Parent-early adolescent relationship quality and problem behavior in Hungary,the Netherlands,India, and Iceland

Higher parent-child relationship quality has been associated with less internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. However, it remained less clear whether these associations are universal or depend on the country under investigation. Furthermore, fathers are still understudied, even though there is increasing evidence of their important role in early adolescent development. Our study compared the association of mother-child as well as father-child relationship quality with early adolescents’ problem behavior in four culturally different countries, namely Hungary (N = 293; M_age = 11.22; 53% boys), the Netherlands (N = 242; M_age = 11.20; 48% boys), India (N = 230; M_age = 10.68; 61% boys), and Iceland (N = 261; M_age = 10.90; 53% boys). Early adolescents filled out questionnaires in their classroom, assessing warmth and conflict with fathers and mothers and internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. Stepwise multi-group path analysis demonstrated no cross-cultural differences in associations between quality of the parent-child relationship and problem behavior. We did not find any effects of maternal or paternal warmth. However, across samples conflict with mothers was associated with more internalizing and externalizing problem behavior, and conflict with fathers was associated with more externalizing problem behavior. Our findings highlight the need to target conflict with both fathers and mothers in interventions across different countries, especially when addressing externalizing problem behavior.     

Relations Between Parents’ Anxiety Symptoms,Marital Quality,and Preschoolers’ Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors

Our objective was to expand understanding of the associations between fathers’ and mothers’ anxiety symptoms, their perceptions of marital quality, and their children’s maladjustment behaviors. Sixty Israeli families with a child aged 3–5 participated. Mothers and fathers completed self-report questionnaires assessing parents’ anxiety symptoms, marital dissatisfaction, and marital overt conflict, and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The actor–partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) design with distinguishable dyads within a path analysis framework was used. Findings showed that marital dissatisfaction of both mothers and fathers partially mediated the links between mothers’ anxiety and child behaviors. For externalizing behaviors, actor and partner effects were found, so that mothers’ anxiety symptoms predicted mothers’ own marital dissatisfaction (actor effect) and fathers’ marital dissatisfaction (partner effect), which, in turn were linked with children’s externalizing behaviors. As for internalizing behaviors, only actor effect was found, so that mothers’ anxiety symptoms were linked with maternal dissatisfaction, which, in turn, was linked with child internalizing behaviors. For fathers’ anxiety symptoms, the APIMeM indicated only direct effects on both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. These findings highlight the risk associated with parental anxiety and the contribution of the marital relations to children’s adjustment and are discussed in light of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Emotional Security Theory.     

Parents' Feelings Towards Their Adoptive and Non-Adoptive Children

In the current study, we examined parent gender differences in feelings (negativity and positivity) and perceptions of child behavioural and emotional problems in adoptive and biological parent-child dyads. In a sample of 85 families, we used a novel within-family adoption design in which one child was adopted and one child was a biological child of the couple, and tested whether the links between parent feelings and child maladjustment included effects of passive gene-environment correlation. Parents reported more negativity and less positivity as well as higher levels of externalizing behaviour for the adopted child compared to the non-adopted child, although effect sizes were small and no longer statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Fathers and mothers did not differ significantly in their reports of positive and negative feelings towards their children or in regard to child externalizing and internalizing behaviours. The correlations between parental negativity and positivity and child externalizing and internalizing were similar for fathers and mothers, and for adopted and non-adopted children. The findings suggest similar parent-child relationship processes for fathers and mothers, and that genetic transmission of behaviour from parent to child does not account for the association between parental warmth and hostility and child-adjustment problems.     

Parents’ and Children’s Religiosity and Child Behavioral Adjustment Among Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children

We investigated the role of parents’ and children’s religiosity in behavioral adjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Data were collected on 170 maltreated and 159 nonmaltreated children from low-income families (mean age = 10 years). We performed dyadic data analyses to examine unique contributions of parents’ and children’s religiosity and their interaction to predicting child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. A four group structural equation modeling was used to test whether the structural relations among religiosity predictors and child outcomes differed by child maltreatment status and child gender. We found evidence of parent-child religiosity interaction suggesting that (1) parents’ frequent church attendance was related to lower levels of internalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low church attendance and (2) parents’ importance of faith was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low faith. The results suggest that independent effects of parents’ religiosity varied depending on children’s religiosity and parent-child relationship.     

