Ethnic Differences in the Developmental Significance of Parentification

Using an ecological framework, this 2‐wave longitudinal study examined the effects of parentification on youth adjustment across the transition to adolescence in a high‐risk, low‐income sample of African American (58%) and European American (42%) mother–child dyads (T1 M_age = 10.17 years, T2 M_age = 14.89 years; 52.4% female). Children's provision of family caregiving was moderately stable from early to late adolescence. Emotional and instrumental parentification evidenced distinct long‐term effects on adolescents' psychopathology and the quality of the parent–child relationship. Ethnicity moderated these relations. Emotional and instrumental parentification behaviors were associated with predominantly negative outcomes among European American youth in the form of increased externalizing behavior problems and decreased parent–child relationship quality, whereas emotional parentification was associated with positive outcomes among African American youth in the form of increased parent–child relationship quality, and instrumental parentification was neutral. These findings support a multidimensional view of parentification as a set of culturally embedded phenomena whose effects can only be understood in consideration of the context in which they occur.     

Need Satisfaction as a Mediator of Associations between Interparental Relationship Dimensions and Autonomy Supportive Parenting: A Weekly Diary Study

Guided by the self-determination theory, this weekly diary study tested a process model in which week-to-week mother-reported interparental conflict and perceived partner responsiveness were associated with maternal autonomy support by means of maternal psychological need satisfaction. During six consecutive weeks, 258 mothers (M_age = 41.71 years) and their 157 adolescents (51.4% females, M_age = 14.92 years) from Turkey provided weekly reports of the study variables via an online survey. Multilevel analyses showed that maternal need satisfaction was predicted by lower levels of interparental conflict and greater levels of perceived partner responsiveness. Maternal need satisfaction, in turn, was positively associated with maternal and adolescent reports of maternal autonomy support. Further, these week-to-week associations were partly moderated by maternal perfectionism. The results underscore the dynamic nature of the intra-family relationships, the important role of particular conditions in which mothers may become more autonomy supportive, and the necessity to consider mother’s personal characteristics while examining these dynamics.     

The role of parents’ autonomy support and psychological control in sibling relationship functioning through children’s need-based experiences

This study aimed to examine whether parents’ autonomy support and psychological control during sibling conflict would relate to children’s need-based experiences and relationship functioning within the sibling relationship. Two siblings (M_age = 8.61 years, SD = 0.91 and M_age = 10.50 years, SD = 0.94) of 205 families filled out questionnaires. Results showed that parental autonomy support related positively to siblings’ relationship satisfaction via children’s need satisfaction. Additionally, fathers’ psychological control related negatively to provided autonomy support and positively to provided psychological control from one sibling to the other (as reported by the other sibling) and negatively to satisfaction with this relationship via need frustration. These findings highlight the importance of the quality of parents’ involvement during sibling conflict.     

Longitudinal Effects of Latino Parent Cultural Stress,Depressive Symptoms,and Family Functioning on Youth Emotional Well‐Being and Health Risk Behaviors

U.S. Latino parents can face cultural stressors in the form of acculturative stress, perceived discrimination, and a negative context of reception. It stands to reason that these cultural stressors may negatively impact Latino youth's emotional well‐being and health risk behaviors by increasing parents' depressive symptoms and compromising the overall functioning of the family. To test this possibility, we analyzed data from a six‐wave longitudinal study with 302 recently immigrated (<5 years in the United States) Latino parents (74% mothers, M_age = 41.09 years) and their adolescent children (47% female, M_age = 14.51 years). Results of a cross‐lagged analysis indicated that parent cultural stress predicted greater parent depressive symptoms (and not vice versa). Both parent cultural stress and depressive symptoms, in turn, predicted lower parent‐reported family functioning, which mediated the links from parent cultural stress and depressive symptoms to youth alcohol and cigarette use. Parent cultural stress also predicted lower youth‐reported family functioning, which mediated the link from parent cultural stress to youth self‐esteem. Finally, mediation analyses indicated that parent cultural stress predicted youth alcohol use by a way of parent depressive symptoms and parent‐reported family functioning. Our findings point to parent depressive symptoms and family functioning as key mediators in the links from parent cultural stress to youth emotional well‐being and health risk behaviors. We discuss implications for research and preventive interventions.     

