Youth Anxiety: The Moderating Effects of Accommodation and Emotional Warmth

Parental accommodation (i.e., modifying behavior to reduce child distress) is among the most empirically supported anxiety enhancing parenting practices; while emotional warmth (i.e., support and affection) has demonstrated a less clear link to anxiety. The current study aims to explore the interactive nature of emotional warmth within the context of accommodation. We hypothesized that accommodation would moderate the relationship between emotional warmth and anxiety. The sample included parents of youth (N = 526) ages 7-17. A simple moderation analysis was conducted. Accommodation significantly moderated the relationship [B = 0.03, C.I. (0.01, 0.05), p = 0.01]. Additional variance was accounted for by adding the interaction term to the model (R² = 0.47, p < 0.001). At high levels of accommodation, emotional warmth significantly predicted child anxiety symptoms. This study affirms that emotional warmth is significantly related to anxiety in the context of high accommodation. Future work ought to build upon these findings to explore these relationships. Limitations of the study include sampling and parent-report data.

Relationship Quality and Mental Health Implications for Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Longitudinal Study

Although parent-adolescent and peer-adolescent relationship quality are critical for adolescent wellbeing during typical stressful life events, the unique features of the COVID-19 pandemic put into question whether strong parent-adolescent and peer-adolescent relationship quality functioned as protective factors of adolescent mental health in this context. The current longitudinal study examined a community sample of adolescents across 3 time points, each 6 months apart (Time 1: Fall, 2019; n = 163, 50.9% male; mean age = 15.75 years, SD = 1.02). Results showed that increases in depression symptoms, perceived stress, and emotion dysregulation from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 were predicted by changes in parent, but not peer relationship quality. The current study demonstrates that adolescent-parent relationship quality may be protective against mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, while adolescent-peer relationship quality may not. Identifying protective factors that may play a role in mitigating the impact of the pandemic, and other such widespread health crises, on youth mental health is critical in reducing the long-term psychological harm of the viral outbreak, as well as promoting adolescent wellbeing and resilience.

Parents' Creative Self-Concept and Creative Activity as Predictors of Family Lifestyle

Family rules, routines, and resources shape children’s creativity. However, little is known about how parents’ creative self-concepts and creative activity are related to the lifestyle adults create in their families. Family lifestyle might be operationalized as referring to domain-general dimensions of family social functioning (cohesion, flexibility, communication, and family satisfaction) and domain-specific factors related to creativity, namely, family climate for creativity (encouragement to experience novelty and varieties, encouragement to nonconformism, support of perseverance in creative efforts, encouragement to fantasize). To explore the link between parents’ creativity-related characteristics and family lifestyle, 303 Polish parents (57% mothers) of children aged between 6 and 10 (M = 7.99; SD = 1.38) reported on their creative self-concept (creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity), creative activity, overall family lifestyle, and climate for creativity in their families. We found that parents’ creative self-concept and their creative activity predict support for creativity in the family and more general balanced and satisfying family relationships. We discuss these findings, point new paths for future research, and suggest possible interventions to strengthen families as creativity-fostering environments.

Parental Rejection as a Predictor of Emotional Eating After Inpatient Weight Loss Treatment for Youngsters

Objective

The main objective of the study was to examine the relationships between parental rejection, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and the emotional eating style of youngsters who finished an inpatient multidisciplinary weight loss treatment program and were back in their home environment.

Method

Participants were 52 youngsters (age 11–17 years) with an average percent over ideal BMI of 186.11% (SD= 27.54) before treatment and 136.37% (SD= 19.65) at a mean follow-up of 4 months. Participants completed questionnaires assessing maternal and paternal rejection, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and emotional eating. Data were analysed using bootstrapping procedure.

Results

Mediation analyses showed that maladaptive emotion regulation partially mediated the association between maternal rejection and the youngsters’ emotional eating style. Paternal rejection was directly related to emotional eating.

Conclusion

The results suggest that the family climate may have an impact on the eating style of the youngsters after weight loss treatment.

