Among all of the ways children can suffer in childhood, neglect is turning out to be equally as traumatic as physical and/or sexual abuse. To better understand how destructive neglect can be (and we are not talking only about lack of food, clothing, or shelter), here is some material from Bruce Perry, one of leaders in the study of how adversity challenges the developing brain in children.

The Neurodevelopmental Impact of Neglect in Childhood

Neglect is the absence of critical organizing experiences at key times during development. Despite its obvious importance in understanding child maltreatment, neglect has been understudied. Indeed, deprivation of critical experiences during development may be the most destructive yet the least understood area of child maltreatment. There are several reasons for this. The most obvious is that neglect is difficult to “see.” Unlike a broken bone, maldevelopment of neural systems mediating empathy, for example, resulting from emotional neglect during infancy is not readily observable.

***

[W]hat we do know about neglect during early childhood supports a neuroarcheological view of adverse childhood experience. The earlier and more pervasive the neglect is, the more devastating the developmental problems for the child. Indeed, chaotic, inattentive and ignorant caregiving can produce pervasive developmental delay (PDD; DSM IV-R) in a young child (Rutter et al., 1999). Yet the very same inattention for the same duration if the child is ten will have very different and less severe impact than inattention during the first years of life. (Perry, 2002, p. 88-89)

This new research suggests that neglected boys are more likely to display violence as adolescents, which makes perfect in that neglect can severely compromise affect regulation, allowing anger to escalate to violence very easily.

Here is a brief definition of affect regulation:

AFFECT is the behavioral expression of emotion and affect regulation is a set of processes individuals use to manage emotions and their expression to accomplish goals. However, structures involved in affect regulation are among the last to mature in the developing brain; therefore, many adolescents may not be adequately equipped to regulate their affect. Consequently, adolescents are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes associated with poor affect regulation. (Bell & McBride, 2010)

That should be enough foundation to contextualize this article (press release, actually).

Neglected boys may turn into violent adolescents

August 18, 2014
Written by Matt Swayne
Source: Penn State

Summary:
Parents who physically neglect their boys may increase the risk that they will raise violent adolescents, according to sociologists. Examples of physical neglect include not taking a sick or injured child to the doctor, improperly clothing a child and not feeding a child, according to the researchers. While physical abuse is a significant contributor to violent behavior, physical neglect alone is an even stronger predictor of male adolescent violence than physical abuse, they noted.

__________

Parents who physically neglect their boys may increase the risk that they will raise violent adolescents, according to Penn State sociologists.

In a study of currently incarcerated male adolescents, physical neglect during childhood arose as the strongest predictor of violent behavior, said William McGuigan, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Shenango. Researchers are just beginning to acknowledge the powerful role of neglect in influencing adolescent violence, he added.

"One of the problems with studying neglect is that it is an act of omission, rather than one of commission. In other words, it is characterized as the absence of an act, rather than an actual act of mistreatment," said McGuigan. "However, now we have better measures and larger databases to document neglect."

Examples of physical neglect include not taking a sick or injured child to the doctor, improperly clothing a child and not feeding a child, according to the researchers who will present their findings today (Aug. 18) at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco.

The study indicated that while physical abuse is a significant contributor to violent behavior, physical neglect alone is an even stronger predictor of male adolescent violence than physical abuse, or even physical abuse and neglect combined.

"It sounds somewhat contrarian, but the physical abuse might at least show that parents are paying some type of attention to the child," said McGuigan, who worked with Roxanne Atterholt, instructor, and Jack A. Luchette, an undergraduate student, both in in human development and family studies at Penn State Shenango.

McGuigan said that understanding how neglect can influence violent behavior in adolescent males may lead to better education for caregivers and better care for at-risk youths.

"We have to look more into neglect and become more aware of how it may cause some of these violent behaviors," said McGuigan. "From that, we can build early preventative care programs than can help avoid these negative outcomes."

The research could also create assessments that, for example, might help protect people who care for adolescents by identifying youths who are more prone to violence.

The researchers analyzed data taken from a survey of 85 subjects, who are residents of a Pennsylvania detention center for delinquent males. In the survey, 25 of the participants, or 29.4 percent of the group, said that they experienced at least one incidence of childhood neglect. Acts of violence included fighting with students or parents, hitting teachers or instructors and using a weapon to scare, rob or injure another person.

