Role of parenting in adolescent deviant behavior: replication across and within two ethnic groups

Links Between Parenting and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Cross-Cultural Evidence from Ten Countries

The present study tested the links between perceived maternal and paternal parenting and internalizing and externalizing problems across ten cultures (China, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States). Self-report data were collected from N = 12,757 adolescents (M_age = 17.13 years, 48.4% female). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models tested whether: (1) the six parenting processes (closeness, support, monitoring, communication, peer approval, and conflict; Adolescent Family Process, Short Form (AFP-SF, 18 items) varied across cultures, and (2) the links between parenting processes and measures of internalizing and externalizing problems varied across cultures. Study findings indicated measurement invariance (configural and metric) of both maternal and paternal parenting processes and that the parenting-internalizing/externalizing problems links did not vary across cultures. Findings underscore the ubiquitous importance of parenting processes for internalizing and externalizing problems across diverse Asian, European, Eurasian, and North American cultures.

Associations Between Parent-Child Communication and Connectedness, Parent Feeding Behavior, and Child Body Mass in Pre-Adolescent Children

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated associations between parent-child connectedness and communication, parent feeding behaviors (restriction, pressure to eat, and monitoring), and age- and sex-standardized child body mass index (zBMI) in a sample of pre-adolescent children aged 8-12 years.

METHODS

A community sample of three hundred and eight child-parent dyads completed measures of communication and connectedness. Parents completed a feeding behavior measure and children were weighed and their height was measured. We examined whether parental feeding behaviors and parent-child communication and connectedness predicted child zBMI and whether parental feeding behaviors moderated the association between parent-child communication and connectedness and child zBMI.

RESULTS

Feeding restriction was positively associated with zBMI, while both pressure to eat and food monitoring exhibited negative associations with zBMI. Child-reported communication was inversely associated with zBMI and parental pressure to eat moderated this association such that lower pressure to eat predicted a stronger association between communication and zBMI.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are consistent with previous research suggesting that parent feeding strategies and parent-child communication are important contributors to child weight status. This study also provides preliminary evidence suggesting that adaptive parent-child communication is associated with lower body mass when parents avoid pressuring their child to eat. Our study provides an important extension of this body of research into middle childhood, a relatively understudied developmental stage.

Kindergarten antecedents of the developmental course of active and passive parental monitoring strategies during middle childhood and adolescence

Decades of research have highlighted the significance of parenting in children's development, yet few studies have focused specifically on the development of parental monitoring strategies in diverse families living in at-risk neighborhoods. The current study investigated the development of active (i.e., parental discussions and curfew rules) and passive (i.e., child communication with parents) parental monitoring strategies across different developmental periods (middle childhood and adolescence; Grades 4-5 and 7-11) as well as individual (child, parent), family, and contextual antecedents (measured in kindergarten) of this parenting behavior. Using an ecological approach, this study evaluated longitudinal data from 753 participants in the Fast Track Project, a multisite study directed at the development and prevention of conduct problems in at-risk children. Latent trajectory modeling results identified little to no mean growth in these monitoring strategies over time, suggesting that families living in at-risk environments may engage in consistent levels of monitoring strategies to ensure children's safety and well-being. Findings also identified several kindergarten antecedents of the growth factors of these parental monitoring strategies including (a) early child conduct problems; (b) parental warmth/involvement, satisfaction, and efficacy; and (c) parent-child relationship quality. These predictive effects largely highlighted the important role of early parenting behaviors on later levels of and growth in parental monitoring strategies. These findings have important implications for potential prevention and intervention targets to promote the development of parental monitoring strategies among families living in more at-risk contexts.

Parental Attitudes and Medication Adherence in Groups of Adolescents After Liver and Kidney Transplantations

The objective of the study was to determine the connection between parental attitudes and medication adherence and the selected aspects of treatment in groups of adolescents after kidney and liver transplantations, in comparison with adolescents with diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. Attitudes were assessed using M. Plopa's Parental Attitudes Scale, which distinguishes 5 types of attitudes. Medication adherence was evaluated on the basis of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), used with the author's consent. With the 4-item scale developed by the authors, the following aspects of treatment were assessed: the patient's level of knowledge about the disease, treatment effects, and physician's satisfaction with patient cooperation. In both groups of adolescents after transplantation, 2 types of parental attitudes were found to correlate with medication adherence: the Accepting Attitude and the Overly Protective Attitude. The results of other studied aspects varied in terms of gender, age, and chronic disease type.

Les contacts parent-enfant suite au placement en famille substitut : liens avec la stabilité du placement

Cadre de la recherche :Les enfants d’âge préscolaire sont moins susceptibles de retourner dans leur milieu d’origine suite à une mesure de placement et ont généralement des trajectoires de placement plus stables. Or, nous en connaissons peu sur les facteurs associés à la stabilité du placement chez les enfants d’âge préscolaire et plus particulièrement, sur le rôle des contacts parent-enfant sur la trajectoire de placement de ces enfants.

Objectifs :La présente étude examine les liens entre les contacts parent-enfant et trois indices de stabilité de la trajectoire de placement : les perspectives de réunification familiale, la survenue d’un échec de la réunification et le nombre de milieux substituts où l’enfant a été hébergé suite à son placement.

