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Behavior Problems and Synchrony 1

Running Head: BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS AND SYNCHRONY

Toddler-Mother Synchrony and the Development of Problem Behavior in At-Risk Boys

Emily Moye Skuban, Daniel S. Shaw, and Sara R. Nichols

Submitted: Developmental Psychology

October, 30, 2006

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Frances Gardner and Anne Gill for their thoughtful comments on this

paper. This research was supported by grants MH06291, MH50907, and DA016110 from the

National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Correspondence

regarding this article may be addressed to Emily M. Skuban, Department of Psychology,

University of Pittsburgh, 210 South Bouquet St, 4425 SENSQ, Pittsburgh, PA 15260,

[email protected].


Abstract

Several components of parenting and the quality of the mother-child relationship,

including maternal warmth and responsivity, as well as mother-infant attachment quality, have

been associated with children’s later adaptation. Dyadic synchrony is a measure of mother-child

quality that encompasses both parent and child characteristics and has been associated with the

development of both child competencies and problem behavior. The present study examined

associations between early mother-child synchrony at age 2 and mother- and teacher-reported

outcomes of child adaptation at kindergarten (age 5.5) in a sample of high-risk, low-income

boys. It was found that lower levels of synchrony were associated with higher levels of teacher-

reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms, greater impairments in social skills, and

lower quality teacher-student relationships; however, there was no association between mother-

report of behavioral symptoms and ratings of synchrony. The findings extend the literature on

synchrony and both child behavioral problems and competencies using a sample of children at

high risk for maladaptive outcomes.

Keywords: Mother-Child Relations; Psychosocial Development; Behavior Problems; At-risk

Populations


Toddler-Mother Synchrony and the Development of Problem Behavior in At-Risk Boys

Aspects of the early parent-child relationship have been found to contribute to later child

adjustment. For example, authoritative parenting and parental sensitivity have been associated

with fewer behavior problems and higher levels of social competence in children (Baumrind,

1975; De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997). Additionally, the fit of child characteristics (e.g.,

temperament) with a parenting style also has been found to contribute to later child outcome

(Bates, Pettit, Dodge, & Ridge, 1998; Martin, 1981; Olson, Bates, Sandy, & Lanthier, 2000;

Park, Belsky, Putnam, & Crnic, 1997). With few exceptions (Harris, 1998), developmentalists

view parents as playing an important role in the socialization of children. Research across

developmental periods has consistently found that particular facets of parenting are associated

with concurrent and future behavior problems (Campbell, Pierce, Moore, & Marakovitz, 1996;

Pettit, Bates, & Dodge, 1997; Shaw, Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, 2003).

Components of parenting, such as monitoring in adolescence and attachment in infants,

while primarily focused on parental engagement, involvement, and responsivity to age-

appropriate child needs and challenges, implicitly consider contributions of the child to the

parent-child interaction (Dishion, Nelson, & Bullock, 2004). However, dyadic synchrony

(Harrist & Waugh, 2002) has been proposed as a construct that more explicitly captures the

transactional nature of the parent-child interaction by considering the interconnectedness,

mutuality and reciprocity of the dyad (Harrist, Pettit, Dodge, & Bates, 1994). Synchrony reflects

more than the sum of individual child and parent characteristics, but similar to Thomas and

Chess’s (Thomas & Chess, 1977) ‘goodness of fit’ perspective, captures the match of ongoing

parent-to-child and child-to-parent behavior (e.g., shared eye contact, expression of affect,

mutual responsivity). Researchers have studied parent-child synchrony at all stages of childhood,


including infancy (Cohn & Tronick, 1987; Isabella & Belsky, 1991), toddlerhood (Skuban,

Shaw, Gardner, Supplee, & Nichols, 2006), the school-age period (Harrist et al., 1994;

Kochanska & Aksan, 2004) and adolescence (Criss, Shaw, & Ingoldsby, 2003). The construct

has been labeled by different researchers as dyadic synchrony (Harrist et al., 1994), interactional

synchrony (Isabella & Belsky, 1991), mutuality (Deater-Deckard & Petrill, 2004), and mutually

responsive orientation (Kochanska, 1997).

The Parent-Child Relationship and Child Adjustment

Qualities of the parent-child relationship, such as attachment during infancy (Erickson,

Sroufe, & Egeland, 1985; Lyons-Ruth, Alpern, & Repacholi, 1993; Renken, Egeland,

Marvinney, Mangelsdorf, & et al., 1989), and monitoring during adolescence (Dishion &

McMahon, 1998), have been associated with the development of concurrent and future problem

behavior. In addition, parental warmth, openness and proactive strategies have been associated

with more positive child outcomes and fewer problem behaviors across developmental periods

(Ainsworth, 1979; Eisenberg et al., 2005; Gardner, Sonuga Barke, & Sayal, 1999; Pettit et al.,

1997), and more harsh and rejecting parenting have been related to problem behaviors (Maccoby

& Martin, 1983; Patterson, 1982; Shaw et al., 1998). Thus, several aspects of parenting have

been linked to both social competence and problem behavior.