African American and Latina Adolescent Mothers’ and their Children’s Fathers’ Reports of Coparenting and Child Behavior Problems: Child Gender as a Moderator

Coparenting, the way that parents work together in their roles to parent children, has emerged as an important area for prevention and intervention. Though research indicates that low coparenting quality is associated with increased externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in children, the existing literature is not inclusive of families diverse in sociocultural identity and structure. We examined the link between coparenting and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and tested the moderating effect of child gender on the relationship between coparenting and child behavior problems in two-year-old children of African American and Latina adolescent mothers. One hundred and thirty five parents (69 mothers and 66 fathers) completed self-report measures of coparenting and child behavior problems when their children were two years old. While we did not find support for a direct association between coparenting quality and child behavior problems, child gender did moderate the association between mother’s report of coparenting quality and both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. High coparenting quality was associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems in girls and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems in boys. High quality coparenting was associated with lower levels of internalizing behavior problems in girls, but there was no difference for boys. Though the results for boys were mixed, our findings for girls suggest that high quality coparenting may be a protective factor for the development of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Parental Depression and Child Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms: Unique Effects of Fathers’ Symptoms and Perceived Conflict as a Mediator

Although a developing body of literature suggests that depressive symptoms in fathers are related to child psychopathology, little evidence suggests that paternal depression plays a unique role in children’s symptoms. We used a high-risk design involving children of mothers with and without histories of depression to test the unique mediating role of father–child conflict in the relations between fathers’ depressive symptoms and child externalizing and internalizing symptoms. In all regression analyses, mothers’ history of depression and current depressive symptoms were controlled. Depressive symptoms in fathers were associated with child externalizing and internalizing symptoms, and father–child conflict. Father–child conflict mediated relations between fathers’ depressive symptoms and child externalizing symptoms above and beyond the effects of maternal depression history and depressive symptoms. The results suggest that negative interpersonal consequences of parental depression on child psychopathology may not be limited to mothers.     

Father Involvement and Behavior Problems among Preadolescents at Risk of Maltreatment

Although there is a well-established connection between father involvement and children’s positive behavioral development in general, this relation has been understudied in more vulnerable and high-risk populations. The aims of this study were to examine how the quantity (i.e., the amount of shared activities) and quality (i.e., perceived quality of the father-child relationship) of father involvement are differently related to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among preadolescents at risk of maltreatment and test if these associations are moderated by father type and child maltreatment. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Generalized estimating equations analysis was performed on a sample of 499 preadolescents aged 12 years. The results indicated that higher quality of father involvement was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems whereas greater quantity of father involvement was associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The positive association between the quantity of father involvement and behavior problems was stronger in adolescents who were physically abused by their father. The association between father involvement and behavior problems did not differ by the type of father co-residing in the home. The findings suggest that policies and interventions aimed at improving the quality of fathers’ relationships and involvement with their children may be helpful in reducing behavior problems in adolescents at risk of maltreatment.     

亲子沟通的三层次模型:理论、工具及在小学生中的应用

目前的亲子沟通研究存在测量工具缺乏理论依据、测量层次和内容混乱等问题.本研究在系统论思想的指导下提出亲子沟通的三层次模型,从元素、关系和系统三个层面考察亲子沟通状况,并以此模型为基础编制了相应测量工具.经过文献梳理、理论建构、工具编制等环节,逐步完善了模型和相应测量工具.以371名小学五、六年级儿童为被试,检验了亲子沟通量表的可靠性和有效性,并考察亲子沟通基本状况.结果表明,(1)亲子沟通量表的信、效度指标达到了心理测量学要求,能够用于相关实证研究中;(2)被试家庭中,父母的沟通能力优于儿童,母子沟通质量优于父子沟通,母亲的沟通地位比父亲高;(3)父母的倾听能力能有效预测亲子沟通质量,提高父子沟通质量是让父子和母子两种沟通更协调的主要途径.     

父母协同教养与学前儿童社会行为的关系:亲子关系和同胞关系的链式中介作用

以河南省某市四所幼儿园大、中、小班共196名学前儿童及其父母和教师为研究对象,基于家庭系统理论,采用父、母填写的父母感知协同教养量表和亲子关系量表、母亲填写的儿童早期同胞关系质量问卷和幼儿教师报告的儿童行为量表探讨亲子关系、同胞关系在父母感知协同教养与学前儿童社会行为之间的中介作用。结果发现：（1）母子冲突和母子亲密分别在母亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起部分中介作用;父子冲突和父子亲密分别在父亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起完全中介作用;（2）父/母子冲突和同胞冲突在母亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用;父子冲突和同胞冲突在父亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用。     

Coparenting Quality Mediates the Association Between Intimate Partner Violence and Child Behavior Problems in Low-income,Racial and Ethnic Minority Families

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the family context has detrimental effects for children’s physical health and psychological adjustment. The current study examined the direct links between IPV and children’s externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and the indirect effect of coparenting quality as reported by a sample of 79 (80% African American, 11% Latina, and 9% Multiracial/Other), low-income mothers of children aged 2–12 years, the majority of whom were not in a romantic relationship (61%) or cohabitating with their child’s biological father (64%). Results indicated that IPV history was directly associated with higher rates of internalizing behaviors, but not with externalizing behaviors. Coparenting quality mediated the association between IPV and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors, when controlling for parent relationship status, such that IPV history was associated with lower levels of coparenting quality, which was associated with higher rates of child behavior problems. Findings highlight the importance of culturally appropriate self-report measures of coparenting and implications of IPV in racially and ethnically diverse low-income families on child adjustment.