Sexual abuse was not included in the survey. Only two subjects responded that they were sexually abused in the survey, which was not enough to provide conclusive findings, McGuigan said.


Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Penn State. The original article was written by Matt Swayne. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Researcher Claims Progress on Predicting Whether "Bad Boys" Will Grow Out of It or Not

 

This press release comes from the University of Michigan, where psychologist Luke Hyde is specializing in antisocial behavior in young men. His 2011 paper, written with Ryan Bogdan and Ahmad R. Hariri, is "Understanding risk for psychopathology through imaging gene–environment interactions," and it is available for free online.

I'm not sure about this kind of stuff - although I am sure parents will line up for the exam. So if a kid has the specific genetic traits and the parents give the "correct" answers, is the kid labeled for life as an antisocial personality? Is he written off or put on meds he may not need? This is a seriously slippery slope.

Bad Boys: Research Predicts Whether Boys Will Grow out of It or Not

Nov. 5, 2013 — Using the high-tech tools of a new field called neurogenetics and a few simple questions for parents, a University of Michigan researcher is beginning to understand which boys are simply being boys and which may be headed for trouble.

"When young children lie or cheat or steal, parents naturally wonder if they'll grow out of it," said Luke Hyde, a U-M psychologist who is studying the development and treatment of antisocial behavior.

Hyde, a faculty associate at the U-M Institute for Social Research and assistant professor of psychology, is an expert on how genes, experience and the brain work together to heighten or reduce the risk that normal childhood transgressions will develop into full-blown conduct disorders in adolescence and early adulthood.

"The lifetime prevalence of conduct disorder is around 10 percent, and even higher in males and low-income populations," Hyde said. "The total cost to society is enormous, since these behaviors are often chronic, lasting through adulthood."

With colleagues at U-M, Duke University, the University of Pittsburgh and other institutions, Hyde has been exploring the role of the environment and biology as they interact over time to shape behavior. In particular, he is using the techniques of a new field called neurogenetics, which combines genetics, neuroscience and psychology, to learn how genes and neural processes interact with harsh environments, including dangerous neighborhoods and harsh parents, and with a child's own levels of empathy and personality traits, to increase the risk of antisocial behavior.

In one recent study, for example, Hyde and colleagues studied subjects with over-reactive amygdala responses. The amygdala is an almond-shaped part of the brain's primitive limbic system involved in processing fear and other visceral emotions. It has been associated with impulsive, aggressive behavior, as well as anxiety disorders and depression.

"Previous research suggests that the amygdala becomes over-reactive probably as a result of both genetics and experience," Hyde said. "And once the amygdala is over-reactive, people tend to behave in an anxious, over-reactive way to things they see as a potential threat.

"Our study found that this tendency is moderated by a person's environment, including the social support they get. If they're not getting support from family, friends, neighbors or professionals, then the link between the amygdala and anxious behavior is much stronger."

In another study, Hyde and colleagues showed that kids who are impulsive are only at higher risk of engaging in antisocial behavior if they live in dangerous neighborhoods.

Hyde also identified specific items within childhood behavior checklists that can be used as early as the age 3 to identify kids who will likely have worse trajectories for antisocial behavior compared to other children who have similar behavior problems, such as throwing tantrums.

These items assess observable behaviors that include whether the child is cruel to animals, doesn't seem to feel guilty after misbehaving, is sneaky, lies, is selfish or won't share, and won't change his or her behavior as a result of punishment.

"The results of this test aren't really meaningful until age 3," Hyde said. "Before that, many of these behaviors are fairly common and don't predict anything. But after age 3, if children are still behaving in these ways, their behavior is more likely to escalate in the following years rather than improve."

There is good news, though. Kids who scored high on this test benefitted just as much as other kids from interventions, according to Hyde. These interventions, often called parent management training, focus on giving parents better skills to manage child behavior problems, including training parents to spend more positive time with their kids, use time-outs instead of physical punishments, and reward good behavior by giving out stickers.

"Parents need to know that intervention works, especially if it's done early," Hyde said. "They need to go for help if they see signs of trouble. Clinical psychologists, among other professionals, have empirically supported treatments that are quite effective for children, especially in this age period."

