Out of Control: Examining the Association Between Family Conflict and Self-Control in Adolescence in a Genetically Sensitive Design

Genetic risk of AUDs and childhood impulsivity: Examining the role of parenting and family environment

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of genetic risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD), parenting behaviors, and family environment on childhood impulsivity. Data were drawn from White (n = 5,991), Black/African American (n = 1,693), and Hispanic/Latino (n = 2,118) youth who completed the baseline assessment (age 9-10) and had genotypic data available from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Participants completed questionnaires and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results indicated no significant main effects of AUD genome-wide polygenic scores (AUD-PRS) on childhood impulsivity as measured by the UPPS-P scale across racial/ethnic groups. In general, parental monitoring and parental acceptance were associated with lower impulsivity; family conflict was associated with higher impulsivity. There was an interaction effect between AUD-PRS and family conflict, such that family conflict exacerbated the association between AUD-PRS and positive urgency, only among Black/African American youth. This was the only significant interaction effect detected from a total of 45 tests (five impulsivity dimensions, three subsamples, and three family factors), and thus may be a false positive and needs to be replicated. These findings highlight the important role of parenting behaviors and family conflict in relation to impulsivity among children.

The multidimensionality of inter-parental conflict on aggression and mental health among adolescents

The research sets out to reveal that multidimensionality of inter-parental conflict is a limitation in the direction of research which suggests that inter-parental conflict is a risk factor to poor mental health and aggression in adolescents. To validate the above assertion, 394 adolescents (227 males; mean age = 15.6, SD = 1.74) were purposively sampled for the study. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested and data were analyzed using the multiple regression analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance/Analysis of Variance (MANOVA/ANOVA) statistics. Results indicated that all dimensions of inter-parental conflict and its full scale had a significantly positive correlation with aggression while all dimensions of inter-parental conflict had a significant negative correlation with adolescents' mental health. Results further showed that all dimensions of inter-parental conflict jointly associated with aggression but only the dimensions of frequency and intensity independently related with aggression. All dimensions of inter-parental conflict jointly related with mental health while intensity, resolution, coping efficacy and self-blame dimensions independently associated with mental health of adolescents. Based on the above, the researchers recommended that the dimensionality of inter-parental conflict should be considered in further research and that intervention programs should aim at promoting positive family relationship, reducing family stress and promoting positive mental health as adolescents grow and develop in the course of time.

Editors' Best of 2020

There is, in the content of the Journal, an embarrassment of riches, and picking a "best" seems to demand a certain qualification: is the "best" the most interesting, most surprising, most educational, most important, most provocative, most enjoyable? How to choose? We are hardly unbiased and can admit to a special affection for the ones that we and the authors worked hardest on, hammering version after version into shape. Acknowledging these biases, here are the 2020 articles that we think deserve your attention, or at least a second read.

Editorial: Out of Control: More Evidence That Both Family Ecology and Genetic Influences Contribute to the Origins of Poor Self-Control Among Adolescents

Poor self-control, and poor self-regulation more broadly, plays a notable role in myriad outcomes of concern to our field and to society. Poor self-control has been implicated in criminality, academic difficulties, occupational challenges, problematic interpersonal relationships, lower income, and financial problems,¹ and has been identified as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychiatric difficulties across the life span.² Poor self-control also has been associated with health outcomes such as elevated risk for obesity.³ These and other outcomes, linked in part to poor self-control, are frequently highlighted by media outlets, and, on an annual basis, cost society billions of dollars. Thus, understanding the origins of and factors contributing to self-control is an imperative, multidisciplinary undertaking that will inform efforts to prevent the emergence of poor self-control, as well as intervention efforts targeting those experiencing self-control difficulties.

Investigating the association between family connectedness and self-control in adolescence in a genetically sensitive design

Family connectedness is key for the development of self-control in early and middle childhood. But is family connectedness still important during the transitional phase of adolescence, when adolescents demand more independence from their parents and rely more on their peers? The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control, and whether it still holds in adolescence using a genetically sensitive design. Data were used from a large sample of twins aged 14 (N = 11,260) and aged 16 (N = 8175), all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. We applied bivariate twin models and monozygotic twin difference models to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control and to unravel to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain this association. The results showed that more family connectedness is significantly related to better self-control in adolescence, albeit with a small effect size. Twin analyses revealed that this association was mainly explained by common genetic factors and that the effects of environmental factors were small. The current findings confirm the role of family connectedness in adolescent self-control. Importantly, however, the results demonstrate that phenomena we see within families seem the product of parent and children sharing the same genes rather than being exclusively attributable to environmental processes.

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.