Youth Self-Views,Coping with Stress,and Behavioral/Emotional Problems: The Role of Incremental Self-Theory

Previous research has established associations between stress and coping processes and internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents and emerging adults. The purpose of the present study was to integrate this literature with research demonstrating the importance of self-theory—views that individuals hold about themselves and their abilities. We examined the extent to which self-theory may influence both coping processes and internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents and emerging adults. Using moderated mediation, we tested whether coping serves as a mechanism through which self-theory of both intelligence and personality influences internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents and emerging adults. One hundred and forty participants (adolescents aged 14–17; emerging adults aged 18–30; 60 % female; 8.5 % ethnic minority) completed questionnaires on self-theory, coping responses, and behavioral/emotional problems. Results of moderated mediation analyses were consistent with coping as a mechanism through which self-theory influences psychopathology symptoms such that more malleable beliefs are associated with increased productive coping strategies and lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. The current findings also indicate that these associations were significant for adolescents but not for emerging adults. Although cross-sectional, findings suggest that fostering malleable beliefs among adolescents may increase the use of productive coping strategies and positively influence adjustment.     

Relationship Between Time in Residential Treatment and Youth Outcomes: Results from a Cross-Site 5-Year Analysis

There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of residential treatment centers (RTCs) due to scrutiny around use of this service that is viewed as costly, restrictive, and has resulted in mixed outcome results for youth. Discrepancies exist in residential literature regarding the amount of time in treatment that is optimal for having a positive effect on youth outcomes. This study used archival data to examine the relationship between time in treatment and youth’s improvement in functioning and restrictiveness of living environment in a cross-site evaluation of a large sample of youth (N = 716) who discharged from RTCs over a 5 year time period. Researchers aimed to identify an ideal time in treatment that is beneficial for youth and to add to the practice-based evidence for the effectiveness of RTCs. Results of segmented regression analyses indicate a non-linear relationship that showed a longer time in treatment predicts improvement in overall functioning and restrictiveness of living environment during the first 6 months of treatment. However there is no relationship between time in treatment and outcome variables between 6 and 10 months, and a negative relationship exists between longer time in treatment and outcome variables after 10 months in treatment. Practical implications of results can be used to inform advocacy efforts, discharge planning, and return on investment calculations.     

Emotion Regulation in Relation to Emerging Adults’ Mental Health and Delinquency: A Multi-informant Approach

Relative to the merits of authoritative parenting, potential adverse outcomes are well documented for authoritarian and permissive parenting. However, conclusions are typically drawn from single informants. The ability of youths’ emotion regulation skills to mediate outcomes in emerging adults has also not been fully explored. This study investigated whether emotion regulation mediated parenting style history and potential outcomes of mental health and delinquency. Parenting style history and emerging adults’ emotion regulation ability were reported by 110 youth and their caregivers; youth reported on mental health functioning and delinquency. Emerging adults’ emotion regulation ability partially mediated the association between authoritative parenting history and mental health functioning and authoritative parenting history was indirectly related to delinquency through emotion regulation; however, based on all reporters, emotion regulation ability was not associated with authoritarian or permissive parenting style history. Results support that the merits of authoritative parenting may lie in fostering better emotion regulation skills.     

Kinship Support and Academic Efficacy Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Examination

The study examined whether relationships with extended kin were related to higher levels of mental health and academic functioning among college students. Specifically, the study tested whether perceived emotional support from extended (non-nuclear) family was related to self-esteem, psychological distress, and academic efficacy and dedication above and beyond relationships with one’s primary caregivers, and whether these associations varied by class year in college. The sample consisted of 530 students (average age = 20.82), at a public, four-year university. The results revealed that freshmen and seniors who reported high levels of positive relationships with their extended kin also reported higher levels of academic-efficacy and dedication, as well as lower levels of psychological distress. However, the relation between kin emotional support and these outcomes were not significant for sophomores and juniors. There was also a significant association between kinship support and self-esteem for participants in all four class levels. The study underscores the need to examine extended social support systems among college students, above and beyond those maintained with primary caregivers, as well as the dynamic nature of family support during young adulthood.     

Maternal Depression and Adolescent Emotions: The Role of Family Functioning

Maternal depression may affect children through various mechanisms, including the stressful contexts of the children’s lives and maternal maladaptive affection, behaviors, and cognition, which affect the psychopathological development of children and contribute to disorders. The aims of the present study were to explore how family functioning mediates the relationship between maternal depression and the positive and negative emotions of adolescents. A total of 430 paired questionnaires were collected from junior high school students and their mothers. The mothers completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), and the adolescents completed the CESD, Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire, and Family Function Scale. The results revealed significant correlations among maternal depression, family functioning, and positive and negative emotions in the adolescents. The family functioning subscales of conflict and emotional expression partially mediated the relationship between maternal depression and the positive and negative emotions of the adolescents. Furthermore, the family functioning subscales of cohesion, problem solving, and responsibility fully mediated the relationship between maternal depression and positive moods in the adolescents. Analysis of the results for maternal depression, family functioning, and the emotional adjustment of the adolescents indicated that family functioning is the mediator between maternal depression and the positive and negative emotions of the adolescents. The current results suggest that adequate family functioning can prevent depression being transmitted from mothers to their adolescent children.     

