Untreated Allergy Among Middle School Students: Associations with Socioeconomic Adversities and Academic, Behavior, and Health Difficulties

BACKGROUND

Many adolescents with allergy do not receive physician treatment (allergyuntreated). We explored its association with socioeconomic adversities and academic-behavior-health difficulties, which remain unaddressed.

METHODS

This cross-sectional school-based-population study compared the above factors of middle-school adolescents with allergyuntreated and those with treated allergy (allergytreated) (mean age = 13.5 ± 1.2) from north-eastern France. Participants completed a questionnaire collecting socioeconomic adversities (nonintact family, low parents' education, insufficient family income, poor social support, suffered verbal/physical violence, and sexual abuse), low academic performance, excessive screen time, substance use, sleep difficulty, poor physical health, depressive symptoms, suicide attempt, poor quality of life, and allergytreated/allergyuntreated.

RESULTS

Logistic regression models showed that allergyuntreated was associated with all the factors considered (sex-age-class-level-adjusted odds ratio (saclOR) reaching 3.94, p < .001) and the risk score (number of main criteria: suffered sexual abuse, excessive screen time, poor quality of life, cannabis use, low parents' education, and poor social support): saclOR 4.75, 9.23, 15.64, and 31.73 (p < .001) for risk scores 1, 2, 3, and ≥4, versus risk score = 0 (pseudo-R2 = 11.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

Socioeconomic adversities and academic-behavior-health difficulties may be used to detect adolescents with allergyuntreated for care.

Psychosocial correlates of drinking transitions: A longitudinal study among adolescents in Sweden

INTRODUCTION

Non-drinkers have been shown in older studies to have poorer mental health and social life compared to their alcohol-using counterparts. Given the profound decline in adolescent drinking observed in most high-income countries, this pattern may have changed. This study explores drinking transitions and examines psychosocial factors among adolescents by longitudinal drinking status.

METHODS

Data were based on two waves of a prospective longitudinal nationwide study (n = 4018). The first wave (T1) of data was collected in 2017 (age 15/16) and the second wave (T2) was in 2019 (age 17/18). Respondents were asked about their past year drinking status, general health, psychosomatic problems, psychiatric medication, school enjoyment, emotional symptoms, peer relationship problems, prosocial ability, friendships satisfaction and satisfaction with relation to mother/father. Comparisons by mean values were assessed and multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations.

RESULTS

Abstainers and later drinkers differed significantly from early drinkers on 9/10 factors respectively at T1. Fewer psychosomatic problems, less psychiatric medication, higher school enjoyment, more emotional symptoms, higher parental relationship satisfaction, more peer problems and lower friendships satisfaction at T1 were associated with abstaining and/or later drinking. All factors were more strongly associated with abstaining. School enjoyment predicted abstaining but not later drinking.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Longitudinal drinking status relates to small to moderate systematic psychosocial differences. Adolescents with better mental health, more content relationships with parents and lower friendships satisfaction are more often abstainers. Those generally worse off are more likely early drinkers but they also have better friendships.

Early Family Experiences, Drug Use, and Psychosocial Adjustment across the Life Span: Is Parental Strictness Always a Protective Factor?

Objective: This study analyzes whether parental strictness, which is shared by authoritative parenting (strictness and warmth) and authoritarian parenting (strictness without warmth) styles, always acts as a main protective factor against drug use and psychosocial maladjustment in children. This conclusion has already been stated in numerous classic studies, though emergent research suggests that there are benefits to parental warmth regardless of whether strictness is present or not. Method: Sample were 2,095 Spanish participants (1,227 females, 58.6%), 581 adolescent children (aged 12-18 years, 27.7%) and 1,514 adult children (72.3%). The measures were the main parenting style dimensions (warmth and strictness), drug use, and a set of indicators of psychosocial adjustment. A 4 × 2 × 4 MANOVA was applied for all outcomes with parenting style, sex, and age as independent variables. Results: Indulgent parenting (warmth without strictness) was related to less drug use than parenting without warmth (authoritarian and neglectful). Additionally, indulgent and authoritative parenting styles were related to better scores on psychosocial adjustment than authoritarian and neglectful styles, although the indulgent parenting was the only style related to the optimal scores being equal or even more effective than the authoritative style. Conclusion: Contrary to classical studies, present findings suggest that it is the parental warmth instead of the parental strictness that seems to be effective in protecting against drug use and psychosocial maladjustment.

