The role of psychological control,socioeconomic status and academic achievement in parents' educational aspirations for their adolescent children

The present study examined the associations between mothers' and fathers' psychological control, socioeconomic status (SES) and their role in parents' educational aspirations for their adolescent children. Moreover, we examined to what extent SES and psychological control predicted their child's grade point average (GPA) and educational aspirations. A total of 1,034 Finnish adolescents aged 15 to 16 and their parents (720 mothers, 542 fathers) were surveyed at the beginning of the last grade of compulsory school. The results showed that the use of psychological control was more common among parents with lower SES. Moreover, the lower parents' SES was and the more psychological control they imposed, the lower were their educational aspirations for their adolescent children and lower was their child's GPA. The impact of SES was partially mediated by psychological control. The effects were similar for mothers and fathers.     

Discrepancies Between Parent and Adolescent Beliefs About Daily Life Topics and Performance on an Emotion Recognition Task

Parents and children and adolescents commonly disagree in their perceptions of a variety of behaviors, including the family relationship and environment, and child and adolescent psychopathology. To this end, numerous studies have examined to what extent increased discrepant perceptions—particularly with regard to perceptions of the family relationship and environment—predict increased child and adolescent psychopathology. Parents’ and children and adolescents’ abilities to decode and identify others’ emotions (i.e., emotion recognition) may play a role in the link between discrepant perceptions and child and adolescent psychopathology. We examined parents’ and adolescents’ emotion recognition abilities in relation to discrepancies between parent and adolescent perceptions of daily life topics. In a sample of 50 parents and adolescents ages 14-to-17 years (M?=?15.4 years, 20 males, 54 % African-American), parents and adolescents were each administered a widely used performance-based measure of emotion recognition. Parents and adolescents were also administered a structured interview designed to directly assess each of their perceptions of the extent to which discrepancies existed in their beliefs about daily life topics (e.g., whether adolescents should complete their homework and carry out household chores). Interestingly, lower parent and adolescent emotion recognition performance significantly related to greater parent and adolescent perceived discrepant beliefs about daily life topics. We observed this relation whilst accounting for adolescent age and gender and levels of parent-adolescent conflict. These findings have important implications for understanding and using informant discrepancies in both basic developmental psychopathology research and applied research in clinic settings (e.g., discrepant views on therapeutic goals).     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Party Preferences in Multiparty Contexts: Examining Parental Socialization Processes in the Netherlands

Research shows that parents have a strong influence on the party preferences of their children. Yet little is known about how such preferences are transmitted in multiparty systems with weak party identification and high electoral volatility. We propose a model of intergenerational transmission that includes both direct effects of parents' party preferences on those of their children, as well as indirect effects through left–right and issue positions. We test this model with original survey data of Dutch adolescents (14–20 years old) and their parents (N = 751 adolescent-parent pairs). We find two paths through which parents exert influence on the party preferences of their adolescent children. On the first path, parental party preferences function as a direct predictor of adolescent party preferences. On the second path, adolescent left–right and issue positions function as a mediator between parental left–right and issue positions and adolescent party preferences, with the effect of left–right positions being stronger than that of issue positions. The frequency with which adolescents discuss political topics with their parents moderates these effects.     

Borderline and psychotic adolescents' relationship to their parents: a therapeutic point of view

This study investigated the parents of 100 psychotic and borderline adolescents, and their relationships with their adolescent children. The incidence of psychiatric disorders among the parents, and the incidence of one-parent homes, as well as the divorce rate of biological parents, are given. A direct assessment of the number of pathological relationships between adolescents and parents, defined from a therapeutic point of view, was also made. Examples are given of parental pathology or marital discord concealed in the adolescents' pathology, or in the parent-adolescent relationship. It was concluded that the assessment of parents and their relationships with the adolescents is important for the treatment of the adolescent.     

