Download or read book Socio cognitive Physiological and Behavioral Predictors of Preadolescent Physical and Relational Aggression written by Megan June Gangel and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Historically, aggression has received much attention in the field of psychology, because of the immediate consequences and long-lasting implications of aggressive behavior for both the victim (e.g. Card, 2003) and the perpetrator (e.g. Coie & Dodge, 1988). However, research that has examined the predictors of aggression often has focused on a single form of aggression: either physical or relational aggression (e.g. Spieker et al., 2012). The present study examined a model of both physical and relational aggression in order to determine whether similar processes in middle childhood predict both forms of aggression in preadolescence. Since several theories highlight the role of children's individual abilities in preadolescent aggression, we considered whether socio-cognitive (Dodge, 1986), physiological (Calkins & Keane, 2004), and behavioral (Zelazo & Cunningham, 2007) factors in middle childhood were predictors of physical and relational aggression in preadolescence. Using behavioral, self-reported, and sociometric nomination indicators the relations among hostile attribution bias, difficulties of physiological regulation, weak executive functioning, and expressions of physical and relational aggression were examined in a longitudinal community-based sample of children aged 7 and 10. Specifically, the study used multivariate multiple regressions to examine the role of children's hostile attribution bias, respiratory sinus arrhythmia withdrawal, and executive functioning abilities as predictors of peer nominated physical and relational aggression in preadolescence. First, predictors of physical aggression were examined. Results demonstrated that children who had poorer executive functioning scores at age 7, received significantly more peer nominations of physical aggression at age 10. However, children's hostile attribution bias, RSA withdrawal, and the two-way and three-way interactions of these focal variables at age 7 did not predict children's use of peer nominated physical aggression at age 10. In contrast to the findings on physical aggression, the interaction of children's hostile attribution bias and their executive functioning abilities predicted their peer nominated use of relational aggression. Children who had better executive functioning scores at age 7 received significantly more relational aggression nominations at age 10 only when their hostile attribution bias increased. Perhaps, children who have better emotional problem solving skills are able to reassess and reframe their negative emotions and successfully plan more deliberate and covert relational aggression as a response to perceived threats. However, children's physiological regulation at age 7 did not predict their use of relational aggression at age 10. Children who may have developed more advanced regulatory skills used more peer nominated relational aggression because they did not need to rely on their basic emotional control abilities in order to cope with their emotional challenges. The current study adds to our understanding of the individual processes that contribute to the use of both physical and relational aggression in preadolescence."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.
Download or read book Social Emotional and Psychophysiological Risk Factors for Aggression in Pre Adolescent Girls written by Kelsey Stiles and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conduct problems in youth, including aggression, constitute a significant and increasing public health burden. Despite replicated evidence that conduct problems in girls predict numerous poor outcomes (e.g., health, substance use), research on aggression is focused almost exclusively on boys, thus perpetuating significant gaps in knowledge about risk factors, explanatory processes, and outcomes in girls. In boys, threat-biased social information processing is a correlate of aggressive behavior, particularly reactive aggression (i.e., retaliatory response to perceived threat/provocation). Elevated trait negative emotionality, the dispositional tendency to experience negative affective states such as anger and sadness, is a transdiagnostic risk factor for emotional and behavioral problems that may plausibly interfere with social cognition to promote aggression. Individual differences in autonomic functioning, including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), are also replicated risk factors for emotional and behavioral problems, as aberrant psychophysiological responding can have pronounced effects on emotional reactivity and regulation. Despite theoretical rationale and empirical support from research with boys and men, the associations of social information processing, elevated trait negative emotionality, and RSA with respect to aggression in girls remain largely unknown. To inform models of aggressive behavior in girls, the goals of these dissertation studies were to evaluate individual differences in negative emotionality, social information processing, and psychophysiology (i.e., RSA) as correlates of conduct problems, including separate dimensions of aggression (e.g., relational aggression). Using a sample of ethnically diverse pre-adolescent girls, Study I evaluated trait negative emotionality and threat-biased encoding and interpretation processes as sequential predictors of conduct problems. Preliminary evidence suggested that the hypothesized chain reaction effect marginally predicted both reactive relational aggression and general aggressive behavior. In the same sample, Study II assessed initial RSA and RSA withdrawal (i.e., reductions in RSA, also referred to as RSA reactivity), during a novel social information processing task, as correlates of conduct problems. Excessive RSA withdrawal was associated with higher levels of reactive relational aggression, and RSA initial values were inversely associated with rule-breaking behavior. Although these findings largely align with previous findings from male samples, reactive physical aggression was generally unrelated to aberrant social cognition and individual differences in RSA, unlike previous evidence based mostly on boys. Collectively, these preliminary findings fill critical gaps in knowledge on aggression and conduct problems in girls, informing the design of future studies that can propel targeted prevention and intervention approaches that are specific to risk factors and processes in girls.
