Papers by Dillon T. Browne
Frontiers in epidemiology, Mar 26, 2024
Stability of Observed Maternal Behavior Across Tasks, Time, and Siblings
Parenting: Science and Practice, Feb 19, 2016
SYNOPSIS Objective. To further understanding of the stability and variability in maternal behavio... more SYNOPSIS Objective. To further understanding of the stability and variability in maternal behavior across tasks, time, and sibling pairs. Design. Mothers (a total of 451) were observed separately in interactions with two of their children across two tasks and three time points. Independent observers rated responsive and negative maternal behaviors. Results. Moderate to large correlations across tasks (responsivity = .51; negativity = .41), time points (responsivity = .40; negativity = .38), and siblings (responsivity = .56; negativity = .49) were found. Although these correlations indicate significant stability (i.e., consistency) of maternal behavior, they also indicate variability, with unexplained variance ranging from 69–84% for responsivity and 75–86% for negativity. Conclusions. Proportions of maternal behavior across tasks, time, and siblings can and cannot be accurately predicted given examination of maternal behavior in a comparable task, later time point, or sibling. The current study underscores the importance of considering both stability and variability as equally critical components for understanding maternal behavior.
Cognitive sensitivity and child receptive vocabulary: A between- and within-family study of mothers and sibling pairs
Developmental Psychology, Oct 1, 2019
This study examined the association between observed cognitive sensitivity (CS) during family int... more This study examined the association between observed cognitive sensitivity (CS) during family interactions and children's receptive vocabulary for older and younger siblings. Maternal and sibling CS was considered and associations were explored at the family-wide (between-family) and child-specific (within-family) levels of analysis. The interactions of mothers and 2 children per family were observed when younger siblings were 3.15 years (SD = 0.27) and older siblings were 5.57 years (SD = 0.77). Each dyad (mother-older sibling, mother younger-sibling, and sibling dyad, N = 385) completed a Lego building task, and there were two directional CS scores per interaction (e.g., mother toward older sibling, and older sibling toward mother). Results from multilevel models indicated that younger siblings' vocabulary was associated with the average level of CS for mothers and older siblings, independently. Conversely, older siblings' vocabulary was associated with the average level of maternal CS and child-specific maternal CS. Findings suggest that the relationship between CS and vocabulary operates across the family system and differs for older and younger siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
What makes for responsive family interactions? Disentangling individual, family-level, and socioeconomic contributions
Journal of Family Psychology, Dec 1, 2021
Families function best, and children benefit the most, when familial interactions are characteriz... more Families function best, and children benefit the most, when familial interactions are characterized by responsivity-an understanding and consideration of other people's thoughts and feelings. How responsive people are during interactions with others is a product of individual propensities, observed family norms, and unique relationship patterns, though these influences are often hard to disentangle. In the current study, we used a Social Relations Model (SRM) to parse out the extent to which being responsive during family interactions is attributable to individual traits or familial tendencies. Mothers, fathers, and two children each interacted with every other person in the family (N = 198 families) and each person's behavior was coded for the level of responsivity they displayed toward their interactional partner. Data were modeled using a multilevel formulation of the SRM. Between 15% and 30% of the variance in individual's responsivity was attributable to stable traits, with parents tending to be more consistent across all interactional partners than their children. On average, 14% of the variance in responsivity was shared across all members of a given family. Income explained 28% of family-level variance, while other family characteristics, including parent education, parent mental health, interparental conflict, and household chaos, explained little to no variance. Furthermore, it was found that parents contributed more to the family tone of responsivity than did their children. These results provide new insights into what makes family members responsive toward one other and suggest there are likely benefits of providing supports across individual-, family-, and financial-levels to enhance family responsivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, May 23, 2017
The current study examines the transactional processes between maternal negativity and child disr... more The current study examines the transactional processes between maternal negativity and child disruptive behavior during early childhood, using a sibling comparison design. This design allows for a more sophisticated test of the behavioral training hypothesis than is possible when only one child per family is included in the analysis as it excludes two confounders (passive gene-environment correlation and family-wide environmental influence). Three hundred and ninety-seven families were visited on three occasions when the target child was 1.5, 3 and 4.5 years old (920 children, 51.5% female). The target child and up to three older siblings per family were included in data collection and analysis. Mothers and fathers reported on children's disruptive behavior and mothers reported on their negativity to children. Withinfamily cross-lag pathways, as well as a significant indirect effect through which children increased their own disruptive behavior via maternal negativity confirmed a behavioral training effect. Family level maternal negativity and sibling disruptive behavior showed high levels of stability over three to four years and no context effect for maternal negativity or sibling disruptive behavior was seen. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Developmental Psychology, Jul 1, 2018
The present study examined the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and sibling differences in b... more The present study examined the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and sibling differences in birth weight on sibling differences in the receipt of maternal sensitivity (i.e., differential parenting). It was hypothesized that sibling differences in birth weight would predict absolute differential parenting across the sibship (i.e., the more different siblings' birth weight, the more different the level of sensitivity in the family, overall) and child-specific differential parenting (i.e. relatively heavier siblings receiving more sensitivity, compared to his/her counterpart within the family). It was also hypothesized that there would be greater sibling differences in birth weight in lower SES settings. Multiparous mothers were recruited within two weeks of childbirth and filmed interacting with each of their children when younger siblings were 1.60 years (SD = .16, N=396 younger siblings) and next-older siblings were 4.05 (SD = .75; N = 396 older siblings). Videotapes were coded for maternal sensitivity. Multilevel path-analysis revealed that lower-SES families exhibited greater sibling differences in birth weight, which corresponded to greater absolute differential parenting. Also, heavier siblings received relatively higher levels of sensitivity within the family. This study demonstrates that child and contextual factors operate together in predicting differential parenting.
