Poster #151 - Parenting Behavior in a “Mother-Child-Baby” Triadic Setting Prior to a Newborn’s Arrival: Implications for Sibling Friendship

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Studies have documented deterioration in the quality of parenting following the birth of an additional child, but the basis of this downturn is unclear. Some have attributed it to difficulties that ensue from the demands of parenting a young child while also caring for an even more demanding newborn infant. This possibility has been difficult to validate since baseline measures of parenting under such trying conditions are difficult to assess until the newborn actually arrives, along with multiple confounding stressors. The present study sought to overcome that limitation by exploring maternal parenting behavior, specifically gentle guidance and control, in a triadic, mother-child-infant “baby’s room” setting, prior to the newborn’s arrival, by using a lifelike baby-doll to represent a newborn infant.
Secondarily, we examined whether and how changes in the quality of maternal caregiving contribute to child outcomes, specifically the under-researched construct of sibling positivity/friendliness. This aim was addressed by exploring children’s willingness to comply with a maternal request to perform behavior of benefit to the infant.
74 pregnant mothers and their toddlers (M age at T1 = 29.41 months, SD = 10.83 months) visited a video laboratory during the final trimester of pregnancy (T1). Mothers reported child problem behaviors (CBCL). Next dyads were videotaped in a laboratory set up to look like a newborn’s nursery. Following one min in which the mother treated a baby doll affectionately, the mother asked her child to fetch an item so she could give it to the “baby”. The strategies mothers used when making this request were coded for Gentle Guidance and Control. Children’s responses to the maternal request were coded for Social Compliance, ranging from Noncompliance (1) to Enthusiastic/Committed Compliance (5). One month after childbirth (T2) the procedure was repeated. Mothers also reported on their child’s behavior toward the newborn sibling.
Cross-time comparisons revealed that maternal Gentle Guidance was greater at T1 (0.864) than T2 (0.606), t(73)= 2.283, p<.05. Regression analyses revealed that Gentle Guidance by mothers at T1 predicted Social Compliance in children at T2 (β=0.283, p<.005). Maternal Control at T1 was associated with children demonstrating less Social Compliance at T1 (β=-0.614***, p<.001). Control also predicted negativity in children’s behavior toward their newborn sibling at T2, controlling for child age and problem behavior (β=0.383***, p<.001).
In sum, we examined two parenting strategies, gentle guidance and control, in a mother-child-baby setting prior to a sibling’s birth, in relation to child positivity/friendliness toward their newborn sibling. Our findings upheld thought that the increased demands of caring for two children simultaneously contribute to the downturn in the quality of parenting. Importantly, evidence that parents who will experience such difficulty can be identified prior to the infant sibling’s birth suggests potential for developing preventive interventions. The fact that gentle guidance emerged as a protective influence on child positivity/friendliness toward their newborn siblings suggests that the effectiveness of preventive treatments can be enhanced by coaching parents on the use of gentle guidance. Longer-term studies are necessary to establish whether such efforts represent a step toward developing friendship in the child-newborn sibling relationship.

Authors

• Jennifer K Chapman, Eckerd College
  Presenting Author

• Sybil Hart, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author