Motivations for social withdrawal and academic adjustment in emerging adulthood

While social withdrawal in childhood is typically associated with lower academic functioning, little is known about how motivations for social withdrawal may be connected to academic adjustment in emerging adulthood. The purpose of the present study was to examine associations between social withdrawal motivations (i.e., shyness, avoidance and unsociability) and indices of academic adjustment, including academic achievement (i.e., grade point average [GPA]) and academic motivation (i.e., intrinsic value, self-efficacy and test anxiety), while accounting for gender and conscientiousness. Participants were 623 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 (M_age = 20.15, SD = 1.67; 79% female) who were currently attending university. Hierarchical regression results showed that shyness was negatively associated with intrinsic value and self-efficacy. Whereas shyness was positively associated with test anxiety, avoidance was negatively associated with test anxiety. Social withdrawal motivations were not associated with GPA. The findings suggest that some motivations for social withdrawal play a role in university students’ academic motivation, but not their academic achievement.     

The Role of Parents in Emerging Adults’ Psychological Well‐Being: A Person‐Oriented Approach

The purpose of this study was to gain an overview of Spanish emerging adults’ family relationships and their link with psychological well‐being and psychological distress. The sample comprised 1502 undergraduate students (903 women and 599 men) aged between 18 and 29 (M = 20.32 and SD = 2.13), recruited from two universities in Spain. A cluster analysis identified three groups of families based on the centrality of five family variables: parental involvement, parental support for autonomy, parental warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control. The three groups or clusters were labeled high‐quality family relationships (HQ), intermediate‐quality family relationships (IQ), and low‐quality family relationships (LQ). Women were overrepresented in the HQ cluster, whereas men were overrepresented in the IQ cluster. Moreover, emerging adults who perceived better family relationships (high levels of parental involvement, parental support for autonomy and parental warmth, and low levels of behavioral and psychological control) were found to have a higher level of psychological adjustment. Thus, our results indicate that family plays a key role in the psychological well‐being of emerging adults. The discussion focuses on the implications of this finding for the parent‐child relationship, and explores how it extends our knowledge about family relationships during emerging adulthood.     

Unique Roles of Mothering and Fathering in Child Anxiety; Moderation by Child’s Age and Gender

We examined the associations between the parenting dimensions autonomy granting, over control, and rejection and children’s anxiety, in relation to parent and child gender and child age. Elementary school-aged children (n = 179, M _age = 10.27, SD = 1.30), adolescents (n = 127, M _age = 15.02, SD = 1.54) and both their parents completed questionnaires on parenting and children’s anxiety. Parenting was more strongly related to child anxiety in elementary school children than in adolescents. Maternal over control was uniquely related to elementary school-aged children’s anxiety whereas paternal over control was more important during adolescence. Opposite to our expectations, we found higher levels of parental autonomy granting to be related to higher levels of anxiety for younger elementary school-aged children (age < 10). For adolescents, the association between paternal over control and anxiety was stronger for older adolescents (age > 15), with higher levels of over control related to higher levels of anxiety. For both elementary school-aged children and adolescents, the associations between parenting and child anxiety did not differ as a function of the child’s gender. If we are to understand the associations between parenting and children’s anxiety, it is important to distinguish parental autonomy granting from parental over control and to consider the role of parent gender and the age of the child.     

