The current thesis focuses on the longitudinal development of early-adopted children in the 1887/29874 Leiden Longitudinal Adoption Study (LLAS). In the LLAS, adopted children were followed from... Show moreThe current thesis focuses on the longitudinal development of early-adopted children in the 1887/29874 Leiden Longitudinal Adoption Study (LLAS). In the LLAS, adopted children were followed from infancy until young adulthood. In Chapter 1 we discuss the role of sensitive parenting and the precursors and developmental outcomes of attachment security. In the empirical study in Chapter 2 we report on the concurrent as well as longitudinal relations between maternal sensitivity, child temperament, and externalizing behavior problems. In the second empirical study in Chapter 3, we follow this line of enquiry and investigate concurrent and longitudinal relations between maternal sensitivity, child temperament and internalizing behavior problems. Chapter 4 reports on the final empirical study of the thesis, and focuses on the associations between maternal sensitivity and attachment in infancy and the diurnal cortisol curve in young adulthood. Our empirical studies show that maternal sensitivity in infancy and middle childhood indirectly predicts fewer internalizing behavior problems in adopted adolescents, and that maternal sensitivity in adolescence predicts less concurrent delinquent behavior. Attachment experiences in early life do not predict the adoptees' diurnal cortisol curve in later life. In Chapter 5 we discuss these results and some methodological issues more thoroughly. Show less
1887/29813 Sensitivity is defined as a mother's ability to perceive child signals, to interpret these signals correctly, and to respond to them promptly and appropriately (Ainsworth, Bell, &... Show more1887/29813 Sensitivity is defined as a mother's ability to perceive child signals, to interpret these signals correctly, and to respond to them promptly and appropriately (Ainsworth, Bell, & Stayton, 1974) The overall aim of this dissertation is to examine beliefs about sensitive parenting and actual sensitive behaviors in Turkish ethnic minority families and factors that are related to sensitive parenting in those families. The results in Chapter 2 show that sensitivity beliefs are highly similar across and within ethnic groups of mothers and youth care professionals in the Netherlands and Turkey. In Chapter 3, the results show that sensitivity beliefs and sensitive parenting behaviors were unrelated in Dutch and Turkish-Dutch mothers. The findings presented in Chapter 4 show that ethnic identity and socialization, and religious identity and socialization are not related to sensitive parenting behaviors of Turkish-Dutch mothers. More positive attitudes toward Islamic socialization were related to lower observed maternal sensitivity. The results presented in this thesis suggest that early childhood parenting interventions focused on enhancing sensitivity might be successful in minority families. Parenting interventions could be helpful to narrow the gap between beliefs and behaviors. Parental religious orientations and belief systems should be investigated more systematically to be able to understand parenting and its effects on child development in ethnic minority families Show less
1887/29753 This dissertation aims to provide inside into the family context of language development in ethnic minority children. In Chapter 2, the results of the meta-analyses show that host... Show more1887/29753 This dissertation aims to provide inside into the family context of language development in ethnic minority children. In Chapter 2, the results of the meta-analyses show that host language proficiency has a positive effect on the school outcomes of early literacy, reading, spelling, mathematics, and general academic achievement. For early literacy and reading proficiency, cross-language effects were also found. The results in Chapter 3 show that ethnic constellation of the neighborhood and the start of child care are related to changes in home language input in Turkish-Dutch families. Chapter 4 focuses on the differential pathways from SES to vocabulary in Dutch and Turkish, and shows that family SES is related to home language input in both languages but to literacy input in the host language only. Home language and literacy input are in turn related to children's vocabulary outcomes. The results in Chapter 5 indicate that under circumstances of more ethnic than host language use, there can be positive effects of ethnic language skills on the development of host language skills. Overall, our findings show that bilingualism is a complex puzzle of input and output in two languages that can only be solved by taking children's (family) environment into account Show less
1887/26495 The current study extended research on working memory, attention shifting, and inhibitory control problems -indicated as executive functions (EF) - that may play a role in acquiring... Show more1887/26495 The current study extended research on working memory, attention shifting, and inhibitory control problems -indicated as executive functions (EF) - that may play a role in acquiring early literacy and numeracy skills. Four research questions were targeted: 1. Do EF skills interfere with benefiting from informal experiences that are known to stimulate early literacy development? 2. Do EF skills, beyond other basic learning skills such as visual-spatial development, explain why early literacy and early numeracy co-vary substantially? 3. Are EF skills causally related to early developing academic skills in the age range from preschool through first grade? 4. Can delays in EF skills play an important role in the development of severe delays in math development? Outcomes revealed that EF skills in preschool-age were not related to academic outcomes in Grade 1, and they only moderately predicted emerging academic skills in preschool. Changes in EF skills however do relate to changes in academic skills, which implies that EF is causally related to academic development. Compared to effects of EF, early academic and visual-spatial skills were much stronger predictors of early academic development. EF skills thus seem less vital for explaining delays in early academic skills than is commonly assumed. Show less
