Parental warmth during childhood predicts coping and well-being in adulthood

Positive Childhood Experiences and Spiritual Well-Being: Psychological Flexibility and Meaning-Based Coping as Mediators in Turkish Sample

Spiritual well-being enhances life quality, acts as a stress reliever, and mitigates unfavorable feelings. It helps individuals find meaning and purpose, increasing inner peace and happiness while improving stress management and overall well-being. This study examined whether positive childhood experiences are linked to spiritual well-being and if psychological flexibility and meaning-based coping serve as mediators. The sample included 1061 participants (Mage = 39.38; SD = 8.82) from various Turkish cities. Structural equation modeling assessed relationships between spiritual well-being, positive childhood experiences, psychological flexibility, and meaning-based coping. Results showed that positive childhood experiences directly enhance spiritual well-being, mediated by psychological flexibility and meaning-based coping. This underscores the significance of fostering positive childhood experiences to promote spiritual well-being and coping mechanisms.

The Association of Childhood Parental Connection With Adult Flourishing and Depressive Symptoms

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether a common measure of childhood emotional neglect, scored instead as a continuous measure of increasing parental connection, is associated with adult flourishing and depressive symptoms, and to compare the magnitude of these 2 associations.

METHODS

We pooled cross-sectional survey data from the Midlife in the United States study, collected from 2 national cohorts (2004-2006 and 2011-2014) of English-speaking, US adults, aged 25 to 74 years. Using the 5-item emotional neglect subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, a score of increasing childhood parental connection was created by not reverse-scoring responses. The adult outcomes were standardized scores of flourishing, from Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale, and depressive symptoms, from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

RESULTS

Data were available for 2079 of 2118 participants (98.2%). The mean (SD) age was 53.1 (12.6) years and 54.6% were female. After adjusting for covariates (age, gender, race and ethnicity, marital status, chronic disease, socioeconomic disadvantage), the adult flourishing score was 0.74 (95% confidence interval 0.63-0.86) SD units higher in those in the highest quartile of childhood parental connection compared with the lowest, whereas the depressive symptoms score was lower by a similar magnitude (-0.65 [95% confidence interval -0.77 to -0.54] SD units).

CONCLUSIONS

When emotional neglect is reframed as parental connection, it has associations with adult flourishing and depressive symptoms that are of similar magnitude but opposite direction. Clinicians and researchers should consider the more positive and aspirational frame of parental connection and its potential contribution to life course flourishing.

Interparental Positivity Spillover Theory: How Parents' Positive Relational Interactions Influence Children

Interparental interactions have an important influence on child well-being and development. Yet prior theory and research have primarily focused on interparental conflict as contributing to child maladjustment, which leaves out the critical question of how interparental positive interactions-such as expressed gratitude, capitalization, and shared laughter-may benefit child growth and development. In this article, we integrate theory and research in family, relationship, and affective science to propose a new framework for understanding how the heretofore underexamined positive interparental interactions influence children: interparental positivity spillover theory (IPST). IPST proposes that, distinct from the influence of conflict, interparental positive interactions spill over into children's experiences in the form of their (a) experience of positive emotions, (b) beneficially altered perceptions of their parents, and (c) emulation of their parents' positive interpersonal behaviors. This spillover is theorized to promote beneficial cognitive, behavioral, social, and physiological outcomes in children in the short term (i.e., immediately after a specific episode of interparental positivity, or on a given day) as well as cumulatively across time. As a framework, IPST generates a host of novel and testable predictions to guide future research, all of which have important implications for the mental health, well-being, and positive development of children and families.

