Intergenerational transmission of anxiety in Chinese migrant families: The mediating role of parents' perceptions of coparenting

Parental and Adolescents' Anxiety during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Rural China: The role of Parent-child Communication

Purpose

It has been suggested that the intergenerational transmission of anxiety may be an important contributor to the high prevalence of anxiety in adolescents. The objectives of this study are to examine whether and how parental anxiety is related to adolescent's anxiety and to explore the associations of parental anxiety and parent-child communication with adolescents' anxiety across different grades.

Methods

The current survey was conducted online from February 8th to February 27th, 2020.The questionnaires were distributed and retrieved through a web-based platform. A total of 6196 Chinese rural adolescents from grade seven to twelve (age ranging from 11 to 18 years old) were included.

Results

In this study, parental anxiety was significantly associated with higher adolescent anxiety (β = 0.14, p < 0.001) and this association was statically strongest at grade twelve. Besides, children with problematic parent-child communication related to COVID-19 reported elevated anxiety (β = 0.05, p < 0.01). In contrast, effective parent-child communication about COVID-19 mitigated the level of anxiety transmitted from parent to child (β = -0.04, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

During the COVID-19 epidemic, parents' anxiety was related to adolescents' anxiety. In addition, parent-child communication plays a moderating role in the above relationship. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing more psycho-education programs that specifically target parents' emotion regulation and effective communication abilities to ameliorate the psychopathological symptoms of parents and their children.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-023-00609-y.

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Paternal Anxiety and the Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes in Their Offspring

OBJECTIVE

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent worldwide; however, the literature lacks a meta-analytic quantification of the risk posed by fathers' anxiety for offspring development. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to provide a comprehensive estimate of the magnitude of the association between paternal anxiety and emotional and behavioral problems of offspring.

METHOD

In February 2022, Web of Science, Ovid (Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO), Trip Database, and ProQuest were searched to identify all quantitative studies that measured anxiety in fathers and emotional and/or behavioral outcomes in offspring. No limits were set for offspring age, publication language, or publication year. Summary estimates were extracted from the primary studies. Meta-analytic random-effects 3-level models were used to calculate correlation coefficients. Quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The study protocol was preregistered with PROSPERO (CRD42022311501) and adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines.

RESULTS

Of 11,746 records identified, 98 were included in the meta-analysis. Small but significant associations were found between paternal anxiety and offspring emotional and behavioral problems overall (r = 0.16, 95% CI [0.13, 0.19]) and behavioral (r = 0.19, 95% CI [0.13, 0.24]), emotional (r = 0.15, 95% CI [0.12, 0.18]), anxiety (r = 0.13, 95% CI [0.11, 0.16]), and depression (r = 0.13, 95% CI [0.03, 0.23]) problems. Some significant moderators were identified.

CONCLUSION

Paternal mental health is associated with offspring development, and the offspring of fathers with anxiety symptoms or disorders are at increased risk of negative emotional and behavioral outcomes, in line with the principles of multifinality and pleiotropy. The substantial heterogeneity among studies and the overrepresentation of White European American groups in this literature highlight the need for further research.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT

While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list.

A Qualitative Exploration of Maternal Anxiety: Implications for Helping Professionals

OBJECTIVES

To gain insight into the nature of maternal anxiety among mothers from diverse cultures through exploring the components of maternal anxiety and ways mothers cope with it in order to assist helping professionals in providing psychoeducation and counseling to mothers who experience intense anxiety regarding their children.

METHODS

In this qualitative study, 17 mothers participated in cognitive interviews conducted as a part of the maternal anxiety scale development. Data from semi-structured interviews was explored using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four themes related to mothers' experiences of anxiety emerged from the data: (1) maternal insecurities and social comparison, (2) coping with anxiety, (3) dependence versus autonomy, (4) cultural considerations.

CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE

The results of this study can be used by helping professionals working with mothers by implementing emotion regulation skills for maternal anxiety that are described in the implications section of the paper.

Examining the mediator and moderator of the link between Migration-Related stress and depression amongst Chinese migrant children

Migration-related stress is detrimental to children's mental health, yet little is known about the potential mechanisms behind this association. This study examines the mediating role of inflow city identity in the association between migration-related stress and depression and the moderating role of social participation amongst Chinese migrant children. A sample of 484 migrant children aged 8-17 years is randomly recruited through a cross-sectional survey in Kunming, China. Inflow city identity partially mediates the association between migration-related stress and migrant children's depression. Moreover, social participation moderates the above relationship. The direct and indirect effects are significant for migrant children with low social participation but insignificant for migrant children with high social participation. This study deepens the theoretical understanding of the underlying mechanism between migration stress and psychological distress and provides practical implications for preventing mental disorders in Chinese migrant children.

