Reciprocal influences between girls' conduct problems and depression, and parental punishment and warmth: a six year prospective analysis

Sex differences in how are mothers' SES related to late adolescents' emotional stability in China: the mediating role of maternal parenting styles

BACKGROUND

The impact of mothers' socioeconomic status (SES) on late adolescents' emotional stability, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship, remain poorly understood in China. Additionally, the mechanisms by which SES impacts emotional stability may need investigated separately for the male and female adolescents.

METHOD

This study conducted a snowball sampling and invited undergraduates to complete a survey via online. A sample of 445 Chinese undergraduate students (229 males, age range of 18-25 years) completed questionnaires concerning their mothers' monthly income and educational levels, emotional stability, and maternal parenting styles. Independent samples t-test, correlation analyses and regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The findings suggested the levels of emotional stability in female students were significantly lower than those of male students. Mothers' SES was related to late adolescents' emotional stability significantly. Moreover, maternal parenting styles (emotional warmth, punishment, overprotection, and rejection) significantly mediated the relationship between mothers' SES and late adolescents' emotional stability. Additionally, the particular features of these relationships varied according to the sex of the late adolescents. For the male students, maternal parenting styles could not significantly serve as mediating roles. For the female adolescents, the effect of maternal SES on emotional stability was partially mediated by four separate pathways: (1) maternal emotional warmth, (2) maternal punishment, (3) maternal overprotection, and (4) maternal rejection. These findings provide crucial practical implications for identification, prevention, and intervention efforts in late adolescents' emotional stability across sex.

CONCLUSION

This study sheds light on the relationship between mothers' SES and late adolescents' emotional stability, and the indirect effects of maternal emotional warmth, punishment, overprotection, and rejection serving as mediating roles. Maternal parenting styles had a higher effect on the emotional stability in female adolescents than male adolescents. This also provides crucial practical implications for identifying, preventing, and intervening in late adolescent emotional stability, which may differ between female and male adolescents.

A Daily Diary Study of the Reciprocal Relation between Parental Psychological Aggression and Adolescent Anxiety in China

The daily reciprocal relations between parental psychological aggression and adolescent anxiety and the heterogeneity, i.e., whether these relations vary across different adolescents, remain unclear. This study examined this issue with a 15-day daily diary study among 326 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.53 years, SD = 0.60, 47.2% girls). Dynamic structural equation models revealed that parental psychological aggression co-fluctuated with adolescent anxiety within a day. For lagged associations, only father-driven effects were supported but not mother-driven effects, whereas child-driven effects were supported for both parents. These within-person associations were heterogeneous across adolescents. Moreover, adolescents with more parental psychological aggression reported higher anxiety. This study revealed the reciprocal relations between parental psychological aggression and adolescent anxiety at the micro timescale and also highlighted that the within-person associations were heterogeneous across different adolescents.

Fearlessness as an Underlying Mechanism Leading to Conduct Problems: Testing the INTERFEAR Model in a Community Sample in Spain

Conduct problems (CP) in childhood and adolescence have a significant impact on the individual, family, and community. To improve treatment for CP, there is a need to improve the understanding of the developmental pathways leading to CP in boys and girls. Prior research has linked the child's fearlessness and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, as well as experiences of parental warmth and punitive parenting, to CP. However, few studies have tested the interplay of these factors in contributing to future CP development. The present study aimed to test the InterFear model, which suggests that fearlessness in early childhood leads to CP through an indirect pathway involving low positive parenting, high negative/punitive parenting, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The sample included 2467 Spanish children (48.1% girls; Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91), followed up across a five-year period. Besides a direct association between fearlessness in early childhood and future CP, the results found an indirect pathway whereby fearlessness reduces positive parenting and increases punitive parenting, which contributes to the development of CU traits and sets the stage for CP in later childhood. The specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CP via CU traits accounted for most of the variance, suggesting the existence of a temperamental pathway independent of parental variables. Further, two additional indirect pathways, exclusive of fearlessness, were identified, which started with low parental warmth and positive parenting, leading to CP via CU traits. These findings support the InterFear model, demonstrating multiple pathways to CP with the involvement of fearlessness, parenting practices, and CU traits. This model might play a pivotal role in the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for CP.

