Pathways to Adolescent Emotional and Behavioral Problems: An Examination of Maternal Depression and Harsh Parenting

Maternal victimization and neglected offspring: Child marriage, IPV and depression symptoms among Salar Muslim women

BACKGROUND

Child neglect is prevalent in western rural China, yet there is limited research among ethnic minority communities. The Salar, a Turkic-Muslim ethnic minority residing primarily in western China, also face this specific problem. The group is deeply influenced by ethnicity, Islam and Chinese Confucianism, which in turn makes women vulnerable to child marriage and IPV. These victimizations, coupled with various life stressors, further complicate the challenges of providing adequate care for their children.

OBJECTIVE

This study hypothesizes a relationship between child neglect and maternal child marriage, IPV victimization, and depression symptoms.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

201 married Salar women from five villages in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, China, were randomly selected to participate in the study.

METHOD

A probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling approach was used to collect a random representative multi-stage cluster sample in 2022. Random effects Poisson regression models were used to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

The participants reported a 65.6 % rate of child neglect and a 30.8 % rate of IPV in the past year. 37.6 % experienced child marriage. Results revealed significant associations between child neglect and child marriage, IPV, and depression symptoms. A two-way interaction between IPV and depression symptoms was strongly positively associated with child neglect.

CONCLUSIONS

This research indicates that Salar Muslim mothers who have experienced child marriage, adulthood victimization, and depression are at a higher risk of neglecting their children. The findings represent a valuable initial step toward researching and addressing the protection needs of women and children from Muslim ethnic minorities in China.

Exploring the Relationship between Maternal Gatekeeping with Paternal Parenting and Adolescent Aggression

Based on the traditional Chinese cultural belief of "male breadwinner, female homemaker", as well as the systemic and interactive characteristics of families, this study aims to explore the relationship between maternal gatekeeping behavior and the quality and quantity of paternal parenting, as well as adolescent aggressive behavior. A total of 483 seventh-grade students completed questionnaires on maternal gatekeeping behavior, paternal involvement, parenting styles, and aggressive behavior. Latent profile analysis identified four parenting combinations: positive, negative, mixed, and neglectful. Adolescents under negative parenting exhibited the highest aggression and experienced the highest maternal gatekeeping behavior, while those under positive and neglectful parenting showed the least aggression and least maternal gatekeeping behavior. Maternal gatekeeping behavior correlated with paternal negative parenting and adolescent aggression. Paternal negative parenting mediated the relationship between maternal gatekeeping and aggression, while paternal involvement moderated this relationship. These findings highlight the role of parental interaction in adolescent behavior and support family-based interventions.

From adverse childhood experiences to harsh parenting: Psychological symptoms as a mediator

BACKGROUND

Research evidence has demonstrated a direct link between ACEs and harsh parenting. However, the mechanisms linking paternal ACEs to harsh parenting have remained largely unexplored among Asian populations.

OBJECTIVE

In the current study, we examined the relationships between parental ACEs and harsh parenting and explored the potential mediating effect of psychological symptoms on the relationship between parental ACEs and harsh parenting.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A total of 6195 Taiwanese parents of children aged 6 to 12 were recruited from 58 primary schools in the Taiwanese cities of Taipei and New Taipei.

METHOD

Using probability-proportional-to-size sampling and a self-report survey, we collected data relating to parental ACEs, psychological symptoms, and child-rearing behaviors. A hierarchical regression analysis was completed to examine the effects of parental ACEs and psychological symptoms on harsh parenting. In addition, we tested the potential mediating effects of psychological symptoms on the relationship between parental ACEs and harsh parenting by employing a simple mediation model (PROCESS) with a bootstrapping procedure.

RESULTS

We found that both parental ACEs and psychological symptoms were significant predictors for mothers' and fathers' adoption of harsh parenting behaviors. Moreover, after adjusting for covariates, we discovered the unique finding that psychological symptoms mediated the relationship between parental ACEs and harsh parenting among Taiwanese parents.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed a direct link between parental ACEs and harsh parenting, with psychological symptoms serving as a mediator. Our findings suggest that trauma-recovery programs should promote regular screening and interventions for parents with ACEs.

