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。     

Father-absent adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: A population at risk?

This study evaluated whether family structure is associated with the psychosocial functioning and physical health of adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Subjects were 30 intact families and 30 father-absent families. Adolescents and their mothers completed several self-report and observational instruments that assessed adolescent adherence to treatment, adolescents' and mothers' perceptions of maternal support and nonsupport of treatment, mothers' parental competence, and adolescent social competence. Metabolic control was determined by averaging the adolescent's hemoglobin A1c levels during the previous year. A 2 × 2 (Family Structure × Gender) analysis of variance was conducted on each dependent measure. The results showed that father-absent adolescents had better adherence to the IDDM treatment regimen, despite the fact that adolescents from intact families reported significantly more maternal support for treatment. In addition, single mothers reported relatively high parental competence; and statistical interaction effects indicated that single mothers of girls were more involved in the daily treatment of IDDM, consisting of both positive and negative interactions, than single mothers of boys. There were no between-groups differences for adolescents' metabolic control or social competence. Together, these findings suggested that the father-absent adolescents have adjusted very well to living with one parent and a chronic illness.     

Role of maternal functioning and parenting skills in adolescent functioning following parental divorce

While divorce has been associated with impaired child functioning, the mechanisms within the divorce process leading to such an outcome have rarely been examined. The following hypothesis was examined: Divorce is associated with poor parental adjustment or disrupts parenting behavior, or both, which leads to poor adolescent functioning. Subjects were 121 and 93 young adolescents from intact and recently divorced families, respectively, and their mothers and teachers. Mothers completed measures assessing parental conflict and depression, observers coded parenting skills during a mother-adolescent interaction, and teachers completed measures assessing adolescent functioning. Although the magnitude of differences was not large, analyses of variance indicated that the divorced sample was functioning poorer than the married sample on all measures except interparental conflict. Path analysis suggested that parental functioning and parenting skills play a role in adolescent functioning following divorce.     

A short-term longitudinal examination of young adolescent functioning following divorce: The role of family factors

The purposes of this study were to examine young adolescent functioning over a 2-year period after divorce and to assess the role of two family factors, interpersonal conflict and the parent-adolescent relationship, in predicting such functioning. One hundred and twelve young adolescents, their mothers, and their social studies teachers served as participants. One-half of the adolescent were from recently divorced families and one-half were from married families. Mothers completed measures concerning interparental conflict and the parent-adolescent relationship, adolescents completed a measure of the relationship, and teachers completed measures assessing four areas of adolescent functioning. The results indicated that adolescents from divorced families were functioning less well than those from married families. There were no changes in adolescent functioning and the parent-adolescent relationship from the first to second year postdivorce. High levels of interparental conflict in divorced families were associated with more parent-adolescent relationship problems. In turn parent-adolescent relationships problems served as the best predictor of concurrent and subsequent difficulty in adolescent functioning.This study was supported, in part, by the William T. Grant Foundation and the University of Georgia's Institute for Behavioral Research.     

父母控制、父母婚姻冲突与中学生心理危机的关系：歧视知觉的中介作用

从歧视知觉的角度考察父母控制、父母婚姻冲突对中学生心理危机的作用机制。结果显示,父母控制和父母婚姻冲突显著正向预测中学生的心理危机水平,且父母婚姻冲突的预测力更强。歧视知觉在父母控制、父母婚姻冲突与中学生心理危机的关系中均起到部分中介作用。结果表明,与不良教养方式相比,父母婚姻冲突对中学生心理危机存在更严重的负面影响,这种影响部分通过中学生感知到的歧视水平增高来实现。     

Emotional,cognitive, and social functioning in children and early adolescents living in post-armed conflict: Testing mediating mechanisms

This study examined whether, and to which extent, the associations between conflict intensity and children's and early adolescents' functioning problems were mediated through parental harsh discipline in a post-armed conflict setting. Data from 9623 Iraqi mothers and their children who participated in UNICEF MICS showed that the associations between conflict intensity, parental discipline and child functioning were similar for children and early adolescents. Higher conflict intensity was indirectly associated with increased anxiety and depression, greater learning and cognitive difficulties, and greater social and behavioural problems through parental harsh discipline. The proportion mediated effect sizes emphasised the importance of parent-focused interventions in improving child and adolescent functioning outcomes in conflict-affected populations.     

