Perceived Intrafamilial Connectedness and Autonomy in Families With and Without an Anxious Family Member: A Multiple Informant Approach

Perceived intrafamilial “emotional connectedness” and “autonomy” were investigated within families with and without an anxious family member using a multiple informant approach. The sample consisted of 32 mothers with a current anxiety disorder and 56 controls, their partners, and their anxious and nonanxious teenage children. No differences were found with respect to the perceived family relationships of family members with versus without anxious mothers. However, compared with nonanxious adolescents, anxious adolescents perceived less autonomy in relation to both parents. Mothers of anxious adolescents also perceived their children to be less autonomous toward them and their partners, than mothers of nonanxious adolescents. In contrast with “autonomy,” “emotional connectedness” was not reported to be different between families with and without an anxious adolescent. Agreement among family members and the importance of perceived individual autonomy in the development of anxiety are discussed.     

Scene-Based Psychodramatic Family Therapy With Troubled Adolescents and Parents: A Pilot Study

Scene-Based Psychodramatic Family Therapy (SB-PFT) is an innovative treatment used with troubled adolescents and their parents to improve family relationships and reduce adolescents’ problematic behavior. It integrates the principles of family therapy, psychodrama, and multiple-family group methodology. This research is a pilot study to obtain empirical evidence on the SB-PFT therapeutic process by gauging the perception of change of troubled adolescents and their parents, and assess the perceived helpfulness of its methodology and techniques. Ten multiple-family intervention groups were drawn up, with 110 participants (63 adolescents and 47 parents), and we adopted a qualitative methodology with focus groups, using an inductive analysis of 290 active constructions of participant narratives. Concerning perception of change, the adolescents reported mainly gaining in social support, prosocial attitudes, keys to problem solving, and expression of emotions due to the treatment. The parents perceived improvement in social support, keys for educational practices, emotional well-being, and expression of emotions due to the treatment. Regarding the perceived helpfulness of methodology and techniques, both adolescents and parents highlighted the usefulness of the group methodology for gaining social support, relativizing the problem, and expressing emotions. Additionally, participants referred to role-playing and mirror techniques as the most useful techniques. In conclusion, this first study on SB-PFT presents and describes its treatment for troubled adolescents and their parents. The participants’ positive perception of their personal and relational change after treatment should serve to promote further studies with quantitative methodology in order to verify the effectiveness of SB-PFT treatment.     

Multiple family therapy in a residential setting for adolescents*

Treating severely disturbed adolescents in a residential setting without including the family seems impossible. Several ways of letting the family participate in the clinical treatment are discussed. The focus of this article lies in multiple family therapy: groups of family members, adolescents and staff are treating each other. The objects of these meetings are manifold: to modify the stereotyped views that all the participants have of each other, to reduce the isolation of the family which is created by their child's admission, to stimulate interaction and mutual correction between family members, adolescents and staff, and to create a warm-up for and understanding of family system therapy. These multiple family sessions, which take place in a clinic with sixty disturbed adolescents, have a strong influence on the entire therapeutic process. Their impact is felt in the group psychotherapy, psychodrama and other forms of therapy.     

Predictors of school engagement among same-sex and heterosexual adoptive parents of Kindergarteners

Little research has explored parental engagement in schools in the context of adoptive parent families or same-sex parent families. The current cross-sectional study explored predictors of parents' self-reported school involvement, relationships with teachers, and school satisfaction, in a sample of 103 female same-sex, male same-sex, and heterosexual adoptive parent couples (196 parents) of kindergarten-age children. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about positive or neutral topics (e.g., their child's good grades) reported more involvement and greater satisfaction with schools, regardless of family type. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about negative topics (e.g., their child's behavior problems) reported better relationships with teachers but lower school satisfaction, regardless of family type. Regarding the broader school context, across all family types, parents who felt more accepted by other parents reported more involvement and better parent–teacher relationships; socializing with other parents was related to greater involvement. Regarding the adoption-specific variables, parents who perceived their children's schools as more culturally sensitive were more involved and satisfied with the school, regardless of family type. Perceived cultural sensitivity mattered more for heterosexual adoptive parents' relationships with their teachers than it did for same-sex adoptive parents. Finally, heterosexual adoptive parents who perceived high levels of adoption stigma in their children's schools were less involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma, whereas same-sex adoptive parents who perceived high levels of stigma were more involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma. Our findings have implications for school professionals, such as school psychologists, who work with diverse families.     

Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective analysis

Investigated components of perceived emotional support, including support from family members, nonfamily adults, and peers, as predictors of depressive symptoms in a sample of 333 high school students (age 14-18) using a prospective design. Analyses of panel questionnaire data at two points in time suggest there are significant gender differences both in the quality of perceived support reported by adolescents and in the importance of support variables as predictors of depressive symptoms. Although there are no gender differences in the magnitude of perceived support from family members, girls report higher emotional support from both nonfamily adults and peers than boys report. Simple correlations between family support and depression are significantly stronger for girls than for boys. Results of hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for initial level of symptoms, reveal that whereas both nonfamily adult and friend components of perceived support are significant predictors of changes in symptoms for girls, none of these variables significantly predicts changes in symptoms for boys in this sample. In addition, initial symptoms predict changes in family support for girls but not for boys.     

Emotionally disturbed, adopted adolescents: early patterns of family adaptation

This article focuses on the development of compatibility or goodness-of-fit within adoptive families and on the possible contribution of such problems to emotional disturbance of adolescents. Subjects included 50 adopted adolescents in residential treatment (mean age = 14.96) and their families, and 50 nonadopted adolescents in treatment (mean age = 14.90) and their families. The child, both parents, and the child's caseworker were interviewed. Three distinctive interactional patterns presenting adaptational challenges are discussed: the family's adaptation to the child's hyperactivity, the family's adaptation to the child's avoidance of contact and cuddling from early infancy, and perceived incompatibility between the child's personality and the parents' style. Results are discussed in terms of behavioral and attributional contributions of both the child and parents to the development of compatibility. Implications for clinicians are discussed.     

Female Adolescents with Eating Disorders,Parental Psychopathological Risk and Family Functioning

Epidemiological studies on adolescents with eating disorders demonstrate a high prevalence of disordered eating behaviors, with a higher prevalence of eating disorders among girls. Several studies have recently demonstrated an association between female adolescents’ eating disorders, parental psychopathological risk, and an impaired family functioning with poor quality of the relationships among family members. On the basis of these premises, we conducted a cross-sectional study initially recruiting 243 families of female adolescents affected by anorexia nervosa (Group A), bulimia nervosa (Group B), and binge eating disorder (Group C) (average age 14–17) to assess their psychological profile (SCL90-R), specific representations of their family functioning (FACES-IV), and the possible effect of adolescents’ psychological profiles and parents’ psychopathological risk on family functioning. Our results indicate that adolescents and parents in Groups A, B, and C show an unequivocal psychopathological profile; in particular, adolescents with anorexia present the most severe psychopathological risk. Further, our results show that adolescents and their parents differ in their perception of their family functioning. More specifically, adolescents with anorexia perceive their family as highly disengaged, poorly interwoven, and rigid, in addition cohesion and communication qualities are perceived as low. Interestingly, parental psychopathological risk predicts adolescents’ specific perception of their family functioning. These findings may guide clinical interventions as they suggest that distinct maternal psychopathological symptoms can be associated with a variety of clinical configurations in their offspring, whereas paternal psychopathological risk may be present in adolescents suffering from all forms of eating disorders.     

Family Environment as a Moderator of the Association between Conduct Disorder and Suicidality

This study examined whether perceived family support and conflict moderate the relationship between conduct disorder (CD) and suicide attempts (SAs) in a sample of 185 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents, ages 13 to 18, and their parents. Data were collected using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K–SADS–PL), the Survey of Children’s Social Support Scale–Short Version, and the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression and simple slope analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. Results suggest that perceptions of family support, but not conflict, moderate the association between CD and SAs. Specifically, adolescents diagnosed with CD were found to be at heightened risk for an SA if they reported lower family support. These results suggest that clinicians who treat adolescents with CD should assess for perceptions of family support. Incorporating family work into treatment could help to prevent SAs.     

Staff and Boarders Perspectives of the Boarding Environment

This research provides support for a direct comparison between the home and boarding environments, the inference being that boarding staff who fulfil an in loco parentis role have an integral part to play in the developmental outcomes of adolescents (boarders). Research in the area of family functioning has found that adolescents tend to view the family environment more negatively than their parents and that these discrepant perceptions have been linked to both internalising and externalising disorders in adolescents. In an attempt to further clarify the influence of the parenting role of boarding staff and of the boarding environment in general, 121 staff and 415 boarders from schools in Queensland, Australia, were asked to rate the boarding environment on levels of conflict, social support and climate. It was found that boarders, like adolescents in the home environment, perceived significantly higher levels of conflict and lower levels of social support and positive climate than did staff. These findings lend further support to the conceptualisation of the boarding environment as a home away from home. The implications of these findings for boarders’ developmental outcomes are discussed.     

