Perceived Parental Attitudes and Family Concepts of Disturbed Adolescents,Normal Siblings and Normal Controls

This study tested the hypotheses that disturbed adolescents perceive lower parental attitudes (positive regard, empathic understanding, genuineness and unconditional regard) than are perceived by their normal siblings and normal controls; that normal siblings do not differ from normal controls on these variables; that levels of perceived attitudes are positively related to family concept measures of adjustment and satisfaction; and that attitudes perceived in one parent are positively associated with those perceived in the other. The hypotheses were substantially confirmed. In contrast to both normal groups, the disturbed adolescents failed to show positive relationships between maternal attitudes and the family concept measures and between perceived paternal and maternal attitudes.     

Parental Attitudes,Beliefs, and Responses to Childhood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Parental Attitudes and Behaviors Scale

ABSTRACT

This paper documents preliminary examination of the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Parental Attitudes and Behaviors Scale (PABS), an OCD-specific measure of parental attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral strategies related to childhood OCD. Employing a sample of 123 youth (mean age = 11.7; 59% male, 79% Caucasian) diagnosed with OCD in an outpatient child anxiety clinic, we used exploratory factor analysis to produce a 3-factor solution representing the following domains of parental responses to childhood OCD: accommodation, empowerment, and hostility/blame. These scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency and concurrent validity, providing preliminary evidence for the psychometric integrity of the PABS.     

Childhood Maltreatment and Parental Attitudes Regarding the Use of Corporal Punishment

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Corporal punishment is associated with negative outcomes for children. Increased risk for such adverse parenting practices may be increased for individuals...     

Relationship of Connected and Separate Knowing to Parental Style and Birth Order

A total of 249 primarily middle-class, Caucasian college students (141 females, 108 males) completed the Knowing Styles Inventory (KSI) (Knight, Elfenbein, & Messina, 1995) to measure Connected and Separate Knowing and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) (Buri, 1991), used to measure different parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting). Authoritative parenting style of the mother was positively associated with Connected Knowing, while authoritative parenting style of the father was negatively related to Separate Knowing for both the female and male participants of the study. For the female participants only, permissive parenting style of the father was positively related to Separate Knowing. It was also found that first-born college students scored significantly higher on Separate Knowing than later-born students. The results suggest that family experiences may be precursors to the epistemologies of college students.     

The Relationship Between Perceived Parental Attitudes and Shyness among Turkish Youth: Fear of Negative Evaluation and Self-esteem as Mediators

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between three perceived parental attitudes and shyness, testing self-esteem and fear of negative evaluation as mediators. The study used a total of 492 undergraduate students in Turkey. Data was collected through measures of shyness, fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem, and perceived parental attitudes. The proposed model was estimated using path analysis. Goodness of fit statistics showed that the model fit the data well. Results indicated that parental acceptance/involvement predicted self-esteem; perceived parental strictness/supervision predicted fear of negative evaluation; and perceived parental psychological autonomy predicted self-esteem. Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between parental acceptance/involvement and shyness, whereas it fully mediated the relationship between parental psychological autonomy and shyness. Fear of negative evaluation fully mediated the relationship between parental strictness/supervision and shyness. In addition, the relationship between self-esteem and shyness was partially mediated by fear of negative evaluation. The findings provided evidence for the propositions that parental attitudes are important in the development of self-image and fears of rejection which result in the experience of shyness.     

Parental Psychological Control and Childhood Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Perceived Lack of Control

Parental psychological control has been found to relate to the development of childhood anxiety; however, this relation has not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of the relation between parental psychological control and anxiety symptoms in children, as well as to understand whether this relation is mediated by children’s perceived control. Questionnaires were administered to children ages 8–11. Results indicated a significant relation between parental psychological control and child anxiety symptoms. Results further indicated that this relation was fully mediated by children’s perceptions of how much control they feel they have over events in their lives. These findings suggest that although parental psychological control and a child’s perceived control both contribute to the development of anxiety, it is possible that parental psychological control contributes to the development of anxiety by affecting a child’s perception of control.     

