Psychology Research Digest
Journal of Family Psychology - Vol 40, Iss 2
The Journal of Family Psychology is devoted to the study of the family system from multiple perspectives and to the application of psychological methods of inquiry to that end.
The association between parental psychological control and relational aggression: A three-level meta-analysis.
Although many studies report a positive association between parental psychological control and relational aggression, others have found nonsignificant results. This three-level meta-analysis aimed to explore the relation between parental psychological control and relational aggression across developmental stages from preschool to college and test potential moderating factors. China National Knowledge Infrastructure, APA PsycInfo, Web of Science, Elsevier, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were systematically searched until April 2023. A three-level meta-analysis was conducted on included studies. Fifty-seven studies comprising 20,719 participants and 448 effect sizes were included. Findings revealed a significant positive association between parental psychological control and relational aggression. This relation was significantly moderated by the developmental period and by the informants of parental psychological control and relational aggression. This review helps clarify the association between parental psychological control and relational aggression and highlights key moderators of this relation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Joint physical custody and attachment in early childhood: A scoping review of the research landscape.
An increasing number of children grow up in joint physical custody (JPC), prompting interest in how this arrangement affects their development. Particularly, questions about the impact of JPC on early attachment development have placed young children at the forefront of scholarly attention. Yet, no systematic synthesis of research has examined attachment development in young children living in JPC, nor is there a comprehensive examination of how this research has been conducted. Thus, the present scoping review identifies and systematically compiles all available research on attachment of young children in JPC. Despite frequent references to attachment theory in the literature on JPC, only 10 studies explicitly grounded in attachment theory were found, revealing a much thinner evidence base than often assumed. These studies vary widely in forms of JPC, sample characteristics, and methodologies, and their findings are inconsistent. This heterogeneity likely reflects both societal changes over the past 3 decades, of relevance for JPC, and a diversity in how attachment theory is interpreted and applied. Theoretical differences have in turn shaped study designs, methodologies, and conclusions, ultimately influencing how attachment in young children in JPC is conceptualized and assessed. Furthermore, most research emphasizes behavioral outcomes rather than children’s inner experiences, limiting our understanding of attachment processes. The review highlights these challenges and proposes directions for more coherent and theory-informed future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Intergenerational continuity of childhood sexual and physical abuse: Using network analysis to explore risk.
The experience of childhood physical and sexual abuse has been consistently associated with a number of deleterious effects that extend across the lifespan, which has increased research interest in the risk for intergenerational continuity of abuse (i.e., a parent with a history of abuse who has a child who also experiences abuse). Although a number of potential risk factors have been posited or examined individually, prior literature often fails to account for associations among these risk factors, which limits intervention and prevention efforts. In the present study, secondary data were analyzed from 410 mother–child dyads. These data came from a deidentified clinical database of families with substantiated cases of child maltreatment. The present study used network analysis to explore the interconnection between risk factors associated with the continuity of sexual and physical abuse. Results showed that intergenerational continuity of sexual abuse was present for 8.5% of the sample, and intergenerational continuity of physical abuse was present for 7.8% of the sample. Mothers’ substance use disorder and greater symptoms of hostility were directly associated with the intergenerational continuity of sexual abuse. No factors aside from the mother’s and child’s experience of physical abuse were directly associated with intergenerational continuity of physical abuse, in the network analysis. However, multiple patterns of risk emerged as indirectly connected to the intergenerational continuity of both sexual and physical abuse, which emphasized the importance of maternal mental health and adversity across the lifespan. Future research and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Caregiver emotional support and youth mental health after sexual abuse.
