Autonomy and relatedness with parents and romantic development in African American adolescents

The influence of adolescents' autonomy and relatedness to parents on romantic relationships was examined longitudinally over 5 years in 76 middle-class African American late adolescents (mean age = 18.43 years). Relatedness to parents in early adolescence led to longer duration and more supportive romantic relationships in late adolescence, but longer duration was concurrently associated with more negative romantic relationships. Cluster analyses yielded 3 profiles of early adolescent autonomy and relatedness; early adolescents who were high in relatedness and low in autonomy to parents in early adolescence reported longer duration romantic relationships in late adolescence than did adolescents who were moderate or high in relatedness and high in autonomy. The implications for romantic development in African American middle-class youth are discussed.     

Protective effect of supportive family relationships and the influence of stressful life events on adolescent adjustment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the occurrence of stressful life events and internalizing and externalizing problems, and to analyze longitudinally buffering effects of supportive family relationships. To this end, 100 Spanish adolescents were studied twice, when they were in mid-adolescence (15–16 years) and two years later. They completed questionnaires regarding stressful life events, family relationships, and adolescent adjustment. Results showed that high quality parent-adolescent relationships protected boys and girls against the negative consequences of stressful life events on externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms. The adolescents who enjoyed good relationships with their parents in mid-adolescence did not increase their externalizing problems in late adolescence as consequence of the occurrence of stressful events. However, these stressors did lead to an increase in the number of externalizing problems when the family relationships were of a middle or low quality. These results highlight the important role that supportive family relationships play in the behavioral adjustment of adolescents, protecting them against some negative consequences of stressful life events, and suggest the relevance of supporting parents through resources such as parent education in order to help them to improve their relationships with their adolescents.     

Protective effect of supportive family relationships and the influence of stressful life events on adolescent adjustment

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the occurrence of stressful life events and internalizing and externalizing problems, and to analyze longitudinally buffering effects of supportive family relationships. To this end, 100 Spanish adolescents were studied twice, when they were in mid-adolescence (15-16 years) and two years later. They completed questionnaires regarding stressful life events, family relationships, and adolescent adjustment. Results showed that high quality parent-adolescent relationships protected boys and girls against the negative consequences of stressful life events on externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms. The adolescents who enjoyed good relationships with their parents in mid-adolescence did not increase their externalizing problems in late adolescence as consequence of the occurrence of stressful events. However, these stressors did lead to an increase in the number of externalizing problems when the family relationships were of a middle or low quality. These results highlight the important role that supportive family relationships play in the behavioral adjustment of adolescents, protecting them against some negative consequences of stressful life events, and suggest the relevance of supporting parents through resources such as parent education in order to help them to improve their relationships with their adolescents.     

家庭功能对青少年疏离感的影响: 有调节的中介效应

采用问卷法调查了608名初一至高二城市青少年, 通过结构方程模型探讨了青少年疏离感与家庭社会经济地位、家庭功能和同伴接纳的关系。结果发现: (1) 青少年疏离感年龄段差异显著, 高中生的疏离感显著高于初中生; (2) 青少年疏离感的三个维度之间存在显著差异。其中环境疏离感最高, 其次是社会疏离感, 人际疏离感最低; (3) 家庭功能在家庭社会经济地位与青少年疏离感之间起完全中介作用, 这一中介作用的实现受到同伴接纳的调节, 即家庭功能对青少年疏离感的影响是有调节的中介效应。     

The Indirect Effect of Early Experiences on Deliberate Self-Harm in Adolescence: Mediation by Negative Emotional States and Moderation by Daily Peer Hassles

The present study examines whether early experiences of threat, subordination and devaluation with family influence adolescents’ negative emotional states and subsequently deliberate self-harm; and if this effect is conditioned by daily peer hassles. The sample consisted of 441 adolescents (57.6 % female) with ages between 13 and 18 years old from middle and high schools. Participants completed self-report instruments measuring early memories of threat, subordination and devaluation, daily peer hassles, negative affect and deliberate self-harm behaviors. Results from conditional process analysis showed that adolescents who feel devalued and experience threat and submission within family tend to endorse high levels of negative affect, which in turn accounts for increased endorsements on deliberate self-harm. Moreover, the impact of negative affect on deliberate self-harm is amplified by the presence of moderate and high levels of daily peer hassles. This study suggests the relevance of assessing and intervening on type of emotional memories (i.e., threat, subordination and devaluation), daily disruptions with peers and negative emotional states with adolescents who self-injure. These findings may be useful in the development of preventive and intervention programs for reducing deliberate self-harm in adolescence.     