Economic Pressure,Individual and Family Processes,and Children’s Reticence in Romanian Families

Using Conger’s family stress model as a theoretical framework, a series of mediated associations among economic hardship, perceived economic pressure, parental depression, marital conflict, psychologically controlling parenting, and children’s reticent behaviors in Romanian families were studied. The sample consisted of 121 Romanian mothers and fathers of 4–5-year-old children. Children’s kindergarten teachers living in urban and rural locations evaluated child reticence. Findings generally support the family stress model. Structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for living in a rural location, economic pressure was indirectly linked with marital conflict through depression. Depression was indirectly related to psychological control through marital conflict, and marital conflict was indirectly linked to child reticence through psychological control. Directions for future research and recommendations for interventions and public policy are described.     

Psychometric Properties of Maternal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire in a Population of Iranian Mothers

Self-efficacy is an important indicator of a woman’s successful transition to her maternal role and an important predictor of a mother’s infant care behavior. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the maternal self-efficacy scale in Iranian mothers. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 437 newly delivered mothers who were referred to health care centers in Bonab, Iran. A simple random sampling was performed. The research instrument included maternal self-efficacy. Translation validity was performed using the forward and backward translation method. Content validity was determined in qualitative (assessment of experts’ opinions) and quantitative areas using the content validity ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI). Face validity was determined on 30 newly delivered mothers. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was used. The reliability was determined in terms of reproducibility via Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) by test–retest and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). CVI and CVR were 0.91 and 0.94 respectively. Further, the reliability was approved both in terms of reproducibility (ICC = 0.98) and internal consistency (α = 0.89). Construct validity was confirmed using exploratory factor analysis (KMO = 0.90, Bartlett’s test p < 0.001) for the scale. The findings supported the validity and reliability of the research instrument. Therefore, it is recommended that the instrument can be used in both clinical practice and research.     

Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N?=?108, M _age ?=?9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N?=?104, M _age ?=?10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.     

Psychological Inflexibility and Child Anxiety

Psychological flexibility is the main outcome of acceptance commitment therapy. Insight into the usefulness of measuring psychological flexibility is an important step to enable studies on the effectiveness of acceptance commitment therapy in middle-aged children (8–10 years). For this purpose, we examined the factor structure, the construct validity and the reliability of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth taps psychological inflexibility (the opposite of psychological flexibility) in children and adolescents. Although the questionnaire has been extensively validated in older children, this is not the case for middle-aged children. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth contains 17 items and is constituted of the subscales cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance and behavioral ineffectiveness. A shortened 8-item version also exists, the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-8, which does not distinguish between these subscales. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, we assessed the relationship between psychological flexibility and child anxiety. Children, aged 8–10 years, were recruited via regular primary schools. Of the 459 approached children, 267 (58?%) parents signed informed consents for their children (Age: M?=?9.18; SD?=?.79; Sex: n _boys?=?137, 51?%). Children completed the questionnaires during regular classes. In this sample, the 17-item version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth was less appropriate for measuring psychological inflexibility than the 8-item version. Furthermore, we found a significant positive relationship between psychological inflexibility and child anxiety. We argue that acceptance commitment therapy would be an interesting candidate for intervening early on in dysfunctional child anxiety, as acceptance commitment therapy’s cognitive elements require cognitive skills that children are likely to master early on.     

The Co-Development of Parenting Stress and Childhood Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Although the detrimental influence of parenting stress on child problem behavior is well established, it remains unknown how these constructs affect each other over time. In accordance with a transactional model, this study investigates how the development of internalizing and externalizing problems is related to the development of parenting stress in children aged 4–9. Mothers of 1582 children participated in three one-year interval data waves. Internalizing and externalizing problems as well as parenting stress were assessed by maternal self-report. Interrelated development of parenting with internalizing and externalizing problems was examined using Latent Growth Modeling. Directionality of effects was further investigated by using cross-lagged models. Parenting stress and externalizing problems showed a decrease over time, whereas internalizing problems remained stable. Initial levels of parenting stress were related to initial levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Decreases in parenting stress were related to larger decreases in externalizing problems and to the (stable) course of internalizing problems. Some evidence for reciprocity was found such that externalizing problems were associated with parenting stress and vice versa over time, specifically for boys. Our findings support the transactional model in explaining psychopathology.