Association of School Health Relationship Difficulties with Lack of Regular Physical Activity in Younger Adolescents: A Population Based Study

Objective: Lack of regular physical activity (LPA) and the number of days/week with physical activity >60 minutes/day (Ndw) may be associated with school-health-relational difficulties (SHRDs) during the life-course. This study assessed their associations and the confounding role of socioeconomic features (nationality, family structure, parents' education/occupation/income) among younger adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional population-based study included 1,559 middle-school adolescents from north-eastern France (10-18 years, 98% under 16 years, 778 boys and 781 girls). They completed over one-hour teaching period a questionnaire collecting last-12-month LPA and last-7-day Ndw (dependent variables), and risk factors including socioeconomic features, SHRDs (previous grade repetitions, last-12-month poor general health status/physical health/psychological health/social-relationships, depressive symptoms (and age at onset and duration from onset); cumulated number noted SHRDcn). Data were analyzed using logistic/linear regression models. Results: LPA was common (32.5%) and associated with all SHRDs (sex-age-adjusted odds ratio saOR reaching 1.99, p < .001) and depressive-symptoms duration (saOR 1.63 (p < .05) and 2.11 (p < .001) for 1-2 and ≥3 years, respectively, vs. no depressive symptoms). A dose-effect association was found between SHRDcn and LPA (24.0, 33.7, 45.6, and 53.5%; saOR 1.59, 2.58, and 3.43; for SHRDcn 1-2, 3-4, and ≥5 respectively, vs. SHRDcn = 0, p < .001). Ndw was similarly associated with all SHRDs and SHRDcn (sex-age-adjusted regression coefficient reaching -1.10 day/week, p < .001). These results were robust when controlling for socioeconomic features (18% Collapse

Key Words Collapse

MESH Headings

• Male
• Female
• Humans
• Adolescent
• Child, Preschool
• Infant, Newborn
• Socioeconomic Factors
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• France/epidemiology
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Exercise

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Affiliation(s) Collapse

Normalization of Non-Drinking? Health, School Situation and Social Relations among Swedish Ninth Graders That Drink and Do Not Drink Alcohol

Alcohol consumption is a major contributor to the disease burden among adolescents. The adolescent alcohol abstainer is still often depicted as problematic in the research literature and in prominent theoretical frameworks. However, over the past two decades, there has been a marked trend of declining youth drinking in Sweden. The declining trend has led to a shift in the majority behaviour of youth, from drinking to non-drinking. It is plausible that this trend has also shifted the position of non-drinkers. This paper examines the position of non-drinkers in a nationally representative sample of Swedish adolescents. A survey was carried out in 2017 in 500 randomly selected schools. A total of 5549 respondents (15-16-year-olds) agreed to participate and answered the questionnaire. A minority (42.8%) had consumed alcohol during their lifetime. The results show that non-drinkers had better health and school performance when compared to drinkers. The results also showed that there were no differences in the social position between non-drinkers and drinkers. These findings are new and indicate a changed position of non-drinkers among Swedish adolescents. With non-drinking being the majority behaviour among Swedish adolescents this seems to have shifted the position of non-drinkers. There is a need for research on the long-term importance of not drinking during adolescence.

Raising Spanish Children With an Antisocial Tendency: Do We Know What the Optimal Parenting Style Is?

