Parent-child sexual discussion: perceived communicator style and subsequent behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived parental sexual communicator style and adolescent sexual behavior and information accuracy. Two hundred thirty-four college students provided data on their perceptions of parental sexual communicator style as well as self-reports of sexual behavior and knowledge across three time frames (junior high school, high school, and college). Significant relationships were found between perceived parental sexual communicator styles and sexual activity, contraceptive use, and sexual knowledge accuracy. In addition, significant differences were found between males and females on their sexual knowledge accuracy (females reported a higher level of sexual knowledge than did males). The findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research in the area of parent-adolescent sexual communication are offered.     

Long-term support and personal adjustment of adolescent and older mothers.

Adolescent and older mothers reported the size and quality of social networks and perceptions of family support at 1, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Maternal behavior, general life satisfaction, and parental satisfaction were assessed at 12 months. No significant differences were found in the size of social networks and quality of interactions within those networks, though older mothers had significantly higher scores on perceived family support than did adolescent mothers. Perceived family support and quality of interactions within the social network generally were associated positively with maternal behavior, life satisfaction, and parental satisfaction. This was true in more cases for the adolescent than for older mothers.     

Parents' perfectionism and its relation to child rearing behaviors

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between parents' perfectionism and self‐reported parenting behaviors. The study included 786 parents (417 mothers and 369 fathers) of high school students. Results showed that parents' positive and negative perfectionism were differently related to specific forms of child rearing practices. Namely, positive perfectionism was positively, while negative perfectionism was negatively related to parental acceptance for both mothers and fathers. Mothers' and fathers' negative perfectionism was positively related to parental criticism and permissiveness. In addition, fathers' positive perfectionism was negatively associated with permissive child rearing practices. After controlling for background variables, parents' positive and negative perfectionism explained significant amounts of variance in all self‐reported parenting dimensions for fathers and significantly accounted for the variance of parental acceptance and criticism for mothers. According to our findings, parents' perfectionism might have an important role in shaping parenting behaviors.     

Taiwanese adolescents' perceptions and attitudes regarding the internet: exploring gender differences

The purpose of this study was to explore adolescents' perceptions and attitudes regarding the Internet, by gender. Data were collected from 636 high school students in Taiwan. It was found that male adolescents perceived the Internet more as a "toy," while female adolescents perceived the Internet more as a "technology," "tool" or "tour." Results indicated that females held more pragmatic views of the Internet, whereas males believed they could obtain more enjoyment from the Internet. In addition, males expressed significantly more positive attitudes than did females on two aspects of the Internet: usefulness and perceived control. However, no significant gender differences were found in terms of the affection and behavior aspects of using the Internet. More importantly, females tended to show higher Internet self-efficacy than did males. It is suggested that gender differences regarding the Internet might be narrowing because female adolescents are acquiring more experience with it.     

The prospective relationship between child personality and perceived parenting: Mediation by parental sense of competence

This study examined the prospective relationship between childhood Big Five personality characteristics and perceived parenting in adolescence. In addition, we investigated whether this relationship was mediated by parental sense of competence, and whether associations were different for mothers and fathers. For 274 children, teachers reported on children’s Big Five personality characteristics at Time 1, mothers and fathers reported on their sense of competence at Time 2, and the children (who had now become adolescents) rated their parents’ warmth, overreactivity and psychological control at Time 3. Mediation analysis revealed both direct and indirect effects. No differences in associations were found for perceived parenting of mothers and fathers. This study demonstrates that child personality in late childhood is significantly related to perceived parental warmth, overreactivity and psychological control in adolescence. In addition, parental sense of competence mediates the relationship between child conscientiousness and perceived parental warmth, overreactivity and psychological control.     

Differences between fathers and mothers in the treatment of, and relationship with, their teenage children: perceptions of Chinese adolescents

Chinese adolescents' perceptions of differences between mothers and fathers in parenting styles, parent-adolescent communication (frequency and related feelings), and quality of the parent-adolescent relationship were assessed via questionnaires and individual interviews. Fathers, as compared with mothers, were perceived to be less responsive, less demanding, to demonstrate less concern, but to be more harsh, and paternal parenting was less liked. There was less communication with fathers, and adolescents reported more negative feelings when communicating with fathers than with mothers. They evaluated the father-adolescent relationship more negatively than they did the mother-adolescent relationship. Adolescent females, as compared with males, perceived their parents to be more demanding but less harsh. Parenting characteristics were rated less favorably across time.     

