2-167 - Global Perspectives on Father and Mother Playfulness and Challenging Parenting Linked to Children's Social Emotional Development

Session Type: Poster Symposium

Integrative Statement

Parenting is central to child development. Early research revealed sensitivity and responsiveness as key to children’s sense of security, providing the foundation for attachment theory (Bowlby, 1988); the focus however, was almost exclusively on mothers. As global social changes in gender equity have prompted fathers to more fully encompass relational work (Browne, 2016), the focus has turned towards fathers’ interactions, attachment relationships, and impact on child outcomes – particularly in the context of play. The fathering literature has revealed that across cultures, playful challenging interaction activates children’s development, signalling that fathers’ interactions specifically support children’s exploration and regulatory outcomes (Paquette, 2004). However, vexing questions of parenting equivalence – Do mothers and fathers parent in similar or distinct ways? Are influences on children similar or different? (Adamsons & Buehler, 2007) – have led researchers to test a general model of parenting. This could presage a return to the matricentric era, however, the difference now is that the general model of parenting is substantially augmented by fathering theory, constructs, and measures. Researchers now investigate playfulness, challenge and stimulation in both mothers and fathers.In this poster symposium we provide a coherent global snapshot of the confluence and synthesis of early father and mother play, providing complementary evidence of distinct behaviours and different influences. StGeorge (1) and Qiu (2) focus on fathers’ physically challenging play. Testing the general parenting model, Whitebread (3) and Aldoney (4) demonstrate the assimilation of playfulness into parenting, while Majdandzic (5) validates ‘challenging parenting behaviour’ in both parents.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Sheila Anderson, Weber State University

Discussant

• Lori A. Roggman, Utah State University

Individual Presentations

• Fathers’ Physical Play and Children’s Social-Emotional Development - Presenting Author: Jennifer StGeorge, University of Newcastle

• Early Father-Child Rough & Tumble Play and Children’s Social and Emotional Outcomes in China - Presenting Author: Wei Qiu, Weber State University; Sheila Anderson, Weber State University; Shanalyn Wheeler, Weber State University; Laukaupouli Pohahau, Weber State University

• The Development of a Parental Playfulness Scale - Presenting Author: David Whitebread, University of Cambridge; Marisol Basilio, University of Cambridge; Ciara Laverty, University of Cambridge

• Mother and Father Playfulness and Children’s Language and Emotion Regulation: A Longitudinal and Moderation Approach - Presenting Author: Daniela Aldoney, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago; Natasha Cabrera, University of Maryland; Jenessa Malin, University of Maryland; Elizabeth Karberg, Child Trends

• Fathers’, but not Mothers’, Challenging Parenting Behavior Predicts Less Subsequent Anxiety Symptoms in Fearful Children - Presenting Author: Mirjana Majdandzic, University of Amsterdam; Wieke de Vente, University of Amsterdam; Susan Bögels, University of Amsterdam