Children who display insecure attachments to their mothers during the first and second

years of life have been found to display higher levels of externalizing problems (Aguilar, Sroufe,

Egeland, & Carlson, 2000; Erickson et al., 1985; Lyons Ruth, Alpern, & Repacholi, 1993;

Renken et al., 1989; Vondra, Shaw, & Kevenides, 1995) and fewer social competencies (Arend,

Gove, & Sroufe, 1979) during childhood. Maternal sensitivity has been posited to be the

mechanism underlying the association between secure attachment and child adjustment, as


children exposed to unresponsive and insensitive caregiving in early childhood would be

expected to develop insecure internal working models and as a result, show an increased

probability of demonstrating problem behavior (Shaw & Bell, 1993; Sroufe & Fleeson, 1986).

Conversely, secure attachments in infancy and early toddlerhood have been associated with

higher rates of child compliance and self regulation during the preschool years (Gilliom, Shaw,

Beck, Schonberg, & Lukon, 2002; Kochanska, Aksan, & Carlson, 2005; Matas, Arend, &

Sroufe, 1978; van Bakel & Riksen-Walraven, 2002), as well as more positive school outcomes,

including peer acceptance and social skills with peers and teachers (DeMulder, Denham,

Schmidt, & Mitchell, 2000; Elicker, Englund, & Sroufe, 1992; Suess, Grossmann, & Sroufe,

1992; Wood, Emmerson, & Cowan, 2004).

Synchrony and Child Adjustment

For children, particularly younger children, responsive and sensitive parenting appears to

be one of the most important factors in the development of a synchronous parent-child

relationship (Isabella & Belsky, 1991; Isabella, Belsky, & von Eye, 1989; Kochanska, 2002;

Skuban et al., 2006). Similarly, children in dyads demonstrating high levels of parent-child

synchrony are more likely to be securely attached to their parents than children who have low

levels of parent-child synchrony (Isabella et al., 1989; Lundy, 2002). As responsive and

sensitive parenting has been found to be strongly associated with synchrony (Isabella et al.,

1989; Skuban et al., 2006), and with low levels of problem behavior and high levels of prosocial

functioning, it follows that dyads characterized by high levels of parent-child synchrony also

would be expected to show low levels of problem behavior and high levels of prosocial

outcomes (e.g., emotion regulation, academic achievement).


In fact, dyadic relationships characterized by greater synchrony have been found to be

associated with greater competence and fewer behavior problems among children across

developmental periods (Criss et al., 2003; Feldman, Greenbaum, & Yirmiya, 1999; Harrist et al.,

1994; Lindsey, Mize, & Pettit, 1997; Mize & Pettit, 1997). Infants and toddlers who have more

synchronous relationships have been found to be more compliant with their mothers (Rocissano,

Slade, & Lynch, 1987) and demonstrate higher levels of self-regulation (Feldman et al., 1999;

Moore & Calkins, 2004). Further, synchrony with parents also appears to extend to school

outcomes. In one study, Harrist and colleagues (1994) found that greater dyadic synchrony

between kindergarten-age children and their mothers was associated with a number of positive

school outcomes, most notably social competence. Similarly, Mize and colleagues (Lindsey et

al., 1997; Mize & Pettit, 1997) found preschool-age children with higher ratings of both mother-

child and father-child synchrony were better liked by their peers and rated by their teachers as

being more socially competent. Clark and Ladd (Clark & Ladd, 2000) also found that higher

levels of synchrony were associated with a greater number of peer friendships and greater social-

emotional competence among five-year-olds. Thus, there is evidence that the development of a

synchronous relationship during the first years of life has beneficial consequences for children’s

social development.

Low levels of synchrony have also been related to the development of behavior problems.

Harrist and colleagues (1994) found that kindergartners who had more synchronous interactions

with their mothers were rated by their teachers and peers as being less aggressive and less

socially withdrawn than children in low synchrony dyads. Similarly, Mize and colleagues

(Lindsey et al., 1997; Mize & Pettit, 1997) found that preschoolers who had more synchronous

interactions with their parents were more likely to be rated by their teachers as less aggressive. In


a study of adopted school-age children, Deater-Deckard and Petrill (2004) found a negative

association between mother-child mutuality and child externalizing symptoms. In low-income,

boys, Criss and colleagues (2003) found that synchrony was associated with lower levels of

antisocial behavior and less deviant behavior among peers. Additionally, mothers who more

synchronous relationships with their sons had engaged in more monitoring behavior and reported

greater openness in their relationship. It is possible that the sensitivity and connection facilitated

by a synchronous relationship in early childhood allows mothers to be more effective parents in

later childhood, reducing the likelihood that children will engage in antisocial behavior (Criss et

al., 2003).

While consistent associations have been established between parent-child synchrony and

different aspects of child adjustment, most of the research has been cross-sectional (Deater-

Deckard & O'Connor, 2000; Deater-Deckard & Petrill, 2004; Lindsey et al., 1997; Mize & Pettit,

1997), limited to shorter-term (e.g., one-year or less) follow-ups of child adjustment (Harrist et

al., 1994), or focused primarily on the first three years of life (Cohn & Tronick, 1987; Isabella &

Belsky, 1991; Isabella et al., 1989; Rocissano et al., 1987). Little research has been conducted to

determine longer-term child outcomes associated with synchrony that span across developmental

periods. Further, many studies of synchrony have focused on single-outcomes of child

adjustment, such as child social skills or externalizing problems, rather than both child

competencies and problem behaviors. In addition, most of the research on parent-child

synchrony and child adjustment has been limited to studies of children at relatively low risk for

demonstrating clinically-meaningful levels of problem behavior. Thus, the primary goals of the

current study were to examine the role of toddler-parent synchrony in relation to multiple

domains of adjustment at formal school entry with a sample of boys initially identified on the


basis of multiple indices of adversity, including the presence of sociodemographic, family,

and/or child risk factors.