Emotional support from a caregiver is theorized to benefit adolescents after sexual abuse, yet the empirical evidence for this is inconsistent. The present study examines the cross-sectional relation between caregiver emotional support and youth mental health symptoms after sexual abuse, addressing several methodological factors that may explain why previous studies failed to find the relation (sample size, approach to measurement). Participants were 460 youth between 11 and 17 (Mage = 13.78, SD = 1.77; 92.4% female; 56.3% Hispanic/Latino/a) who presented at a child advocacy center after disclosing sexual abuse, along with their nonoffending caregiver (Mage = 39.65, SD = 8.52). Youth and caregivers completed measures of caregiver emotional support and youth mental health. Results of multivariate multilevel modeling indicated that youth reports of caregiver emotional support were associated with youth mental health symptoms regardless of the informant of the symptoms (caregiver reports of youth mental health symptoms: B = −0.11, p = .006, d = .25; youth reports of mental health symptoms: B = −0.21, p< .001, d = .50). Caregiver reports of their emotional support were not associated with youth mental health symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of obtaining youth reports of caregiver emotional support in attempts to understand and address youth mental health symptoms following sexual abuse. The sample size and approach to measurement in this study bolster confidence in the findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Correction to “Parental burnout and child well-being: A dyadic analysis among mothers and fathers” by Grandjean et al. (2025).
Reports an error in "Parental burnout and child well-being: A dyadic analysis among mothers and fathers" by Maëlle Grandjean, Giulia Spagnulo, Laura M. Vowels and Joëlle Darwiche (Journal of Family Psychology, 2025[Sep], Vol 39[6], 767-777; see record 2026-36175-001). In the original article, the following funding information should have been included in the author note: “This research was supported by the University of Lausanne and by Swiss National Science Foundation Grant Number SNF CRSII5_213601.” (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2026-36175-001). This study investigates the impact of parental burnout on children’s daily well-being, a topic that currently remains underexplored in research. Using a daily diary methodology, we assessed the mean levels of child well-being as reported by parents across days and examined their relationship with both maternal and paternal burnout. Data were collected from 85 couples (85 mothers and 85 fathers) over an 8-day period, with parental burnout measured at baseline and child well-being assessed both at baseline and via daily reports. The findings indicate a significant association between maternal burnout and both mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of their children’s well-being, whereas the link with paternal burnout was weaker and more variable, making its interpretation more complex. While the study contributes to our understanding of the association between parental burnout and child well-being, future research should focus on incorporating children’s self-reported perspectives, examining how the impact of burnout varies across ages, and considering diverse family structures. Addressing parental burnout will require interventions at both familial and societal levels to mitigate chronic stress and promote healthier family environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Cortisol linkage, stress, and perceived partner responsiveness across the transition to parenthood.
Within a relationship, stress might be shared and co-regulated between the partners at the physiological level, through cortisol linkage. Cortisol is sensitive to social inputs, and cortisol linkage may reflect stress-related dynamics in a couple or positive relational processes, such as marital distress or shared moments. For many couples, the transition to parenthood is accompanied by acute or chronic stressors that can impact the relationship. Concurrently, having a supportive and responsive partner becomes an important resource to adapt to the manifold changes. These relational processes may also play a role with respect to cortisol linkage. The current article reports a study that examined changes of cortisol linkage across the transition to parenthood, and whether high levels of psychological stress and perceived partner responsiveness were associated with stronger cortisol linkage. We used data from a longitudinal study of 120 couples (N = 240) who transitioned to parenthood. Participants collected saliva samples and completed an ecological momentary assessment over three consecutive days, during pregnancy, at 6 months and at 18 months postpartum. Cortisol linkage among partners was significant and positive, increased in strength from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum, and remained stable from 6 months to 18 months postpartum. Within-couples, higher levels of psychological stress were associated with a stronger linkage between partners, while higher perceived partner responsiveness was associated with a weaker cortisol linkage. These findings provide further evidence of cortisol linkage during the transition to parenthood, and its associations with positive and negative relational processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Developmental patterns of mother–child similarity in executive function and electroencephalogram coherence.
Frontoparietal connectivity from electroencephalograms (EEG) and executive function (EF) behavioral task performance can elucidate one’s capacity for cognitive self-regulation. Knowledge of mother–child similarity of EEG and EF behavioral performance provides insight into the developmental patterns of the organization and stabilization of these physiological and behavioral processes. The present study addresses a key question: does the similarity in EEG and EF task performance between children and their mothers exhibit a developmental increase from early to middle childhood? EEG frontoparietal coherence and behavioral performance during the completion of age-appropriate EF tasks were examined in children and their mothers. A socioeconomically diverse longitudinal sample of 175 mothers with their children at ages 3, 6, and 9 years completed laboratory visits. Results indicated that by child age 6 years, child–mother similarity had begun to emerge in EEG frontoparietal coherence. Moreover, and consistent with the study hypotheses, there was evidence of a pattern of increasing similarity in EEG frontoparietal coherence with increasing child age. There was also evidence of mother–child similarity in EF performance by age 9. These findings suggest that interventions targeting EF development may be more effective when engaging both mothers and children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 17 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Undocumented parents’ communication with their children on immigration status and family separation plans.