Méthodologie :Cinquante-quatre parents biologiques et 43 parents substituts responsables de jeunes enfants âgés entre 12 et 43 mois sont rencontrés. Les informations liées au contexte socio-démographique et aux modalités de contacts sont recueillies lors d’une entrevue individuelle avec le parent biologique et l’engagement parental est évalué à partir d’une grille d’observation.

Résultats :Les résultats indiquent que les contacts parent-enfant sont associés ou tendent à être associés aux perspectives de réunification familiale et ce, même après avoir contrôlé pour des caractéristiques écologiques potentiellement confondantes. Ces résultats indiquent également qu’au-delà des modalités de contacts, l’engagement du parent biologique envers son enfant contribue aux perspectives de réunification familiale.

Conclusions :Ainsi, les résultats de cette étude confirment le rôle de l’engagement parental suite au placement en famille d’accueil et soutiennent l’élaboration d’interventions favorisant cette composante de la parentalité.

Contribution :Cette étude offre un éclairage pertinent sur les rôles distincts de l’engagement parental et du maintien des contacts parent-enfant sur les perspectives de réunification familiale et soutient les travaux de recherche futurs dans ce domaine.

Environmental and temperamental correlates of alcohol user patterns in grade 7 students

Aims

We examined the effects of temperamental dispositions, friends using alcohol and parental monitoring on grade 7 students' alcohol use patterns.

Design

The analyses were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 3710 grade 7 students (mean age =12.53) that participated in a large Norwegian school-based intervention study. Alcohol user patterns were measured through combining self-reported lifetime alcohol experience, heavy episodic drinking and any alcohol involvement in the previous 30 days. Behavioural inhibition/activation sensitivity (BIS/BAS), parental monitoring and the number of friends using alcohol were measured through the adolescents' self-report.

Results

As many as 68.8% of boys and 83.3% of girls were non-users of alcohol, whereas 9.1% of boys and 3.9% of girls reported use of alcohol last month. Heavy episodic drinking last month was reported by 3.1% of the boys and by 0.8 % of the girls. A multinomial regression analysis revealed strong associations between the number of friends using alcohol and alcohol user patterns, moderate inverse associations between parental monitoring and alcohol user patterns, and a weak association between BIS/BAS components and alcohol user patterns.

Conclusion

The results demonstrate the importance of socio-environmental factors in a period in which alcohol use is predictive of later negative outcomes.

Cultural Contributors to Smoking Susceptibility Outcomes Among Latino Youth: The Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados Participatory Trial

Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados is a community-based participatory, family-focused tobacco prevention intervention for immigrant Latino families of adolescents. We conducted a participatory randomized controlled trial including 352 Latino families. Parents and youth in the intervention condition engaged in eight family skill building sessions. Participants completed baseline and 6-month postintervention surveys assessing smoking susceptibility and contextual factors. While the intervention did not affect smoking susceptibility overall, it resulted in lower smoking susceptibility among youth in families with less adherence to traditional Latino cultural values. This family cultural orientation is a key consideration for tobacco prevention interventions focused on Latino youth.

Parental Knowledge: Examining Reporter Discrepancies and Links to School Engagement Among Middle School Studies

It is well established that parental knowledge contributes to adolescents' well-being and school success and scholars have noted that parents and adolescents report different levels of knowledge. Discrepancies in parental knowledge have implications for adolescent outcomes such as risk behaviors, but little is known about the implications of knowledge discrepancies for adolescents' school outcomes. The present study examined discrepancies in parent and adolescent reports of parental knowledge and investigated the extent to which knowledge discrepancies were linked to school engagement. Participants were early adolescents (N = 174; 53 % female) and their parents (90 % mothers). Adolescents (57 % African American/Black, 18 % multiracial, 17 % White/Caucasian, 7 % Hispanic/Latino and 1 % Asian American) attended a Midwestern, Title 1, urban, public middle school. Adolescents completed surveys in their homerooms and parents completed paper-pencil surveys at home or surveys via telephone. Results showed that parents reported more knowledge of adolescents' activities and whereabouts compared to adolescents' reports. Knowledge discrepancies were associated with school bonding and school self-esteem such that dyads in which adolescents reported more knowledge than their parents reported had significantly higher levels of school bonding and school self-esteem compared to dyads in which parents reported much more knowledge.

Parent-Adolescent Discussions about Sex and Condoms

This research examined how parent-adolescent communication about initiating sex and condoms influenced the relationship between peer norms and behavior. African American and Hispanic adolescents reported on parent-adolescent discussions about initiating sex and condoms, perceived peer norms about sex and condom use, and their own behavior. Communication about sex and perceived peer norms about sex were each related to sexual behavior, and communication about condoms and peer norms about condoms were related to condom use behavior. For both sex and condom use, the peer norm–behavior relationship was moderated by parental communication: Peer norms were more strongly related to behavior among adolescents who had not discussed sex or condoms with a parent. Communication was also related to teens naming a parent as their best source of information about sex. Results suggest that a lack of communication may cause adolescents to turn to peers and that peers may then influence their behavior.