Grandparents as family stabilizers during economic hardship in Bulgaria

T he present study of three generations' families living together during a period of marked economic dislocation investigates whether supportive grandparents can ameliorate the negative effects of economic stress on parenting and on teen outcomes. The study focuses on harsh parenting and adolescent depression, which has been shown to be especially responsive to economic stress. Three hypotheses were investigated: (1) in extended families there is a link between economic adversity and adolescent depression that is mediated by harsh parenting; (2) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between economic pressure and harsh parenting; and (3) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression. Data were collected from a community sample of 62 extended families with an adolescent during a period of marked economic dislocation in Bulgaria. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents completed questionnaires about perceived economic pressure, parents' harsh parenting, and perceived support of grandparents. Adolescents also completed a measure of self‐reported depression. Additional interviews were conducted with every eligible family member about family relations. Results showed that even though there was significant economic stress reported by parents, adolescents reported moderate levels of depression and low levels of harsh parenting by mothers and fathers. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that whenever respondents experienced support by grandparents, it made a difference for family members. More specifically, despite economic stress, mothers who experienced the support of grandparents tended to exercise less harsh parenting practices than mothers who lacked such support. Furthermore, when grandparents were supportive, harsh parenting was not associated with adolescent depression. These findings are discussed in the light of existing studies of families under economic pressure with a special focus on extended family relations and the role of cultural context.     

Like parent,like child? Development of prejudice and tolerance towards immigrants

Although intergroup attitudes are assumed to develop due to the influence of parents, there is no longitudinal evidence supporting this claim. In addition, research on socialization of intergroup attitudes has omitted possible effects of adolescents on their parents. We also know little about the conditions under which intergroup attitudes are transmitted. This two‐wave, 2 years apart, study of adolescents (N = 507) and their parents examined the relations between parents and adolescents' prejudice and tolerance from a longitudinal perspective. The study tested whether parental prejudice and tolerance would predict over‐time changes in adolescents' attitudes and whether adolescents' prejudice and tolerance would elicit changes in parental attitudes. Additionally, it explored whether some of the effects would depend on perceived parental support. Results showed significant bidirectional influences between parents and adolescents' attitudes. In addition, adolescents who perceived their parents as supportive showed higher parent–adolescent correspondence in prejudice than youth with low parental support. These findings show that intergroup attitudes develop as a result of mutual influences between parents and adolescents. Hence, the unidirectional transmission model and previous research findings should be revisited. The results also suggest that parents' prejudice influence adolescents' attitudes to the extent that youth perceive their parents as supportive.     

Inner-City African American Parental Involvement in Children's Schooling: Racial Socialization and Social Support from the Parent Community

Parents (n = 161) and teachers (n = 18) from an urban elementary school serving primarily African American children completed questionnaires regarding racial socialization, social support, and involvement in activities that support youth educational achievement at home and school. Parental reports of racism awareness, and contact with school staff were significantly correlated with parent reports of at-home involvement and at-school involvement. Parent reports of social support from the parent community were significantly related to at-home involvement only. Relative to teacher reports, parents reported more formal contacts with school staff, and higher levels of racism awareness, religiosity, and African American cultural pride. Teachers and parents agreed on school climate and parental levels of at-home and at-school involvement. The results suggest that racial socialization processes are related to parent involvement in children's schooling and that increased efforts are needed to bridge a cultural gap between parents and teachers in inner-city communities.     

Effects of perceived parental school support and family communication on delinquent behaviors in latinos and white non-latinos

The authors examined the roles of perceived parental school support and family communication in the context of delinquent behaviors in Mexican American and White non-Latino adolescents. Family communication was defined as the degree to which adolescents endorsed that they communicated with their parents about a variety of topics. The Parental School Support scale was administered to assess adolescents' perceptions of parental support for academic pursuits. Data analysis included the relationship between these variables and their predictive relationship to delinquency, and the relationship to gender and ethnicity. Results demonstrated that adolescents' perceptions of family communication and parental school support were related to the likelihood of committing delinquent acts. There were no significant differences in gender or ethnicity in perceived levels of family communication and parental school support.     

Parental Health and Children’s Functioning in Immigrant Families: Family Roles and Perceived Treatment at School

Although parents’ health condition is generally thought to be related to their involvement in their children’s functioning, the possible dynamics behind the scenes in school contexts with immigrant children has received little attention. This study examined the association between parents’ health condition and their children’s academic and behavioral functioning, as well as the mediation effects of parents’ school engagement and children’s perceived treatment at school among 607 immigrant families with 10- to 12-year-old children. Using structural equation modeling, the results indicated that parents’ poor health condition was associated with children’s increased behavioral problems. Parents’ school engagement fully mediated the association between parental health condition and children’s academic achievement and partially mediated the association between parental health condition and children’s behavior problems. Notably, higher levels of parents’ school engagement were associated with increased behavior problems, demonstrating a unique feature in these immigrant children’s developmental functioning. Higher levels of perceived harsh treatment by peers at school due to children’s immigrant identity were associated with these children’s greater risks of behavior problems. The results suggested what may lie behind the scenes in these children’s behavioral problems is that many of these children who act out and are brought to the school office for disciplinary issues may suffer from perceived discrimination and bad treatment by their peers. The findings provide important implications for researchers, healthcare practitioners, and educators seeking to understand this subpopulation and to design and implement family support and prevention programs for young adolescents from immigrant backgrounds.     