主观幸福感代际传递：有调节的中介效应

采用问卷法考察父母的主观幸福感与子女的主观幸福感的代际传递效应,同时探讨亲子沟通的中介作用和子女情感自主性的调节作用。结果发现：（1）父母的主观幸福感显著预测初中生子女的主观幸福感;（2）亲子沟通在父母的主观幸福感影响初中生子女的主观幸福感中起部分中介作用;（3）子女的情感自主性可以调节亲子沟通对初中生的子女主观幸福感的影响,情感自主性低的子女的主观幸福感更容易受到亲子沟通的影响,而情感自主性高的个体则会减弱亲子沟通的作用。     

Family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors in at-risk early adolescent girls: The mediating role of intra-personal competencies

The relation between perceived family functioning, intra-personal competence, and eating attitudes and behaviors was examined in a sample of at-risk, ethnically diverse, early adolescents. Both family functioning and intra-personal competencies were related to eating attitudes and behavior. However, adolescent intra-personal competence, defined as self-control, negative, and positive coping, mediated the relationship between family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors. Results suggest that by early adolescence, important aspects of family environment have consolidated into individual differences in competence and/or personality. Results are discussed within a developmental framework emphasizing the influence of the family on adolescent psychosocial development. The implications of these data for prevention and intervention with at-risk adolescent girls are also discussed. This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, NIH, under Grant DA 07031, to Thomas J. Dishion. Appreciation is expressed to the parents and adolescents who participated in this study, as well as the staff at the Project Alliance office in Portland.     

Family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors in at-risk early adolescent girls: The mediating role of intra-personal competencies

The relation between perceived family functioning, intra-personal competence, and eating attitudes and behaviors was examined in a sample of at-risk, ethnically diverse, early adolescents. Both family functioning and intra-personal competencies were related to eating attitudes and behavior. However, adolescent intra-personal competence, defined as self-control, negative, and positive coping, mediated the relationship between family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors. Results suggest that by early adolescence, important aspects of family environment have consolidated into individual differences in competence and/or personality. Results are discussed within a developmental framework emphasizing the influence of the family on adolescent psychosocial development. The implications of these data for prevention and intervention with at-risk adolescent girls are also discussed. This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, NIH, under Grant DA 07031, to Thomas J. Dishion. Appreciation is expressed to the parents and adolescents who participated in this study, as well as the staff at the Project Alliance office in Portland.     

Positive and negative affect in parenting disabled children

Research on parents' positive and negative affect may clarify critical aspects in the emotional impact of raising a child with disabilities, as related to stress-resistance factors such as personal coping and family climate. Parental affect (positive and negative), coping strategies (active and avoidant), and family climate (relationships, personal growth, and system maintenance) among 71 families with disabled children were compared (using MANCOVA) to parental measures of 77 families with nondisabled children, revealing significant differences. Parents of disabled children reported higher levels of negative (distressed) affect, adopted more avoidant coping strategies, and differed in their familial interrelations and the opportunities for personal growth available to them in their families. The discrepancies between the fathers' and mothers' scores in avoidant coping and in the family climate areas of personal growth and system maintenance were greater among the parents of disabled children than among the control parents. Positive and negative affect were differently predicted in the two groups of parents, highlighting the different role of coping resources and family resources in mediating stress. Implications were drawn for intervention planning and family empowerment.     

The Contribution of Social Relationships to Children’s Happiness

The association between happiness and social relationships was examined in 9- to 12-year-old children. Participants included 432 children and their parents. Children’s happiness was assessed using self-rating scales, parent’s ratings, and the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale from the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition (Piers and Herzberg 2002). Children’s social relations were assessed with items from the Piers-Harris scale and questionnaires given to the children and their parents. These items were grouped into two positive (i.e., family and friends) and two negative categories (i.e., negative relations with peers and behaving badly toward others). Variance in children’s happiness was partially accounted for by positive social interactions involving the family (e.g., children agreeing that they are important members of their family) and friends (e.g., parents reporting that their children visit with friends more frequently). Negative social interactions also explained variance in children’s happiness including negative relations with peers (e.g., children agreeing that they feel left out of things) and behaving badly toward others (e.g., children agreeing that they are often mean to other people, and they cause trouble for their family). Demographic variables related to the family (i.e., number of siblings, age of parents, and marital status of parents) were only weakly, or not at all, associated with children’s happiness. The results parallel findings from the literature involving adults and adolescents; social relationships are significant correlates and predictors of happiness.     