The Father's Part: Influences of Paternal Psychopathology and Parenting Behavior on Child and Adolescent Well-Being

Family influences on child quality of life (QoL) are increasingly understood. Parenting behavior and parent individual psychopathology are among the established predictors of offspring mental health. However, literature often addresses these factors as 'parental', lacking further gender-specific differentiation while predominantly studying maternal aspects. Social and biological fathers are still underrepresented in family research. The aim of this study was to analyze paternal contributions to child well-being. A total of 197 father/mother-dyads gave a standardized self-report on parenting behavior and their own psychopathology at child primary school age (t1; 6-10 y). Ratings were compared mutually and associated with child self-rated QoL at t1 and adolescence (t2; 12-14 y). Fathers and mothers differed in psychopathology and most parenting behavior dimensions (positive parenting, involvement, responsible parenting, poor monitoring, and corporal punishment). Father psychopathology made a relevant predictive contribution to girls' QoL at t2. Boys' t1 QoL was significantly influenced by maternal parenting factors (positivity and corporal punishment). Compared to mothers, fathers are faced with different individual stressors; paternal parenting behavior is different, while fathers' influences are significant, particularly for daughters. Father-addressed pre- and intervention programs in child psychotherapeutic treatment are of high relevance.

Social Support and Perceptions of COVID-19-related Emotional Impact on Mental Health Among Early Adolescents in Appalachia

BACKGROUND

Young people who experience higher levels of social support from their schools and families have been shown to be less likely to develop symptoms of negative mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety.^1-4 This raises questions concerning how young people's stress and psychological changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as social support during this time have affected their overall mental health. The aim of this study was to assess the association between sources of parental- and school-level social support and youth perceptions of COVID-19-related emotional impact on mental health among early adolescent girls and boys in Appalachia.

METHODS

Using linear regression, we analyzed the first and third wave of survey data from the larger parent study (Young Mountaineer Health Study) cohort, collected in 20 middle schools throughout West Virginia in the fall of 2020 and fall of 2021 (N = 1349, mean age: 11.5, response rate: 80.7%).

RESULTS

Approximately half of participants reported knowing someone that had been sick with COVID-19. Those experiencing higher levels of perceived COVID-19-related emotional impact reported greater levels of depression, anxiety, and anger. Both parental and school-level social support were associated with better mental health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Early adolescent perceptions of COVID-19-related emotional impact were associated with depression, anxiety, and anger and moderated by social support at home and in school among 11-12-year-old youth in Appalachia.

Augmenting family based treatment with emotion coaching for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa: Trial design and methodological report

This article characterizes the design, recruitment, methodology, participant characteristics, and preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the Families Ending Eating Disorders (FEED) open pilot study. FEED augments family-based treatment (FBT) for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN) with an emotion coaching (EC) group for parents (i.e., FBT + EC). We targeted families high in critical comments and low warmth (assessed by the Five-Minute Speech Sample), known predictors of poor response in FBT. Eligible participants included adolescents initiating outpatient FBT, diagnosed with AN/AAN, ages 12-17, with a parent high in critical comments/low in warmth. The first phase of the study was an open pilot which demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of FBT + EC. Thus, we proceeded with the small randomized controlled trial (RCT). Eligible families were randomized to either 10 weeks of FBT + EC parent group treatment or the 10- week parent support group (control condition). The primary outcomes were parent critical comments and parental warmth, while our exploratory outcome was adolescent weight restoration. Novel aspects of the trial design (e.g., specifically targeting typical treatment non-responders), as well as recruitment and retention challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

New Paths for Parental Warmth and Subjective Well-Being: The Mediator Roles of Automatic Negative Thoughts