Maternal Cognitive Sensitivity Measure
School readiness amongst urban Canadian families: Risk profiles and family mediation
Journal of Educational Psychology, 2018
There is an ongoing need for literature that identifies the effects of broad contextual risk on s... more There is an ongoing need for literature that identifies the effects of broad contextual risk on school readiness outcomes via family mediating mechanisms. This is especially true amongst diverse and urban samples characterized by variability in immigration history. To address this limitation, family profiles of sociodemographic and contextual risk were identified when children were 2 months of age. Subsequently, their indirect effect on school readiness at 4.5 years was evaluated via family investments and maternal responsivity (N = 501 families). A latent class analysis yielded four distinct family risk profiles: low socioeconomic status (SES) multilevel risk, 12.0% of sample; maternal abuse history, 15.6%; low-SES immigrant risk, 27.7%; and low risk, 44.7%. Path analyses revealed that children in the low-SES multilevel risk and low-SES immigrant risk profiles had the poorest outcomes in all domains and these effects operated equally and indirectly via investments and responsivity. To date, several studies have suggested that sociodemographic risks impact cognitive outcomes primarily via the investment pathway. The present findings suggest that family relations are equally important when operationalized as observed responsive parenting. Furthermore, pathways of influence are similarly operative despite different patterning of adversity for high-risk immigrant and native born families.
COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale
PsycTESTS Dataset, 2021
Understanding couple and family dynamics through dyadic methodology
American Psychological Association eBooks, 2019
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Previous research suggests that family dysfunction may be related to lower health-related quality... more Previous research suggests that family dysfunction may be related to lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in parent caregivers, but it is unknown if this association exists in the context of child mental illness. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to compare HRQoL between parent caregivers and Canadian population norms using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36); examine associations between family functioning and parental HRQoL; and investigate whether child and parental factors moderate associations between family functioning and parental HRQoL. Cross-sectional data were collected from children receiving mental healthcare at a pediatric hospital and their parents (n = 97). Sample mean SF-36 scores were compared to Canadian population norms using t-tests and effect sizes were calculated. Multiple regression was used to evaluate associations between family functioning and parental physical and mental HRQoL, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical covariates. Proposed moderators, including child age, sex, and externalizing disorder, and parental psychological distress, were tested as product-term interactions. Parents had significantly lower physical and mental HRQoL versus Canadian norms in most domains of the SF-36, and in the physical and mental component summary scores. Family functioning was not associated with parental physical HRQoL. However, lower family functioning predicted lower parental mental HRQoL. Tested variables did not moderate associations between family functioning and parental HRQoL. These findings support the uptake of approaches that strive for collaboration among healthcare providers, children, and their families (i.e., family-centered care) in child psychiatry settings. Future research should explore possible mediators and moderators of these associations.
Frontiers in Psychology
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major stressors such as unemployment, financial insecurity,... more The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major stressors such as unemployment, financial insecurity, sickness, separation from family members, and isolation for much of the world population. These stressors have been linked to mental health difficulties for parents and caregivers. Religion and spirituality (R/S), on the other hand, is often viewed as promotive of mental health. However, the mechanisms by which R/S might promote mental health for parents during the pandemic remain unclear. Thus, this longitudinal study explores how R/S is associated with better caregiver mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic through higher levels of positive coping skills. A sample of N = 549 caregivers (parents and other adults in childrearing roles) across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were recruited through the Prolific® research panel [67.8% female; age M = 41.33 years (SD = 6.33), 72.3% White/European]. Participants were assessed on measures of psychological dist...
