Predictors of Psychological Well-Being of Adolescents’ Parents

Informed by theories about processes in families with adolescent children, this study examined the contribution of self-perceived decline in physical and cognitive functioning related to midlife, marital satisfaction, and parent–child conflict to psychological well-being of parents of young adolescents. Parental well-being was conceptualized within Ryff’s multidimensional model, which encompasses six dimensions: Autonomy, Self-Acceptance, Environmental Mastery, Positive Relationships with Others, Personal Growth, and Purpose in Life. In examining relationships between parental well-being and supposed predictors, sociodemographic variables (parental age and education), perceived general life stress, and perceived available social support were controlled for. Participants were Croatian mothers (N?=?356) and fathers (N?=?328) whose oldest child was transitioning to adolescence. Overall, the patterns of associations between the studied predictors and well-being dimensions were similar for mothers and fathers. The main finding of the study was that individual differences in the psychological well-being of adolescents’ parents may be more attributable to self-perceived midlife changes (particularly for mothers) and marital satisfaction (particularly for fathers) than to perceived level of parent–adolescent conflict.     

家庭氛围、子女生活满意度与心理健康代际传递的关系：亲子性别和子女年龄的差异

为探讨家庭环境（家庭氛围）、认知过程（生活满意度）和个人因素（亲子性别和子女年龄）对心理健康代际传递的影响,对591户家庭亲子被试进行调查。结果显示：（1）父母心理健康均正向预测子女心理健康,家庭氛围和子女生活满意度在其中起了重要中介作用;（2）较之于父亲,母亲心理健康对家庭氛围的预测效应更显著,母亲能以家庭氛围和生活满意度为链式多重中介预测子女心理健康,父亲心理健康仅以生活满意度为中介预测子女心理健康;（3）母亲心理健康仅能直接预测女儿的生活满意度和心理健康,父子间代际传递效应高于父女,以及母亲对子女的影响效应随子女年龄增长而提高,父亲的影响效应却在下降。研究结果有助于揭示心理健康代际传递的作用机制,且可丰富心理健康领域的研究。     

Religiosity and its association with subjective well-being and depression among Kuwaiti and Palestinian Muslim children and adolescents

The present study sought to investigate the association of religiosity and the self-ratings of happiness, satisfaction with life, mental health, physical health, and depression among Kuwaiti (N?=?1937) and Palestinian (N?=?1009) Muslim children and adolescents (M _age?=?14.1, SD?=?1.4). They responded to five self-rating scales and the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale. It was found that Palestinian males were significantly less religious than all other groups, while Kuwaiti males and females had significantly higher mean scores on happiness and satisfaction than Palestinians. Kuwaiti males had significantly higher mental health and less depression than all other groups. Among all the four groups, the correlations between religiosity and well-being rating scales were positively significant, but negatively significant with depression. The principal components analysis yielded a single salient factor for all groups and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. depression.” It was concluded that clinicians treating depression will probably make use of its negative association with religiosity mainly among Muslim clients.     

Parents’ Planning for Physical Activity for their Pre-School Aged Children: The Role of Psycho-Social Mediators and Moderators

Despite the childhood benefits gained from engaging in adequate physical activity, Australian preschool-aged children are reported to spend little time being physically active. Parental planning is important to engaging preschool-aged children in physical activity. Behavioral barriers, normative support, and self-efficacy have been identified as key determinants of parental decision making. However, the interplay among these factors is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the role of these psycho-social variables on parents’ planning and behavior for their preschool-aged children’s physical activity. A survey at two points in time was conducted in 208 Australian parents (n?=?139 mothers, M _age?=?36.43 years, SD?=?5.04; n?=?69 fathers, M _age?=?36.33 years, SD?=?6.5) of children aged between 2 and 5 years. A conditional process analysis was conducted that integrates mediation and moderation analyses. The results showed that planning and behavioral barriers predicted behavior, with a moderation effect also identified; more planning helped compensate for barriers. Normative support predicted both planning and behavior. In addition, an interaction between normative support and self-efficacy emerged. Parents with high self-efficacy engaged in high levels of planning, independent of normative support. Low self-efficacy with low normative support resulted in the lowest amount of planning; however, in the absence of normative support a high level of self-efficacy could compensate for it. Current findings provide avenues for future research to develop interventions to test the efficacy of these mechanisms in promoting parents’ ability to ensure preschool-aged children are active.     

