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ObjectiveRooted in attachment theory, we tested the degree to which children's dysregulated representations mediate linkages between ineffective parenting and children's effortful control in a sample of lower income families.BackgroundChildren in lower income households are at greater risk for difficulties with effortful control. Although ineffective parenting practices may influence children's development of effortful control, there is limited knowledge related to the mechanisms underlying this association. According to attachment theory, it is possible that children who experience ineffective parenting practices have more dysregulated representations, which may then be linked with poorly regulated behavior.MethodThis cross‐sectional study included 40 preschool‐age children enrolled in Head Start and their mothers. Ineffective parenting practices were operationalized using mothers' self‐reported parenting styles and observed parenting behaviors; children's dysregulated representations and effortful control were measured during a series of observed laboratory tasks. Structural equation modeling was used to test pathways between measured variables.ResultsThe relation between ineffective parenting practices and children's effortful control was not directly related; however, structural equation modeling indicated a significant indirect effect through children's dysregulated representations. Children whose mothers were more ineffective in their parenting had more dysregulated representations. In turn, more dysregulated representations were related to poorer effortful control.ConclusionChildren who experience ineffective parenting practices may be less likely to internalize reliable expectations regarding their environment's structure and order. Poorly stabilized perceptions may inhibit adaptive social and behavioral functioning.ImplicationsThese findings inform intervention efforts aimed toward enhancing parenting practices to improve children's representations and effortful control behaviors.

AbstractWe examine neural correlates of discrete expressions of negative emotionality in infants to determine whether the microstructure of white matter tracts at 1 month of age foreshadows the expression of specific negative emotions later in infancy. Infants (n = 103) underwent neuroimaging at 1‐month, and mothers reported on infant fear, sadness, and anger at 6, 12, and 18 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire‐Revised. Levels and developmental change in fear, sadness, and anger were estimated from mother reports. Relations between MRI and infant emotion indicated that 1‐month white matter microstructure was differentially associated with level and change in infant fear, but not anger or sadness, in the left stria terminalis (p < 0.05, corrected), a tract that connects frontal and tempo‐parietal regions and has been implicated in emerging psychopathology in adults. More relaxed constraints on significance (p < 0.10, corrected) revealed that fear was associated with lower white matter microstructure bilaterally in the inferior portion of the stria terminalis and regions within the sagittal stratum. Results suggest the neurobehavioral uniqueness of fear as early as 1 month of age in regions that are associated with potential longer‐term outcomes. This work highlights the early neural precursors of fearfulness, adding to literature explaining the psychobiological accounts of affective development.Highlights
Expressions of infant fear and anger, but not sadness, increase from 6 to 18 months of age.
Early neural architecture in the stria terminalis is related to higher initial levels and increasing fear in infancy.
After accounting for fear, anger and sadness do not appear to be associated with differences in early white matter microstructure.
This work identifies early neural precursors of fearfulness as early as 1‐month of age.

AbstractThe Wisconsin Twin Project comprises multiple longitudinal studies that span infancy to early adulthood. We summarize recent papers that show how twin designs with deep phenotyping, including biological measures, can inform questions about phenotypic structure, etiology, comorbidity, heterogeneity, and gene–environment interplay of temperamental constructs and mental and physical health conditions of children and adolescents. The general framework for investigations begins with rich characterization of early temperament and follows with study of experiences and exposures across childhood and adolescence. Many studies incorporate neuroimaging and hormone assays.