Daily dynamics of feeling loved by parents and their prospective implications for adolescent flourishing

Feeling loved by one's caregiver is essential for individual flourishing (i.e., high levels of psychological well-being in multiple dimensions). Although similar constructs are found to benefit adolescent well-being, research that directly tests parental love as a feeling from the recipient's perspective is rare. Historically, parental love has been measured using single-assessment methods and assumed to be a stable, trait-like characteristic; yet, like any feeling, it may fluctuate in meaningful ways on a day-to-day basis-the implications of which are unknown. Using a sample of 150 adolescents (59.3% female; ages 14-16), this study estimated level (person's mean level across days) and instability (fluctuations across days) of feeling loved by a caregiver across 21 days for each adolescent, and then examined their prospective effects on adolescent flourishing 1 year later. After controlling for demographics (adolescent age, gender, family income, and parent's sex) and variable baseline levels, feeling more loved by one's caregiver in daily life significantly predicted higher levels of flourishing in two global measures 1 year later. Moreover, level and instability of feeling loved by one's caregiver played different roles for different dimensions of flourishing: higher levels significantly predicted higher levels of autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth, whereas higher instability significantly predicted lower levels of positive relations with others and environmental mastery. Findings emphasized the importance of considering daily dynamics of feeling loved by one's caregiver and demonstrated that level (of feeling loved) is particularly important for intrapersonal aspects while instability is particularly important for interpersonal aspects of flourishing. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Adolescents feeling more loved by their caregiver in daily life had higher levels of overall flourishing 1 year later. Level (of feeling loved) is particularly important for intrapersonal aspects of adolescent flourishing, including autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth. Stability (of feeling loved) is particularly important for interpersonal aspects of adolescent flourishing, including positive relations with others and environmental mastery.

Adolescents' relationships with parents and romantic partners in eight countries

INTRODUCTION

Creating romantic relationships characterized by high-quality, satisfaction, few conflicts, and reasoning strategies to handle conflicts is an important developmental task for adolescents connected to the relational models they receive from their parents. This study examines how parent-adolescent conflicts, attachment, positive parenting, and communication are related to adolescents' romantic relationship quality, satisfaction, conflicts, and management.

METHOD

We interviewed 311 adolescents at two time points (females = 52%, ages 15 and 17) in eight countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Generalized and linear mixed models were run considering the participants' nesting within countries.

RESULTS

Adolescents with negative conflicts with their parents reported low romantic relationship quality and satisfaction and high conflicts with their romantic partners. Adolescents experiencing an anxious attachment to their parents reported low romantic relationship quality, while adolescents with positive parenting showed high romantic relationship satisfaction. However, no association between parent-adolescent relationships and conflict management skills involving reasoning with the partner was found. No associations of parent-adolescent communication with romantic relationship dimensions emerged, nor was there any effect of the country on romantic relationship quality or satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

These results stress the relevance of parent-adolescent conflicts and attachment as factors connected to how adolescents experience romantic relationships.

An exploration of how adolescents experience and reason their parents' comments on their weight, shape, and eating

INTRODUCTION

Disordered eating among adolescents is of increasing concern given associated physical and mental health sequelae. Cognitions underlying disordered eating are formed in childhood and adolescence. Parents are a significant presence during this period, so it is critical to understand how they influence their adolescent's eating cognitions and behaviors.

METHODS

Qualitative analysis using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology was employed to consider the lived experiences of 10 Australian adolescents (14-19 years), 60% female, as they engaged with their parents in a range of weight, shape, and eating communications.

RESULTS

Our inductive IPA revealed three key themes representing adolescents' experiences and meaning-making: Parents as Influencers-adolescents acknowledged parents are influencers (objects) within a wider context of community and cultural norms (symbols) and can be protective for peer influence on body image ideals; Expression and Perception-the "what" (weight-talk as an object) and the "how" (objects as independent influences) of gendered parental communication related to health and fitness ideals and illustrated diverse interpretations of both verbal and non-verbal expression; and Fertile Soil and Maturity-the adolescent's characteristics and context influence perceptions of communication, a fear of deviating from norms, and an overarching focus on being "healthy" yet not always knowing what that was. Perception of bidirectional communication also offered valuable insights into potential dangers through family loyalty and in-group permissions.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight implications for the nuanced influence of parental communication and illustrate the pivotal role of parents within the bioecosystem of adolescent development.