Parenting Dimensionality and Typology in a Disadvantaged, African American Sample: A Cultural Variance Perspective

Although parenting dimensionality and typology have been extensively examined with middle-class Caucasian samples, the parenting styles of low-income, African American mothers have been underexamined. This study focused on the parenting cognitions of single, adolescent, African American mothers from disadvantaged communities. Three parenting dimensions emerged from maternal reports: warmth, control, and anger. Parents were classified into four categories based on their relative scores on these dimensions: dismissive, permissive, authoritative, and affectionate-distressed. Measures of mothers'psychological distress, human capital, and sociodemographic status predicted parenting classification. The four-part typology was further validated by differences in mothers' observed parenting behaviors and reports of child outcome as a function of parenting type. Overall, dismissive and distressed parents exhibited the least optimal behavior, and their children displayed the poorest outcomes at 2-year follow-up. Results revealed a new parenting type, affectionate-distressed, that may be particularly salient in high-risk, African American populations.

Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Monitoring Discrepancy and Delinquency: An Application of the Latent Congruency Model

Studies have shown that discrepancies (relative concordance or discordance) between parent and adolescent ratings are predictive of problem behaviors; monitoring, in particular, has been consistently linked to them. The current study tested whether discrepancies in perceptions of maternal monitoring, rated by mothers and youth at age 12, foretold delinquency (rule breaking) at age 15, and whether parental closeness and conflict predicted higher discrepancies, and indirectly, higher delinquency. The final study sample used the NICHD longitudinal dataset with N = 966 youth (50.1 % female) and their mothers (80.1 % European American, 12.9 % African American, 7 % other ethnicity). The analytic approach consisted of an extension and application of the Latent Congruency Model (LCM) to estimate monitoring discrepancies as well as age 15 delinquency scores. Findings showed that age 12 monitoring discrepancy was predictive of age 15 delinquency for both boys and girls based on youth reports, but not for maternal reports. Age 11 closeness predicted age 12 monitoring discrepancy, which served as a mediator for its effect on age 15 adolescent-reported delinquency. Thus, based on the rigorous LCM analytic approach which seeks to minimize the effects by competing explanations and to maximize precision in providing robust estimates, rates of perceived discordance in parenting behaviors during early adolescence matter in understanding variability in adolescent delinquency during middle adolescence.

They Just Respect You for Who You Are: Contributors to Educator Positive Youth Development Promotion for Somali, Latino, and Hmong Students

Youth from immigrant communities may experience barriers to connecting with schools and teachers, potentially undermining academic achievement and healthy youth development. This qualitative study aimed to understand how educators serving Somali, Latino, and Hmong (SLH) youth can best promote educator-student connectedness and positive youth development, by exploring the perspectives of teachers, youth workers, and SLH youth, using a community based participatory research approach. We conducted four focus groups with teachers, 18 key informant interviews with adults working with SLH youth, and nine focus groups with SLH middle and high school students. Four themes emerged regarding facilitators to educators promoting positive youth development in schools: (1) an authoritative teaching approach where teachers hold high expectations for student behavior and achievement, (2) building trusting educator-student relationships, (3) conveying respect for students as individuals, and (4) a school infrastructure characterized by a supportive and inclusive environment. Findings suggest a set of skills and educator-student interactions that may promote positive youth development and increase student-educator connectedness for SLH youth in public schools.

Monitoring and peer influences as predictors of increases in alcohol use among american Indian youth

This study investigated the combined influence of parental monitoring, community monitoring, and exposure to substance-using peers on early-onset alcohol use in a sample of American Indian adolescents in three Pacific Northwest tribal communities. We used structural equation modeling, including tests of indirect effects, in the investigation of 281 American Indian youth between ages 8 and 16 years at the time of consent. The effects of parental monitoring and community monitoring, mediated by friends' substance use, were examined in terms of youth alcohol use outcomes. Parental monitoring practices and contagion in peer substance use were proximal predictors of early-onset alcohol use and the mediating effect of friends' substance use was not significant. Community monitoring accounted for unique variance in affiliation with substance-using friends.

Academic achievement among immigrant and U.S.-born Latino adolescents: Associations with cultural, family, and acculturation factors

This study examined proximal risk and protective factors that contribute to academic achievement among 130 Latino students. Participating students were 56.2% female and 35.3% foreign-born (mean age = 11.38, SD = .59). Acculturative stress, immigrant status, child gender, parental monitoring, traditional cultural values, mainstream values, and English language proficiency were explored in relation to academic achievement. Higher levels of parental monitoring, English language proficiency, and female gender were associated with higher grades, while mainstream values were associated with lower grades. In addition, a significant interaction between acculturative stress and immigrant status was found, such that higher acculturative stress was related to poorer grades for U.S.-born students in particular. Thus, parental monitoring and female gender are potential protective factors, while identification with mainstream values and low English language proficiency are risk factors for poor grades. U.S.-born students may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of acculturative stress.

Nonresident African-American fathers' influence on sons' exercise intentions in the fathers and sons program

PURPOSE

To test the effects of a family-centered intervention for enhancing intentions to exercise among African-American boys with nonresident fathers.

DESIGN

Quasi-experimental, intervention study.

SETTING

Two Midwestern cities.