Predictors of perceived satisfaction with parental control in Chinese adolescents: a 3-year longitudinal study

Over three consecutive years, 2,559 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 12.65 years at Wave 1) responded to instruments assessing their trust of parents, perceived parental trust of the children, readiness to communicate with the parents, and satisfaction with parental control. Results showed that mutual trust between the parents and their adolescent children and the children's readiness to communicate with the parents were related to perceived satisfaction with parental control at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3. Although readiness to communicate with the parents and mutual trust between the parents and their adolescent children predicted perceived satisfaction with parental behavioral control and its change over time, trust of the parent was the strongest predictor. While the influence of trust of the father on satisfaction with paternal control was stronger for adolescent girls than for adolescent boys, influence of paternal trust on satisfaction with paternal control was stronger for adolescent boys than for adolescent girls.     

Parent–adolescent communication in foster,inter‐country adoptive,and biological Italian families: Gender and generational differences

There is a paucity of studies aimed at comparing how parents and children in different family structures cope with the challenges posed by the adolescence transition; in particular, there are few studies aimed at comparing adoptive and foster families. In order to partially fill this gap, the principal aims of the present study were to verify whether there are differences in parent–child communication among foster, intercountry adoptive, and biological families according to the adolescents' gender, and to compare the perceptions of parents and adolescents concerning parent–child communication. Data were elaborated on two levels: a generational level (adolescent's and his/her parents' perceptions among the three family groups) and a dyadic level (mother–child and father–child perceptions). The sample was composed of 276 Italian families with adolescents aged between 11 and 17 (81 foster, 98 international adoptive, and 97 biological families). Subjects (mothers, fathers, and children) filled out a questionnaire including the Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale (Barnes & Olson, 1985 ). Results highlighted that in foster families, parent–child communication showed more difficulties from both the adolescent's and the parents' point of view. Adoptive adolescents, however, reported a more positive communication with both their parents than did their peers living in biological and foster families. At a dyadic level, some differences emerged among the three groups. In biological families, a more pronounced distance emerged between parents and children. In adoptive families, father and adolescent shared more similar perceptions, whereas a significant discrepancy emerged between mother and child. A higher level of perceptual congruence between adolescents and parents was found in foster families. Gender differences were also seen: Mothers experienced a more open communication with their children than did fathers, and adolescents, and above all females, communicated better with their mothers than with their fathers in all three family groups.     

Academic Socialization Among Latino Families: Exploring the Compensatory Role of Cultural Processes

This study examines the relation of parent educational expectations, cultural socialization, and familism with academic adjustment among 150 Latino parent–adolescent dyads (81% Mexican origin; 79% were mothers). Adolescents (53% girls) responded to measures of school engagement, educational utility, parental educational expectations, cultural socialization, and familism. Results suggest that, after accounting for parents’ reported educational attainment, adolescents’ perceptions of academic and cultural socialization messages and their own endorsement of familism were uniquely related to school engagement; only parental educational expectations were uniquely related to beliefs about the utility of education. Cultural and academic socialization may thus complement each other.     

Gender as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Early Separation from Parents and Psychopathic Traits in a Sample of At-Risk Adolescents

This study examined the relationship between early separation from parents and psychopathic traits in a diverse Asian community sample of at-risk adolescents. Specifically, we tested whether gender could moderate this relationship. Data on 113 at-risk adolescents were provided by their parents who participated in this study. These adolescents were between the ages of 11 and 16 years (M = 14.35; SD = 1.10). Parents provided ratings on psychopathic traits with respect to their adolescent and they also provided information on demographic variables, psychosocial and familial information. Results showed that gender moderated the link between early separation from parents and adolescent psychopathy. As hypothesized, boys who experienced early separation from parents were associated with significantly higher levels of psychopathic traits compared with boys who did not experience early separation from parents. Girls who experienced and who did not experience early separation from parents had levels of psychopathic traits that were not significantly different from each other. These findings suggest that boys appear to be more vulnerable to the negative effects of early separation from parents and early emotional parental deprivation. There are important implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners with respect to attempting to ameliorate the negative trajectory associated with psychopathy. It is critical to pay attention to and work with children and adolescents, especially boys, who have had early disruption to parental caregiving arrangements. Additionally, it is equally important to work with to-be adoptive or foster parents on how to handle and support potentially emotionally damaged children.     