初中生感知校园氛围与网络游戏成瘾的关系:学业自我效能感的中介效应与父母学业卷入的调节效应

采用问卷法对462名初中生进行调查,考察了初中生学业自我效能感在感知校园氛围与网络游戏成瘾(Internet gaming disorder, IGD)关系间的中介效应,以及父母学业卷入对这一中介过程的调节效应。结果发现:(1)在控制了性别、年龄、家庭月收入和父母受教育水平后,感知校园氛围显著负向预测初中生IGD;(2)学业自我效能感在感知校园氛围与IGD关系间起着显著的部分中介效应;(3)父母学业卷入对中介路径"感知校园氛围→学业自我效能感→IGD"具有显著的调节效应,即相对于父母学业卷入水平低的初中生而言,这一间接效应对于父母学业卷入水平高的初中生更强。实践干预时,可以通过提高青少年的学业自我效能感和/或调整父母学业卷入程度来预防和控制青少年IGD。     

The relationship between positive parental involvement and identity achievement during adolescence

Parental support and provision of structure are linked to positive outcomes in adolescents, yet the influence of parental involvement on identity development during adolescence has not been clearly established. The present study examined the relationship between adolescent identity achievement and parental support, social monitoring, and school monitoring among 10th and 12th graders. It was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring would be associated with higher identity achievement. It was also our goal to clarify the relationship between gender and adolescent identity achievement. The girls in this study reported higher levels of each of the positive parental involvement factors than did boys, but there were no gender differences in identity achievement. Parental support and monitoring of social and school activities were significant predictors of identity achievement across age and gender. Results also suggested that the association between parental involvement and identity achievement differs by gender and it changes as a function of age.     

The relation between remembered parental acceptance in childhood and self‐acceptance among young Turkish adults

This study examined the relation between young adults' age and remembrances of parental acceptance in childhood, and their current self‐acceptance. The study was based on a sample of 236 young adults in Turkey (139 women and 97 men). The adult version of the Parental Acceptance‐Rejection/Control Questionnaire for mothers and fathers along with the Self‐Acceptance subscale of the Psychological Well‐Being Scale, and the Personal Information Form were used as measures. Results showed that both men and women tended to remember having been accepted in childhood by both their mothers and fathers. Women, however, reported more maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood than did men. Similarly, the level of self‐acceptance was high among both men and women. However, women's self‐acceptance was higher than men's. Correlational analyses showed that self‐acceptance was positively related to remembrances of maternal and paternal acceptance among both women and men. Results indicated that age and remembered paternal acceptance significantly predicted women's self‐acceptance. Age and remembered maternal acceptance made significant and independent contributions to men's self‐acceptance. Men's remembrances of paternal acceptance in childhood did not make significant contribution to their self‐acceptance. Finally, the relation between women's age and self‐acceptance was significantly moderated by remembrances of paternal acceptance in childhood.     

Sexual preference,feminism, and women's perceptions of their parents

In an attempt to clarify the relation between parental variables, sexual preference, and sex-role attitudes, three groups of women were studied: lesbian feminists, heterosexual feminists, and heterosexual traditional women. The women were asked about their perceptions of their parents when they were in high school. The groups differed more from each other with respect to their perceptions of their fathers than their mothers. The perceived attitudes of the father were much more important in differentiating lesbian feminists from heterosexuals than in differentiating heterosexual feminists from heterosexual traditionals. Both the heterosexual groups (feminist and traditionals) reported having a more affectionate and involved father who also encouraged them more in the expression of anger than the lesbian feminists reported. The results suggest women's father relationships must not be obscured in research and support Johnson's hypothesis that the father relationship is more central than the mother relationship in sex typing and especially in the specifically sexual aspects of sex typing.     