Comparing findings from the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model and the monozygotic twin difference cross-lagged panel model: Maladaptive parenting and offspring emotional and behavioural problems

Background

In this study we compare results obtained when applying the monozygotic twin difference cross-lagged panel model (MZD-CLPM) and a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to the same data. Each of these models is designed to strengthen researchers' ability to draw causal inference from cross-lagged associations. We explore differences and similarities in how each model does this, and in the results each model produces. Specifically, we examine associations between maladaptive parenting and child emotional and behavioural problems in identical twins aged 9, 12 and 16.

Method

Child reports of 5698 identical twins from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) were analysed. We ran a regular CLPM to anchor our findings within the current literature, then applied the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM.

Results

The RI-CLPM and MZD-CLPM each enable researchers to evaluate the direction of effects between correlated variables, after accounting for unmeasured sources of potential confounding. Our interpretation of these models therefore focusses primarily on the magnitude and significance of cross-lagged associations. In both the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM behavioural problems at age 9 resulted in higher levels of maladaptive parenting at age 12. Other effects were not consistently significant across the two models, although the majority of estimates pointed in the same direction.

Conclusion

In light of the triangulated methods, differences in the results obtained using the MZD-CLPM and the RI-CLPM underline the importance of careful consideration of what sources of unmeasured confounding different models control for and that nuance is required when interpreting findings using such models. We provide an overview of what the CLPM, RI-CLPM and MZD-CLPM can and cannot control for in this respect and the conclusions that can be drawn from each model.

Associations Between Parenting Stress and Quality Time in Families of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Increased stress among parents of youth with ASD has been well-documented. However, research on aspects of the parent-child relationship and subsequent links to parenting stress is limited. We assessed parents (N = 511) of youth with ASD to examine relations between parenting stress and parent-child quality time (amount of quality time, shared enjoyment, synchronicity). Elevated parenting stress was associated with less time spent engaging with youth in shared activities and decreased parent and child enjoyment during shared interactions. Parents with elevated stress reported engaging in shared activities and experiencing synchronicity with their child less often than parents below the clinical threshold. Future research should emphasize longitudinal efforts examining the directionality of this relationship to better inform family-focused intervention.

A transactional mediation model of risk for the intergenerational transmission of depression: The role of maternal criticism

In this study, we sought to combine two lines of research to better understand risk for the intergenerational transmission of depression. The first focuses on the role of maternal criticism as a potential mechanism of risk for depression in youth while the second builds from interpersonal and stress generation models regarding the potential impact of youth depression on future escalations in maternal criticism. Specifically, we examined the role of maternal criticism within a transactional mediation model using data from a multi-wave study. Participants were 251 mother-offspring pairs consisting of mothers with (n = 129) and without (n = 122) a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) during their child's lifetime who completed assessments every 6 months for 2 years. We found support for the hypothesized transactional mediational model in which maternal expressed emotion-criticism (EE-Crit) mediated the link between maternal history of MDD and residual change in youth's depressive symptoms over the previous 6 months and, reciprocally, youth depressive symptoms mediated the relation between maternal MDD history and residual change in EE-Crit 6 months later. These results indicate that maternal criticism and offspring depressive symptoms may contribute to a vicious cycle of depression risk, which should be considered for interventions targeted toward youth at risk of developing MDD.

Fearlessness as an Underlying Mechanism Leading to Conduct Problems: Testing the Intermediate Effects of Parenting, Anxiety, and callous-unemotional Traits

This study investigates whether the longitudinal association between fearlessness and conduct problems (CP) is mediated by warm and harsh parenting, parent-child conflict, anxiety, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The constructs under investigation were assessed at five different time points, spanning a period of eight years. A multi-informant approach was followed, collecting data from parents and teachers (N = 2,121; 47% girls). The structural equation model pointed to both direct and indirect pathways between fearlessness and CP. Specifically, findings suggested that Time 1 fearlessness (age 3-5 years) increased the likelihood of Time 2 (age 4-6 years) harsh parenting and Time 3 (age 5-7 years) parent-child conflict. Further, fearlessness was positively associated with Time 4 (age 8-10) callous-unemotional traits and Time 5 (age 11-13) CP. The total indirect effect from fearlessness to CP through these variables was significant, although the specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CU traits to CP accounted for most of the variance. Warm parenting and anxiety did not mediate the association between fearlessness and CP. In addition to the identified pathways connecting fearlessness to CP, findings pointed to the existence of multiple developmental pathways to future CP, as well as gender differences in longitudinal associations.