The Relationship Between Parenting and the Economic Orientation and Behavior of Norwegian Adolescents

Little is known about the economic socialization of children and adolescents and the role of parents in this process. The authors’ purpose was to explore the role of parenting in the intergenerational transfer of economic orientation and economic behavior. More specifically, they studied the link between four parenting dimensions (parental warmth–responsiveness, behavioral control, psychological control, autonomy granting), three parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and neglectful) and adolescents’ conscientiousness, future time perspective, and present hedonistic orientation. The authors also studied the relationships between these dispositions and the adolescents’ spending preferences and ability to control spending. They used data collected from 14–16-year-olds (n = 597) and their parents (n = 469) in Norway. Results showed that adolescents who perceived their parents as psychologically controlling were less future oriented and conscientious, and were more present hedonistic oriented than others, while adolescents who perceived their parents as responsive, autonomy granting, and controlling of behavior were more future orientated and conscientious than others. Adolescents’ scores for conscientiousness and future orientation were negatively associated with preferences for spending and positively with the ability to control spending, while the opposite relationships were found with respect to a present hedonistic orientation. Parental style was also found to be important for the future educational plans of adolescents, and plans for higher education were more frequent among adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative than among those who perceived their parents as neglectful. Implications of the findings for economic socialization are discussed.     

Parenting Stress, Social Support, and Depression for Ethnic Minority Adolescent Mothers: Impact on Child Development

Rates of teenage pregnancies are higher for African American and Latina adolescents compared to their White peers. African American and Latina adolescent mothers also experience more adversities than their White peers, such as higher rates of depression, school dropout, and economic disadvantage. Furthermore, children of adolescent mothers are at higher risk for adverse development. Parenting stress and social support can impact outcomes experienced by adolescent parents and their children. The present study examined the influence of adolescent mothers’ parenting stress and perceived social support on maternal depression at baseline (6 months after birth), and its impact on infant development 1 year later (18 months after birth). Participants were 180 adolescent mothers of African American or Latino/Hispanic descent. Results suggest that higher levels of parenting stress and less perceived social support were associated with higher levels of depression in the adolescent mothers at baseline. Higher levels of maternal depression were also associated with more developmental delays in infants 1 year post-baseline. Additionally, depression mediated the relationship between parenting stress and later child outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of examining parenting factors such as parenting stress, social support, and maternal depression in ethnic minority adolescent parents, and provide valuable information regarding unique risk and protective factors associated with positive maternal outcomes for ethnic minority adolescent parents and healthy development for their children.     

Perspectives of stuttering treatment: Children,adolescents, and parents

PurposeResearchers investigated whether children who stutter (CWS), adolescents who stutter (ADWS), and their parents preferred treatment focused on changing speech or communicating regardless of stuttering.MethodsTwenty-four parents and their CWS (n = 11, ages 8;0–12;11) or ADWS (n = 13, ages 13;0–17;11) answered questions about their preferences for stuttering treatment via an internet-based survey; an additional 11 surveys were filled in only by parents without responses by their child/adolescent. The researchers compared responses of the parents and their children, as well as between the two age groups and years in treatment (less than five years versus five or more years).ResultsViews tended to be mixed without any clear trends based on age. Just over half of the CWS, ADWS, and parents of CWS indicated a general tendency for therapy satisfaction; however, less years of treatment were associated with more satisfaction. When presented with a specific scenario, a higher proportion of parents expressed focus on their child saying what they want to say, regardless of stuttering. Otherwise, preferences were mixed on therapy goals of speaking freely vs. speaking more fluently.ConclusionsPreferences for treatment goals do not predictably vary based on age or years in treatment; given the small sample size, these findings should be considered with caution. Given the variability in responses, it is evident that stuttering treatment for school-age children and adolescents should be individualized. These results also emphasize the importance of communication, education, and applying a person-centered approach when providing stuttering intervention to children, adolescents, and their parents.     

