Family Transitions and Toddler Development: A Within-Family Perspective

描述(由申请人提供)：本研究的主要目标是使用家庭内兄弟姐妹设计，检查24至36个月幼儿自我调节能力的发展，并解决家庭中发生的与早期自我调节能力发展相一致的变化。这项研究计划包括在一项现有研究的基础上增加纵向跟踪，该研究考察了第二个孩子24个月和36个月大时第二个孩子出生后家庭的变化。具体地说，参与家庭过渡研究(FTS)的家庭将在第二个孩子24个月和36个月大时重新联系，以评估家庭动态以及家庭中两个兄弟姐妹的社会和情感发展。24个月和36个月的时间点扩展了从之前的六个时间点(产前、1、4、8、12和18个月)收集的数据，这些时间点允许检查父母(母亲、父亲)和两个兄弟姐妹(较大的、蹒跚学步的孩子)家庭系统内的复杂变化。这项研究建议：1.确定第二个出生的孩子从18个月到36个月大时自我调节能力的变化轨迹；2.超越家庭之间、母亲和孩子之间的研究，将父亲和年长的兄弟姐妹包括在内，努力检查对幼儿早期自我调节能力发展至关重要的家庭内部过程。3.同时模拟较年长的兄弟姐妹的问题行为从出生前到兄弟姐妹出生后36个月的变化，并将其与蹒跚学步的兄弟姐妹从18个月到36个月的自我调节发展的变化联系起来；4.检查出生后前三年家庭内部的变化(父母抑郁、父母养育、兄弟姐妹关系、婚姻变化)是否作为共同或非共同的家庭风险因素，预测兄弟姐妹从18个月到36个月的发展。这项拟议的研究是独一无二的，因为它包括180个家庭的大样本；纵向跟踪调查了8个时间点；包括母亲和父亲以及两个兄弟姐妹；并检查了迄今为止在早期自我调节发展中尚未审查的家庭内部过程。这项研究将进一步加深我们对家庭过程的理解，这些过程预测了“可怕的二人组”期间幼儿行为困难的预测，并有助于专业人员和父母预防儿童早期的行为问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal of this research is to examine the development of toddler self-regulation from 24 to 36 months using a within-family, sibling design and to address changes occurring in the family that coincide with the development of early self-regulatory competence. The study plan involves adding longitudinal follow-ups to an existing study examining changes in the family following the birth of a second child when the second born turns 24 and 36 months of age. Specifically, families participating in the Family Transitions Study (FTS) will be recontacted when their second child is 24 and 36 months old to assess family dynamics and the social and emotional development of both siblings in the family. The 24 and 36 month timepoints extend data collection from six prior timepoints (Prenatal, 1, 4, 8,12 and 18 months) that allows the examination of complex change within the family system for two parents (mother, father) and two siblings (older, toddler). The research proposes to: 1. Identify change trajectories in the second born child's self-regulation from 18 to 36 months of age; 2. Move beyond between-family, mother-child research, and include fathers and older siblings in an effort to examine within-family processes that are important for the development of the toddler's early self-regulation. 3. Simultaneously model change in the older sibling's problematic behavior from pre-birth to 36 months after the sibling birth and relate it to change in the toddler sibling's development of self-regulation from 18 to 36 months and; 4. Examine whether changes within the family (parental depression, parenting, sibling relations, marital change) during the first three years after the birth act as shared or nonshared family risk factors that predict the development of sibling outcomes from 18 to 36 months. The proposed research is unique in that it includes a large sample of 180 families; followed longitudinally across eight timepoints; includes mothers and fathers, and two siblings; and examines within-family processes not examined to date in the development of early self-regulation. This study will further our understanding of the family processes that predict difficult toddler behavior during the "terrible two's" and aid both professionals and parents in preventing child behavior problems in early childhood.