Parental emotional warmth and identity integration among Chinese migrant adolescents: The role of hope

Literature has established that migration processes have significant effects on the mental and psychological health of migrant children and adolescents. Yet, little is known of the effects of family dynamics and individual characteristics on rural-to-urban migrant adolescents’ psychological adjustment in the context of China. Using a cross-sectional questionnaire-based research design, this article examines the relationship between perceived parental emotional warmth, identity integration and hope among a group of Chinese migrant adolescents. Of a sample of 1,345 Chinese migrant adolescents, between 11 and 19 years old, we found that perceived parental emotional warmth was significantly associated with identity integration, and that hope partially mediated the relationship between parental emotional warmth and identity integration. The implications of the findings for migrant adolescents’ psychological adjustment in receiving communities are discussed.

Family Functions in Relation to Behavioral and Psychological Disorders in Chinese Culture

Family is comprised of two or more individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption. It basically functions to satisfy the varied hierarchy of needs for each individual. In Chinese culture or society, family structure may have some uniqueness, and its functions are greatly influenced by Confucianism, which suppresses some desires of an individual in order to let him or her fit into the collectivistic community. Contemporary literature has illustrated that many behavioral and psychological disorders in China are associated with family, most of which might be due to the malfunctions of family. There is however no literature that specifically illustrates the link between the Chinese culture and family-related mental disorders. Anxiety, depression, personality disorder, sexual disorder, alcoholism, and others which are documented in China, nevertheless, are related to the malfunctioned family under Chinese culture. Future well-designed studies are needed to fully address the Chinese culture contributions to the etiopathologies of these disorders.

The relationship between parental fatigue, parenting self-efficacy and behaviour: implications for supporting parents in the early parenting period

BACKGROUND

Emerging evidence indicates that parental fatigue is associated with low warmth and increased hostility in parent-child interactions. One possible pathway by which fatigue may impact on parenting behaviour is via parental self-efficacy (PSE), whereby high fatigue may undermine PSE, which is often associated with suboptimal parenting behaviour. The current study sought to explore a model of the relationships between parental fatigue, parenting warmth and hostility, where PSE mediates these relationships and whether the nature of these relationships differ by social or family context.

METHODS

The current sample was drawn from a larger Australian community sample survey on parent well-being and parenting. It consisted of 1143 parents (mothers, n = 1003; fathers, n = 140) of children aged 0-4 years.

RESULTS

Path analysis revealed that the relationship between fatigue and parenting warmth and hostility was fully mediated by PSE.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that fatigue has the potential to negatively influence parenting behaviours that are important for their children's well-being and development, and that fatigue plays a mediating role in this relationship. Implications of the study for psycho-education and interventions targeting the management of parental fatigue are discussed.

Maternal parenting and social, school, and psychological adjustment of migrant children in urban China

This study examined the relations of maternal warmth, behavioral control, and encouragement of sociability to social, school, and psychological adjustment in migrant children in China. The participants were 284 rural-to-urban migrant children ( M age = 11 years, 149 boys) in migrant children’s schools and their mothers. Data on parenting were collected from mothers’ reports. Data on children’s adjustment were collected from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. It was found that maternal warmth was associated with children’s social and school performance, and that maternal encouragement of sociability was associated with children’s psychological adjustment. Maternal behavioral control was not associated with children’s adjustment. The results indicate that maternal warmth, behavioral control, and encouragement of sociability may serve different functions in different domains of adjustment among migrant Chinese children.

Acculturative and enculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and maternal warmth: examining within-person relations among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers

Mexican-origin adolescent mothers face numerous social challenges during dual-cultural adaptation that are theorized to contribute to greater depressive symptoms. Alongside challenges, there are familial resources that may offer protection. As such, the current study examined the trajectories of depressive symptoms among 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 16.80, SD = 1.00) across a 4-year period (third trimester of pregnancy, and 10, 24, and 36 months postpartum). Further, we examined the within-person relations of two unique sources of stress experienced during dual-cultural adaptation, acculturative and enculturative stress, and youths' depressive symptoms; we also tested whether adolescent mothers' perceptions of warmth from their own mothers emerged as protective. Adolescent mothers reported a decline in depressive symptoms after the transition to parenthood. Acculturative and enculturative stress emerged as significant positive within-person predictors of depressive symptoms. Maternal warmth emerged as a protective factor in the relation between enculturative stressors and depressive symptoms; however, for acculturative stressors, the protective effect of maternal warmth only emerged for US-born youth. Findings illustrate the multidimensionality of stress experienced during the cultural adaptation process and a potential mechanism for resilience among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers.