Based on previous research that has indicated synchrony to be associated with concurrent

ratings of parent and teacher reports of child problem behavior, it was expected that mother-son

synchrony at age 2 would be negatively associated with mothers’ and teachers’ ratings of

problem behavior at kindergarten, as well as teacher reports of boys’ social and academic

development within the classroom. In addition to examining direct associations between

synchrony and later child adjustment, child problem behavior in toddlerhood was controlled for

in analyses to examine how synchrony contributes to changes in levels of child adjustment.

Method

Participants

The sample consisted of 120 mother-son dyads recruited from the Women, Infant and

Children (WIC) Nutritional Supplement Program in the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area. In

2001, participants were recruited as part of a larger intervention study on the prevention of child

conduct problems. Families were invited to participate if they had a son between 17 and 27

months old and they met eligibility criteria for the study, which included having at least two

socioeconomic, family, and/or child risk factors associated with trajectories of persistent child

conduct problems in early childhood (i.e., two of the three risk factors were required for

inclusion in the sample; Shaw, Dishion, Supplee, Gardner, & Arnds, 2006).

Of the 327 mothers approached for study recruitment at WIC sites, 271 (83%) agreed to

participate in the initial screen. Of these, 124 families met the eligibility requirements and 120

(97%) agreed to participate in the study. At the time of the initial screen, participating children

had a mean age of 24.1 months (range 17.6 to 30.1 months). Mothers were between 18 and 45


years of age. The average family income was $15,374 per year (range $2,400 to $45,000) with a

per capita income of $3,624 (range $480 to $13,000). The mean level of education attainment for

mothers was 12 years (i.e., a high school degree or GED). Further descriptive characteristics of

the sample are provided in Table 1.

Out of the 120 families who participated in the initial home assessment, 112 (93%)

participated in the one year follow-up visit at age 3. 109 families (91%) participated in the age 4

visit, and 99 (83%) participated in the age 5.5 (kindergarten) visit. Of the 101 families who

participated at the age 5.5 assessment, 74 (75% of families participating at age 5.5) had

kindergarten teachers who returned completed questionnaires. There were no differences

between families who participated at age 5.5 and those who did not with regards to age 2 per

capita income, F (1, 116) = 0.38, ns, child race, χ2 (2, n = 120) = 0.19, ns, or maternal education,

χ2 (2, n = 120) = 0.32, ns.

Analyses were performed to determine if any selective attrition occurred for children with

or without teacher reports of behavior at school entry. As we did for later maternal reports of

child behavior, we compared children on the Externalizing and Internalizing factors of the Child

Behavior Checklist and observational ratings of synchrony at age two. For age-2 Externalizing,

no differences were found between children with age-5.5 school data (M = 21.79, SD = 7.41)

compared to children without teacher reports (M = 21.13, SD = 7.13, t = -0.49, ns). For

Internalizing, there was a nonsignificant trend for children without age-5.5 school data (M =

13.62, SD = 6.29) to demonstrate higher scores than children with school data (M = 11.79, SD =

4.75, t = 1.89, p < .06). For age-2 synchrony, no differences were found between those with

school-based data (M = 3.63, SD = 1.36) compared to those families without teacher reports (M =

3.26, SD = 1.05, t = 1.67, ns).


Procedures

Mothers and their sons were approached at WIC sites and were asked if they were willing

to complete a series of questionnaires about the “Terrible Two’s.” The questionnaires included

questions about the child’s behavior, the mother’s perception of her child, parenting hassles, and

maternal depressive symptoms. The screen took 20-25 minutes to complete and participants who

completed it received $10 for their assistance. Families who met criterion for study inclusion

based on socioeconomic status (i.e., maternal education and family income) and either or both

family and/or child risk (e.g., maternal depression or substance abuse; child externalizing

symptoms), were contacted about participating in a more intensive home assessment and their

willingness to be randomly assigned to a home-based, family intervention. If risk criterion were

attained only for socioeconomic and family risk, mothers were also required to rate children

above the normative mean on either the Intensity (M = 98) or Problem (M = 7) factors of the

Eyberg Behavior Inventory (Eyberg & Pincus, 1999) to increase the probability that parents

would desire assistance in this area (for more extensive details on recruitment and sample

selection, please see (Shaw et al., 2006).

Parents (i.e., mothers and, if available, alternative caregivers such as fathers or

grandmothers) and sons 1.75 to 2.5 years of age who met eligibility requirements and who

agreed to participate in the study were then scheduled for a 2.5-hour home assessment, which

included a free play (15 minutes), a clean-up task (5 minutes), a series of teaching tasks (3

minutes each), and the presentation of two inhibition-inducing toys (2 minutes each). Finally,

mothers were instructed to spend 10 minutes preparing lunch for their sons while the children

were waiting to eat. The dyad was then given 10 minutes (or longer if needed) to eat their lunch.