Maternal engagement, relational closeness, and adolescent internalizing symptoms: The association of engaged mothering with adolescent depression and anxiety

Prevalence rates of anxiety and depression have increased among adolescents in recent years. The etiology of these internalizing symptoms is complex, but mothers can play a role in the mental health of their adolescent children. Using data from Year 15 of the fragile families and child well-being study, we analyzed associations between adolescent-reported maternal engagement, mother-adolescent relationship closeness, and adolescent depression and anxiety in a sample of 3146 mother-adolescent dyads. Using structural equation modeling, the four areas of engagement, closeness, anxiety, and depression were all modeled as latent variables to test the associations between these constructs. Higher levels of maternal engagement were significantly associated with higher levels of closeness between mother and adolescent, and higher levels of closeness were significantly associated with adolescents' lower levels of both depression and anxiety. Bootstrapped indirect effects were identified. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Parental and Pandemic Burnout, Internalizing Symptoms, and Parent-Adolescent Relationships: A Network Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic and preventive measures undertaken by many governments have had a significant impact on family relationships, which could result in worsened parenting. In our study, we used network analysis to examine the dynamic system of parental and pandemic burnout, depression, anxiety, and three dimensions of relationship with an adolescent: connectedness, shared activities, and hostility. Parents (N = 374; M_age = 42.9) of at least one child at the age of adolescence completed an online survey. The central symptoms in the network were parental emotional exhaustion and parental anxiety. Parental emotional exhaustion correlated negatively with activities shared with the adolescent, but positively with hostility. Anxiety correlated positively with parental emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion and anxiety were the strongest bridge symptoms between parental burnout, internalizing symptoms, and parenting. Our results suggest that psychological interventions supporting parent-adolescent relationships should address primarily parental emotional exhaustion and anxiety.

Chinese adolescents' positive relationships with parents: The effects of the sex of their younger sibling

We investigated how sibling status and sex of younger siblings influence Chinese adolescents' relationships with their fathers and mothers as a function of resource dilution and preference for sons. The sample included 1,093 adolescents from the 8th grade (M_age  = 13.96 years, SD = 0.75 years; 47% girls) and the 11th grade (M_age  = 17.25 years, SD = 0.74 years; 57% girls) in a longitudinal study. Consistent with expectations pertaining to the hypothesis of resource dilution and son preference in combination, girls with a younger brother reported less positive relationships with mothers than either singleton girls or girls with a younger sister. No significant difference was found between singleton boys and boys with a younger sibling. The current findings show implications that the resource-dilution theory and son preference culture together may place girls with a younger brother in an unfavorable condition of resource allocation.

Parental Autonomy Support in the Context of Parent-Child Negotiation for Children's Independent Mobility: 'I Always Feel Safer With My Parents' to 'Boom! Bust Down Those Walls!'

Autonomy - acting volitionally with a sense of choice - is a crucial right for children. Given parents' pivotal position in their child's autonomy development, we examined how parental autonomy support and children's need for autonomy were negotiated and manifested in the context of children's independent mobility - children's ability to play, walk or cycle unsupervised. We interviewed 105 Canadian children between 10 and 13-years-old and their parents (n = 135) to examine child-parents' negotiation patterns as to children's independent mobility. Four patterns emerged, varying on parental autonomy support and children's need/motivation for independent mobility: (1) child/parent dyad wants to increase independent mobility; (2) child only wants to increase independent mobility while parents do not; (3) child does not want to increase independent mobility while parents do; and (4) child/parent dyad does not want to increase independent mobility. Findings illuminate the importance of recognizing children as active and capable agents of change.

COVID-19 Life Events Spill-Over on Family Functioning and Adolescent Adjustment

We examined US parent and youth perceptions of how life events, both positive and negative, associated with COVID-19 resulted in changes in family and youth functioning. Families (n = 105, 80% white, 48% male, and 87% mothers) completed surveys during the pandemic (May to July 2020) and 3 years prior (for youth ages M = 10.6, SD = 1.17 and M = 13.6, SD = 1.19). Declines in youth, though not parent, report of open family communication, parental support, and family satisfaction were found. Declines were associated with various domains of pandemic-related stress in parent report, though positive life events served as buffers. Pre-pandemic family functioning also predicted pandemic stress. Spillover effects in turn impacted youth functioning. The current findings shed light on how experiences of the pandemic are linked with family functioning and have implications for how to support families during this time.

