sexuality has focused on Western developed countries, neglecting the experiences of adolescents from diverse cultural contexts in the "majority world" (for example Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean). Given the cultural variations in norms and values related to romantic relationships and sexuality, it is important to conduct studies in these understudied regions to broaden our understanding.

Lastly, there is a need to bridge the gap between research on romantic relationships and sexuality. Currently, these two fields tend to be studied independently, despite the fact that romantic relationships often serve as the context for adolescents' sexual behaviors. More research is needed to explore how characteristics of romantic relationships or partners are associated with young people's sexual behaviors and their evaluations. Integrating the study of romantic relationships and sexuality will advance both fields of research.

What is this article about?

The study in this article aimed to research the relationship between a mothers sensitivity and gentle control on the children’s effortful control (EC) and academic functioning.

The idea of this study developed based on the attempt to understand children’s early scholastic adjustment, including school enjoyment, classroom engagement and academic performance.

Previous research revealed children who enjoy going to school showed a better academic performance, better social skills and a lower risk of developing mental health problems. In order to increase children’s positive attitude towards school, it is beneficial to understand the influential factors of it. The influential factors can include environmental factors, teacher-child relationship and parenting behaviour. One aspect of parenting behavior is maternal gentle control.

The term gentle control describes a supportive, power de-emphasizing and non-coercive parental style with clear expectations setting and provision of constructive guidance to increase the children’s autonomy.

Despite lack of empirical research, it is suggested that maternal gentle control impact children’s early school adjustment due to the way they are guided through chores and activities in early years. Additionally, the purpose of chores and social activities are more likely to be explained to the children. During school years, gentle control can be applied to age-appropriate strategies, including later curfews and bedtime routine. This might contribute to internalizing the importance of academics for children.

Recent research found children’s EC increased their academic functioning. EC can be defined as the ability to pay attention to something and to either inhibit a dominant response and/or activate a subdominant response and to recognize errors. It usually emerges in the first year of life and develops further. A high level of EC has shown to predict high social competence and academic achievements. This could be due to children with high EC often aiming for harmonic teacher-child relationships, which are beneficial for school enjoyment. Furthermore, they often show more disciplined classroom behaviour.

How was this study conducted?

The study of this article was part of a larger longitudinal research project. Recruited participants were mothers and their children. They were invited to the laboratory for the observational assessment.

The mothers' gentle control and sensitivity were observed, as well as the level of EC displayed by their children. Additionally, the mothers had to fill out a questionnaire and teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire about the academic functioning of the child.

What were the results of this study and how can they be explained?

The results of this study suggest that supportive parenting behavior, of which maternal gentle control and maternal sensitivity are a part, predicts high level of EC among their children. In turn, a high level of EC can benefit and increase children’s academic functioning during the transition phase to elementary school. However, the nature of this relationship is quite complex. Maternal gentle control at 18 months and children's EC at 30 months is moderated by maternal sensitivity, promoting that especially a combination of sensitivity and gentle control increases children’s level of EC.

A high level of EC was shown to mediate the relationship between maternal gentle control and children’s academic functioning. However, the mediation effect was only found under the condition of high maternal sensitivity. Contrary to expectations, no direct association between maternal gentle control and children’s academic functioning was found. This could be due to the context of the observation and laboratory settings. Moreover, children’s level of EC did not influence a higher level of maternal gentle control, suggesting that this relationship is unidirectional.

What is the purpose of investigating the hormonal mechanisms implicated in neural models of infant cry perception during the first year of fatherhood?

Crying is a way for infants to communicate their need for parental care. Parents who respond sensitively to it stimulate positive child development. Parental responses to infant crying may be shaped by parents’ neural processing of infant cry sounds, but most studies have only looked at mothers. It is possible that fathers’ neural responses to infant crying are affected by hormonal levels.

Which hormones are especially interesting in studying paternal neural responses to infant cry sounds?

Oxytocin and vasopressin are hormones and neurotransmitters that have been associated with social behavior regulation, pair bonding, and parental caregiving.

• Oxytocin enhances the coding of social signals, in-group trust, empathy, and enhances positive parent-infant interactions. It exerts anxiolytic effects and attenuates endocrine and autonomic responses to stress.
• Vasopressin plays a role in social memory, encoding human facial expressions, defensive and territorial behaviors, and paternal caregiving.