Within-dyad bidirectional relations among maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems from infancy through preschool

Although dyadic theory focuses on the impact of a mother's mental health on her own child and the impact of a child's mental health on their own mother, commonly used statistical approaches are incapable of distinguishing the desired within-dyad processes from between-dyad effects. Using autoregressive latent trajectory modeling with structured residuals, the current study evaluated within-dyad, bidirectional associations between maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems from child age 1-4.5 years among a sample of low-income, Mexican American women (N = 322, Mage = 27.8) and their children. Women reported on maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems during laboratory visits at child age 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4.5 years. Results provide novel evidence of child-driven bidirectional association between maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems at the within-dyad level as early as child age 1 year and within-person stability in child behavior problems emerging early in life.

Maternal socialization of emotion and the development of emotion regulation in early adolescent girls

Regulation of negative emotions is a core competency of child development. Parental emotion socialization profoundly influences later capacity to regulate negative affect in childhood and adolescence. The present study examined the effects of maternal emotion socialization on the development of emotion regulation in the context of a longitudinal study of 210 mother-daughter dyads. Dyads completed a conflict resolution task when the child was age 11 years during which maternal warmth and hostility were coded. At ages 11 to 13 years, mothers completed self-report measures of supportive and nonsupportive responses to child negative emotion, and children completed self-reports of inhibition and adaptive regulation of sadness and anger. We used latent growth curve modeling to estimate changes in inhibition and adaptive regulation of sadness and anger over time; observed maternal warmth and hostility were included as time-invariant covariates and maternal self-report of supportive and nonsupportive responses were included as time-varying covariates. Observed maternal warmth was positively associated with girls' adaptive regulation of anger and sadness at age 11 years. Maternal self-reported supportive responses to girls' negative affect were positively associated with girls' adaptive regulation of anger, and nonsupportive responses were negatively associated with adaptive regulation of anger and sadness. These findings support the role of maternal emotion socialization and indicate specific effects of maternal warmth and supportive responses in the development of girls' capacity to modulate negative emotions during early adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The interactive effects of family violence and peer support on adolescent depressive symptoms: The mediating role of cognitive vulnerabilities

BACKGROUND

Family violence as an inducing factor of depressive symptoms has been confirmed in previous studies. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood, particularly in Chinese adolescents. Guided by the social-ecological diathesis-stress model, this three-wave longitudinal study aimed to examine the effects of an individual's cognitive vulnerabilities (rejection-sensitivity anxiety and negative cognitive error) and positive societal contexts (peer support) on the link between family violence and depressive symptoms in Chinese society.

METHODS

A total of 859 Chinese adolescents (44.35 % female; M_age = 12.73, SD = 0.43 at baseline) completed self-reporting surveys that assessed variables associated with study and peer-nominated peer support.

RESULTS

The results showed that family violence increased the incidence of depressive symptoms in adolescents after two years, resulting in rejection-sensitivity anxiety and negative cognitive error. Surprisingly, higher self-reported peer support, although not peer-nominated support, exacerbated rather than mitigated this indirect effect, supporting the reverse stress-buffering model and extending the healthy context paradox.

LIMITATIONS

Most of the measures were based on participants' self-reports.

CONCLUSIONS

These results emphasize the importance of individual cognition and societal contexts in adolescents with traumatic experiences and provide empirical evidence for the intervention and clinical treatment of depressive symptoms.

Preconception stress exposure from childhood to adolescence and birth outcomes: The impact of stress type, severity and consistency

The negative effects of prenatal stress on offspring health are well established, but there remains little understanding of the influence of stress prior to conception despite known effects on biological systems that are important for a healthy pregnancy. Furthermore, operational definitions of stress vary considerably, and exposure is often characterized via summed, ordinal scales of events. We hypothesized that type, severity, and consistency of preconception stress would be associated with birthweight and gestational age (GA) at birth. Data were drawn from a subsample of participants in the 21-year longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study (PGS, N = 2,450) that has followed women annually since childhood. Prior work in the PGS derived three domains of stress exposure between ages 7-17 years related to subsistence (e.g., resource strain, overcrowding), safety (e.g., community violence, inter-adult aggression), and caregiving (e.g., separation, maternal depression). We tested the effects of dimensions of preconception stress on birthweight and GA among offspring of 490 PGS participants who delivered at age 18 or older (n = 490; 76% Black, 20% White, 4% Multiracial). Our hypotheses were partially supported with results varying by stress type and severity and by infant sex. Severity of preconception exposure to subsistence stress was prospectively associated with lower offspring birthweight (B = -146.94, SE = 69.07, 95% CI = -282.66, -11.22). The association between severity of caregiving stress in childhood and adolescence and GA at birth was moderated by infant sex (B = 0.85, SE = .41, 95% CI = 0.04, 1.66), suggesting greater vulnerability to this type of stress for male compared to female infants. Exposure to safety stressors did not predict birth outcomes. Infants of Black compared with White mothers had lower birthweight in all models regardless of preconception stress type, severity or consistency. However, we observed no moderating effects of race on preconception stress-birth outcome associations. Demonstrating specificity of associations between preconception stress exposure and prenatal health has the potential to inform preventive interventions targeting profiles of exposure to optimize birth outcomes.

