Do Personality Traits Moderate Relations Between Psychologically Controlling Parenting and Problem Behavior in Adolescents?

This research examined whether and how adolescents' personality traits moderate associations between psychologically controlling parenting and problem behaviors. On the basis of self‐determination theory, we also examined the mediating role of psychological need frustration in the effects of psychologically controlling parenting. A cross‐sectional study in two samples (N = 423 and 292; M_age = 12.43 and 15.74 years) was conducted. While in Sample 1 both mothers and adolescents provided reports of parenting and problem behavior, Sample 2 relied on adolescent‐reported parenting and mother‐reported problem behavior. Psychologically controlling parenting was related to internalizing and externalizing problems in both samples. Little systematic evidence was obtained for the moderating role of personality, with the exception of a moderating effect of Agreeableness. In both samples, psychological control was unrelated to externalizing problems among adolescents high on Agreeableness. Analyses of Sample 2 showed that associations between psychological control and problem behavior were mediated by psychological need frustration. Adolescent personality plays a modest role as a moderator of associations between psychologically controlling parenting and problem behavior. Frustration of adolescents' basic and universal psychological needs can account for the undermining effects of psychologically controlling parenting. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Parent and child personality characteristics as predictors of negative discipline and externalizing problem behaviour in children

Negative discipline has been linked to childhood externalizing behaviour. However, relatively little attention has been given to the potential effect of individual personality characteristics of children and parents. Using the Five Factor Model, we examined the extent to which parents' and children's personality characteristics were related to parenting and children's externalizing behaviour in a proportional stratified general population sample (N=599) of elementary‐school‐aged children. Based on Patterson's macromodel of parenting, an initial model was built, hypothesizing that the impact of parents' and child's personality dimensions on externalizing problems was fully mediated by negative discipline. Results supported a modified model that added direct pathways between parent and child personality characteristics and externalizing problem behaviour. For the mother data, as well as for the father data, children's Extraversion and Imagination were positively related to children's externalizing problem behaviours. Children's Benevolence and Conscientiousness and parents' Emotional Stability were negatively related to externalizing problem behaviours. For the mother data, maternal Agreeableness was positively related to externalizing problem behaviours too. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting adolescents' parent–child relationship quality from parental personality,marital conflict and adolescents' personality

Longitudinal influences on the relationships between parents and their adolescent children in 175 Austrian families were analysed with data from three measurement points over a time span of 18 years. We investigated the influences of parental personality, marital conflict and adolescents' personality on the father–child and mother–child relationships separately. Inconsistent with previous theories and empirical findings, we found almost no associations between parental personality and parent–child relationships. Marital conflict was associated with only the father–child relationship. Children's personality showed the most consistent associations with the parent–child relationship. Our data support the theory of dynamic interactionism, which postulates an interdependency of personality factors and social relationships.     

Exposure to Violence and Socioemotional Adjustment in Low-Income Youth: An Examination of Protective Factors

Using a sample of 391 low-income youth ages 13–17, this study investigated the potential moderating effects of school climate, participation in extracurricular activities, and positive parent–child relations on associations between exposure to violence (i.e., witnessing violence and violent victimization) and adolescent socioemotional adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). Exposure to violence was related to both internalizing and externalizing problems. High levels of participation in extracurricular activities and positive parent–child relations appeared to function as protective factors, weakening the positive association between exposure to violence and externalizing problems. Contrary to prediction, school climate did not moderate associations between exposure to violence and socioemotional adjustment. Further, none of the hypothesized protective factors moderated the association between exposure to violence and internalizing problems.     

Conflict in the Latino parent-youth dyad: the role of emotional support from the opposite parent.

In the present study, the author examined the independent and interactive effects of support and conflict within a triadic familial context (mother-father-youth). The sample consisted of 6th- and 7th-grade inner-city Latino youths (N = 329; 142 boys, 187 girls). Using multiple regression techniques, level of conflict with either mother or father was consistently related to higher levels of both boys' and girls' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Interaction effects were significant in predicting boys' externalizing behavior problems--a supportive parental relationship significantly reduced the risk associated with high conflict with the opposite parent. For boys' internalizing problems, mother and father support served a protective function regardless of the level of conflict with the opposite parent. Conflict with the mother was especially detrimental for Latina girls--highly conflictive mother-daughter relationships were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, and father support added little in predicting symptomatology. The study adds to the understanding of risk and protection in Latino families and underscores the importance of examining the parent-youth relationship from a triadic perspective, noting similarities and differences in mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and father-daughter relations.     