Parent-Adolescent Relationships: The Influence of Multi-Family Therapy Group on Communication and Closeness

This article examines perceived change in communication and closeness between adolescents and parents after four weeks in adolescent residential chemical dependency treatment. Adolescents completed perception of parent-adolescent communication, closeness, and open-ended questionnaires before (n = 18) and after (n = 10) treatment and perceived changes in relationships after treatment. T-tests compared (a) those completing the post-test with those not, (b) pre- and post-test responses, and (c) pre- and post-test responses based on parents' attendance at multi-family therapy groups (MFTG). Positive change occurred after four weeks, especially when parents attended MFTG. The critical role of parent involvement in adolescent treatment needs recognition by funding and referral sources.     

The importation,transmission, and moderation of stress in the family system

Despite its importance in community psychology, the stress process is still viewed primarily as an individual-level phenomenon, little research being conducted on the dynamics of stress in a social system such as the family. Propositions derived from a model of family stress were tested using data from a cross-sectional survey of family triads (father, mother, and adolescent). Two measures of distress were related significantly to both macro-and microstressors, and perceived social support did not buffer this relationship. Stressors endogenous to the family were significantly associated with those exogenous to the family (stressor importation hypothesis); contrary to prediction, this relationship did not vary across family members or family types (high vs. low cohesion). Distress in some family members was significantly associated with stressors experienced by other family members (stress transmission hypothesis); this relationship did not vary across family types but did vary across family members to some extent in that stress was transmitted from adolescents to parents to a greater degree than vice versa.     

Family interactions of assaultive adolescents,stealers, and nondelinquents

Eleven adolescent chronic offenders apprehended for assaultive crimes in the community were observed in their family homes. This group was matched with 11 adolescents apprehended for stealing and with 11 adolescents with no court contact. Assaultive adolescents, unlike their controls, ranked significantly higher among their own family members in terms of their total aversive behavior in the family home. The results support the notion that assaultive adolescents are more involved with fighting with their siblings in the family home and consequently have had more practice in fighting than their controls, thereby preparing them for assaultive behavior in the community. Assaultive adolescents had more female siblings than male siblings, whereas nondelinquent adolescents had more male than female siblings.     

The Role of Unconditional Parental Regard in Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting

Two studies explored the role of parents’ unconditional positive regard (UCPR) as perceived by adolescents and young adults in promoting the effectiveness of specific parenting practices that may support offspring's academic autonomous motivation. Study 1 tested the hypothesis that UCPR predicts rationale‐giving and choice‐provision practices and, at the same time, moderates their relations with adolescents’ autonomous motivation. Study 2 replicated the association between UCPR and the parental practices, and further explored the role of parents’ authenticity as an antecedent of UCPR and parental autonomy support. Study 1 included 125 adolescents and Study 2 considered 128 college‐students and their mothers. The offspring reported on their perceptions of their mothers and on their autonomous motivation, and the mothers reported on their sense of authenticity. Both studies found consistent associations between UCPR and parenting practices that may support autonomous motivation. Moreover, Study 1 demonstrated that the rationale giving and choice provision were more strongly related to adolescents’ autonomous motivation when adolescents perceived mothers as high on UCPR. Finally, Study 2 demonstrated that mothers’ authenticity predicted UCPR, which in turn was related to autonomy‐supportive parenting. Findings support the assumption that parents’ autonomy‐supportive practices are more effective when accompanied by UCPR.     

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.     

Peer support telephone dyads for elderly women: Was this the wrong intervention?

Tested a preventive intervention in which peer telephone dyads were developed for low-income, community-living, elderly women with low perceived social support. After an initial assessment, respondents were randomly assigned to either an assessment-only control or received 10 weeks of friendly staff telephone contact. After a second assessment, participants receiving the staff contact were randomly assigned to continue that contact or were paired in dyads to continue phone contact with one another. Dependent variables were measures of perceived social support, morale, depression, and loneliness. All groups, particularly the staff contact group, showed some improvement in mental health scores over time, but there were no significant differences between intervention groups, or between intervention and assessment-only control groups. The results suggest that participation in the study and in personal assessment interviews at home were probably morale enhancing, and that additional telephone contact did not significantly add to that effect. Evidence also indicates that, in this sample, low perceived family support was significantly related to poor mental health, so it is possible that a program designed to increase friend support may have been the wrong intervention.