Families can play an essential role in preventing violent and antisocial behaviors, which are considered a significant public health issue. However, some studies argue that most children are antisocial only during adolescence, and even teenagers can mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and well-adjusted. This study analyzed patterns of competence and adjustment in young adults with and without an antisocial tendency during adolescence from authoritative (characterized by warmth and strictness), authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), indulgent (warmth but not strictness), and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) families. Emergent research has indicated that in a European context, the indulgent parenting style is optimal. Offspring's competence and adjustment were captured through self-esteem (academic and family), psychosocial development (self-competence and empathy), and low emotional maladjustment (nervousness and hostility). Participants consisted of a community sample of 489 Spanish young adults, 191 men (39.1%) and 298 women (60.9%), aged 18 to 34 years old. The design was a 4 × 2 × 2 × 2 MANOVA (parenting style × antisocial tendency × sex × age). Analysis of main effects showed that youths with an antisocial tendency have less self-esteem and psychosocial development, but more emotional maladjustment. Regardless of the parenting style, an antisocial tendency during adolescence is consistently associated with worse adjustment in young adults. Both the authoritative and indulgent parenting styles are consistently associated with better outcomes (higher self-esteem and psychosocial development, and lower emotional maladjustment) than the authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles. However, there are interactions between the parenting style and the antisocial tendency. For young adults without an antisocial tendency, only indulgent parenting is associated with less emotional maladjustment. These results support the idea that in Europe the indulgent parenting style performs better than the authoritative style, but only when raising adolescents without an antisocial tendency. For young adults with an antisocial tendency, indulgent and authoritative parenting are equally optimal for all the studied outcomes.

Parental Beliefs about Childhood and Adolescence from a Longitudinal Perspective

Research into family context as a socializing agent points to the need to take parental beliefs into account due to the role they play in both parenting strategies and, ultimately, in the psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents. The present study aims to explore possible relationships between parental beliefs about childhood and adolescence from a longitudinal and qualitative perspective. The beliefs held by parents of teenagers about adolescence are compared with those they hold about childhood at that same moment, and the evolution of these ideas is charted over the course of 16 years as their children grow. A total of 102 parents participated in the longitudinal study. They completed two types of semi-structured interviews: one of them throughout the entire study period and the other once their children became teenagers. The results reveal an association between the type of beliefs parents hold about childhood and their perception of adolescence, and they indicate that these ideas change over time as more adjusted and modern beliefs about child development correlate with a more positive perception of adolescence. These results are interpreted from the perspective of their influence on beliefs about parenting styles, reflecting what is reported in the recent literature regarding the most successful styles for fostering children’s and adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment.

Protective and Risk Factors for Adolescent Substance Use in Spain: Self-Esteem and Other Indicators of Personal Well-Being and Ill-Being

Although self-esteem has traditionally been considered as an important correlate of psychosocial adjustment, some empirical studies have found a positive relationship between some domains of self-esteem and drug use among adolescents. The present study analyzes self-esteem and other adjustment personal indicators as protective or risk factors for substance use. Participants were 644 Spanish adolescents aged 12–17 years. Substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs), multidimensional self-esteem (academic, social, emotional, family, and physical), and other indicators of adolescents’ well-being and ill-being (psychological problems, behavior problems, and parenting) were measured. We observed, on the one hand, that substance use had a significant negative relationship with academic, family, and physical self-esteem. On the other hand, we also observed a significant positive relationship between drug use and social self-esteem. However, this significant relationship disappeared after statistically controlling for sex and age, using both partial correlation analyses and covariance analysis. Interestingly, beyond the importance of each factor related to drugs, prevention science should first of all be able to identify whether the main psychological variables (e.g., social or physical self-esteem) are risk or protective factors for drug use.

