Esta tese de doutorado é um estudo de caso sobre uma família com um bebê com deficiência visual e a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce, dividindo-se em quatro artigos. O primeiro objetivou revisar a produção científica sobre intervenção precoce na área da deficiência visual. O segundo artigo investigou o duplo impacto da prematuridade e da deficiência visual, examinando as reações emocionais dos pais de um bebê nesse contexto e seu impacto na parentalidade. O terceiro artigo investigou a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce com foco na sensibilidade materna – e paterna, analisando o pré e o pós-intervenção. O último estudo trata-se de um relato de experiência que examina o processo da intervenção. As discussões sobre o impacto da prematuridade junto à deficiência visual lançam bases para o trabalho de intervenção na interação pais-bebê. As análises sugerem ser a intervenção precoce efetiva em termos de promoção de mudanças na interação parental com o bebê e de expressão de emoções. / This doctoral thesis is a single case study of a family with a baby that has vision impairment and the effectiveness of an early intervention, which is divided in four articles. The first aims to review the scientific literature in the field of early intervention in the area of visual impairment. The second article investigated the double impact of the both prematurity and the vision impairment on parenthood, examining the parents emotional reactions in that context. The third article investigates the effectiveness of an early intervention focusing on maternal and paternal sensibility, by analysing the pre- and the post intervention. The last study is a narrative of the experience of the intervention process. Discussions involving the impact of prematurity on vision impairment promote the basis for the intervention in the parent-baby interaction. The results suggest that early intervention may be effective by promotion changes in the parental interaction with baby and by allowing the expresssion of parents emotions.

Esta tese de doutorado é um estudo de caso sobre uma família com um bebê com deficiência visual e a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce, dividindo-se em quatro artigos. O primeiro objetivou revisar a produção científica sobre intervenção precoce na área da deficiência visual. O segundo artigo investigou o duplo impacto da prematuridade e da deficiência visual, examinando as reações emocionais dos pais de um bebê nesse contexto e seu impacto na parentalidade. O terceiro artigo investigou a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce com foco na sensibilidade materna – e paterna, analisando o pré e o pós-intervenção. O último estudo trata-se de um relato de experiência que examina o processo da intervenção. As discussões sobre o impacto da prematuridade junto à deficiência visual lançam bases para o trabalho de intervenção na interação pais-bebê. As análises sugerem ser a intervenção precoce efetiva em termos de promoção de mudanças na interação parental com o bebê e de expressão de emoções. / This doctoral thesis is a single case study of a family with a baby that has vision impairment and the effectiveness of an early intervention, which is divided in four articles. The first aims to review the scientific literature in the field of early intervention in the area of visual impairment. The second article investigated the double impact of the both prematurity and the vision impairment on parenthood, examining the parents emotional reactions in that context. The third article investigates the effectiveness of an early intervention focusing on maternal and paternal sensibility, by analysing the pre- and the post intervention. The last study is a narrative of the experience of the intervention process. Discussions involving the impact of prematurity on vision impairment promote the basis for the intervention in the parent-baby interaction. The results suggest that early intervention may be effective by promotion changes in the parental interaction with baby and by allowing the expresssion of parents emotions.

