Household chaos, child temperament, and structure-related feeding practices in toddlerhood: A moderation analysis

Structure-related feeding practices may promote intuitive child eating behaviors and foster responsiveness to internal cues of hunger and satiety. Caregivers' ability to engage in structure-related feeding practices likely depends on a complex ecology of factors, including household- and child-characteristics. This study examined associations between household chaos and structure-related feeding practices, and the moderating effect of child temperament. Data were from 275 caregiver-toddler dyads from central Ohio. Child temperament was reported by caregivers when children were 18 months of age, whereas household chaos and structure-related feeding practices were reported by caregivers when children were 36 months of age. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to assess the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Interaction terms between household chaos and three dimensions of child temperament were tested to determine whether temperament moderated the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Household chaos was not independently associated with structure-related feeding practices, but higher levels of child effortful control were associated with greater mealtime structure. There was a statistically significant interaction between household chaos and child temperamental surgency, such that greater levels of chaos were associated with less structured mealtimes, but only when children had low-surgency. Findings suggest household chaos and child temperament inform caregiver feeding practices, but the influence of chaos may depend on more proximal factors, like child temperament. Recommendations to improve caregiver-child feeding interactions should be sensitive to characteristics of the broader family home environment.

Transitions in patterns of caregiver involvement before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A latent transition analysis

This retrospective study investigated transitions in patterns of caregiver involvement before and during COVID-19 and their antecedents and consequences. A total of 504 young children (age: M ± SD = 49.92 ± 4.30 months) and their primary caregivers were recruited from the junior classes of 10 preschools in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles characterized by (1) high levels of caregiver involvement (HCI), (2) average levels of caregiver involvement (ACI), and (3) low levels of caregiver involvement (LCI). Latent transition analysis showed that caregivers who belonged to the HCI or LCI latent status before COVID-19 tended to transition to the ACI latent status during COVID-19. Higher levels of caregiver depression contributed to a higher probability of transitioning from the HCI to the ACI latent status, while higher levels of household chaos predicted a higher probability of transitioning from the HCI to the ACI latent status and a lower probability of transitioning from the LCI to the ACI latent status. Finally, the transitions in patterns of caregiver involvement were associated with young children's approaches to learning during the pandemic.

Effects of the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) on parents and children at risk of maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in situations of risk of child abuse and neglect.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine whether the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) program can improve protective factors (decrease parental stress and household chaos, increase parent-child emotional availability and parental reflective functioning) that may diminish child maltreatment in a group of families at risk for child abuse and neglect during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The sample consisted of 41 children aged between 0 and 5 years (M_age = 35.36 months, SD = 14.65; 85.4 % boys) and their parents (M_age = 35.44, SD = 6.04; 75.6 % mothers).

METHODS

The study design incorporated two randomized groups (Intervention group: AVI; Control group: treatment as usual) with pre- and post-test evaluations.

RESULTS

In comparison to the control group, parents and children exposed to the AVI showed increases in emotional availability. Parents in the AVI group also presented increases in certainty regarding their child's mental states and reported lower levels of household chaos compared to those of the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The AVI program is a valuable intervention for increasing protective factors in families at risk of child abuse and neglect in times of crisis.

Association between specific types of parent stressors and fast-food consumption among parents and children

INTRODUCTION

Although stress has been associated with eating behaviors, such as overeating and eating less healthy foods, the relationships between specific types of parent stressors and fast-food consumption in parents and young children have not been well studied. We hypothesized that parent perceived stress, parenting stress, and household chaos would be positively associated with fast-food consumption for parents and their young children.

METHODS

Parents of 2-5 year olds and with Body Mass Index >27 kg/m2 (N = 234, parent mean age: 34.3 (±5.7); child age: 44.9 (±13.8) months; 65.8 % from two parent households) completed surveys on parent perceived stress, parenting stress, household chaos, and their fast-food intake and that of their child.