COVID-19 Life Events Spill-Over on Family Functioning and Adolescent Adjustment

We examined US parent and youth perceptions of how life events, both positive and negative, associated with COVID-19 resulted in changes in family and youth functioning. Families (n = 105, 80% white, 48% male, and 87% mothers) completed surveys during the pandemic (May to July 2020) and 3 years prior (for youth ages M = 10.6, SD = 1.17 and M = 13.6, SD = 1.19). Declines in youth, though not parent, report of open family communication, parental support, and family satisfaction were found. Declines were associated with various domains of pandemic-related stress in parent report, though positive life events served as buffers. Pre-pandemic family functioning also predicted pandemic stress. Spillover effects in turn impacted youth functioning. The current findings shed light on how experiences of the pandemic are linked with family functioning and have implications for how to support families during this time.

The Effects of Parenting and Temperament Similarity Among Adolescent Siblings on Positive Family Relationships

The detrimental effects of parental differential treatment have been shown in previous research, but fewer researchers have pointed out that differential treatment does not always lead to negative outcomes. Thus, the present study examines the role of temperament similarity on the association between parenting similarity and positive family relationship qualities over 1 year in 145 adolescent sibling dyads (M_first−born = 14.97 and SD = 1.68 years; M_{second−born} = 12.20 and SD = 1.92 years). Latent moderator structure models (LMS) showed that a higher level of parenting similarity was related to more positive family relationships when siblings were more similar in their temperaments; however, a lower level of parenting similarity was related to more positive relationship qualities with family members 1 year later in the context of less sibling temperament similarity.

Parental phubbing linking to adolescent life satisfaction: The mediating role of relationship satisfaction and the moderating role of attachment styles

BACKGROUND

Parental phubbing and its effects on adolescents have recently begun to attract concern. Previous studies have shown that parental phubbing was associated with emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents. However, much less is known about the association between parental phubbing and youth life satisfaction, let alone the mediating and moderating mechanisms.

METHODS

Self-reports of parental phubbing, satisfaction with the parent-adolescent relationship, life satisfaction, and attachment style were assessed in a sample of 303 Chinese teenagers (155 girls and 148 boys, M_age = 14.00, SD_age = 0.86). Multiple regressions were applied to investigate the association between parental phubbing and adolescents' life satisfaction, the mediating role of adolescents' relationship satisfaction, and the moderating role of adolescents' attachment styles.

RESULTS

Parental phubbing had a negative effect on adolescents' life satisfaction, yet this association was completely mediated by adolescents' relationship satisfaction. Besides, the association between parental phubbing and adolescents' relationship satisfaction was moderated by adolescents' attachment styles. Overall, the conditional effect of parental phubbing on adolescents' life satisfaction was significant among the preoccupied teens and the fearful teens but not significant among the secure teens and the dismissing teens.

CONCLUSION

Although parental phubbing has the potential to undermine youth well-being, the actual consequences for adolescents are variable, depending on their attachment orientations.

Elaborating on premature adolescent autonomy: Linking variation in daily family processes to developmental risk

This study revisits the premature autonomy model by examining parents' use of positive behavior support (PBS) practices on a daily timescale to better understand underlying processes in developmental changes in family disengagement and the implications for adolescent problem behavior and substance use. This study included 151 9th and 10th grade adolescents (61.5% female) and their caregivers, who participated in a baseline assessment, a 21-day daily diary burst, and a 1-year follow-up assessment. Four key findings emerged: (a) on days when parents used more PBS, adolescents felt more close and connected to their caregivers; (b) adolescents who exhibited a larger-magnitude of change in connectedness with caregivers in relation to variation in positive parenting (termed fragile connectedness) were at higher risk for antisocial behavior, deviant peer involvement, and substance use one year later; (c) individual differences in initial levels of antisocial behavior and effortful control accounted for between-person variation in fragile connectedness; and (d) day-level adolescent anger and parent-adolescent conflict predicted within-family variation in parents' use of PBS. Implications for the premature autonomy model and intervention science are discussed.

