“The Parallel Dialogue”: Parental experience of their role in the relationship with their child's counsellor/psychotherapist

The parent–therapist relationship is a central consideration in child counselling and psychotherapy, particularly in private practice where parents are typically financially, emotionally and practically invested in the process. The relationship, which can be ambiguous and anxiety-laden on both sides, has historically received scant attention in therapeutic discourse, leading to gaps in practitioner confidence and training. In this context, and seeking to centre parent voices, this study provides an interpretative phenomenological analysis of four mothers' experiences of their role in the relationship with their child's therapist. Key identified themes encompass parental expectation of involvement; the destabilising, disorienting nature of the relationship; the centrality of trust; and critical evaluations of value. Findings are discussed in relation to attachment theory and cultural expectations of parental responsibility. The study concludes that the relationship is a live and potent property with potential to impact the course of the intervention, and recommends that practitioners thoughtfully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of meeting or frustrating parental involvement expectations.     

Validity of the Finnish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA)

The aim of the present study was to validate the Finnish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) using data from 1,688 Finnish parents (91% mothers) living in Finland with at least one child living at home. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the theoretical four-factor structure of the PBA – emotional exhaustion in one’s parental role, contrast with previous parental self, feelings of being fed up with one’s parental role, and emotional distancing from one’s children. Internal consistency for the total scale was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.90) and for the subscales from acceptable (alpha ≥ 0.70) to excellent. The results further demonstrated strict factorial invariance of PBA across genders and educational status groups. Finally, the PBA and its four subscales correlated as expected with the three criteria variables (depressive symptoms, sleep disruptions, and self-esteem), the latent factors of all three criteria variables being still clearly unique and separate constructions from parental burnout factors.     

Conflicting perspectives mediate the relation between parents’ and preschoolers’ self-referent mental state talk during collaboration

We examined the relations between the referent of parents and preschoolers’ mental state talk during a collaborative puzzle-solving task (N = 146 dyads; n = 81 3-year-olds, n = 65 4-year-olds). The results showed that parents’ references to their own knowledge and beliefs (self-referent cognitive talk), and references to their child’s knowledge and beliefs (child-referent cognitive talk) were both related to children’s (primarily self-referent) cognitive talk. We then tested whether any of the observed relations could be explained by the presence of conflicting perspectives within the collaborative interaction. Mediational analyses revealed that conflicting perspectives mediated the positive relation between parents’ production of self-referent cognitive talk and child cognitive talk. By contrast, the positive relation between parents’ production of child-referent cognitive talk and child cognitive talk did not depend on the presence of this type of conflict. These findings highlight an important mechanism through which parents’ references to their own mind might promote children’s developing mental state talk in collaborative contexts.     

Behavioral Repertoire of Families for Coping with Individuals with Hikikomori (Prolonged Social Withdrawal) in Japan1

This study aimed to examine the characteristics of families’ behavioral repertoires in hikikomori (prolonged social withdrawal) cases. We asked 243 parents of individuals with hikikomori (hikikomori group) to complete the Family Behavioral Repertoire Scale for Coping With Hikikomori (FBS-H), the Negative Evaluation of Hikikomori Scale, and a self-efficacy measure of coping with problem behaviors of hikikomori in order to develop the FBS-H and to examine its reliability and validity. Additionally, we examined the characteristics of hikikomori cases regarding the families’ behavioral repertoires using data from the hikikomori group and from 458 parents of individuals with no experience of hikikomori (control group). The results of the analysis indicated the acceptable reliability and validity of the FBS-H. The hikikomori group did not have lower FBS-H scores than the control group. This result indicates the possibility that a family's behavioral repertoire does not strongly influence the “expression” of hikikomori. Further research is needed to clarify the influence of families’ behavioral repertoires to refine family support.     

What about the family in youth gender diversity? A literature review

Abstract

Background: Previous research has suggested that gender diversity affects everyone in the family, with positive mental health and global outcomes for gender diverse youth reliant on receiving adequate family support and validation. Although the individual mental health, treatment and outcomes for gender diverse youth have received recent research attention, much less is known about a family perspective. Hence, a review of the literature exploring youth gender diversity from a family perspective is warranted.

Aims: To systematically identify, appraise and summarize all published literature primarily exploring gender diversity in young people under the age of 18?years, as well as selected literature pertaining to a family understanding.

Methods: Six electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Web of Science) were searched for relevant literature pertaining to youth under the age of 18?years.

Results: Research evidence was consistently found to support the beneficial effects of a supportive family system for youth experiencing gender diversity, and a systemic understanding and approach for professionals. Conversely, lack of family support was found to lead to poorer mental health and adverse life outcomes. Few articles explored the experience of siblings under the age of 18?years.

Discussion: This literature review is the first to critically evaluate and summarize all published studies which adopted a family understanding of youth gender diversity. The review highlighted a lack of current research and the need for further targeted research, which utilizes a systemic clinical approach to guide support for gender diverse youth and family members.     

Taking parent personality and child temperament into account in child language development

Individual differences have become increasingly important in the study of child development and language. However, despite the important role parents play in children’s language, no work has examined how parent personality impacts language development. The current study examines the impact of parent personality as well as child temperament on language development in 460 16- to 30-month-old children and 328 31- to 42-month-old children. Findings from both groups suggest multiple aspects of children’s language abilities are correlated with their parent’s personality. Specifically, parent consciousness, openness, and agreeableness positively correlate with child vocabulary size and other language abilities. Results also replicate and expand research on child temperament and language – child effortful control and surgency were positively correlated, and negative affect negatively correlated with most language abilities even after controlling for parent personality. Critically, parent and child traits appear to impact a child’s language abilities above and beyond well-known predictors of language, such as age.