Self and Nature: Parental Socialization, Self-Esteem, and Environmental Values in Spanish Adolescents

Emergent research seriously questions the use of parental strictness as the best parenting strategy in all cultural contexts. Moreover, previous research on environmental socialization offers inconsistent findings about which specific parenting practices would be the most appropriate for environmental socialization. The present paper aims to examine parents' contribution (i.e., authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful) to adolescents' self-esteem and internalization of environmental values. Participants were 308 Spanish adolescents with 171 females (55.5%), between 12 and 17 years old. The four parenting styles were defined using measures of parental warmth and strictness. Self-esteem was captured with global and multidimensional measures. Internalization of environmental values was evaluated by measuring the priority given to biospheric values. Results revealed a consistent pattern between parenting styles and adolescent self-esteem and internalization of environmental values. Overall, adolescents from homes characterized by parental warmth (i.e., indulgent and authoritative) have higher self-esteem and greater internalization of environmental values than their counterparts. These findings clearly contrast with those obtained in other cultural contexts where parental strictness is essential in achieving well-adjusted children with optimal psychosocial development.

Parenting Styles, Internalization of Values and Self-Esteem: A Cross-Cultural Study in Spain, Portugal and Brazil

The present study analyzes the impact of parenting styles on adolescents' self-esteem and internalization of social values in three countries, Spain, Portugal and Brazil. The sample of the study was comprised of 2091 adolescents from Spain (n = 793), Portugal (n = 675), and Brazil (n = 623) from 12-18 years old (52.1% females). The four types of parenting styles, authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian and neglectful, were measured through the warmth and strictness dimensions of the Scale of Parental Socialization ESPA29. The two criteria variables were captured with the five dimensions of the AF5, Five-Factor Self-Concept Questionnaire, and with self-transcendence and conservation Schwartz values. Results confirm emergent research in parenting socialization: the use of parental warmth is evidenced as key for adolescent self-esteem and internalization of social values in the three countries analyzed. Indulgent and authoritative parenting (both characterized by parental warmth) are associated with the highest value internalization in the three countries. Furthermore, indulgent parenting (use of warmth) is associated with the highest adolescent self-esteem, overcoming authoritative parenting (use of warmth and strictness). The influence of parenting over adolescent self-esteem and values internalization is maintained independent of the differences in self-esteem and value priorities observed in the cultural context, the sex and age of the participants.

The effect of structural and functional social relations on smoking among adolescents - data from HBSC Greenland 2018

The prevalence of adolescent smoking in Greenland is relatively high and remains an important topic to study. The present study reports the prevalence of smoking among Greenlandic adolescents in 2018 and the association between smoking and social relations. The study was based on HBSC Greenland 2018, using a theoretical framework proposed by Due and colleagues, which divides social relations into structural and functional relations. The study showed a statistically significant gender difference in smoking, as 11.4% of the girls reported to smoke compared to 7.9% of the boys. The smoking prevalence increased significantly with age, and differences were also found for a place of residence, as the smoking prevalence was higher in towns and settlements compared to Nuuk. The adolescent smoking prevalence was higher when living in a home with one adult or in a foster family, school home or orphanage, versus living in home with at least two adults. No significant associations were found between adolescent smoking and functional relations. The results are beneficial to consider when applying new interventions to prevent adolescent smoking initiation in Greenland.

Association between cumulating substances use and cumulating several school, violence and mental health difficulties in early adolescents

Multiple substances (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other illicit drugs (OID)) have been frequently used in early adolescents maybe due to school, violence and mental-health difficulties. We investigated the associations between substance-use patterns and related difficulties among 1559 middle-school adolescents from north-eastern France (mean age 13.5 ± 1.3). They completed a questionnaire including socioeconomic features, school, violence and mental-health difficulties (school grade repetition, sustained physical/verbal violence, sexual abuse, perpetrated violence, poor social support, depressive symptoms and suicide attempt; cumulated number noted SVMD_score) and the time of their first occurrence during the life course. Data were analyzed using logistic and negative binomial regression models. Alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and OID use affected 35.2, 11.2, 5.6 and 2.8% of the subjects respectively. The risk of using tobacco only, alcohol and tobacco, alcohol plus tobacco and cannabis, or all alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and OID strongly increased with the SVMD_score (socioeconomic features-adjusted odds ratio reaching 85). The risk began in early years in middle schools and then steadily increased, more markedly for elevated SVMD_score. Exposure to several SVMDs may be a transmission vector towards the substance use, starting mostly with alcohol/tobacco, and then shifting to cannabis/OID. These findings help to understand substance-use risk patterns and identify at-risk adolescents.