RESULTS

In separate regression models, controlling for covariates, parent perceived stress (β = 0.21, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.10, p < 0.01), parenting stress (β = 0.26, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.13, p < 0.01), and household chaos (β = 0.25, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.12, p < 0.01) were each significantly associated with parent fast-food consumption, and separately with child fast-food consumption [Parent perceived stress (β = 0.05, p = 0.02; R2 = 0.14, p < 0.01); parenting stress (β = 0.14, p = 0.03; R2 = 0.14, p < 0.01); parent fast-food consumption (β = 0.40, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.27, p < 0.01)]. However, combined final models showed parenting stress (p < 0.01) as the only significant predictor of parent fast-food consumption, which in turn was the only significant predictor of child fast-food consumption (p < 0.01).

DISCUSSION

The findings support the inclusion of parenting stress interventions that target fast-food eating behaviors in parents, which may in turn, reduce fast-food intake in their young children.

Trajectories and Associations Between Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Household Chaos and Children's Adjustment through the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have adversely affected the lives of people worldwide, raising concern over the pandemic's mental health consequences. Guided by a systemic model of family functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic (Prime et al., 2020), the current study aimed to examine how caregiver well-being (i.e., maternal depressive symptoms) and family organization (i.e., household chaos) are related to longitudinal trajectories of children's emotional and behavioral problems. Data were collected at four time points during and after home lockdown periods. Mothers of children (N = 230; 55% male) between the ages of two to five years were asked to complete questionnaires via an Israeli online research platform. Results indicated that emotional and behavioral problems, household chaos, and maternal depressive symptoms were the highest during the first lockdown assessment and dropped in the post-lockdown periods. Multilevel models further revealed that at the between-participants level, maternal depressive symptoms and household chaos positively predicted children's emotional and behavioral problems. At the within-participants level, household chaos fluctuations positively predicted fluctuations in child behavioral but not emotional problems. Our findings suggest that lockdowns have adverse effects on both maternal and child mental health. Screening for depressive symptoms among mothers of young children and maintaining household structure are important targets for future interventions to assist parents in navigating the multiple challenges brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parenting and Adjustment Problems among Preschoolers during COVID-19

A critical area of developmental science explores factors that confer risk or protection as young children and their families experience stressful circumstances related to sociohistorical events. This study contributes to this important area by assessing relations between family context and child adjustment as children transitioned from preschool to home learning during COVID-19, and whether children higher in stress levels, indexed by morning basal cortisol, were more strongly affected. Parents of 74 children (M _age  = 53.56 months, SD _age = 3.68 months) completed reports spanning the home learning transition; children's pre-COVID-19 transition salivary cortisol levels were assessed. Path analyses were used to test the preregistered study aims. Significant interactions were decomposed using simple slopes and Preacher's Regions of Significance (ROS) method. Across the COVID-19 transition to home-based school, children with higher morning basal cortisol experienced the sharpest increase in anger when exposed to harsh/inconsistent parenting contexts. Importantly, these effects held when controlling for household chaos, socioeconomic resources, and supportive parenting. Parallel models with supportive parenting were also tested and are discussed. This study is one of the first to test and provide support for biological sensitivity to context theory within the context of a natural experiment like COVID-19.

Household chaos mediates the link between family resources and child sleep

PURPOSE

This study examined the mediational role of household chaos in the link between family resources and child sleep outcomes during the transition to kindergarten.

PROCEDURES

Participants included 230 families of children entering kindergarten (50% female) who participated in an 8-day measurement burst at pre-kindergarten (July-August), early kindergarten (September/October), and mid-kindergarten (November/December). At pre-kindergarten, mothers completFed the Family Resources Scale-Revised (FRS-R), while at pre- and early-kindergarten, trained observers assessed household chaos using the Descriptive In-Home Survey of Chaos-Observer ReporteD (DISCORD). To better understand perturbations in child sleep during this transition, actiwatches (AW Spectrum Plus, Philips/Respironics, Murrysville, PA) were used to measure both child sleep duration and proportion of recommended sleep duration (9+ hours per night) at early- and mid-kindergarten.

MAIN FINDINGS

Results found that family resources were more clearly predictive of child sleep outcomes than household income. Controlling for quality of coparenting and maternal depressive symptoms, household chaos mediated the link between family resources and child sleep duration at both early and mid-kindergarten, the link between family resources and the proportion of recommended sleep duration in mid-kindergarten, and the change in proportion of recommended sleep from pre-kindergarten to early-kindergarten.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight household chaos as a mechanism by which family resources, a metric of socioeconomic risk, influences child sleep during the transition to kindergarten.