Suicide method runs in families: a birth certificate cohort study of adolescent suicide in Taiwan

Suicide method used by adolescents was examined to determine if it was the same as that employed by their suicidal parents. Six hundred eighty adolescents completed suicide between 1997 and 2007, of whom 12 had parents who had previously died by suicide. The suicide method used by these adolescents was compared with that employed by their suicidal parent and that of a matched peer control adolescent with no exposure to parental suicide and living in the same area. In 10 of the 12 suicidal parent-adolescent dyads, the same suicide method was employed by parent and adolescent. Of seven adolescents whose age at parental suicide was 15 years or above, six used the same suicide method as their suicidal parent had. On the contrary, of 12 exposure-nonexposure suicidal adolescent dyads, the same method was used in only four. Adolescents exposed to parental suicide are more likely to use the suicide method employed by their suicidal parents than the method used by adolescent peers with no exposure to parental suicide.     

Adolescents’ Behaviors as Moderators for the Link between Parental Self-Efficacy and Parenting Practices

Based on theory that parents with higher levels of self-efficacy (PSE) should find it easier to parent effectively in the face of challenging child behaviors than should parents with lower levels of PSE, this study examines the link between PSE and parenting using children’s behaviors as potential moderators. Participants were 130 parents who had an older adolescent (M _age?=?17.58) in addition to the target adolescent (M _age?=?11.79), and both adolescents’ externalizing behaviors were used as moderators for the link between PSE and parenting of the target adolescent. Path analysis in Mplus showed that higher PSE was linked to more promotive parenting but only among parents who had an older adolescent with lower levels of externalizing behaviors. Among parents of adolescents with higher levels of externalizing behaviors, whose promotive parenting was significantly lower than other parents overall, PSE did not predict promotive parenting. The link between PSE and parenting did not differ depending on the target adolescents’ behavior. Findings suggest that the link between parents’ beliefs and parenting depends on the broader family context. More specifically, how PSE is linked to parenting practices depends at least partly on the experiences that parents bring from parenting an older adolescent to their interactions with a later-born adolescent. From a clinical perspective, parents might need guidance in how to think about their earlier parenting experiences when parenting a younger adolescent.     

The Emotion Regulation Strategies of Adolescents and their Parents: An Experience Sampling Study

Parents are the main socialization agents in the development of emotion regulation (ER). In this study, we evaluated adolescents’ and their respective parents’ perspectives about their use of two ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in daily life. In addition, we evaluated the within-family associations between adolescents’ and their parents’ use of strategies. We controlled for adolescents’ gender and age and the perceived quality of their relationships with their parents (mothers and fathers). The sample consisted of 33 12- to 18-year-old adolescent–father–mother triads, totaling 99 participants. Parents and adolescents reported their use of ER strategies in response to eight random prompts throughout the day, by means of the experience sampling method for 1 week. Participants provided 4082 reports on their momentary experiences. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to account for the hierarchical structure of the repeated daily assessments. The significant association between parents’ and adolescents’ use of ER strategies was specific to mother–adolescent dyads. The significant association between adolescents’ and their mothers’ ER strategies varied as a function of the adolescents’ age and the quality of their relationship with their mothers according to adolescents’ reports, but not as a function of adolescent gender. These findings suggest that mothers have a role in their adolescents’ emotion regulation in a developmental period characterized by autonomy from parental guidance.     

High Hopes? Educational,Socioeconomic, and Ethnic Differences in Parents’ Aspirations for their Unborn Children

Parents’ aspirations shape children’s development. In this study, over 6700 pregnant women and over 4300 of their partners from the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort responded to a question about their hopes, dreams, and expectations for their unborn children. Responses were coded according to a Maslowian hierarchy of needs. Mothers and their partners predominantly mentioned self-actualization and physiological aspirations for their unborn children, but their responses varied as a function of parental ethnicity and level of educational achievement and less so as a function of socioeconomic status. Mothers of European ethnicity, and parents with higher levels of educational achievement, mentioned more aspirations for their children—especially for self-actualization and belonging—than mothers of non-European ethnicity and parents with lower levels of educational achievement. These findings are discussed with respect to Maslowian theory and cultural developmental theories, and in terms of understanding the aspirations of parents from diverse backgrounds.     