Ambiguous Loss in Transnational Families’ Adolescents: An Exploratory Study in Ecuador

In psychosocial migration literature, the perspective of ambiguous loss has been relevant to articulate personal and relational experiences in the context of transnational families and ongoing separation. Most studies have focused on adult members’ experiences of transnational families, but research exploring ambiguous loss in adolescents whose parents have migrated is still lacking. The present study aimed to explore adolescents’ lived experiences of parental migration. In a pilot explorative study, 14 adolescents with at least one parent who migrated were interviewed about their lived experiences of transnational parent-child relationships and ongoing parent-child separation. Data analysis identified four themes in participants’ accounts: practices of separation creating confusion; current relationship with migrant parents permeated by ambiguity; distrustful representations of migrant parents; and family and social dynamics reactivating the pain of loss. The findings reveal how in the context of parental migration, patterns of separation and ongoing relational processes, compounded by the uncertainty of reunification and an exclusionary social fabric, constitute core elements that shape adolescents’ lived experiences of parent-child relationships characterized by ambiguity.     

家庭功能对青少年道德推脱的影响:责任心与道德认同的作用

用总体家庭功能量表、青少年人格五因素问卷、道德认同问卷和道德推脱问卷对1013名青少年进行调查。结果表明:(1)家庭功能对青少年道德推脱具有显著的负向预测作用;(2)在家庭功能对青少年道德推脱的负向预测关系中,责任心起部分中介作用;(3)家庭功能通过责任心对道德推脱的间接影响随着道德认同水平的增加而减弱。     

The relationship between personality and affect over the lifespan

This study compared the trait and emotion perspectives of personality development by examining relationships between extraversion, neuroticism, positive and negative affect across the lifespan. A total of 533 volunteers: 228 children and early adolescents (8 to 15 years), 163 late adolescents and young adults (16 to 29 years) and 142 adults (30 to 68 years) completed Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Extraversion correlated significantly with positive affect and neuroticism with negative affect in each age group. As predicted by the emotion perspective, correlations were significantly stronger for adults than children and early adolescents. In addition, extraversion-positive affect and neuroticism-negative affect factors explained less variance for children and early adolescents compared to those of adults.     

中晚期青少年的个人规划及其与亲子、朋友沟通的关系

采用未来取向问卷（中文版）、亲子沟通和朋友沟通问卷调查了1741名高中生和大学生,从探索和投入两个方面考察了中晚期青少年个人规划的基本特点以及亲子沟通、朋友沟通与个人规划的关系。研究发现：青少年对未来教育的探索和投入水平高于未来职业和婚姻/家庭;从青少年中期到晚期,个体对不同领域的探索与投入遵循不同的发展模式;女青少年对未来教育的投入更多,而男青少年对未来婚姻/家庭的探索和投入更多;城市青少年对未来教育的探索和投入更多,而农村青少年对未来婚姻/家庭的投入更多。亲子沟通对中晚期青少年成就领域的规划具有较大影响,且影响大于朋友沟通,而朋友沟通对青少年未来婚姻/家庭规划的影响更大     

Family estrangement: parents and children who 'lose touch'

Evidence of emotional distance between elderly parents and their adult children is taken from an anthropological study of ageing and family life. Two case studies drawn from a series of life history interviews illustrate the complex relationship between personal development, family relationships, culture and social structure. Unsatisfactory relationships are explained in terms of changing psychological needs through the life course, the cultural emphasis on independence and related values, the feminine tilt in family life, and the structure of in-law relationships. The complex interplay of these factors has implications for therapy with families experiencing estrangement.     