Download or read book The Development of Relational Aggression written by Sarah M. Coyne and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research over the last few decades has revealed that individuals use a variety of mechanisms to hurt one another, many of which are not physical in nature. In this volume, editors Sarah M. Coyne and Jamie M. Ostrov turn their focus on relational aggression, behavior that is intended to cause harm to another individual's relationships or social standing in the group (e.g., gossiping, social exclusion, and spreading malicious rumors). Unlike physical aggression, the scars of relational aggression are more difficult to detect. However, victims (and their aggressors) may experience strong and long-lasting consequences, including reduced self-esteem, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and more. Over the past 25 years, there has been a growing body of literature on relational aggression and other non-physical forms of aggression that have focused predominantly on gender differences, development, and risk and protective factors. In this volume, the focus turns to the development of relational aggression during childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. Here, Coyne, Ostrov, and their contributing authors examine a number of risk factors and socializing agents or models (e.g., parenting, peers, media, the classroom) that lead to the development of relational aggression over time. An understanding of how these behaviors develop will inform readers of important intervention strategies to curb the use of relational aggression in schools, peer groups, and in family relationships. The Development of Relational Aggression provides scholars, researchers, practitioners, students, and parents with an extensive resource that will help move the field forward in our understanding of the development of relational aggression for the future.
Download or read book Parent and Peer related Variables Associated with Relational Aggression in Middle Childhood written by Natalie D. Brown and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To date, the research testing the predictors of relational aggression has largely mirrored that of the more robust physical aggression literature. Similar to the physical aggression literature, research on relational aggression has focused on age and gender differences and, more recently, the possible associations between relational aggression and other variables. However, there is a lack of research investigating the parent and peer behaviors that could potentially model relationally aggressive behavior in children. The current study drew upon social-cognitive models of aggression to test such associations. Specifically, I measured parents' use of psychological control with their children, parents' use of manipulative behavior with their children and other adults, and peer groups' use of relational aggression to determine whether these variables predicted children's use of relational aggression. It was expected that the aforementioned variables would be positively associated with children's use of relational aggression. One hundred and sixty-five fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children (52% male) enrolled in public elementary schools in the Midwest participated in the study. Additionally, 137 female and 70 male caregivers also participated. The children completed questionnaires to measure a) their use of relational aggression, b) their peers' use of relational and physical aggression, c) the cohesiveness and distinctiveness of their main group of friends, and d) their parents' use of psychological control. The caregivers also completed questionnaires that assessed a) their behaviors toward other adults when angry, b) how they respond to their children's misbehavior, and c) social desirability. Consistent with Social Learning Theory and the Social-Cognitive Theory of Aggression, children's use of relational aggression was positively related to their mothers' use of psychological control and to their peer groups' use of relational aggression especially when that peer group was seen as relatively cohesive and distinct. In addition, children's use of relational aggression was more strongly associated with their parents' use of psychological control than was their peer groups' use of relational aggression. The current study was the first to examine and compare the associations between parent- and peer-related variables and children's use of relational aggression.
Download or read book Physiological and Social Cognitive Correlates of Preschool Physical and Relational Aggression written by Amy Lynn Gower and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Youth Aggression and Violence written by Thomas G. Moeller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2001-06-01 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rash of school shootings in the late 1990s has generated a tremendous amount of public concern about youth aggression and violence. But students, trainees, and professionals who work with children and adolescents have had no concise or systematic survey of our current knowledge about causes and effective approaches to intervention and prevention on which to draw. Youth Aggression and Violence has filled the void. Comprehensive and readable, it: * utilizes theory and research from the developmental psychology of "normal" children and adolescents, as well as material on "abnormal" forms of development, such as disruptive behavior disorders and juvenile delinquency; * situates youthful aggression and violence within the overall framework of children's moral development; * integrates quantitative research with carefully considered qualitative research and case studies; * discusses the genetic and biological underpinnings of youthful aggression, as well as family and social factors related to antisocial behavior; * emphasizes cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes involved in youth aggression and violence; * provides in-depth coverage of juvenile killers and school violence; * examines female aggression and violence in a variety of contexts; and * critically examines a number of questions frequently discussed in conjunction with youth violence, such as media violence, firearm accessibility, and the relationship between self-esteem and aggression.
