Theses supervised by Prof. Dr. Sibel Kazak Berument
11 theses · Middle East Technical University
Erken dönem yaşam stresinin ve mizacın bebeklerin kortizol düzeyleri ve bilişsel gelişimleri üzerindeki etkisi
Although early adversity, including being reared in institutional care or a low socioeconomic environment, influences children's development negatively, not all children are affected at the same level. This thesis aims to examine the role of early adversity and temperament in infants' cognitive development and their stress regulation systems. Study I longitudinally examined the cognitive development of infants 3 to 15 months old reared in institutional care (N = 75). Their development was compared with that of infants in a biological family group (N = 65). In Study II, infants' cognitive development in institutional care (N = 63) was compared with that of infants reared in low-socioeconomic status (SES) family environments (N = 60) at one-time point. The moderating role of temperament was also examined in both Study I and Study II. Study III examined the association between hair cortisol levels of the infants, SES levels of their families, cognitive development, and temperament. Findings from Study I showed that infants in institutional care had lower cognitive development in wave 1, and they could not catch up with their age-mates in family groups in wave 3. Study II showed that infants with low levels of falling reactivity had lower attention skills than infants in the low-SES family group. However, there was no group difference for infants with high levels of falling reactivity. According to the findings in Study III, a mediating role of hair cortisol was not found, but infants' temperament significantly moderated the effects of SES on infants' hair cortisol levels.
Ebeveynlik ve mizacın çiftyönlü etkileri ile çocukların benlik kavramları arasındaki ilişkiler
Although parenting and temperament have been investigated for many years, bidirectionality between them is a point of interest recently (Kiff, Lengua, & Zalewski, 2011). The current study aimed to investigate the cross-lagged effects between, temperament (i.e. behavioral inhibition) and parenting (i.e. maternal overprotectiveness and autonomy support) in relation to preschool children's self- concepts. In total, 180 children (93 females [51.7%], and 87 males [48.3%]; Mage = 61.15, SDage = 8.56) and their mothers participated in the study, and they were assessed in two time points with eight months interval. Children's perceived self- concepts were assessed with a puppet interview method via Child Self-View Questionnaire (Eder, 1990) and Berkeley Puppet Interview (Ablow & Measelle, 1993). Mothers responded to Parental Overprotection Measure (Edwards, Rapee, & Kennedy, 2008) to assess maternal overprotectiveness, Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 2001) to assess maternal autonomy support, and Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (Putnam, Gartstein, & Rothbart, 2006) to measure the behavioral inhibition of children in both two waves of data collection. Data were collected through home/kindergarten visits. The data were analyzed using two sets (for two different parenting styles each) of cross-lagged panel analyses. Results revealed that Time 1 (T1) assessments of children's self-concept, behavioral inhibition, maternal overprotectiveness and autonomy support predicted their Time 2 (T2) assessments. Additionally, T1 maternal overprotectiveness positively predicted T2 behavioral inhibition; also, both T1 behavioral inhibition and T1 self-concept negatively predicted T2 maternal autonomy support. Results were discussed in the light of literature regarding the nature of temperament-parenting bidirectionality and the effects of Turkish culture.
Erken çocukluk döneminde yönetici işlev becerilerinin yordayıcıları: Kentsel ve kırsal yoksulluk
Executive function (EF) is an umbrella term of cognitive processes (working memory, inhibition, mental set shifting), which are important for achieving goal-directed behaviors. Several contextual and child factors influence EF development. Poverty is a risk factor for EF skills; however, the effects of urban and rural poverty might be different. The current study examined the differences in urban and rural poverty in terms of living conditions and parenting, EF differences in urban and rural poverty, and predictors of EF. The participants were 241 children and their mothers living in poverty. Children's EF was assessed via Corsi block tapping (visuospatial WM), forward and backward digit span (verbal WM), day-and-night (inhibition), and dimensional change card sort (mental set-shifting) tasks. The results indicated that urban and rural poverty differed in terms of the poverty level (i.e., income, education), home stimulation, neighborhood quality, and mothers' expectations about children's educational attainment, whereas they were similar in terms of parenting, conversations with children and mothers' beliefs about child development. The comparison of urban-rural poverty in terms of EF showed that children living in urban and rural poverty were not significantly different in their EF skills. Moreover, children's age, duration of attending kindergarten, receptive vocabulary, and children's perceptual sensitivity were associated with children's EF; and urban-rural poverty interacted with mothers' positive parenting predicting children's verbal WM and mental set-shifting. The findings of the study are important for describing urban-rural poverty differences in Turkey, and the findings have implications for future studies.