Examining the Directionality of the Relationship Between Maternal Warmth and Early School-Age Anxiety

Maternal warmth has been identified as a contributing factor to the development of child anxiety; however, no studies to date have examined observed maternal warmth longitudinally in this relationship. The present study addressed this knowledge gap by examining the simultaneous development of maternal warmth and child anxiety over time (between-person effects using latent growth curve modeling) and the directionality of associations (within-person effects using autoregressive latent trajectory modeling). Participants included 753 mothers and children. Between-person effects indicated that lower initial levels of anxiety were related to greater levels of maternal warmth over time. Within-person effects showed that maternal warmth in grade 1 predicted subsequent decreases in child anxiety in grade 2 (i.e., a parent effect). Present findings demonstrate the importance of maternal warmth in the early school-age years for decreasing subsequent child anxiety.

The Impact of School Education on Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents: a Prospective Longitudinal Study

There is a growing but limited literature on psychological distress among Chinese students, especially the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a longitudinal comparison between in school and at home. This study aimed to assess the psychological status of adolescents in school and related risk and protective factors. We surveyed 13,637 adolescents before the COVID-19 outbreak (T1) and 10,216 after two months of home confinement (T2). The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms or the severity of depression among the adolescents. In addition, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scales were also used to screen for experiences of abuse and neglect and to measure resilience in adolescents. At baseline, 22.34% reported depressive symptoms. At T2, this rate decreased to 14.86%. When adolescents were in school, age (P < .0001), gender (P < .0001), and experience of abuse (P < .0001) were risk factors, while parent-child relationship (P < .0001), and resilience (P < .0001) were protective factors for depressive symptoms. After leaving school, age and physical abuse were no longer risk factors for depression. The negative impact of school education on the mental health of adolescents in China exceeds even the impact of the pandemic and home isolation. The focus should be on those adolescents with abuse experience and poor parent-child relationships to prevent the onset of psychological and psychiatric disorders.

Lability in Parental Warmth in Childhood: Antecedents and Early Adolescent Outcomes

Objective: Parenting and parent-child relationships change dramatically during development. One unique feature of developmental changes in parenting-lability-is associated with adolescent problem behaviors, above and beyond the general level and developmental trends of parenting. This study investigated lability in parental warmth in childhood, its associations with early adolescent adjustment, as well as antecedents in kindergarten: socioeconomic status (SES), parental depressive symptoms, and child problem behaviors. Method: Using longitudinal data from a large and racially diverse sample (N = 710, 46% urban Black, 58% male), parents reported their warmth annually from kindergarten to grade 5, as well as child externalizing and internalizing problems in grade 7. Teachers rated child social competence in grade 6. Results: Lability accounted for the majority of the variance in the year-to-year changes in parental warmth. Greater lability was associated with more internalizing problems and lower social competence. There was little evidence of the influence of child problem behaviors and parental depressive symptoms on lability. However, parents from lower-SES families showed greater lability in their warmth. Furthermore, lability partly explained the effects of SES on social competence in boys but not in girls, whereas the indirect effects of SES on internalizing problems through lability were significant in girls but not in boys. Conclusions: The findings highlight lability in parental warmth as a unique feature of the developmental changes in parenting in childhood, with linkages to adjustment in early adolescence. Family-based interventions should emphasize consistent parenting and provide stress management and coping skills for parents in order to reduce lability.

Reciprocal Influences among Marital Relationship, Parent-Adolescent Relationship, and Youth Depressive Symptoms

OBJECTIVE

Drawing on family systems framework, this study investigated the reciprocal prospective associations between marital relationship quality, parent-adolescent closeness and conflict, and adolescent depressive symptoms among families in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND

The family systems theory posits reciprocity between family subsystems. However, the direction of influences between marital relationship quality, parent-adolescent relationship quality and adolescent well-being may be more unidirectional in Chinese societies due to hierarchical family values.