Esta tese de doutorado é um estudo de caso sobre uma família com um bebê com deficiência visual e a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce, dividindo-se em quatro artigos. O primeiro objetivou revisar a produção científica sobre intervenção precoce na área da deficiência visual. O segundo artigo investigou o duplo impacto da prematuridade e da deficiência visual, examinando as reações emocionais dos pais de um bebê nesse contexto e seu impacto na parentalidade. O terceiro artigo investigou a efetividade de uma intervenção precoce com foco na sensibilidade materna – e paterna, analisando o pré e o pós-intervenção. O último estudo trata-se de um relato de experiência que examina o processo da intervenção. As discussões sobre o impacto da prematuridade junto à deficiência visual lançam bases para o trabalho de intervenção na interação pais-bebê. As análises sugerem ser a intervenção precoce efetiva em termos de promoção de mudanças na interação parental com o bebê e de expressão de emoções. / This doctoral thesis is a single case study of a family with a baby that has vision impairment and the effectiveness of an early intervention, which is divided in four articles. The first aims to review the scientific literature in the field of early intervention in the area of visual impairment. The second article investigated the double impact of the both prematurity and the vision impairment on parenthood, examining the parents emotional reactions in that context. The third article investigates the effectiveness of an early intervention focusing on maternal and paternal sensibility, by analysing the pre- and the post intervention. The last study is a narrative of the experience of the intervention process. Discussions involving the impact of prematurity on vision impairment promote the basis for the intervention in the parent-baby interaction. The results suggest that early intervention may be effective by promotion changes in the parental interaction with baby and by allowing the expresssion of parents emotions.

Title: SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDBIRTH EXPERIENCE AND THEIR IMPACT ON EARLY PARENTAL SELF-EFFICACY OF FIRST-TIME MOTHERS Author: Eliška Kodyšová Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague Supervisor: PhDr. Simona Horáková Hoskovcová, PhD., Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague Abstract: Transition to parenthood is a significant transition period in a woman's psychological ontogenesis. An important predictor of parenting abilities and well-being is parental self-efficacy. Recent studies show that mothers' parental self-efficacy can be influenced by childbirth satisfaction, which, in turn, is predicted by social-psychological aspects of childbirth experience, especially support by caregivers. In a longitudinal 2-phase research, we have followed parental self-efficacy determinants working around 1st childbirth as well as childbirth experience determinants. Using multiple linear regression analysis we determined that although parental self-efficacy is mainly prenatally determined, caregivers' support and baby's soothability can impact it positively. We have also confirmed the decisive influence of caregivers' support on childbirth satisfaction in our sample, which is representative for Czech primiparas. ...

Ångest är ett av de vanligaste psykiska besvären och uppskattningsvis var fjärde person kommer någon gång under livet drabbas av någon form av ångestsyndrom. Forskning har visat att det finns en genetisk och beteendemässig överföring av ångest från föräldrar till deras barn. Föräldrarskapsforskning har försökt förstå vilka föräldrabeteenden som är associerade med denna överföring. Två föräldrabeteenden som undersökts i detta fält är föräldrars värme och kritik mot deras barn. Forskningen kring föräldrabeteenden har dock gett tvetydiga resultat. Från studier som inkluderat multipla informanter indikerar resultaten att föräldrar med ångestbesvär uppfattar sig själva som mindre varma och mer kritiska mot sina barn jämfört med föräldrar utan ångestbesvär. Syftet med denna studie var därför att utforska om uppfattningen mellan föräldrar och dess närstående skiljer sig åt vad gäller föräldrarnas värme/kritik mot sina barn samt vilka variabler som är associerade med den eventuella skillnaden. Studien hade en tvärsnittsdesign med data från 199 föräldrar, insamlat av Karolinska Institutet under åren 2021 och 2022. Resultatet från denna studie visade att föräldrar med ångest i genomsnitt skattade sig själva som mindre varma och mer kritiska jämfört med deras närståendes skattningar av dem. Variabeln self-efficacy i föräldraskapet hade den starkaste signifikanta associationen till skillnaden. Varken föräldrarnas ångestnivå eller depressionsnivå var signifikant associerade med denna skillnad. Ett intressant fynd var att skillnaden i skattningarna var större för de kvinnliga föräldrarna än för de manliga, för värme men inte för kritik. Mer forskning behövs för att fastställa riktningen på associationen samt om det finns andra variabler som ytterligare kan förklara skillnaden i uppfattningen av värme/kritik. / Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders and it’s estimated that one in four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Research has shown that there are both genetic and behavioral components in transmission of anxiety from parents to their children. Parenting research has sought to understand which parenting behaviors are associated with this transmission. Two parenting behaviors that have been investigated in this field are parents' warmth and criticism towards their children. However, the research has produced ambiguous results. From studies that included multiple informants, results indicate that parents with anxiety perceive themselves as less warm and more critical towards their children compared to parents without anxiety. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore whether parents and someone close to them differ in terms of their perception of the parents' warmth/criticism towards their children and which variables are associated with the possible difference. The study had a cross-sectional design with data from 199 parents collected by Karolinska Institutet in the years 2021 and 2022. The results from this study showed that, on average, parents with anxiety rated themselves as less warm and more critical compared to ratings from someone close to them them. The variable parental self-efficacy had the strongest significant association with the difference in ratings. Neither the parents' anxiety- or depression level were significantly associated with the difference. An interesting find was that the difference in ratings for warmth, but not for criticism, were greater for female parents than for male parents. More research is needed to determine the direction of these associations as well as whether there are other variables that may further explain the difference in perceptions of warmth/criticism.