The Development,Pilot, and Process Evaluation of a Parent Mental Health Literacy Intervention Through Community Sports Clubs

The mental health literacy of parents may be critical in facilitating positive child and adolescent mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop, pilot, and evaluate a targeted parent mental health literacy intervention through community sports clubs. Sixty six parents (M_age?=?44.86?±?5.2 years) participated in either a brief mental health literacy intervention workshop delivered through community sporting clubs (n?=?42) or a community-matched control group (n?=?24). Participants’ mental health literacy was assessed at baseline, post-intervention and at 1 month follow-up. A mixed methods process evaluation was conducted with intervention participants to determine the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Participants in the experimental group showed greater increases in depression literacy, anxiety literacy, knowledge of help seeking options and confidence to assist an adolescent experiencing a mental health disorder, compared to those in the control group. Post-intervention changes in the experimental group were maintained at 1 month follow-up. A mixed methods process evaluation revealed that parents found the intervention content engaging, relevant to their needs, and practically useful in terms of actively supporting adolescent mental health. Findings provide evidence that a brief, targeted intervention through community sports clubs might be a particularly useful method of improving parental mental health literacy and facilitating positive youth mental health outcomes.     

Mothers’ Domestic Responsibilities and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Moderating Role of Gender Essentialist Beliefs About Parenthood

The present work investigates how the increased domestic responsibilities created by the Spring 2020 lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway and gender ideologies relate to the well-being of mothers with elementary school children. In June 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online study including current and retrospective measures with 180 mothers (M_age?=?39.96 years, SD?=?6.11) of elementary school children across Norway. First, in line with earlier research on the strain of the pandemic on parents, and especially mothers, we found that Norwegian mothers’ well-being during the lockdown significantly declined compared to before the lockdown (both measured retrospectively). Furthermore, mothers’ well-being after the Spring 2020 lockdown did not immediately return to pre-lockdown levels. Finally, we predicted that gender ideologies (i.e., essentialist beliefs about parenthood) would exacerbate the negative impact of increased domestic responsibilities (i.e., childcare and housework) on mothers’ well-being (i.e., higher standard-higher stress hypothesis). As predicted, for mothers who more strongly endorsed the belief that mothers are instinctively and innately better caretakers than fathers, perceptions of increased domestic responsibilities were associated with lower well-being post-lockdown. These findings point to the specific challenges mothers face in times of crisis, and the importance of addressing and confronting seemingly benevolent ideologies about motherhood that place additional burdens on women.

     

Postpartum Depression in Mothers and Fathers: The Role of Parenting Efficacy Expectations During the Transition to Parenthood

Research demonstrates that belief in one’s effectiveness as a parent (parenting efficacy) is linked to numerous positive outcomes for new parents. Conversely, the perceived inability to meet expectations is associated with negative mental health consequences for mothers and fathers. In the present paper we examine the impact of parenting efficacy expectations on the mental health statuses of new parents. Using three waves of data spanning from the prenatal period to the 4-months postpartum period from a sample of 150 first-time mothers and fathers in the Midwestern United States, we find that parenting efficacy is negatively associated with postpartum depression (PPD) for both mothers and fathers throughout the transition period. We also find that mothers and fathers whose parenting efficacy experiences were more negative than expected reported higher levels of PPD at 1-month postpartum. This effect dissipates for mothers, but not fathers, by 4-months postpartum, suggesting differences in the experiences of mothers and fathers during this transition. We conclude that research on the transition to parenthood should continue to include fathers in an effort to better understand the mental health consequences of becoming a parent for the first time, as well as enhance interventions designed to assist couples experiencing this important transition.     

Understanding the Progression from Early Alcohol Use Experimentation to Alcohol Use Disorder: Testing Vulnerability by Experience Interactions Using a Two-Part Latent Growth Curve Model