Why do early childhood experiences need to be controlled for when studying the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on paternal neural responses to infant cry sounds?

The prosocial effects of oxytocin and vasopressin may be moderated by early childhood experiences. Early childhood experiences alter gene expression. This results in individuals being less or more susceptible for the prosocial effects of hormonal administration. Previous research indicates that fathers with less negative childhood experiences experience larger prosocial effects from oxytocin and vasopressin.

What is the effect of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on neural responses to infant cry sounds in first-time fathers in the first year of parenthood?

The experiment showed the following results:

• Whole brain analyses revealed no significant effect of vasopressin or oxytocin administration on neural activation in response to infant cry sounds.
• Fathers showed neural activation in response to infant crying in several brain regions, including the cerebellum, posterior cingulate, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, and the middle and superior temporal gyrus.
• Fathers’ early childhood experiences did not moderate the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on neural responses to infant cry sounds.
• Oxytocin administration decreases amygdala activation, and may decrease feelings of anxiety or aversion to a crying infant.

How can a ceiling effect explain these results?

Previous studies suggested more efficient processing and increased motivation to end infant distress in parents compared to non-parents. The current study however looked at fathers in their first year of fatherhood. They may have had higher levels of neural reactivity in the brain areas that are related to mentalizing, emotion regulation, and empathy than non-parents. This ceiling effect may explain why no significant effect was found of oxytocin administration on the brain areas that in previous research were indeed affected.

How can a fathers’ response to infant crying be related to his own childhood maltreatment?

For a father who has experienced childhood maltreatment, hearing his infant cry may trigger memories of child abuse and neglect and cause feelings like aversion, anxiety, or anger. Their experience of childhood maltreatment is known to be associated with emotional dysregulation throughout later life, and so the fathers may not be effectively managing these emotions that arise when hearing his infant cry. Adults who experienced more childhood maltreatment show more negative behavioral responses to child signals and respond with harsher reactions when they are exposed to infant crying.

What is a handgrip dynamometer?

A handgrip dynamometer is an evaluation tool that’s used to measure isometric grip force, or hand grip strength. It is used in parenting research as a behavioral marker of the ability to modulate a behavioral response while being exposed to infant crying. With regards to infant crying, more excessive handgrip force is seen in women with insecure attachment representations, maltreating mothers, and men and women with experiences of childhood maltreatment.

Why is it interesting to look at white matter fibers when studying childhood maltreatment and parental response to infant crying?

Experiencing childhood maltreatment affects the brain’s white matter structure. Atypical brain structure associated with childhood maltreatment has been found to mediate detrimental functional outcomes like psychopathology and vulnerability to stress. It is possible that the association between experienced maltreatment and fathers’ response to infant crying is mediated by the brain’s white matter structure. Also, brain structure may play a moderating role leaving fathers more or less susceptible to cognitive and emotional dysfunction after experiencing maltreatment.

What is the relation between childhood maltreatment experiences, handgrip force in reaction to infant crying, and white matter tract integrity in fathers?

The study done by Alyousefi-van Dijk et al. (2021) showed the following results:

• Childhood maltreatment experiences were related to paternal behavioral responses.
• Fathers with higher levels of experienced maltreatment used more excessive handgrip force while listening to infant crying.
• Whole-brain analysis revealed no significant relation between reported maltreatment and white matter integrity, meaning that white matter integrity did not mediate the relation between maltreatment and handgrip force.
• Childhood maltreatment experiences were only predictive of handgrip force during infant cry exposure in fathers with low levels of white matter integrity in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus.

What are possible explanations for fathers’ experiences of childhood maltreatment predicting more handgrip force in response to infant crying?

It is possible that maltreated fathers experience more aversion and anxiety when presented with negative infant signals and are therefore more likely to respond harshly. This could be the result of emotional dysregulation or deficient inhibitory control. Also, childhood maltreatment is known to be related to an attentional bias toward negative or threatening stimuli. This bias could be an adaptive mechanism preparing the person for frequent exposure to threatening situations. Finally, neural hyperactivation in regions involved in threat-detection in response to various emotional facial expressions points to a mechanism of interpreting emotional expressions as potentially dangerous in maltreated people.