Effects of Parenting Styles on Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Stress in Spanish Adolescents

Research has repeatedly highlighted the important influence of parental socialization styles on children's psychosocial adjustment. However, previous studies about their effects on school adjustment have traditionally addressed a limited set of indicators, such as academic achievement or self-concept, which should be broadened in order to increase our level of knowledge about this topic. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the relationships between parenting styles and other relevant school adjustment criteria (self-regulated learning and academic stress) in adolescence. The study participants were 437 Spanish adolescents (44.7% men) from 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.55, SD = 1.80) who were enrolled in high school. A multivariate factorial design (parenting × sex × educational level) was used for each set of criteria. The results are consistent with previous research, showing that the indulgent style was related to better school adjustment during adolescence, evaluated through self-regulated learning and academic stress, thus increasing the available evidence about the influence of parenting styles in this setting. Additionally, this relationship remains invariant with regard to sex and the educational level of the participants in the study. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of parenting practices related to high acceptance/involvement for the adequate school adjustment of Spanish adolescents.

Parental Style, Dating Violence and Gender

The relationship between parenting styles and teen dating violence has become a relevant research topic in recent years, especially related to violence inflicted online. To more fully understand this relationship, the objective of the present study was to examine which parenting style (authoritarian, indulgent, authoritative, or neglectful) best protects against dating violence in adolescent relationships. A total of 1132 adolescents of both sexes participated in this study (46.4% boys and 53.6% girls), with ages between 14 and 18 years old (M = 15.6, SD = 1.3). A multivariate factorial design was applied (MANOVA, 4 × 2), using the parenting style, the parents' gender, and the adolescents' gender as independent variables, and the dating violence dimensions (online and offline) as dependent variables. As the results show, the lowest scores on all the dating violence dimensions examined were obtained by adolescents from indulgent families. In addition, three interaction effects were observed between the mother's parenting style and the adolescent's gender on online violence (e-violence and control), and the father's parenting style on offline violence (verbal-emotional). Thus, adolescents with authoritarian mothers obtained the highest scores on violence and control inflicted online, respectively, and adolescent girls with authoritarian fathers obtained the highest scores on verbal-emotional violence. These findings suggest that the indulgent style is the parenting style that protects against violence in teen dating relationships, and they also highlight the risks of the authoritarian style as a family child-rearing model.

Relationships between Parental Socialization Styles, Empathy and Connectedness with Nature: Their Implications in Environmentalism

Parents exert a strong influence on several adjustment outcomes. However, little is known about their influence on adolescents' connectedness with the environment. This study examined the relationships between parenting styles, empathy and connectedness with the environment. The two-dimensional socialization model was used with four resulting styles: Indulgent, authoritative, neglectful and authoritarian. The sample comprised 797 adolescents (52.7% girls) from six public secondary schools who were aged between 12 and 16 years (M = 13.94, SD = 1.28). The results showed significant relationships between parental socialization styles, empathy and connectedness with nature. It was also observed that adolescents from indulgent and authoritative families showed higher levels of empathy and connectedness with the environment than adolescents raised by authoritarian and neglectful parents, with males from such families consistently presenting the lowest levels of empathy and connectedness, which was not the case among women. Additionally, women, regardless of the parental style in which they had been educated, showed greater cognitive and emotional empathy with the natural environment, while adolescents raised in indulgent and authoritative families displayed higher levels of empathy and connectedness than those with authoritarian and neglectful parents. These results suggest that indulgent and authoritative styles are stronger enablers of empathy and connectedness with nature.

