The purpose of these studies was to examine moderation processes for the influence of early maternal parenting practices on young children’s prosocial outcomes. Data for both studies were drawn from the Kids, Families, and Places study. Observational measures of mothers’ parenting practices and children’s cooperation outcomes were collected in the home, and both mothers and fathers reported on their children’s prosocial conduct. Study 1 was a longitudinal analysis of the interaction between maternal sensitivity after birth (Time 1) and children’s joint attention (JA) skills (Time 2, 18 months later) on children’s cooperation skills at 18 months. Findings indicated that children’s concurrent Responding to JA (RJA) was associated with cooperation and early maternal sensitivity moderated this relationship. Children high in RJA showed good cooperation irrespective of maternal sensitivity. However, low RJA was associated with high cooperation in the presence of high maternal sensitivity. Study 2 used person-oriented analyses to examine patterns of maternal parenting associated with young children’s concurrent prosocial behaviour across socioeconomic contexts. Latent Profile Analysis identified 3 profiles of parenting: Positive (14%), Negative (36%), and Combined (moderate levels of both positive and negative practices; 50%). Mothers from low-income families and those living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods were more likely to  belong to the Negative or the Combined profiles.  Moderation analyses indicated the protective influence of the Combined profile of parenting for children residing in impoverished socioeconomic contexts. In the context of low family SES and high neighbourhood disadvantage, children were rated as more prosocial if mothers use a combined style of parenting. A protective-enhancing effect was found, in which these high-risk children were actually rated better than those children who did not live in such adversity. Together, results highlight the importance of studying the association between parenting and prosocial outcomes within an ecological and contextual framework, with interactions amongst both child-level and distal factors, for understanding individual differences in prosocial development.

The purpose of these studies was to examine moderation processes for the influence of early maternal parenting practices on young children’s prosocial outcomes. Data for both studies were drawn from the Kids, Families, and Places study. Observational measures of mothers’ parenting practices and children’s cooperation outcomes were collected in the home, and both mothers and fathers reported on their children’s prosocial conduct. Study 1 was a longitudinal analysis of the interaction between maternal sensitivity after birth (Time 1) and children’s joint attention (JA) skills (Time 2, 18 months later) on children’s cooperation skills at 18 months. Findings indicated that children’s concurrent Responding to JA (RJA) was associated with cooperation and early maternal sensitivity moderated this relationship. Children high in RJA showed good cooperation irrespective of maternal sensitivity. However, low RJA was associated with high cooperation in the presence of high maternal sensitivity. Study 2 used person-oriented analyses to examine patterns of maternal parenting associated with young children’s concurrent prosocial behaviour across socioeconomic contexts. Latent Profile Analysis identified 3 profiles of parenting: Positive (14%), Negative (36%), and Combined (moderate levels of both positive and negative practices; 50%). Mothers from low-income families and those living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods were more likely to  belong to the Negative or the Combined profiles.  Moderation analyses indicated the protective influence of the Combined profile of parenting for children residing in impoverished socioeconomic contexts. In the context of low family SES and high neighbourhood disadvantage, children were rated as more prosocial if mothers use a combined style of parenting. A protective-enhancing effect was found, in which these high-risk children were actually rated better than those children who did not live in such adversity. Together, results highlight the importance of studying the association between parenting and prosocial outcomes within an ecological and contextual framework, with interactions amongst both child-level and distal factors, for understanding individual differences in prosocial development.

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Current research shows that grandparents have made significant contributions to at-risk families. However, few studies have examined the benefits of grandparenting in non-at-risk populations. This study considered whether emotional involvement with a grandparent is associated with prosocial behavior in adolescent grandchildren and examines the mediating role of empathy and perspective taking. A longitudinal sample of 500 participants were taken from waves two thru five of the Flourishing Families Project (FFP) and used to construct a latent growth curve model. Results indicate that emotional involvement with a grandparent was positively linked with initial levels of prosocial behavior in grandchildren. Furthermore, results indicated that empathy and perspective taking partially mediated the connection between grandparent's involvement and the initial levels of prosocial behavior in their grandchildren. Discussion focuses on the distinct contribution grandparents give to families.

abstract: Several decades of research have concluded that child social functioning is a critical predictor of wellbeing across various developmental domains. Most scientists agree that both genetic and environmental influences play defining roles in social behavior; the processes by which they concurrently affect child development, however, has been the subject of less research. This work examines distinct mechanisms that shape child prosociality by examining genetic and environmental influences on development, via two empirical studies. The first study analyzed the evocative-reactive and the evocative-socially-mediated hypotheses as gene-environment correlation (rGE) mechanisms connecting the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a) and dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) genes, child prosocial behavior, and parent differential treatment (PDT). Findings present modest evidence for the evocative-reactive rGE hypothesis; specifically, AVPR1a marginally influenced child prosociality, which subsequently predicted mother preference in adolescence. The second study examined several gene-environment interactions (GxEs) in exploring how social environmental variables- positive and negative parenting- predicted child prosociality, as moderated by socially-implicated child genes, DRD2 and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4). Findings indicated that while positive parenting was predictive of child prosociality regardless of genetic variants, the effects of negative parenting on child prosociality were dependent on child genetic variants. Together, findings from these studies suggest modest genetic and environmental influences on child behavior in middle childhood and adolescence, consistent with previous research and theory. Directions for future research are offered, and intervention and policy implications are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Family and Human Development 2013

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