An Ethological Analysis of Children's Emotional Security

描述（由申请人提供）：暴露于高水平的父母间冲突的儿童有不成比例的高风险经历各种各样的心理问题，包括内化症状，外化问题，社会障碍和学业困难。因此，来自高冲突家庭的儿童所经历的负担以及由此给美国社会带来的心理、健康和经济成本是广泛的。儿童对冲突的情绪反应被认为是理解与接触父母间不和和冲突有关的风险的关键机制。因此，根据资助机会公告“PA-07-083”情感的基础和转化研究“，本研究提出了测试基于模式的EST，是植根于行为学和进化的框架（EST-R;戴维斯和Sturge-Apple，2007年;戴维斯和Woitach，2008年）。为了实现研究新的EST-R框架的实用性这一总体目标，本申请寻求解决以下具体目标：（1）确定五个轮廓之间的相互关系的性质，每个轮廓下对冲突的主观反应模式，以及轮廓随时间的稳定性和变化;（2）识别在区分不同反应性特征中作为相关物和前体的父母间、家庭和儿童特征;（3）区分儿童对冲突的反应行为的共同和独特的神经生物学和神经认知基础;（4）描述EST-R特征的心理和生理健康轨迹，包括在考虑到流行的测量方法后，测试特定特征预测儿童适应的特定轨迹的增量功率;以及（5）通过对儿童特殊的反应模式进行干预，为旨在解决儿童应对和适应父母间冲突问题的干预举措做出贡献。 为了实现这些目标，该项目将在三个年度测量期间对250名母亲、父亲及其四岁子女进行抽样调查。多方法，多信息，多层次的测量电池与强大的，复杂的潜在的和基于模式的定量方法相结合，将产生新的，理论指导的研究问题和假设的权威测试。因此，这项研究有可能显着推进知识的家庭和发展过程的基础儿童的健康轨迹和通知预防和干预措施，以减轻创伤相关的心理病理学发展的危险的家庭环境的影响，以减少儿童的心理疾病的负担。 公共卫生相关性：鉴于父母之间普遍存在不和及其对儿童和社会造成的巨大代价，了解儿童如何适应父母之间的困难是一个重要的公共卫生优先事项。因此，该项目的总体目标是：（a）区分儿童对父母冲突的不同反应模式;（B）查明家庭中与儿童对冲突的反应有关的特点;（c）绘制这些对冲突的反应对儿童身心健康的影响。通过解决这些问题，该应用程序将有助于提供必要的知识，为旨在改善儿童和家庭福利的临床和政策举措提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children exposed to high levels of interparental conflict are at disproportionately high risk for experiencing a wide array of psychological problems, including internalizing symptoms, externalizing problems, social impairments, and academic difficulties. Consequently, the burden experienced by children from high conflict homes and the resulting psychological, health, and economic costs to U.S. society are extensive. Children's emotional responses to conflict are regarded as pivotal mechanisms in understanding the risk associated with exposure to interparental discord and conflict. Thus, in accordance with the Funding Opportunity Announcement "PA-07-083 "Basic and Translational Research in Emotion", this study proposes to test a pattern-based reformulation of EST that is rooted in an ethological and evolutionary framework (EST-R; Davies & Sturge-Apple, 2007; Davies & Woitach, 2008). Toward the overarching objective of examining the utility of the novel EST-R framework, this application seeks to address the following specific aims: (1) Identify the nature of the interrelationships among the five profiles, the patterns of subjective reactivity to conflict underlying each profile, and stability and change in the profiles over time; (2) Identify the interparental, family, and child characteristics that serve as correlates and precursors in distinguishing between the different reactivity profiles; (3) Distinguish the common and distinctive neurobiological and neurocognitive underpinnings of children's behavioral profiles of reactivity to conflict; (4) Delineate the mental and physical health trajectories of the EST- R profiles, including testing the incremental power of the specific profiles to predict specific trajectories of children's adjustment after taking into account prevailing measurement approaches; and (5) Contribute to intervention initiatives aimed at addressing children's coping and adaptation to interparental conflict by delineating possible points of intervention associated with particular patterns of children's responding. To accomplish these aims, the project will follow a sample of 250 mothers, fathers, and their four year-old children over three annual measurement occasions. The multi-method, multi-informant, and multi-level measurement battery combined with powerful, sophisticated latent and pattern-based quantitative approaches will generate authoritative tests of the novel, theoretically guided research questions and hypotheses. Consequently, the study has the potential to significantly advance knowledge on family and developmental processes underlying children's trajectories of health and inform prevention and intervention initiatives to alleviate the impact of risky family environments on the development of trauma related psychopathology towards reducing the burden of mental illness in children. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In light of the prevalence of discord between parents and its profound costs to children and society, understanding how children adapt to interparental difficulties is an important public health priority. Accordingly, the overarching objective of this project is to (a) distinguish between different patterns of children's responses to their parents' conflicts, (b) identify the characteristics in the family that are associated with children's responses to conflict, and (c) chart the implications of these responses to conflict for children's mental and physical health. By addressing these questions, this application will help provide knowledge necessary to inform clinical and policy initiatives designed to improve the welfare of children and families.