Parental warmth amplifies the negative effect of parental hostility on dating violence

The role of paternal and maternal warmth and hostility on daughter's psychosocial outcomes: The insidious effects of father warmth combined with high paternal hostility

Introduction

Despite the well-accepted view on the importance of parental warmth and parental hostility for adolescent development, few studies have examined the joint interactive effects of these two key aspects of parenting. Furthermore, research comparing maternal and paternal parenting is limited, with the father-daughter relationship during adolescence remaining one of the more understudied familial contexts. Given that family processes are key for the intergenerational transmission of inequality, these parent-child relationships may be especially important for youth at risk for exposure to violence.

Objectives

Using a sample of juvenile female offenders, this study examined the associations between the perceived warmth and hostility in the father-daughter and mother-daughter relationships on daughters' depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, romantic partner warmth, romantic partner hostility, and the daughter's sense of agency. We hypothesized that high perceived parental warmth would moderate the effects of parental hostility by protecting daughters from the negative effects of parental hostility, with stronger effects for the father-daughter than the mother-daughter relationship.

Results

In contrast, our paternal relationship findings across four of the five outcomes suggest a moderation in the opposite direction - that is, high perceived father warmth exacerbates the deleterious effects of father hostility on daughters' depressive symptoms, anxiety, romantic partner warmth, and romantic partner hostility. Maternal warmth, and not hostility, had a direct association with these four outcomes, with stronger explanatory power shown for the father-daughter than the mother-daughter model. Higher agency was associated with maternal hostility only.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that daughters might be modeling and internalizing the relationship with their fathers (for better or worse) when they perceive it as warm and supportive. Consequently, adolescent girls whose fathers exhibit hostile behavior may benefit from emotional distancing from their fathers.

Underlying Familial Factors for Aggressive Behavior in Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review

Aggressive behavior in romantic relationship has serious effects, including both intra- and inter-personal issues. Aggressive behaviors in romantic relationships have been linked to underlying familial problems. While there have been previous reviews that studied on many interpersonal and dyadic implications of aggressive behavior in romantic relationships, there is nonetheless a lack of studies on the various components of familial factors for aggressive behavior in romantic relationships. The databases Scopus, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and SAGE Journals were used to search for terms that are related to familial factors (family factor, family support, family relationship) as well as terms related to aggressive behavior in romantic relationships (aggression in romantic relationship, violence in intimate relationship). The articles considered for this review were original studies, samples, or subsamples of males or females who reported any underlying familial factors in childhood or adulthood that contributed to aggressive behavior in romantic relationship, and the studies must be written in English. This review has 27 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The findings from this review revealed the presence of inconsistent conclusions between familial factors and aggressive behavior in romantic relationships, with some studies failing to establish such links. These findings are reviewed with regards to the existing gaps in the literature as well as potential research options.

Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence Across Contexts: Mental Health, Delinquency, and Dating Violence Outcomes Among Mexican Heritage Youth

Immigrant Mexican American (MA) youth are at greater risk for violence exposure due to risk factors associated with migration-postmigration processes and as they settle into urban U.S. communities marked by crime and poverty. Less is known about the contexts of this exposure. Specifically, what are the ecological contexts in which youth witness intimate partner violence (IPV), how do these experiences differ by immigration generational status, and what is the impact on youth's externalizing and internalizing behaviors? MA adolescents (N = 279; 15-17 years, M = 16.17, SD = 0.81) from the Southwest United States participated in an online survey. Over half of adolescents had witnessed at least one incidence of IPV in the prior 2 weeks, usually involving their peers. Adolescents who had spent more time in the United States were more likely to witness violence and rated it as more severe than more recently immigrated youth. A cross-sectional path model revealed that witnessing IPV was associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. However, the associations between witnessing IPV and dating violence perpetration and victimization were mediated through acceptance of dating violence norms. Each successive generation may be more likely to witness violence across a range of ecological contexts. Witnessing violence may be central to a host of negative outcomes, including deviancy, poor mental health, and dating violence. However, preventive interventions can help youth to challenge violence norms within intimate partnerships as well as to cope with violence in their homes, peer groups, and communities.