SUBJECTS

A total of 287 nonresident African-American fathers and their 8- to 12-year-old sons (n = 158 intervention dyads; n = 129 comparison dyads).

INTERVENTION

The Fathers and Sons Program is a 15-session family-based intervention focused on promoting the health of African-American boys by enhancing the parenting attitudes and behaviors of their nonresident fathers and positively influencing parent-child interactions.

MEASURES

Demographic information and intervention outcomes were assessed at baseline and follow-up via self-report.

ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

The intervention was successful in improving the exercise intentions of boys (B = .246; p = .005; B = .210; p = .012). The effect was not direct; increasing contact between fathers and sons (B = .154; p = .001), enhancing the quality of their relationship (B = .366; p < .001), and improving fathers' own intentions to exercise (B = .265; p = .001) were mediating factors.

CONCLUSION

Interventions aimed at improving exercise intentions among African-American boys with nonresident fathers should focus on relational factors.

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents: parenting influences on their academic and social-emotional adjustment

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents have poorer school outcomes and exhibit more internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their peers without a childbearing sister. We test a model where living with an adolescent childbearing sister constitutes a major family stressor that disrupts mothers' parenting and well-being, and through which, adversely affect youths' adjustment. Data came from 243 Latino younger siblings (62% female, M age 13.7 years) and their mothers, 121 of whom lived with a childbearing adolescent sister and 122 of whom did not. Individual fixed-effects models controlled for earlier measures of each respective model construct, thereby reducing omitted variable bias from pre-existing group differences. Results show that, for boys, the relationship between living with a childbearing adolescent sister and youth outcomes was sequentially mediated through mothers' stress and parenting (i.e., monitoring and nurturance). For girls, however, the relationship was mediated through mothers' monitoring only. Findings elucidate the within-family processes that contribute to the problematic outcomes of youth living with childbearing adolescent older sisters.

Predictors of parental monitoring among families with a runaway adolescent

Extensive research shows that parental monitoring is a critical factor in child adjustment. Using parent and adolescent reports, this study sought to examine predictors of parental monitoring among an understudied, high-risk sample of runaway adolescents. Parent-reported depressive symptoms, couple (romantic) relationship satisfaction, and adolescent-reported bonding with parents were used as predictors of both child- and parent-reported monitoring. Findings indicated that, among parents, the couple relationship was the primary predictor of monitoring, whereas among adolescents, the parent-child relationship was the primary predictor. Maternal depressive symptoms were unrelated to monitoring. These findings suggest the utility of considering monitoring as an interpersonal phenomenon rather than primarily a parent- or child-driven phenomenon.

The roles of mothers' neighborhood perceptions and specific monitoring strategies in youths' problem behavior

The neighborhood context can interfere with parents' abilities to effectively monitor their children, but may be related to specific monitoring strategies in different ways. The present study examines the importance of mothers' perceptions of neighborhood disorganization for the specific monitoring strategies they use and how each of these strategies are related to youths' alcohol use and delinquency. The sample consists of 415 mother-child dyads recruited from urban and suburban communities in Western New York state. Youths were between 10 and 16 years of age (56% female), and were mostly Non-Hispanic White and African American (45.3 and 36.5%, respectively). Structural equation modeling shows that mothers who perceive greater neighborhood problems use more rule-setting strategies, but report lower levels of knowledge of their children's whereabouts. Knowledge of whereabouts is related to less youth alcohol use and delinquency through its association with lowered peer substance use, whereas rule-setting is unrelated to these outcomes. Thus, mothers who perceive greater problems in their neighborhoods use less effective monitoring strategies. Prevention programs could address parental monitoring needs based upon neighborhood differences, tailoring programs for different neighborhoods. Further, parents could be apprised of the limitations of rule-setting, particularly in the absence of monitoring their child's whereabouts.

Marijuana use among Latino adolescents: gender differences in protective familial factors

Given the important contextual function of family dynamics and traditional gender roles in Latino cultures, parental influences on substance use among Latino adolescents may differ across genders. This study examined associations between family factors (parental monitoring, parent-child communication, family cohesion, and familism) and marijuana use among 1,369 Latino adolescents in Southern California. Students from seven schools completed surveys in 9th and 11th grades. Longitudinal hierarchical linear regression analyses evaluated the associations between family factors in 9th grade and lifetime marijuana use in 11th grade, as well as gender differences in these associations. Girls reported higher levels of parental monitoring, parental communication, and familism than boys did, but there were no gender differences in family cohesiveness. In a regression model controlling for covariates and previous marijuana use, parent-child communication and family cohesion in 9th grade were each uniquely predictive of lower levels of marijuana consumption in 11th grade. Gender was a statistical moderator, such that higher levels of parent-child communication predicted lower marijuana use among boys, whereas girls' use was relatively low regardless of parent-child communication levels. Results are discussed in the light of the concurrent socialization processes of family and gender in Latino culture and its relation to preventing delinquent behaviors such as marijuana use.

