Affiliation:
1. Department of Human Development and Family Science Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
2. Department of Psychology University of California Riverside California USA
3. Department of Psychology University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
4. Prevention Science Institute University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA
5. Department of Psychology George Washington University Washington DC USA
6. Department of Psychology Penn State University State College Pennsylvania USA
Abstract
AbstractThis study utilised the Early Growth and Development Study (N = 561 adoptive children; 57.2% male, 55.3% White), a study of children adopted at birth, to examine heritable (birth parent psychopathology) and prenatal risk (prenatal maternal distress and smoking during pregnancy), infant negative affectivity, adoptive parent over‐reactivity and warmth as independent predictors of childhood externalising symptoms. The current study evaluated if: (1) infant negative affectivity and over‐reactive parenting are candidate mediators for the effects of heritable and prenatal risk on externalising symptoms and (2) parental warmth weakens the influence of heritable risk, prenatal risk, negative affectivity and over‐reactive parenting on externalising symptoms. There were main effects of heritable risk, infant negative affectivity and over‐reactive parenting on child externalising symptoms. The study found no support for the hypothesised mediation and moderation effects, suggesting that targeting parental over‐reactivity rather than warmth would be more effective in reducing the risk for childhood externalising symptoms.
Funder
National Institute of Mental Health
National Institutes of Health
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
U.S. Public Health Service
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research