In the United States, the lives of millions of children with undocumented parents are overshadowed by the threat of family separation. This qualitative study investigates how parents who have proactively engaged in family deportation planning, such as choosing a standby guardian, communicate these decisions to their children. It draws on in-depth interviews with 27 undocumented parents with at least one U.S. citizen child under 18. Findings reveal that parents’ discussions are influenced by the children’s age, their experiences with immigration enforcement, and their immigration status. Younger children typically remain unaware of these issues, whereas older children, especially those exposed to enforcement, have a greater understanding. Parents often struggled with the decision to disclose information, balancing the desire to protect their children emotionally with the need to prepare them for potential separations. The study highlights parents’ efforts to decriminalize their undocumented status, often using heritage stories and future aspirations to frame their situation positively. Parents also simplified guardianship concepts by introducing the guardian as a trusted figure to reassure their children. These strategies align with professional recommendations for immigration socialization, emphasizing developmentally appropriate discussions about immigration status and family plans. The results underscore the need for tailored support services for undocumented families to help them navigate these complex conversations and prepare for potential disruptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Autonomy restrictions and desires in parent–youth relationships: Examining the role of immigration background.
Youth who perceive autonomy restrictions tend to have more conflicts with their parents and perceive lower support from them. This association between restrictions on autonomy and parent–youth conflicts and support may intensify when youth have stronger desires for autonomy. This study examined (a) the association of youth’s perceptions of parental autonomy restrictions and their desires for autonomy with conflicts with and support from parents, and (b) the differences in autonomy restrictions and desires between youth with and without an immigration background, as well as (c) whether these associations differ for both groups. The analyses for this study were based on a sample of 975 youth in late adolescence and young adulthood (Mage = 18.12, SD = 1.94; range 16–25; 42% female; 29% with an immigration background). Results showed that perceiving more autonomy restrictions were associated with more conflicts and less support, especially for youth who reported stronger desires for autonomy. Youth with an immigration background perceived more autonomy restrictions and reported lower desires than those without an immigration background. Autonomy restrictions were not associated with parent–youth conflicts or support for youth with an immigration background, different from those without an immigration background. However, the interplay between autonomy restrictions, desires, and parent–youth conflicts and support did not differ significantly by immigration background. The findings underscore the importance of considering both youth’s desire for autonomy and their immigration background when examining parenting behaviors and the parent–youth relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Cultural stress, parent–adolescent communication, and depressive symptoms: Longitudinal dyadic study among recently immigrated Hispanic families.
Research suggests that cultural stress positively predicts depressive symptoms among Hispanic immigrants through compromised family functioning. However, little research has examined whether the indirect effects of parents’ and adolescents’ cultural stress on their own depressive symptoms—via their perceptions of parent–adolescent communication—are moderated by the level of cultural stress experienced by the other family member. The present study was designed to examine (a) mediated effects and (b) moderated mediation effects of cultural stress on depressive symptoms for both parents and adolescents through parent–adolescent communication. A longitudinal structural equation model was estimated using data from 302 recent immigrant Hispanic families in Miami (n = 152) and Los Angeles (n = 150). Parents’ and adolescents’ cultural stress positively predicted their depressive symptoms through their own reports of impaired parent–adolescent communication. Additionally, we found significant moderated mediated effects of cultural stress on depressive symptoms for both parents and adolescents through their respective reports of impaired parent–adolescent communication. Specifically, the mediated effects of one family member’s cultural stress on their depressive symptoms via parent–adolescent communication were significant only when the other family member’s cultural stress was relatively low. These findings suggest that Hispanic immigrant families where parents’ and adolescents’ cultural stress levels do not align are vulnerable to poor parent–adolescent communication and subsequent depressive symptoms. Family interventions should be designed to build a standardized family position on experiences of cultural stress in a new context, aiming to reduce gaps in cultural stress and mitigate mental health disparities faced by vulnerable Hispanic families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Autonomy support in families from a southwestern Chinese village facing rural–urban migration.