A Meta-Analysis Linking Parent-to-Child Aggression and Dating Abuse During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Relationship continuity and social learning theories provide support for parent-to-child aggression as one potential explanatory factor for dating abuse (DA); however, empirical results are mixed across studies as to the strength of this association. This meta-analysis sought to estimate the overall size of this effect among adolescent and young adult samples and investigate potential moderating factors including sample and measurement variables. Records were identified using a computerized search of databases with several keywords. Peer-reviewed journal articles and dissertations were included if they measured both parent-to-child aggression and DA perpetration and/or victimization among adolescents (aged 12-18) or young adults (aged 18-29). Sixty-six records met inclusion criteria, yielding 370 unique effect sizes for the relation between parent-to-child aggression and DA across 94 unique samples. As hypothesized, there was a small-to-medium effect size between parent-to-child aggression and subsequent DA during both adolescence and young adulthood. The strength of these findings was consistent across DA outcome (perpetration and victimization) and both physical and psychological forms, youth and parent gender, and youth age. Stronger associations were found when the gender of the parental aggressor was undefined compared to either a defined paternal or maternal aggressor. Records using the Conflict Tactics Scale to measure both parent-to-child aggression and DA yielded stronger associations compared to sources that used different measures, but single informant versus multiple informants did not yield any differences.

Teen Dating Violence in a High-Risk Sample: The Protective Role of Maternal Acceptance

Exposure to marital conflict has been identified as a risk factor for teen dating violence (TDV). Given the high rates of marital conflict observed in families affected by paternal alcoholism, children of alcoholic fathers may be at increased risk for TDV. Positive parenting behaviors are protective against TDV in general, but whether they can attenuate the effects of exposure to marital conflict is uncertain. According to social learning theory, adolescents exposed to both positive and conflictual parenting may perceive aggression to be part of a normal and loving relationship and hence be at risk for TDV. In contrast, attachment theory would posit that positive parenting would better enable youth to regulate negative emotions and would be protective against TDV. The current study used prospective data to examine whether maternal acceptance buffered the relationship between exposure to marital conflict in early adolescence and TDV in late adolescence among a sample of adolescents at risk for TDV due to parental alcoholism. Adolescents (N = 227, 50% female, 89% European American), half of whom had an alcoholic parent, completed surveys in early (eighth grade) and late adolescence (11th and 12th grades). They reported on exposure to marital conflict, perceptions of maternal acceptance, and involvement in TDV. Regression analyses revealed that exposure to marital conflict in early adolescence was predictive of TDV in late adolescence. However, an examination of the interaction between exposure to marital conflict and maternal acceptance indicated that at high levels of marital conflict and maternal acceptance, exposure to marital conflict no longer predicted TDV. Findings suggest that social modeling alone is not sufficient for understanding the intergenerational transmission of violence. A multipronged approach to violence prevention among high-risk families targeting both parental and parent-child relationships is recommended.

Examining Adolescent Family Experiences as Risks for Young Adulthood Intimate Partner Violence in Two Longitudinal Samples

Little research has examined multiple family risks that may act as precursors to the cycle of violence, or the link between child maltreatment and subsequent intimate partner violence perpetration. Scholarly work that addresses this gap has important implications for early prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing family violence in adolescence and young adulthood. Based upon the family stress model and the cycle of violence hypothesis, it was hypothesized that adolescent experiences of economic pressure, caregiver depressed mood, and caregiver conflict would increase risk for abusive parenting and that abusive parenting in adolescence would link these family experiences to partner violence perpetration in young adulthood. The model was tested using longitudinal data spanning 12 years from two studies: The Iowa Youth and Families Project (N = 306, 56.2% women), a sample of White, married-parent families, and the Family and Community Health Study (N = 213, 53.3% women), a sample of Black families diverse in terms of family structure. Path model analyses provided support for the proposed model in each sample, highlighting the importance of considering several adolescent family experiences in work on the etiology of partner violence. Policy and practice interventions are offered, such as the need for economic supports for families, accessible mental health care, and relationship education programming for youth.

Delinquency as a consequence of parental warmth and self-efficacy: Total sample and individual male and female mediation analyses

INTRODUCTION

This study's purpose was to investigate the mediating effect of parental control self-efficacy on the parental warmth → child delinquency relationship in the mothers and fathers of early to mid-adolescent youth in a test of performance accomplishments as a prelude to parental self-efficacy.

METHODS

Parental warmth and control self-efficacy estimates, representing parental support and control, respectively, were provided by the mothers and fathers of 3934 (2010 boys, 1924 girls) youth from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and self-reported delinquency was obtained from the child.

RESULTS

As predicted, parental control self-efficacy mediated the relationship between parental warmth and child delinquency, whereas parental warmth did not mediate the relationship between parental self-efficacy and child delinquency. When analyses were performed separately for boys and girls, the father warmth → father self-efficacy → child delinquency pathway achieved the most consistent results in boys and the mother warmth → mother self-efficacy → child delinquency pathway achieved the only significant effect in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that performance accomplishments, as characterized by a warm parent-child relationship, led to enhanced parental control self-efficacy, which, in turn, served to inhibit future delinquency in the child, thereby lending credence to a social cognitive learning theory interpretation of the parental support-control interface.