After lunch, mothers completed an assessment of expressed emotion (5 minutes) and all


remaining questionnaires (1.25 hours). Families received $100 for participating in the age-2

home assessment. At the end of the assessment, after the senior examiner had completed

observational ratings for the HOME Inventory (Caldwell & Bradley, 1984), the examiner opened

a sealed envelope, revealing the family’s group assignment and shared this information with the

family. Prior to this time, the examiners were kept “blind” as to the family’s group assignment

so that this knowledge would not bias ratings about the home environment.

Families randomly assigned to the treatment condition were then scheduled to meet with

a parent consultant. Therapist parents consulstants provided a brief intervention based on

motivational interviewing and behavioral parent training, modeled after the Drinker’s Check Up

(Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Typically, the intervention, labeled the Family Check Up, included

two sessions during which the parent consultant summarized the results of the initial assessment

using motivational interviewing strategies. After these sessions, the parent was offered a

maximum of six additional follow-up sessions that were focused on areas of parental concern.

Families were paid $25 for completing the feedback session. Among the families assigned to the

treatment condition, 92 percent met with the parent consultant for at least 2 sessions.

Similar follow-up assessments occurred at ages 3, 4, and 5.5 (kindergarten), in which the

child and caregivers participated in a series of interactive tasks, and the caregivers completed

questionnaires. When children entered kindergarten, permission was obtained to contact their

teacher, and a series of questionnaires were sent to the boys’ primary classroom teacher.

Teachers who returned the questionnaires were given $25 to thank them for their assistance.

Measures


Demographics questionnaire. A demographics questionnaire was administered to

mothers during the age-2 assessments. This measure included questions about family structure,

socioeconomic status, parental criminal history, child care and areas of familial stress.

Synchrony Global Coding System. The coding system used in this paper was adapted

from systems used in previous research with school-age children and has used either a single 7-

or 9-point global rating (Criss et al., 2003; Harrist et al., 1994). Because these systems were

developed to assess synchrony in older children, some modifications of the previous coding

criteria were required. Descriptions of behaviors such as non-verbal communication, child

positivity and child negativity were used to help anchor coders in concrete toddler behaviors.

Further, ratings were adjusted to reflect the expectation that mothers would likely initiate a

greater percentage of interactions with toddlers than school-age children. Three tasks using this

global system were coded based on the videotaped interactions at the age-2 assessment: a clean-

up task (5 minutes), two of the three teaching tasks (a puzzle and a peg board; 6 minutes), and

portions of meal preparation and lunch tasks (10 minutes.)

Following the structure of the system designed by Criss et al. (2003), a 9-point scale was

used to assign a single code to describe the dyad’s synchrony based on their behavior across the

three aforementioned observational activities at the age-2 assessment. Coders used this single

code to rate the reciprocity, shared affect, and mutual focus of the dyad during their interactions.

The first author trained four research assistants in the use of the global coding systems.

Coders were trained to become reliable with the lead coder on the 9-point global scale over a

period of six months. To assess reliability, fifteen percent of the interactions (n = 18) were

independently rated by all four coders. Interclass correlations were used to assess inter-rater

reliability between each of the coders and the author. Analyses of the mean inter-rater reliability


for synchrony between the author and each coder were in the acceptable range (range of ρ = .70 -

.85, p < .01). The inter-rater reliability for the group of five coders was also acceptable (ρ = .79,

p< .01) (Mitchell, 1979). All coders were blind to the research hypotheses of this study.

Child Behavior Checklist 2/3 and 4-18 (CBCL; (Achenbach, 1991b, 1992). The CBCL

2/3 is a 100-item questionnaire that assesses behavioral problems in young children. Mothers

completed the CBCL at the age 2 assessment. This questionnaire has two broad-band factors,

Internalizing and Externalizing, and six narrow band factors. Test-retest reliability for the CBCL

is reported to be .87 (Achenbach, McConaughy, & Howell, 1987). For purposes of this study,

only the broad-band Externalizing and Internalizing factors were used and were found to have

inter-item reliability coefficients of .81 and .77 respectively for this sample at the age 2

assessments.

Similar in construct to the CBCL 2/3, the CBCL 4-18 is a 118-item questionnaire that

assesses behavioral problems in children between the ages of 4 and 18. Thus, while there is

some overlap between the items on the CBCL 2/3 and the CBCL 4-18, items vary between the

two measures based on developmental appropriateness. This questionnaire also has the

Internalizing and Externalizing broadband factors, but has eight narrow band factors. For

purposes of this study, only the Externalizing and Internalizing factors were used, which

respectively had inter-item reliability coefficients of .91 and .82.

Teacher Report Form (TRF; (Achenbach, 1991a). The TRF is a 118-item questionnaire

that assesses behavioral problems in school-age children. It is designed to complement the

CBCL 4-18. Teachers completed the TRF when the children were in their kindergarten

classrooms. This questionnaire has two broad-band factors, Internalizing and Externalizing, and

eight narrow band factors. Test-retest reliability for the TRF is reported to be .92 (Achenbach,


1991b). Again, only the broad-band Externalizing and Internalizing factors were used and were

found to have inter-item reliability coefficients of .95 and .87 respectively for this sample in

kindergarten.

Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; (Pianta & Nimetz, 1991; Pianta, Steinberg,

& Rollins, 1995). The STRS is a 16-item questionnaire designed to assess teacher’s perceptions

of their relationship with children. Kindergarten teachers completed the STRS. For the present

study, we utilized the Overall Relationship Scale, which includes two subfactors, including the

Conflict factor and the Close Relationship factor. This rating was comprised of all 16 items

assessing the frequency of conflict (e.g., “This child and I seem to always struggling with one

another”) and the level of openness (e.g., “If upset, this child will seek comfort from me”) on a

5-point Likert scale. Coefficient alpha for this measure in a sample of preschool children was

.90 (Pianta & Steinberg, 1991). This sample was found to have an inter-item reliability

coefficient of .76 for the teacher’s ratings in kindergarten.

Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS; (Gresham & Eilliot, 1990). The SSRS is an instrument

that provides a broad assessment of the child’s social behaviors in the classroom, including a

number of factors including, Cooperation, Assertion, Self-Control and Academic Competence.

Kindergarten teachers completed the SSRS for the children in this sample. The present study

used the 30-item total social skills score, which consists of the sum of Cooperation, Assertion,

Responsibility, and Self-Control scales with an inter-item reliability of .93 for the current

sample. Additionally, the 9-item academic competence scale was used, which has an inter-item

reliability of .95 for this sample.

Results


Results for each of the three study hypotheses are reported following the presentation of

descriptive statistics for all independent and dependent variables. As displayed in Table 2 and as

expected based on the screening process used to recruit the sample, participants’ scores were

appreciably higher than published data for normative populations. Mothers reported a mean

score of 21.39 (SD = 7.22) on the CBCL Externalizing factor, which corresponds to a T-score

one standard deviation above the mean of the normative sample and similar to scores of

clinically-referred children (Achenbach, 1991b; Achenbach, 1991c; Achenbach, 1992). By

kindergarten, average ratings for CBCL Externalizing scores were reduced to 14.20 (SD = 8.87),

but were still slightly more than a half of a standard deviation higher than scores for normative

samples (Achenbach, 1991b). Mean scores on the Internalizing factor at age 2 (12.48, SD= 5.46)

were approximately .8 standard deviations higher than those scores reported in normative

samples (Achenbach, 1992), whereas Internalizing scores at kindergarten were comparable to

those reported in normative samples (M = 6.02, SD = 5.44).

Teacher reports of the children’s externalizing symptoms in kindergarten were also

elevated compared to a normative sample (M = 22.15, SD = 20.03), and were 0.7 SD higher than

normative sample (Achenbach, 1991a). Similarly, teacher reports of internalizing symptoms (M

= 7.86, SD = 7.89) were 0.5 standard deviations higher than normative sample. Mean global

ratings of synchrony (3.49) were only slightly above the score of minimally synchronous, with

only six dyads above a rating of “5” (“moderately synchronous”) and no dyad receiving a rating

higher than “7” (“mostly synchronous”) on the 9-point rating scale. These ratings are

appreciably lower than ratings of synchrony reported in more middle-class samples (Colwell,

2001), but similar to the mean score of 4.04 reported in another low-income sample, in which the

scores for school-aged boys and their mothers ranged from 1 to 8 (Criss et al., 2003).


Preliminary Analyses. Analyses were performed to determine if dyadic synchrony was

associated with demographic characteristics of the sample, as previous studies have suggested

that both ethnicity and socio-economic status may be associated with synchrony (Deater-

Deckard, Atzaba-Poria, & Pike, 2004). To test if ethnicity was differentially associated with

ratings of synchrony and child behavioral symptoms, analyses of variance were computed in

which child ethnicity served as the independent variable and synchrony and child behavioral

symptoms served as the dependent variables. No differences were found between European

American, Biracial and African American families in relation to synchrony, F (2,111) = 1.63, ns.

Further, child ethnicity was not found to be associated with maternal report of internalizing or

externalizing symptoms in kindergarten, nor was it found to be associated with teacher reports of

behavior symptoms or social competences. A similar series of ANOVAs were conducted with

maternal education serving as the independent variable. As with ethnicity, there were no

significant differences found in ratings of dyadic synchrony across levels of maternal education,

F (2, 111) = 1.74, ns. Maternal education also was not significantly associated with child

outcomes in kindergarten by either mother (F (2, 96) = 1.72, ns, and F (2, 94) = 1.94, ns, for

externalizing and internalizing respectively) or teacher report (F (2, 70) ranged from 0.04 to

0.52, ns). Thus, neither child ethnicity nor maternal education was controlled for in further

analyses.