A growing number of studies have pointed out that parental acceptance-rejection, which is the degree of warmth in parenting, is an important factor that influences not only children's but also adults' subjective well-being. However, few studies have analyzed subjective well-being in adulthood based on the emergence of cognitive automatic thinking processes that are triggered by the level of parental warmth. Specifically, the mediator role of negative automatic thoughts in the relationship between parental warmth and subjective well-being is still under debate. This present study extended the parental acceptance and rejection theory by integrating automatic negative thoughts into the core concept of cognitive behavioral theory. The present study attempts to examine the mediator role of negative automatic thoughts in the relationship between retrospective reports of emerging adults' parental warmth and their subjective well-being. The participants consist of 680 of 49.4% women and 50.6% men Turkish-speaking emerging adults. The Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire Short-Form was used to measure parental warmth for their past experience, the negative automatic thoughts measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, and life satisfaction, negative and positive emotions of participants were measured by the Subjective Well-being Scale for their present level. Mediation analysis through the bootstrap sampling method via indirect custom dialog was used to examine data. The models supported the hypotheses, the retrospective reports of parental warmth in childhood predict the subjective well-being of emerging adults. The automatic negative thoughts had competitive mediation on this relationship. The perceived parental warmth in childhood decreases automatic negative thoughts, then turns to affect greater subjective well-being in adulthood. The current study results contribute to the counselling practice by suggesting that decreasing negative automatic thoughts could benefit the subjective well-being of emerging adults. Further, parental warmth interventions and family counselling have the potential to enhance these benefits.

Effects of a parental support intervention for parents in prison on child-parent relationship and criminal attitude-The For Our Children's Sake pragmatic controlled study

BACKGROUND

Children of incarcerated parents run a high risk for poor health and marginalisation across development where positive parenting comprises an essential protective factor. The For Our Children's Sake (FOCS) intervention is delivered with incarcerated parents in Sweden to support parenting and healthy child development. This study aimed to explore the effects of the FOCS intervention on relationship quality between parent and child, parent criminal attitude and interest in treatment, while investigating intervention fidelity.

METHODS

The non-randomised non-blinded pragmatic controlled study was carried out during 2019-2020 in 15 prisons with 91 parents throughout Sweden. Group allocation was based on the set operation planning at each prison. Prisons delivering FOCS during the study period were recruited to the intervention group, whereas prisons delivering FOCS later were recruited to the control group. Outcomes were measured through parent-report at baseline September-December 2019 (T0), after intervention (T1) in January-April 2020, and at three-months follow-up in April-July in 2020 (T2). The primary outcome was relationship quality between incarcerated parent and child and secondary outcomes were criminal attitude, interest in other treatment programmes, and child-parent contact. Fidelity to intervention delivery was monitored through objectively rated audio recorded sessions by researchers, and by group-leader-reported logs. Group differences on outcome over time and at each time point were explored using mixed-model regression with repeated measures with an intention-to-treat approach and per protocol.

RESULTS

The intention-to-treat analysis showed favourable intervention effects over time for relationship quality, explained by a higher intervention group score at T2. An intervention effect was found for parental interest in other prison-delivered treatments at T2. The analysis per protocol found similar but stronger effects on the relationship quality and an additional intervention effect over time for criminal attitude, also explained by a significant group difference at T2. The effect on treatment interest did not reach statistical significance in the analysis per protocol. Group leaders reported that all sessions had been performed and the objective ratings of fidelity rendered overall acceptable delivery of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The FOCS intervention had beneficial effects on relationship quality, and outcomes related to criminality which suggests that a parenting intervention for incarcerated parents has the potential to influence both parenting outcomes and outcomes related to a criminal lifestyle. Future studies should investigate intervention effectiveness on long-term outcomes related to both child health and parental recidivism. Further development of intervention components is suggested with the hypothesis to increase intervention effectiveness.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: No. NCT04101799, prospectively registered on September 24, 2019, Identifier: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04101799, The authors confirm that all ongoing and related trials for this intervention are registered.

The reciprocal relations between well‐being and maternal and peer warmth in adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system

INTRODUCTION

Although justice system involvement increases the risk of negative outcomes for adolescents, many justice-involved youth desist from crime as adults (Sampson & Laub, 2005). There are few studies examining predictors of positive development in justice-involved adolescents. In the current study, we assess the influence of maternal and peer warmth on the development of well-being in adolescents involved in the US justice system over the course of 5 years.

