Parenting practices, parental attachment and aggressiveness in adolescence: A predictive model

Longitudinal links from attachment with mothers and fathers to adolescent substance use: Internalizing and externalizing pathways

The present study examined whether internalizing and externalizing symptoms may mediate the association between adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment and substance use. The sample included 167 adolescents (47% girls) who were assessed at five time points with approximately 1 year between each assessment, beginning in middle adolescence (Mage = 14.07) and ending in the transition to young adulthood (Mage = 18.39). The adolescents reported their perceived attachment with both their mother and father during middle adolescence (Times 1 and 2), their internalizing and externalizing symptoms during late adolescence (Times 3 and 4), and their alcohol use during the transition to young adulthood (Time 5). The results showed that less secure adolescent-father attachment, but not adolescent-mother attachment, was predictive of heightened externalizing and internalizing symptoms. In turn, heightened externalizing symptoms were predictive of heightened alcohol use. Despite the nonsignificant direct association between adolescent-father attachment and alcohol use, less secure adolescent-father attachment was indirectly predictive of greater alcohol use, mediated through heightened externalizing symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of close and trusting father-adolescent relationships in the development of psychopathology and substance use behaviors. The developmental cascade from a less secure adolescent-father attachment to greater externalizing symptoms and heightened substance use, as well as implications for prevention and intervention of young adult substance use, are discussed. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The differential pathways from adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment to substance use during the transition to young adulthood are not well known. Longitudinal data were used to test whether internalizing and externalizing symptoms may mediate the association between adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment and substance use. Less secure adolescent-father attachment predicted heightened internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and less secure adolescent-father attachment predicted greater alcohol use, mediated through heightened externalizing symptoms. The findings suggest that addressing insecure attachment with fathers during adolescence may reduce unhealthy substance use during the transition to young adulthood.

Adolescence in lockdown: The protective role of mentalizing and epistemic trust

OBJECTIVE

Mentalizing is the ability to interpret one's own and others' behavior as driven by intentional mental states. Epistemic trust (openness to interpersonally transmitted information) has been associated with mentalizing. Balanced mentalizing abilities allow people to cope with external and internal stressors. Studies show that social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic was highly stressful for most people, especially for adolescents. Here we examine whether mentalizing and epistemic trust were protective factors in relation to emotional distress during the lockdown.

METHOD

A total of 131 nonclinical adolescents, aged between 12 and 18 years, were evaluated during the lockdown using the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Perceived Stress Scale, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale.

RESULTS

Results from network analysis showed that epistemic trust and mentalizing were negatively associated with perceived stress and emotion dysregulation. Epistemic trust in fathers was associated with level of perceived stress, and epistemic trust in mothers with emotion dysregulation.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that epistemic trust and the capacity to mentalize were low in adolescents during lockdown, and this was associated with high levels of stress. However, robust levels of epistemic trust and mentalizing may have acted as protective factors that buffered individuals from the risk of emotional dysregulation during the lockdown.

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.

Can Self-Esteem Help Teens Resist Unhealthy Influence of Materialistic Goals Promoted By Role Models?

The aim of the study was to examine the role of self-esteem in resisting the influence of materialistic goals of four social role models (mother, father, peers, and media) in adolescents (aged 13–16). Previous studies showed a negative correlation between the psychological health of teens and striving for materialistic goals, one of the main sources is the social modeling of materialism. Two studies were carried out. The first, correlational study, was conducted on target teens and their mothers, fathers, and peers of their choice. It examined if self-esteem is a moderator of the relationship between the materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) and the materialism of teens. The second, experimental study, was conducted on target teens only. It examined how boosting the self-esteem of teens and activating materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) may affect the materialism of teens. Study 1 showed a significant interaction effect of self-esteem and the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The interaction effects of self-esteem and other role models (parents and media) were not significant. Study 2 showed that elevated self-esteem lowered the influence of the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The results were not significant when other role models (parents and media) were analyzed. The results obtained in the presented studies indicate that the self-esteem of teens may have an important role in resisting the influence of materialism role models of peers. Practical implications of the studies for the psychological health of teens are also discussed.

