The Predictive Effect of Parental Adult Attachment on Parent-Adolescent Attachment: The Mediating Role of Harsh Parenting

Are Discrepancies Between Father and Adolescent Perceptions of Harsh Parenting and Conflict Associated with Adolescent Mental Health Symptoms?

Though differences in informant perceptions of family processes are associated with poorer health, few studies have examined discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena and their impact on adolescent mental health. This study examined how father and adolescent-reported parenting and the differences in their perceptions is related to adolescent mental health. Participants were 326 father-adolescent dyads (Fathers: Mage = 41.2; Adolescents: 7th grade students, Mage = 12.0, 48.5% female). Overall, analyses revealed significant main effects of father and/or adolescent report of father-adolescent conflict and harsh parenting on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Analyses revealed two instances in which discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena was related to adolescent mental health. Given the mixed nature of the findings based on the outcome reporter, the current study discusses implications for discrepancy research and future directions to better understand discrepant perceptions as useful information on their own. The parent clinical trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03125291, Registration date: 4/13/2017).

The effect of positive parenting on adolescent life satisfaction: the mediating role of parent-adolescent attachment

This study explores the impact of positive parenting on adolescents' life satisfaction and the mediating role of parent-adolescent attachment, based on the family systems theory and attachment theory. The sample included 5,047 adolescents (2,353 males, 2,694 females) with a mean age of 16.65 (SD = 1.21) from Henan Province, China. This study used the Positive Parenting Scale, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and the Satisfaction with Life Scale to survey 5,047 adolescents. The results showed that: (1) father's positive parenting positively predicted adolescent life satisfaction, while mother's positive parenting did not significantly predict adolescent life satisfaction; (2) Father-adolescent attachment and mother-adolescent attachment play a mediating role in the relationship between fathers' positive parenting, mothers' positive parenting, and adolescent life satisfaction, respectively; (3) Differences in the mechanisms of father's positive parenting and mother's positive parenting on adolescent life satisfaction. Among them, mothers' positive parenting positively predicts mother-adolescent attachment, which in turn affects adolescent life satisfaction. On the other hand, fathers' positive parenting can influence adolescent life satisfaction through two pathways: by positively predicting father-adolescent attachment and by positively predicting mother-adolescent attachment. The research findings indicate that father's and mother's positive parenting have different direct effects on adolescent's life satisfaction, and both can indirectly influence adolescent life satisfaction through the mediating variables of father-adolescent and mother-adolescent attachment. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for promoting family education and adolescent psychological well-being.