Subjective Well-Being in Adolescence: The Role of Self-Control,Social Support,Age, Gender,and Familial Crisis

Focusing on adolescents’ subjective well-being, the present study comprised three parts. The first examined the role of two coping mechanisms, self-control and social support, in predicting subjective well-being. The second related to the role of age and gender in predicting adolescents’ subjective well-being. The third raised the question of whether exposure to familial crisis would predict adolescents’ subjective well-being and whether self-control and social support would moderate the link between crisis and adolescents’ subjective well-being. Participants included 380 adolescents ages 13–17 years (M = 15.32, SD = .98; 194 boys, 176 girls, 10 unspecified), from six integrative junior-high and high schools in central Israel. All schools served a heterogeneous Jewish student population. Based on responses to a questionnaire identifying adolescents who reported experiencing a severe life crisis during the last year (e.g., severe illness in family, parent death or separation/divorce), the sample was divided into two groups: exposure to familial crisis (n = 96) and no exposure to familial crisis (n = 284). Outcomes revealed that both self-control and social support predicted adolescents’ subjective well-being. As expected, older adolescents presented lower levels of subjective well-being than younger ones. In contrast to the hypothesis, gender did not predict subjective well-being. Although exposure to crisis did not predict higher negative affect or lower positive affect, an interaction emerged between self-control and crisis in predicting positive affect. Thus, among adolescents who experienced crisis, better self-control skills predicted higher levels of positive affect.     

Distress Tolerance and Social Support in Adolescence: Predicting Risk for Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms Following a Natural Disaster

The purpose of the multi-measure, multi-wave, longitudinal study was to examine the interactive relation between behavioral distress tolerance (DT) and perceived social support (PSS) in 352 tornado-exposed adolescents aged 12–17 years (M = 14.44; SD = 1.74). At baseline, adolescents completed a computer-based task for DT, and self-report measures of PSS, depressed mood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use, and interpersonal conflict. Symptoms also were assessed 4 and 12 months after baseline. Findings showed that lower levels of DT together with lower levels of PSS conferred risk for elevated symptoms of prospective depression (t(262) = ?2.04, p = .04; r_{effect size} = 0.13) and PTSD (t(195) = ?2.08, p = .04; r_{effect size} = 0.15) following a tornado. However, only PSS was significant in substance use t(139) = 2.20, p = .03; r_{effect size=}0.18) and conflict (t(138) = ?4.05, p < .0001; r_{effect size=}0.33) in our sample. Implications regarding adolescent DT, the transdiagnostic nature of PSS, and the clinical applications of our findings in the aftermath of a natural disaster are discussed.     

Siblings’ Perceptions of Differential Treatment,Fairness, and Jealousy and Adolescent Adjustment: A Moderated Indirect Effects Model

Youth’s perception of parents’ differential treatment (PDT) are associated with maladjustment during adolescence. Although the direct relations between PDT and youth’s maladjustment have been well established, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. We addressed this gap by examining whether sibling jealousy accounted for the links between PDT and youth’s depressive symptoms, self-worth, and risky behaviors. Additionally, we examined whether youth’s perceptions of fairness regarding their treatment as well as the gender constellation of the dyad moderated these indirect relations (i.e., moderated-indirect effects). Participants were first- and second-born adolescent siblings (M = 15.96, SD = .72 years for older siblings, M = 13.48, SD = 1.02 years for younger siblings) and their parents from 197 working and middle class European American families. Data were collected via home interviews. A series of Conditional Process Analyses revealed significant indirect effects of PDT through sibling jealousy to all three adjustment outcomes. Furthermore, perceptions of fairness moderated the relations between PDT and jealousy, such that the indirect effects were only significant at low (?1 SD) and average levels of fairness. At high levels of fairness (+1 SD) there was no association between PDT, jealousy, and youth adjustment. Taken together, results indicate that youth and parents would benefit from engaging in clear communication regarding the reasoning for the occurrence of differential treatment, likely maximizing youth and parent perceptions of that treatment as being fair and in turn mitigating sibling jealousy and maladjustment.     