1887/26887 The use of center child care in Western countries has increased over the last three decades and is nowadays the most frequently used type of non-parental care for children aged zero to... Show more1887/26887 The use of center child care in Western countries has increased over the last three decades and is nowadays the most frequently used type of non-parental care for children aged zero to four (OECD, 2013). The aim of the current dissertation is to shed more light on indicators of child care quality in center child care and to answer the question whether narrow-focused caregiver interventions are effective in improving child care quality. The reported meta-analysis shows that narrow-focus intervention programs that target caregiver-child interaction and child social-emotional development through caregiver training are effective in improving child care quality. Moreover, we evaluated an attachment-based intervention program in a randomized controlled trial including 64 caregivers in Dutch child care centers. It is demonstrated that this program, the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline for Child Care (VIPP-CC), is effective in improving caregiver sensitivity and caregiver attitudes towards sensitive caregiving and discipline. Finally, we stress the importance of including novel indicators derived from environmental chaos theory in the assessment and improvement of child care quality and child wellbeing. Our results show that average noise levels and noise variability are important predictors of child emotional wellbeing in center care Show less
1887/26094 Chile has embarked on a road that must lead to the reduction of inequality gaps for the population. A public policy called Chile Growths With You has focused on an increase in the... Show more1887/26094 Chile has embarked on a road that must lead to the reduction of inequality gaps for the population. A public policy called Chile Growths With You has focused on an increase in the breadth of coverage of non-maternal care through childcare centers to provide equal opportunities in early childhood and onwards. This dissertation focuses on the quality of the early childcare environment in Chile and the role of ethnicity and socio-economic inequality. Ninety-five mother-child dyads were followed in their first year of life to examine changes in the attachment relationship and quality of the home environment, dependent on type of care (maternal care versus center daycare) and ethnicity (Mapuche versus non-Mapuche). Our results show that differences in quality of the home environment between the two ethnic groups are very small and that Mapuche families are distinguished from the majority group by lower income and lower maternal education. Fulltime daycare has no negative consequences for the attachment relationship and the quality of the home environment. Moreover, a positive change in attachment security was found but only for Mapuche children who attended daycare. Show less
We examined the development of international adoptees from infancy to young adulthood, and factors influencing developmental outcomes in middle childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. The... Show moreWe examined the development of international adoptees from infancy to young adulthood, and factors influencing developmental outcomes in middle childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. The results for cognitive development (Chapter 2) showed that early malnutrition influenced cognitive and health-related outcomes, but its consequences did not extend to socioeconomic success later in life. The human brain seems capable of adapting to changing environmental influences, but earlier placement in a positive family environment should be preferred (see also Chapter 1). The adoptees in the Leiden Longitudinal Adoption Study were exposed to few adversities due to their early adoptive placement, and the combination with the nurturing environment of a permanent adoptive family resulted in positive cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes (Chapters 2 and 3). Our results for longitudinal (sensitivity) and concurrent relations (reactivity to infant crying) with attachment representations in young adulthood (Chapters 3 and 4) clearly point to this role of the family environment in predicting social-emotional outcomes. High parenting quality is important, also in families where children do not share a common genetic basis with their parents. In sum, adoption can be seen as a positive intervention and the (adoptive) family environment matters for children growing up from infants to young adults. Show less
The overall goal of the current dissertation is to uncover predictors and outcomes of positive parenting in ethnic minority families. Chapter 2 provides an overview of commonly used observational... Show moreThe overall goal of the current dissertation is to uncover predictors and outcomes of positive parenting in ethnic minority families. Chapter 2 provides an overview of commonly used observational instruments to measure sensitivity, showing the versatility and scientific importance of the construct. The results presented in Chapter 3 suggest that mothers of different cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic groups have a highly similar view on maternal sensitivity. In Chapter 4, the results show that both acculturation stress and general psychological distress mediated the relation between socioeconomic status and positive parenting in Turkish minority families with young children. The results of the empirical study presented in Chapter 5 suggest that family stress processes play a role in adolescents’ behavioral outcomes, whereas family investment processes play a role in adolescents’ cognitive-behavioral outcome in Turkish minority families. Overall, the studies described in this thesis have shown that parenting beliefs and behaviors in ethnic minority families can only be understood in light of factors that are often related to minority status, such as lower socioeconomic status, higher general family stress, and acculturation stress. These factors should be taken into account in research and practice regarding parenting behaviors and child development in ethnic minority families. Show less
The studies described in this dissertation focus on children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in special education. It was found that poor academic performance, relational problems... Show moreThe studies described in this dissertation focus on children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in special education. It was found that poor academic performance, relational problems between children and caregivers, and the age at which youth care was involved for the first time predicted placement in a more restrictive special educational setting over placement in a regular school. No differences in progress outcomes regarding behavioral functioning and academic performance of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in special schools and regular schools were found. Providing emotional support to children with ADHD and ASD proved to be related to positive behavioral outcomes. Poor family functioning was associated with continuity of internalizing problem behavior of children with EBD in the classroom. On the other hand, externalizing problem beh avior in the classroom was associated with continuity of poor family functioning Show less