Intergenerational households and labor migration are common characteristics of many rural Chinese communities. Intergenerational caregivers offer various forms of autonomy support to nurture children’s development, especially when parents migrate to industrialized areas for work. To understand such support, primary caregivers, including 21 parents and 24 grandparents from families with various migration trends, were recruited from a southwest rural village with a high migration flow. All caregivers participated in interviews about their developmental ideals for children and how they help children meet these expectations. All caregivers defined the developmental ideals as Zili (self-reliance), Qinkuai (diligence) when completing chores, Zijue (self-awareness) in learning, and social and reflective skills while putting self-directed effort into learning. Emphasis on educational attainment for future independence, expanding intellectual horizons, and imparting moral knowledge supported children’s psychological autonomy. Welcoming children’s personal preferences and granting children the necessary space to manage their time—ideals apparent in industrialized societies—were also evident. Action autonomy support included using chores to train action, expecting behavioral self-reliance, and forming relevant habits as early in the life cycle as practical. When comparing two generations, most grandparents emphasized children’s effort in learning, whereas parents stressed children’s prosocial behaviors, sibling roles, and commitment to expanding intellectual horizons. All caregivers from families experiencing long-term parental migration put more emphasis on children’s academic self-awareness and effort, fulfilling children’s preferences, and teaching moral judgment compared to short-term and nonmigrant families. Childrearing goals reflected adaptive responses to children’s expression of autonomy and intergenerational support regardless of migration status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Interactive effects of individual and family resilience on anxiety in immigrant mother–child dyads in Hong Kong.
Immigrant mothers and children in Hong Kong are at a high risk of developing anxiety. The multidimensional model of resilience emphasizes the pivotal role of intergenerational interactions across resilience-supporting systems at both the individual and family levels in safeguarding mental health. However, the interacting processes by which the multilevel resilience of mothers and children mitigate their mental health risks remain unclear. This cross-sectional study examined the intergenerational dynamics between individual and family resilience in mitigating anxiety among 200 immigrant mother–child dyads in Hong Kong. The actor–partner interdependence moderation model was used to analyze how individual resilience interacted with family resilience to counteract the anxiety of immigrant mothers and children. The results showed that there was intergenerational interdependence between mothers’ and children’ individual resilience and family resilience. Mothers’ individual resilience interacted with their family resilience to protect against their anxiety. Notably, the results demonstrated protective intergenerational effects from mothers to children, in which both mothers’ and children’s individual resilience interacted with mothers’ family resilience to counteract children’s anxiety. In conclusion, mothers’ family resilience functions as a buffer against anxiety among mothers and children when they have low individual resilience. By clarifying the intergenerational interactions of multilevel resilience, our findings call for mother–child dyadic interventions targeting those with low individual and family resilience to promote their emotional well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Integrating mother and father ratings of child environmental sensitivity and links to adjustment.
Individual differences in environmental sensitivity (ES) moderate the effect of family environment on children’s adjustment. Research on ES in early childhood is limited and mostly relies on mother reports. This preregistered study investigated the association between mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of their child’s ES and its moderating role in the relation between parenting and child behavioral problems among 271 mother–father dyads with a preschooler. Results showed a strong correlation (r = .75) between fathers’ and mothers’ reports of child ES. Alongside satisfactory parameters from the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, these findings suggest that the scale effectively captures individual differences in child ES across informants, providing the first empirical evidence for its use with fathers. A single-parent perspective might also be reliable, depending on research needs and available resources. Pertaining the moderating role of combined child ES, findings suggest that the child ES significantly interacted with maternal acceptance on internalizing symptoms reported by both parents, with highly sensitive children exhibiting more internalizing symptoms under low maternal (but not paternal) warm and loving behaviors. When combining fathers and mothers’ acceptance, a similar trend was found. Finding suggests that while the inclusion of fathers parenting-related variables did not provide significant information beyond the mothers’ report, integrating mothers and fathers’ perspectives on child’s characteristics may offer a more comprehensive understanding than relying on informant-specific variables. Potential challenges in combining reports, due to differences in missing responses between mothers and fathers, are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Coparenting, parenting stress, and child social skills: Exploring dyadic relationships in the family system.