Sleep patterns and psychological functioning in families in northeastern Iran; evidence for similarities between adolescent children and their parents

Sleep and well-being of adolescents and their parents are related, but data from non-Western countries are scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between adolescents' and their parents' sleep patterns and psychological functioning in northeastern Iran. A total of 81 families (81 mothers, 78 fathers, 130 children aged 12-20 years) took part in the study. They individually and separately completed questionnaires related to sleep and psychological functioning. Sleep quality was related within families. Poor sleep among children and parents was related in each case to more depressive symptoms and stress. Mothers' sleep and psychological functioning were more related to adolescent children's sleep and psychological functioning than were those of fathers. Results confirm research showing that adolescent's and parents' sleep and psychological functioning are inter-related. This association holds also true for families in northeastern Iran, suggesting that the association reflects universal features of family functioning.

Emotion socialization in adolescence: the roles of mothers and fathers

This chapter provides a review of the literature that examines the role of mothers and fathers in socializing emotion in their sons and daughters during adolescence. Within the context of this chapter, we focus on mother-father similarities, differences, and coordinated efforts in socializing the emotion of their adolescent children. Empirical data is presented that provides new evidence about the coordinated efforts of parents and its implications for the development of adolescent psychopathology. The authors emphasize the importance of both adolescent emotion capabilities and the role mothers and fathers play in supporting or deterring healthy emotional development in adolescence.

Personality strengths in adolescence and decreased risk of developing mental health problems in early adulthood

The aim of this study was to investigate whether personality strengths during adolescence are associated with decreased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, educational or occupational problems, violent or criminal behaviors, and interpersonal difficulties during early adulthood. A representative community sample of 688 mothers from upstate New York and their offspring was interviewed in the period of 1985-1986 (mean offspring age = 16 years) and in that of 1991-1993 (mean offspring age = 22 years). Results showed that youths with numerous personality strengths at the mean age of 16 years were at a decreased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, educational and occupational problems, interpersonal difficulties, and criminal behaviors at the mean age of 22 years. These associations remained significant after controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, verbal intelligence, preexisting psychiatric disorders, and corresponding problems at the mean age of 16 years. Although youths with fewer personality strengths who experienced numerous stressful events were at elevated risk of developing psychiatric disorders during early adulthood, those with a higher number of personality strengths at the mean age of 16 years did not share this vulnerability. We conclude that personality strengths during adolescence may contribute to a decreased risk of developing a wide range of adverse outcomes during early adulthood. Systematic evaluation of character strengths may improve the clinical assessment of adolescents.

Parent-child relationships as systems of support or risk for adolescent suicidality

This study examined a process model of predicting adolescent suicidality. Adolescent emotional distress was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between parental behaviors and subsequent adolescent suicidality. The parental behaviors studied included parental warmth and parental hostility. A sample of 451 families from rural Iowa participated in this longitudinal study, which included both observational and self-report data. Models were tested with structural equation modeling. Adolescent emotional distress was found to be a mediating variable between paternal warmth and adolescent suicidality. Results indicated that maternal warmth predicted adolescent suicidality but not emotional distress. Parental hostility did not predict either latent variable. Clinical implications are provided.

Predictors of suicide ideation and depression in Hong Kong adolescents: perceptions of academic and family climates

The unique dimensions of perceptions of school and family contributing to depression and suicide ideation in Hong Kong adolescents were examined in two studies. In Study 1, among 327 Hong Kong Chinese female students ages 13-18, 47% reported some suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was significantly associated with depression, test anxiety, academic self-concept, and adolescents' perceived parental dissatisfaction with academic performance. The correlation between test anxiety and depression was especially high (r = .51). Study 2 examined how three different aspects of perceived family relationship were associated with depression and suicide ideation. Among 371 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents ages 14-20, 52.6% reported suicide ideation. Low levels of family cohesion and support and high levels of parent-adolescent conflict were positively related to depression and suicide ideation in both genders. Across both studies, depression mediated associations between academic- and family-related variables and suicide ideation. Findings underscore the importance of both academic and family climate in understanding depression and suicide ideation among Chinese adolescents.