As can be seen from Table 3, ratings of synchrony at age 2 were not associated with

concurrent maternal report of internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Initial maternal ratings of

externalizing symptoms at age 2 were significantly associated with maternal ratings of

externalizing symptoms at kindergarten entry (r = .57, p <.001). Similarly, maternal ratings of

internalizing symptoms at age 2 were associated with maternal ratings of internalizing symptoms


at kindergarten entry (r = .21, p < .05). Consistent with prior research on associations between

maternal reports of toddler behavior and teacher reports of problem behavior at school entry

(Shaw et al., 1999), no significant associations were evident between mother report of child

internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 2, and teacher report of symptoms in

kindergarten. However, there was significant agreement between teachers and mothers in their

ratings of externalizing symptoms at kindergarten (r = .41, p < .001) and a trend towards an

association between concurrent mother and teacher reports of internalizing symptoms (r = .23, p

< .06). To be conservative, it was decided to control for initial maternal ratings of internalizing

and externalizing symptoms to assure that any association between later maternal ratings of

internalizing and externalizing symptoms and synchrony was not the result of an association

between initial symptoms and later symptoms. Further, as this was an intervention study,

treatment status was controlled for in subsequent regression analysis.

Synchrony and Child Problem Behavior in Kindergarten. Four hierarchical multiple

regression analyses were performed to examine associations between age 2 dyadic synchrony

and parent and teacher reports of child problem behavior at kindergarten. For these regressions,

treatment status and age 2 externalizing symptoms were entered prior to dyadic synchrony. As

shown in Table 4, dyadic synchrony at age 2 was not significantly associated with maternal

report of externalizing symptoms in kindergarten; however, higher levels of dyadic synchrony

were associated with lower levels of teacher-reported externalizing symptoms (B = -3.69, β = -

0.26, p < .05). As shown in Table 5, a similar pattern was found for age-5.5 internalizing

symptoms. Dyadic synchrony was not significantly related to mother reports of internalizing, but

higher levels of synchrony were related to lower rates of internalizing symptoms based on

teacher reports (B = -1.42, β = -0.25, p < .05).


Synchrony and Children’s Social Competence. Three additional hierarchical multiple

regression analyses were performed to examine associations between dyadic synchrony and

teacher reports of children’s social skills, academic competence and teacher-child relationship

quality. Again, treatment status was entered initially in analyses, as were children’s age-2 CBCL

Externalizing scores, the latter to control for early problem behavior. Similar to teacher reports

of child problem behavior, higher levels of age-2 synchrony were associated with higher rates of

teacher- reported social skills on the SSRS (B = 2.60, β = 0.36, p < .05). Additionally, teachers

reported significantly higher levels of academic competence on the SSRS in children from dyads

displaying higher levels of synchrony (B = 1.59, β = 0.25, p < .05). Kindergarten teachers also

reported better relationship quality with boys who had been part of more synchronous dyads at

age-2 (B = -1.28, β = -0.24, p < .05).

Discussion

The findings of this study suggest that early parent-child synchrony is significantly

associated with later teacher, but not maternal, reports of both internalizing and externalizing

symptoms in low-income boys. Additionally, boys who were rated as being in more

synchronous dyads with their mothers at age 2 were viewed by their kindergarten teachers as

displaying better social skills, greater academic competence, and having better quality

relationships with their kindergarten teachers at age 5.5. These findings corroborate and literally

extend previous research on parent-child synchrony and child adjustment by expanding the time

period between initial assessment of synchrony and later child outcomes, and doing so with a

sample of boys initially recruited on the basis of high levels of early problem behavior and other

types of family and socioeconomic adversity.

Synchrony and Teacher Reports of Children’s Kindergarten Adjustment


Of particular interest is the finding that early parent-child relationship quality as

measured by synchrony is associated with the later quality of the child’s relationship with his

teacher. These findings support the tenets of both attachment (Sroufe & Fleeson, 1986) and

social learning models (Patterson, 1982), suggesting the importance of the dynamics of

children’s early parent-child relationships in relation to the quality of later adult-child

relationships (Martin, 1981). Accordingly, children’s early experiences with primary caregivers

would be expected to provide the model for expectancies and styles of interacting for

relationships with teachers in the school setting. Alternatively, as children have been shown to

actively contribute to the development of synchronous relationships (Easterbrooks, Chaudhuri, &

Gestsdottir, 2005) and synchrony has been associated with high levels of language proficiency

and self-regulation (Moore & Calkins, 2004; Skuban et al., 2006), it is possible that child factors

that elicit responsive and sensitive caregiving lead to the development of synchronous

relationships with parents and also positive relationships with peers and teachers at school entry.

Thus, toddlers who are able to engage with their mothers in responsive and attuned manners, and

whose mothers are more responsive and engaging with their toddlers, appear more likely to be

able to engage with other adults and peers in similar ways at school entry.

The finding that components of the early parent-child relationship are associated with

teacher perceptions of child behavioral symptoms and social skills corroborates results from

several other studies of lower-income children (Erickson et al., 1985; Lyons-Ruth et al., 1993;

Renken et al., 1989). For example, Shaw and colleagues (Shaw, Winslow, & Flanagan, 1999)

found that lower levels of parental involvement and higher rates of rejecting parenting at age 2

were associated with increased rates of teacher-reported externalizing symptoms at school entry.