Household Chaos and Child Behavior Problems Predict Maternal Well-being

The aim of the study was to investigate predictors of maternal well-being in mothers of twins. As well as being important in its own right, maternal well-being is a crucial predictor of parenting (Belsky in Child Dev. 55(1):83, 1984). Based on previous research (Pike et al. in Int J Beh Dev. 30(1):55-66, 2006) we expected that household chaos (Confusion, Hubbub, and Order) and child behavior problems would predict maternal depression, stress and anxiety. The data for the study was taken from the Twins, Family and Behavior Study (TFaB) -- a longitudinal UK study of twins born in 2009 and 2010. One hundred and fifty-eight mothers of twins (M_{child age}= 6.01 years, SD_age = 0.50) reported on household chaos, child disruptive behaviors and their own well-being. Higher levels of household chaos were linked to maternal depressive, anxiety and stress related symptoms. More child behavior problems were related to more depressive and stress symptoms but not anxiety. The findings show promise for future research investigating different types of maternal well-being and suggested practical implications, such as intervening on concrete aspects of household chaos to improve maternal well-being.

Effects of household chaos and parental responsiveness on child executive functions: a novel, multi-method approach

Background

Executive functions can be adversely affected by contextual risks in the home environment including chaos and parenting challenges. Furthermore, household chaos negatively influences parenting practices. Few studies, however, have examined the role of parenting in the association between household chaos and child executive functions.

Methods

Using a sample of 128 school-aged children (mean = 61.9 months, SD = 2.0, range 58–68 months) and their mothers, the present study examined direct and indirect effects (via parental responsiveness) of household chaos on child executive functioning. Multi-measures were used including performance-based assessments, behavioural observations, questionnaires, and video-home tours.

Results

Household chaos had both a direct effect on child executive functions (β = − .31, 95% CI [− .58, − .04]) and an indirect effect (β = − .05, 95% [− .13, − .01]) via parental responsiveness. Further, the indirect effect was only significant for household instability.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that parental responsiveness may be compromised by household chaos, with implications for the executive functions of school-aged children. Preventative strategies are needed to improve the stability in the home and strengthen parenting practices.

Caregivers' joint depressive symptoms and preschoolers' daily routines in Chinese three-generation families: Does household chaos matter?

The benefits of routines for children have been consistently demonstrated in previous literature. However, factors that may confer risks for child routines have seldom been examined, particularly in families where parents and grandparents co-care the children. This study aimed to investigate the associations of parents' and grandparents' depressive symptoms with preschoolers' daily routines in Chinese three-generation families and to determine whether household chaos mediated or moderated the associations. The participants were from 171 urban three-generation families where mothers, fathers, and grandmothers (97 paternal and 74 maternal) were primary caregivers. Mothers, fathers, and grandmothers reported their depressive symptoms at Wave 1; at Wave 2 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), caregivers reported household chaos and child routines. The results revealed that child routines were negatively predicted by parents' joint depressive symptoms rather than grandmothers' depressive symptoms. In the associations, household chaos acted as a mediator rather than a moderator. Specifically, household chaos marginally mediated the associations between parents' and grandmothers' depressive symptoms and child routines only in maternal three-generation families. These findings suggest that in three-generation families, caregivers with more depressive symptoms may elicit more chaotic family environments, which may in turn compromise their children's daily routines.

The relationship between household chaos and child, parent, and family outcomes: a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

Household chaos, represented by the level of disorganisation or environmental confusion in the home, has been associated with a range of adverse child and family outcomes. This review aims to (1) identify how household chaos is measured, (2) chart study details of household chaos literature, and (3) map the existing literature with respect to the relationship between household chaos and child, parent, and family outcomes. We expect that this review will highlight the need to consider the importance of household chaos in child well-being research, particularly in those families where children may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of household chaos.