A Third of Young Men Have Suffered from Body Dysmorphic Disorder

The number of young males dealing with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has increased greatly in the decade or so I have been watching the statistics. I prefer to use the BDD terminology because not all of the young males suffering from this issue should be lumped into the category of anorexia nervosa (what the authors of the article are calling manorexia).

Some of these young men are healthy, but they become obsessed with looking like a male fitness model, such as those on the cover of Men's Health.

We are screwing up our boys now the ways we have been screwing up our girls for the past several decades.

A third of young men have suffered from 'manorexia' - either by purging or abusing drugs - because they hate their appearance

• Eating disorders are a growing problem among teenage boys, say doctors
• May have a traditional eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia
• Or they may abuse drugs or muscle-building supplements
• One in every 10 cases of an eating disorder occurs in men, figures suggest

By Jenny Hope Medical Correspondent
PUBLISHED: 6 November 2013

Almost one in three young men have gone to extremes, such as making themselves sick after eating, in an attempt to look good, researchers say.

New data suggests that eating disorders are a growing problem among teenage boys. Many are turning to drugs and muscle-building supplements.

The phenomenon is so widespread that the name ‘manorexia’ has been coined to describe it.

Almost one in three young men has gone to extremes - including making themselves sick after eating - to enhance their appearance - suggesting eating disorders are a growing problem among teenage boys

The study’s lead author, Alison Field of Boston Children’s Hospital, said: ‘We need to be thinking more broadly about eating disorders and considering males as well.’

Classical eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, in which a person refuses to eat, and bulimia nervosa, in which someone binges then purges through vomiting or laxative use.

Professor Field said: ‘For a lot of males, what they’re striving for is different from females.

‘They’re probably engaged in something different from purging.’

Classical eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, in which a person refuses to eat, and bulimia nervosa, in which someone binge-eats then purges through vomiting or laxative use

Men make up an estimated one in every ten eating disorder sufferers. In the UK, the highest rates of new cases are among girls aged 15 to 19 and boys aged ten to 14.

Bulimia and problems such as binge eating account for 38 per cent of new cases, official figures show.

Professor Field’s research on US teenagers found 31 per cent of males had binged on food or purged.

Her team spent three years surveying 5,527 boys who were aged 12 to 18 at the start of the study in 1999.

They were asked how they saw their bodies and about unhealthy behaviours such as drug and alcohol use.

Overall, young men were most likely to worry about being muscular, and that concern increased with age.

This could be the male equivalent of some girls’ preoccupation with extreme thinness, the study said.

About 9 per cent reported a high level of concern with muscularity, while 2 per cent had also used some type of supplement, growth hormone or anabolic steroid to look better.

That figure rose to 8 per cent for older teens aged 16 to 22, the research in journal JAMA Pediatrics found.

Professor Field said using such products was risky: ‘There are a whole range of products available online that we don’t know if they’re healthy or not. We know when a lot of them are tested, they’re not what they’re marketed to be.’

About nine per cent of teenage boys said they were concerned about their body's muscularity. Two per cent of these people had used some type of supplement, growth hormone derivative or anabolic steroid to enhance it

Young men who used enhancement products were more likely than their peers to binge drink and use drugs.

About 6 per cent of boys were very worried about both having muscle and being thin. Just over 2 per cent worried only about thinness, and this group were the most likely to develop symptoms of depression later on.

Professor Field said ‘airbrushed’ models with unrealistic bodies could have a bad effect on teens.

She said doctors and parents should be aware of attempts by young men to change their bodies, to make sure it is being done for the right reasons and in a healthy way.

Aggression in Boys May Start Before Birth (McGill University)

This new(ish) study from McGill University looked at the epigenetic genesis of some behavioral issues in boys and discovered that the cause can often be traced back to the pregnancy.

Their study revealed that men who displayed chronic aggressive behavior between the ages of 6 and 15 had lower blood levels of four biomarkers of inflammation (cytokines) than in men who displayed "normal" levels of aggressive behavior in their youth (from the original paper).

Compared to the control group, males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence had consistently lower plasma levels of five cytokines: lower pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-1α (T(28.7) = 3.48, P = 0.002) and IL-6 (T(26.9) = 3.76, P = 0.001), lower anti-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 (T(27.1) = 4.91, P = 0.00004) and IL-10 (T(29.8) = 2.84, P = 0.008) and lower chemokine IL-8 (T(26) = 3.69, P = 0.001).