Interestingly, behavioral symptoms were not the only teacher-reported characteristics of

the child associated with early dyadic synchrony in this sample. Observed synchrony at age 2

was also associated with academic competence and social skills at school entry. While items on

this scale were focused primarily on academic performance, such as perceived reading and

mathematical readiness, research with kindergarten teachers on the skills they find important for

success in math and reading include social and behavioral domains, such as self-control and

attention span, in addition to cognitive abilities (Denham, 2006; Ladd, Herald, & Kochel, 2006).

Further, previous research has demonstrated that the quality of early parent-child relationships is

a consistent predictor of academic functioning in the primary grades (Connell & Prinz, 2002),

including early math and reading skills (Hill, 2001). In addition to corroborating previous

research on early parent-child relationship quality and children’s early academic functioning,

these results also suggest that early relationships with primary caregivers may have lasting

effects on the later development of children’s social competencies and school success. Thus,

targeting and improving the early parent-child relationship may have beneficial consequences on

a child’s ability to succeed with peers and within the classroom environment.

Synchrony and Maternal Reports of Children’s Problem Behavior

While consistent associations were found between observations of mother-son synchrony

and teacher reports of multiple domains of child adjustment at age 5.5, synchrony was

consistently unrelated to maternal reports of concurrent and later child problem behavior. These

findings echo previous research by Fagot and Leve (1998), who found that for boys only,

observed parenting at 18 months was associated with TRF ratings of externalizing symptoms in

kindergarten, but not associated with parent’s ratings of externalizing symptoms on the CBCL.

What could possibly explain this consistent null pattern of findings, especially in reference to the


consistent pattern of positive results between synchrony and teacher-based child outcomes? One

possibility is informant and method bias. Synchrony was measured based on observations of

parent-child interaction and coded by trained raters. Teachers come in contact with a broad range

of children and although not immune from bias, are generally able to view children’s behavior

within a more normative framework of development. Conversely, parents generally come in

contact with a more limited range of children and as a result would be expected to have less

expertise in gauging normative versus atypical child behavior, particularly for their own children

(Loeber, Green, & Lahey, 1990).. In addition, mothers with elevated rates of depressive

symptoms have been shown to be particularly biased in rating child behavior (Briggs-Gowan,

Carter, & Schwab-Stone, 1996; Fergusson, Lynskey, & Horwood, 1993). In fact, while

significant mother-teacher agreement was found for this sample (r = .41, p < .001), in other

studies, agreement between parent and teacher reports of child problem behavior has been found

to be quite modest at school entry. For example, Fisher and Fagot (1996) found teacher and

parent agreement on child disruptive behavior to be virtually nonexistent at kindergarten (r = -

.05), while Shaw and colleagues (1999) reported a significant, but modest positive association at

age 6 (r = .18, p < .01). Another potential contributing factor to the discrepancy in association

between synchrony and maternal and teacher reports is maternal well being. Depressive

symptoms were one of the primary criterion for inclusion in the present study, with mean scores

for mothers at the age-2 assessment on the Beck Depression Inventory (M = 11.97, SD = 9.31) in

the moderate range (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961). Thus, as teacher reports

were more likely similar to observations of parent-child interaction, particularly among a sample

of mothers with heightened levels of depressive symptoms, it was not entirely surprising to see

discordance between mother and teacher reports of child problem and prosocial behavior.


Limitations

There are several important limitations of this study. First, this sample consisted entirely

of boys who were a part of a low-income sample at heightened risk for the development of

conduct problems. Thus, the findings may not be generalizable to populations with greater

variability in income or samples including girls. However, these findings are consistent with the

results of studies using more normative populations and samples including both boys and girls

(e.g., Harrist et al., 1994). Second, the sample size of the children who had teacher-report data is

relatively small (n = 73), thus, it would be important to replicate the findings with larger samples

of boys and girls, including those from more rural and suburban communities. Third,

kindergarten is the age when many children begin formal schooling; however, its curriculum is

frequently less formal and structured than the later primary-school years. Teachers of

kindergarten may view children’s behavior differently from colleagues teaching older children in

more structured classroom environments. Despite these limitations, this study provides further

evidence of the influence of parent-child synchrony and similar dyadic-based constructs in

relation to multiple domains of children’s longitudinal outcomes. While previous research has

found evidence that synchrony is associated with social and behavioral outcomes for school-aged

children (Harrist et al., 1994; Lindsey et al., 1997; Mize & Pettit, 1997), the findings of this

paper included several methodological safeguards and strengths to extend previous work. First,

multiple methods and informants were used to measure synchrony and child adjustment,

minimizing the possibility that the findings could be accounted for by informant or method bias.

Relatedly, early child problem behavior was controlled for in multivariate analyses, minimizing

the possibility that associations between synchrony and later child problem and prosocial

behavior were attributable to early externalizing or internalizing symptoms. In addition, by using


a sample of boys at high risk for early-starting pathways of externalizing problems, and linking

synchrony assessed at age 2 to multiple domains of child adjustment at school entry, the study

extends earlier work that has focused primarily on lower-risk samples and been limited to cross-

sectional or shorter-term longitudinal designs.


