Effects of structural and dynamic family characteristics on the development of depressive and aggressive problems during adolescence. The TRAILS study

Parent-child relationship, parenting behaviors, and adolescents' depressive symptoms after an earthquake: unraveling within-adolescent associations from between-adolescent differences

This study assessed temporal associations between parent-child relationship, parenting behaviors (i.e., warmth, rejection, and overprotection), and adolescents' depressive symptoms after trauma, using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models to distinguish between- and within-adolescent differences. We surveyed Chinese adolescents 12 (Aug 2018; T1), 21 (May 2019; T2), 27 (Nov 2019; T3) months after the Jiuzhaigou earthquake that occurred in August 2017. Of the 585 adolescents who participated in at least two waves of the study, mean age at T1 was 15.50 years old (SD = 1.58 years) and 57.8% were girls. Controlling adolescents' gender, age, ethnicity, trauma exposure at T1, and parents' marital status, between-adolescent results showed that parent-child relationship and parenting behaviors, parent-child relationship and depressive symptoms were correlated across models of parental warmth, rejection, and overprotection, whereas depressive symptoms were only correlated with parental rejection and overprotection. Within-adolescent results indicated that parent-child relationship and adolescents' depressive symptoms had bidirectional associations via the mediation of parental warmth from T1 to T3. Over the longer term following the earthquake, we found that parental rejection was bidirectionally associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, whereas parental overprotection was unidirectionally influenced by adolescents' depressive symptoms from T2 to T3. In addition, more depressive symptoms in adolescents were associated with worsening parent-child relationship from T2 to T3. In conclusion, shortly after trauma, interventions should focus on improving parent-child relationship and relieving adolescents' depressive symptoms. Over the longer term after trauma, relieving adolescents' depressive symptoms should be prioritized to avoid its eroding effects on parent-child relationship and parenting behaviors, and to break the "vicious cycle".

Rural-urban differences in prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation in adolescent patients with depression in a large sample of Chinese

BACKGROUND

Suicidal ideation (SI) is severe comorbidity of depression that has been extensively studied in the past. Residence differences between SI have rarely been systematically studied, especially in parental rearing behavior. This large-scale explored the residence differences in the prevalence and correlation of SI adolescent patients with depression.

METHODS

A total of 1417 patients with depression were recruited, and their demographic data and clinical data were collected. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (EMBU) scale were used to assess depression, and parental rearing behavior, respectively.

RESULTS

The prevalence of suicidal ideation was higher in urban patients than in rural patients (43.7 % vs.37.7 %, P < 0.05). Patients with SI scored higher on total CDI scores, parental punishment, parental rejection, and paternal overprotection compared to their respective patients without SI. In the urban group, patients with SI had lower parental emotional warmth scores and higher parental intervention scores compared to patients without SI. Logistic regression analysis showed that total CDI score, gender, alcohol consumption, father's emotional warmth, father's rejection, and mother's intervention were significantly associated with SI in urban patients (P < 0.05); total CDI score and mother's rejection were significantly associated with SI in rural patients (P < 0.05).

LIMITATIONS

No causal relationship could be drawn due to the cross-sectional design.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study showed significant residential differences in risk and associated factors for SI among adolescents with depression. Focusing on the parenting styles of adolescent patients can help with the early identification and intervention of SI.

Poverty, social exclusion, and mental health: the role of the family context in children aged 7-11 years INMA mother-and-child cohort study

Mental health problems are common in childhood and tend to be more frequent in populations at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE). The family environment can play a role in reducing the impact of economic hardship on these problems. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of multidimensional poverty on the mental health of children aged 7-11 years and the role of the family environment in two areas of Spain. Participants were 395 and 382 children aged 7 and 11 from Gipuzkoa and Valencia, respectively. Internalizing and externalizing problem scales of the child behaviour checklist (CBCL) were used. AROPE indicators were obtained by questionnaire, and three dimensions of the family context (Organization of the Physical Environment and Social Context, Parental Stress and Conflict, and Parental Profile Fostering Development) were measured through subscales 3, 4 and 5 of the Haezi-Etxadi family assessment scale (7-11) (HEFAS 7-11), respectively. Data were analysed using negative binomial regression and Structural Equation Modelling. AROPE prevalence was 7.1 and 34.5% in Gipuzkoa and Valencia, respectively. In both cohorts, there was a significant increase in internalizing and externalizing problems among participants with a higher AROPE score. However, AROPE did not affect internalizing problems in children from families living in a better physical environment and with social support (Subscale 3). The AROPE effect was jointly mediated by subscales 4 and 5 in 42 and 62% of internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Preventing economic inequities by economic compensation policies, improving the neighbourhood and immediate environment around the school, and promoting positive parenting programmes can improve mental health in childhood.

