Grandmothers Are Part of the Parenting Network, Too! A Longitudinal Study on Coparenting, Maternal Sensitivity, Child Attachment and Behavior Problems in a Chinese Sample

Overview

Journal New Dir Child Adolesc Dev

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2021 Nov 26

PMID 34826337

Citations 8

Authors

Xi Liang

Yige Lin

Marinus H van IJzendoorn

Zhengyan Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Grandmothers are important in Chinese families. This study explored the early emerging mother-grandmother-infant network and its association with child's socioemotional development in multigenerational families in a non-WEIRD country. The analytic sample included 60 children (T1: M = 6.5 months) and their caregivers residing in Beijing. Measures used were the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (MBQS), and the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Structural equation and path modeling revealed that (1) more grandmaternal neutral/watching coparenting behaviors at the first assessment were related to more secure infant-mother attachment relationships at the second assessment (T2: M = 1 year); (2) maternal sensitivity at T2 was a partial mediator between earlier undermining and neutral/watching coparenting behaviors and young children's externalizing problems at the final assessment (T3: M = 2 years). Findings are discussed in terms of the roles played by mother-grandmother coparenting network in the children's socioemotional development.

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