The role of family in adolescents' peer acceptance

The study examined the relative importance of the quality of relationships with parents and grandparents, maternal acceptance and control, the structure of the family, the number of siblings, and adolescents' own attachment style to their perceived peer acceptance. The sample consisted of 300 adolescents (mean age = 15.5) and 300 mothers (mean age = 41.5). Regarding the role of family relationships, the results indicated that only the quality of the mother–child relationship was related to adolescents' peer acceptance. Maternal acceptance and control, however, were unrelated to youth's perceptions of acceptance by peers. Adolescents who had more siblings, lived in a single‐mother family, and were high in anxious attachment reported lower peer acceptance.     

RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENT MOTHERS: FREQUENCY, DYADIC NATURE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RELATIONSHIP DISSOLUTION AND MENTAL HEALTH

This article examines whether the frequency, dyadic nature, and potential implications of relationship violence differ in parenting ( n = 163) and nulliparous (i.e., never given birth; n = 165) adolescent females from low-income, urban communities. We found the frequency and dyadic nature of violence did not differ between parental status groups. Over half of the adolescents in both groups reported relationship violence in the past year, with female-enacted violence more common than male-enacted violence. However, significant group differences emerged in the relationship between violence and subsequent relationship dissolution and mental health. Higher levels of female-enacted violence predicted relationship dissolution among nulliparous adolescents but predicted increases in depression in parenting adolescents. Findings highlight the need for violence prevention programs tailored specifically to the developmental and contextual needs of adolescent mothers.     

The roles of respect for parental authority and parenting practices in parent-child conflict among African American, Latino, and European American families

In this study, the authors examined whether parent-child conflict during the middle childhood years varied among families characterized as having different cultural traditions regarding issues of respect for parental authority and parenting practices. The sample included 133 African American, European American, and Latina girls (M age = 8.41 years) and their mothers. African American and Latina girls showed significantly more respect for parental authority than did European American girls. Furthermore, African American and Latina mothers reported significantly more intense arguments when respect was low than did European American mothers. Higher levels of discipline and better communication by mothers were both associated with reports of lower frequency of conflict; ethnicity did not moderate this association. Thus, respect for authority was most salient to group differences in conflict.     

Environmental and Family Associations With Racism1

Environmental and family factors related to racism in college students were investigated. Students (N=114) at a southern liberal‐arts college filled out an extensive survey about childhood activities and family of origin, and 40 of their mothers completed a similar survey. The Attitudes Toward Blacks ( Brigham, 1993 ) scale measured racism. Several hypotheses were supported. Students who exhibited less racism also reported that they made more diverse friends in school, came from a more diverse hometown, had diverse encounters and friendships at an earlier age, and had more positive foreign travel experiences. In addition, more racist students perceived their mothers as being more prejudiced while they were growing up, and they perceived their fathers as being more prejudiced currently. Finally, students judged their mothers as less racist than their fathers, and also reported that their mothers exhibited less racist behaviors than did their fathers. The importance of racially diverse experiences and friendships early in life are discussed as means to decrease racism.     

Parental role participation and perceptions of responsibility for children's school adjustment

This research examined the effects of parental participation in work and family roles on perceptions of responsibility for their children's school adjustment. We hypothesized that mothers would be perceived as being more responsible than fathers, and that participation in nontraditional work and family roles would influence perceived responsibility. Contrary to the first hypothesis, college student subjects perceived fathers as being more responsible than mothers for good adjustment, but not for poor adjustment. Consistent with hypotheses, role participation influenced perceptions of responsibility, but only for mothers. Divorced mothers were credited less and blamed more for school adjustment than married mothers, especially when they worked outside the home. Implications of the findings for future research on role participation are discussed.     

Interobserver and test-retest reliability of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire

Forty-five Swedish couples ( N =90) independently completed a translation of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) when their infants were 3 and 8 months of age. There was greater agreeement between mothers and fathers at 8 than at 3 months, perhaps because fathers became more involved as their children grew older. At neither age was agreement as great as that reported by Rothbart (1981) in the USA. Parents did not agree on the dimensions Duration of Orienting and Soothability. In the eyes of both parents, there was significant, although modest, stability over time on most dimensions of infant temperament. There was least perceived stability in Distress to Approaching Stimuli (Fear). These results suggest that the IBQ (even in a Swedish translation) may be a reliable and valid way of measuring parental perceptions of infant temperament.     