Preschool Children’s Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Mother–Child,Father–Child and Teacher–Child Relationships

Prosocial behavior is considered an important dimension of positive development. Although previous research suggests the quality of children’s early relationships may influence prosocial behaviors, the specific contributions of mother, father and teacher to children’s prosocial behavior have been less examined. This is a cross-sectional study that investigates (a) the combined associations between mother–, father– and teacher–child relationships, and prosocial behavior in 168 children aged 36–72 months, and (b) the mediating role of the teacher–child relationship in the association between the parent–child relationship and prosocial behavior. Results suggested a positive link between the quality of relationships with early caregivers and children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of both father– and teacher–child relationships were found to have a direct association with children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of the mother–child relationship was indirectly linked to children’s prosocial behavior, via the teacher–child relationship. Results suggesting connections between multiple relational contexts were discussed based on the notion of internal working models proposed by attachment theory. Mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to children’s prosocial behavior were also discussed considering differences on relational styles and changing roles of mothers and fathers from dual-earner families.     

Parent–Adolescent Attachment and Academic Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Self-Worth

Within the theoretical framework of attachment theory, this study examined associations between adolescents’ attachment relationships with both mother and father and their academic adjustment, and explored the potential mediation role of self-worth in the associations. Participants were 384 Chinese adolescents (49.6% male, average age?=?15.13 years) from public schools in Shanghai, China. They completed self-report measures of mother–adolescent attachment, father–adolescent attachment, general self-worth, academic engagement and school grades. The results indicated that adolescents’ attachments to both parents were associated with higher levels of academic engagement. There was partial support of the mediating role of self-worth, as adolescents who had high levels of parent–adolescent attachment were more likely to have high levels of self-worth, which in turn enhanced their academic engagement and then improved high school grades. The findings highlighted the importance of parental attachment-based intervention strategies to promote and maintain academic adjustment among adolescents.     

Parent–offspring similarity in personality and adolescents' problem behaviour

Similarity in personality between adolescents and their parents may have considerable implications for adolescent well‐being. We studied how the similarity in personality between 288 adolescents and their parents is linked to adolescent problem behaviour, and whether this link is mediated by warmth and control in the parent–child relationship and moderated by the personality type of the adolescent. Similarity in personality between adolescents and their parents was negatively related to internalizing and externalizing problem behaviour, both concurrently and over time. This relation was not mediated by the parent–child relationship. The effects were present for overcontrolled but not for resilient or undercontrolled adolescents. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interaction Between the Parenting Alliance and Parent–Child Activities in a Clinic-Referred Sample of 2 to 18-year-olds

Several decades of research have demonstrated a link between marital, parenting, and child domains. The present study examined the nature of these links by testing the moderating effect of the parent–child relationship on the association between the parenting alliance and internalizing and externalizing problems in 324 dual-parent families of 2-to-18-year-old clinic-referred youth. Findings indicated that positive parent–child activities directly related to children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, and modified the nature of the association between the parenting alliance and internalizing problems in families of 6-to-10-year-olds. Interestingly, in families where parents engaged in fewer positive activities with their children, a strong parenting alliance actually related to greater child internalizing problems. Findings support the importance of understanding the interaction between the marital and child domains in order to effectively intervene with families of children experiencing behavior problems.     

Parent-child conflict and psychological maladjustment: a mediational analysis with reciprocal filial belief and perceived threat

Empirical research has shown that parent–child conflict is positively related to poor adjustment in adolescents; however, the underlying processes have not been adequately examined. To explore the possible mediating pathways, reciprocal filial belief and perceived threat were chosen to represent two likely mechanisms accounting for how parent–child conflict harms adolescents' perceptions of their relationship with their parents and their self‐perceptions within their cognitive‐appraisal framework. The former operates by attenuating children's affection towards their parents and the latter by lowering their self‐perceptions. This study also distinguishes internalizing from externalizing problems in order to examine whether lower reciprocal filial belief more strongly mediates the relation between conflict with parents and adolescents' externalizing problems and whether perceived threat more strongly mediates the relation between conflict with parents and adolescents' internalizing problems. Hypotheses are as follows: (1) the more parent–child conflict adolescents report, the less reciprocal filial belief they recognize, which, in turn, leads to more maladjustments, especially externalizing ones; (2) the more parent–child conflicts adolescents report, the more threat they perceive, which, in turn, leads to more maladjustments, especially internalizing ones. Participants consisted of 603 Taiwanese adolescents (226 males and 377 females) aged 15 to 19 (average age=16.95; SD=0.78). Structural equation modelling analyses confirmed the hypotheses. However, the three direct effects of conflict on internalizing problems, aggression, and deviant behaviour were still significant. In addition, a greater effect of the paternal than the maternal role on the link between conflict and attenuated reciprocal filial belief, and between perceived threat and internalizing problems, was identified. Implications for understanding the mediation processes responsible for all indirect effects, even the subsidiary ones, and the greater impact of conflict with the father than with the mother are discussed. Limitations of the study and considerations for future research are also addressed.     