Associations between family structure, family functioning, and substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents

This study examined the role of family structure and functioning in predicting substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents, surveyed in 9th and 10th grade. The sample (N = 1433) was half female, mostly of Mexican descent, and the majority was born in the United States. Living with a single father was associated with less parental monitoring and less family cohesion (gamma = -0.07, -0.06, respectively). Living with a single mother was associated with less parental monitoring (gamma = -0.10). Living with neither parent was associated with less communication (gamma = -0.08), less parental monitoring (gamma = -0.09), more family conflict (gamma = 0.06), and less family cohesion (gamma = -0.06). Less monitoring was associated with substance use at follow-up (beta = -0.17). Low rates of parental monitoring appear to mediate the association between parental family structure and substance use. Results suggest that improving basic parenting skills and offering additional social support and resources to assist parents in monitoring adolescents may help prevent substance use. These interventions may be particularly beneficial for single parents.

Alcohol use history differentiates adolescents treated in the emergency department after an alcohol-related incident

OBJECTIVES

The current study compared 3 groups of adolescents identified in an emergency department (ED) following an alcohol-related event: (1) alcohol-positive adolescents scoring at or above the clinical cutoff on a measure of problematic drinking, the Adolescent Drinking Inventory (ADI) (n = 45); (2) alcohol-positive adolescents scoring below the clinical cutoff on the ADI (n = 68), and (3) alcohol-negative adolescents (n = 64). We examined whether these 3 groups of adolescents differed on measures of substance use as well as psychosocial factors.

METHODS

Participants were recruited as part of a larger clinical trial. Alcohol-positive adolescents were recruited from a level I regional trauma center for treatment related to an alcohol-related incident. Alcohol-negative adolescents were recruited from the ED and the community. The data reported here were from the baseline adolescent and parent assessments. Before completing assessments, adolescents were required to pass a brief mental status examination.

RESULTS

Adolescents in the alcohol-positive, high-ADI group reported significantly more substance use, peer substance use, and peer tolerance of substance use than adolescents in the alcohol-positive, low-ADI group followed by adolescents in the alcohol-negative group. Adolescents in the alcohol-positive, high-ADI group reported significantly less parental supervision than adolescents in the other 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings underscore that alcohol-positive adolescents being treated in an ED are a heterogeneous group with respect to substance use as well as parent and peer risk factors. Physicians need to consider relevant background factors when making individualized discharge recommendations.

Parent-child communication and substance use among adolescents: do father and mother communication play a different role for sons and daughters?

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender-specific variations in the associations between communication with father and mother, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and marijuana use in male and female adolescents. Cross-sectional data were collected from a national sample of 1308 tenth graders who participated in the 2005/06 U.S. HBSC. Outcome variables were self-reported substances used in the past 30 days. Logistic regression analyses controlling for race/ethnicity, family structure and socioeconomic status showed that the association of mother and father communication with adolescent substance use varied by substance and gender. Among sons, father communication was protective against marijuana use and mother communication was protective against smoking. Neither father nor mother communication was protective against substance use by daughters. Research is needed to understand gender-specific differences in correlates of adolescent substance use and the implications for prevention and intervention.

Enhancing parenting skills among nonresident African American fathers as a strategy for preventing youth risky behaviors

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a theoretically based, culturally specific family intervention designed to prevent youth risky behaviors by influencing the parenting attitudes and behaviors of nonresident African American fathers and the parent-child interactions, intentions to avoid violence, and aggressive behaviors of their preadolescent sons. A sample of 158 intervention and 129 comparison group families participated. ANCOVA results indicated that the intervention was promising for enhancing parental monitoring, communication about sex, intentions to communicate, race-related socialization practices, and parenting skills satisfaction among fathers. The intervention was also beneficial for sons who reported more monitoring by their fathers, improved communication about sex, and increased intentions to avoid violence. The intervention was not effective in reducing aggressive behaviors among sons. Findings are discussed from a family support perspective, including the need to involve nonresident African American fathers in youth risky behavior prevention efforts.

Associations among the parent-adolescent relationship, aggression and delinquency in different ethnic groups: a replication across two Dutch samples

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present study is to examine whether the patterns of association between the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship on the one hand, and aggression and delinquency on the other hand, are the same for boys and girls of Dutch and Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands. Since inconsistent results have been found previously, the present study tests the replicability of the model of associations in two different Dutch samples of adolescents.

METHOD

Study 1 included 288 adolescents (M age = 14.9, range 12-17 years) all attending lower secondary education. Study 2 included 306 adolescents (M age = 13.2, range = 12-15 years) who were part of a larger community sample with oversampling of at risk adolescents.

RESULTS

Multigroup structural analyses showed that neither in Study 1 nor in Study 2 ethnic or gender differences were found in the patterns of associations between support, autonomy, disclosure, and negativity in the parent-adolescent relationship and aggression and delinquency. The patterns were largely similar for both studies. Mainly negative quality of the relationship in both studies was found to be strongly related to both aggression and delinquency.

DISCUSSION

Results show that family processes that affect adolescent development, show a large degree of universality across gender and ethnicity.