METHODS

Participants included 1216 adolescent males who experienced their first arrest. Interviews were given every year for 5 years. Well-being was measured using the EPOCH questionnaire (Kern et al., 2016) and relationship warmth was measured using a scale adapted from Conger et al. (1994). Hypotheses were tested using latent curve models with structured residuals.

RESULTS

Baseline levels of well-being were associated with maternal (β = 0.49, p < .001) and peer warmth, β = 0.52, p < .001. When an individual's maternal warmth was higher than predicted given their maternal warmth trajectory, their subsequent well-being was higher than expected given their well-being trajectory, b = 0.07, p < .001. When an individual's peer warmth was higher than predicted, their subsequent well-being was higher than expected, b = 0.06, p < .001. These relations were reciprocal, such that well-being also predicted increased maternal and peer warmth.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that increasing maternal or peer warmth may have cascading effects on the well-being of justice-involved adolescents. Interventions for justice-involved youth may benefit from targeting factors that increase positive development for these youth.

Family Connection and Flourishing Among Adolescents in 26 Countries

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether higher levels of family connection are associated with a greater prevalence of flourishing in adolescence.

METHODS

We analyzed cross-sectional data from the International Survey of Children's Well-Being collected in 26 countries between 2016 and 2019 from 11- to 13-year-olds. Family connection was based on a mean score of 5 items that asked about care, support, safety, respect, and participation using a Likert-type scale (range 0-4). Flourishing was based on a mean score of 6 items that asked about self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, environmental mastery, and autonomy using a Likert-type scale (range 0-10). A mean score of >8 was considered flourishing.

RESULTS

The analysis involved 37 025 of 39 286 (94.2%) adolescents, after excluding those with missing data. The mean (SD) age was 11.9 (0.6) years and 51.4% were girls. The prevalence (95% confidence interval) of flourishing was 65.8% (65.3-66.3). Adolescents were distributed across 5 increasing levels of the family connection score: <2.5 (11.2%), 2.5 to <3.0 (8.8%), 3.0 to <3.5 (24.2%), 3.5 to <4.0 (25.1%), and 4.0 (30.7%). After controlling for covariates, including material resources and food sufficiency, the prevalence (95% confidence interval) of flourishing increased across the 5 levels of increasing family connection: 34.9% (33.3-36.5), 45.0% (43.2-46.8), 58.2% (57.2-59.3), 72.6% (71.6-73.5), and 84.3% (83.6-85.1), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Among adolescents from 26 countries, greater family connection was associated with a higher prevalence of flourishing. Family connection may contribute to flourishing, not just the avoidance of negative outcomes.

Childhood Family Connection and Adult Flourishing: Associations Across Levels of Childhood Adversity

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether higher levels of childhood family connection were associated with greater adult flourishing and if this association was present across levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood socioeconomic disadvantage (SED).

METHODS

We pooled cross-sectional data from telephone and mailed surveys in the Midlife in the United States study that were collected from 2 nationally representative cohorts (2004-06 and 2011-14) of English-speaking, US adults, aged 25 to 74 years. Adult flourishing z score, standardized to the study population, was created from Ryff's 42-item Psychological Well-being Scale and quartiles of childhood family connection from a 7-item scale assessing parental attention, affection, and communication during childhood.

RESULTS

Data were analyzed for the 4199 (72.0% of 5834) participants with complete data. The mean age of participants was 53.9 years and 85.4% were White. After adjusting for covariates, including adult chronic disease, ACEs, and childhood and current SED, mean (95% CI) flourishing z scores increased from the lowest to highest quartiles of family connection: -0.41 (-0.49, -0.33), -0.18 (-0.25, -0.12), -0.01 (-0.07, 0.06), and 0.25 (0.18, 0.32), respectively. For each 1 SD increase in the family connection score, there was a 0.25 (95% CI, 0.20, 0.29) unit increase in the adjusted flourishing z score. This positive association was also present across levels of ACEs and childhood SED.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater childhood family connection was associated with greater flourishing in US adults across levels of childhood adversity. Supporting family connection in childhood may influence flourishing decades later, even with early adversity.