Most adolescents experiment with alcohol, but a smaller percentage advance to heavy alcohol use (AU) and AU disorder (AUD). Understanding for whom and how early risk leads to AUD is of interest to prevention, treatment, and etiology of AUD. Informed by developmental and behavioral neuroscience theory, the current study tested whether temperament (effortful control, surgency, and negative affect), peer AU (multi-reporter), and AU with parents’ permission interacted to distinguish youth who experiment with alcohol from those who escalate to AUD. Community adolescents (N?=?765, 53% female) were assessed annually for seven years (M_age?=?11.8, range: 10–13 at Year 1; M_age?=?18.7; range?=?17–20 at year 7). Temperament by early experience interactions were expected to predict amount of AU. Amount of AU was expected to mediate the relationship between the interactions and AUD symptoms (assessed at Years 3 and 7, M_age?=?13.8 and 18.7) above and beyond a range of confounds (e.g., problem behavior and parental AU and AUD). Supporting hypotheses, effortful control and surgency interacted with AU with parents’ permission and peer AU, respectively, to predict higher amount of AU (R²?=?0.47) and AUD symptoms (R²?=?0.03). Results support developmental and behavioral neuroscience theory. High surgency and low effortful control in conjunction with peer AU and AU with parents’ permission were associated with large effects on AU and moderate mediated effects through AU to AUD. AU with parents’ permission was risky at low and high effortful control and protective when peers used alcohol.

     

Relations of Parenting Styles and Friendship Quality to Self-Esteem,Life Satisfaction and Happiness in Adolescents

This study aims to examine the effects of mother’s and father’s perceived parenting style and friendship quality on several indicators of adolescents’ well-being. High school students (n?=?401) completed scales assessing their perception of their mother’s and father’s parenting style (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive), quality of friendship, self-esteem, general satisfaction with life and subjective happiness. The results showed that the perceived parenting style of both parents as well as the quality of friendship had significant effects on adolescent’s well-being, while the interaction effects of friendship quality and either parent’s parenting style were not significant. Adolescents of authoritative and permissive mothers reported higher self-esteem and life satisfaction than adolescents who had authoritarian mothers. Also, adolescents who considered their mothers authoritative were happier than those with authoritarian mothers. Adolescents who perceived their fathers as authoritative or permissive showed higher results on all assessed indicators of well-being than adolescents whose fathers were authoritarian. Furthermore, adolescents with a higher quality of friendship reported more happiness, life-satisfaction and self-esteem. The obtained results highlight the importance of the role of parents and peers in fostering positive development in adolescence.     

Links Between Parents’ and Children’s Levels of Gratitude, Life Satisfaction, and Hope

Decades of research confirm familial links in mental illness, but little is known about the relationships between parents’ and children’s levels of positive emotions. The current study used a past, present, and future framework of positive emotions to explore parent and child levels of gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope. Correlations between self-reported levels of gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope were analyzed in a sample of 148 fourth and fifth grade students and their biological parents (137 mothers, 109 fathers). Findings include statistically significant relationships between (1) mother and child gratitude (but not father and child gratitude) and (2) child life satisfaction and both mothers’ and fathers’ life satisfaction. No significant relationships emerged between parent hope and child hope, although higher parent life satisfaction was associated with higher child hope. Research is needed to investigate the causes of the links identified in the current study.     

Emotional Support from Parents and In-Laws: the Roles of Gender and Contact

After the birth of a child, new mothers and fathers commonly have a substantial amount of contact with their parents and in-laws. However, this contact may not always result in emotional support. We tested if contact, rather than geographical distance, influenced emotional support received from parents and in-laws and whether there were gender differences in these associations. Online questionnaire data were collected in 2008 from a community sample of U.S. first-time mothers (n?=?93) and fathers (n?=?93) who were in a heterosexual relationship and living together. Results indicated that for new mothers, greater contact with own parents and in-laws was related to receiving more emotional support. However, for mothers, greater contact with parents also was related to less emotional support from in-laws. For new fathers, contact was not related to emotional support from either parents or in-laws. These findings suggest that receiving support as a result of contact with family members may be gendered, particularly for new mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with their in-laws. The current study highlights the importance of reducing stigmas about men and their emotional needs and of encouraging new fathers to seek and receive support from family during the transition to parenthood.     

Children’s Life Satisfaction: Developmental Trajectories and Environmental and Personality Predictors