This allowed researchers to distinguish between men with physically aggressive histories from men without such histories simply on the basis of four cytokines (IL-1α, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8).

In a follow-up study with the same men with aggressive pasts, "the DNA encoding the cytokines showed methylation patterns different from those of the comparison group."

Methylation is an epigenetic modification of DNA in relation to imprinting by parents or caregivers. Methylation also plays a role in regulating gene expression (turning a gene on or off). 

According to the researchers, the prenatal and early postnatal environment may trigger these epigenetic shifts that cause reduced levels of the four specific cytokines associated with youthful aggression.

The authors speculate in the discussion on the connection between specific cytokines and various brain chemicals, specifically serotonin and cortisol (from the original paper):

First, high cortisol levels were found to be associated with high levels of aggression in adolescent males from the same sample [41]. Cortisol levels are known to regulate immune and inflammatory responses [42]. Second, Vasopressin, a mediator of the HPA axis activity released in the brain enhances arousal and aggression [43]. Brain vasopressin is also involved in stress-induced suppression of immune functions in rats [44], [45]. Third, serotonin, a key player in aggressive behavior, is induced by cytokines, such as IL-6 and IL-1β, in brain and in blood [46]–[48]. Serotonin is also known to be involved in regulating IL-4, IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1 expression and secretion through the CREB signaling pathway [49], [50]. Together, these studies suggest a link between known mediators previously shown to be involved in aggression and cytokines.

More importantly, the researchers suggest:

There is good evidence that the parents of children on a high trajectory of physical aggression had similar behavior problems and created early childhood family environments which did not support learning to regulate physically aggressive reactions [4], [10]–[14].

As is often the case, aggression is a family issue and is usually intergenerational. The fundamental question, as always, is causality: "Does chronic aggression during childhood result in lowered cytokine activity or does lowered cytokine activity result in more aggression?"

This is an excellent study and worth the time to read. Below is a summary of the research from Futurity, followed by the abstract of the original study.

Aggression in boys may start before birth

Posted by Cynthia Lee-McGill on September 23, 2013


"If our results show that behavioral problems originate from as far back as pregnancy, it means that we can reduce violence through preventive intervention from as early as pregnancy," says Richard Tremblay. (Credit: Peter Dutton/Flickr)

McGill University -- Original Study (PLoS ONE)

Chronic aggressive behavior exhibited by some boys from disadvantaged families may be due to epigenetic changes during pregnancy and early childhood.

A new study shows that men who displayed chronic aggressive behavior during childhood and adolescence have lower blood levels of four biomarkers of inflammation than in men who exhibited average levels of aggressive behavior in their youth, from 6 to 15 years of age.

“This means that using four specific biomarkers of inflammation, called cytokines, we were able to distinguish men with chronic physical aggression histories from those without,” says Richard Tremblay, professor emeritus at the University of Montreal.

In a second study, in the same men with aggressive pasts, the DNA encoding the cytokines showed methylation patterns different from those of the comparison group.

“Methylation is an epigenetic modification—hence reversible—of DNA, in relation to parental imprinting. It plays a role in regulating gene expression,”says Moshe Szyf, a professor at McGill University.

“The pre- and postnatal environment could cause these differences in biomarkers associated with chronic aggression,” Szyf says.

Various studies conducted with animals show that hostile environments during pregnancy and early childhood have an impact on gene methylation and gene programming leading to problems with brain development, particularly in regard to the control of aggressive behavior.

Begins with mom?

Previous work suggests that men with aggressive pasts have one thing in common: the characteristics of their mothers.

“They are usually young mothers at the birth of their first child, with low education, often suffering from mental health problems, and with substance use problems,” Tremblay says.

The significant difficulties these mothers experienced during pregnancy and the early childhood of their child may have an impact on the expression of genes related to brain development, the immune system, and many other biological systems critical for the development of their child.

For the two studies, published in PLOS ONE, researchers collected blood from 32 participants who took part in either of two longitudinal studies that began nearly 30 years ago. The first study followed young Quebecers from disadvantaged backgrounds, while the second involved a representative sample of children who were in kindergarten in Quebec in 1986-87.