Download or read book Trajectories of Physical and Relational Aggression in Childhood as Predictors of Adolescent Health risk and Externalizing Behaviors in Girls written by Kathryn P. Kimball and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Have You Heard That Developmental Trajectories and Psychological Variables Associated with Relational Aggression and Gossip written by Carlos Gomez-Garibello and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Traditional definitions of aggressive behaviours have emphasized acts of physical and verbal aggression. By labelling behaviours such as gossip, manipulation or social isolation as aggressive acts, the traditional definition of aggression has been challenged and expanded. Consequently, relational aggression has emerged as a prolific field of study. In this context, researchers have examined the characteristics and associations of these behaviours with psychological constructs. Particular attention has been placed on the role of psychological variables in the prediction of relational aggression. In addition, researchers have analyzed the influence of chronological age and sex on the manifestation of relational aggressive acts. This dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts that collectively contribute to the literature by documenting characteristics and predictors of relational aggression and gossip in children between the ages of 6 to 9 years old, as well as the role of chronological age and sex in such associations.The first manuscript in this research program examined whether age moderates the relationship between cognitive factors (theory of mind and attribution of intentions) and relational aggression. Participants (N = 426; 216 boys) between 6 and 9 years of age (M = 97.43 months, SD = 10.98) were asked to complete theory of mind tasks and answer an attribution of intentions questionnaire. Teachers of the students evaluated their students' social behaviours, including relationally aggressive acts. Results suggest that theory of mind did affect relational aggression, while this association was moderated by chronological age. Specifically, it was found that the association between theory of mind and relational aggression was only significant for younger participants. Taken together, findings from this manuscript partially support the assertion that sophisticated cognitive skills are a prerequisite for indirect acts of aggression. The second manuscript in the current research program examined the role of sex on the relationship between cognitive (theory of mind and attribution of intentions), emotional (empathy) and social (perceived popularity) factors, and gossip. Participants (N = 422; 216 boys) aged between 6 to 9 years old were asked to nominate their best friends, resulting in 211 dyads. Interactions within each dyad were recorded and codified. Differences in predictors of gossip were found across sexes, such that gossip was associated positively with theory of mind and perceived popularity only for boys. None of the examined factors predicted gossip in girls. Results suggest that sharing information was the most common function of gossip; positive gossip was more common than negative gossip; and peers were the most frequent target of this behaviour. All in all, results from the second manuscript suggest that boys and girls engaged in gossip, yet different predictors explain this phenomenon across sexes.Taken together, the findings from the current research program provide empirical support for theoretical discussion about the impact of cognitive, emotional and social factors in the manifestation of relational aggression and gossip. In addition, the results delineate the effects of chronological age and sex on the association between psychological attributes and relational aggression and gossip." --
Download or read book Physiological Correlates of Aggression in Adolescent Females written by Ashley Engels Dibble and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recently, with the development of new technology, researchers have focused on physiological predictors of aggressive behavior, specifically cortisol and alpha amylase. Gordis, Granger, Susman, and Trickett (2006) found the interaction between cortisol and alpha-amylase significantly predicted parent reports of aggression indicating that low levels of physiological reactivity was associated with higher levels of problem behavior. While this research has provided valuable information about aggressive behavior, a major limitation is the majority of research focuses on males, or has not examined gender differences explicitly. This study expanded on work by Gordis et al. (2006) and other researchers on the HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system responses and aggression by using a larger sample, focusing on female adolescents, examining both physical and relational aggression, and utilizing parent and adolescent reports of aggressive behavior. Based on prior literature, I expected that lower levels of salivary cortisol taken at the beginning of the interview and the beginning of the stress task would be associated with higher levels of physical and relational aggression in girls. I also hypothesized that lower levels of cortisol and [alpha]-amylase reactivity will be associated with higher levels of physical and relational aggression. Finally, I hypothesized that lower levels of cortisol reactivity coupled with higher levels of [alpha]-amylase reactivity will be associated with lower levels of aggressive behavior. Participants in the current study live in moderate- to high-violence areas in Richmond, VA. Participants were 146 adolescent females who were enrolled in a larger longitudinal study on coping with exposure to violence. Most of the adolescents were African-American (91.1%) with a mean age of 13.9 years old (range from 11-17). The changes in physiological responses were monitored during the interview process which included the administration of the Social Competence Interview (SCI). Aggression was measured using the Child Behavior Checklist and Problem Behavior Frequency Scales. In the analyses, I controlled for pubertal status, medication usage, race, and time of day which are all factors that can influence the level of cortisol and alpha-amylase. Results indicated that higher levels of basal cortisol were associated with higher levels of aggressive behavior. In contrast to previous research and prediction, results indicated that symmetry in [alpha]-amylase and cortisol predicted lower levels of self-reported physical aggression in girls. Asymmetry in the two systems was associated with higher levels of self-reported physical aggression. These results contribute to the mixed results on female physiological responses and aggression. It also provides support for symmetry in cortisol and [alpha]-amylase as a predictor of lower levels of aggressive behavior. Studying a child's physiological reactions to stress can give insight into behavior regulation, help identify adolescents for prevention/intervention, and serve as markers of treatment progress. These data suggest that physiological associations with aggression may not be the same for males and females, or for youth living in extremely stressful circumstances. Further research is needed to replicate these finding, and specifically to compare these patterns of associations across gender.
