Elaboration of Parents’ Schemas of Their Children: Unique Relations to Sensitivity and Learning Support Among Families Living in Poverty

This study examined how distinct aspects of parents’ schemas of their children are related to caregiving behaviors. It included 242 families with toddlers and young children, most of whom were living in poverty (37% White, 25% Black, 19% Latine, 17% Multiracial, and 2% Asian; child age = 21–39 months; median family income = $1,555 per month). The elaboration and emotional valence of parents’ schemas were coded from brief responses to open-ended questions about children’s personality; observations of parents’ sensitivity and learning support were assessed in structured and unstructured settings. Results of regression equations controlling for multiple family, parent, and child characteristics revealed that both greater elaboration and positive emotional valence were uniquely related to parents’ sensitivity (standardized β =.15, p =.05, and β =.13, p =.04, respectively), but only elaboration was uniquely related to learning support (β =.35, p <.001). This study highlights the special importance of the elaboration of parents’ schemas in understanding caregiving behaviors among families living in poverty and the potential value of enhancing elaboration in family-focused preventive interventions.