Investigating the interplay between parenting dimensions and styles, and the association with adolescent outcomes

Trajectories of Perceived Parental Psychological Control and the Longitudinal Associations with Chinese Adolescents' School Adjustment across High School Years

Past research supports the detrimental effects of parental psychological control on adolescent school adjustment in both emotional and academic domains. However, how psychological control changes during adolescence, and how such developmental course is related to adolescent psychological well-being and academic functioning are unclear. The direction of effects between parenting and child behaviors is also inconclusive. This 3-year longitudinal study addressed these research gaps by using five waves of survey data on 710 Chinese adolescents of high school ages (Mean age at T1 = 15.54 years, SD = 0.45, 50% males). Using latent growth curve models and latent class growth analysis, the majority of adolescents (about 63%) reported gradual increases of parental psychological control in the first 2 years of high school but a slight decline afterwards, while the other 37% perceived low and stable levels. Results from parallel latent growth modeling suggested that trajectories of psychological control were positively related to developmental trends of internalizing problems (i.e., depression and anxiety) and maladaptive academic functioning, but negatively associated with the trajectory of adaptive academic functioning, as indexed by intercept-intercept and slope-slope associations. The random-intercept cross-lagged models further revealed that psychological control was predictive of adolescent anxiety and lower adaptive academic functioning, and bidirectionally associated with maladaptive academic-related beliefs and behaviors at the within-person level. Taken together, these findings highlight the crucial role of parental psychological control on adolescent school adjustment in the Chinese cultural context and support the reciprocal model of parent-child interactions.

Parenting Practices and Externalizing Behaviors in Autistic Children: A Systematic Literature Review

There is limited recent research on the association between parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in autistic children. To address this gap, the current systematic review examined the associations between parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in autistic children, along with the mediating and moderating effects of parent and child variables (PROSPERO registration number CRD42022268667). Study inclusion criteria were (1) Peer-reviewed journals, (2) Participants included parents of autistic children and their children, (3) Quantitative measures of both parenting practices or behaviors/style and child externalizing behaviors, (4) Cross-sectional or longitudinal studies only, and (5) Studies published in English. Study exclusion criteria were: (1) Qualitative studies, (2) Published in a language other than English, (3) Participants included non-human participants, (4) Participants that did not include parents and their autistic children as participants or did not report this group separately, (5) Systematic review and meta-analyses, and (6) No quantitative measures of parenting practices and/or child externalizing behaviors. Quality appraisal and risk of bias were conducted using the McMaster Tool and results were synthesized in Covidence and Excel. Thirty studies were included in the review. Results demonstrated that mindful parenting was associated with fewer or lower levels of externalizing behaviors; positive parenting practices had non-significant associations with externalizing behaviors; specific parenting practices had differing associations with externalizing behaviors; and negative parenting practices were associated with higher levels of externalizing behaviors. We are unable to draw causal relationships due to focus on cross-sectional and longitudinal articles only. The potential for future research to target specific parent practices to support children's externalizing behaviors is discussed.

The how and the why of study choice processes in higher education: The role of parental involvement and the experience of having an authentic inner compass

INTRODUCTION

Late adolescents differ in the degree to which they are thoroughly engaged in the study choice process and in the degree to which their choices are autonomous in nature. This study examined the unique and interactive roles of (a) parental involvement in the study choice process and (b) late adolescents' sense of having an authentic inner compass (AIC) in predicting their study choice decision-making.

METHOD

A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 331 12th-grade adolescents from the Flemish part of Belgium (68.3% female; Mage  = 18.04, SD = 0.48) in the spring of 2017 and 2018.

RESULTS

Results of the latent sum and difference models revealed that late adolescents experiencing a stronger AIC and more need-supportive parental involvement showed more engagement in and autonomous regulation of the study choice process. In contrast, when experiencing more controlling parental involvement or uninvolvement, late adolescents showed more controlled regulation, with parental control also being linked to less commitment. Although mothers were perceived to be more involved than fathers, maternal and paternal involvement were equally strongly related to the study choice tasks.

CONCLUSION

Overall, late adolescents' sense of having an AIC and parental involvement were related independently to the outcomes, with sense of having an AIC yielding the strongest associations.

Perceptions of neighborhood threat and caregiver support in early adolescence: Sex differences in neural and behavioral correlates in the ABCD study

BACKGROUND

Adolescents, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, are at increased risk for neighborhood threat and violence exposure, which impacts behavioral and neural outcomes. Caregiver support is associated with healthy socioemotional adjustment and self-regulatory and coping behaviors; however, it remains unclear whether caregiver support, specifically, consolation, can moderate the behavioral and neural impacts of neighborhood threat.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the role of youth-perceived neighborhood threat on neural and behavioral correlates and to test the moderating potential of caregiver support. Sex differences in associations were examined.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

11,559 nine- and ten-year old youth enrolled in the multi-site Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at baseline.