Likelihood of Attending Treatment for Anxiety Among Veteran Primary Care Patients: Patient Preferences for Treatment Attributes

Anxiety is common, but under-treated, in primary care. Behavioral health providers embedded in primary care can help address this treatment gap. Guidance on anxiety treatment preferences would help inform tailoring of clinical practice and new interventions to be more patient-centered and increase treatment engagement. We surveyed 144 non-treatment seeking Veteran primary care patients (82.6 % male, 85.4 % White, age M = 59.8 years, SD = 13.9) reporting current anxiety symptoms (M = 13.87, SD = 3.66, on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Questionnaire) on their likelihood of attending anxiety treatment featuring various levels of 11 attributes (modality, type, location, format, provider, visit frequency, visit length, treatment duration, type of psychotherapy, symptom focus, and topic/skill). Participants indicated clear preferences for individual, face-to-face treatment in primary care, occurring once a month for at least 30 min and lasting at least three sessions. They also tended to prefer a stress management approach focused on trouble sleeping or fatigue, but all topics/skills were rated equivalently. For most attributes, the highest rated options were consistent with characteristics of integrated care. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A Positive Psychology Intervention for Patients with an Acute Coronary Syndrome: Treatment Development and Proof-of-Concept Trial

Positive psychological constructs are associated with superior outcomes in cardiac patients, but there has been minimal study of positive psychology (PP) interventions in this population. Our objective was to describe the intervention development and pilot testing of an 8-week phone-based PP intervention for patients following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Initial intervention development and single-arm proof-of-concept trial, plus comparison of the PP intervention to a subsequently-recruited treatment as usual (TAU) cohort. PP development utilized existing literature, expert input, and qualitative interview data in ACS patients. In the proof-of-concept trial, the primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability, measured by rates of exercise completion and participant ratings of exercise ease/utility. Secondary outcomes were pre-post changes in psychological outcomes and TAU comparisons, measured using effect sizes (Cohen’s d). The PP intervention and treatment manual were successfully created. In the proof-of-concept trial, 17/23 PP participants (74 %) completed at least 5 of 8 exercises. Participants rated the ease (M = 7.4/10; SD = 2.1) and utility (M = 8.1/10, SD = 1.6) of PP exercises highly. There were moderate pre-post improvements (ds = .46–.69) in positive affect, anxiety, and depression, but minimal effects on dispositional optimism (d = .08). Compared to TAU participants (n = 22), PP participants demonstrated greater improvements in positive affect, anxiety, and depression (ds = . 47–.71), but not optimism. A PP intervention was feasible, well-accepted, and associated with improvements in most psychological measures among cardiac patients. These results provide support for a larger trial focusing on behavioral outcomes.     

Eight-Year Latent Class Trajectories of Academic and Social Functioning in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

We examined trajectories of academic and social functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to identify those who might be at risk for especially severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. We estimated a series of growth mixture models using data from two subsamples of children participating in the NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) including those with at least baseline and 96-month data for reading and mathematics achievement (n = 392; 77.3% male; M age = 7.7; SD = 0.8) or social skills ratings from teachers (n = 259; 74.9% male; M age = 7.6; SD = 0.8). We compared latent trajectories for children with ADHD to mean observed trajectories obtained from a local normative (i.e., non-ADHD) comparison group (n = 289; 80.6% male; M age = 9.9; SD = 1.1). Results indicated six latent trajectory classes for reading and mathematics and four classes for teacher social skills ratings. There was not only a relationship between trajectories of inattention symptoms and academic impairment, but also a similarly strong association between trajectory classes of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and achievement. Trajectory class membership correlated with socio-demographic and diagnostic characteristics, inattention and hyperactive-impulsive symptom trajectories, externalizing behavior in school, and treatment receipt and dosage. Although children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and social skills growth trajectories, those with behavioral and socio-demographic disadvantages are especially likely to display severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Evidence-based early screening and intervention that directly address academic and social impairments in elementary school-aged children with ADHD are warranted. The ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT00000388.     