A Third Emerging Stage for the Current Digital Society? Optimal Parenting Styles in Spain, the United States, Germany, and Brazil

We propose a new paradigm with three historical stages for an optimal parenting style (i.e., indulgent parenting style), which extends the traditional paradigm of only two stages (i.e., authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles). The three stages concur, at the same time, in different environments, context, and cultures. We studied the third stage for optimal parent-child relationships through the offspring's personal and social well-being, with four adolescent samples from 11 to 19 years old (52.2% girls) from Spain (n = 689), the United States (n = 488), Germany (n = 606), and Brazil (n = 672). The offspring's personal well-being was measured through self-esteem (academic, social, emotional, family, and physical), while social well-being was measured with the internalization of self-transcendence (universalism and benevolence) and conservation values (security, conformity, and tradition). The parent-child parenting style was measured through parental warmth and strictness, and the adolescents' parents were classified into one of four groups (indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative, and neglectful). Remarkably, the greatest personal well-being was found for adolescents raised with higher parental warmth and lower parental strictness (i.e., indulgent), and the greatest social well-being was found for adolescents raised with higher parental warmth (i.e., indulgent and authoritative; p < 0.05 for all countries). Consistently, poorer personal well-being and social well-being were associated with less parental warmth (i.e., authoritarian and neglectful). Findings suggest that the parent-child relationships analyzed have a common pattern associated with personal and social well-being that coincide with a proposed third stage.

Leisure activity and alcohol use among Ukrainian adolescents

The aim of this paper was to investigate associations between engagement in various types of leisure activity and alcohol use among Ukrainian adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1075 adolescents who were enrolled in the Family and Children of Ukraine birth cohort study using a self-administered questionnaire to determine how they prefer to spend their leisure time and their use of alcohol. Use of social media was associated with a higher risk of ever having used alcohol (OR = 2.11; 95%CI: [1.40–3.19]), used alcohol in the past 12 months (OR = 2.60; 95%CI [1.73–3.90]), and used alcohol in the past 30 days (OR = 2.35; 95%CI [1.50–3.70]). Visiting entertainment establishments (discos, recreation centers) was associated with a higher risk of ever used alcohol (OR = 1.84; 95%CI [1.33–2.56]), used alcohol in the past 12 months (OR = 2.09 95%CI (1.52–2.87), and used alcohol in the past 30 days (OR = 2.29; 95%CI [1.65–3.17]). Reading books was protective against using alcohol in the past 12 months (OR = 0.59; 95%CI [0.42–0.82] and the past 30 days (OR = 0.47; 95%CI [0.35–0.63]). Engaging in cultural leisure activities was protective against alcohol use in the past 30 days (OR = 0.72; 95% CI [0.54–0.95]). We conclude that among Ukrainian adolescents, engagement in sports, social media use and visiting entertainment establishments are associated with increased risk for alcohol use while reading books and engaging in cultural leisure activities are protective.

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Among Ukrainian adolescents, use of social media was associated with a higher risk of current and past alcohol use

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Going to entertainment establishments was associated with a higher risk of current and past alcohol use

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Reading for leisure was protective against use of alcohol during the past 30 days and past year

Parental Socialization Styles: The Contribution of Paternal and Maternal Affect/Communication and Strictness to Family Socialization Style

The aim of this study is two-fold: (a) to determine the general degree of family affect/communication and strictness by examining the combination of the two classical dimensions of mother parenting style: affect/communication and strictness, and (b) to analyze the impact of both parents' affect and strictness on the family style, thereby exploring the specific contribution made by each parent's style and dimension. Participants were 1190 Spanish students, 47.1% boys and 52.3% girls (M = 14.68; SD = 1.76). The Affect Scale (EA-H) and the Rules and Demandingness Scale (ENE-H) (both by Fuentes, Motrico, and Bersabé, 1999) were used. Structural equation models (SEMs) were extracted using the EQS program. The results reveal that it is not the father's and the mother's parenting style combined, but rather the combination of maternal and paternal affect/communication, and maternal and paternal strictness which generates one perception of family affect and another of family strictness. The results also indicated that the weight of both dimensions varies in accordance with the parent's gender, with maternal dimensions playing a more important role in family socialization style.