Adolescents' Attachment to Parents and Reactive-Proactive Aggression: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia

Aggressive behaviors can serve different functions, which might be understood by distinguishing between reactive (RA) and proactive (PA) aggression. Few studies were conducted on adolescents’ family precursors and emotional processes associated with RA or PA. Accordingly, the current study compared RA and PA by evaluating their association with adolescents’ attachment to parents and alexithymia. N = 453 Italian adolescents aged 15–19 years (Mage = 16.48; SD = 0.69; 33.6% males) participated in the study filling in self-report measures. Results showed that PA and RA are significantly associated and that PA was higher among males. Moreover, four mediational models were performed to assess the influence of adolescents’ attachment to mothers vs. fathers on RA or PA, considering the mediating role of alexithymia. Gender was included as a covariate. Mediational models’ results showed a direct and indirect effect, through lower alexithymia, of adolescents’ attachment to mothers and fathers on RA. Differently, only attachment to mothers showed a direct effect on PA, while attachment to fathers only an indirect effect, mediated by lower alexithymia, on PA was shown. Findings support the greater relevance of emotional processes for RA while highlighting the differential contribution of adolescents’ attachment to mothers vs. fathers upon PA. Implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Perfectionism, Self-Esteem, and the Will to Win Among Adolescent Athletes: The Effects of the Level of Achievements and Gender

This study examined the relationships between perfectionism, self-esteem, and the will to win and the effects of gender and the level of achievement on these variables. A total of 318 adolescents in the age group of 12–19 years (M = 16.10 ± 1.01) completed the self-esteem questionnaire, the will-to-win questionnaire, and the perfectionism inventory. Interstate level (ISL) athletes obtained higher scores than interdistrict level (IDL) athletes on the following variables: self-esteem, the will to win, and four of the eight dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., concern over mistakes, the need for approval, organization, and planfulness). Further, male athletes obtained higher self-esteem and perfectionism (i.e., the need for approval and rumination) scores than female athletes. Self-esteem, the will to win, and the dimensions of perfectionism were positively and significantly interrelated. However, one dimension, namely, perceived parental pressure, was unrelated to any factor except striving for excellence. Further, the will to win, concern over mistakes, high standard for others, and planfulness were unrelated to striving for excellence. The results of the discriminant analysis revealed that there was no significant difference between ISL and IDL athletes (variance explained = 9.480%). Finally, using path analysis showed that Model 3 (perfectionism self-esteem will-to-win) has provided good model fit such as Bentler's comparative fit index (CFI) (0.987), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) (0.876), normed fit index (NFI) (0.973), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (0.097).

Aggressiveness in Adopted and Non-Adopted Teens: The Role of Parenting, Attachment Security, and Gender

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship among aggressiveness, parenting practices, and attachment security in adolescents, assessing maternal and paternal effects separately. Two different subsamples of adolescents between 12 and 16 years old participated in the study (n = 157): 67 adopted adolescents (61.2% girls) and 90 non-adopted adolescents (56.7% girls). Partial and full mediation models were analyzed in multi-group structural equation models (using maximum likelihood estimates), allocating non-adoptive and adoptive adolescents into two different groups. Results showed that whereas acceptance/involvement of each parent predicted attachment security towards the corresponding parental figure, only the father's coercion/imposition predicted aggressiveness, and only attachment security to the mother was a (negative) predictor of adolescent's aggressiveness. The partial mediation model provided the most parsimonious explanation for the data, showing no differences between adopted and non-adopted subsamples and supporting a good model fit for both boys and girls in a multi-group invariance analysis. The implications of these results are discussed in light of the protective effects of care relationships in early adolescence (vs. late adolescence) as well as the differential role of parent figures.

The Impact of Adolescents' Attachment to Peers and Parents on Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

This short-longitudinal study analyzed the cross-sectional and longitudinal pathways linking adolescent's quality of attachment to parents and peers and their practice of aggressive and prosocial behavior; it also explored the moderation effect of gender on those pathways. A total of 375 secondary school students (203 girls and 172 boys), aged between 15 and 19 years old, completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and the Peer Experience Questionnaire - Revised twice, within a four-month gap. Using a path analyses approach, results showed that aggression and prosocial behavior were the strongest predictors of themselves overtime. Attachment to mother had a cross-sectional effect on aggression and on prosocial behavior via attachment to peers, and attachment to peers predicted prosocial behavior; overall, the higher the quality of attachment, the lowest the practice of aggression and the highest the practice of prosocial behavior. These effects held stable for boys and girls, though gender-based differences were found in mean levels of attachment to peers and social behaviors. Even if other variables may be in place when understanding adolescents' social behaviors, attachment to mother and peers also seem to play a relevant role in trying to achieve safer and more positive school climates. Suggestions on how to accomplish this are shortly discussed.