Life satisfaction is a key indicator of children’s healthy development. Although the developmental changes of life satisfaction during adolescence have been investigated, the developmental trajectories of life satisfaction and related predictors during childhood remain unclear. Thus, the current study aimed to identify the developmental trajectories of life satisfaction covering the period from middle to late childhood as well as to examine the predictive roles of environmental factors (i.e., family dysfunction and basic psychological needs satisfaction at school), personality factors (i.e., neuroticism and extraversion), and their interactions in these developmental trajectories. An accelerated longitudinal design was used with Chinese elementary school students (N?=?1069, 45.8% girls, M _age?=?9.43, SD?=?0.95) of 3 cohorts (grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5) on 4 occasions at 6-month intervals. Growth mixture modeling analyses revealed three distinct trajectories of life satisfaction: “High-Stable” (88.8%), “High-Decreasing” (6.8%), and “Low-Increasing” (4.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that family dysfunction and neuroticism served as risk factors for adverse developmental trajectories of life satisfaction; whereas basic psychological needs satisfaction at school served as a protective factor. Furthermore, the interaction between family dysfunction and extraversion suggested that higher levels of extraversion buffered children against the negative effect of family dysfunction on the development of life satisfaction. The identification of three heterogeneous trajectory groups of children’s life satisfaction and key personality and environmental predictors associated with the trajectories suggests that specific interventions need to be tailored to the unique characteristics of the relevant trajectory groups.

     

Effects of Parenting and Deviant Peers on Early to Mid-Adolescent Conduct Problems

We investigated the influence of effective parenting behaviors (father and mother reports) and deviant peer association (adolescent reports) on subsequent young adolescent conduct problems (teacher reports) during grades 7–9, using structural equation modeling. Data were from a sample of 226 rural adolescents (n?=?112 boys; n?=?107 girls; n?=?7 gender unknown), their parents, and teachers. Both effective parenting and association with deviant peers influenced later conduct problems; however, the pattern of influence varied across time and between fathers and mothers, with complex patterns of interactions between effective parenting and peer deviance. From seventh to eighth grade, effective parenting by both mothers and fathers buffered the effect of higher levels of peer deviance on conduct problems across adolescent gender. From eighth to ninth grade (i.e., transition into high school), fathers’ effective parenting buffered the effects of deviant peer association on their daughters’ conduct problems, whereas both fathers’ and mothers’ influence was stronger for sons when deviant peer associations were lower. Analyses also evaluated bi-directional longitudinal effects among adolescents, parents, and peers. Although varying by parent and adolescent gender or adolescent age, results generally supported the protective effects of parenting on their children’s conduct problems during early to mid adolescence.     

Parenting Stress and Sexual Satisfaction Among First-Time Parents: A Dyadic Approach

The present paper reports on longitudinal associations between parenting stress and sexual satisfaction among 169 heterosexual couples in the first year after the birth of a first child. Actor Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM) was used to model the effects of the mother’s and father’s parenting stress at 6 months after birth on sexual satisfaction at 1 year after birth. Based on social constructivist theory and scarcity theory, two hypotheses were posed: (a) mothers’ parenting stress will predict their own later sexual satisfaction whereas fathers’ parenting stress will not predict their own later sexual satisfaction (actor effects) and (b) mothers’ parenting stress will predict fathers’ later sexual satisfaction but fathers’ parenting stress will not predict mothers’ later sexual satisfaction (partner effects). On average, parents were only somewhat satisfied with their sex life. The first hypothesis was supported as greater parenting stress significantly predicted lower sexual satisfaction for mothers but not for fathers. The second hypothesis was also supported as mothers’ greater parenting stress significantly predicted less sexual satisfaction in fathers, whereas fathers’ parenting stress did not significantly predict mothers’ sexual satisfaction. We discuss how our results may be interpreted considering the social construction of gendered family roles.     

Family and food variables that influence life satisfaction of mother-father-adolescent triads in a South American country

This study explored the influence of each family member’s life satisfaction on the other family members’ life satisfaction in mother-father-adolescent triads. We also explored the influence of each family member’s satisfaction with food-related life and family life on their own life satisfaction (LS) as well as on the other family members’ LS in mother-father-adolescent triads. The influence of family eating habits, food-related parenting practices used by each parent and sociodemographic characteristics on each family member’s LS were also explored. A survey was applied to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child between 10 and 17 years of age in Temuco, Chile. The questionnaire included the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale, Satisfaction with Family Life scale, Adapted Healthy Eating Index, Family Food Behavior Survey and Family Eating Habits Questionnaire. Frequency and sources of family meals as well as sociodemographic characteristics were also consulted. Three multivariate ordinal logit models were proposed, with the dependent variable LS in the three subsamples: mothers, fathers and adolescents. The three logit models were significant, but differed in the explanatory variables. Mothers’ LS was influenced by their children’s LS and vice versa. Mothers’ LS was positively influenced by both their own satisfaction with family life and the fathers’ satisfaction with family life and vice versa. Children’s LS was also positively influenced by their own satisfaction with food-related and family life. Both parents’ LS was influenced by eating habits, food-related parenting practices and sociodemographic characteristics, but in different ways. Therefore, different interventions should be implemented to improve each family member’s life satisfaction.