Raising Children with Poor School Performance: Parenting Styles and Short- and Long-Term Consequences for Adolescent and Adult Development

This study examines the correlates of authoritative (warmth and strictness), indulgent (warmth but not strictness), authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) parenting with short- and long-term socialization outcomes in adolescents and adults, with and without poor school performance during adolescence. Short- and long-term socialization outcomes were captured by multidimensional self-esteem (academic/professional, emotional, and family), psychological maturity (self-competence, social competence, and empathy), and emotional maladjustment (nervousness, emotional instability, and hostility). Participants (1195 female and 874 male) consisted of a community sample of adolescents (n = 602), young adults (n = 610), middle-aged adults (n = 469) and older adults (n = 388). Design was a 4 × 3 × 2 × 4 MANOVA (parenting style × school performance × sex × age). Results indicated that the relationship between parenting styles and children's socialization outcomes does not vary as a function of school performance. The link between parenting styles and socialization outcomes shares a common short- and long- term pattern in adolescents and adults: Indulgent parenting was related to equal or even better socialization outcomes than authoritative parenting, whereas authoritarian and neglectful styles were associated with the worst socialization outcomes.

Researching Parental Socialization Styles across Three Cultural Contexts: Scale ESPA29 Bi-Dimensional Validity in Spain, Portugal, and Brazil

Recent research that relates parenting with adolescent adjustment has shown the importance of considering the cultural context of the relationship. New results are emerging when considering the classical four-typologies model of parental socialization in some European and South-American countries. Among the instruments used in this emergent research is the Parental Socialization Scale ESPA29. This scale is a bi-dimensional parenting instrument that was specifically developed to measure the four parenting typologies, through the dimensions of acceptance/involvement and strictness/imposition. This study examines the good fit of the orthogonal bi-factor model based on the ESPA29 versus one-dimensional and bi-dimensional oblique alternative models, with three adolescent samples from 12 to 17 years old (53.4% girls), from Spain (N = 826), Portugal (N = 752), and Brazil (N = 628). We applied structural equation models (SEMs) to analyze the fit of the models to the data. The results confirm a better fit to the data for the orthogonal bi-factor model versus one-dimensional and bi-dimensional oblique alternative models across country, adolescent sex, and the three age groups. Additionally, the convergent validity of the scale was proved by showing the relation of the two parenting dimensions with self-concept. The results guarantee the adequacy of the ESPA29 to measure parenting styles.

Parenting Style and Reactive and Proactive Adolescent Violence: Evidence from Spain

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the parenting styles—authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful—and reactive and proactive school violence among peers. These analyses were also performed by sex and age groups. The sample consisted of 2399 Spanish adolescents (50.2% male), aged between 12 and 18 years, mean (M) = 14.69, standard deviation (SD) = 1.82. A multivariate analisys of variance (MANOVA, 4 × 2 × 2) was applied, considering parenting style, sex, and age group (12–14 and 15–18 years) as independent variables to analyze the possible effects of interaction. Reactive, proactive, and pure violence were the dependent variables. The results showed the main effects of parenting styles, sex, and age, as well as an interaction between sex, age, and parenting styles. The interpretation of the findings suggested that the authoritarian parenting style was related to greater engagement in proactive and reactive violent behaviors. In relation to the effect of the interaction between sex, age, and parenting styles, it was observed that adolescents from indulgent families, of both sexes and in any of the studied age groups, obtained lower scores in proactive violence. The discussion highlights the importance of affection and warmth for well-adjusted children’s behavior.