It is important to note that in disadvantaged families, the rate of boys with chronic aggressive behavior represents about 4 percent of the population. This greatly restricts the selection of potential participants.

Disorganized lifestyles

“Once they are adults, they are difficult to find because they have disorganized lifestyles,” Tremblay says. “We are studying the impact of the socioeconomic environment on the third generation, now that these children are grown up and have children.”

While no study has yet been published on the subject, he anticipates “significant intergenerational ties, since we observed an association between parental criminality of the first generation and the behavior of their children.”

Nevertheless, Tremblay, who has conducted his work for decades with a prevention perspective, is optimistic.

“If our results show that behavioral problems originate from as far back as pregnancy, it means that we can reduce violence through preventive intervention from as early as pregnancy. We have already shown that support given to families of aggressive boys in kindergarten prevents school dropout and crime in adulthood.”

* * * * *

Here is the abstract of the original article from PLoS ONE, available as an open access publication and downloadable as a PDF.

Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression Associates with Adult Cytokine Levels in Plasma

Nadine Provençal, Matthew J. Suderman, Frank Vitaro, Moshe Szyf, Richard E. Tremblay 

Abstract

Background

An increasing number of animal and human studies are indicating that inflammation is associated with behavioral disorders including aggression. This study investigates the association between chronic physical aggression during childhood and plasma cytokine levels in early adulthood.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Two longitudinal studies were used to select males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence (n = 7) and a control group from the same background (n = 25). Physical aggression was assessed yearly by teachers from childhood to adolescence and plasma levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines were assessed at age 26 and 28 years. Compared to the control group, males on a chronic physical aggression trajectory from childhood to adolescence had consistently lower plasma levels of five cytokines: lower pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-1α (T(28.7) = 3.48, P = 0.002) and IL-6 (T(26.9) = 3.76, P = 0.001), lower anti-inflammatory interleukin IL-4 (T(27.1) = 4.91, P = 0.00004) and IL-10 (T(29.8) = 2.84, P = 0.008) and lower chemokine IL-8 (T(26) = 3.69, P = 0.001). The plasma levels of four cytokines accurately predicted aggressive and control group membership for all subjects.

Conclusions/Significance

Physical aggression of boys during childhood is a strong predictor of reduced plasma levels of cytokines in early adulthood. The causal and physiological relations underlying this association should be further investigated since animal data suggest that some cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β play a causal role in aggression.

Full Citation: 
Provençal N, Suderman MJ, Vitaro F, Szyf M, Tremblay RE. (2013, Jul 26), Childhood Chronic Physical Aggression Associates with Adult Cytokine Levels in Plasma. PLoS ONE 8(7): e69481. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069481

Fathers Should Ask Kids: 'Am I the Dad You Need Me to Be?'

Wow, I can't imagine how my life might have been different if my father had asked that question - or even considered for a brief moment that how he treated me would impact my life in some negative ways. As a child, I interpreted his actions as being about me, or about the specific circumstances, but not about him as a father or a person. After he died (I was 13), when I was in my teens and early 20s, I began to realize that his behavior was a function of who he was, not about me as a son. I got that intellectually long before I got it emotionally.

Children try to make sense of their world in very complex ways, but deciphering the intentions behind others' behavior can be challenging (a skill that develops as the frontal cortex develops, which is not fully formed until people are in their mid to late 30s).

In the study, girls made more stable attributions (based on his qualities as a father) of the father's positive actions than did the boys (all early adolescents), who generally created unstable attributions (based on situations).

Here are the citation and abstract for the source article (full article behind a paywall, $25), followed by a summary of the article and research from Science Daily.

Full Citation:
A. K. Finlay, J. T. Cookston, D. S. Saenz, M. E. Baham, R. D. Parke, W. Fabricius, S. Braver. (2013). Attributions of Fathering Behaviors Among Adolescents: The Role of Gender, Ethnicity, Family Structure, and Depressive Symptoms. Journal of Family Issues, DOI:10.1177/0192513X13478404

Attributions of Fathering Behaviors Among Adolescents: The Role of Gender, Ethnicity, Family Structure, and Depressive Symptoms

Andrea K. Finlay, Jeffrey T. Cookston, Delia S. Saenz, Melinda E. Baham, Ross D. Parke, William Fabricius, Sanford Braver