Admission of an infant into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an experience that has been associated with a variety of both positive and negative health outcomes for parent and child. While both the setting name and the admitted population alludes to a sole focus on the affected infant, what often remains underrecognized is the impact on the ones who care for the newborn long before and longer after their NICU stay. Given the recency and unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, very little research has examined the impact of COVID-19-specific stress on the experience of parents of infants requiring a NICU stay in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. As such, the current study aimed to gather electronic survey data from caregivers (both biological and non-biological) of infants across the United States admitted to a NICU on or after March 1, 2020. Major factors addressed in the survey included anticipation of the NICU, COVID-19-specific stress, NICU-specific stress, global health outcomes (physical, mental, and social health), parental bonding, and parental self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that (1) COVID-specific stress and would be associated with suboptimal NICU experiences; (2) COVID-specific stress would be associated with worse parental health (physical, mental, and social) and parent-child relational health (bonding, self-efficacy) outcomes; (3) NICU stress and parental health would serve as mechanisms through which COVID-specific stress impacts parental-relational outcomes; (4) These associations would vary depending on whether or not a caregiver was anticipating that their infant would need to go to the NICU. Hypotheses were partially supported such that COVID stress was associated with increased NICU stress and poorer caregiver physical and social health. Unique patterns were found depending on facets of caregiver health. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Research has suggested that emotion regulation may be an important predictor of problematic outcomes for children. In particular, the lack of emotion regulation and the inability to effectively utilize emotion regulation have been investigated within the context of children's problematic behaviors. Thus, identifying variables that may be related to the development of emotion regulation abilities in children may prove important for formulating the psychological interventions that are used with young children. One important protective variable may be the parent-child relationship, as empirical evidence suggests that multiple characteristics associated with parenting and the parent-child relationship are intertwined with the emotional development of children. Therefore, this study examined the relationships among parental self-efficacy, parenting style, parents' perceptions of their children· and perceived emotion regulation abilities in preschool children. Thirty-six parents with children between the ages of 2- and 6-years old who were attending private preschool facilities in the greater Orlando area completed measures regarding their parenting behaviors and characteristics, as well as about their children's emotional and behavioral functioning. Results of this study indicate that parenting self-efficacy predicts significantly parenting style and parents' perceptions of children, but does not predict significantly discipline style, and that the parenting variables examined in this study predict significantly reported levels of children, s emotion regulation. These findings emphasize the importance of research investigating the relationships among parenting behaviors and emotional development in young children for bettering the outcomes of these children.