Parental corporal punishment and child anxiety in China: The moderating role of HPA-axis Activity

BACKGROUND

Although negative associations between parental corporal punishment and child anxiety are well-documented, the potential moderators of these associations are not well characterized. Contemporary developmental perspectives suggest that biological vulnerability may influence the degree to which the environment affects child development. Thus, this study investigated the moderating role of one potential physiological marker, HPA-axis activity, in the relations between both maternal and paternal corporal punishment and child anxiety in China.

METHODS

Participants were 158 elementary school-age children and both their parents in China. Parental corporal punishment was measured based on children's self-report, maternal report, and paternal report. Children self-reported their anxiety and undertook saliva sampling during 3 consecutive school days at 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in their classroom. Hierarchical regressions were calculated to examine the moderating role of HPA-axis activity in the link between corporal punishment and child anxiety.

RESULTS

Both maternal and paternal corporal punishment were positively associated with child anxiety. Low morning and afternoon basal cortisol exacerbated the relations between paternal corporal punishment and child anxiety, and flatter diurnal rhythm exacerbated the relations between both paternal and maternal corporal punishment and child anxiety.

LIMITATIONS

Causal conclusions cannot be drawn based on cross-sectional research design.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide partial support for the diathesis-stress model and highlight the importance of considering how the biological vulnerability may interact with parenting to influence child adjustment.

Winning at all costs: The etiology of hypercompetitiveness through the indirect influences of parental bonds on anger and verbal/physical aggression

Hypercompetitiveness reflects the need to compete and win at all costs as a means of maintaining or enhancing one's own self-worth (Horney, 1937; Ryckman, Hammer, Kaczor, & Gold, 1990). This need to win at any cost is linked to expressions of verbal and physical aggression, which may take a toll on important relationships (Hibbard & Buhrmester, 2010). We sought to explore whether parental bonds with mothers and fathers (i.e., care, rejection, autonomy, and overprotection) were indirectly linked to aggression via the mediating mechanisms of hypercompetitiveness and feelings of anger. A sample of 581 university students (316 females; 265 males) were used to examine a multiple-group structural equation model. Tests of structural invariance revealed clear moderation by gender. For instance, the pathway from verbal to physical aggression was stronger for males compared to females. For females only, higher levels of father care were indirectly linked to fewer acts of physical aggression. For both genders, higher levels of mother overprotection were indirectly linked to more acts of physical aggression through increased hypercompetitiveness and, in turn, more feelings of anger. Findings regarding maternal overprotection are consistent with both Evolutionary and Social Learning theories of behavior.

Attachment to Parents and Aggressiveness in Adopted Adolescents: A Multi-Sample Comparison Study

This study examined adopted adolescents' levels of attachment security to parents and aggressiveness as compared to those of community nonadopted adolescents and of clinical nonadopted adolescents. Three different subsamples participated (n = 262): 101 community nonadopted adolescents (48.5% girls), 80 community adopted teens (65.0% girls), and 81 nonadopted counterparts (35.8% girls) who participated in a treatment program for youth with behavioral problems. There were no differences between community groups in attachment security or aggressiveness, whereas clinical nonadopted adolescents showed less attachment security and more aggressiveness than the other two groups. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the potential healing impact that living with adoptive families could have on adopted teenagers' risk of maladaptive outcomes.

Locus of control as a mediator of the association between attachment and children's mental health

Locus of control-the expectation that one is in control of one's outcomes in life-is linked to well-being. The authors explored one of the possible antecedents of locus of control such as secure children's attachment. The hypothesis was that locus of control acts as a mediator of the association between children's attachment and their mental health, in terms of depression, anxiety (internalizing problems), and aggression (externalizing problems). Participants were 206 children with ages ranging from 8 to 14 years. The authors obtained data from teachers as well as by self-report. Structural equations modelling yielded significant results for both a direct path from insecure attachment to internalizing problems and an indirect pathway in which locus of control functions as a mediating variable between children's attachment and internalizing problems. Although the data were consistent with the mediated pathway with regard to internalizing problems, different findings emerged for aggression. Insecure attachment was a significant predictor of aggressive behavior, while locus of control was not a mediator between attachment and aggressive behavior. The authors' findings confirm the mediating role of the locus of control between attachment and internalizing problems, but not between attachment and externalizing ones.