METHOD

Data were from a longitudinal survey of 2,292 parent-youth dyads in the Taiwan Youth Project. Cross-lagged path models were used to test the bidirectional associations between marital relationship quality, parent-adolescent closeness and conflict, and adolescent depressive symptoms from ages 12 to 18.

RESULTS

Our primary hypothesis that marital relationship quality predicts parent-adolescent relationship quality, which then predicts adolescent depressive symptoms in a unidirectional manner was partially substantiated. Moreover, marital relationship quality directly predicted fewer depressive symptoms from middle to late adolescence and indirectly from early to late adolescence via parent-adolescent relationship quality in middle adolescence. We also found that child depressive symptoms predicted less parent-adolescent closeness, and more conflicts which predicted poorer marital relationship quality, particularly in early adolescence.

CONCLUSION

Extending the family systems theory, findings suggest that marital relationship quality plays a dominant role in the health and well-being of Taiwanese families, especially as adolescents mature. Results highlight the importance of testing theories in families from diverse cultures.

Mediating role of the default mode network on parental acceptance/warmth and psychopathology in youth

Humans are reliant on their caregivers for an extended period of time, offering numerous opportunities for environmental factors, such as parental attitudes and behaviors, to impact brain development. The default mode network is a neural system encompassing the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and temporo-parietal junction, which is implicated in aspects of cognition and psychopathology. Delayed default mode network maturation in children and adolescents has been associated with greater general dimensional psychopathology, and positive parenting behaviors have been suggested to serve as protective mechanisms against atypical default mode network development. The current study aimed to extend the existing research by examining whether within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity would mediate the relation between parental acceptance/warmth and youth psychopathology. Data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study, which included a community sample of 9,366 children ages 8.9-10.9 years, were analyzed to test this prediction. Results demonstrated a significant mediation, where greater parental acceptance/warmth predicted greater within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity, which in turn predicted lower externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms, at baseline and 1-year later. Our study provides preliminary support for the notion that positive parenting behaviors may reduce the risk for psychopathology in youth through their influence on the default mode network.

Indirect Associations between Middle-Childhood Externalizing Behaviors and Adolescent Substance Use through Late-Childhood Exposure to Violence

Longitudinal research to understand individual risk factors in childhood associated with exposure to violence and substance use is needed to inform prevention efforts. The present study tested indirect associations between age 8.5 externalizing behaviors and age 16 substance use through age 9.5 violence victimization and witnessing. Participants were 650 racially diverse (48.6% European American, 28.1% African American, 13.3% multiracial, and 10.0% other), predominantly socioeconomically disadvantaged youth (49% female). Externalizing behaviors were associated with higher levels of violence victimization and witnessing. The indirect path from externalizing behaviors to substance use was significant through victimization but not witnessing violence. Interventions aimed at reducing early externalizing behaviors may reduce risk for violence victimization, which may, in turn, reduce risk for adolescent substance use.

Transactions between Maternal and Child Depressive Symptoms Emerge Early in Life

Maternal depression is a robust risk factor for children's internalizing symptoms; however, the intergenerational transmission of mood disorders is likely more complex than unidirectional parent-directed effects. Theoretical models support transactional associations between maternal and child symptomatology over time but have not been well examined, especially in younger high-risk samples. The present investigation examined predictive transactional relations between maternal depression and children's internalizing in toddlerhood and early childhood using a cross-lagged panel model. Participants were 162 low-income, largely racial/ethnic minority mothers and their offspring (32% African American, 16% White, 52% Other/Multiethnic; 53% female) who were assessed when children were 18 months and 4 years old. There were significant cross-sectional relations between maternal depressive and child internalizing symptoms when children were 18 months but not 4 years of age. Cross-lagged associations were evident such that maternal depression symptoms at 18 months were positively associated with internalizing symptoms among children at 4 years, adjusting for prior maternal symptom levels and the cross-sectional correlations between maternal-child symptoms at 18 months. Within the same model, children's internalizing symptoms at 18 months were also positively associated with maternal depressive symptoms at 4 years, adjusting for prior child symptom levels and cross-sectional correlations. This study is among the first to demonstrate that transactional relations between maternal and child mood symptoms occur as early as toddlerhood/early childhood. Findings highlight the potential utility of inclusive, family-focused interventions that support both parents and children in the treatment of early emotional problems.