METHODS

Associations were examined via linear regression models employing youth-perceived neighborhood threat and caregiver support. Regression and interaction models controlled for youth age, sex, race and ethnicity, primary caregiver's education, family income, family structure, youth-perceived school threat, and intracranial volume when examining neural outcomes. An ANOVA employing a Chi-square test and simple slopes analysis were used to identify significant interactions in moderation models.

RESULTS

Neighborhood threat is associated with structural alterations in the left amygdala (p = .004). Meanwhile, caregiver support interacts in a dose-response fashion with neighborhood threat to attenuate its relationship with left amygdala volume (p = .008). Among youth reporting neighborhood threat, problematic behaviors were more common (p < .0001). While not significant, males reported higher rates of neighborhood threat than females (p = .267). Females reported greater levels of caregiver support (p = .017). Lastly, racial and ethnic differences in neighborhood threat and caregiver support were evident (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

While youth may not have been exposed to direct or immediate sources of threat and violence, these findings shed light on the impact of neighborhood threat perception on problematic behaviors and amygdala volume among nine- and ten-year olds. Future research should identify other culturally inclusive sources and measures of support and resiliency.

A cross-sectional study: family communication, anxiety, and depression in adolescents: the mediating role of family violence and problematic internet use

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between family communication, family violence, problematic internet use, anxiety, and depression and validate their potential mediating role.

METHODS

The study population consisted of Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2022. Structural equation models were constructed using AMOS 25.0 software to examine the factors that influence adolescent anxiety and depression and the mediating effects of problematic internet use and family violence.

RESULTS

The results indicate that family communication was significantly and negatively related to family violence (β = -.494, p < 0.001), problematic internet use (β = -.056, p < .05), depression (β = -.076, p < .01), and anxiety (β = -.071, p < .05). And the finds also indicate that family violence mediated the relationships between family communication and depression (β = -.143, CI: -.198 -.080), and between family communication and anxiety (β = -.141; CI: -.198 -.074). Chain indirect effects between family communication and depression (β = -.051; CI: -.081 -.030) or anxiety (β = -.046; CI: -.080 -.043) via family violence and then through problematic internet use were also found in the present study.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, positive family communication is crucial in reducing anxiety and depression in adolescents. Moreover, problematic internet use and family violence mediate the effects of positive family communication on anxiety and depression. Therefore, improving family communication and promoting interventions aimed at reducing family violence and problematic internet use can help reduce anxiety and depression in adolescents, thus promoting their healthy development.

Asociación entre los estilos de crianza y el rol de los adolescentes peruanos en el acoso escolar, 2019

Highlights: Existe consenso científico de que las diferentes tipologías de los estilos de crianza de los padres se asocian con el rol que asumen sus hijos en el acoso escolar. Los adolescentes educados en un estilo de crianza negligente en comparación con el estilo de crianza autoritario tienen el doble de probabilidad de ser agresor victimizado. Los adolescentes hombres tienen mayor probabilidad en comparación con las mujeres en asumir el rol de agresor, así como también el rol de agresor victimizado. La incorporación del enfermero a la comunidad educativa, aprobado por la legislación peruana en el año 2021, permitirá prevenir la violencia escolar y promover la cultura de paz. Introducción. Los estilos de crianza determinan la conducta infantil; sin embargo, existe escasa información sobre su repercusión en el acoso escolar. Objetivo: Determinar la fuerza de asociación entre las diferentes tipologías de los estilos de crianza y el rol asumido en el acoso escolar, así como identificar perfiles de los adolescentes según su involucramiento en el acoso escolar. Materiales y métodos. Estudio transversal tipo analítico, realizado en Lima-Perú, en el año 2019. Se aplicó la escala de estilos de crianza de Steinberg y la escala EBIP-Q a 563 escolares de escuelas públicas. Los puntajes fueron obtenidos mediante un análisis factorial confirmatorio. Se empleó el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman, Chi Cuadrado de Pearson y análisis de regresión logística multinomial. Resultados.  Existe asociación entre los estilos de crianza y el rol del adolescente en el acoso escolar. El análisis multivariado reportó que ser hombres se asocia con el rol de agresor (OR = 2,73); mientras que acceder a una red social (OR = 2,23), ser hombre (OR = 1,75), los estilos de crianza (negligente [OR = 2,72] y mixto [OR = 0,38] en comparación con autoritario) fueron predictores de asumir el rol de agresor victimizado en el acoso escolar. Discusión. La asociación encontrada en el estudio confirma hallazgos previos; sin embargo, se abre debate sobre la influencia del estilo de crianza negligente en la dinámica del acoso escolar. Conclusión. Tanto el estilo de crianza negligente y autoritario (menor proporción) tienen un efecto positivo y significativo en el rol de agresor victimizado. Como citar este artículo: Zegarra Chapoñan Roberto, Zeladita Huaman Jhon Alex, Cuba Sancho Juana Matilde, Castillo Parra Henry, Moran Paredes Gladys Ivonne, Cárdenas Niño Lucila. Asociación entre los estilos de crianza y el rol de los adolescentes peruanos en el acoso escolar, 2019. Revista Cuidarte. 2023;14(1):e2679.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.2679