The Relationship Between Harsh Parenting and Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents: Serial Mediating Role of Depression and Social Pain

Purpose

With the increasing prevalence of smart phones, adolescent smartphone addiction has garnered significant attention from researchers. Previous studies have revealed that smartphone addiction is associated with various internalization and externalization problems. Therefore, this present study aims to investigate the risk factors contributing to adolescent smartphone addiction.

Methods

Study 1 recruited a sample of 540, 690, and 470 Chinese students aged between 10-17 years for exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and predictive validity analysis of the social pain scale. Study 2 utilized data from a sample of 718 Chinese students aged between 10-17 years to examine the measurement model used revised social pain scale, smartphone addiction scale, harsh parenting scale, and depression sub-scale.

Results

The present study revealed that (1)The Social Pain Scale had good applicability in Chinese adolescents; (2) There were significant, positive correlations among harsh parenting, smartphone addiction, depression and social pain; (3) Social pain and depression played a partially serial mediating role in the relationship between harsh parenting and smartphone addiction, and similarly the relationship between paternal harsh parenting and smartphone addiction, while a completely serial mediating role in the relationship between maternal harsh parenting and smartphone addiction.

Conclusion

This study provides a direct path (improving parenting style) and an indirect path (reducing social pain to reduce depression) regarding interventions for adolescents with smartphone addiction, and establishes a basis for improving the situation of adolescent smartphone addiction.

Longitudinal associations between early risk and adolescent delinquency: Mediators, moderators, and main effects

Although multiple domains of risk are theorized to predict adolescent delinquency, father-specific risk in the context of other risks is under-researched. Using the low-income Future of Families and Child Wellbeing cohort (48% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 51% boy, N = 4,255), the current study addressed three research questions. (1) are father-, mother-, child-, and family-level cumulative risk during early childhood associated with adolescent delinquent behavior?, (2) does child self-control in middle childhood mediate the associations between fathers' and mothers' cumulative risk and adolescent delinquent behavior, and do quality of parent's relationships with children and parental monitoring in middle childhood mediate the association between child cumulative risk and delinquent behavior?, (3) do parenting, quality of parent-child relationships in middle childhood, and child sex at birth moderate the associations among fathers', mothers', children's, and family risk and adolescent delinquent behavior? Results indicated father, child, and mother risk at ages 3-5 were significantly and positively associated with youth-reported delinquent behavior. Higher levels of family risk were associated with less delinquency when 9-year-olds felt closer to fathers than when they felt less close. Children's self-control at age 9 mediated the associations between father and child risk and delinquent behavior.

Why is Smartphone Addiction More Common in Adolescents with Harsh Parenting? Depression and Experiential Avoidance's Multiple Mediating Roles

Purpose

Harsh parenting is positively correlated with adolescents' smartphone addiction, according to a growing corpus of studies. The various mediating processes that could underlie this link, however, are not well understood. Based upon the experiential avoidance model, the current research aimed to identify the relation between harsh parenting and adolescents' smartphone addiction and the mediating roles of adolescents' depression and experiential avoidance.

Methods

We recruited 456 adolescents (female = 52.6%; Mage = 13.19 years, SD = 0.85) at a public junior high school in China to complete the harsh discipline scale, 90-item Hopkins symptom checklist, acceptance and action questionnaire version II, and smartphone addiction scale short version. SPSS24.0 was used to conduct independent samples t-test, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and common method bias test, PROCESS were used to conduct a significance test of the chain mediation effect on the data. Age, gender, and grade were used as con-founders that were controlled in order to make cautious predictions.

Results

The results showed that (1) harsh parenting was positively correlated with adolescents' depression, experiential avoidance, and smartphone addiction; (2) both depression and experiential avoidance fully mediated the link between harsh parenting and smartphone addiction; and (3) depression and experiential avoidance also sequentially mediated the link between harsh parenting and smartphone addiction. These findings have significant implications for the prevention and intervention of adolescents' smartphone addiction.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that harsh parenting may have an indirect impact on smartphone addiction in both a simple way (parallel mediation) and a complicated way (serial mediation). In addition, these studies shed light on smartphone addiction prevention and intervention.