Examination of consistency of adolescent and parent reports across several psychosocial constructs

This study investigated the consistency of discrepancy scores between adolescent and parent reports across several psychosocial constructs (adolescent internalizing, externalizing, emotion regulation difficulties, parent rewarding responses to adolescent emotions, and parent depressive symptoms). Sixty‐two adolescents (67.7% females; 76.7% African American) and one of their parents participated. Most of the associations among discrepancy scores were equivalent. There was one instance in which the association among two discrepancy scores (youth internalizing and externalizing) was stronger than the others and one instance in which the association was weaker than the others (youth internalizing and parent rewarding). These results suggest that discrepancies between adolescent and parent reports are not necessarily a stable characteristic of the dyad and depend on the construct under consideration.     

父母心理控制与儿童自我控制和问题行为:有中介的调节模型

选取343名儿童及其家长为被试考察父母心理控制对儿童问题行为的影响及其机制。结果:(1)心理控制正向预测儿童的内外化问题行为且这种影响受父母自主支持的调节;(2)父母自主支持的调节作用部分通过情绪控制影响儿童内外化问题行为,部分通过抑制控制影响儿童外化问题行为。结论:心理控制对儿童问题行为的影响受自主支持的调节,儿童自我控制能力在其中起部分中介作用。     

人际关系与高中生内外化问题的关系:自尊的中介及性别的调节作用

为了解亲子关系、师生关系和同伴关系对高中生内外化问题的相对影响大小,并探究自尊的中介作用,采用问卷法对北京4所中学共计794名高中生进行了调查。结果发现：（1）师生关系对于高中生内外化问题的影响大于亲子关系和同伴关系的影响;（2）自尊在亲子、师生、同伴关系与高中生内化问题中起中介作用,而在亲子、师生同伴关系与外化问题中的中介作用不显著;（3）性别差异检验发现,自尊在女生同伴关系与内化问题中起完全中介作用,而在男生同伴关系与内化问题的中介作用不显著。     

Self-Efficacy and Problem Behaviors of School Bully Victims: Evidence from Rural China

Although the preventive role of self-efficacy for school bully has been well established, less is known as with the association between self-efficacy and problem behaviors adoption among children who are already school bully victims. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the clustered nature of problem behaviors among school bully victims and tested problem behavior clusters’ association with self-efficacy using latent class analysis and multinomial logistic regression. Participants included 262 Chinese rural students who were recognized as being regularly bullied while without bullying behaviors in school in the past 3 months (60.1% male, age range 12–16). We found that the victims could be categorized into three different groups according to their problem behaviors pattern, namely the “externalizing and internalizing behaviors” group, the “internalizing behaviors” group, and the “less-affected” group. After controlling for the covariates (i.e., gender, age, living arrangement, and relationship quality with father and mother), we found that higher self-efficacy indicated higher probability of falling into the group with relatively less negative influence from school bullying. We also found that gender, living arrangement, and relationship quality with mother were associated with bully victims’ problem behaviors pattern. The comorbidity between and within childhood externalizing and internalizing behaviors and self-efficacy’s association with different problem behavior patterns were discussed. The future research should test the causality between self-efficacy and problem behaviors of bully victims, as well as the effectiveness of self-efficacy enhancement intervention for victims adopting different problem behavior patterns.     

Differences in Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among Early Adolescent Subtypes Based on Attachment Security

The study examined the influence of adolescents’ secure attachment to both versus one parent on their psychosocial adjustment in terms of self and parent evaluations of internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. The sample consisting of 8th grade adolescents (n?=?406; 178 girls) aged 12–14 years were classified into four subgroups based on their attachment security to their father and mother. The study aimed to test the differences in internalizing and externalizing problems among the four subgroups- of adolescents with secure attachment to both parents, to only mother, to only father and insecure attachment to father and mother. The results showed that more number of adolescents were classified as securely attached to mothers than to fathers. The group of adolescents who felt securely attached to both parents was psychosocially most well adjusted, while those with insecure attachment to both parents were most vulnerable to maladjustment. In addition, secure attachment only to one’s mother and not to one’s father was a protective factor against maladjustment, while secure attachment to father alone was not. The study helps to understand how parent-adolescent secure attachment contributed to differences in psychosocial adjustment among these subgroups of normal adolescents.     