Adolescent functioning as a consequence of recent parental divorce and the parent-adolescent relationship

The purpose of this study was to examine young adolscents' functioning as a consequence of recent parental divorce and the parent-adolescent relationship. More specifically, recent divorce and a por adolescent relartionship with each parent were viewed as stressors, and it was hypothesized that as the number of stressors increased, adolescent functioning would deteriorate. Fifty-eight young adolescents (ages 11–14), 13 from intact families and 28 from recently divorced families, and their social-studies teachers participated in the study. Adolescents completed an instrument designed to measure their relationship with each parent. Based on this instrument and the marital status of the parents, adolescents were assigned to 1 of 6 groups depending upon wether they were from intact or divorced families and whether they had a good relationship with both, one, or either parent(s). Grades were obtained from the adolescent's most recent report card and social studies teaches completed instruments concerning cognitive and social competence, including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The results indicated that both the marital status of the parent-adolescent relationship were related to adolscent functioning. Of particular importance, the presence of 3 stressors (divorce, poor relationship with mother, and poor relationship with father) was associated with more adolescent difficulties than the presence of 0, 1, or 2 stressors. Hypotheses for the obtained results and implications are discused.     

Children's influence in the marital relationship.

In a 3-wave longitudinal study, the authors tested hypotheses regarding children's influence on the marital relationship, examining relations between interparental discord and children's negative emotional reactivity, agentic behavior, dysregulated behavior, and psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 232 cohabiting mothers and fathers who completed questionnaires and a marital conflict resolution task. Consistent with theory, interparental discord related to children's negative emotional reactivity, which in turn related to children's agentic and dysregulated behavior. Agentic behavior related to decreases in interparental discord, whereas dysregulated behavior related to increases in discord and elevations in children's adjustment problems. Person-oriented analyses of agentic and dysregulated responses indicated distinct clusters of children linked with meaningful individual differences in marital and psychosocial functioning. Results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms of child effects, such as increased parental awareness of children's distress potentially leading to reduced marital conflict.     

Coparenting Conflict and Academic Readiness in Children of Teen Mothers: Effortful Control as a Mediator

Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3‐year‐old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N = 133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5 years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4 years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2 years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers.     

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.     

Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement with Their Adolescents

We explored mothers’ and fathers’ time spent with their adolescents and found that mothers reported spending more time with their adolescents than did fathers. Developmental patterns were found for some aspects of time involvement, with both mothers and fathers reporting higher involvement with younger adolescents. Ratings of time-spent were not associated with adolescents’ self-reported emotional/behavioral problems. Both mothers and fathers agreed that mothers had more responsibility for adolescents’ discipline, daily care, and recreational activities. Mothers and fathers reported comparable levels of satisfaction with this arrangement. Mothers, and to a lesser extent fathers, reported greater satisfaction with the division of labor when fathers showed higher levels of responsibility for adolescents’ activities. Satisfaction with the division of labor was inversely related to interparental conflict. Few differences were found based on adolescent gender for any of these variables. Results are discussed within the context of mother–child and father–child relationships and family functioning.     

Fathers' and Mothers' Emotional Accessibility and Youth's Developmental Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This study examined the association between parents' emotional accessibility and youth's functioning. Participants included 154 parents who completed measures of parental emotional accessibility and their children's emotional and behavioral problems. Results showed that mothers are more emotionally accessible to their children. Mothers' emotional accessibility was associated negatively with youth's emotional and behavioral problems; whereas, fathers' emotional accessibility was associated with only youth's behavioral problems. This study highlights the importance of examining parental emotional accessibility when studying youth's development, utilizing parental perceptions to learn about youth and family functioning, and actively including fathers in family research studies.     