The Mediating Role of Callous-Unemotional Traits in the Relationship between Parental Aggression and Behavioral Problems among Chinese Preschoolers

It is well known that aggressive parenting is associated with behavioral problems among Western children in their early childhood, but this has rarely been examined among Chinese preschoolers. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between aggressive parenting, callous-unemotional traits (CU traits), and behavioral problems among a large Chinese preschool sample. Data were collected in Wuhu city, China, from 1879 preschoolers (54% of whom were male) with a mean age of 65.66 months (standard deviation = 9.41). Parents provided information about the frequency of aggressive parenting, children's behaviors, and demographic characteristics via an online questionnaire. Mediation models were applied to analyze the associations between aggressive parenting, CU traits, and behavioral problems. Preschoolers' age, gender, and family socioeconomic status were considered as covariates. The findings of our study revealed that higher frequencies of parental psychological and physical aggression were associated with high levels of CU traits, which were related to increased levels of preschoolers' behavioral problems. This study extends previous studies by revealing a positive relationship between aggressive parenting and behavioral problems among Chinese preschoolers via CU traits and highlights the risks of aggressive parenting. Interventions for improving parenting strategies and lessening callous-unemotional traits should be developed to help reduce behavioral problems.

Housing insecurity and adolescent behavioral outcomes: The mediating role of aggression in parenting

BACKGROUND

Housing insecurity impacts millions of families with children each year and is linked with a range of adverse outcomes. Greater understanding of pathways linking housing insecurity with emotional and behavioral problem is needed to prevent enduring mental health problems. The Family Stress Model and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model contribute understanding to the complex dynamics underlying development from childhood to adolescence in the context of economic hardship and parental strain.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of harsh parenting in the relationship between childhood housing insecurity and adolescent behavior problems.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, and included a sample of at-risk mothers with children from 20 large U.S. cities (N = 2719).

METHODS

Structural equation modeling with latent variables tested direct and indirect pathways from housing insecurity at age 5 with emotional and behavioral problems at age 15 via intermediary harsh parenting at age 9.

RESULTS

Housing insecurity directly predicted adolescent anxious/depressive behaviors (β = 0.14, p < 0.01); and indirectly predicted rule-breaking (β = 0.04, p < 0.01), aggressive (β = 0.05, p < 0.01), and anxious/depressive (β = 0.03, p < 0.05) behaviors via psychological aggression in parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

Failure to address housing hardship among families with young children increases maltreatment risk and subsequent enduring mental health problems. Efforts to identify and mitigate housing hardship and maltreatment among at-risk families offer promise to promote long-term mental health in the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Maternal mental-health treatment moderates the association between psychological distress and harsh parenting: A prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Parental psychological distress (depression, anxiety) is detrimental to child mental health. A key reason for this is that depressed and anxious parents are at risk of engaging in more negative, reactive and harsh parenting. While treatment for psychological distress has a long history of success in adults, less is known about how treatment for parental psychological distress may positively influence parenting behaviours, particularly in the general population. We examined the moderating role of mothers receiving treatment for depression or anxiety on the longitudinal relationship between maternal psychological distress and the development of harsh parenting (smacking and shouting) across early childhood (ages 3 to 7).

METHOD

Using prospective data from 16,131 families participating in the UK's Millennium Cohort Study, we conducted moderator analysis within a multilevel repeated measures model to test whether receiving treatment for mental health problems could protect mothers with high psychological distress from engaging in harsh parenting.

RESULTS

In each wave, about 7% of mothers reported undergoing treatment for depression or anxiety at that time. Maternal psychological distress was associated with increased use of harsh parenting and that, adjusting for psychological distress, receiving psychological treatment was related to decreased use of harsh parenting. Importantly, receiving psychological treatment buffered the negative effect of psychological distress on harsh parenting.

CONCLUSION

In early-to-middle childhood, mental health treatment may help mothers with depression or anxiety to be less harsh toward their children, thereby benefiting their child's psychological adjustment.

The relationship between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems: The roles of parenting stress and child maltreatment

Introduction

Although the relationships between parental mental health and child internalizing and externalizing problems have been explored by previous studies, the pathways between these two variables need further exploration. The present study aims to explore the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems and to examine the roles of parenting stress and child maltreatment in those relationships within the Chinese cultural context.

Method

Data were collected from 855 Chinese families with preschool-aged children, and mediation analysis was used to examine the pathways between these variables.