METHODS

We searched five electronic databases (last updated September 1st 2018) in addition to Google Scholar, and identified publications via a 3-stage screening process, which was conducted by two researchers. Published studies were included if they investigated the association between household chaos and child, parent, or family outcomes. Research that investigated household chaos as a mediator or moderator, or that investigated how the relationship between household chaos and the outcome of interest was mediated or moderated, were also included.

RESULTS

One hundred twelve studies in 111 publications were included. The majority were conducted in the United States (n = 71), and used either cross-sectional (n = 60) or longitudinal (n = 49) study designs. Outcomes of interest were categorised into seven categories: (1) cognitive and academic (n = 16), (2) socio-emotional and behavioural (n = 60), (3) communication (n = 6), (4) parenting, family, and household functioning (n = 21), (5) parent outcomes (n = 6), (6) hormone (n = 8), and (7) physical health and health behaviours (n = 19). There was consistent evidence for significant correlations between household chaos and adverse outcomes across all seven categories in diverse populations with respect to age, disease status, and socio-economic status (SES).

CONCLUSION

There is consistent evidence for associations between household chaos and a number of adverse child, parent, and family-level outcomes. Household chaos may also help describe variations in outcomes between low SES and child development.

The Relations Among Stress, Executive Functions, and Harsh Parenting in Mothers

Stress is a common experience that can spillover into parenting, which in turn has important implications for child behavior. Parents' executive functioning (EF) may buffer the association between feelings of stress and parenting. However, using lower socioeconomic status (SES) and household chaos as indicators of stress, research has demonstrated inconsistent patterns with regard to this moderating role of EF. This study's first aim examined the moderating role of maternal EF on the associations between SES and household chaos, and harsh parenting. The second aim investigated the effects of experimentally induced stress on harsh parenting and whether maternal EF moderated these effects. A final sample of 101 mothers of 6 to 10-year-old children participated by completing measures of EF, household chaos, SES, and harsh parenting. Additionally, mothers were randomly assigned to either a stress group or a control group. Throughout the stress (or control) induction, mothers rated their harsh parenting in response to child misbehavior vignettes. Findings revealed that stronger EF reduced the association between household chaos and harsh parenting. There were no significant effects of SES or experimentally induced stress on harsh parenting, and EF was not a significant moderator for these stressors. These results highlight the buffering role of EF for more chronic stressors such as household chaos. SES and more acute stress, as manipulated by the TSST, at least in the current sample, may be less relevant.

Intergenerational transmission of delay discounting: The mediating role of household chaos

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a period when impulsive decision making may be especially vulnerable to environmental influences. Impulsive decision making is often assessed using a delay discounting paradigm, which measures the preference for smaller rewards sooner over larger rewards with a delay. Research is needed to clarify the relationship between parents' and adolescents' delay discounting and to identify related environmental processes that might facilitate the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting. The current prospective longitudinal study examined the competing mediating processes of household chaos and harsh parenting in the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting between parents and adolescents.

METHODS

Participants included 167 adolescents (mean age = 14.07 years at Time 1; 53% male) and their parents (mean age = 41.98 years at Time 1; 87% female) recruited from the southeast United States. Parents' delay discounting was collected at Time 1, and adolescents' delay discounting was collected both at Time 1 and at Time 3 via a computerized delay discounting task. Parents and adolescents reported household chaos and harsh parenting at Time 2.

RESULTS

A parallel mediation model indicated that parents' delay discounting at Time 1 indirectly predicted adolescents' delay discounting Time 3 residualized change scores (regressing Time 3 delay discounting onto baseline delay discounting) through household chaos but not through harsh parenting at Time 2.

CONCLUSIONS

These results underline the importance of household chaos in facilitating the intergenerational transmission of delay discounting between parents and adolescents. Furthermore, our findings point to household chaos as a potential environmental target for interrupting intergenerational impulsivity.

Household chaos and screen media use among preschool-aged children: a cross-sectional study

Background

Excess screen media use is a robust predictor of childhood obesity. Understanding how household factors may affect children’s screen use is needed to tailor effective intervention efforts. The preschool years are a critical time for obesity prevention, and while it is likely that greater household disorder influences preschool-aged children’s screen use, data on that relationship are absent. In this study, our goal was to quantify the relationships between household chaos and screen use in preschool-aged children.