Parenting and Self-Control Across Early to Late Adolescence: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

Self-control plays a significant role in positive youth development. Although numerous self-control challenges occur during adolescence, some adolescents control themselves better than others. Parenting is considered a critical factor that distinguishes adolescents with good self-control from those with poor self-control, but existing findings are inconsistent. This meta-analysis summarizes the overall relationship between parenting and self-control among adolescents aged 10 to 22 years. The analysis includes 191 articles reporting 1,540 effect sizes (N = 164,459). The results show that parenting is associated with adolescents' self-control both concurrently (r = .204, p < .001) and longitudinally (r = .157, p < .001). Longitudinal studies also reveal that adolescents' self-control influences subsequent parenting (r = .155, p < .001). Moderator analyses show that the effect sizes are largely invariant across cultures, ethnicities, age of adolescents, and parent and youth gender. Our results point to the importance of parenting in individual differences in adolescent self-control and vice versa.

Measurement and Function of the Control Dimension in Parenting Styles: A Systematic Review

Recent studies have shown different results in identifying which parenting style is the most beneficial for children, which has encouraged certain authors to wonder whether parental control is still needed for optimal parenting. As such investigations have been conducted with different measuring instruments, it is necessary to check whether the use of different instruments leads to different results. In order to figure this out, a systematic review of the recent literature (Web of Science and Scopus, 2000–2017) was carried out. This review found that, using certain instruments, parental control is associated with better outcomes in children, while using certain others, control is associated with worse outcomes. The difference seems to be in the way of measuring parental control.

The Mediating Role of Romantic Attachment in the Relationship Between Attachment to Parents and Aggression

BACKGROUND

A secure attachment style could promote more intimacy in romantic relationships, while an insecure attachment style could be correlated with less positive romantic relationships in adulthood. Numerous studies have noted that a secure attachment to parents was correlated with lower levels of aggression, whereas insecure attachments were associated with higher levels of aggression. We aimed to investigate the role of the attachment system as a mediator of the expression of aggressiveness during adolescence. Specifically, we considered that the attachment to parents and peers could influence one's attachment to a romantic partner.

METHODS

We empirically tested whether there were relationships of parent and peer attachment on aggressiveness mediated by romantic attachment style. Participants of the study included 411 students.

RESULTS

Results indicated that for males an insecure father-child attachment style seems to be associated with higher levels of anxiety and avoidance in romantic attachments and then with aggressiveness. For females, an insecure mother-child attachment style seems to be associated with higher levels of aggressiveness.

CONCLUSION

The attachment to parents and to peers plays a key role in defining romantic attachment according to gender, and these dimensions in turn tend to affect the levels of aggressiveness.

Pathways from Father Engagement during Infancy to Child Aggression in Late Childhood

Child aggression and its dire consequences cause social problems. Informed by family systems theory and parenting stress theory, this study specifically examined the mediating pathways from father engagement to child aggression through maternal parenting stress, child resistant attachment, and maternal physical abuse. We conducted a secondary data analysis on 2016 mother-child dyads from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study by building structural equation models. We found indirect effects of father engagement on child aggression through influencing mothers' parenting stress. Children's attachment and mothers' physical abuse mediated the effects of mothers' stress on child behavior-based aggression and verbal- and mood-based aggression. Interventions should target fostering fathers' engagement, alleviating mothers' parenting stress and changing mothers' abusive parenting, and improving mother-child attachment.

Parent-child attachment as a mediator of the relationship between parenting style and gelotophobia among adolescents

Fear of being laughed at and family interaction are highly related. Parental over-control and over-protection influence children's excessive anxiety over being laughed at. Conversely, parental attachment is an important index of the parent-child relationship and is closely correlated to children's gelotophobia. However, is it the style of parenting or the outcome of parenting (i.e. attachment) that influences a child's gelotophobia? To answer this question, the present study analysed the relationships between gelotophobia, perceived parenting of children and parent-child attachment, as well as the mediating role of attachment between parenting and children's gelotophobia, using a sample of 373 high-school students. The results show that being highly communicative and close attachment completely weakened the negative correlation between warm, caring parenting and the child's gelotophobia; moreover, being highly communicative and close attachment, together with over-protective and over-controlling parenting, influence children's gelotophobia. In sum, this study indicates that parent-child attachment has a direct and indirect influence on perceived parental care and protection and children's fear of being laughed at.