Adversity and Resilience Science
The onset of the pandemic brought heightened stress to parents due to disruptions to family life,... more The onset of the pandemic brought heightened stress to parents due to disruptions to family life, in addition to processes of positive family adaptation, including greater closeness, more time spent together, and shared problem-solving. Delineating how early pandemic-related family stress and positive adaptation simultaneously operate is important for understanding risk and resilience. We use a person-oriented approach to identify subgroups of caregivers based on patterns of stress and positive adaptation in the first months of the pandemic. Data come from a multinational study of 549 caregivers (68% female) of 1098 children (younger child: M = 9.62, SD = 3.21; older child: M = 11.80, SD = 3.32). In May 2020, caregivers reported on stress (income, family, and pandemic-specific) and positive adaptation using previously validated scales, and covariates indexing family vulnerabilities (i.e., caregiver adverse childhood experiences, caregiver and child mental health) and psychosocial resources (caregiver social support, positive coping, religiosity/spirituality, and benevolent childhood experiences, and pre-pandemic socioeconomic resources). A latent profile analysis was conducted using the four indicators. Profiles were examined in relation to covariates using BCH procedures. A 4-profile solution was selected, characterized by Low Disruption (n = 296), Multi-Domain Disruption (n = 36), Income Disruption (n = 111), and Family Disruption (n = 106) groups. Positive adaptation minimally differentiated profiles. Participants in the Low Disruption group reported more resources and fewer vulnerabilities than other groups. Those in the Multi-Domain Disruption group reported the fewest resources and the most vulnerabilities. Early in the pandemic, a minority group of individuals in this sample carried a disproportionate burden of pandemic-related stress. Potential consequences to family functioning and implications for systemic family prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.
How well can social scientists predict societal change, and what processes underlie their predict... more How well can social scientists predict societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? To answer these questions, we ran two forecasting tournaments testing accuracy of predictions of societal change in domains commonly studied in the social sciences: ideological preferences, political polarization, life satisfaction, sentiment on social media, and gender-career and racial bias. Following provision of historical trend data on the domain, social scientists submitted pre-registered monthly forecasts for a year (Tournament 1; N=86 teams/359 forecasts), with an opportunity to update forecasts based on new data six months later (Tournament 2; N=120 teams/546 forecasts). Benchmarking forecasting accuracy revealed that social scientists’ forecasts were on average no more accurate than simple statistical models (historical means, random walk, or linear regressions) or the aggregate forecasts of a sample from the general public (N=802). However, scientists were more accurate ...
This study examined the associations between parental differential treatment (PDT), children’s ex... more This study examined the associations between parental differential treatment (PDT), children’s externalizing behavior (EB), and sibling relationships, as well as the intervening effects of children’s perceptions of favoritism, personality, and parents’ self-efficacy (SE). A total of 117 families having a child clinically referred for EB problems were studied. First, the role of PDT and perceived favoritism on EB and sibling relationships was examined. PDT was moderately related to both EB and sibling affection. Perception of 1 Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium 2 University of Toronto, Canada Corresponding author: Jean Christophe Meunier, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier, 10, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Email: jean-christophe.meunier@uclouvain.be J S P R Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 29(5) 612–638 a The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10....
A developmental cascade model of theory of mind and executive functioning, and moderation by cumulative social risk
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2020
The swift spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the globe has challenged health se... more The swift spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the globe has challenged health service providers in unprecedented ways. Among the disruptions for general practitioners and allied specialists have been the need to provide in-person care with only limited access to personal protective
What makes for responsive family interactions? Disentangling individual, family-level, and socioeconomic contributions
Journal of Family Psychology, 2021
Families function best, and children benefit the most, when familial interactions are characteriz... more Families function best, and children benefit the most, when familial interactions are characterized by responsivity-an understanding and consideration of other people's thoughts and feelings. How responsive people are during interactions with others is a product of individual propensities, observed family norms, and unique relationship patterns, though these influences are often hard to disentangle. In the current study, we used a Social Relations Model (SRM) to parse out the extent to which being responsive during family interactions is attributable to individual traits or familial tendencies. Mothers, fathers, and two children each interacted with every other person in the family (N = 198 families) and each person's behavior was coded for the level of responsivity they displayed toward their interactional partner. Data were modeled using a multilevel formulation of the SRM. Between 15% and 30% of the variance in individual's responsivity was attributable to stable traits, with parents tending to be more consistent across all interactional partners than their children. On average, 14% of the variance in responsivity was shared across all members of a given family. Income explained 28% of family-level variance, while other family characteristics, including parent education, parent mental health, interparental conflict, and household chaos, explained little to no variance. Furthermore, it was found that parents contributed more to the family tone of responsivity than did their children. These results provide new insights into what makes family members responsive toward one other and suggest there are likely benefits of providing supports across individual-, family-, and financial-levels to enhance family responsivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Understanding couple and family dynamics through dyadic methodology
APA handbook of contemporary family psychology: Foundations, methods, and contemporary issues across the lifespan (Vol. 1)., 2019
Journal of Refugee Studies, 2021
Children and families are undergoing unprecedented stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, i... more Children and families are undergoing unprecedented stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part, due to the disruption of daily life arising from mandated social distancing protocols. As such, the purpose of the present report is to raise awareness surrounding resilience-challenging and resilience-promoting factors for refugee children and families during the COVID-19 crisis. Issues surrounding family life, parenting, and potential for family conflict are described. Also, cultural and linguistic factors are discussed, which may limit access to information about the pandemic and, accordingly, uptake of public health recommendations. Throughout our analysis, a trauma-informed framework is utilized, whereby potential for pandemic-related disruption in triggering previous traumatic stress is considered. Furthermore, using a developmental resilience framework and building upon the inherent strengths of families and children, suggestions for developing evidence-based programming a...
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Papers by Dillon T. Browne