Preventing Conduct Disorder and Callous Unemotional Traits: Preliminary Results of a School Based Pilot Training Program

This study investigated whether a school-based pilot prevention program is effective in reducing Conduct Disorder (CD) symptoms and callous unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of empathy and guilt) in a community sample of children. A total of 304 children from three schools in Cyprus were randomly assigned at school level to either a prevention group that received a skill building training program (N = 94; M _age  = 7.91, SD = .74; 52.1% female) or a control group that received no training (N = 210; M _age  = 7.82, SD = .81; 50.5% female). To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, CD symptoms and CU traits were assessed before the implementation of the training program and at 3 and 9 months after training. Additionally, the child’s impulsivity, parental involvement and friend support were assessed pre- and post-prevention. Significant post-training reductions in CU traits were identified for the prevention, but not the control, group at both 3-month and 9-month follow-ups and in CD symptoms at the 9 month follow-up. Furthermore, children in the prevention group scored lower on impulsivity and higher on paternal involvement and friend support compared to the control group after participating in the training program. This study provides preliminary evidence that child focused training delivered in the school setting can provide lasting benefits by preventing the development of CU traits, impulsivity, and CD. The program was also successful in improving the child’s social relationships with peers and parents. These findings emphasize the importance of school based prevention efforts.     

Unique Contributions of Positive Schemas for Understanding Child and Adolescent Life Satisfaction and Happiness

Much research has examined negative cognitive schemas as associates of psychopathology. Although some research has established relations between positive cognitive schemas and psychopathology, little research has examined positive cognitive schemas in the context of well-being among children and adolescents. In the current study, contributions of positive schemas to two indicators of well-being, namely happiness and life satisfaction, were examined. Specifically we examined how positive schemas predict well-being beyond negative schemas, whether age and gender moderate the relations between positive schemas and well-being, and the contributions of specific positive schema themes to well-being. 282 child and adolescent boys (n = 122) and girls (n = 160) aged 8–18 (M = 13.37, SD = 2.18), completed measures of positive schemas, negative schemas, life satisfaction, and happiness. Results indicated that positive schemas related to life satisfaction and happiness beyond negative schemas, supporting the importance of examining positive schemas in models of well-being. Positive schemas were more strongly tied to happiness in older adolescents versus younger children, but the relations between positive schemas and life satisfaction did not vary as a function of age. Gender effects indicate that the relation between positive schemas and life satisfaction and happiness was stronger for females than for males. When the relative contributions of positive schema themes (i.e., trust, worthiness, optimism, success, self-efficacy) were explored in the prediction of life satisfaction and happiness, worthiness emerged as the strongest predictor. Results emphasize the importance of considering positive schemas in models of well-being among children and adolescents.     

Recollections of childhood bullying and multiple forms of victimization: correlates with psychological functioning among college students

This retrospective investigation examined the association among childhood bullying victimization, multiple forms of victimization, and psychological functioning in a college sample. Four hundred-and-eighty-two undergraduate students participated in the study (M = 19.98 years, SD = 1.82). The sample included 65 % women. For race/ethnicity, 66.4 % were European-American (N = 320), 16.8 % African-American (N = 81). For grade level, 21.6 % were freshmen (N = 104), followed by 38.2 % sophomores (N = 184), 16.2 % juniors (N = 78), and 23.4 % seniors (N = 113). Participants completed a survey packet of measures assessing childhood bullying victimization experiences and current levels of psychological functioning. Findings indicated that bullying victimization significantly predicted greater levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTS) after controlling for other childhood victimization experiences. PTS symptoms were predicted by exposure to community violence and child abuse with bullying victimization was found to be the strongest predictor. College-level practitioners need to assess for a wide range of childhood victimization experiences, including bullying victimization.     

A Replication of the Reker and Cousins’ Study About the Complementarity Between the Purpose-In-Life Test (PIL) and the Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) Among Spanish Young People

The main aim of this study was to replicate the Reker and Cousins’ (1979) work about the complementarity between the the Purpose-In-Life Test (PIL), which indicates the degree to which the person has found meaning and purpose in life (presence of meaning), and the Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG), which measures the degree to which the person is motivated to find meaning and purpose in life (search for meaning). Participants were 349 Spanish undergraduates (224 women, 64.20 %, and 125 men, 35.80 %) between 18 and 26 years old, M = 20.81, SD = 2.17. Principal Component Analysis showed eight factors: four mainly related to the presence of meaning and four mainly related to the search for meaning. The PIL contributed four factors to presence of meaning, whereas the SONG contributed four factors to the search for meaning. The results confirmed the factorial structure, internal consistency, and validity of both scales and their complementarity.     