Family Dynamics and Young Adults' Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Sibling Bullying

Although a common form of family violence, sibling bullying is often viewed as harmless by families and society. Consequently, it has not received as much attention in research compared with peer bullying or other types of family violence, such as interpartner violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. Considering that sibling relationships have lasting effects on children's development, this retrospective study focused on the antecedents and outcomes of sibling bullying. Grounded in family system theory and social learning theory, it explored whether sibling bullying during childhood and adolescence mediated the relationship between negative family dynamics (i.e., sibling rivalry, interparental hostility, and parental hostility) and young adults' well-being (i.e., sense of competence, internalized problems, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life). Data from 216 respondents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that young adults who reported higher levels of sibling rivalry and interparental hostility were more likely to be victims of sibling bullying. In turn, sibling bullying was associated with lower sense of competence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, as well as more internalized problems. Parents' hostile behaviors toward their children were not associated with sibling bullying but were negatively associated with well-being in early adulthood. Our work underlines the importance of harmonious family dynamics and the need for sibling bullying to be taken more seriously by parents and family members. From a clinical point of view, our findings suggest that clinicians and human service workers should adopt a family-level approach when trying to reduce sibling bullying and its negative outcomes by educating parents about the interdependence of family relationships.

A Meta-Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors for Dating Violence Victimization: The Role of Family and Peer Interpersonal Context

Dating violence (DV) is a widespread social issue that has numerous deleterious repercussions on youths' health. Family and peer risk factors for DV have been widely studied, but with inconsistent methodologies, which complicates global comprehension of the phenomenon. Protective factors, although understudied, constitutes a promising line of research for prevention. To date, there is no comprehensive quantitative review attempting to summarize knowledge on both family and peer factors that increase or decrease the risk for adolescents and emerging adults DV victimization. The current meta-analysis draws on 87 studies with a total sample of 278,712 adolescents and young adults to examine effect sizes of the association between various family and peer correlates of DV victimization. Results suggest small, significant effect sizes for all the family (various forms of child maltreatment, parental support, and parental monitoring) and peer factors (peer victimization, sexual harassment, affiliation with deviant peers, and supportive/prosocial peers) in the prediction of DV. With few exceptions, forms of DV (psychological, physical, and sexual), gender, and age did not moderate the strength of these associations. In addition, no difference was found between the magnitude of family and peer factors' effect sizes, suggesting that these determinants are equally important in predicting DV. The current results provide future directions for examining relations between risk and protective factors for DV and indicate that both peers and family should be part of the development of efficient prevention options.

Familial Effects on Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Across Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Research suggests violence in the family-of-origin is a consistent predictor of later intimate partner violence (IPV). However, prior empirical studies have also demonstrated that exposure to violence does not lead deterministically to violent behaviors in young adulthood. Given that family context entails more than simply the presence or absence of abuse, additional aspects of family life warrant examination. One such aspect is the quality of the parent-child relationship. Using five waves of data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (N = 950 respondents, 443 males and 507 females), the present study examined both main and interactive effects of parent-child physical aggression (PCPA) and parent-child relationship quality (PCRQ) in predicting adolescents' and young adults' IPV perpetration. Results indicated that both PCPA and PCRQ were key independent predictors of individuals' IPV perpetration, but did not interact to produce cumulatively different risk. Important interactions between PCPA and gender, and PCRQ and age were also found.

Dating Violence Victimization Among High School Students in Minnesota: Associations With Family Violence, Unsafe Schools, and Resources for Support

The present study examines whether being a victim of violence by an adult in the household, witnessing intra-familial physical violence, and feeling unsafe at school are associated with physical dating violence victimization. It also examines whether extracurricular activity involvement and perceived care by parents, teachers, and friends attenuate those relationships, consistent with a stress-buffering model. Participants were 75,590 ninth-and twelfth-grade students (51% female, 77% White, 24% receiving free/reduced price lunch) who completed the 2010 Minnesota Student Survey. Overall, 8.5% of students reported being victims of dating violence. Significant differences were found by gender, grade, ethnicity, and free/reduced price lunch status. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that being a victim of violence by an adult in the household, witnessing intra-familial physical violence, feeling unsafe at school, and low perceived care by parents were strongly associated with dating violence victimization. Associations of moderate strength were found for low perceived care by teachers and friends. Little to no extracurricular activity involvement was weakly associated with dating violence victimization. Attenuating effects of perceived care and extracurricular activity involvement on associations between risk factors (victimization by a family adult, witnessing intra-familial violence, feeling unsafe at school) and dating violence victimization were smaller in magnitude than main effects. Findings are thus more consistent with an additive model of risk and protective factors in relation to dating violence victimization than a stress-buffering model. Health promotion efforts should attempt to minimize family violence exposure, create safer school environments, and encourage parental involvement and support.