Exploring the promise of assessing dynamic characteristics of the family for predicting adolescent risk outcomes

BACKGROUND

Family-based assessments of risk factors for adolescent emotional, behavioral, and substance use problems can be used to identify adolescents who are at risk and intervene before problems cause clinically significant impairment. Expanding traditional methods for assessing risk, this study evaluates whether lability, referring to the degree to which parent-adolescent relationships and parenting fluctuate from day to day, might offer additional value to assessment protocols aimed at identifying precursor risk factors.

METHODS

This study sampled 151 adolescents and caregivers, collecting data at a baseline assessment, a 21-day daily diary protocol, and a 12-month follow-up assessment. Daily diary data were used to calculate within-family lability scores in parenting practices, parent-adolescent connectedness, and parent-adolescent conflict.

RESULTS

Regression analyses evaluated whether lability predicted adolescent's depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior (ASB), drunkenness, and marijuana use at 12-month follow-up. Lability in parent-adolescent connectedness, accounting for baseline levels, gender, age, and initial levels of outcomes, was associated with risk for depression, anxiety, ASB, drunkenness, and marijuana use. Lability in parenting practices also was associated with risk for depression, anxiety, and drunkenness. Baseline levels moderated some of these effects. Parent-adolescent conflict lability was only associated with depression.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide evidence for substantial value added when including dynamic assessments of family lability in predicting long-term adolescent risk outcomes and call for integration of dynamic methods into assessment practices.

Parent-adolescent conflict and young adult romantic relationship negativity: Genetic and environmental influences

Prior work indicates that aspects of interpersonal relationships are heritable, including negativity within parent-adolescent relationships as well as romantic relationships during adulthood. There have not, however, been systematic studies to disentangle genetic and environmental influences on relationship dynamics with parents as they relate to romantic partner relationship dynamics. Thus, the present study examined genetic and environmental influences on associations between parent-adolescent conflict and young adult reports of negativity with a romantic partner using a longitudinal twin/sibling design. We found that genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors contributed to conflict in parent-adolescent relationships and that genetic and nonshared environmental factors uniquely contributed to negativity in the romantic partnership during young adulthood. The longitudinal association between parent-adolescent conflict and romantic relationship conflict was explained entirely by genetic influences shared by the 2 constructs. These findings have implications for understanding interpersonal functioning across different relationship types, spanning multiple developmental periods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent Educational Involvement in Middle School: Longitudinal Influences on Student Outcomes

The present study examined influences of 6^th grade student-reported parent educational involvement on early adolescent peer group affiliations at 7^th and 8^th grade. In addition, student gender and ethnicity were explored as possible moderators. Drawn from a large effectiveness trial, participants in this study were 5,802 early adolescents across twenty middle schools in the Northwest region of the United States. Findings suggested that specifically parent's educational involvement in 6^th grade predicted increases in positive peer affiliation, when controlling for a general score of parent monitoring practices. The relation between parent educational involvement and peer affiliation varied by student ethnicity but not by gender. Findings suggest the social benefits of parent's engagement with the school context on early adolescent development.

Parent-Adolescent Relationships among Chinese Immigrant Families: An Indigenous Concept of Qin

This study investigated cultural meanings of positive Chinese parent-child relationships through exploration of an indigenous concept, qin, as experienced by Chinese American adolescents of immigrant parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15, first- and second-generation Chinese American high school students of immigrant parents, focusing on adolescents' descriptions of the meaning of qin and parental behaviors that foster this quality. According to the Chinese American adolescents who were interviewed, being qin with parents was characterized as closeness to parents and a general sense of togetherness and harmony; showing parents their love through respect, obedience, academic effort, and appreciation; and open communication with the parents particularly about school. This relationship is primarily fostered by parental devotion and sacrifice, particularly for the child's education, future opportunities, success, and needs. The results highlight the role of child reciprocation of love and devotion for the parents in a qin relationship.