Longitudinal study of striatal activation to reward and loss anticipation from mid-adolescence into late adolescence/early adulthood

Adolescent risk-taking behavior has been associated with age-related changes in striatal activation to incentives. Previous cross-sectional studies have shown both increased and decreased striatal activation to incentives for adolescents compared to adults. The monetary incentive delay (MID) task, designed to assess functional brain activation in anticipation of reward, has been used extensively to examine striatal activation in both adult and adolescent populations. The current study used this task with a longitudinal approach across mid-adolescence and late adolescence/early adulthood. Twenty-two participants (13 male) were studied using the MID task at two time-points, once in mid-adolescence (mean age = 16.11; SD = 1.44) and a second time in late adolescence/early adulthood (mean age = 20.14; SD = .67). Results revealed greater striatal activation with increased age in high- compared to low-incentive contexts (incentive magnitude), for gain as well as for loss trials (incentive valence). Results extend cross-sectional findings and show reduced striatal engagement in adolescence compared to adulthood during preparation for action in an incentive context.     

Evaluating the filial behaviour scale across three cultural groups using exploratory structural equation modelling

Filial piety is a Confucian concept that guides how children treat and take care of their parents. The Filial Behaviour Scale (FBS) is a 25-item instrument developed in the Chinese context measuring behavioural manifestations of filial piety. Although the components of filial piety have been found to be relevant across cultures, little research has investigated the psychometric properties of the FBS in other cultural contexts. The present study evaluated the factor structure, internal consistency, measurement invariance and construct validity of the FBS across three cultural groups: the United States, Italy and Malaysia. Participants were 1090 emerging adults (67% females; M_age = 21.29 years, SD = 1.97; White Americans: n = 455, White Italians: n = 428, Malays: n = 328). A two-factor structure emerged across groups: Obedience/Obligation (behaviours showing obedience and obligation towards parents) and Relationship (behaviours expressing affection and promoting positive parent–child relationships). The two factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency, full configural, partial metric and partial scalar invariance, as well as unique associations with depressive symptoms and parent–child relationships across groups. These findings yielded a more nuanced understanding of filial behaviour and supported the utility of a two-factor FBS among emerging adults in various cultural contexts.     

Adolescent triangulation into interparental conflict: Role of cognitive appraisals and birth-order

ABSTRACT

Triangulation of adolescents into interparental conflict has since long been recognized as a risk factor for adolescents’ psychological adjustment. However, there is a scarcity in research focusing on exploring the variables that make adolescents more vulnerable to get triangulated. This study used a cross-section research design to examine the relationship between interparental conflict and adolescent triangulation into that conflict in an under-researched population of Pakistani school going adolescents (N = 521), with an age range of 13-19 years (M = 15.25; SD = 1.46); while exploring the role of adolescent’s cognitive appraisals (threat and self-blame) and birth-order. The results indicated that interparental conflict, appraisal of threat and appraisal of self-blame are significant predictors of adolescent triangulation. Moreover, this study also revealed the moderating role of adolescent birth order in the relationship between interparental conflict and triangulation, as well as between appraisal of self-blame and triangulation; indicating that the ‘only’ child in the family was at the highest risk of being triangulated into their parents’ arguments, while the youngest child was least likely to get involved.     

Education and conspiracy beliefs: A replication of van Prooijen (2017)

The main aim of the study was to replicate and extend van Prooijen's findings on how education and its outcomes (cognitive complexity, subjective social standing, self-esteem, a feeling of control and powerlessness, cognitive reflection, epistemic curiosity and scientific reasoning) predict conspiracy beliefs. In two studies (Study 1: N = 497, M_age = 49.06, SD_age = 14.92; Study 2: N = 482, M_age = 47.45, SD_age = 15.87), subjective socioeconomic status and cognitive reflection (Study 1) and a feeling of powerlessness and scientific reasoning (Study 2) contributed to the negative relationship between education level and belief in conspiracy theories. These results showed the connection of education to socioeconomic status, a feeling of control and analytic thinking (cognitive reflection, scientific reasoning) and their power to reduce conspiracy beliefs.     