Parental Harsh Discipline and Migrant Children's Anxiety in China: The Moderating Role of Parental Warmth and Gender

The present study examined the moderating effects of both parents' warmth in the relations between parental harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment) and migrant children's anxiety and parent and child gender differences in the moderating mechanism in Chinese society. This study used a sample of 477 elementary school-age children and both their parents in Chinese migrant families. We constructed a Structural Equation Model to explore the relation between parental harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment) and migrant children's anxiety and the moderating role of parental warmth. Our findings revealed that maternal but not paternal psychological aggression was found to significantly predict boys' anxiety. Moreover, maternal warmth exacerbated the relations between paternal corporal punishment and girls' anxiety. The findings provide partial support for the "healthy context paradox" and highlight the importance of considering how the broader family emotional context may interact with parental harsh discipline to influence child adjustment.

Associations of childhood neglect, difficulties in emotion regulation, and psychological distresses to COVID-19 pandemic: An intergenerational analysis

BACKGROUND

Although individuals' psychological responses to trauma are varied, significant associations between parental and offspring's reactions have been documented among trauma-exposed families. Common susceptible factors originated from intergenerational transmission may be underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the intergenerational transmission of depression and anxiety during early outbreak of COVID-19 and further examined whether the transmission of child neglect and difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) was associated with the transmission of psychological distresses.

METHODS

Self-reported questionnaires of depression, anxiety, COVID-19 related worries, difficulties in ER, physical and emotional neglect suffered in childhood were completed by 2011 Chinese parent - offspring dyads. Path analysis was used to examine hypothesized relationships.

RESULTS

The proportions of physical neglect and emotional neglect were 31.2% and 16.9% respectively among parents, while 28.6% and 20.8% respectively among offspring. There were remarkably similar in response patterns between parents and offspring. Parents' COVID-19 related worries, depression and anxiety levels were significantly associated with offspring's COVID-19 related worries, depression and anxiety. Difficulties in ER not only impacted psychological distresses directly, but also mediated the relationships between childhood neglect and psychological distresses among both parents and offspring. Difficulties in ER and childhood neglect, as important risk factors, were modestly transmitted from parent to offspring.

CONCLUSIONS

Family members shared a certain degree of similarity in psychological reactions to trauma. Transmitted susceptible factors from parents to offspring may contribute to this similarity. Family therapy may be suitable for family members exposed to the same traumatic events.

The transmission of psychological distress and lifestyles from parents to children during COVID-19

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak had rapidly become a global health threat, and its impact on the mental health was transmitted among different populations, especially from parents to children. The study aimed to investigate Chinese parents' influence on their children, in terms of mental health and lifestyles (screen time and physical exercise), during the COVID-19.

METHODS

Self-reported online questionnaires of depression, anxiety, COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise, and screen time were completed by 3471 Chinese children and one of their parents (1514 fathers and 1957 mothers), during the COVID-19 epidemic in February 2020. Path analysis was used to examine the extent of transmission of psychological distress and whether lifestyles tied to transmission.

RESULTS

During the quarantine, Chinese parents' depression and anxiety both positively predicted their children's depression and anxiety; parents' COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise and screen time separately had positive effects on children's COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise and screen time; parents' depression and anxiety were positively influenced by their COVID-19 related worries, self-quarantine and quarantine of family members, relatives or friends; children's depression and anxiety positively predicted their non-suicidal self-injury and suicide ideation. Bootstrap analyses showed that parents' COVID-19 related worries and lifestyles increased children's depression and anxiety via children's COVID-19 related worries and lifestyles, as well as parents' depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

When families face to public events, parents' psychological distress and lifestyles are related to children's psychological stress and lifestyles. Interventions of parents' psychological distress and lifestyles would improve family resilience.

The Differential Impact of Lockdown Measures Upon Migrant and Female Psychiatric Patients - A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Psychiatric Hospital in Berlin, Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic could have major effects on already vulnerable individuals with psychiatric disorders. It is important to assess how different patient groups respond to stress related to the pandemic, and what additional factors influence it, including family-related stress, migration background, and sex. We conducted a survey in a sample of 294 psychiatric patients in a large outpatient clinic in Berlin, measuring level of distress in relation to COVID-19 lockdown as well as family-related distress. We also measured potential influencing factors such as media consumption and medical support. In the migration background group, we found that women had more lockdown related psychological distress than men. This was not apparent in those patients with a German background. We found that females were more strongly affected by family-related distress, particularly those with a migration background. People with PTSD were most strongly affected by family-related distress, whereas people with psychotic disorders and addiction reported the least distress. There were no effects of media consumption. There were no differences in ability to abide by the lockdown related restrictions across diagnoses. Our results support earlier findings on differential vulnerability of diagnostic groups to these stressors. Thus, clinicians can optimize treatment by taking family-related stressors into account particularly for females and people with a migrant background.