While there is a growing body of research to expand our theoretical and conceptual understanding of the multi-faceted construct mindfulness, the majority of studies have thus far focused on the efficacy of short-term mindfulness-based interventions to mitigate symptoms associated with myriad physiological and psychological conditions. Research investigating the relational effects of mindfulness within families is limited. This qualitative study examined eight long-term meditators' perceptions of how their mindfulness practice influenced their parenting behavior. Using thematic analysis, the central themes to emerge included (1) increased communication skills, (2) decreased emotional reactivity, (3) increased perspective-taking, and (4) greater self-understanding. Limitations of the study as well as future research and clinical implications are also discussed. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed October 15, 2009). PDF text: viii, 181 p. : ill. ; 910 Kb. UMI publication number: AAT 3369407. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

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Foster parents are often not equipped to address the difficulties and challenges they face with their foster children. Research has identified the importance of providing foster children with a safe and secure environment. Guided by the theory of adoption and attachment, the purpose of this study was to identify the differences between foster parents who continue with foster child placements and those who do not by examining their perceptions of foster parenting behaviors and their foster parent/child relationships. Participants were recruited using online foster parent forums and foster care agencies. A total of 31 foster parents participated: 13 licensed and 18 not-licensed. The 45-item Parent Behavior Scale (PBS) was used to measure parenting behaviors. The 15-item Child Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS) was used to measure perceived caregiver-child relationships. A MANOVA revealed significant relational differences between the groups. Foster parents who continued to foster children perceived their relationships with their foster child more positively and supportive than did those who did not continue to foster children. No significant differences in parenting behaviors between the groups were identified. Notably, a relationship was found between foster parents' perception of their relationship with their foster children and the combined parenting behavior scales of positive parenting, rules, monitoring, and punishment. These findings can contribute to positive social change in identifying relational factors important to placement longevity. Foster parents trained to meet the challenges are more likely to continue to foster children and provide a safe and secure environment in which foster children can thrive.

Psykopati är en personlighetsstörning där specifika beteendemönsteringår. Man kan hitta psykopatiska drag hos barn och ungdomar. Detfinns begränsat med forskning gällande ungdomar med psykopatiskadrag och okänslighet för bestraffning, samt hur föräldrabeteendenpåverkas. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om ungdomarsokänslighet för bestraffning medierar länken mellan psykopatiskadrag och föräldrabeteenden. Studien är gjord på tidigare insamladdata från en medelstor stad i Sverige. Sammanlagt deltog 968 flickoroch pojkar, samt svarade deras föräldrar på enkäter. Resultatetvisade att ungdomars okänslighet för bestraffning delvis medierarlänken mellan ungdomars psykopatiska drag och föräldrabeteenden.Dock visade fynden olika resultat för olika föräldrabeteenden. / Psychopathy is a personality disorder where specific patterns ofbehavior are included. It is possible to find psychopathic traits amongchildren and adolescents. There is limited research concerningadolescents with psychopathic traits and insensitivity to punishment,also how the parenting behaviors are affected. The purpose of thisstudy is to research if adolescents’ insensitivity to punishmentmediates the link between psychopathic traits and parenting behaviors.The study is conducted by using previously collected data from anaverage sized city in Sweden. There were 968 participants, where bothgirls and boys and their parents filled out questionnaires. The resultshowed that adolescents’ insensitivity to punishment partly mediatesthe link between youth’s psychopathic traits and parenting behaviors.However the findings showed different paths for different parentingbehaviors.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) likely involves fundamental alterations in self-regulation. These problems typically have been viewed as involving disruptions in the regulation of cognition and behavior. However, they also have been hypothesized to involve disruptions in emotion regulation. If so, parenting behaviors may take on renewed importance in ADHD, because parents play an essential role in children developing the ability to regulate their emotions independently. Three studies examined the association between emotion regulation and ADHD. Study 1 examined autonomic nervous system functioning during the experience and regulation of both positive and negative emotions. Study 2 examined coherence among autonomic and behavioral emotional systems. Finally, Study 3 examined the roles of parenting behavior, parental expressed emotion, and child autonomic nervous system functioning. In Studies 1 and 2, participants with ADHD and typically developing youth aged 7 to 11 years old completed an emotion induction and suppression procedure. For Study 3, participants completed a parent-child interaction task coded for parental behavior, and parents completed a five-minute speech sample coded for expressed emotion. Electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography were monitored for children across all three studies. The following results were notable. In Study 1, children with ADHD showed atypical autonomic inflexibility (i.e., elevated parasympathetic and sympathetic responding across task conditions). Additionally, children with ADHD were divided according to levels of prosocial behavior. Unlike other children with ADHD, children with very low levels of prosocial behavior displayed blunted autonomic activity across task conditions. In Study 2, specific patterns of reduced coherence among emotion regulatory systems (i.e., facial affective behavior and autonomic nervous system reactivity) were observed among children with ADHD. Finally, in Study 3, high levels of parental expressed emotion were associated uniquely with ADHD, even after controlling for comorbid symptoms. In contrast, parental intrusiveness was associated uniquely with child oppositional defiant and low prosocial behavior, even after controlling for ADHD symptoms. Furthermore, specific, different patterns of autonomic reactivity during the parent-child interaction were associated with ADHD and oppositional defiant behaviors. Across these studies, it is concluded that intrinsic and extrinsic emotion and emotion regulatory systems are disrupted among children with ADHD.

