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- Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Sensitive responsiveness in expectant and new fathers
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current opinion in psychology. - 2352-250X. ; 50
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fathers have an increasingly important role in the family and contribute through their sensitive responsiveness to positive child development. Research on parenting more often included fathers as caregivers in the past two decades. We present a neurobiological model of sensitive responsive parenting with a role for fathers' hormonal levels and neural connectivity and processing of infant signals. We tested this model in a research program (Father Trials) with correlational and randomized experimental studies, and we review the results of these studies. So far, interaction-focused behavioral interventions seem most promising in supporting fathers' sensitive respon-siveness, even though the mechanisms are still uncharted.
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| 2. |
- Runze, Jana, et al.
(författare)
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The polygenic and reactive nature of observed parenting
- 2023
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Ingår i: Genes, Brain and Behavior. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1601-1848 .- 1601-183X. ; 22:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Wertz et al. (2019), parents' polygenic scores of educational attainment (PGS-EA) predicted parental sensitive responses to the child's needs for support, as observed in a dyadic task (i.e., observed sensitivity). We aimed to replicate and expand these findings by combining longitudinal data, child genotype data and several polygenic scores in the Generation R Study. Mother–child dyads participated in two developmental periods, toddlerhood (14 months old; n = 648) and early childhood (3–4 years old, n = 613). Higher maternal PGS-EA scores predicted higher observed sensitivity in toddlerhood (b = 0.12, 95% CI 0.03, 0.20) and early childhood (b = 0.16, 95% CI 0.08, 0.24). Child PGS-EA was significantly associated with maternal sensitivity in early childhood (b = 0.11, 95% CI 0.02, 0.21), and the effect of maternal PGS-EA was no longer significant when correcting for child PGS-EA. A latent factor of PGSs based on educational attainment, intelligence (IQ) and income showed similar results. These polygenic scores might be associated with maternal cognitive and behavioral skills that help shape parenting. Maternal PGSs predicted observed sensitivity over and above the maternal phenotypes, showing an additional role for PGSs in parenting research. In conclusion, we replicated the central finding of Wertz et al. (2019) that parental PGS-EA partially explains parental sensitivity. Our findings may be consistent with evocative gene–environment correlation (rGE), emphasizing the dynamic nature of parenting behavior across time, although further research using family trios is needed to adequately test this hypothesis.
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| 3. |
- Verhees, Martine W. F. T., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of a Soft Baby Carrier on Fathers’ Behavior and Hormones : A Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Child and Family Studies. - : Springer Nature. - 1062-1024 .- 1573-2843.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased father–infant physical contact may promote early paternal caregiving. This randomized controlled trial, preregistered on https://osf.io/qwe3a, tested the effects of a soft baby carrier intervention on fathers’ parenting behavior and hormonal levels. Eighty first-time fathers of 2- to 4-month-old infants were randomly assigned to a baby carrier intervention group (n = 41 fathers) or a control group receiving an infant seat (n = 39 fathers). Fathers were instructed to use the baby carrier or seat for 3 weeks. Fathers’ sensitive parenting behavior, involvement, salivary oxytocin and cortisol basal levels and reactivity to interacting with the infant were assessed at pre-test (on average 2 weeks before the intervention) and at post-test (on average 1 week after the intervention period ended). The results showed that the intervention did not enhance fathers’ sensitive parenting or involvement. Involvement operationalized as hours spent with the infant decreased over time for fathers in the carrier condition compared to fathers in the control condition. The baby carrier intervention had no effect on fathers’ basal oxytocin or cortisol levels, nor did it affect fathers’ oxytocin or cortisol reactivity to interacting with their infant. Our findings indicate that 3 weeks of using a baby carrier does not have immediate beneficial effects on fathers’ parenting behavior or hormonal functioning as assessed here. Future research may examine whether infant carrying has beneficial effects on the longer term or in different groups of fathers, and how fathers’ infant carrying affects their infants.
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