     

Self‐Concept Clarity in Adolescents and Parents: A Six‐Wave Longitudinal and Multi‐Informant Study on Development and Intergenerational Transmission

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to disentangle patterns of change and stability in self‐concept clarity (SCC) in adolescents and in their parents and (b) to examine processes of intergenerational transmission of SCC in families with adolescents. Participants were 497 Dutch families including the father (baseline M_age = 46.74), the mother (baseline M_age = 44.41), and their adolescent child (56.9% males; baseline M_age = 13.03). Each family member completed the SCC scale for six waves, with a one‐year interval between each wave. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that adolescent boys reported higher SCC than girls. Furthermore, fathers and mothers reported higher SCC than their children, and it increased over time. Indices of SCC rank‐order stability were high and increased from T1 to T2, T2 to T3, etc., for each family member, especially for adolescents. Multivariate latent growth curve analyses and cross‐lagged models highlighted a unidirectional transmission process, with fathers’ and mothers’ SCC influencing adolescents’ SCC. This result was not moderated by adolescent gender. These findings indicate that self‐concept clarity is transmitted from parents to children.     

Adolescent Cell Phone Communications with Mothers and Fathers: Content,Patterns, and Preferences

Adolescents participated in qualitative interviews (N?=?40) and permitted researchers to check their cell phone histories (N?=?35) for the content and frequency of text and call communications with parents. Communications focused predominantly on day-to-day “managerial” aspects of parent–child relationships but also facilitated emotional connections between adolescents and parents. Adolescents preferred to use texts to engage in managerial communications and calls to connect emotionally, but logistical constraints resulted in most cell phone communications between adolescents and parents involving calls. Participants communicated more with mothers than fathers, regardless of communication content or medium. This was true regardless of family structure, although gender-of-parent differences were accentuated for adolescents in mother-only households. This pattern was explained by both greater maternal accessibility and adolescent preferences for communication with mothers. Communications with fathers tended to occur either when mothers were not available or when the communication was focused on a highly specific set of stereotypically masculine content areas.     

Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N?=?108, M _age ?=?9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N?=?104, M _age ?=?10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.     

The use of a mental imagery intervention to enhance integrated regulation for exercise among women commencing an exercise program

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a mental imagery intervention designed to enhance integrated regulation for exercise among women commencing an exercise program. Healthy women who previously did not exercise regularly (N?=?102; M _age ?=?29.54, SD?=?8.34) participated in an 8-week cardiovascular exercise program in which they exercised 3 times each week at a moderate intensity. The intervention group (n?=?51) received weekly guided imagery sessions which were administered in person via audio recording. A comparison group (i.e., attention control; n?=?51) received health information delivered in the same manner. Despite substantial dropout of participants from both groups, the analysis revealed that participants in the imagery group experienced greater changes in integration than participants in the comparison group. These findings support the utility of imagery interventions for influencing exercise-related cognitions, and more specifically integrated regulation.     

A qualitative evaluation of a mental health literacy intervention for parents delivered through community sport clubs

Intervention studies have rarely targeted parent mental health literacy despite its importance for adolescent mental health. This qualitative study evaluated the experiences of parents (n = 352) who participated in the Ahead of the Game mental health literacy workshop delivered through community sport clubs. Moreover, the study aimed to investigate the relevance, retention and use of intervention content by parents, assess the acceptability and feasibility of delivering mental health education through community sport clubs, and identify strategies for increased engagement. In total, 17 parents (13 mothers, four fathers) participated in semi-structured interviews up to one month after the workshop. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed that parents perceived mental health education as important and valuable, and believed the community sport club was an appropriate setting to discuss adolescent mental health. Parents reported increased awareness and knowledge of mental health disorders and help-seeking options, and increased confidence and preparedness to communicate and assist someone experiencing a mental health issue. The workshop stimulated conversation about mental health between parents and their children, and between parents within and outside the sport club community. Parents used information and resources provided in the workshop to help those in their networks and reflected back on the workshop when noticing changes in their adolescent’s behavior. Potential additions to the workshop (as suggested by parents) included increased discussion among parents as well as opportunities for further information sessions or tailored online material. Future research might look to engage more fathers, actively encourage parents to aid in the recruitment of others, and investigate long-term adolescent mental health outcomes.