This study examined the reciprocal relations among maternal sensitivity, paternal sensitivity, and children's social adjustment from 54 months of age to 5th grade. Using a subsample from the National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 829), we employed an autoregressive latent trajectory…

Although autonomy-supportive parenting yields manifold benefits for adolescents' development, there is a dearth of research addressing the question of whether adolescents reap the benefits of this parenting style, irrespective of their personality. Accordingly, this study examined whether associations between perceived maternal autonomy support…

Although abundant research has demonstrated associations between psychologically controlling parenting and adolescent problem behavior, little is known about the moderating role of adolescent personality herein. This study examined whether adolescent personality moderates the associations between parental psychological control and internalizing…

According to several developmental theories some children are more sensitive to the quality of their environment than others, but most supporting empirical evidence is based on relatively distal markers of hypothesized sensitivity. This study provides evidence for the validity of behaviorally observed Environmental Sensitivity as a moderator of…

Parental sensitivity and nurturance are important mechanisms for establishing biological, emotional, and social functioning in childhood. Sensitive, nurturing care is most critical during the first three years of life, when attachment relationships form and parental care shapes foundational neural and physiological systems, with lifelong…

Accounting for both bidirectional and interactive effects between parenting and child temperament can fine-tune theoretical models of the role of parenting and temperament in children's development of adjustment problems. Evidence for bidirectional and interactive effects between parenting and children's characteristics of frustration, fear,…

This study explored children, preschool, and family characteristics that contribute to individual differences in the developmental trajectories of social competence and internalizing and externalizing behavior. Teachers reported on personality and social adjustment of 304 children at ages 3, 4, 5, and 6 years. Predictors of social adjustment…

Adolescence is often thought of as a period during which the quality of parent-child interactions can be relatively stressed and conflictual. There are individual differences in this regard, however, with only a modest percent of youths experiencing extremely conflictual relationships with their parents. Nonetheless, there is relatively little…