Predicting Effects of the Self and Contextual Factors on Violence: A Comparison between School Students and Youth Offenders in Macau

This study was designed to explore the self and contextual factors for violence in two samples of school students and youth offenders in Macau. There were 3085 participants who were between 12 and 20 years old; 48.3% of them were male and 51.7% female. Findings revealed that youth offenders exhibited more violence than school students. For the self factors, while lower self-esteem and higher self-efficacy of school students were associated with more violent behavior, these two variables had no significant effects for youth offenders. For the contextual factors, family conflict was the strongest predictor of violence, and school commitment/attachment was the weakest predictor for both samples. For youth offenders, family conflict had the largest direct effect, followed by susceptibility to negative peer influence and influence of the Triad gangs, while school commitment/attachment had a significant though mild direct effect. For school students, family conflict mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. While Triad gangs’ influence was the second strongest predictor of violence, being exposed to Triad gangs’ influence also mediated the effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy on violence. It is recommended that youth outreach services with a focus on family support and gang detachment for at-risk youth be strengthened.

An Explanatory Model of Dating Violence Risk Factors in Spanish Adolescents

Dating violence is a serious public health issue that needs further understanding in terms of risk factors that may be involved in it. The main goal of this study was to test a mediational model of dating violence risk factors. The sample was composed of 477 secondary and college students from Spain (59% females). A dynamic developmental explanatory model considering aggressiveness, insecure attachment, interparental conflict, and peer dating violence was tested using a multigroup structural equation model. Aggressiveness partially mediated the relation between anxious attachment and dating violence and fully mediated the association between interparental conflict resolution and dating violence. Furthermore, perceived peer dating violence was a direct predictor of dating violence. Implications for prevention and intervention plans are discussed.

Fathers, fathering and child psychopathology

The last few years have seen a steady increase in research addressing the potential influence of fathers on their children's development. There has also been a clearer acknowledgement of the need to study families as a complex system, rather than just focusing on individual aspects of functioning in one or other parent. Increased father involvement and more engaged styles of father-infant interactions are associated with more positive outcomes for children. Studies of paternal depression and other psychopathology have begun to elucidate some of the key mechanisms by which fathers can influence their children's development. These lessons are now being incorporated into thinking about engaging both mothers and fathers in effective interventions to optimise their children's health and development.

Peer attachment and class emotional intelligence as predictors of adolescents' psychological well-being: A multilevel approach

The aim of the study was to analyze whether gender, age, peer attachment, and class-level emotional intelligence could predict adolescents' psychological well-being by applying a multilevel approach. The sample comprised 2182 secondary school students from the Basque Country (northern Spain) (from 118 classrooms, 51.6% girls), aged between 12 and 18 years. A two-level model (with students nested into classes) was used to analyze the influence of three level-one covariates (gender, age, and peer attachment) and one level-two covariate (class-level emotional intelligence) on the positive affect component of psychological well-being. The results showed an overall decrease in well-being as adolescents grow older, and an increase linked to a higher peer attachment. Furthermore, class-level emotional intelligence showed a positive relationship with students' well-being. This group-level covariate also strengthened the effect of peer attachment on the well-being. The advantages of using a multilevel approach for predicting mental health and psychological adjustment are discussed.

Adoptive parenting and attachment: association of the internal working models between adoptive mothers and their late-adopted children during adolescence

INTRODUCTION

Recent literature has shown that the good outcome of adoption would mostly depend on the quality of adoptive parenting, which is strongly associated with the security of parental internal working models (IWMs) of attachment. Specifically, attachment states-of-mind of adoptive mothers classified as free and autonomous and without lack of resolution of loss or trauma could represent a good protective factor for adopted children, previously maltreated and neglected. While most research on adoptive families focused on pre-school and school-aged children, the aim of this study was to assess the concordance of IWMs of attachment in adoptive dyads during adolescence.

METHOD

Our pilot-study involved 76 participants: 30 adoptive mothers (mean age = 51.5 ± 4.3), and their 46 late-adopted adolescents (mean age = 13.9 ± 1.6), who were all aged 4-9 years old at time of adoption (mean age = 6.3 ± 1.5). Attachment representations of adopted adolescents were assessed by the Friend and Family Interview (FFI), while adoptive mothers' state-of-mind with respect to attachment was classified by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Adolescents' verbal intelligence was controlled for.

RESULTS

Late-adopted adolescents were classified as follows: 67% secure, 26% dismissing, and 7% preoccupied in the FFI, while their adoptive mothers' AAI classifications were 70% free-autonomous, 7% dismissing, and 23% unresolved. We found a significant concordance of 70% (32 dyads) between the secure-insecure FFI and AAI classifications. Specifically adoptive mothers with high coherence of transcript and low unresolved loss tend to have late-adopted children with high secure attachment, even if the adolescents' verbal intelligence made a significant contribution to this prediction.

