Effects of alloparenting status on social development in children and mental health in caregivers

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02480
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09030:Childhood and nursery/pre-school education-related
• Research Institution: University of Fukui
• Principal Investigator: Fujisawa Takashi 福井大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 准教授 (90434894)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 発達 / アロペアレンティング / 脳画像 / 養育環境 / エピジェネティックス / 社会的養護 / 養育 / 視線

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The parenting behavior by other individuals other than the parents is called alloparenting. In this study, we examined how alloparenting status affects the social development of the children and the mental health of the caregiver from a neurodevelopmental perspective. The results showed that the diversity of alloparenting was related to spontaneous brain activity in brain regions involved in executive function and emotional control of children, and that activity in the brain region was also involved in smooth mother-child interactions. In addition, children in social care due to childhood maltreatment revealed that endogenous oxytocin is involved in the reduction of social attention and that the cortical thickness of brain regions involved in language comprehension is thinner in children in social care. This study is academically significant in that it reveals the effects of the diversity of alloparenting on the social development of the child and its neural basis.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、親（養育者）には養育スタイルの変化や多様性が求められているものの、それらの違いが子の発達や母親のメンタルヘルスにもたらす影響については不明確な点が多く残されてきた。本研究は、養育スタイルの一つとして、親以外の他個体による養育行動であるアロペアレンティング（alloparenting）に焦点を当て、アロペアレンティング状況が子の社会性発達やその神経基盤に影響を及ぼしていること、その影響には親のメンタルヘルスが媒介している可能性も示唆していること、養育失調により社会的養護下にある児ではそれらの影響が大きいことを明らかにした点で学術的意義がある。