Lesbian Couples and Their Parents: The Effects of Perceived Parental Attitudes on the Couple

Twenty respondents, each of whom was in a committed couple relationship, were asked how their parents' attitudes toward (a) their partner and (b) their lesbianism impacted on their relationships with their partners. The study revealed that the adverse consequences of parental disapproval are overshadowed by the benefits to the couple that are derived from the decision to affirm one's lesbian identity and to acknowledge the nature of the couple relationship by “coming out” to parents. The negative impact of secrecy on the couple, the downplaying of parental disapproval, the positive effects on the couple of an affirmed lesbian identity, and the importance of acknowledgment of the lesbian couple are discussed. The author maintains that the counselor working with lesbian couples must be lesbian affirmative, and she suggests eight specific, clinical implications for working with lesbian couples.     

Psychosocial Adaptation of Childhood Cancer Survivors and their Siblings

To best use resources in helping childhood cancer survivors, ascertaining the psychosocial adaptation deficit of the survivor is necessary. Psychosocial adaptation comprises a subjective, self-reflective indicator and objective indicators in terms of education, employment, and other achievements. While deficit is possible due to the trauma caused by cancer and its treatment, research evidence for the deficit is required to ascertain its existence. This study represents such a research endeavor based on a survey of 137 childhood cancer survivors and 101 cancer-free siblings of the survivors in Hong Kong, China. Results reveal weak and inconsistent differences in psychosocial adaptation between the survivor and his or her sibling. The effects of cancer treatment and service involvement on psychosocial adaptation were generally sporadic. Age presented the most pervasive influence on psychosocial adaptation. The results imply a justification for current practices in sustaining the psychosocial adaptation of childhood cancer survivors.     

Impact of Perceived Social Support and Depression on the Parental Attitudes of Mothers of Children Who are Deaf

Literature shows that mothers of children with disabilities report high levels of depression. Social support facilitates the well-being of mothers and it helps to cope with a range of disability related stressors. This study was designed to assess the impact of having a child who is deaf on maternal depression and to test how social support may facilitate coping with the depression caused by deafness as well as the parenting behaviors of those mothers. 103 mothers of children who are deaf, ranging from the 36 months to 72 months of age participated in the study. Parental attitude research instrument, beck depression inventory and multidimensional scale of perceived social support were used for data collection. Results showed that 24.4 % of the mothers showed depression and perceived social support from family and friends were found to be predicting depression. Further analysis showed that depression was found to be affecting authoritarian and hostile parenting styles. Perceived social support from friends and significant other did not have significant effect on parental attitudes. The findings showed that having a child who is deaf causes high levels of depression in mothers which leads to insufficient and/or inappropriate parenting attitudes. On the other hand, social support is a protective source lowering depression levels of mothers as well as indirectly facilitating the maintenance of positive parenting.     

Pathways to Lifespan Health Following Childhood Parental Death

The death of a parent is a profoundly stressful form of childhood adversity, increasing the short‐ and long‐term risk of mental health problems. Emerging research suggests it may also disrupt biological regulatory systems and increase the risk of long‐term physical health problems. This article presents a theoretical framework of the process by which the experience of parental death during childhood may influence mental and physical health outcomes over time. Drawing from a broad literature on adaptation following childhood parental loss, we focus on risk and protective factors in the childhood environment that are theoretically and empirically linked to emotional and biological regulatory responses to stress later in life, the effects of which may accumulate to impact long‐term health.     

The Relationship Between Parent and Child Religiosity: Moderation by Perceived Parental Antisocial Problems

ABSTRACT

Parents influence their children’s religiosity through many factors including parenting practices, parental religiosity, and parental psychopathology. Little research, however, has been conducted on how different parental psychopathologies, such as antisocial problems, affect the relationship between parent and child religiosity. The current study used the Stearns-McKinney Assessment of Religious Traits to measure personal religiosity in emerging adults and asked them to report on the religiosity of their mothers and fathers. Participants reported the antisocial problems of their parents via the Adult Behavior Checklist. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to measure whether perceived parental antisocial problems, parent gender, and participant gender would moderate the relationship between perceived parental and emerging adult religiosity. Results indicated that maternal but not paternal interactions were significant, and gender analyses revealed that the interaction was significant only for females. Specifically, parental antisocial problems were associated with a weaker relationship between parent and child religiosity in the mother–daughter dyad only. Implications are discussed.     

