Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice
Published on: July 12, 2024
Outcomes of parental investment in high-risk children
Daphne Blunt Bugental1, Randy Corpuz, Rachel Samec
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. bugental@psych.ucsb.edu
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Early medical risk factors, such as preterm birth, can impact child development.
- Parental investment, defined as time dedicated to child care, is crucial for child outcomes.
- Understanding how these factors interact is key to supporting children's socio-emotional development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the combined influence of early medical risk and parental investment on children's responses to threatening stimuli.
- To determine if parental investment moderates the effects of medical risk on children's attention and avoidance behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Children engaged in play activities while exposed to neutral and threatening auditory stimuli.
- Children's visual engagement and avoidance behaviors were recorded.
- Medical risk status and parental investment levels were assessed prior to the experiment.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction was observed between medical risk and parental investment for threatening stimuli.
- High-risk children with high parental investment displayed increased visual engagement with threatening stimuli.
- High-risk children with low parental investment exhibited greater visual avoidance of threatening stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Parental investment plays a critical role in how high-risk children process threatening information.
- Attending to threats may be an adaptive strategy for high-risk children with consistent parental support.
- These findings highlight the importance of supportive parenting for children facing early medical challenges.
Abstract:
This study assesses the combined effects of children's early medical risk (e.g., preterm status) and parental investment levels (time spent in provision of care to target children as opposed to other family members) on children's response to novel, potentially distressing stimuli. While engaged in play activities, children were exposed to stimuli that were either neutral (a speaker on television with a calm voice) or threatening (a speaker with an angry voice). A significant interaction between children's risk status and parental investment was found only for threatening stimuli. High-risk children with high-investing parents showed high visual engagement with potentially threatening responses, whereas high-risk children with low-investing parents were more likely to show visual avoidance. No comparable effects were found for low-risk children. Findings were interpreted as showing that high-risk children with a history of high parental investment are more likely to attend to potentially threatening events, an adaptive response in the presence of reliable support.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
01:29Life Histories
01:29Close Relationships and Culture
00:55Parental Care
01:30Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and...
01:23Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...