Long-Term Effects of Acceptance and Rejection by Parents and Peers on Educational Attainment: A Study from Pre-Adolescence to Early Adulthood

Acceptance and rejection by parents and peers play an important role in pre-adolescents' educational outcomes. Prior research focused on either parents or peers, did not encompass effects into adulthood, or considered either acceptance or rejection. This study investigated the relation between parental and peer acceptance and rejection, and their interplay, in pre-adolescence and educational attainment in early adulthood. A sample of 2229 pre-adolescents (M_age T1 = 11.11, SD = 0.56; 50.7% girls) was followed to early adulthood (M_age T5 = 22.29, SD = 0.65). Ordinal logistic regression showed that pre-adolescents' perceived parental acceptance was positively related to educational attainment in early adulthood, whereas peer rejection was negatively related, even when WISC score and socioeconomic status were considered. No interaction effects were found, revealing no "dual-hit effect" of being rejected by parents and peers, no "dual-miss effect" of being accepted by parents and peers, and no effects of acceptance in one context (i.e., parents or peers) buffering the negative effect of rejection in the other context. The findings underscore unique and long-term links of parental acceptance and peer rejection with early adults' educational attainment, underlining the importance of not only peers but also parents in adolescence. These insights can be used in promoting long-term educational outcomes through relationships with parents and peers.

The Association Among Parental Bonding, Depression, Social Aggression, and Criminal Assault: Are There Gender Differences Between Male and Female Youth Offenders?

This research examined similarities and differences in gender regarding social aggression, criminal assault, depression, and familial factors. The participants were 251 youth offenders (158 males) who were arrested and incarcerated in a juvenile facility. The measures consisted of self-reported acts of social aggression, simple and aggravated assault, subtypes of depression, and self-reports on parental care and control. Our data demonstrate the importance of including gender, types of aggression/assault, subtypes of depression, and familial factors when examining their association. For example, less parental care predicted more social aggression for both males and females. However, neither did parental care predict aggravated assault for either gender, nor did parental care predict general depression or anhedonia. Parental control had different impact depending on gender. More parental control increased rates of social aggression and simple assault for females but not for males. Symptoms of general depression predicted committing simple assault for both males and females, but not anhedonia. However, general depressive symptoms and anhedonia were associated with committing aggravated assault for both genders. Policy implications were discussed.

The Longitudinal Association Between Preadolescent Facial Emotion Identification and Family Factors, and Psychotic Experiences in Adolescence (The TRAILS Study)

The current study examines whether facial emotion identification and family factors at preadolescence (age 11) predict psychotic experiences 5 years later during adolescence (age 16) and whether family factors may mediate the association between facial emotion identification and psychotic experiences. Data was obtained from the epidemiological cohort TRAILS (N = 2059). At preadolescence, a facial emotion identification test and three questionnaires to assess family functioning, perceived parenting styles and parenting stress, were administered. At adolescence, a questionnaire on psychotic experiences was administered. Facial emotion identification at preadolescence was not associated with psychotic experiences at adolescence, and the mediational role of family functioning was not further explored. However, increased overprotective parenting at preadolescence was associated with a higher frequency of psychotic experiences and delusions at adolescence. Future research may examine the mechanism behind the role of overprotective parenting on psychotic experiences during adolescence.

Factors associated with treatment intensification in child and adolescent psychiatry: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

More knowledge about characteristics of children and adolescents who need intensive levels of psychiatric treatment is important to improve treatment approaches. These characteristics were investigated in those who need youth Assertive Community Treatment (youth-ACT).

METHOD

A cross-sectional study among children/adolescents and their parents treated in either a regular outpatient clinic or a youth-ACT setting in a specialized mental health treatment center in the Netherlands.

RESULTS

Child, parent and family/social context factors were associated with treatment intensification from regular outpatient care to youth-ACT. The combination of the child, parent, and family/social context factors adds substantially to the predictive power of the model (Nagelkerke R² increasing from 36 to 45% for the three domains separately, to 61% when all domains are combined). The strongest predictors are the severity of psychiatric disorders of the child, parental stress, and domestic violence.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a wide variety of variables that are potentially associated with treatment intensification from regular outpatient clinic to youth-ACT, we constructed a regression model illustrating a relatively strong relation between the predictor variables and the outcome (Nagelkerke R² = 0.61), with three strong predictors, i.e. severity of psychiatric disorders of the child, parental stress, and domestic violence. This emphasizes the importance of a system-oriented approach with primary attention for problem solving and stress reduction within the system, in addition to the psychiatric treatment of the child, and possibly also the parents.

