A complex dynamic systems perspective was applied to explore how mother and child mutually shape interpersonal coordination. Applying a microanalytic design, this study examined the moment-to-moment interaction behavior of 39 Dutch mothers and their three- and four-year-old children (53.8% girls, predominantly White) during a collaboration task.…

This Dutch multi-informant study examined effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown (LD; e.g., school closure and social restrictions) on parent-adolescent relationships. Four biweekly measurements before and 4 biweekly measurements during the LD were collected among adolescents (N = 179, M[subscript age] = 14.26 years, 69% girls) and their parents…

This article describes a study on mutuality in mother-child interaction during reading and playing sessions. Within mother-child interaction, mutuality is seen as important in language acquisition. The study was executed within a group of Netherlands Antillean mother-child dyads who participated in an intervention programme. Mutuality was…

This 4-year study examined longitudinal interplays between adolescents' and mothers' self-reported empathic concern (EC) and perspective taking (PT). We investigated (a) whether adolescents' EC predicted rank-order change in their PT over time, or vice versa; (b) whether mothers' empathy predicted relative increases in adolescents' empathy; (c)…

Most research on parenting has focused on dyadic parent-child interactions to the neglect of triadic interactions between mother, father and child. Drawing from an evolutionary perspective, the present study examined how parental warmth and investment change as a function of the other parent's presence. Our sample consisted of 87 two-parent Dutch…

In this two-wave prospective study, the authors investigated whether level of dispositional affective empathy moderated the association between parental support and antisocial behavior in early adolescents. The sample consisted of 823 Dutch boys and girls (mean age = 12.8 years) enrolled in the first year of secondary education. Higher levels of…

Using multiple dimensions of solidarity and conflict in a latent class analysis, we develop a typology of adult child-parent relationships. The data (N = 4,990) are from the first wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. In descending order of relationship quality, the 5 types are harmonious (akin to relationships with friends), ambivalent…

In this attempt to explain parental discipline behaviors from an interactionist viewpoint that includes person and situation factors, the relationship of parental discipline behaviors to situation-specific feelings and cognitions and objective situational characteristics were examined. Data obtained from 300 families included (1) social…

Background: The present study extends existing studies on the role of differential parental treatment in explaining individual differences in adolescent problem behaviors above the absolute level of parenting and clarifies the function of gender of the child, birth rank and gender constellation of the sibling dyads. Method: The absolute level of…