Interparental Interactions and Adolescent Mood: A Daily Diary Approach

The literature assessing relations between interparental functioning and youth adjustment is extensive. Most of this literature used a between subjects approach and examines youth responses to conflict reported by parents. The current study used a daily diary approach to complement the existing literature by assessing relations between aspects of marital interactions and adolescent reported daily mood using a within-family approach. We hypothesized that parents’ emotionality during interactions, the severity of their marital conflicts, and the degree to which their conflicts were resolved would be associated with their adolescents’ daily moods. To test these hypotheses a diverse sample (N?=?86; 27% Black, 33% White, 26% Hispanic, and 14% another race or families members differed in race) of mothers, fathers, and adolescents drawn from the Supporting Healthy Marriage project completed 15 days of daily diaries. Multilevel modeling results suggested differential associations between mother and father reports of their own emotions during interactions, conflict severity, and conflict resolution and adolescents’ daily moods. Overall, there were more significant results indicating fathers’ compared to mothers’ associations with adolescents’ daily moods, providing support for the need to continue efforts to engage fathers in family strengthening programs.     

Families with Distinct Levels of Marital Conflict and Child Adjustment: Which Role for Maternal and Paternal Stress?

This study addresses the links between distinct levels of marital conflict and mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress and their associations with children’s adjustment. Using a sample of 358 Italian father–mother dyads with school–aged children, we computed a cluster analysis to identify distinct groups of families with different levels of interparental conflict. In each of the three groups identified (low, moderate, and high marital conflict), we conducted correlational and mediational analyses to explore the relationship between interparental conflict and children’s adjustment, the relationship between interparental conflict and maternal and paternal stress, and the potential mediating role of these components of maternal and paternal stress in the association between interparental conflict and children’s adjustment. We administered the R-CTS, PSI-SF, and CBCL to parents in order to assess marital conflict, maternal and paternal stress, and children’s behavioral problems; children completed the CPIC in order to evaluate their perceptions of interparental conflict. Results show that, in the high marital conflict group, levels of interparental conflict negatively affect children’s adjustment; moreover, the parent–child dysfunctional interaction component of maternal stress partially mediates the relationship between interparental discord and children’s internalizing behaviors, while the difficult child component of paternal stress fully mediates the effects of marital conflict on externalizing behaviors. In the moderate marital conflict group, levels of interparental conflict are correlated with the difficult child component of both maternal and paternal stress, while in the low marital conflict group, interparental conflict does not correlate with both maternal and paternal stress and children’s adjustment.     

Modernity and childrearing in families of Gujarati Indian adolescents

Over the last two decades, researchers have devoted increasing attention to the role of cognitive factors in parenting. These cognitive mediational models focus on the role of attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge in influencing parenting behaviours. A cognitive factor that contributes to cultural variation in parenting is attitudinal modernity—a broad concept that refers to the “Westernization” of attitudes in such diverse areas as gender role conceptions, political attitudes, attitudes toward authority, the family, and religious beliefs. Modernity has been most useful in describing the attitudes of individuals from countries undergoing the rapid social and economic changes that accompany industrialism and urbanization. The present study focused on India—a country currently undergoing such changes. Despite the wide range of modern and traditional beliefs among contemporary Indian parents, our understanding of the determinants of these individual differences is limited. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation between modernity and parental childrearing practices, as well as to examine the relation between adolescent modernity and parental childrearing. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents in 50 Hindu, Gujarati families completed questionnaires about the modernity of their attitudes and were interviewed about parental childrearing practices. Parental and adolescent modernity were highly correlated. Moreover, parental modernity predicted the nature of parental childrearing values and practices, and parental childrearing values predicted adolescent modernity. Although the findings varied somewhat for mothers versus fathers, parental modernity was associated with individualistic childrearing values and practices, and parents who valued individualistic characteristics in their adolescents had sons and daughters who reported the highest levels of modernity. Implications for understanding the role of mothers and fathers in the socialization of modernity are considered.     