青少年和母亲知觉的差异及其与青少年问题行为的关系

从辽宁辽阳市选取605名小学五年级至初中二年级、高中一年级至高中三年级学生及其母亲为被试,探讨青少年与其母亲对父母冲突知觉的差异,以及这种知觉差异与青少年问题行为的关系。要求青少年和其母亲分别报告父母过去一年中在10个方面的冲突频率,同时要求青少年报告自己在过去一年中20种问题行为的发生频率。研究发现：青少年对父母冲突的知觉明显比母亲消极,但是到了高中．两者知觉的差异不再明显;青少年与母亲在指向父母自身冲突方面的知觉差异大于指向孩子的父母冲突方面两者的知觉差异;青少年知觉到的父母冲突多于母亲知觉到的父母冲突的人数比例高于青少年知觉到的父母冲突少于母亲知觉到的父母冲突的人数比例;青少年与母亲对父母冲突知觉的差异会增加青少年出现问题行为的可能性。     

Perceived parental warmth and adjustment among Ethiopian adolescents

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adolescents’ perception of parental warmth and their self-esteem, school adjustment and depression symptoms. Data were collected from 809 adolescents (female=47%; mean age=16.8 years; SD=1.58) from four different high schools in Ethiopia. The data were analysed for differences in perceived parental warmth and adjustment by gender. Results suggest higher levels of parental warmth to be associated with comparatively lower school adjustment and depressive symptoms as well as higher self-esteem in girls rather than boys. A gendered effect seems to explain parent warmth influences of the personal and school adjustment of Ethiopian adolescents.     

Childhood disruptive behaviors and family functioning in clinically referred children: Are girls different from boys?

Baseline assessments of 4 to 8-year-old children, 26 girls and 101 boys, referred to outpatient treatment for disruptive behaviors, were examined, focusing on possible differences between the functioning of boys and girls and their families. Child variables included diagnostic information, measures of disruptive behaviors, social competence, and independent observations of child behaviors. A variety of family variables, such as information regarding parenting practices, parental stress, and depression were included. Teacher reports of disruptive behaviors and social competence at school were included. Teacher ratings of child functioning indicated that boys displayed significantly more externalizing behaviors and they were less socially competent than girls. Parents perceived both girls and boys as highly oppositional and aggressive, and generally speaking, differences were few. Nevertheless, the level of stress was higher in girls' than in boys' families, and mothers of girls reported of higher levels of depressive symptoms. Girls and boys did not differ regarding diagnostic status.     

青少年父母支持的特点及其对社会适应的影响:情绪智力的中介作用

本研究旨在考察青少年父母支持的特点,并探讨父母支持、情绪智力对社会适应的影响。采用《青少年父母社会支持问卷》、《青少年情绪智力问卷》和《青少年社会适应状况评估问卷》对2623名中学生进行调查。结果发现:(1)青少年所获得的父母支持总体状况良好,且存在显著的性别和年级差异:女生在情感支持和陪伴支持方面显著高于男生,在肯定价值和工具性支持方面不存在显著的性别差异;父母支持的4个维度都表现出随年级增长而下降的趋势,高二年级的父母支持显著低于初一、初二年级。(2)父母支持、情绪智力和社会适应的简单相关分析发现,父母支持与积极社会适应显著正相关,与消极社会适应显著负相关;情绪智力与积极社会适应显著正相关,与消极社会适应显著负相关;父母支持与情绪智力显著正相关。(3)父母支持与青少年社会适应的典型相关分析表明,两者的整体相关显著,父母支持组变量可被典型变量解释的比例为5.85%,社会适应组变量可被典型变量解释的比例为28.5%,冗余指数分别为1.23、5.99。(4)情绪智力在中学生父母支持和社会适应之间起完全中介作用。