Methods

A cross-sectional, online survey was administered to 385 parents of 2–5 year-olds recruited in 2017. Household chaos was measured with the Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (i.e., the chaos scale), a validated, parent-reported scale. The scale consists of 15 items, each scored on a 4-point Likert scale. Final scores were the sum across the 15 items and modeled as quartiles for analyses. Parents reported their children’s screen use for nine electronic media activities. Adjusted linear and Poisson regression were used to model associations between household chaos and children’s total weekly screen use, screen use within one hour of bedtime and screen use in the bedroom.

Results

Children averaged 31.0 (SD = 23.8) hours per week with screens, 49.6% used screens within one hour of bedtime and 41.0% used screens in their bedrooms. In adjusted regression models, greater household chaos was positively associated with weekly screen use (P = 0.03) and use of screens within one hour of bedtime (P < 0.01) in a dose-dependent manner. Children in the fourth versus the first quartile of household chaos were more likely to use screens in their bedroom (P = 0.03).

Conclusions

Greater household chaos was associated with increased total screen use as well as screen use behaviors that are related to disrupted nighttime sleep. Findings suggest that household chaos may be an obesity risk factor during the preschool years because of such effects on screen use, and highlight the need to consider household chaos when implementing home-based obesity prevention programs for young children.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-6113-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Structural Home Environment Effects on Developmental Trajectories of Self-Control and Adolescent Risk Taking

Extant literature has demonstrated that self-control is critical for health and adjustment in adolescence. Questions remain regarding whether there are individuals that may be most vulnerable to impaired self-control development and whether aspects of the structural home environment may predict membership in these subgroups, as well as the behavioral consequences of impaired self-control trajectories. The present study utilized growth mixture modeling and data from 1083 individuals (50% female, 82% White) from age 8.5 to 15 years to identify four latent classes of self-control development. Additionally, higher household chaos and lower socioeconomic status at age 8.5 were associated with maladaptive trajectories of self-control at ages 8.5-11.5. In turn, maladaptive self-control trajectories at ages 8.5-11.5 were associated with higher risk taking at age 15. The results highlight the importance of increased structure and support for at-risk youth.

Household chaos as a context for intergenerational transmission of executive functioning

Executive functioning (EF) may be transmitted across generations such that strengths or deficiencies in parent EF are similarly manifested in the child. The present study examined the contributions of parent EF and impulsivity on adolescent EF, and investigated whether household chaos is an environmental moderator that alters these transmission processes. American adolescents (N = 167, 47% female, 13-14 years old at Time 1) completed behavioral measures of EF and reported household chaos at Time 1 and one year later at Time 2. Parents completed behavioral measures of EF and self-reported impulsivity at Time 1. Results indicated that lower parent EF at Time 1 predicted lower adolescent EF at Time 2 (controlling for adolescent EF and IQ at Time 1), but only in the context of high household chaos. Findings suggest that household chaos may be a risk factor that compounds influences of poor parent EF and compromises adolescent EF development.

Intergenerational similarity in callous-unemotional traits: Contributions of hostile parenting and household chaos during adolescence

Extant research has examined both genetic and environmental risk involved in the transmission of callous-unemotional traits in youth populations, yet no study has examined the intergenerational similarity of these traits between parents and their offspring. The current study examined whether the association between parent callous-unemotional traits and child callous-unemotional traits was mediated by parenting behavior and whether this association was moderated by household environment. Participants included 115 dyads of adolescents (48% female; Mean age=13.97) and their primary caregivers (87% female; Mean age=42.54). Measures of callous-unemotional traits, hostile parenting, and household chaos were collected from both adolescents and parents. A two group structural equation modeling revealed that hostile parenting serves as a mediating process in the association between parent and adolescent callous-unemotional traits, but only in the context of high household chaos. Our findings suggest that hostile parenting practices are a mediating process that may explain intergenerational similarity in callous-unemotional traits. Additionally, household chaos may exacerbate the effects of hostile parenting on callous-unemotional traits within adolescents, resulting in heightened vulnerability to intergenerational transmission of callous-unemotional traits.