The significance of marijuana use among alcohol-using adolescent emergency department patients

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to determine if adolescents presenting to a pediatric emergency department (PED) for an alcohol-related event requiring medical care differ in terms of substance use, behavioral and mental health problems, peer relationships, and parental monitoring based on their history of marijuana use.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional comparison of adolescents 13-17 years old, with evidence of recent alcohol use, presenting to a PED with a self-reported history of marijuana use. Assessment tools included the Adolescent Drinking Inventory, Adolescent Drinking Questionnaire, Young Adult Drinking and Driving Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Behavioral Assessment System for Children, and Peer Substance Use and Tolerance of Substance Use Scale.

RESULTS

Compared to adolescents using alcohol only (AO), adolescents who use alcohol and marijuana (A+M) have higher rates of smoking (F = 23.62) and binge drinking (F = 11.56), consume more drinks per sitting (F = 9.03), have more externalizing behavior problems (F = 12.53), and report both greater peer tolerance of substance use (F = 12.99) and lower parental monitoring (F = 7.12).

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents who use A+M report greater substance use and more risk factors for substance abuse than AO-using adolescents. Screening for a history of marijuana use may be important when treating adolescents presenting with an alcohol-related event. A+M co-use may identify a high-risk population, which may have important implications for ED clinicians in the care of these patients, providing parental guidance, and planning follow-up care.

Associations between parenting styles and teen driving, safety-related behaviors and attitudes

OBJECTIVE

The goal was to explore the association between parenting style and driving behaviors.

METHODS

The 2006 National Young Driver Survey gathered data on driving safety behaviors from a nationally representative sample of 5665 ninth-, 10th-, and 11th-graders. A parenting style variable was based on adolescent reports and separated parents into 4 groups, (1) authoritative (high support and high rules/monitoring), (2) authoritarian (low support and high rules/monitoring), (3) permissive (high support and low rules/monitoring), and (4) uninvolved (low support and low rules/monitoring). Associations between parenting style and driving behaviors and attitudes were assessed.

RESULTS

One half of parents were described as authoritative, 23% as permissive, 8% as authoritarian, and 19% as uninvolved. Compared with teens with uninvolved parents, those with authoritative parents reported one half the crash risk in the past year (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.87]), were 71% less likely to drive when intoxicated (OR: 0.29 [95% CI: 0.19-0.44]), and were less likely to use a cellular telephone while driving (OR: 0.71 [95% CI: 0.50-0.99]). Teens with authoritative or authoritarian parents reported using seat belts nearly twice as often (authoritative: OR: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.49 -2.54]; authoritarian: OR: 1.85 [95% CI: 1.08 -3.18]) and speeding one half as often (authoritative: OR: 0.47 [95% CI: 0.36-0.61]; authoritarian: OR: 0.63 [95% CI: 0.40-0.99]) as teens with uninvolved parents. No significant differences in crash risk or seat belt use were found between permissive and uninvolved parents.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians should encourage parents to set rules and to monitor teens' driving behaviors, in a supportive context.

Alcohol Outlet Density, Parental Monitoring, and Adolescent Deviance: A Multilevel Analysis

Lower levels of parental monitoring are associated with youth problem behaviors, including substance use and delinquency. Recent studies employing routine activities theory have hypothesized that greater densities of alcohol outlets, particularly bars, may provide parents more opportunities to socialize outside the home. This, in turn, may decrease a parent's ability to effectively monitor the activities of his or her child, resulting in more deviant behaviors by the adolescent. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the current study assesses whether or not greater densities of alcohol outlets in zip code areas (n = 50) interact with levels of parental monitoring to affect levels of deviance among adolescents aged 14 to 16 (n = 1,541). The study finds that adolescents who have higher grade point averages and have not used alcohol report the lowest levels of deviant behaviors. Furthermore, the density of bars interacts with reports of parental monitoring such that adolescents in areas with more bars per roadway mile report lower levels of parental monitoring behaviors, which is associated with higher levels of deviance. These findings suggest that in those areas with greater densities of bars parents may be spending more time away from home, making monitoring of their adolescents more difficult, or parents may be drinking more frequently, thus impairing their ability to adequately monitor their children. Policies and practices that limit the number of bars in neighborhood areas with large populations of adolescents may reduce deviant behaviors.

Relationships between alcohol-related informal social control, parental monitoring and adolescent problem behaviors among racially diverse urban youth

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationships between alcohol-related informal social control and parental monitoring on alcohol use, behavior and intentions; violent behavior; and delinquent behavior in a racially diverse population of young urban adolescents. Baseline surveys were administered to 6th grade male and female students in 61 urban Chicago schools as part of Project Northland Chicago, a group randomized trial for the prevention/reduction of substance use. A subset of their parents (n = 3,034) was also surveyed regarding alcohol use, violence, and delinquency and related issues. Structural equation modeling was used to assess relationships between alcohol-related informal social control (as measured by parental perceptions of neighborhood action regarding youth drinking) and parental monitoring (as reported by parents), and three adolescent outcomes (alcohol use, behaviors and intentions; violent behavior; and delinquent behavior; as reported by teens). Associations between alcohol-related informal social control and parental monitoring were positive and significant (P < .001). Direct paths from parental monitoring to all three adolescent outcomes were negative and statistically significant (alcohol use, behaviors and intentions, P < .001; violent behavior, P < .001; and delinquent behavior, P < .001). Alcohol-related informal social control was not significantly associated with adolescent outcomes. Efforts to engage parents to be more active in monitoring adolescents' activities may be related to lower levels of underage drinking, violence and delinquency among both female and male urban youth. Neighborhood norms and action against teenage drinking may be too distal to adolescent outcomes to be directly associated.