Hope, social support, and behavioral problems in at-risk children

This study investigated the effects of hope, social support, and stress on behavioral problems in a high-risk group of 65 children of incarcerated mothers. Children with low levels of hope had more externalizing and internalizing problems. Children who perceived less social support had more externalizing problems, and children who had experienced more life stressors reported more internalizing problems. Regression analyses indicated that hope contributed unique variance to both internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems after social support and stress were controlled. These findings suggest that being confident in one's ability to overcome challenges and having a positive outlook function as protective factors, whereas being less hopeful may place a child at risk for developing adjustment problems. Whether it is possible to foster agency and teach pathways to children with lower levels of hope is discussed.

Self-concept and perception of early mother and father behavior in normal and antisocial adolescents

This study examines the self-concept and perceptions of early parental behavior in a group of 277 normal adolescents with respect to differences in age (12-18 years) and gender. A group of 30 antisocial adolescents of similar age (13-19 years) were included as a comparison group. The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire study and the Swedish translation of the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) introject and mother/father questionnaires were used as measures of self- and parental concepts. Multivariate analyses of variance show that the normal adolescent self-concept and perception of early parental behavior are positive and that there are no age or gender differences. The early behavior of the mother is perceived more positively than that of the father. A positive self-concept is related to a positive perception of the parent's early behavior. The antisocial group of adolescents shows a more autonomous and negative self-concept and more negative perception of early parental behaviors. This was true especially in the group of antisocial girls. The conclusion from the study is that there is no evidence of a chaotic self-concept or tumultuous changes in the perceptions of early parental behavior during normal adolescence, but that an antisocial way of life might be reflected in a more negative and autonomous self-concept and in more negative perceptions of early parental behavior during adolescence.

Social support, negative life events and pupil misbehaviour among young Norwegian adolescents

Relationships between negative life events, perceived social support and pupil misbehaviour were assessed in a national representative sample of 1057 Norwegian young adolescents aged 14 and 15. Negative life events were significantly associated with pupil misbehaviour among both male and female adolescents. Support from parents, friends and teachers was negatively associated with pupil misbehaviour.

Support for the parents of adolescents: a review

This paper reviews the literature on parent-adolescent relationships, with a particular focus on strategies to offer support to this group of parents. Policy-makers and professionals in many countries are now debating how support can most effectively be offered to the parents of adolescents, and this review aims to summarize the information currently available. The review covers three main areas: (1) approaches to parenting, including an examination of parenting style; (2) models of parent support; and (3) examples of parent support programmes, including group-based parenting courses, projects focusing on adolescents involved in offending or drug abuse, and the use of newsletters and advice lines.

A growth curve analysis of stress and adolescent drug use

The purpose of this paper is to describe and examine one pathway by which adolescent drug use increases during early and mid-adolescence. It draws upon recent research on adolescent stress, drug use, and family processes to describe an important stage of the life course. A chief principle underlying the proposed pathway is that the cumulative effect of stressful life experiences over time can lead to a steeper escalation of drug use in adolescence. Furthermore, based on previous stress research, we propose that this effect may be moderated by factors such as sex, income, family attachment, self-esteem, and mastery. Using 4 years of panel data from the Family Health Study (n = 651 adolescents ages 11-14 during Year 1), we estimate a hierarchical growth curve model that examines the time-varying effects of stressful life events and peer relations on drug use. The results indicate that experiencing a high number of life events over time is related to a significant "growth" of drug use, even after controlling for "growth" due to age or peer relations. In addition, this relationship is moderated by family attachment; high levels of attachment serve to diminish this growth significantly.

Stressful life events and adolescent substance use and depression: conditional and gender differentiated effects

Stressful life circumstances have myriad influences on human health and behavior. Early research focused on the variable distribution of stress and its effects by socioeconomic status, race, and gender. More recent research indicates that variation by age is also an important consideration. For example, adolescent reactions to stressful life events are often inconsistent with adult reactions to similar life situations and transitions. Moreover, since most studies assess only a single outcome--usually depression--they risk classification bias since analyses exclude other potential stress-related outcomes. This paper assesses the gender distinct effects of stressful life events on two outcomes among adolescents, substance use and depressive symptoms. The results of a second-order regression model indicate that life events affect female, but not male, depressive symptoms, especially when self-esteem is low or mastery is high. Furthermore, life events affect substance use when peer drug use is high, or when parental support is low, but this latter effect is limited to female adolescents.