DISCUSSION

Our results provides an empirical contribution to the literature concerning the concordance of attachment in adoptive dyads, highlighting the beneficial impact of highly coherent states-of-mind of adoptive mothers on the attachment representations of their late-adopted adolescent children.

Adolescent Attachment Trajectories with Mothers and Fathers: The Importance of Parent-Child Relationship Experiences and Gender

This longitudinal study investigated how attachment with mothers and fathers changes during adolescence, and how gender and parent-child relationship experiences are associated with attachment trajectories. The relative importance of specific positive and negative relationship experiences on attachment trajectories was also examined. An initial sample of 223 adolescents reported on relationship experiences and attachment avoidance and anxiety with mothers and fathers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 (final N=110; Mage=11.90 years at onset, SD=.43). Mothers and fathers reported on relationship experiences with adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that security with parents increased during adolescence. Positive relationship experiences (companionship, satisfaction, approval, support) predicted increases in security and negative experiences (pressure, criticism) predicted decreases in security. Females reported less avoidance than males.

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

Both structural (i.e., SES, familial psychopathology, family composition) and dynamic (i.e., parental warmth and rejection) family characteristics have been associated with aggressive and depressive problem development. However, it is unclear to what extent (changes in) dynamic family characteristics have an independent effect on problem development while accounting for stable family characteristics and comorbid problem development. This issue was addressed by studying problem development in a large community sample (N = 2,230; age 10-20) of adolescents using Linear Mixed models. Paternal and maternal warmth and rejection were assessed via the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran for Children (EMBU-C). Aggressive and depressive problems were assessed via subscales of the Youth/Adult Self-Report. Results showed that dynamic family characteristics independently affected the development of aggressive problems. Moreover, maternal rejection in preadolescence and increases in paternal rejection were associated with aggressive problems, whereas decreases in maternal rejection were associated with decreases in depressive problems over time. Paternal and maternal warmth in preadolescence was associated with fewer depressive problems during adolescence. Moreover, increases in paternal warmth were associated with fewer depressive problems over time. Aggressive problems were a stable predictor of depressive problems over time. Finally, those who increased in depressive problems became more aggressive during adolescence, whereas those who decreased in depressive problems became also less aggressive. Besides the effect of comorbid problems, problem development is to a large extent due to dynamic family characteristics, and in particular to changes in parental rejection, which leaves much room for parenting-based interventions.

Predictors and consequences of developmental changes in adolescent girls' self-reported quality of attachment to their primary caregiver

In an at-risk community sample of 2101 girls, we examined trajectories, predictors, and consequences of changes in a central aspect of adolescents' perceived quality of attachment (QOA), i.e., their reported trust in the availability and supportiveness of the primary caregiver. Results demonstrated two distinct epochs of change in this aspect of girls' perceived QOA, with a significant linear decrease in early adolescence (ages 11-14) followed by a plateau from 14 to 16. Baseline parent-reported harsh punishment, low parental involvement, single parent status, and child-reported depression symptoms predicted steeper decreases in attachment during early adolescence, which in turn predicted greater child-reported depression and conduct disorder symptoms in later adolescence. Results suggest that both parent and child factors contribute to trajectories of self-reported QOA in adolescence, and a faster rate of decrease in girls' perceived QOA to caregivers during early adolescence may increase risk for both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Dimensionality of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment: Evaluation with the Spanish Version

Three studies aimed at developing the Spanish version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) and at analyzing its factor structure are reported. In Study 1, the Spanish translation of items and their content analysis was carried out via cognitive interviews. In Study 2, the three-factor structure proposed by authors was tested in a sample of 417 adolescents (270 girls and 147 boys) using confirmatory analysis, and indexes showed a suboptimal fit. A principal component analysis yielded one-dimensional structures in father, mother and peer versions, explaining 54.3%, 50.8%, and 50.8% of the variance respectively. On the basis of the factor loadings and of the item-total correlations, a shortened version of the inventory was created. Convergent validity was tested with measures of family climate, parenting socialization and self-esteem. In Study 3, the one-dimension structure was confirmed in a new sample of 604 adolescents (335 girls and 269 boys). Based on all factor analyses and convergent validity indices obtained, we conclude that the Spanish IPPA questionnaire reliably and validly assesses adolescent attachment using only a dimension of attachment security.