Effects of parental monitoring, parent-child communication, and parents' expectation of the child's acculturation on the substance use behaviors of urban, Hispanic adolescents

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,936 Hispanic adolescents of mean age 14.0 years (standard deviation= 0.4) from seven Los Angeles area schools. The effects of perceived parental monitoring and parent-child communication on the adolescents' self-reported past thirty day cigarette smoking and alcohol and marijuana use behaviors were analyzed. In addition, the relationships between parents' expectations of the child's acculturation and adolescents' drug use behaviors were examined. Parental monitoring and parent-child communication were found to have statistically significant inverse associations with all three drug types when controlling for one another and the demographic variables assessed in the study. Parents' expectation of the child's acculturation to the U.S. was found to be inversely related with alcohol use. Parental monitoring and parent-child communication were not found to mediate the relationship between parents' expectation of the child's acculturation and alcohol use.

Risky sexual behaviors in first and second generation Hispanic immigrant youth

Though official data document that Hispanic youth are at a great risk for early sexual intercourse, STDs, and teen pregnancy, only few etiological studies have been conducted on Hispanic youth; almost no work has examined potential generational differences in these behaviors, and thus, these behaviors may have been mistakenly attributed to cultural differences. The current study examined the relationships between maternal parenting (general communication, communication about sex, monitoring, support) and risky sexual behaviors, and potential moderating effects by immigration status and acculturation in 1st and 2nd generation Hispanic immigrant adolescents (N = 2,016) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Waves I and II). Maternal communication about sex and maternal support emerged as key predictors of risky sexual behaviors across generational groups; neither immigration status nor acculturation moderated the maternal parenting constructs-risky sexual behaviors links. Furthermore, maternal parenting constructs and their relationships with risky sexual behaviors did not differ by generational groups.

Excavating Culture: Disentangling Ethnic Differences from Contextual Influences in Parenting

Historically, much of the research on parenting has not disentangled the influences of race/ethnicity, SES, and culture on family functioning and the development of children and adolescents. This special issue addresses this gap by disentangling ethnic differences in parenting behaviors from their contextual influences, thereby deepening understanding of parenting processes in diverse families. Six members of the Parenting section of the Study Group on Race, Culture and Ethnicity (SGRCE) introduce and implement a novel approach toward understanding this question. The goal of this project is to study culturally related processes and the degree to which they predict parenting. An iterative process was employed to delineate the main parenting constructs (warmth, psychological and behavioral control, monitoring, communication, and self-efficacy), cultural processes, and contextual influences, and to coordinate a data analytic plan utilizing individual datasets with diverse samples to answer the research questions.

CHILD VICTIMIZATION AND PARENTAL MONITORING AS MEDIATORS OF YOUTH PROBLEM BEHAVIORS

This study examines the effects of family characteristics, parental monitoring, and victimization by adults on alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, delinquency, and risky sexual behaviors among 761 incarcerated juveniles. The majority of youth reported that other family members had substance abuse problems and criminal histories. These youth were frequently the victims of violence. Relationships between victimization, parental monitoring, and problem behaviors were examined using structural equation modeling. Monitoring was negatively related to all problem behaviors. However, type of maltreatment was related to specific problem behaviors. The effects of family substance abuse and family criminal involvement on outcomes were mediated by monitoring and maltreatment. The study underscores the need to provide family-focused and trauma-related interventions for juvenile offenders.

Toward conceptual clarity in a critical parenting construct: parental monitoring in youth with chronic illness

Parental monitoring has been defined as "a set of correlated parenting behaviors involving attention to and tracking of the child's whereabouts, activities, and adaptations." This construct is of significant interest due to its relatedness to a broad range of youth risk behaviors, including risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and poor adherence. However, to date, measures of parental monitoring are largely absent from the chronic illness literature. The present article focuses upon two key problems in the operationalization of the monitoring construct to date: (a) poor conceptual specificity in parenting constructs such as monitoring, overprotection, and over-involvement when used to date among youth with chronic conditions and (b) the confounding of existing measures of parental monitoring with items evaluating parental knowledge of youth activities, which has resulted in a lack of data regarding the mechanisms by which parents obtain their information. Recommendations for the future development of monitoring measures are discussed.

Reciprocal longitudinal relations between nonresident father involvement and adolescent delinquency

Using a representative sample of low-income, primarily minority adolescents (N=647, aged 10-14 years at Wave 1), this study examined bidirectional longitudinal relations between nonresident father involvement, defined as contact and responsibility for children's care and behavior, and adolescent engagement in delinquent activities. Autoregressive and fixed effects models found that higher nonresident father involvement predicted subsequent decreases in adolescent delinquency, particularly for youth with initial engagement in delinquent activities. Adolescent delinquency did not predict subsequent changes in father involvement. However, the two factors covaried: As adolescent delinquency increased, so too did father involvement, suggesting that nonresident fathers may increase their involvement in the face of adolescent problem behavior, with this pattern driven primarily by African American families.