Perspectives of nurturance within the parent-child relationship in resource-constrained families

BACKGROUND

Nurturing parents raise children in an engaged, flexible, emotionally expressive and supportive manner, which is associated with positive outcomes for children. While parenting research within the South African context is increasing, there is a lack of focus on nurturance within the parent-child relationship. Thus, this study sought to explore how parents nurture their children in resource-constrained environments in South Africa.

METHOD

A qualitative approach with an exploratory research design was used. Participants were purposively recruited via non-governmental institutions and key informants in the communities. A sample of 77 semi-structured interviews was conducted with participants from two rural areas, Calvinia and Lamberts Bay, in South Africa.

RESULTS

A thematic analysis of the data revealed two themes. The first theme is nurturance approaches, which encapsulate how parents nurture their children physically and emotionally. The second theme focuses on factors contributing to nurturance within the parent-child relationship with regard to parenting practices and external factors.

CONCLUSION

Although parents are nurturing children physically and emotionally, parenting capacity needs to be improved in the South African context.

The Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Sleep Problems: The Role of Depressive Symptoms

BACKGROUND

Several studies have proposed that coping strategies are a key predictor of sleep problems. Furthermore, some authors have suggested that depressive symptoms, a factor that is related to both coping strategies and sleep, may play a critical role in this relationship. However, this preliminary research has shown mixed results.

PURPOSE

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between coping strategies (i.e., emotion-focused and problem-focused coping) and sleep, and investigate whether this relationship is direct or mediated by depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional design, we tested this idea in a sample of 723 participants from the Midlife in the United States 2 study (mean age = 54.22 years, age range = 25-74 years, 54.40% females, 95.1% had at least a high school education). We applied mediation analyses with bootstrapped bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals to test total, direct, and indirect effects. Coping and depression were assessed using questionnaires. Objective and subjective sleep quantity and quality were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sleep diaries, and actigraphy.

RESULTS

The results show that low emotion-focused coping and high problem-focused coping are associated with lower depressive symptoms, which, in turn, are associated with better objective and subjective sleep quality. Moreover, greater use of emotion-focused coping is related to more perceived sleep time.

CONCLUSIONS

This study sheds light on the process of the development of sleep problems in people who use different coping strategies. It offers explanations for the association between emotion-focused and problem-focused coping and sleep problems, via depressive symptoms.

How Do Parents Teach "No Means No"? An Exploration of How Sexual Consent Beliefs Are Socialized During Adolescence

Research on sexual consent has increased in recent years, but we know almost nothing about how beliefs about consent are socialized during adolescence, which likely has important implications for behaviors related to obtaining sexual consent. The current study explored the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication, as well as demographic, adolescent, and parent predictors of adolescents' beliefs about the importance of consent and the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication. Two national samples were used, one consisting of 2,044 adolescents, ages 13 to 18 (M _age = 16.19, SD = 1.71; 50% female), and a second sample of 2,081 nonrelated individuals, ages 28 to 81, who were parents of teens ages 13-18 (M _age = 15.25, SD = 1.56). Findings suggested that parents did not talk about sexual consent any more than they did about other sexual topics (e.g., reproduction). We also found that maternal warmth was positively associated with adolescents' importance of consent beliefs and that adolescents' uninhibited temperament and parents' self-efficacy and sexual beliefs were associated with parent-adolescent consent communication. The discussion focuses on the need to educate parents so they feel more confident talking to adolescents about the importance of giving and receiving sexual consent.