Parents provide a social learning environment where family nutrition, eating habits and physical activity are largely influenced by and correlated with parental modeling of these behaviors. Increasing self-efficacy is an important component in parents being role models because theoretically, it promotes cognitive change that supports their confidence and ability to modify behaviors that contributes to healthier family practices and biometric outcomes. Phase one of this sequential two-phase study used biometric data (body mass index [BMI], cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure) from parents (N = 37) participating in their employer’s family wellness initiative as dependent variables. Parental perceptions of nutrition, eating habits, and physical activity related to self-efficacy and role modeling collected via a survey questionnaire served as the independent variables. Correlation analysis indicated significant associations between BMI and nutrition self-efficacy, eating habits self-efficacy and eating habits role modeling. Linear regression analysis showed that nutrition self-efficacy and eating habits role modeling were significant predictors of BMI. A repeated measures t test revealed statistically, attending the family health and weight management program may help participants reduce their BMI, cholesterol, and diastolic blood pressure readings. Phase two used multiple cases (parents, n = 12) that were selected for interviews using purposeful sampling based on their scores reflecting high and low ranges on the self-efficacy and role modeling subscales from the surveys. Each interview was transcribed, coded using the constant comparative method, and individually analyzed for themes. Cross-case synthesis was used to analyze all the cases for commonality and variations. As a result of the findings, participants may be inclined to continue participating in wellness programs because the employer provides opportunities to assist families in their efforts to build confidence and demonstrate role modeling behaviors. The correlations and predictive results in phase one may help substantiate the benefits of participating in the program. Findings from phase two indicated parents acknowledged their role as leaders in creating environments that assist their families in establishing healthy behaviors and voluntarily engaged in this program because it provided assistance and projected them in the right direction for their family to be successful with health and weight management concerns.

Parenting self-efficacy refers to the ability of parents to have confidence in their abilities to effectively parent their children. Parenting self-efficacy can be divided into two types: (a) general parenting self-efficacy, which is defined as a parent’s overall sense of ability to effectively parent; and (b) task-specific parenting self-efficacy, which is defined as a parent’s confidence level to perform specific parenting tasks, such as teaching and nurturing (tested in this study). The study applied Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory to an analysis of (a) the effect of the HIPPY program in interaction with family and neighborhood variables on parenting self-efficacy and (b) the effect of the interaction of family and neighborhood variables on parenting self-efficacy. A group of 138 HIPPY mothers and a group of 76 comparison mothers who did not receive HIPPY services were surveyed. The sample was largely Hispanic. Results indicated HIPPY predicts task-specific parenting self-efficacy for teaching tasks, but not general parenting self-efficacy or task-specific efficacy for nurturance. Many family variables that reflected Hispanic family values were unique predictors of all three types of parenting self-efficacy, both in analyses involving interactions with HIPPY and with neighborhood variables. Neighborhood variables solely predicted general parenting self-efficacy. Moderation effects were found for the interaction between family conflict and neighborhoods in predicting general parenting self-efficacy, and the interactions between family control and all three types of parenting self-efficacy. Overall, the bioecological model was inapplicable to urban, Hispanic mothers in the surveyed population because of the lack of interaction effects found in the study.

Each year, approximately 1 million children are found to have been abused, with an average of 4.5 children dying each day at the hands of parents, caretakers, relatives, and friends. Child abuse recognition and parental self-efficacy is understood to decrease the prevalence of child abuse. The literature documents the importance of educating mandatory reporters and suggests inconclusive findings about sex differences in child abuse recognition parental self-efficacy. The current research examines the impact of child abuse education on parental child abuse detection self-efficacy, child abuse recognition knowledge, and sex differences in parental child abuse detection self-efficacy. Bandura's self-efficacy theory states that higher levels of self-efficacy will lead to an individual's higher levels of reaction to the situation. The purpose of this experimental quantitative study was to test (a) if reading a child abuse education pamphlet would significantly increase parents ability to recognize child abuse; (b) if reading a child abuse education pamphlet would impact parental self-efficacy and (c) if gender would be significantly reflected in posttest scores on ability to recognize child abuse. A convenience sample of 66 participants was drawn from parents from a middle class neighborhood in Florida. A mixed ANOVA was used to test the study's hypotheses. According to the results, child abuse education improved both parents' knowledge of, and ability to detect, child abuse. This study promotes positive social change by bringing awareness to this community about this problem. Social conditions will be improved with child abuse training by increasing the individual's self-efficacy and knowledge which will help to prevent child abuse.