Psychiatric Disorders and Childhood Parental Loss in Obesity: Relationship with the Mode of Weight Gain

We assessed the association between psychiatric disorders, childhood parental loss, and weight gain mode in 150 obese patients seeking bariatric surgery and with a history of sudden or gradual weight gain mode. Subjects with sudden weight gain mode (47%) showed significantly higher bipolar II disorder (p < .001), childhood parental death (p < .01), and separation (p < .01), but lower pure hypomania (p < .001) prevalence than subjects with gradual weight gain mode. We found preliminary evidence that lifetime bipolar spectrum disorders and childhood parental loss may influence weight gain mode in obese subjects. These findings may contribute to predict patients’ weight trajectories and implement preventive interventions.     

Parental Involvement: Contribution to Childhood Anxiety and Its Treatment

Anxiety disorders are prevalent in youth. Despite demonstrated efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), approximately 40 % of anxiety-disordered youth remain unresponsive to treatment. Because developmental and etiological models suggest that parental factors are relevant to the onset and maintenance of childhood anxiety, researchers have proposed and investigated family-based interventions with increased parent work in treatment, aiming to improve the efficacy of treatment for childhood anxiety. However, contrary to what theoretical models suggest, data to date did not indicate additive benefit of family-based CBT in comparison with child-centered modality. Is parent/family involvement unnecessary when treating childhood anxiety disorders? Or could there be the need for specificity (tailored family-based treatment) that is guided by a revised conceptualization that improves the implementation of a family-based intervention? The current review examines (1) relevant parental factors that have been found to be associated with the development and maintenance of childhood anxiety and (2) interventions that incorporate parental involvement. Relevant findings are integrated to formulate a “targeted” treatment approach for parental involvement in CBT for youth anxiety. Specifically, there is potential in the assessment of parent/family factors prior to treatment (for appropriateness) followed by a target-oriented implementation of parent training.     

The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity Components in Mediating the Relationship Between Childhood Exposure to Parental Dyscontrol and Adult Anxiety Symptoms

This retrospective study investigated the relationship between childhood exposure to parental dyscontrol (i.e., loss of control behaviors) and levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS) components in early adulthood. Four-hundred-and-sixty-five undergraduate students completed self-report measures including the Dyscontrol Experiences Questionnaire. Specificity emerged between AS components and particular dyscontrol experiences. Although exposure to parental dyscontrol related to negative emotional states was significantly positively correlated with all AS dimensions, exposure to parental dyscontrol related to drinking was significantly positively correlated with psychological concerns only. Mediator regression analyses showed AS psychological concerns to play a significant mediating role between parental dyscontrol related to anger and drinking and both general and panic-related anxiety symptoms in the adult offspring. Results suggest that specific parental behaviors may be etiologic in the development of AS, and acquired AS may help explain relations between childhood learning experiences and the development of psychopathological symptoms in young adulthood.     

Perceived Injustice Mediates the Relationship Between Perceived Childhood Neglect and Current Function in Patients with Chronic Pain: A Preliminary Pilot Study

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Cumulative evidence supports the association between perceived childhood neglect and adulthood psychological and physical health. To date,...     

New Employee Development Tactics: Perceived Availability, Helpfulness, and Relationship with Job Attitudes

This study examined the availability and helpfulness of twenty new employee development tactics and their relationship with seven job attitudes. Bachelor's graduates surveyed twelve months after graduation (n = 378) reported low availability of many tactics but high perceived helpfulness. Multiple regression analyses revealed strong correlations (R = .50–.58) with satisfaction, commitment, intent to quit, psychological success, and post-decision dissonance. The most important tactic was allowing new employees to fully utilize their skills and abilities. Implications for new approaches to new employee development in organizations and for human resource professionals are discussed.