The Swiss Teaching Style Questionnaire (STSQ) and Adolescent Problem Behaviors

Based on evidence on parenting, the aim of the study was to develop a teaching questionnaire and to examine links to adolescent problem behaviors. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, cluster analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling was used based on self-reports of 340 teachers (mean age 44.7 years, SD = 10.7) and their 5904 students (mean age 15.9 years, SD = 0.9). The three-dimensional factor structure could be confirmed. The dimension warmth and support was negatively associated with bullying in the class taught, and interaction between warmth and support and rules and control was negatively associated with cigarette smoking, cannabis use, and delinquency. On the other hand, psychological pressure was associated with low academic achievement. Although indications of the importance of teaching styles in the prevention of multiple adolescent problem behaviors were found, differences between teaching and parenting make further research necessary.

Parental Control in Latino Families: An Integrated Review of the Literature

Using social information processing and cultural change models as explanatory frameworks, this article reviews the literature on Latino parental control and its implications for child development. It is argued that the use of parental control in Latino families may have motivational roots in cultural childrearing goals such as familismo (familism), respeto (respect), and educación (moral education). Consideration of these underpinnings, in conjunction with psychological and methodological issues, helps to explain variability in the use of Latino parental control and its effect on child development. Recommendations for future research include refinement of control and acculturation instruments, and attention to both contextual and individual variables.

Unhealthy parenting and potential mediators as contributing factors to future intimate violence: a review of the literature

Efforts to understand and prevent intimate violence have often focused on the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence. Although witnessing and/or experiencing abuse in the family of origin is well supported in the literature as a key component of the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence, there has been less attention to other family-of-origin factors that contribute to or mediate and/or moderate future intimate violence. Particularly, a focus on the effect of parenting on future intimate violence is needed beyond the effect of modeling abusive behavior. In this article, corporal punishment and poor parenting are reviewed as family-of-origin factors related to future intimate violence. In addition, attachment theory, interpersonal skills, and emotional and behavioral regulation and/or conduct disorder are reviewed as variables that may result and mediate the relationship between family-of-origin factors and future intimate violence. Implications for preventing intimate violence by intervening in the family of origin are also identified.

Der Einfluss von Anreizen auf die Rekrutierung von Eltern und auf die Effektivität eines präventiven Elterntrainings

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Es gibt kaum theoretische Modelle darüber, wie Eltern am besten für die Teilnahme an Präventionsangeboten zu gewinnen wären. Fragestellung: Wirken sich unterschiedliche Anreize auf die Teilnahme an einem kognitiv-behavioralen Elterntraining aus? Haben die Anreize Auswirkung auf die Wirksamkeit des Programms? Methode: Hundertsiebenundneunzig Eltern aus 15 Kindertagesstätten in sozial benachteiligten Stadtgebieten nahmen an dem Training teil, nachdem ihre Kita randomisiert einer der vier nachfolgenden Bedingungen zugewiesen wurde: Training einzeln/unbezahlt, Training einzeln/bezahlt, Training in Gruppe/unbezahlt, Training in Gruppe/bezahlt. Ergebnisse: Es zeigte sich, dass (1) das Elterntraining auch in einer sozial benachteiligten Umgebung deutliche Effekte hervorrief, und (2) die beiden Anreizbedingungen auf Teilnahme und Wirksamkeit differenziell Einfluss nahmen. Während Bezahlung (nicht so das Setting) die Teilnahmebereitschaft von Eltern deutlich erhöhte, wirkte sich das Setting auf die Wirksamkeit aus: Im Einzeltraining veränderte sich das Erziehungsverhalten stärker als im Gruppentraining. In allen anderen untersuchten Bereichen gab es keine Unterschiede in der Wirksamkeit in Abhängigkeit von den Rekrutierungsstrategien. Schlussfolgerung: Diese Ergebnisse unterstützen die Empfehlung, Eltern aus sozial benachteiligten Gebieten für die Teilnahme an präventiven Programmen zu bezahlen, da (1) ein größerer Teil der fokussierten Population erreicht wird und (2) die Bezahlung keine nachteilige Auswirkung auf die kurzfristige Effektivität zeigt.

Parent recruitment and retention in a universal prevention program for child behavior and emotional problems: barriers to research and program participation

Despite the potential of parent training as a prevention and behavioral family intervention strategy, there are a number of important issues related to implementation (e.g., recruitment and retention of families). This paper presents recruitment and retention data from families enrolling in a randomized controlled universal prevention trial for child behavior problems conducted in Germany. The recruitment rate averaged 31% (general project participation), with families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) participating at a lower rate. Project-declining families most often reported intrusion of privacy as their primary concern. In contrast, once parents were enrolled in the project, participation among those randomized to the parent training group averaged 77% (program/intervention participation); non-participation was mostly due to logistical issues. Parents accepting the offer of parent training were more likely to report child behavior problems than did declining parents. Although parents from more disadvantaged areas had a lower overall level of participation in the project once recruited, parents with children having higher levels of behavior problems indeed were more likely to participate in the intervention. Different recruitment methods may be required to engage high-risk families from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas to further improve community-level impact on child mental health.