Understanding the Pathways from Depression to Suicidal Risk from the Perspective of the Interpersonal–Psychological Theory of Suicide

Suicide is a major public health concern, especially in adolescence. Identifying risk factors for suicide is important to effectively prevent such behavior. Depression is one of the most widely examined risk factors for suicidal risk. How depression and suicidal risk are related, however, is still not clear. This study tested a model with three key constructs of the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS)—perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI)—as mediators in the relationship between depression and suicidal risk among Chinese adolescents. Chinese high school students (N = 1,074; 54.2% male; M_age = 13.87 years, SD = 1.48) completed questionnaires assessing all study variables. Results suggested that perceived burdensomeness and NSSI partially mediated the relationship between depression and suicidal risk. Findings of this study emphasize the importance of the IPTS framework in understanding the possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between depression and suicidal risk, and suggest a possible avenue for suicide interventions.     

Longitudinal Model Predicting Self‐Concept in Pediatric Chronic Illness

Although self‐concept has been identified as salient to the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents dealing with a chronic illness (CI), little research has focused on its predictors it. Given that depression and parent–child attachment have been linked to self‐concept in the population at large, the goal of this study was to evaluate these relationships longitudinally in a sample of adolescents with CI. Using participant data from the Mastering Each New Direction (MEND) program, a 3‐month psychosocial, family based intensive outpatient program for adolescents with CI, we employed multilevel modeling to test longitudinal changes in self‐concept, as predicted by depressive symptoms and parent–child attachment, in a sample of 50 youths (M_age = 14.56, SD_age = 1.82) participating in MEND. Both “time spent in the program” and decreases in depressive symptoms were associated with increases in self‐concept over time. Higher baseline levels of avoidant attachment to both mother and father were also associated with greater initial levels of self‐concept. Targeting depressive symptoms and supporting adaptive changes in attachment may be key to promoting a healthy self‐concept in pediatric CI populations. The association between avoidant attachment and higher baseline self‐concept scores may reflect differences in participants’ autonomy, self‐confidence, or depression. Limitations of the study include variability in the amount of time spent in the program, attrition in final time point measures, and the inability to fully examine and model all potential covariates due to a small sample size (e.g. power).     

School climate and ethnic‐racial identity in school: A longitudinal examination of reciprocal associations

The messages youth receive in schools about how they matter as individuals and as members of ethnic‐racial groups are influential in constructing their developing ethnic‐racial identities (ERI). However, the developing ERI students hold also have a role in shaping their experiences at school. The current study examined the longitudinal and reciprocal association between ERI (exploration and resolution) and school climate (support for cultural pluralism and teacher supportiveness) among 491 Black, Latino, and White middle school youth (M_age = 12.03, SD = 1.05, range: 11–17) in the Midwest. Cross‐lagged analyses revealed that greater perceptions of support for cultural pluralism within the school predicted greater exploration and resolution at later time points for all students. Moreover, greater exploration and resolution among White students was predictive of greater perceptions of support for cultural pluralism at the school. Higher quality teacher–student relationships predicted greater engagement in ERI exploration for all youth. The findings highlight the importance of school climate in helping shape ERI among youth attending a culturally diverse school and the role of such youth in shaping the climate at their school.     

The interface of identity distress and psychological problems in students’ adjustment to University

Identity distress, psychological symptoms, and adjustment to university (academic, social, and person-emotional) were examined among students in Spain (N = 241; M_age = 19.0 (1.6), Md = 19; 84% female) and Canada (N = 531; M_age = 19.8 (2.2), Md = 19; 82% female). The expected positive relationships were found between these variables. Similarly, increased identity distress of Spanish students and greater maladjustment at university for those in Canada were associated with contextual differences in the respective environments. Psychological problems mediated the linkages between identity distress with academic, social, and person-emotional functioning at university, respectively. Also, psychological problems and context/country were independent predictors of students’ identity distress. Findings underscore the importance of examining contextual factors that influence student adjustment to university in relation to identity development and mental health and they offer suggestions for further research and counseling services.     