Depression and alcohol use in American Indian adolescents: The influence of family factors

BACKGROUND

Rates of both depression and alcohol use are disproportionately higher among American Indian (AI) adolescents than adolescents in the general population. The co-occurrence of depression and alcohol use is common and clinically relevant given their reciprocal negative influences on outcomes. Family factors may be especially relevant because they could have a buffering effect on this relationship due to the importance of kinship and community in AI communities. The current study examines the roles of family warmth and parental monitoring in the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol use in a large, nationally representative sample of AI adolescents.

METHODS

Data were collected from 3498 AI 7th to 12th graders (47.8% female) residing on or near a reservation during the period 2009 to 2013. Participants reported on their depressive symptoms, family factors, and alcohol use.

RESULTS

There was a small, but statistically significant positive association between depressive symptoms and alcohol use (r = 0.11, p < 0.001). Greater depressive symptoms were associated with significantly less perceived family warmth (β = -0.09, 95% CI [-0.13, -0.06]), which was associated with significantly greater alcohol use (β = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.55, -0.23]). Family warmth significantly accounted for the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol use at high (β = 0.04, SE = 0.02, 95% CI [0.004, 0.09]), but not low, levels of parental monitoring (β = 0.02, SE = 0.02, 95% CI [-0.002, 0.06]).

CONCLUSIONS

Results of the present study suggest that developing culturally sensitive prevention and treatment approaches focusing on increasing both family warmth and parental monitoring are important to address the co-occurrence of depression and alcohol misuse among AI adolescents.

Capturing the dynamic nature of stress exposure in the Pittsburgh Girls Study

Background

The science of stress exposure and health in humans has been hampered by differences in operational definitions of exposures and approaches to defining timing, leading to results that lack consistency and specificity. In the present study we aim to empirically derive variability in type, timing and chronicity of stress exposure for Black and White females using prospectively collected data in the Pittsburgh Girls Study (PGS).

Methods

The PGS is an ongoing 20-year longitudinal, community-based study. In this paper we focused on annual caregiver reports of three domains of stress: subsistence (e.g., resource strain, overcrowding); safety (e.g., community violence, inter-adult aggression), and caregiving (e.g., separation, maternal depression) from early childhood through adolescence. Z-scores were used to conduct a finite mixture model-based latent class trajectory analysis. Model fit was compared using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). We examined differences in timing and chronicity of stress exposure between Black and White girls.

Results

Distinct trajectory groups characterized by differential timing and chronicity of stress exposure were observed across all stress domains. Six trajectories characterized subsistence and safety stress, and five characterized caregiving stress. Variability in initial level, chronicity, and magnitude and timing of change was observed within and across domains of stressors. Race differences also varied across the domains: race differences in timing and chronicity were most pronounced for the subsistence and safety domains, whereas Black and White girls had similar levels of exposure to caregiving stress.

Conclusions

Substantial variability in timing and chronicity was observed within and across stress domains. Modeling specific domains and dimensions of stress exposure is likely important in testing associations between exposure and health; such specificity may lead to more effective deployment of preventive interventions based on stress exposure.

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Distinct trajectories in exposure were observed for subsistence, safety, and caregiving stress domains.

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Race differences in timing and chronicity of exposure were pronounced for subsistence and safety domains.

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Patterns of exposure (e.g., level, timing) are likely critical for understanding the impact on stress exposure on health.

Relationship between Punitive Discipline and Child-to-Parent Violence: The Moderating Role of the Context and Implementation of Parenting Practices

This study examines the influence of punitive parental discipline on child-to-parent violence (CPV). The moderating roles of parental context (stress and parental ineffectiveness), mode of implementation of parental discipline (parental impulsivity or warmth/support) and the gender of the aggressor in the relationship between punitive discipline and CPV are examined. The study included 1543 university students between 18 and 25 years old (50.2% males, M_age = 19.9 years, SD = 1.9) who retrospectively described their experience between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. The results indicated that stress, ineffectiveness and parental impulsivity increase the negative effect of punitive discipline on CPV. There is no moderating effect of parental warmth/support. The gender of the aggressor is only a moderator in the case of violence toward the father, and the effect of punitive discipline is stronger in males than in females. The study draws conclusions regarding the importance of context and the mode by which parents discipline their children, aspects that can aggravate the adverse effects of physical and psychological punishment on CPV. It is necessary for interventions to focus not only on promoting positive disciplinary strategies but also on the mode in which they are administered and on contextual aspects.