     

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.     

亲子依恋和师生关系对留守儿童内化问题的影响：同伴依恋的中介作用

为探究亲子依恋和师生关系对留守儿童内化问题的延时影响及同伴依恋在其中的中介作用,采用亲子依恋问卷、同伴依恋问卷、师生关系量表及长处与困难问卷对604名小学三年级留守儿童进行间隔半年的两次问卷调查。结果表明：师生关系负向预测留守儿童内化问题,父子依恋和母子依恋对内化问题的预测均不显著;同伴依恋在亲子依恋和师生关系与留守儿童内化问题之间均起中介作用。     

Parental Problem Drinking and Children's Adjustment: Family Conflict and Parental Depression as Mediators and Moderators of Risk

We examined marital conflict, parent–child conflict, and maternal and paternal depression symptoms as mediators and moderators in the associations between fathers' and mothers' problem drinking and children's adjustment. A community sample of 6–12-year-old boys and girls and their mothers, fathers, and teachers participated. Marital conflict, parent–child conflict, and maternal depression symptomatology each functioned as a mediator of the association between father's problem drinking and children's externalizing and internalizing problems, and maternal depression symptoms accounted partially for the link between father's problem drinking and children's social problems. For mother's problem drinking, marital conflict, parent–child conflict, and maternal depression symptoms each mediated the association with children's externalizing problems. Further, parent–child conflict explained partially the link between mother's problem drinking and internalizing problems, and marital conflict accounted for the association between mother's problem drinking and social problems. When the mediators were simultaneously examined, parent–child conflict was the most robust mediator of the association between parental problem drinking and externalizing problems, and maternal depression symptomatology was the most consistent mediator of the relation between parental problem drinking and internalizing problems. Further, parent–child conflict and paternal and maternal depression symptoms each interacted with parental problem drinking to moderate some domains of children's adjustment. The significant moderation effects indicate that parent–child conflict is a robust vulnerability factor for internalizing problems.     

Fear of abandonment as a mediator of the relations between divorce stressors and mother-child relationship quality and children's adjustment problems

This study examines whether fear of abandonment mediates the prospective relations between divorce stressors and mother–child relationship quality and adjustment problems of children of divorce. Participants were 216 children, ages 8–12, and their primary residential mothers. Children reported on divorce stressors and fear of abandonment; mothers and children reported on mother–child relationship quality and internalizing and externalizing problems. Structural equation models indicated that Time 1 fear of abandonment mediated the relation between Time 1 divorce stressors and Time 2 internalizing and externalizing problems. Time 1 fear of abandonment also mediated the relation between Time 1 mother–child relationship quality and Time 2 internalizing and externalizing problems. Implications of these results for understanding variability in children's postdivorce adjustment problems and interventions for divorced families are discussed.     

Marital conflict and support seeking by parents in adolescence: empirical support for the parentification construct

Parentification, a parent-child dynamic wherein children come to provide ongoing emotional support for their parents, has been documented extensively in the clinical literature; however, it rarely has been studied systematically. Using a community sample of 83 couples and their adolescent children (mean age = 15.26 years; 52% male, 48% female), the authors linked adolescent self-report of parentification to specific youth and adult behaviors using multiple methods and examined its associations with youth adjustment problems. The parentification measure demonstrated strong internal consistency and 1-year stability. Parentification was associated with marital conflict, youth perceptions of threat, low warmth in the parent-child relationship, and the tendency for youths to intervene in marital conflict. Links were also found with youth reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior and poorer competency in close friendships. These findings thus support the parentification construct and provide evidence that parentification may contribute to poor youth outcomes by burdening children with developmentally inappropriate responsibilities.     

Interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's adjustment: bridging links between parents' depression and children's psychological distress

Pathways linking parental depressive symptoms, adult relationship insecurity, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment (internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems) were assessed using a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Two-parent families (N = 352) with 11- to 13-year-old children (179 boys, 173 girls) participated in the study. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms were associated with insecurity in adult close relationships assessed 12 months later, which was concurrently related to heightened levels of interparental conflict. Controlling for children's initial symptom levels, interparental conflict was related to child appraisals of father and mother rejection assessed an additional 12 months later, which were related to children's internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems, respectively. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for understanding the complex interplay between adult depressive symptoms, attributions in close adult relationships, interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children's psychological adjustment.     