Interparental conflict and risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents: a cognitive-emotional model

This study used a cognitive-emotional model to examine the relations between multiple dimensions of interparental conflict and health risk behaviors among young adolescents. Participants were 151 Mexican American adolescents and their parents. At initial individual interviews, parents reported on conflict with their spouses, and adolescents reported on their parents' conflict, their appraisals of the conflict, their emotional distress, and their acculturation level. At 6-month follow-ups, adolescents reported on their risk behaviors, including substance use and sexual activity. In general, adolescents' acculturation level was not related to their risk behaviors. More frequent conflict, more conflict about the adolescent, more adolescent involvement in the conflict, and poor conflict resolution were related to greater emotional distress. More conflict about the adolescent, mothers being more demanding/dominating during conflict, and more adolescent involvement in the conflict were related to greater risk behaviors. Adolescents' cognitions mediated the link between two dimensions of parental conflict, frequency and resolution, and emotional distress. Adolescents' emotional distress mediated the association between adolescent involvement in parental conflict and adolescents' risk behaviors.     

Internalizing problems of adolescents: The role of the informant in identifying family and individual difficulties

The purpose of this study was to examine the family environment and school functioning of adolescents who differed on level of internalizing problems as reported by the adolescent and her/his mother. Thirty-six adolescents, their mothers, and their social studies teacher served as participants. Three groups were formed based on the report of level of internalizing problems: high mother and adolescent report (high concordant); low mother/high adolescent report (discordant); and low mother/low adolescent report (low concordant). The results indicated that the high concordant group, but not the discordant group, differed significantly from the low discordant group in that adolescents from the former group were from home environments with more difficulties (more interparental conflict, maternal depression, & maternal anxiety) and had more internalizing problems and lower grades in school. The results point to the importance of parent-report data when clinically assessing adolescents or conducting research on internalizing problems of adolescents.     

Interparental conflict and adolescent problem behavior: an examination of mechanisms

The purpose of the present study was to examine several competing hypotheses which have been utilized to explain the negative relationship between interparental conflict and child/adolescent problems. These mechanisms of operation have included modelling, genetic transmission, disrupted parenting, the role of perceptual/appraisal processes of the conflict, and an inhibition hypothesis. One hundred and forty-two young adolescents and their mothers served as subjects. Eighty were from intact families and 62 from recently divorced families. Data were collected from the perspective of the adolescent, mother, behavioral observer, and social studies teacher. The results indicated that intact and divorced samples had to be considered separately as different pathways contributed to adolescent behavior problems in the two samples. For externalizing problems, a direct path between interparental conflict and problem behavior existed for the divorced sample whereas an indirect path through the adolescent's perceptions of the conflict existed for the intact sample. The different context in which the interparental conflict occurred for the two samples was offered as an explanation of this difference. For internalizing problems a significant direct path existed between conflict and problem behavior for both samples; however, the indirect paths through the adolescent's perceptions and through poor parenting skills contributed only for the divorced sample. The results suggest that various mechanisms appear to operate in influencing how interparental conflict influences behavior problems of young adolescents. Both the type of problem examined and the marital status of the parents appear important in determining the relative impact of the mechanisms. Implications for the behavior therapist are noted.     

Modeling Female Social Aggression: Predictors from Multiple Developmental Contexts

A diverse array of proposed antecedents of social aggression (SA) were examined in two studies. This work is informed by ecological systems theory and examined predictors from the micro- and mesosystems. In Study 1, women (n?=?284). completed measures of aggression, digit ratio, emotional intelligence (EI), agreeableness, parenting styles, attachment insecurity with parents and peers, and television (TV) consumption. Aggression correlated with EI, agreeableness, parental authoritarianism, attachment insecurity with fathers and peers, and TV consumption; these variables accounted for 22% of the variance in SA. Father attachment insecurity moderated the TV-SA association, suggesting that positive experiences with parents can buffer negative effects of TV consumption. Study 2 aimed to increase the predictive power of the model. Females (n?=?115) completed measures of aggression, digit ratio, EI, agreeableness, parental authoritarianism, interparental conflict, dominance goals, popularity goals, physical appearance comparison, and TV consumption. Aggression correlated with EI, agreeableness, interparental conflict, dominance goals, popularity goals, and appearance comparison. Together, these variables accounted for 40% of the variance in SA; agreeableness, dominance goals, and popularity goals were significant predictors. Interparental conflict moderated the TV-SA association, again suggesting that positive experiences with parents can cushion effects of TV consumption. Implications for development of SA are discussed.     

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.