Download or read book Children s Aggressive and Prosocial Behaviours written by Ka-Yee Cavy Lee and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "Children's Aggressive and Prosocial Behaviours: Exploring Age, Sex-related Differences, and the Role of Social Cognitive Functioning" by Ka-yee, Cavy, Lee, 李嘉怡, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Children's social behaviours have significant implications to their adjustments. Aggressive children display emotional, behavioural, and social problems. On the other hand, prosocial children are better adjusted (for review, see Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008). Adopting the social cognitive approach, the present study aimed to investigate the relationships between several social-cognitive capacities related to empathy (i.e., perspective-taking, affect sharing, and emotion regulation) and social behaviours (physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behaviours) in children. The results showed that perspective-taking was the most predictive factor of both prosocial and aggressive behaviours, whereas the capacity to share emotions and to modulate emotion was found to have little predictive value to both positive and negative social behaviours. In addition, the present study also investigated the sex-related and age differences of aggressive behaviours in children. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, this study found that boys enacted more physical aggression than girls. However, sex-related difference in relational aggression was not found. Besides, older children were found to use more relational aggression but the trend of decreasing physical aggression across development was not evident. Clinical implications of the present findings were discussed. DOI: 10.5353/th_b4765710 Subjects: Aggressiveness in children Interpersonal relations in children
Download or read book Behavior Problems in Preschool Children written by Susan B. Campbell and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2006-08-28 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a comprehensive clinical/n-/developmental framework for understanding and treating behavior problems in early childhood. Susan B. Campbell offers a highly readable account of the developmental tasks and transitions that young children face in cognitive, social, and family domains, and examines why and what happens when development goes awry. Particular attention is given to the critical question of how certain children manage to successfully overcome difficult transitions, while others face the risk of serious, ongoing problems. Empirically supported prevention and treatment approaches are reviewed.
Download or read book Concurrent Risks and Developmental Antecedents to Relational and Physical Aggression in Early Childhood written by Jennifer Hepditch and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origins of aggression warrant extensive investigation given its substantial cost to both victims and perpetrators. However, only recently have researchers begun to understand the prevalence and harm associated with relational aggression, which is behaviour intended to damage another person's feelings, relationships, or social status, such as social exclusion or spreading rumors. Even with this heightened research interest in relational aggression there is a paucity of studies conducted with children prior to age four, the developmental period in which relational aggression begins to emerge. In this dissertation we ascertain what unique lags in development or blossoming capacities coincide with the emergence of both physical and relational aggression during early childhood. In Study 1, we examined differential predictors (sex, age, prosocial behaviour, internalizing problems, and impulsivity) of teacher-rated aggression style (physically aggressive, relationally aggressive, or combined physically and relationally aggressive) among preschoolers (N = 429; M = 41.29, SD = 8.14) using multinomial logistic regression. Being a boy and being higher on impulsivity were both substantial risk factors for use of physical aggression (alone or combined with relational aggression). In Study 2, we explored longitudinal associations between preschoolers' (N = 126; Mage = 39.15 months, SD = 6.67) assessed language (receptive and expressive vocabulary), parent-rated working memory, and teacher-rated aggression (physical and relational) across one year using an autoregressive cross-lagged panel model. Longitudinally, physical aggression showed stability and both better working memory and previously higher physical aggression predicted higher relational aggression over one year. There were no longitudinal links between language and aggression when simultaneously accounting for working memory in the model, emphasizing the need to account for working memory in this association in future research. In Study 3, using four, separate multivariate multiple regressions, we examined the linear and interactive effects between negative emotionality and several aspects of self-regulation (inhibitory, emotional [soothability], attentional [attention span], and metacognitive [working memory] control) in the prediction of preschoolers' (N = 198; M = 33.65 months, SD = 5.02) physical and relational aggression. Poorer inhibitory and metacognitive control were associated with higher physical aggression regardless of trait negative emotionality, highlighting the importance of self-regulation rather than emotional reactivity in models of physical aggression. Poorer inhibitory control was also linked to higher relational aggression. Also, negative emotionality was most strongly linked to relational aggression at higher levels of emotional control or attentional control. In summary, the results of the present dissertation support a skill-deficit model of preschool physical aggression (alone or in combination with relational aggression) and both a skill-deficit and developmental advancement model for preschool relational aggression.