亲子依恋与儿童抑郁症状的关系：儿童对环境的生物敏感性的作用及父母差异

不良的亲子依恋是导致儿童抑郁症状的风险因素,但其对儿童的影响会因儿童对环境的生物敏感性不同而存在差异。为探究家庭中母子、父子依恋对儿童抑郁症状的影响及儿童生物敏感性(本文中采用迷走神经抑制作为指标)在其中的作用,本研究结合行为任务、问卷报告、生理测量等多种研究手段,招募150名学龄儿童(平均年龄8.64岁,63名女孩)参与研究。结果表明：(1)学龄儿童的母子依恋水平高于父子依恋水平。(2)高水平的母子依恋与父子依恋会同等程度地降低儿童的抑郁症状。(3)儿童对环境的生物敏感性对母子依恋影响儿童抑郁症状路径的调节作用显著,生理上对环境更敏感(高迷走神经抑制)的儿童更易得益于高母子依恋,表现出较低的抑郁水平;但同时,这类儿童在母子依恋较低时也更易表现出较高的抑郁水平。(4)儿童的生物敏感性对父子依恋影响儿童抑郁症状路径的调节作用不显著,高父子依恋对生物敏感性水平不同的儿童均存在有利影响。(5)在不同情境中测量的迷走神经抑制对亲子依恋影响儿童抑郁症状的调节作用模式相似,表现出跨情境一致的特点。本研究率先揭示儿童迷走神经抑制与亲子依恋对儿童抑郁症状的联合作用机制及父母角色差异。     

Rigidity in Parent—Child Interactions and the Development of Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior in Early Childhood

Behavioral rigidity is a common feature of many psychopathologies, yet the association between rigidity and the development of childhood psychopathology has not been studied. State space grids (a dynamic systems [DS] method) were used to examine the relation between rigidity in parent-child interactions and childhood externalizing and internalizing problems. High-risk kindergarten children (n = 240) and their parents were observed for 2 hr engaging in a variety of tasks that were expected to elicit a range of affect. State space grid analysis of the observational data revealed an association between rigidity in parent-child interactions and child externalizing behavior problems in the fall and spring of kindergarten and 1st grade, and with growth in those problems over time. Rigidity was associated with concurrent levels and with chronic high-level internalizing problems. Strengths and limitations of the new DS methodology in relation to understanding child psychopathology are discussed.     

Stepfamily Relationship Quality and Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

The stepfamily literature is replete with between‐group analyses by which youth residing in stepfamilies are compared to youth in other family structures across indicators of adjustment and well‐being. Few longitudinal studies examine variation in stepfamily functioning to identify factors that promote the positive adjustment of stepchildren over time. Using a longitudinal sample of 191 stepchildren (56% female, mean age = 11.3 years), the current study examines the association between the relationship quality of three central stepfamily dyads (stepparent–child, parent–child, and stepcouple) and children's internalizing and externalizing problems concurrently and over time. Results from path analyses indicate that higher levels of parent–child affective quality are associated with lower levels of children's concurrent internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 1. Higher levels of stepparent–child affective quality are associated with decreases in children's internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 2 (6 months beyond baseline), even after controlling for children's internalizing and externalizing problems at Wave 1 and other covariates. The stepcouple relationship was not directly linked to youth outcomes. Our findings provide implications for future research and practice.     

Child Involvement in Interparental Conflict and Child Adjustment Problems: A Longitudinal Study of Violent Families

This study examined whether child involvement in interparental conflict predicts child externalizing and internalizing problems in violent families. Participants were 119 families (mothers and children) recruited from domestic violence shelters. One child between the ages of 7 and 10 years in each family (50 female, 69 male) completed measures of involvement in their parents’ conflicts, externalizing problems, and internalizing problems. Mothers completed measures of child externalizing and internalizing problems, and physical intimate partner violence. Measures were completed at three assessments, spaced 6 months apart. Results indicated that children’s involvement in their parents’ conflicts was positively associated with child adjustment problems. These associations emerged in between-subjects and within-subjects analyses, and for child externalizing as well as internalizing problems, even after controlling for the influence of physical intimate partner violence. In addition, child involvement in parental conflicts predicted later child reports of externalizing problems, but child reports of externalizing problems did not predict later involvement in parental conflicts. These findings highlight the importance of considering children’s involvement in their parents’ conflicts in theory and clinical work pertaining to high-conflict families.