The Impact of Music-Based Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Education on Positive and Negative Emotions: A Preliminary Investigation in Ecological Conditions

Although there is an extensive literature showing that both rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral interventions (REBT/CBT) and music can alter various emotional responses, little is known about their ability to impact on both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether classical music combined with REBT/CBT psycho-education on emotions can alter people’s levels of positive and negative emotions. A number of 459 participants (62.7% females; m age = 36.67, SD = 11.754) were recruited for this study from the public attending to a classical music concert. The classical music pieces were selected by a group of experts in order to be conceptualized in relationship with components of the REBT/CBT’s ABC model of emotions (e.g., catastrophyzing, acceptance/meditation) and this conceptualization was also delivered during the concert (i.e., before each corresponding musical part). Emotions were assessed before and after the entire performance for all participants. Results indicated a significant change in emotions between the two assessments (F(11,397) = 59.99, p < .001, partial η² = .62), revealing significant increases for all the positive emotions and decreases for all the negative emotions that have been evaluated. This is one of the first experimental studies conducted on large-scale in fully ecological settings to confirm that music-based rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral education might change the intensity of people’s positive and negative emotions simultaneously. These findings are discussed in line with the existing models of music and emotions.     

Emotional Competence and Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analytic Review

Anxiety is conceptualized as a state of negative emotional arousal that is accompanied by concern about future threat. The purpose of this meta-analytic review was to evaluate the evidence of associations between emotional competence and anxiety by examining how specific emotional competence domains (emotion recognition, emotion expression, emotion awareness, emotion understanding, acceptance of emotion, emotional self-efficacy, sympathetic/empathic responses to others’ emotions, recognition of how emotion communication and self-presentation affect relationships, and emotion regulatory processes) relate to anxiety in childhood and adolescence. A total of 185 studies were included in a series of meta-analyses (N’s ranged from 573 to 25,711). Results showed that anxious youth are less effective at expressing (r = ?0.15) and understanding emotions (r = ?0.20), less aware of (r = ?0.28) and less accepting of their own emotions (r = ?0.49), and report less emotional self-efficacy (r = ?0.36). More anxious children use more support-seeking coping strategies (r = 0.07) and are more likely to use less adaptive coping strategies including avoidant coping (r = 0.18), externalizing (r = 0.18), and maladaptive cognitive coping (r = 0.34). Emotion acceptance and awareness, emotional self-efficacy, and maladaptive cognitive coping yielded the largest effect sizes. Some effects varied with children’s age. The findings inform intervention and treatment programs of anxiety in youth and identify several areas for future research.     

Inattentive Behavior in Boys with ADHD during Classroom Instruction: the Mediating Role of Working Memory Processes

Children with ADHD exhibit clinically impairing inattentive behavior during classroom instruction and in other cognitively demanding contexts. However, there have been surprisingly few attempts to validate anecdotal parent/teacher reports of intact sustained attention during ‘preferred’ activities such as watching movies. The current investigation addresses this omission, and provides an initial test of how ADHD-related working memory deficits contribute to inattentive behavior during classroom instruction. Boys ages 8–12 (M = 9.62, SD = 1.22) with ADHD (n = 32) and typically developing boys (TD; n = 30) completed a counterbalanced series of working memory tests and watched two videos on separate assessment days: an analogue math instructional video, and a non-instructional video selected to match the content and cognitive demands of parent/teacher-described ‘preferred’ activities. Objective, reliable observations of attentive behavior revealed no between-group differences during the non-instructional video (d = ?0.02), and attentive behavior during the non-instructional video was unrelated to all working memory variables (r = ?0.11 to 0.19, ns). In contrast, the ADHD group showed disproportionate attentive behavior decrements during analogue classroom instruction (d = ?0.71). Bias-corrected, bootstrapped, serial mediation revealed that 59% of this between-group difference was attributable to ADHD-related impairments in central executive working memory, both directly (ER = 41%) and indirectly via its role in coordinating phonological short-term memory (ER = 15%). Between-group attentive behavior differences were no longer detectable after accounting for ADHD-related working memory impairments (d = ?0.29, ns). Results confirm anecdotal reports of intact sustained attention during activities that place minimal demands on working memory, and indicate that ADHD children’s inattention during analogue classroom instruction is related, in large part, to their underdeveloped working memory abilities.     

