Synchronization in ratings of pubertal maturity and faulty beliefs about family relationships

A Longitudinal Study of Perceived Differences in Parental Control and Parent-Child Relational Qualities in Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

On two occasions separated by 1 year, 2,758 Chinese adolescents respond to instruments assessing perceived parental behavioral control (indexed by parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline, demandingness, and control based on Chinese concepts), parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities (satisfaction with parental control, readiness to communicate with the parents, and perceived mutual trust between parents and their children). Chinese adolescents generally perceive their fathers’ behavioral and psychological control to be lower than those of the mothers; mother-child relational qualities are also perceived to be relatively more positive than father-child relational qualities. Results further show that perceived parental differences in parental control are moderated by the gender of the participant, and adolescent girls have more favorable perceptions of parent-adolescent relational qualities than do adolescent boys. Regarding time differences, the scale scores of measures assessing perceived parental control and parent-child relational qualities decline in early adolescent years in the Chinese culture.

Fathers and Their Adolescent Sons

This study examined perceptions of paternal involvement among adolescent males and their fathers across three levels of the adolescent’s pubertal development. A purposive sample of adolescent males (n = 173) and their fathers (n = 122) completed self-report measures of pubertal development (adolescent’s self ratings, fathers’ ratings of their son’s development), paternal support, and involvement. Fathers and sons were similar in their assessments of the sons’ pubertal development. Perceptions of Companionship, General Support, Satisfaction, Sustained Contact, and Time Together did not differ across three levels of development (pre-, transitional-, and post-pubertal development). Physical Affection was the only measure of paternal involvement that differed (decreased) across the three levels of pubertal development. These findings suggest that fathers’ involvement with their adolescent sons is not globally affected by pubertal development.

Behaviors and Attributions

This study examined the relationships betweenfamily members'internal images of their hospitalized adolescents and those adolescents' actual pathological behaviors during the months prior to hospitalization. Five categories of pathological behavior were rated for each adolescent. The images held by parents of the adolescents and the adolescents' self-images were assessed along six dimensions of individual and interpersonal functioning. Ratings of actual pathological behavior were correlated with perceived adolescent attributes for each rater (mother, father, and adolescent). In four categories, parent and adolescent correlations diverged markedly. Adolescents who were mostself-destructive or most suicidal saw themselves as alienated from their families and from their peers and as more compromised overall. The parents of these adolescents did not recognize these deficits in their children ' functioning. The parents of substance-abusing adolescents saw their children as markedly more impaired whereas these adolescents did not acknowledge such deficits. Developmental and clinical implications are discussed.

Discrepancies in Adolescents' and their Mothers' Perceptions of the Family and Adolescent Anxiety Symptomatology

OBJECTIVE

This study examines relations between adolescents' and their mothers' perceptions of the family and adolescent anxiety symptomatology.

DESIGN

Surveys were administered to 145 15- to 18-year-old adolescents and their mothers.

RESULTS

Adolescents viewed the family more negatively than did their mothers. In addition, adolescent girls' perceptions of the family (satisfaction and communication) negatively predicted later adolescent anxiety symptomatology. Significant interactions between adolescent and mother reports of family satisfaction and communication also were found for girls, but not for boys. For girls, discrepant family perceptions with their mothers appeared to protect them from anxiety if their mothers had negative perceptions of the family.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding the similarities and differences among family members' perspectives yields useful predictive information that cannot be obtained from studying these perspectives in isolation from one another.

Discrepancies between youth and mothers' perceptions of their mother-child relationship quality and self-disclosure: implications for youth- and mother-reported youth adjustment

Recently, researchers have devoted greater attention to understanding how disagreement between mothers and their children regarding parent-child relationship quality and functioning impacts youth adjustment. While some view discrepancies as indices of developmentally appropriate individuation, discrepancies regarding family functioning also have been found to predict problematic youth functioning. This study examined the effects of mother-child discrepancies for mother-child relationship qualities and youth self-disclosure on youth- and mother-reported youth internalizing and externalizing adjustment. 232 fifth, eighth, and 11th grade youth (55 % female) and their mothers completed measures of mother-child relationship quality, youth self-disclosure, and youth internalizing and externalizing adjustment. For internalizing adjustment, few effects of discrepancy on adjustment were evident. Instead, informant-specific perceptions of mother-child relationship functioning were most relevant for informant-specific reports of youth adjustment. For youth externalizing adjustment, the magnitude of mother-child discrepancies for negative relationship quality and for youth self-disclosure predicted lower levels of problematic externalizing behavior from both the children's and the mothers' perspectives, which could indicate a lack of parent-child communication. Future research is needed to fully understand how discrepancies in negative or maladaptive aspects of mother-child relationships are formed (e.g., low disclosure), are understood by the members of the dyad, and contribute to the onset, maintenance, and treatment of problematic behavioral outcomes.