Linking Maternal Socialization of Emotion Regulation to Adolescents' Co-rumination With Peers

Mounting research supports that co-rumination, the tendency to seek peer support by engaging in extensive negatively focused discussion, is a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology. It is unclear, though, how this interpersonal tendency develops. Parental responses to adolescents' negative affect likely shape how youth utilize peer relationships to regulate distress, as they shift to reliance on peer support during this developmental stage. For example, nonsupportive parental responses may fail to instill healthy regulation strategies, resulting in ineffective forms of peer support, such as co-rumination. Conversely, high levels of supportive parental responses to adolescents' negative affect may motivate youth to also express more negative affect with peers, leading to co-rumination. Eighty-nine healthy adolescents (9-17) and their mothers completed surveys and a support-seeking interaction. Only supportive maternal responses, including maternal affection, were associated with adolescents' co-rumination. These analyses indicate that some forms of parental support are associated with adolescents' tendency to co-ruminate.

Quality of relationships with parents and friends in adolescence predicts metabolic risk in young adulthood

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to examine whether family and peer relationships in adolescence predict the emergence of metabolic risk factors in young adulthood.

METHOD

Participants from a large, nationally representative cohort study (N = 11,617 for these analyses) reported on their relationship experiences with parents and close friends during adolescence. Fourteen years later, interviewers collected blood samples, as well as anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Blood samples were analyzed for HbA1c.

RESULTS

Ordered logistic regressions revealed that for females, supportive parent-child relationships and close male friendships in adolescence were associated with reduced odds of having elevated metabolic risk markers in young adulthood. These effects remained significant even after controlling for baseline measures of body mass index (BMI) and health and demographic covariates. The protective effects of close relationships were not significant for males, however. Exploratory analyses with 2-parent families revealed that supportive father-child relationships were especially protective for females.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that, for females, close and supportive relationships with parents and male friends in adolescence may reduce the risk of metabolic dysregulation in adulthood.

Academic Growth Trajectories and Family Relationships among African American Youth

This study explored trajectories of African American youths' academic functioning and assessed whether changes in parent-adolescent relationships were associated with changes in youths' academic functioning. The data were drawn from a three-year longitudinal study of gender socialization and development in two-parent African American families and included 197 families. Findings revealed gender differences in achievement trajectories and indicated that boys not only had lower levels of academic achievement compared to girls, but also experienced steeper declines in school self-esteem during adolescence. Changes in parent-adolescent relationship quality were linked to changes in academic functioning: Increases in conflict were related to decreases in GPA, school bonding, and school self-esteem and increases in warmth were related to increases in school bonding and school self-esteem.

Developmental patterns and family predictors of adolescent weight concerns: a replication and extension

OBJECTIVE

We examined how weight concerns changed across adolescence and whether within-person changes in parent-adolescent relationships were longitudinally linked to within-person changes in adolescent weight concerns.

METHOD

Participants were mothers, fathers, and the two eldest adolescent siblings from 201 families. Adolescents rated their weight concerns on five occasions across 7 years. Parents rated their acceptance of and conflict with their adolescents, and adolescents rated their depressive symptoms, a year prior to each weight concern measurement.

RESULTS

Although girls' weight concerns increased from early to late adolescence and then leveled off, boys' weight concerns remained relatively unchanged. Moreover, controlling for adolescents' depressive symptoms, when mothers reported less acceptance of and fathers reported more conflict with their adolescents than usual, adolescents reported more weight concerns than usual in the following year.

DISCUSSION

Findings highlight the vulnerability of adolescents and the role of both mothers and fathers in the etiology of weight-related problems.

Predicting romantic involvement, relationship cognitions, and relationship qualities from physical appearance, perceived norms, and relational styles regarding friends and parents

Using a sample of 199 adolescents, the present study examined Furman and Wehner's (1999) hypothesis that the predictors of the degree of romantic involvement and the predictors of romantic relationship cognitions and qualities differ. As hypothesized, physical appearance and friends' normative romantic involvement were related to the degree of casual and serious romantic involvement, whereas relational styles regarding friends and parents were unrelated in almost all cases. On the other hand, relational styles regarding friends and parents were related to supportive and negative romantic interactions and romantic styles. In contrast, physical appearance and friends' normative romantic involvement were generally unrelated to interactions and romantic styles. Physical appearance was also related to romantic appeal and satisfaction.