Denna studie undersökte normbrytande beteende samt dess relation till föräldrars beteende. Syftet var att undersöka de två synsätten på detta förhållande som framgår i studier på ämnet, den klassiska bilden där det är föräldrars beteende som format ungdomars beteenden, samt en bild som kontemporära studier presenterat där föräldrarna responderar på ett normbrytande beteende genom att ändra sitt eget beteende. Studien baseras på en longitudinell datainsamling utförd i en medelstor svensk kommun, där ungdomar besvarat självskattningsformulär utformade att mäta normbrytande beteende samt deras föräldrars varma eller kyliga beteende. Resultatet av regressionsanalyserna visar flera signifikanta resultat över tid, både negativa reaktioner samt grad av kontroll från föräldrarna predicerade ett normbrytande beteende, medans ett normbrytande beteende exempelvis predicerade arga utbrott samt minskad värme hos föräldrarna. / This study examined juvenile delinquency and its relation to parenting behavior. The purpose was to examine the two differing points of view that is present when reviewing the subject, the classical point of view where it is the parent’s behavior that shapes juvenile delinquency, and the point of view presented in contemporary studies where the parents respond to delinquency by changing their own behavior.   The study is based on a longitudinal data collection performed in a smaller Swedish municipality, where self-report forms have been administered to the juveniles aimed to measure delinquency and their parent’s warm or cold behavior. The results of the regression analysis show multiple significant effects over time, both negative reactions to disclosure and degree of control from the parents predicted adolescent delinquency, and adolescent delinquency predicted angry outburst as well as a decrease in the level of warmth from the parent.

Some early puberty girls engage in high-risk externalizing behaviors such as early sexual activity, delinquent behavior, and disruptive behaviors. Harsh parenting experienced by girls who develop early has been associated with delinquent and disruptive behaviors. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine predictive relationships between the style of parental discipline by mothers of early puberty girls and the likelihood and frequency of the girls' engagement in high-risk behaviors. Parenting style theory, including the authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive style of parenting, served as the theoretical foundation for the study. Survey data were collected from 28 mothers who identified as having a daughter who experienced early puberty. The Parenting Scale subscales were used to measure the dysfunctional parenting behaviors of laxness, overreactivity, and verbosity. Logistic regression analysis revealed no statistically significant relationships between the early puberty girl's involvement in risky behaviors and dysfunctional parenting. Results may be used by human service and public health officials to increase awareness of early puberty and to promote public health policies to address the individual, social, and economic implications of early puberty in girls.

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