Download or read book Developmental Psychopathology Risk Resilience and Intervention written by Dante Cicchetti and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-02-01 with total page 1155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examine the latest research merging nature and nurture in pathological development Developmental Psychopathology is a four-volume compendium of the most complete and current research on every aspect of the field. Volume Four: Genes and Environment focuses on the interplay between nature and nurture throughout the life stages, and the ways in which a child's environment can influence his or her physical and mental health as an adult. The discussion explores relationships with family, friends, and the community; environmental factors like poverty, violence, and social support; the development of coping mechanisms, and more, including the impact of these factors on physical brain development. This new third edition has been fully updated to incorporate the latest advances, and to better reflect the increasingly multilevel and interdisciplinary nature of the field and the growing importance of translational research. The relevance of classification in a developmental context is also addressed, including DSM-5 criteria and definitions. Advances in developmental psychopathology are occurring increasingly quickly as expanding theoretical and empirical work brings about dramatic gains in the multiple domains of child and adult development. This book brings you up to date on the latest developments surrounding genetics and environmental influence, including their intersection in experience-dependent brain development. Understand the impact of childhood adversity on adulthood health Gauge the effects of violence, poverty, interparental conflict, and more Learn how peer, family, and community relationships drive development Examine developments in prevention science and future research priorities Developmental psychopathology is necessarily interdisciplinary, as development arises from a dynamic interplay between psychological, genetic, social, cognitive, emotional, and cultural factors. Developmental Psychopathology Volume Four: Genes and Environment brings this diverse research together to give you a cohesive picture of the state of knowledge in the field.
Download or read book Social Cognition and Developmental Psychopathology written by Carla Sharp and published by . This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social cognition refers to the capacity to think about others' thoughts, intentions, feelings, attitudes and perspectives. It has been shown that many children with psychiatric disorders have problems in social cognition. In this book, leaders in the fields of developmental psychopathology examine social cognition across a wide range of disorders.
Download or read book International Handbook of Violence Research written by Wilhelm Heitmeyer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-12-31 with total page 1246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An international manual is like a world cruise: a once-in-a-lifetime experience. All the more reason to consider carefully whether it is necessary. This can hardly be the case if previous research in the selected field has already been the subject of an earlier review-or even several competing surveys. On the other hand, more thorough study is necessary if the intensity and scope of research are increasing without comprehensive assessments. That was the situation in Western societies when work began on this project in the summer of 1998. It was then, too, that the challenges emerged: any manual, espe cially an international one, is a very special type of text, which is anything but routine. It calls for a special effort: the "state of the art" has to be documented for selected subject areas, and its presentation made as compelling as possible. The editors were delighted, therefore, by the cooperation and commitment shown by the eighty-one contributors from ten countries who were recruited to write on the sixty-two different topics, by the con structive way in which any requests for changes were dealt with, and by the patient re sponse to our many queries. This volume is the result of a long process. It began with the first drafts outlining the structure of the work, which were submitted to various distinguished colleagues. Friedheim Neidhardt of Berlin, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler of Munich, and Roland Eckert of Trier, to name only a few, supplied valuable comments at this stage.
Download or read book Social Development written by Marion K. Underwood and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2013-09-19 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This authoritative, engaging work examines the key role of relationships in child and adolescent development, from the earliest infant-caregiver transactions to peer interactions, friendships, and romantic partnerships. Following the sequence of a typical social development course, sections cover foundational developmental science, the self and relationships, social behaviors, contexts for social development, and risk and resilience. Leading experts thoroughly review their respective areas and highlight the most compelling current issues, methods, and research directions. End-of-chapter suggested reading lists direct students and instructors to exemplary primary sources on each topic." from back cover.
Download or read book Parenting Matters written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.