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Table 1 Socio-demographic Description of Sample at the Age 2 Home Visit (N=120)

Mean Standard Deviation

Child’s Age at Initial Visit (Months) 24.1 2.8

Maternal Age (Years) 27.2 6.1

Annual Income $15,504.92 8,754.25

Annual Per Capita Income $3,624.14 2,058.24

N %

Child’s Ethnicity

African-American 58 48.3 Caucasian 48 40.0 Biracial 14 11.7

Maternal Education

Less than High School 22 18.3 High School/GED 58 48.3 Greater than High School 40 33.3

Maternal Marital Status

Married/Living with Partner 54 45.0 Single and Never Married 60 50.0 Divorced/Separated/Widowed 6 5.0


Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for Maternal and Teacher Ratings of Behavioral Symptoms and Social Skills and Observed Synchrony.

N Mean SD

Maternal Report:

Externalizing Symptoms

Age 2 Child Behavior Checklist 2/3: Broadband Externalizing Factor

119 21.39 7.22

Kindergarten Child Behavior Checklist 4-18: Broadband Externalizing Factor

99 14.20 8.87

Internalizing Symptoms

Age 2 Child Behavior Checklist 2/3: Broadband Internalizing Factor

119 12.48 5.46

Kindergarten Child Behavior Checklist 4-18: Broadband Internalizing Factor

97 6.02 5.44

Teacher Report:

Kindergarten Teacher Report Form 4-18: Broadband Externalizing Factor

73 22.15 20.03

Kindergarten Teacher Report Form 4-18: Broadband Internalizing Factor

72 7.86 7.89

Teacher-Child Relationship Scale Total Score

73 35.52 7.80

Social Skills Rating (SSRS) 73 38.75 9.90 Academic Competence Rating (SSRS) 73 28.18 8.77

Observer Report:

Global Rating of Observed Synchrony 114 3.49 1.26


Table 3. Correlation among Dyadic Synchrony, Internalizing Symptoms and Externalizing Symptoms on the CBCL and TRF.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

1. Observed Synchrony 0.01 -0.12 -0.12 -0.05 0.28* -0.26*

2. CBCL EXT Age 2 -- 0.47*** 0.57*** 0.18# -0.08 0.08

3. CBCL EXT Age 5.5 -- 0.35*** 0.46*** 0.41*** 0.43***

4. CBCL INT Age 2 -- 0.21* -0.06 0.22#

5. CBCL INT Age 5.5 -- 0.11 0.23#

6. TRF EXT Age 5.5 -- 0.60***

7. TRF INT Age 5.5 --

# p<.10, *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001


Table 4 Summary of regressions predicting externalizing symptoms from age 2 dyadic synchrony. Model B SE B β t-score

DV: Kindergarten CBCL Externalizing Symptoms

Step 1: Treatment Group EXT Age 2

-0.97 0.56

1.60 0.11

-0.06 0.47

-0.61 5.06***

Step 2: Treatment Group EXT Age 2 Dyadic Synchrony

-1.05 0.57 -0.89

1.59 0.11 0.64

-0.06 0.47

-0.13

-0.66 5.11***

-1.40

DV: Kindergarten TRF Externalizing Symptoms


3.46 -0.33

4.53 0.32

0.09 -0.12

0.77

-1.04 Step 2: Treatment Group EXT Age 2 Dyadic Synchrony

3.24 -0.27 -3.69

4.40 0.31 1.62

0.09

-0.10 -0.26

0.74

-0.86 -2.28*

#p<.10, *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001


Table 5 Summary of regressions predicting internalizing symptoms from age 2 dyadic synchrony. Model B SE B β t-score

DV: Kindergarten CBCL Internalizing Symptoms

Step 1: Treatment Group INT Age 2

0.56 0.23

1.11 0.11

0.05 0.22

0.51 2.17*

Step 2: Treatment Group INT Age 2 Dyadic Synchrony

0.56 0.23 -0.10

1.12 0.11 0.45

0.05 0.22

-0.02

0.50 2.12*

-0.23

DV: Kindergarten TRF Internalizing Symptoms

Step 1: Treatment Group INT Age 2

2.78 0.46

1.75 0.19

0.18 0.28

1.59 2.47*

Step 2: Treatment Group INT Age 2 Dyadic Synchrony

2.78 0.44 -1.42

1.70 0.18 0.63

0.18 0.27

-0.25

1.64# 2.41*

-2.23*

#p<.10, *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001


Table 6. Kindergarten Teacher Rated Child Social and Academic Skills Model B SE B β t-score

DV: Kindergarten SSRS Social Skills


-2.20 0.38

2.27 0.16

-0.11 0.27

-0.97 2.34*


-2.04 0.33 2.60

2.12 0.15 0.78

-0.10 0.24 0.36

-0.96 2.19* 3.34***

DV: Kindergarten SSRS Academic Competence


-0.50 0.35

2.00 0.14

-0.03 0.29

-0.25 2.49*


-0.40 0.33 1.59

1.95 0.14 0.72

-0.02 0.26

-0.25

-0.21 2.34* 2.22*

DV: Kindergarten STRS Quality of Relationship


3.61 0.01

1.72 0.12

0.25 0.01

2.10* 0.04


3.53 0.03 -1.28

1.68 0.12 0.62

0.24 0.03

-0.24

2.10* 0.22

-2.06* *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001

running head: behavior problems and synchronyppcl/esp_publications/skuban shaw...ratings of parent...

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