The Impact of Different Forms of #fitspiration Imagery on Body Image,Mood, and Self-Objectification among Young Women

The present study experimentally examined the impact of different forms of inspirational fitness images (“fitspiration”) on women’s body image. Australian female participants (n = 152, 17–30 years-old; M _age = 21.55, SD = 3.94) were randomly assigned to view fitspiration media which depicted the body in a functional (performing exercise) or non-functional (posed) way, with or without accompanying appearance-focused text. There were no main effects of image type or text presence for body satisfaction, mood, or state self-objectification. However, state body satisfaction decreased and negative mood increased over time following exposure to the fitspiration images. Trait self-objectification moderated the impact of image type and text on state body satisfaction, such that viewing functional images presented with appearance-focused text resulted in poorer body satisfaction for women with higher trait self-objectification, but not for those with lower self-objectification. The findings demonstrate that irrespective of focus or presence of text, exposure to fitspiration images decreases body satisfaction and increases negative mood, highlighting the potential negative consequences of engaging with fitspiration media.     

Measuring Positive Affect,Negative Affect,and Physiological Hyperarousal among Italian Youth: Translations of the PANAS-C and PH-C

Italian-language versions of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C; Laurent et al. Psychological Assessment, 11, 326–338, 1999) and Physiological Hyperarousal Scale for Children (PH-C; Laurent et al. Psychological Assessment, 16, 373–380, 2004) were developed. Students (N = 1026; M age = 12.05 years, SD = 1.49) from central Italy completed these scales. Measures were evaluated based on criteria from previous studies resulting in an 11-item PANAS-C PA scale (α = .88), a 13-item PANAS-C NA scale (α = .87), and a 14-item PH-C (α = .85). Confirmatory factor analyses resulted in best-fit indices that favored a 3-factor model consistent with the tripartite model of anxiety and depression. Similar to results reported with the original English-language and other translations of these measures, scores on the PA scale were lower and scores on the NA and PH scales were higher for older girls than older boys and younger boys and girls. Findings suggested that the psychometric properties of the Italian-language versions of the PANAS-C and PH-C were similar to the English-language versions and other translated versions of the measures.     

Depressive Symptoms in Mothers and Daughters: Attachment Style Moderates Reporter Agreement

Parents and adolescents show only modest agreement when reporting on depressive symptoms. Drawing from attachment theory and previous research on informant discrepancies, we tested hypotheses about how adolescent attachment style may impact reporting agreement in a sample of 184 low-income mother-adolescent daughter dyads (adolescent mean age = 15.4 (SD = 1.05), maternal mean age = 41.4 (SD = 7.60); 58 % Latina, 26 % African-American/Black, 16 % as non-Hispanic, White). Mothers and adolescents reported on their own and each others’ depressive symptoms and adolescents reported on attachment style. Using a moderated Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to calculate reporter bias and accuracy estimates, we tested whether attachment style moderated maternal and adolescent accuracy in theoretically consistent ways. Mothers and adolescents showed similar levels of accuracy and bias when reporting on each other. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that adolescents who reported high levels of preoccupation were less accurate when reporting on their mothers because they tended to observe symptoms that their mothers did not endorse. Conversely, mothers were the most accurate in these dyads, potentially because preoccupied adolescents tend to elevate displays of emotional distress. Reporting accuracy was not affected by a dismissive style. These results add to literature indicating that parent-child reporting discrepancies often reflect meaningful information about relationships, and highlight the need to consider different sources of reporting bias and accuracy in assessment and treatment.     