[Formula: see text]Parental interaction style, child engagement, and emerging executive function in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are known to experience cognitive and neurobehavioral difficulties, including in areas of executive function and social skills development. Interventions for these challenges have focused on a number of areas, including parent-based training. Despite the general consensus that specific parenting styles consistent with an "authoritative" - warm but firm - parenting approach may influence behavioral self-regulation, it is not known what specific parental interaction styles are associated with child engagement and emerging executive function in this population. The current study used an observation-based behavioral coding scheme during parent-child play interactions and associated parent report-based executive function measures in children with FASD. Here, we demonstrate that parental interaction styles with increased responsive/child-oriented behavior and parental affect are associated with higher levels of child play engagement, while parental interaction that has increased achievement-orientation is associated with higher levels of emerging executive function in children with FASD. These findings help inform future studies on behavioral targets in parent-based training programs and highlight the importance of considering certain parental interaction styles during parent-child play.

Depressive symptoms mediate the association between maternal authoritarian parenting and non-suicidal self-injury among Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant public health concern. Authoritarian parenting is a common parenting style in China. Authoritarian parenting is associated with NSSI in adolescents. Little is known about the mechanism underlying this association. This study was to investigate the mediating effect of depressive symptoms on the association between maternal authoritarian parenting and NSSI among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 7072 adolescents who participated in the 1-year follow-up of Shandong Adolescent Behavior & Health Cohort (SABHC) were included for the analysis. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess authoritarian parenting, depressive symptoms, non-suicidal self-injury, and family demographics in November-December in 2015. One year later, a follow-up survey was carried out to assess participants' depressive symptoms and NSSI.

RESULTS

Of the sample, mean age was 14.58 (SD = 1.46) and 3536 (50%) were female at baseline. 19.4% adolescents reported having ever NSSI over the past 12 months at baseline, and 8.8% reported having ever NSSI at 1-year follow-up. The association of maternal authoritarian parenting with subsequent NSSI was at least partially mediated by depressive symptoms. Mediation analyses showed that effect size was 0.194 in the entire sample, 0.192 in females and 0.193 in males, respectively.

LIMITATION

All variables were measured based on self-report.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal authoritarian parenting style is a significant predictor of NSSI and its association with NSSI is partially mediated by depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. It may be important to intervene poor parenting styles and depression to reduce the risk of NSSI in Chinese adolescents.

Parenting dimensions/styles and emotion dysregulation in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic factor in the development of various mental and behavioral disorders, thus requiring ample evidence for prevention and intervention approaches. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the association between parenting dimensions/styles and emotion dysregulation in childhood and adolescence. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the review was registered (PROSPERO CRD42021251672) and search terms were entered in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PubMed in May 2021. Articles needed to report on empirical studies that examined the association between parenting dimensions/styles and emotion dysregulation in children/adolescents with primary data, and be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, articles were excluded based on certain designs and focus on special populations. The narrative synthesis includes 30 articles, and of which 27 are included in the meta-analysis. An NHLBI tool with 14 items (e.g., validity) was utilized for assessing the quality of the included studies. General trends indicate that positive parenting (e.g., warmth, supportiveness) is negatively associated with emotion dysregulation, whilst negative parenting (e.g., psychological control, authoritarian) is positively associated. The meta-analysis reveals an overall small yet significant effect, however, the heterogeneity of the studies is moderate to high. A funnel plot demonstrated no evidence of publication bias. Limitations include the varying conceptualizations of emotion dysregulation, as well as a lacking focus on specific types of emotion. Although more research is needed, addressing factors such as culture, gender, and age, the review provides first indications of the significance of parenting dimensions/styles for emotion dysregulation.

The Cult of the Child: A Critical Examination of Its Consequences on Parents, Teachers and Children

The concept of the “cult of the child” highlights a radical change in child representation. Having been neglected and even disrespected for centuries, children are now valued, and their interests are placed above all others. This change in views of children, reflected in changes in laws, institutions and practices, has also spread to two pillars of our democratic societies, the family and the school, with a number of consequences for parents, teachers and children. The purpose of this article is to (1) describe the changes in thinking that have led to the cult of the child, (2) examine their consequences for children and parents, (3) examine their consequences for students and teachers, and (4) reflect on how to preserve the benefits of these changes while limiting the negative consequences.