Ebeveyn-çocuk özellikleri ve çocuğun kazanımları arasındaki ilişki: Duygu sosyalleştirme davranışlarının aracı rolü
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the mediator role of emotion-related socialization behaviors (supportive and non-supportive reactions) in the relationships between child temperamental characteristics (anger/frustration and perceptual sensitivity), maternal personality traits (Agreeableness and Openness-to- experience), maternal autonomous-related self-construal and the child outcomes of emotion regulation and theory of mind. In addition, the study aimed to examine the cross-lagged relationship between emotion regulation and theory of mind. In total, 200 children (90 girls [45%], and 110 boys [55%]) with the age range from 47 to 66 months (Mmonths = 57.15, SDmonths = 8.56) and their mothers participated in the study. Children were assessed in two-time points with one-year interval. Children's temperament was assessed with Child Behavior Questionnaire, maternal personality was assessed with Basic Personality Traits Inventory, maternal self-construal was assessed with Autonomous-Related Self in Family Scale, emotion-related socialization behaviors were assessed with Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale, perceived emotion-related socialization behaviors were assessed with a puppet interview. Children's theory of mind skills was measured with Theory of Mind Scale. Emotion regulation was assessed by both the Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire for preschoolers and Disappointing Gift Paradigm. Path and cross-lagged panel analyses were conducted. Results revealed that mothers' non-supportive reactions mediated the relationship between child temperament and ineffective emotion regulation strategies, mothers' supportive reactions mediated the relationship between maternal personality and effective emotion regulation strategies. Effective emotion regulation strategies and theory of mind showed significant improvement from T1 to T2 assessment, but cross-lag relationships were not significant.
Farklılaşan ebeveyn yaklaşımının yordayıcıları ve kardeşe bağlanma ile ikili ilişkisi
The main purposes of the present dissertation are to develop a reliable and valid scale to assess maternal differential treatment (MDT), to investigate structural (gender constellation and composition), individual (negative affect and perceptual sensitivity), and maternal (familism and traditional and modern approaches in parenting) factors associated with absolute MDT as well as to examine the dyadic relationship between relative MDT and sibling attachment. For these purposes, two studies were conducted. In Study I, Sibling Perceptions of Differential Parental Treatment Scale-Mother Form (N = 351) was developed. Two main factors were obtained: MDT in positive and negative domains and further analyses supported two-factor solution (attentiveness and pampering/indulgence) for positive domains and three-factor solution (punishment, negative discipline, negative affect/rejection) for negative domains, separately. The scale had good psychometric properties. In Study II, the main hypotheses were tested with the participation of 356 older and younger siblings and their mothers. The siblings completed MDT, temperament, and sibling attachment scales, and mothers completed familism values and approaches in parenting scales. The results indicated that MDT did not differ based on gender constellation. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that MDT was clearly predicted by temperament but not by other factors. Dyadic relations between MDT and sibling attachment was tested with Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses. The findings suggested that after controlling for siblings' gender, most of the actor and one partner effect were associated with sibling attachment. The current study contributed to the literature by examining the mechanisms and outcomes of MDT in Turkish culture.
Algılanan ebeveyn reddi ve içe yönelim problemleri arasındakı ilişkiler: Duyusal duyarlılık ve cinsiyetin düzenleyici rolleri
Perceived parental rejection has been studied widely in contemporary literature and studies show its link to problematic outcomes during adolescence (e.g. Putnick et al., 2015). Nowadays, it is being discussed that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), a term that has been receiving close attention, may be a more salient temperamental susceptibility marker than other temperamental traits (Slagt et al., 2018). The aim of the present research was to investigate the association between perceived maternal and paternal rejection and internalizing behaviors, and whether this association is moderated by SPS, and, whether this relationship is further moderated by child gender. This study was part of a nationally representative project carried out by three universities in two different time points. For this particular study, only data from time one was used, and children aged between 9-18 years old (5 – 11 grades) were selected as a sample. The models were designed as two separate moderated moderation models depicted as Model 3 (Hayes, 2018). The associations were analyzed first by running hierarchical regression analyses and the results revealed that the hypothesized two-way and three-way interactions did not reach significance, however, the main effect of gender and the interaction between SPS and gender were significant. This interaction was further analyzed by Process Macro (Hayes, 2018) and the results revealed that highly sensitive girls were more inclined to experience internalizing problems. The findings are discussed in terms of literature on adolescence problems and SPS, and future directions are suggested accordingly.
Ebeveyn uygulamaları ve çocuk ve ergenlerin olumlu sosyal davranışları: Mizacın düzenleyici rolü
The current study aimed to investigate age differences in prosocial behaviors of Turkish children and adolescents, and to investigate the relationships between parenting practices (parental warmth, inductive reasoning, and psychological control) and prosocial behaviors. In addition, moderating roles of temperamental characteristics (negative affect and sensory processing sensitivity) in these relationships were investigated separately. This study was conducted as part of a nation-wide project funded by TUBITAK, and 478 children and adolescents attending formal education ranging from 3rd grade to 11th grade and their mothers participated in the study. Parenting practices, prosocial behavior, and temperamental characteristics of children and adolescents were assessed by different questionnaires. Firstly, a one-way ANOVA was run to investigate the age differences. Then, two hierarchical regression analyses were run for the purpose of investigating the moderating role of temperamental characteristics in the relationships between parenting practices and prosocial behavior. The results indicated that parenting practices were not related to prosocial behavior. Moreover, although temperamental characteristics did not have a moderating role in these relationships, both of them were associated with prosocial behavior. Findings of the study, contributions, limitations, and future suggestions were discussed in terms of the relevant literature. Keywords: Parental warmth, inductive reasoning, psychological control, prosocial behavior, temperament
Ebeveyn ve akran kabul ve reddi ve bağlamlar arası etkileşimi
The present study aims to investigate the protective role of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance against peer rejection and the protective role of peer acceptance against parental rejection among children and adolescents. Children from third, fourth, and fifth grades (N = 196), adolescents from ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades (N = 119), and their mothers (N = 315) participated in the study. Children's and adolescents' reports on perceptions of parental and peer acceptance and rejection and mothers' reports on their children's externalizing and internalizing problems were measured. Hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope analyses were conducted. The findings demonstrated that maternal acceptance has a protective role in the association between peer rejection and externalizing problems for children. Peer acceptance has a protective role in the association between paternal rejection and externalizing problems for adolescents, and internalizing problems for adolescent girls. Peer acceptance might also be a risk factor for children with high paternal rejection and for adolescents with high maternal rejection.