Adolescents' relationships with mother and father and their links to the quality of romantic relationships: A classification approach

Adolescents' relationships with parents are considered to be a major learning source and emotional base for developing expectations and styles of behaviour in close relationships. Using a longitudinal sample of late adolescents from nuclear families drawn from the German Family Panel pairfam (N = 720; mean age: 18.6 years), we investigated how adolescents' relationships with both parents influenced their romantic relationship quality one year later. Bagged (Averaged) Binary Recursive Partitioning was used to compare features of adolescents' relationships with mother and father (relatedness, negative conflict, emotional insecurity, and parental dominance) in respect of their importance in predicting similar aspects of romantic relationship quality. Overall, our findings suggest some degree of domain-specific continuities in adolescents' relationships with parents and partner, particularly for negative conflict, as well as more global effects for most features of the parent–adolescent relationship. Emotional insecurity with mother was most broadly linked to all features of adolescents' romantic relationship. Overall, adolescents' relationship with mother was found to be more influential than their relationship with father. The findings are discussed with reference to a behavioural systems perspective and attachment theory.     

共情与青少年内外化问题的关系及影响机制

内外化问题是青少年最常见的心理行为问题,共情与青少年内外化问题具有重要联系,但以往研究青少年内外化问题的时候不注重共情不同成分的区分;即使区分了共情的不同成分,认知共情和情绪共情作为共情的不同成分和内外化问题的关系仍旧存在一定争议,且共情对内外化问题影响的机制鲜有探讨。本文首先综述了认知共情和情绪共情与青少年内外化问题的关系,并借助共情的发生过程（自我-他人模型）理论、发展过程（风险性发展模型）理论和相关神经生理因素,为理解共情对青少年内外化问题的影响机制提供了解释。未来研究可明确共情的定义,发展更生态化的测评方式,并进一步探索影响因素及机制,结合和关注个体特点、特殊群体及文化背景,以便为揭示共情与青少年内外化问题构建更系统的理论。     

Reciprocal Associations between Parenting Challenges and Parents' Personality Development in Young and Middle Adulthood

Having children affects many aspects of people's lives. However, it remains unclear to what degree the challenges that come along with having children are associated with parents' personality development. We addressed this question in two studies by investigating the relationship between parenting challenges and personality development in mothers of newborns (Study 1, N = 556) and the reciprocal associations between (mastering) parenting challenges and personality development in parents of adolescents (Study 2, N = 548 mothers and 460 fathers). In Study 1, we found the stress of having a newborn baby to be associated with declines in maternal Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability. Parenting challenges were also related to personality development in parents of adolescent children in Study 2, with parent–child conflict being reciprocally associated with decreases in Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability. Mastering parenting challenges in the form of high parenting self‐efficacy, on the other hand, was found to be associated with increases in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability, and vice versa. In sum, our results suggest that mastering the challenges associated with the social role of parenthood is one of the mechanisms underlying personality development in young and middle adulthood. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The additive and interactive effects of parenting and children's personality on externalizing behaviour

Parenting practices have been previously linked to childhood externalizing behaviour. However, little attention has been given to the potential effect of individual personality differences among children on this relation. The current study assesses the additive effects of children's personality characteristics and explores the moderating effects of children's personality on relations between parenting practices and childhood externalizing behaviour using a proportional stratified sample of 599 nonclinical elementary‐school‐aged children. Multiple regression analyses reveal that in the mother data as well as in the father data, dysfunctional parenting and the children's personality characteristics Benevolence, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion were directly related to outcomes consistent with an additive model of their effects. Significant interactions indicate that children with low scores on Benevolence who were exposed to overreactive discipline practices exhibited higher levels of externalizing behaviour. Children characterized by low scores on Conscientiousness who were exposed to coercive parenting behaviour showed elevated levels of externalizing behaviour. These results suggest that integrating children's personality characteristics within parenting models can improve the understanding of the aetiology of childhood externalizing problem behaviour. The implications of such integrations for intervention are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hopelessness,Parent‐Adolescent Communication,and Suicidal Ideation among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Based on the responses of 5,557 Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong, the relationships among perceived hopelessness, family functioning, and suicidal ideation were examined. Results showed that suicidal ideation was positively related to hopelessness, but negatively related to parent‐adolescent communication. Compared with father‐adolescent communication, mother‐adolescent communication generally had a stronger association with adolescent suicidal ideation. It was further found that the linkage between hopelessness and adolescent suicidal ideation was stronger under a low parent‐adolescent communication condition, thus suggesting the moderating effect of parent‐adolescent communication on the effect of hopelessness on suicidal ideation. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.