The Preservation and Transmission of Cultural Values and Ideals: Challenges Facing Immigrant Families

At this time in the history of psychoanalysis, few would question the influence of cultural factors on one’s psychic life. This influence is most obviously present in the lives of immigrant families. This article focuses on some of the issues related to the efforts immigrant parents make to transmit cultural values they had acquired in the old country while their adolescent children are exposed to a very different cultural value system in the United States. Following the theoretical discussion that cultural factors (values and ideals) have in psychic life, two clinical examples draw attention to the way cultural issues may play a role in the treatment of symptomatic adolescents in immigrant families.     

Parental Awareness and Monitoring of Adolescent Internet Use

This study focused on four aspects of parental monitoring of Internet use by their children: parental supervision, communication and tracking, and adolescent disclosure. Data were obtained from a SAFT (Safety Awareness for Teens Project) national survey of Singapore youths and parents regarding Internet safety at home. Study 1 examined 1,124 adolescents and 1,002 parents; Study 2 examined a subsample of 169 dyads of adolescents and their parents. Frequency of use and engagement in risky Internet behaviors such as visiting inappropriate websites were analysed. The results indicated that parents tend to underestimate adolescents’ engagement in risky Internet behaviors and overestimate the amount of parental monitoring regarding Internet safety that occurs at home. The study suggested that mothers have a better awareness of their adolescents’ Internet use than fathers. The findings were explained in the context of parental monitoring. The results suggest that parental monitoring needs to be reconceptualized and that parents need to improve the communication with their adolescents regarding Internet use.     

Good parents: Comparative studies of adolescents’ perceptions

A series of exploratory studies examined children’s perceptions of good parenting, focusing specifically on adolescents, through an open-ended question “What is a good parent?” First, developmental differences were investigated by comparing youngsters aged 8–9, 14–15, and 17–18 years. Second, the perceptions of adolescents (aged 14–15 years) were compared to those of their parents at two socioeconomic levels (SES). Third, adolescents (aged 14–15 years) were examined under city and kibbutz conditions. The findings revealed different patterns in the three age groups, highlighting the distinct expectations from parents appearing at each developmental stage. Discrepancies were also found between parents and their adolescent children in several content areas. These findings were obtained regardless of gender, SES group, or ecological condition. Parent-adolescent discrepancies evidenced in this study may clarify the appropriate targets for family intervention programs aimed at fostering more effective channels of communication between adolescents and their parents.     

A Phenomenological Study of Immigrant Parents of Adolescents with Delinquent Behavior in Israel

Scarce qualitative literature has focused on understanding the perspective of parents of adolescents involved in crime, and no prior literature has examined how the status of being a parent of an adolescent who is involved in delinquency intersects with being an immigrant parent. The current phenomenological study examined, through the eyes of immigrant parents, how they comprehend their children’s involvement in delinquent behavior. This study examined in-depth semistructured interviews conducted with fourteen immigrant parents (10 mothers and 4 fathers) from the former Soviet Union in Israel of children treated in rehabilitation facilities for delinquent youth. Data analysis revealed a gradual decline in children's behavior ascribed to the developmental stage of adolescence, the pressures of immigration, and cultural conflict. These three factors are interwoven together to create a fabric within which they see their children turning to crime. Parents' gradual loss of control is balanced by attempts to idealize the parent–child relationship and to minimize the severity of the offenses committed. They describe various differing and even contradictory experiences of themselves as parents and their struggles to piece together incohesive, alternating experiences of themselves as parents. Despite the critical role they can play in their children’s rehabilitation, as well as the distress that they themselves experience, parents of children involved in delinquent behavior have often been ignored in research. Acknowledging parents' perspectives and experiences can allow development of appropriate therapeutic strategies to support them and maximize their abilities to support their children.