The Moderating Role of Parental Warmth on the Relation Between Verbal Punishment and Child Problem Behaviors for Same-sex and Cross-sex Parent-Child Groups

This study investigates the relation between parental verbal punishment and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in Filipino children, and the moderating role of parental warmth in this relation, for same-sex (mothers-girls; fathers-boys) and cross-sex parent-child groups (mothers-boys; fathers-girls). Measures used were the Rohner Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Control Scale (PARQ/Control), the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBC), and a discipline measure (DI) constructed for the study. Participants were 117 mothers and 98 fathers of 61 boys and 59 girls who responded to a discipline interview, the Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Control scale (PARQ/Control) and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist via oral interviews. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses (with Bonferroni-corrected alpha levels) revealed that maternal frequency of verbal punishment was positively related to internalizing and externalizing outcomes in boys and girls whereas paternal frequency of verbal punishment was positively related to girls' externalizing behavior. Significant interactions between verbal punishment and maternal warmth in mother-girl groups were also found for both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. While higher maternal warmth ameliorated the impact of low verbal punishment on girls' internalizing and externalizing behaviors, it exacerbated the effect of high verbal punishment on negative outcomes.

Factors linking childhood experiences to adult romantic relationships among African Americans

It is well known that a high-quality relationship with a romantic partner is related to a variety of positive outcomes associated with health and well-being. Establishing such relationships is an important developmental task for young adults, and past research indicates that there is a link between experiences in the family of origin and the success of later intimate relationships. It has been suggested that this association can be explained by the acquisition of social competencies (e.g., emotions, schemas, traits) that are acquired during childhood in the family of origin and, in turn, influence interaction with adult romantic partners. The current study builds on this foundation by identifying particular competencies expected to explain the association between childhood exposure to supportive and harsh parenting and later patterns of interaction with romantic partners. Specifically, we examine anger management, attachment style, hostile attribution bias, and self-control as potential mediators using prospective, longitudinal data from a sample of 345 African American young adults. Results from structural equation modeling indicate that each of the mediators in our study accounts for a significant portion of the effect of parenting on the quality of adult romantic relationships, although the constructs linking parenting to warm interactions with romantic partners are somewhat different from those that link parenting to hostile interactions with romantic partners. Even after accounting for the effect of the mediators, there is still a direct effect of parenting on both warm/loving and hostile/aggressive interactions with romantic partner. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The intergenerational transmission of violence: examining the mediating roles of insecure attachment and destructive disagreement beliefs

Intimate partner violence has been recognized as a major problem on college campuses and is a source of concern for researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general population. Most research has focused on the intergenerational transmission of violence and identifying the intrapersonal mechanisms that enable violence in the family of origin to carry over to adult intimate relationships. This study expands the current literature by examining insecure attachment styles and destructive disagreement beliefs as mediators in the relationship between exposure to hostility or aggression in the family of origin and later experiences of dating aggression. Research questions were addressed with a sample of 1,136 college undergraduates (59% women). In all models, results of structural equation modeling indicated that an insecure attachment style and destructive disagreement beliefs mediated the intergenerational transmission of violence among both men and women. These findings have important implications for future research as well as relationship education programs and preventative interventions.

Protective Parenting, Relationship Power Equity, and Condom Use Among Rural African American Emerging Adult Women

Sexually transmitted infections disproportionately affect African Americans, particularly young women. The influence of a set of interrelated protective parenting processes-instrumental and emotional support, sexual risk communication, and encouragement of goals for employment or education-on emerging adult women was examined. Parenting was hypothesized to affect consistent condom use through its association with women's reports of power equity in their intimate relationships. Hypotheses were tested with 135 sexually active women 18 to 21 years of age living in rural southern communities. Structural equation modeling indicated that (a) parenting processes predicted women's self-reported relationship power equity and consistent condom use, and (b) relationship power equity predicted consistent condom use. Limited support emerged for a mediational role of relationship power equity in explaining the influence of parenting on consistent condom use. Parental involvement and young women's establishment of personal control in their intimate relationships are important goals for sexual risk reduction programs.

Genetic Moderation of the Impact of Parenting on Hostility toward Romantic Partners

Although GxE studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility model posits that these individuals are simply more sensitive to social context, whether that context be adverse or supportive. Thus those persons most vulnerable to adversity are the same ones who reap the most benefit from support. This idea was tested using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans. Findings indicated that relatively common variants of the GABRA2 gene interact with parenting to predict hostility toward romantic partners in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility hypothesis. Individuals with these genetic variants displayed more aggression toward their partner than those with other genotypes when they had been subjected to harsh parenting, but exhibited less aggression toward their partner than other genotypes if their parents avoided harsh parenting practices.