Parenting Warmth and Strictness across Three Generations: Parenting Styles and Psychosocial Adjustment

Recent emergent research is seriously questioning whether parental strictness contributes to children’s psychosocial adjustment in all cultural contexts. We examined cross-generational differences in parental practices characterized by warmth and practices characterized by strictness, as well as the relationship between parenting styles (authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful) and psychosocial adjustment in adulthood. Parenting practices characterized by warmth (affection, reasoning, indifference, and detachment) and strictness (revoking privileges, verbal scolding, and physical punishment) were examined. Psychosocial adjustment was captured with multidimensional self-concept and well-being (life satisfaction and happiness). Participants were 871 individuals who were members of three generations of Spanish families: College students (G3), their parents (G2), and their grandparents (G1). Results showed two different cross-generational patterns in parenting practices, with an increased tendency toward parental warmth (parents use more affection and reasoning but less indifference across generations) and a decreased tendency toward parental strictness (parents use revoking privileges, verbal scolding, and physical punishment less across generations). Interestingly, despite cross-generational differences in parenting practices, a common pattern between parenting styles and psychosocial adjustment was found: indulgent parenting was related to equal or even better self-concept and well-being than authoritative parenting, whereas parenting characterized by non-warmth (authoritarian and neglectful) was related to poor scores.

Depressive symptoms among adolescents in Georgia: the role of ethnicity, low self-control, parents, and peers

OBJECTIVES

The present study tested the role of low self-control, positive parental and peer relationships, and ethnic minority status (Armenian or Azeri), in explaining variability in depressive symptoms in Georgian youth.

METHODS

Self-report data were collected from N = 8254 adolescents in Georgia (55.5% female, M age = 15.57, SD 1.03). Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent constructs.

RESULTS

Low self-control significantly and positively predicted depressive symptoms, while perceived parental warmth did so negatively; peer friendship quality was unrelated. Ethnic minority status explained a very small amount of unique variance in depressive symptoms for Azeri youth only, not for Armenian adolescents. Multi-group SEM moderation tests provided evidence that the links between constructs were invariant across ethnic groups. The model explained 15.6% of variance in depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the salience of the tested depressive symptom correlates among Georgian adolescents, consistent with previous evidence from other countries. Adolescent ethnic minority status did not increase risk of depressive symptoms. Self-control emerged as the strongest correlate.

Looking homeward with the life course: Early origins of adult dwelling satisfaction?

The long-term influence of childhood economic and social exposures on adult health and well-being is well-known. Most childhood circumstances transpire in or near the home, yet research has largely neglected how early exposures shape people's experience of their residential context in adulthood. To help address this gap, we use retrospective longitudinal data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study. Drawing on a life course framework, we test the potential mediating roles of adult social, economic, and mental health processes. Results suggest that childhood parental warmth and maltreatment have an enduring influence on people's satisfaction with their adult home, while there is little indication that childhood economic conditions shape adult dwelling satisfaction. Analyses of average controlled direct effects suggest that the effects of childhood parental warmth are mediated slightly by adult socioeconomic attainment and psychological adjustment but especially by supportive family relationships during adulthood. This pattern is consistent with an attachment-based interpretation of the importance of childhood conditions for adult relationships as well as home satisfaction. Taken together, our results suggest that parent-child bonds cast a long shadow over how people experience their residential context decades later, through a diffuse, multifaceted set of intervening pathways.

Association of Childhood Family Connection With Flourishing in Young Adulthood Among Those With Type 1 Diabetes

IMPORTANCE

Higher levels of childhood family connection have been associated with measures of adult flourishing or eudaimonic well-being, such as purpose, self-acceptance, positive relationships, and growth. However, this association has not been examined among those with childhood-onset chronic disease.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether higher levels of childhood family connection were associated with greater flourishing in young adulthood among those with type 1 diabetes and, secondarily, whether this association was present across levels of adverse childhood experiences and childhood social position.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

In 2017, the cross-sectional Type 1 Flourish survey was administered to all 743 young adults, aged 18 to 29 years, with type 1 diabetes who had received outpatient care in 2016 at a diabetes specialty clinic in New York, New York. Eligible participants completed the survey online or during clinic visits. Data analyses were conducted in September and October 2019.