Parent–child relationships and depressive symptom among Chinese college students: the mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction and the moderating role of mindfulness

Prior studies have revealed that positive parent–child relationships are negatively associated with college students’ depressive symptom. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relation whether specific mediators or moderators are at play are little known. Therefore, the current study examined the potential mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction and the moderating role of mindfulness in the link between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom among college students. A total of 900 college students from Shenzhen, China (53.40% male; M_age?=?19.82, SD?=?1.01, range from 17 to 27 years) completed questionnaires regarding parent–child relationships, psychological needs satisfaction, mindfulness, and depressive symptom. This study found that (1) parent–child relationships are negatively related to college students’ depressive symptom; (2) psychological needs satisfaction could be a potential mediator in the link between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom; and (3) mindfulness could moderate both the relation between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom as well as that between psychological needs satisfaction and depressive symptom, and those relations were weaker among college students with high levels of mindfulness than those with low levels of mindfulness. The current study highlights the mediating and moderating mechanisms that may underlie the correlation between parent–child relationships and depressive symptom, which may contribute to the development of more effective intervention and prevention programs for alleviating college students’ depressive symptom.

     

Exploring Processes in Day-to-Day Parent–Adolescent Conflict and Angry Mood: Evidence for Circular Causality

Parent–adolescent conflict has been studied both as a precursor of long-term macrolevel developmental risks and as an outcome of microlevel, moment-to-moment interaction patterns. However, the family-level processes underlying the maintenance or regulation of conflict in daily life are largely overlooked. A meso-level understanding of parent–adolescent conflict offers important practical insights that have direct implications for interventions. The present study explores day-to-day reciprocal processes and carryover in parents’ and adolescents’ experiences of anger and conflict. Daily diary data provided by parent–adolescent dyads (N = 151) from two-caregiver households (adolescents: 61.59% female, mean age = 14.60 years) over 21 days were examined using a multivariate Poisson multilevel model to evaluate the circular causality principle in parents’ and adolescents’ daily conflict and anger. Findings offer empirical support for the theory, suggesting that parents’ and adolescents’ anger and conflict exist together in a feedback loop wherein conflict is both a consequence of past anger and also an antecedent of future anger, both within and across persons. Increased understanding of the daily interaction patterns and maintenance of parent–adolescent conflict can guide more informed, targeted, and well-timed interventions intended to ameliorate the consequences of problematic parent–adolescent conflict sequences.     

Adolescent–parent attachment as a mediator of relations between parenting and adolescent social behavior and wellbeing in China

The purpose of this study was to examine links between parenting dimensions (authoritative parenting, psychological control, and parental authority) and adolescent wellbeing (self‐esteem, autonomy, and peer attachments) as mediated by parent–teen attachment, among Chinese families. The sample included 298 Chinese adolescents, ages 15–18 years (M age = 16.36, SD = .68; 60% female). The mediation model was examined using path analyses (one model with parental authority as overprotection, and one with it as perceived behavioral control). To improve model fit a direct path was added from authoritative parenting to autonomy. Authoritative parenting was positively predictive of attachment, while psychological control and overprotection (but not behavioral control) were negative predictors. In turn, adolescent–parent attachment was positively related to the three outcomes. Lastly, the model paths did not differ by adolescent gender. These findings suggest that parenting behaviors may play a crucial role in adolescent social behaviors and wellbeing via adolescent–parent attachment.     

Children’s judgements of the obligation to help: The role of relationships

ABSTRACT

Children at ages 7 (N = 24, M _age = 6.96, SD _age =.20), 9 (N = 29, M _age = 8.76, SD _age =.44), and 11 (N = 25, M _age = 10.76, SD _age =.66), and adults (N = 30) made judgements about the obligation to help when it conflicts with a personal desire. Across ages, the obligation to help was judged to be strongest when there were positive or neutral past interactions with the person in need of help, compared to mean past interactions. Expectation of a future friendship predicted the obligation to help, even after controlling for age and sex. However, we found no effect of children helping gender in-group members more. Evidence for altruism was not found: expected positive emotions did not predict the obligation to help. We conclude that an expectation of future relationship is the strongest predictor of helping obligation.