Testing a Developmental Model of Positive Parenting, Amygdala–Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex Connectivity, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Neurobiological measures may inform our understanding of individual differences in adolescents’ general risk for and resilience to depressive symptoms, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. We tested a developmental model linking variation in amygdala–subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) resting-state connectivity to perceived parenting experiences earlier in adolescence, to concurrent depressive symptoms before the pandemic, and to subsequent depressive symptoms during the pandemic.

Methods

We used data from a longitudinal study that included three waves (N = 214 adolescents; ages 9–15 years at time 1 [T1], 11–17 years at T2, and 12–19 years during the pandemic at T3). We assessed positive parenting (warm and supportive) (T1), depressive symptoms (T1 to T3), and functional connectivity between the sgACC and basolateral (BLA) and centromedial amygdala (T1 and T2). We modeled associations among earlier positive parenting, amygdala–sgACC connectivity, and depressive symptoms before and during the pandemic.

Results

Less positive parenting at T1 was associated prospectively with stronger BLA–sgACC connectivity at T2 (β = −0.22) over and above the effect of BLA–sgACC connectivity at T1. Stronger BLA–sgACC connectivity, in turn, was associated with heightened depressive symptoms, both before the pandemic (r = 0.21) and during the pandemic (β = 0.19; independent of the effect of pre-pandemic symptoms).

Conclusions

Adolescents who experience less positive parenting may develop a pattern of BLA–sgACC connectivity that increases their risk for mental health problems. BLA–sgACC connectivity may be associated with depressive symptoms in general, including during periods of heightened risk for adolescents, such as the pandemic.

Parenting and Psychological Health in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes: Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a demanding chronic illness that may result in poorer psychological health in youth. Fortunately, certain parenting practices may be protective against adverse outcomes. However, a systematic review of these relationships in youth with T1D is lacking. Thus, the current systematic review examined the literature on parenting and child psychological health outcomes (both internalizing and externalizing symptoms) in youth with T1D. Particular attention is paid to how demographic factors are associated with these relationships.

METHODS

PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews were followed, and a literature search (PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) was conducted for studies of youth with T1D that examined the relationship between specific parenting practices or characteristics of the parent-child relationship and youth (<19 years old) internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Forty studies met inclusion criteria. Studies were examined for risk of bias.

RESULTS

Results support that family conflict, critical parenting, support, involvement, and relationship quality are associated with psychological health outcomes in youth with T1D, with some associations varying by parent gender, child age, demographic factors, and internalizing versus externalizing outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the importance of bolstering supportive parenting and decreasing family conflict to improve psychological health in this population. Gaps in the literature related to the dearth of father and secondary caregiver report, lack of sample diversity and attention to the influence of demographic factors, and a limited number of studies examining anxiety were identified. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

Charting the trajectories of adopted children's emotional and behavioral problems: The impact of early adversity and postadoptive parental warmth

Children who are adopted from care are more likely to experience enduring emotional and behavioral problems across development; however, adoptees’ trajectories of mental health problems and factors that impact their trajectories are poorly understood. Therefore, we used multilevel growth analyses to chart adoptees’ internalizing and externalizing problems across childhood, and examined the associations between preadoptive risk and postadoptive protective factors on their trajectories. This was investigated in a prospective longitudinal study of case file records (N = 374) and questionnaire-based follow-ups (N = 96) at approximately 5, 21, and 36 months postadoptive placement. Preadoptive adversity (indexed by age at placement, days in care, and number of adverse childhood experiences) was associated with higher internalizing and externalizing scores; the decrease in internalizing scores over childhood was accelerated for those exposed to lower levels of preadoptive risk. Warm adoptive parenting was associated with a marked reduction in children's internalizing and externalizing problems over time. Although potentially limited by shared methods variance and lack of variability in parental warmth scores, these findings demonstrate the deleterious impact of preadoptive risk and the positive role of exceptionally warm adoptive parenting on children's trajectories of mental health problems and have relevance for prevention and intervention strategies.

Ecological stress, amygdala reactivity, and internalizing symptoms in preadolescence: Is parenting a buffer?