Abstract

Little attention has been paid to how early adolescents make attributions for their fathers’ behavior. Guided by symbolic interaction theory, we examined how adolescent gender, ethnicity, family structure, and depressive symptoms explained attributions for residential father behavior. A total of 382 adolescents, grouped by ethnicity (European American, Mexican American) and family structure (intact, stepfamilies), reported attributions for their fathers’ positive and negative behaviors. Results indicated that for positive events, girls made significantly more stable attributions, whereas boys made more unstable attributions. Mexican American adolescents tended to make more unstable attributions for positive events than European Americans, and adolescents from intact families made more stable attributions for positive events than adolescents from stepfamilies. Implications are discussed for the role of attributions in father–adolescent relationships as prime for intervention in families.

Study Suggests Fathers Should Ask Kids: 'Am I the Dad You Need Me to Be?'

June 5, 2013 — As Father's Day draws near, psychologist Jeff Cookston says dads should ask their children for a little more feedback than they might get with the yearly greeting card.

Just being a good parent may not be good enough, said Cookston, professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, who has studied fatherhood extensively. "There's a need for fathers to sometimes say to their kids, 'How am I doing? Am I the dad you need me to be?'"

"Kids are actively trying to make sense of the parenting they receive," he explained, "and the meaning that children take from the parenting may be as important, or more important, than the behavior of the parents."

"I don't think a lot of parents give these ideas about meaning much thought," Cookston said. "You may think that you're being a good parent by not being harsh on your kid, for instance, but your child may view that as 'you're not invested in me, you're not trying.'"

The meanings that adolescents in particular attach to their fathers' behavior can vary depending on the child's gender, ethnicity, and the presence of a stepfather in the child's life, Cookston and former SF State graduate student Andrea Finlay report in a new study published in the Journal of Family Issues. The study included children from California and Arizona.

The researchers examined how adolescents view their fathers' actions -- specifically, whether the teens attribute these actions to a dad's overall character or to his reaction in a particular situation. For instance, a daughter might believe her dad took her to the baseball game because he is a good father, or she might believe that he took her to the game because he likes to go to the game.

The study suggests that girls tend to believe that a father's "enduring aspects" are responsible for a dad's good deeds, while boys are more likely to think that dads do good depending on the situation. Mexican-American children are more likely than their European-American peers to think that good times with dad depend on the situation.

The reasons for these differences are not clear, Cookston and his colleagues say, although in the case of boys and girls, it may be that girls are socialized to interpret other people's behavior in a more positive light. In Mexican-American families, the process of adapting to U.S. culture may increase family conflict, leading children to have a less optimistic view of their fathers' good deeds.

Cookston has conducted extensive research on parenting and fatherhood, with a focus on how children from diverse cultural backgrounds respond to parenting and how children perceive and construct their relationships with their fathers. His research has shown that the relationship between father and child can have a significant impact on the child's tendencies toward depression and behavior problems.

Father's Day can be a good time for dads to rethink their relationship with their children, with a few tips that Cookston has gleaned from these studies:

• Be sure to check in with your child. Dads may be surprised by the "filters" their children use to interpret their behavior, making it important for fathers to regularly ask about the relationship. "Fathers should ask, 'am I more or less than you need me to be?'," Cookston said, "and children -- particularly adolescents -- should be able to say, 'I need you to change course.'" 

• Show your emotional support. Dads provide everything from discipline to role modeling, but Cookston said it is the fathers who emphasize their emotional relationships with their children who have kids that are less likely to behave in aggressive and delinquent ways. 

• Don't be afraid to switch up your style. If you weren't always a warm and accepting father, it's not too late to become one, according to Cookston. "Parents can change, and kids can accept that. Parents need to be constantly adapting their parenting to the development and individual needs of the child." 

• Be a team player. Cookston's research focuses on dads, but his work with divorced families has taught him how valuable it is when parents work together as a team. Children are more likely to talk to parents about family relationships if they see that they agree on parenting decisions, he noted, and "parents play unique, additive roles in their children's lives." 

• Aim high as a dad. "We need to raise the bar for fatherhood. If a man is around and is a good provider and doesn't yell at his kids and goes to soccer games, we say that's enough," Cookston said. "But we need to expect more in terms of engagement, involvement and quality interaction."