Though Family System Theory supported that function of members in the family are shaped by their interactions with all members in the family unit, many previous studies have often focused on the perspective of only one parent without considering the dynamics between both parents. This study investigates the effects of positive coparenting perceptions on child social skills via parenting stress within the framework of the dyadic family system. Utilizing the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study included 3,003 fathers and mothers who were interviewed when the focal child was 3 years old. An actor–partner interdependence model was employed to include both actor and partner effects. Results indicate a negative association between positive coparenting perceptions and parental stress for both mothers and fathers, with no significant partner effects observed. Further analysis using actor–partner interdependence model mediation models revealed that maternal parenting stress mediated the relationship between mother’s perception of positive coparenting and child social skills, while no direct or indirect effects were found for father’s perception of positive coparenting. These findings identify the role of positive coparenting on parenting stress within a dyadic family system and highlight roles of maternal factors in child social skills. Implications for family therapy and intervention programs are discussed. Future research is needed to deepen our understanding of coparenting dynamics and their impact on child development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Within-person changes in parenting guilt predict symptom course in mothers with past or current depression.
Mothers with depression often experience guilt related to parenting. Studies on the relation between parenting guilt and depression have been primarily cross-sectional; consequently, it is unclear whether heightened parenting guilt is a correlate, predictor, or consequence of depressive symptoms. This brief report examines longitudinal and reciprocal relations between maternal guilt and depressive symptoms over a 9-month period using methods that disentangle between- and within-person variability. Evidence that within-person changes in maternal guilt predict subsequent changes in depression symptoms, or evidence of reciprocal within-person effects, would provide more stringent evidence for the utility of addressing maternal guilt in treatment of depression among mothers. At three time points over 9 months, 225 U.S. mothers with a previous mood disorder reported on depression symptoms and parenting guilt. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to differentiate between-person and within-person effects. Maternal guilt and depressive symptoms were significantly related at the between-person level, with moderate concurrent correlations. Significant within-person, cross-lagged effects were found from maternal guilt to later depression, but not from depression to maternal guilt. In other words, increases or decreases in parenting guilt from a mother’s “norm” predicted a subsequent, corresponding change in the severity of her depressive symptoms. These findings establish temporal precedence at the within-person level, highlighting that maternal guilt may be one potentially amenable mechanism influencing the course of depressive symptoms in mothers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Activation parenting strategies and relations with child self-regulation and engagement.
Activation parenting (AP) emphasizes encouraging children to face challenging and potentially novel situations in ways that may promote self-regulation (SR) and engagement (i.e., curiosity and persistence). Although AP was initially theorized to be unique to fathers, new research and updated conceptualizations include mothers. Conscious use of AP in response to child distress also remains untested. This study adapted the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale to assess maternal and paternal AP and their concurrent relations with child SR and engagement. The sample included 678 caregivers of 2- to 5-year-old children (n = 66 fathers and n = 612 mothers). Four items from the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale were selected a priori based on alignment with AP to create a composite score. Path analysis was used to assess concurrent relations between AP strategies and caregiver-reported child SR and engagement. Supportive parenting strategies that encourage coping through external support (e.g., soothing) or in situations that do not include parental challenges to the child (e.g., an accident) were included as covariates. Additional covariates included child sex, child age, and caregiver employment. AP strategies were positively associated with child SR and engagement. Strengths of relations between parenting strategies and child behavior did not significantly differ for AP and other supportive parenting responses. Caregiver gender did not moderate relations. Though limited by a reliance on cross-sectional, parent-report data, this study adds to a growing body of literature on the importance of AP as a general parenting construct that may be leveraged to support SR development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
- Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933)
Reach Out