Social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescence

This study investigates the relationships among social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescents. Feelings of social isolation may influence psychological health in adolescents, but protective factors such as family connectedness, school connectedness, and academic achievement may also play a key role. The sample included 4,746 adolescents from 31 middle and high schools. Participants responded to 221 survey questions regarding peer relationships, psychological health, school connectedness, family relationships, and academic achievement. The findings revealed that social isolation was associated with an increased risk for depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, and low self-esteem. Protective factors influenced associations between social isolation and psychological health. Implications for prevention such as building healthy peer relationships, promoting family connectedness, and developing school-based interventions are discussed.     

Affective quality of family relations and adolescent identity exploration

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescent pubertal status, the affective quality of family relations, and the early adolescent's exploration of a sense of ego identity. Fifty-one intact families with adolescents in the seventh grade agreed to participate. Each family member completed a battery of questionnaires designed to assess familial adaptation to pubertal growth and identity exploration. The results reveal that the affective quality of parent-adolescent relationships and the pubertal status of the adolescent appear to influence the adolescent's exploration of ego identity. The need to establish the functional significance of familial adaptation to adolescent pubertal growth for identity development is discussed.     

Parents’ Attachment Styles and Adolescents’ Regulatory Emotional Self-efficacy: The Mediating Role of Adolescents’ Attachment to Parents in China

Guided by attachment theory, this longitudinal study examined the mediating role of parent-adolescent attachment on the relation between parents’ attachment styles and adolescents’ regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE, including managing negative affect and expressing positive affect). Five hundred seventy-three Chinese junior high school students (46% male; aged 11–14 years, M = 12.76 years, SD = 0.74) completed measures of RESE at T1, parent-adolescent attachment at T2 (six months later), and RESE at T3 (another six months later), while 573 students’ parents (one student only has a parent, 241 fathers and 332 mothers) completed measures of adult attachment styles (anxiety and avoidance) at T1. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that father-adolescent attachment mediated the association between fathers’ attachment anxiety and adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs in managing negative affect, while mother-adolescent attachment marginally mediated the relation between mothers’ attachment anxiety and adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs in managing negative affect and expressing positive affect. These findings suggest that parents’ attachment anxiety could predict their children’s attachment to parents, in turn, impacting their children’s regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

     

Expression of Anger in Depressed Adolescents: The Role of the Family Environment

The expression of anger is considered to be abnormal in depression, yet its role is only poorly understood. In the present study we sought to clarify this role by examining the moderating influence of the family environment on overall levels of anger expression and anger reactivity in depressed and non-depressed adolescents during conflictual interactions with their parents. One hundred and forty one depressed and non-depressed adolescent participants engaged in a problem-solving task with their parents during which their behavioral expression of anger and heart rate were recorded. The results demonstrate that general levels of parental anger in the family environment (as indicated by the overall level of expressed anger by the parents during the interactions) strongly moderates how depressed differ from non-depressed adolescents in terms of their anger, heart rate and reactivity. Overall, the findings suggest that in depressed adolescents anger is much less adaptively attuned to the environment, consistent with models that predict dysfunction in the regulation of anger that prevents depressed individuals responding adaptively to their social environment.     

Transactional Paths Between Children and Parents in Pediatric Asthma: Associations Between Family Relationships and Adaptation

The particular challenges posed by pediatric asthma may have a negative impact on the adaptation of children and their parents. From a transactional approach it is important to examine how reciprocal links between children and parents contribute to explain their adaptation and under which conditions these associations occur. This cross-sectional study aimed at examining the direct and indirect links between children’s and parents’ perceptions of family relationships and adaptation, separately (within-subjects) and across participants (cross-lagged effects), and the role of asthma severity in moderating these associations. The sample comprised 257 children with asthma, aged between 8 and 18 years-old, and one of their parents. Both family members completed self-reported questionnaires on family relationships (cohesion and expressiveness) and adaptation indicators (quality of life and psychological functioning). Physicians assessed asthma severity. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test within-subjects and cross-lagged paths between children’s and parents’ family relationships and adaptation. The model explained 47 % of children’s and 30 % of parents’ adaptation: family relationships were positively associated with adaptation, directly for children and parents, and indirectly across family members. Asthma severity moderated the association between family relationships and health-related quality of life for children: stronger associations were observed in the presence of persistent asthma. These results highlight the need of including psychological interventions in pediatric healthcare focused on family relationships as potential targets for improving children’s and parents’ quality of life and psychological functioning, and identified the children with persistent asthma as a group that would most benefit from family-based interventions.