Algılanan ebeveynliğin öncüllerinin günlük hayatta ve COVID-19 pandemisinde incelenmesi: Aile süreçleri modeli perspektifi
This thesis examined the antecedents of parental rejection in everyday life and stressful conditions. Study 1 examined predictors of parenting separately for mothers and fathers by testing parent characteristics, namely, education, depression, and socialization goals; famil social context, namely, marital conflict, and social support child characteristics, namely child age, gender, and negative affect. Moreover, the dyadic link among parents in terms of socialization goals, authoritative parenting beliefs were tested for parental rejection. Study 2 examined perceived rejection amid the Corona Virus Disease- 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic by considering the role of pandemic-related risk and protective factors through the mediating role of mothers' psychological distress when controlling for pre-pandemic conditions. Study 1 showed that education level and social support was associated with less maternal rejection, whereas hierarchical relatedness goals was associated with increased maternal rejection. Moreover, social support for mothers was associated with less rejection, especially for girls with high negative affect. For fathers, depressive symptoms and children's negative affect were associated with paternal rejection. Autonomy supporting goals was associated with less perceived rejection by their sons. In cases of high marital conflict, fathers were perceived as less rejecting parents by their daughters and children with less negative affect. Dyadic analysis showed that fathers' authoritative parenting beliefs mediated the link between autonomy supporting goals and parental rejection for both parents. Study 2 showed the mediating role of maternal psychological distress for pandemic-related anxiety, chaos in the family environment but not for decrease in income in predicting maternal rejection. Neither marital satisfaction nor social support had a protective role for mothers.
Ebeveynlik bilişleri ile kuralları içselleştirme ilişkisinde ebeveynliğin aracı cinsiyet ve mizacın düzenleyici rolü
The aim of the present study was to examine the mediator role of parenting behaviors (positive and negative) in the relationships between parenting beliefs and the internalization of rules among children or adolescents. Also, the study aimed to test the moderator role of temperament (frustration and sensory processing sensitivity) in the association between parenting behaviors and the internalization of rules. Lastly, the study aimed to test whether the proposed relationships differ among girls and boys. In total, 374 children and adolescents (225 girls [60.2 %], and 149 boys [39.8 %]) with the age range from 7 to 18 years old (M = 11.02, SD = 2.26) and their mothers participated in the current study. Children and adolescents were asked to fill in parenting scales including warmth, hostility, neglect, undifferentiated rejection, comparison, psychological control, and inductive reasoning. Mothers were asked to fill out demographics, parental beliefs, temperament, and internalization of rules. Results revealed that there were significant associations between parenting beliefs, parenting behaviors, and internalization of rules, and these relationships showed differences for girls and boys. The interaction between sensory processing sensitivity and between negative parenting was also significant in predicting internalization of rules. Findings were discussed in light of the literature. Keywords: internalization of rule, parenting belief, parenting, temperament, gender
Algılanan ebeveynlik ve birinci ve ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinde içe yönelim problemleri: Mizaç ve cinsiyetin düzenleyici rolü
The aim of the present study is to examine the role of perceived parenting behaviors from mothers and fathers on 1st and 2nd grade children's internalizing problems, and to investigate whether their associations are moderated by temperament and gender. 150 children from 1st and 2nd grades and their mothers participated in the study. Perceived parenting from both mothers and fathers regarding their rejection, overprotection and warmth were assessed through child-report scales, child internalizing problems and temperament negative affect were measured through mother-reports. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that child gender, negative affect, paternal rejection, and warmth significantly predicted internalizing problems. In addition, the interaction between paternal rejection and child gender was significant; suggesting that girls tend to have fewer internalizing problems when they perceive higher warmth from their fathers. Moreover, there are three-way interactions between perceived parenting, negative affect, and child gender. Accordingly, for boys who have lower negative affect, higher maternal warmth was associated with higher internalizing problems while higher maternal overprotection was related to lower internalizing problems. For girls who are high on negative affect, higher paternal rejection was linked to lower internalizing problems. The findings are discussed in the light of relevant literature, together with contributions, limitations, and future directions.