Results

The results show that parental depression is positively associated with child internalizing and externalizing problems, and child maltreatment and the combination of parenting stress and child maltreatment mediated the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. These findings suggest that parental depression not only has a direct effect on child internalizing and externalizing problems but also has an indirect effect via parenting stress and child maltreatment.

Discussion

Decreasing the levels of parenting stress and child maltreatment should be applied in interventions to break the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems within the Chinese cultural context.

The Role of Mindfulness in Mitigating the Detrimental Effects of Harsh Parenting among Chinese Adolescents: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model in a Three-Wave Study

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study aimed to investigate the mediating role of depressive symptoms and the moderating role of mindfulness in the association between harsh parenting and adolescent suicidal ideation in the Chinese cultural context. Using a three-wave (i.e., three months apart) data collection among 371 Chinese adolescents, this study found that depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent suicidal ideation. Moreover, adolescent mindfulness mitigated the effects of harsh parenting on suicidal ideation, as well as the indirect effect of harsh parenting on suicidal ideation via depressive symptoms. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Efficacy of Parent Training Interventions with Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Parenting children with developmental disabilities (DD) can be generally characterized by a considerable psychological burden. The effects on parental and familial psychological well-being and, consequently, on children's developmental outcomes should not be underestimated, especially in early childhood. The current review aims to advance our understanding of the key factors (e.g., formats, sample characteristics, research design) that characterize parent training interventions, and that could be related to their outcomes, to guide researchers and clinical practitioners to develop and provide efficient programs. Studies were identified via an Internet search from three electronic databases, following PRIMSA guidelines. Studies published until November 2021 were taken into account. The initial search yielded a total of 2475 studies. Among them, 101 studies were fully reviewed. Finally, ten of the studies, which met all the inclusion criteria, formed the basis for this review. Participants' characteristics, main features of the interventions (i.e., study design, structure, and contents), outcome variables and treatment efficacy were deeply examined and discussed. Key factors of parent training interventions with parents of children affected by DD are enlightened, to guide researchers and clinicians in the design and implementation of tailored specific programs, aimed to sustain parenting and foster children's developmental outcomes, from early stages of life.

Dependence of Socio-Emotional Competence Expression on Gender and Grade for K5–K12 Students

Socio-emotional education is referred to as the missing part that links academic knowledge to successes in school, family, community, workplace, and life. Socio-emotional education, in conjunction with academic instruction, aims to lay the groundwork for a sound moral education. This manuscript is aimed at proving that socio-emotional education may improve children’s mental health. In total, 1322 students (of grades K5–K12) participated in this study back in October 2020. A statistically validated and partially modified questionnaire according to The Limbic Performance Indicators™ (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92, p < 0.000) was used to assess general education school students’ social–emotional competencies. The study uses an abbreviated version of the questionnaire adapted by the Lithuanian Association of Social Emotional Education, which has been adapted with the consent of the selected age group. As a result, this study explores how to determine general education school students’ knowledge and skills in socio-emotional education while also identifying the best pedagogical approaches to addressing socio-emotional education. According to research findings, students that participated in the study displayed more personal values, respect for others, internal balance, collaboration, emotional perception of others, or basic emotional needs. Personal values, respect for others, emotional perception of others, internal balance, support, and basic emotional needs were estimated to be greater in the target group of girls than in the target group of boys.

Associations between Parental Mental Health and Child Maltreatment: The Importance of Family Characteristics

The study expands the literature on parents’ mental health and risk of poor parenting by exploring the association between parental mental health diagnoses and types of child maltreatment among 522 parents who were adjudicated for child maltreatment by Israeli courts. The study was cross-sectional and used a manual for the content analysis of court cases. The results showed that 62% of the parents suffered from mental health problems, including emotional problems, personality disorders, mental illness or intellectual disability. Child neglect was associated with all types of mental health diagnoses for both the mothers and fathers. However, child abuse and specifically physical abuse were associated only with the mother’s mental health diagnoses. The mother’s mental illness and personality disorder predicted child neglect and the mother’s personality disorder predicted child abuse, after controlling for poverty, child’s intellectual disability and age. No mental health diagnosis of the father predicted child maltreatment. The study concluded that the effect of mental health condition is greater for mothers. A mother’s personality disorder and mental illness should raise a special concern. Screening for maternal mental health in every case involved in the child welfare system and implications of the findings for prevention of child maltreatment are discussed.