Vocalizations of minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder across the school year

Little is known about the language trajectories of minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. The present investigation conducted observations across two elementary schools over an entire school year to analyze the vocal language development of nine minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 6 and 10 years, and their educational service providers. A Language Environment Analysis™ device automatically recorded and disaggregated over 743 h of data on child vocalizations, and vocal interactions with adults. Vocalizations did not increase for eight of the nine participants, and conversational counts between participants and adults were near zero across the entire year. These results speak to the need for additional research examining language development and potential intervention strategies among minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder.

Family Functioning and Adolescent Psychological Maladjustment: The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies

This study aims to analyze the mediating role of coping strategies in the relationship between family functioning and youth maladjustment. A community sample of 341 adolescents (M = 15.11 years old; SD = 1.71) completed self-report measures about such variables. Results showed that a perception of an inadequate family functioning was associated with the use of maladaptive coping strategies, as well as with youth psychological maladjustment. The results also revealed that rumination and support-seeking mediated the relationship between family functioning and internalizing behavior, and hostile expression of feelings played a mediating role between family functioning and externalizing behavior. No gender differences were found in the relationship between variables. This study emphasizes the importance of coping strategies used by adolescents to understand the relationship between family functioning and youth psychological maladjustment.

Co-Development of Personality and Friendships Across the Lifespan

Abstract. This article examines changes in the co-development of personality characteristics and friendships across the lifespan. We address how personality traits shape friendship development (i.e., selection effects) and how friendships shape personality traits (i.e., socialization effects). By integrating separate empirical studies, we look at how selection and socialization effects change across the lifespan. A review of longitudinal research supports our hypothesis that selection effects on friendships intensify during adolescence, peak in young adulthood, and diminish throughout middle and late adulthood. Socialization effects through friendships seem to be moderately sized during adolescence, then small to negligible from young adulthood onwards. For future directions, we discuss effects of the transactional development of friendships and personality regarding associated dispositions within individuals, associated individuals within friendship dyads, and individuals associated within wider social networks.

Familienfunktionalität und familiäre Beziehungen im Perspektivenvergleich

Zusammenfassung. Die Familienfunktionalität und die Familienbeziehungen werden aus der Perspektive der Familie (erkrankter Elternteil, Lebenspartner, Kind) mit dem Allgemeinen Familienbogen FB-A und aus der Perspektive der Therapeuten mit der GARF-Skala erfasst. Die Stichprobe besteht aus 19 Familien in der Interventionsgruppe und 14 Familien in der Kontrollgruppe. In die Analyse gingen Daten aus drei Messzeitpunkten (vor der Intervention, nach Abschluss der Intervention und ein Jahr nach Abschluss der Intervention) ein. Die Familienfunktionalität aus der Perspektive des erkrankten Elternteils verbesserte sich in der Interventionsgruppe im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe in der Skala Aufgabenerfüllung und in den Beziehungsskalen Emotionalität und Affektive Beziehungsaufnahme. Eine Verbesserung der Familienfunktionalität aus der Therapeutenperspektive wird deutlich, aber der Effekt durch einen gegenläufige Veränderung der Kontrollgruppe und einen signifikanten Interaktionseffekt verhindert. Im Verlauf über drei Messzeitpunkte verbesserten sich aus der Perspektive der erkrankten Elternteile der Gesamtwert, die Kommunikation, die Aufgabenerfüllung und die Werte und Normen. Die Verbesserungen zeigten sich jedoch nur aus der Perspektive der erkrankten Elternteile. Die Veränderungen aus der Perspektive der Lebenspartner und Kinder erreichen keine Signifikanz.

Assessing resilience in adolescence: the Spanish adaptation of the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire

Background

The concept and assessment of resilience have attracted considerable attention in recent years, but none of the instruments developed to measure resilience in adolescents have been adapted to the Spanish context. The Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire (ARQ) provides a comprehensive and multidimensional assessment of the resources associated with resilience in adolescents.

Methods

This study analyzes the psychometric properties of the ARQ. Participants included a community sample of 1101 Spanish adolescents (53.5 % boys) aged 12–17 years (M = 14.51; SD = 1.755).

Results

Results confirm the factor structure based on 12 scales. Internal consistency was generally adequate (between .60 and .84), although the unacceptable coefficient for the Empathy/Tolerance scale (α = .38) means that this scale needs to be revised for the Spanish context. Relationships between ARQ scales and psychopathology were in the expected direction and magnitude. Some gender differences were observed, with higher scores for boys on Confidence and Negative cognition.

Conclusions

The Spanish version of the ARQ can help to identify personal characteristics associated with resilience and signs of positive engagement with family, peers, school, and the community. It can identify those adolescents most likely to show resilience in response to adversity, as well as those who may be vulnerable under situations of stress.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-015-0259-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.