SYNOPSIS

Objective. Observations of parents with their children are important for better understanding the critical role that parents play in their children’s adjustment, but resource limitations commonly compromise assessment. A novel online observation tool, Etch-a-Sketch Online (ESO), is introduced that allows resource-efficient observations in the family home. Design. Study 1 was a preliminary, cross-sectional study of 20 mothers with their singleton children (M = 5.96 years). Mothers were observed using both ESO (recorded via Skype) and a traditional Etch-a Sketch task recorded during a home-visit; mothers’ positive and negative parenting was coded from these observations. Study 2 was a longitudinal study of 119 mothers and their young twins. Mothers’ ESO-observed positive parenting and negative parenting at Time 1 (M = 5.51 years) were examined as predictors of children’s disruptive behavior at Time 2 (M = 6.04 years) controlling for mothers’ Time 2 self-reported positive and negative parenting. Results. Study 1 provided preliminary evidence of inter-rater reliability and convergent validity of ESO-observations. Study 2 supported this evidence of inter-rater reliability and ESO’s convergent validity as well as providing predictive validity. ESO-observed parenting at Time 1 was associated with children’s disruptive behavior at Time 2, over and above concurrent maternal reports of their own parenting. Conclusions. ESO shows promise in providing the means for detailed assessment of parenting processes in the home.

概要

目标。父母与子女的观察对于更好地理解父母在子女的适应中所起的关键作用很重要，但是资源有限通常会影响评估。引入了一种新颖的在线观察工具Etch-a-Sketch Online（ESO），该工具可以在家庭中进行资源高效的观察。设计。研究1是一项初步的横断面研究，涉及20名母亲及其单身子女（ M= 5.96年）。使用ESO（通过Skype记录）和传统的Etch-a Sketch任务在一次家庭访问中记录了母亲的身影；根据这些观察结果，对母亲的积极和消极的父母教养进行了编码。研究2是对119位母亲及其双胞胎的纵向研究。检查母亲在时间1（M = 5.51岁）的ESO观察到的积极育儿和阴性育儿，作为儿童在时间2（M = 6.04岁）的破坏行为的预测指标，控制着母亲在时间2自我报告的积极和消极育儿。结果。研究1提供了ESO观测者之间的信度和信度的初步证据。研究2支持评估者间信度和ESO收敛效度的证据，并提供了预测效度。ESO观察到的在时间1的育儿与在时间2的孩子的破坏行为有关，这超出了他们同时进行的父母教养的母亲报告。结论。ESO在提供详细评估家庭育儿过程的手段方面显示出希望。