EXPOSURES

The main exposure was childhood family connection (sample-defined tertiles), based on scores from a 7-item scale assessing parental attention, affection, and communication during childhood. Adverse childhood experiences, childhood social position, and other sociodemographic characteristics were also reported. Recent hemoglobin A1c levels were abstracted from medical records.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Flourishing score calculated from the 42-item Psychological Well-being Scale developed by Ryff.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 423 of 743 patients (56.9%), and the analysis included 415 participants (98.1%) with complete data on family connection and flourishing. The mean (SD) age of the sample was 25.0 (3.2) years, with 246 (59.3%) female respondents and 288 (69.6%) non-Hispanic white respondents. The mean (SD) flourishing score was 221.8 (37.7). After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, age at type 1 diabetes diagnosis, and hemoglobin A1c level, mean flourishing scores increased from the lowest (201.0; 95% CI, 195.0-207.0) to medium (225.2; 95% CI, 219.4-231.0) to highest (240.4; 95% CI, 234.4-246.4) tertiles of family connection; compared with those in the lowest tertile of family connection, the flourishing scores were 1.04 (95% CI, 0.81-1.27) SD units higher among those in the highest tertile and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.42-0.86) SD units higher among those in the middle tertile. This association was also present across levels of childhood adversity. In the subgroup of respondents with 2 or more adverse childhood experiences, those in the highest tertile of family connection had adjusted flourishing scores 0.76 (95% CI, 0.14-1.38) SD units higher than those in the lowest tertile. In the subgroup with low childhood social position, those in the highest tertile of family connection had flourishing scores 1.08 (95% CI, 0.63-1.52) SD units higher than those in the lowest tertile.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cross-sectional study of young adults with type 1 diabetes, higher levels of childhood family connection were associated with greater flourishing in young adulthood across levels of childhood adversity. Beyond disease management, clinician support of family connection may help children with type 1 diabetes flourish in adulthood.

Nutritional Knowledge, Parenting Styles and Feeding Practices of a South African Sample of Parents

Parenting can be considered as being an all-encompassing network of development for children. Children learn about eating not only through their own experiences but also by watching others. Mothers and children show similar patterns of food acceptance and food preferences. Children's intake of fruit and vegetables was positively related to parents' intake of fruit and vegetables. The current study used self-reported data from parents/primary caregivers' children aged 3-18 covering sociodemographic characteristics, feeding style dimensions ('control overeating', 'emotional feeding', 'encouragement to eat' and 'instrumental feeding') and parenting style dimensions ('involvement' and 'strictness'). The results suggest, that in general, parents were inclined to encourage balance and variety in the food intake of their children, modeling healthy eating behavior, as well as monitoring the food intake of children while restricting unhealthy foods. Further research is needed into whether parents' diets affect children's food choices feeding.

Does optimal parenting style help offspring maintain healthy weight into mid-life?

An authoritative parenting style is generally associated with healthier body weight in children and adolescents. However, whether the protective effect of an authoritative style on offspring body weight may persist into adulthood has seldom been investigated. In this study we examined the longitudinal association between parenting style and body mass index (BMI) change in mid-life. Longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States Study (N = 3929) were analyzed using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for a range of relevant covariates. Parenting styles were assessed at phase I (1995-1996) using items measuring parental warmth and control, while BMI was assessed at phases I and II (2004-2006). Four parenting styles were derived following prior research: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles. Compared to an authoritative style, an authoritarian style was associated with 14% higher increase in the standardized BMI change score (β = 0.14, 95% confidence interval: 0.03, 0.26). While there was suggestive evidence that an uninvolved versus authoritative style might also be associated with greater BMI increase, we found no differences between a permissive and authoritative style. This study suggested that the protective effect of an authoritative parenting style on offspring body weight may persist well into mid-life, particularly as compared to the authoritarian style and possibly the uninvolved style. Such work may reinforce the importance of a public health focus on improving parenting practices and suggest the value of implementing parenting programs, as one strategy for increasing the likelihood that individuals can maintain healthy weight well into adulthood.