When and why people <Emphasis Type="Italic">don</Emphasis>’<Emphasis Type="Italic">t</Emphasis> accept cheating: self-transcendence values,social responsibility,mastery goals and attitudes towards cheating

Although self-transcendence values have received top rankings as moral values, research has yet to show how they relate to cheating. In two studies, (N = 129) and (N = 122), we analyze the indirect motivational path between self-transcendence values and acceptance of cheating. Both studies were carried out with third-year students in an international management school: Study 1 included 58 male and 65 female students (six missing values), mean age: 22.38 (SD = 1.60). The study 2 sample comprised 46 male and 73 female students, (three missing values), mean age: 22.01 (SD = 1.74). We find that adherence to self-transcendence values positively predicts a social-responsibility driven motivation to study, namely wanting to study to help improve society. This, in turn, predicts the adoption of study-related mastery-approach achievement goals, characterized by a desire to understand course material. These learning-oriented goals negatively predict the acceptance of cheating. Study 2 also reveals that exposing individuals to representations of society characterized by opposing self-enhancement values of power and achievement is sufficient to render non-significant the negative relation between self-transcendence values and acceptance of cheating. The theoretical and practical significance of understanding motivational connections between higher-order life values and context-specific acceptance of dishonest behaviors is discussed.     

The Effect of Religious Belief and Forgiveness on Coping with Diabetes

We aimed to investigate the relationship of religious beliefs and forgiveness in diabetic patients with various sociodemographic characteristics, emotional problems and glycaemic control. The study comprises 100 patients diagnosed with type 2 DM. We used a data collection form, the Scale of Forgiveness and Religiosity (SFR), Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale (PAID), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL). We also recorded blood glucose and HbA1c test results. A statistically significant relationship was determined only between the scores of the STAI-I and the religious belief scales (r = 0.198, p = 0.049). A statistically significant negative relationship was determined between the forgiveness scale points and the BDI (r = 0.326, p = 0.001), the STAI-II (r = 0.308, p = 0.002) and PAID (r = 0.313, p = 0.001) and a positive correlation with ADDQoL (r = 0.284, p = 0.004). To conclude, forgiveness by patient himself or others reduced the emotional problems which were experienced related to diabetes by reducing stress levels and could increase quality of life.     

Study of Spiritual Intelligence and Adjustment Among Arts and Science College Students

A study to evaluate the relationship between the spiritual intelligence and adjustment among the college students was conducted on a sample of 250 students in six various colleges of Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu, India. Gender, religion, community, major subject, educational qualification of father and mother, student locality, college type, father and mother’s occupation and monthly family income (n = 11 variables) were chosen for the study. Test of significance for spiritual intelligence and adjustment was studied and found them nonsignificant except student locality, found to be significant. Two valid and reliable instruments were used to assess student’s spiritual intelligence and adjustment. Correlation and Chi-square analysis using structural equation model were used to analyze these data. Correlation analysis showed significant relationship between the variables among the college students (n = 250). Chi-square analysis of association between adjustments of college students showed that most variables are nonsignificant unlike father’s educational qualification and mother’s occupation. The results disclosed the significant positive relationship with spiritual intelligence and adjustment among adolescents.     

Parent-Offspring Transmission of Internalizing and Sensory over-Responsivity Symptoms in Adolescence

Reactions to sensory experiences are an overlooked correlate of affective regulation, despite the importance of bodily states on psychological processes. Children who display sensory over-responsivity (i.e., adverse reactions to typical sensations) are at greater risk for developing affective disorders. We extended this literature to adolescents and their middle-aged parents. Participants in a birth record-based study of families of adolescent twins (N = 506 families; 1012 adolescents; 53% female) completed a subset of items from the Adult Sensory Profile. We derived adolescent self-reported internalizing disorder symptoms and parent affective diagnoses from structured diagnostic interviews. Structural equation models tested the relationship between parent sensory over-responsivity symptoms and affective diagnoses and their adolescent offspring’s sensory over-responsivity and internalizing symptoms. Adolescent sensory over-responsivity symptoms were correlated with internalizing disorder symptoms. Parents with a diagnosis of anxiety or depression (mothers only) reported more frequent SOR symptoms than parents without a diagnosis. Parent depression was significantly related to adolescent sensory over-responsivity symptoms, over and above parent sensory over-responsivity symptoms (β = 0.26, p < 0.001 for mothers; β = 0.13, p = 0.004 for fathers). Father alcohol abuse/dependency also predicted offspring sensory over-responsivity symptoms. Offspring of parents with affective disorders were at additional risk for sensory dysregulation via parents’ influence on offspring internalizing problems.