Exploring the Effect of Parental Styles on Social Skills: The Mediating Role of Affects

Parental educational styles have a significant effect in personal development. These styles (authoritative, democratic, permissive and neglectful) can be related to affects and social skills at the individual level. The study presented here, which comprised 456 participants (151 men; 33.11%), with an average age of 22.01 years (s.d. = 2.80), aimed to analyse the relationship between parental styles, affects and social skills, as well as the role played by affects in the relationship between parental style and social skills. The results suggest that the constructs under study are closely related. The most common parental style is democratic. By gender, permissive styles were more often applied to women and authoritative styles to men. No significant gender differences were found in the application of democratic and neglectful parental styles. In terms of emotional support, women were found to have higher negative affect scores and men higher emotional support scores. People with parents that use democratic and permissive styles scored higher in all variables related to affects and social skills, which challenges the notion that democratic styles are the best parental styles in terms of socialisation of children. The results of the affect and social skills scales were analysed in relation to parenting styles, indicating that children educated under a democratic parental regime tend to yield higher scores in terms of social skills than children educated under any other form of parental regime and medium scores in terms of affects. Finally, it was found that parenting styles have a direct influence on social skills, which tend to improve when affects play a mediating role between these two constructs. These results suggest that parenting styles are closely related to affects and social skills. In addition, they also suggest that affects play a mediating role in the relationship between parenting styles and social skills. Finally, owing to the impact that parenting styles have on affects and social skills, more research is needed to address this issue.

Relation of parenting child abuse based on attachment styles, parenting styles, and parental addictions

The purpose of this study was to complete the cycle of recognizing these relationships. In this regard, the effect of parenting styles, attachment styles, and the mediating variable of addiction was investigated on child abuse (CA). Multi-stage random sampling and sample size were selected based on the sample size estimation software (510 people) and according to the 20% probability of a drop in the number of subjects, 530 people (265 boys and 265 girls) and 1060 parents were selected. The available method was selected from a sample of 530 people who were selected based on the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and answered Baumrind's Parenting Styles Questionnaire (PSQ), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Adult Attachment Scale (AAS). Data were assessed by analysis of variance, mediator analysis, and path analysis. The results showed that differences in parenting styles cause differences in their attachment styles. The results supported only the relationship between the two components of parental affection and control with the attachment avoidance index, and no relationship was observed between these components and the anxiety index. Perceived emotional abuse, mediates the relationship between parental parenting components and the child attachment avoidance index. Finally, it was achieved to a model that shows how the two factors of affection and control simultaneously affect the avoidance index, mediated by parental addiction.

Dual-harm in adolescence and associated clinical and parenting factors

PURPOSE

Both aggression toward others and self peak in adolescence and interpersonal violence and suicide are among the leading causes of death in young people worldwide. Individuals who show both aggression toward others and self, i.e. dual-harm, may experience the worst outcomes. The current study investigates clinical and parenting factors associated with dual-harming in adolescence, to provide new insights for prevention and treatment.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort of adolescents, oversampled on emotional and behavioral problems (n = 1022; aged 12-17 years), we investigated co-occurrence in harm toward others and self and presented findings in an area-proportional Euler diagram. Four harm groups (no harm, other-harm, self-harm, and dual-harm) were compared on intelligence scores, general functioning, emotional and behavioral problems, substance use, parental hostility, and harsh parenting with ANCOVAs and logistic regressions.

RESULTS

In adolescents that other-harmed, the risk of self-harm was 1.9 times higher than for those who did not harm others. Dual-harm adolescents reported worse overall functioning, more emotional and behavioral problems, more parental hostility and harshness, and were more likely to use substances than those who did not engage in aggressive behaviors. No evidence of differences in intelligence scores between groups were found.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight a vulnerable group of adolescents, at risk of future suicide, violent offending, and the development of severe psychopathology. Dual-harm is a promising marker for early intervention and referral to specialized mental health professionals. Further research is needed to examine underlying pathways and risk factors associated with persistent dual-harm trajectories into adulthood.

Parenting Strategies Used by Parents of Children with ASD: Differential Links with Child Problem Behaviour

Here, we explored the structure of the 'Parenting Strategies Questionnaire', a new scale designed to measure parenting strategies for problem behaviour in ASD. We then examined links between child behaviour and parenting in a sample of 222 predominantly-UK parents of ASD children exhibiting behaviour found difficult or challenging. Analysis revealed three parenting subscales: Accommodation, Reinforcement Approaches and Reducing Uncertainty. Both Accommodation and Reducing Uncertainty were linked to child problem behaviour. Child factors explained up to 29% of the variance in Accommodation, with Socially Inflexible Non-compliance the strongest predictor, and up to 24% of the variance in Reducing Uncertainty, with Intolerance of Uncertainty the strongest predictor. Child factors were not related to Reinforcement Approaches. Longitudinal studies investigating these relationships are needed.