Ecological stress during adolescent development may increase the sensitivity to negative emotional processes that can contribute to the onset and progression of internalizing behaviors during preadolescence. Although a small number of studies have considered the link among the relations between ecological stress, amygdala reactivity, and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence, these studies have largely been small, cross-sectional, and often do not consider unique roles of parenting or sex. In the current study, we evaluated the interrelations between ecological stress, amygdala reactivity, subsequent internalizing symptoms, and the moderating roles of parenting and sex among 9- and 10-year-old preadolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study ®. A subset of participants who met a priori quality control criteria for bilateral amygdala activation during the EN-back faces versus places contrast (N = 7,385; Mean Age = 120 months, SD = 7.52; 49.5% Female) were included in the study. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to create a latent variable of ecological stress, and multiple structural equation models were tested to evaluate the association among baseline ecological stress and internalizing symptoms one year later, the mediating role of amygdala reactivity, and moderating effects of parental acceptance and sex. The results revealed a significant association between ecological stress and subsequent internalizing symptoms, which was greater in males than females. There was no association between amygdala reactivity during the Faces versus Places contrast and ecological stress or subsequent internalizing symptoms, and no mediating role of amygdala or moderating effect of parental acceptance on the association between ecological stress and internalizing symptoms. An alternative mediation model was tested which revealed that there was a small mediating effect of parental acceptance on the association between ecological stress and internalizing symptoms, demonstrating lower internalizing symptoms among preadolescents one year later. Given the lack of association in brain function, ecological stress and internalizing symptoms in preadolescents in this registered report, effects from comparable small studies should be reconsidered in larger samples.

Bidirectional and transactional relationships between parenting styles and child symptoms of ADHD, ODD, depression, and anxiety over 6 years

It is well established that mothers' parenting impacts children's adjustment. However, much less is known about how children's psychopathology impacts their mothers' parenting and how parenting and child symptoms relate either bidirectionally (i.e., a relationship in both directions over two time points) or transactionally (i.e., a process that unfolds over time) to one another over a span of several years. In addition, relatively little research addresses the role of fathers' parenting in the development of children's symptoms and, conversely, how children may elicit certain types of parenting from fathers. In this study, data were collected from 491 families on mothers' and fathers' parenting styles (authoritarianism, authoritativeness, permissiveness, and overprotectiveness) and children's symptoms of psychopathology (attention deficit, oppositional defiant, depression, and anxiety) when children were age 3, 6, and 9 years old. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that parents and children affected one another in a bidirectional and transactional fashion over the course of the six years studied. Results suggest that children's symptoms may compound over time partially because they reduce exposure to adaptive and increase exposure to maladaptive parenting styles. Likewise, maladaptive parenting may persist over time due to the persistence of children's symptoms.

Bidirectional associations between maternal depression, hostile parenting, and early child emotional problems: Findings from the all our families cohort

BACKGROUND

An intergenerational association between maternal depression and child emotional problems is well established. However, the underlying processes underpinning this association are still unclear, with relatively little attention paid to potential child-driven effects. This study adds to existing research by examining the bidirectional processes between maternal depression, parenting, and child internalizing symptoms.

METHODS

A large prospective pregnancy cohort was used (N = 1992). Mothers reported on their depressive symptoms, hostile parenting, child internalizing symptoms, and child effortful control. Data was collected during pregnancy, and at 4 months, 3 years, and 5 years postpartum.

RESULTS

Using a cross-lag analytical approach, results revealed that prenatal and postpartum maternal depression predicted child internalizing problems through an increase in hostile parenting. Child internalizing symptoms predicted increases in subsequent hostile parenting, but not maternal depressive symptoms. Additional moderation analyses revealed that the indirect effect of maternal depression on child internalizing problems through hostile parenting was only significant for children low in effortful control.

LIMITATIONS

The study relied on maternal reports of both mother and child symptomology and characteristics. The sample was predominantly white and middle- to high-income.

CONCLUSIONS

Hostile parenting is a potential intermediary mechanism explaining the intergenerational transmission of maternal depression to child internalizing problems. Critically, this indirect effect was only significant for children low in effortful control. There was limited support for child evocative effects, with child internalizing symptoms predicting subsequent hostile parenting but not maternal depressive symptoms. Results highlight the need for considering both maternal and child characteristics when treating maternal depression.

Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations among Parenting Quality, Parenting Stress, and Child Functioning in HIV-affected Families

Mothers living with HIV (MLH) face unique stressors impacting parenting, parenting stress, and child psychosocial functioning, but longitudinal, bidirectional relations among family processes have not been examined in this population. This study examined relations among parenting quality, parenting stress, and child functioning in 174 MLH-child dyads (aged 6-14, M_age = 9.65, SD = 2.49; 51% female; 57% Black/African American; 35% Latinx). Families completed self-report questionnaires over four waves spanning 15 months. Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed unidirectional and bidirectional relations between parenting stress and child functioning; parenting quality and child functioning; and parenting quality and parenting stress. The findings suggest that prevention and intervention efforts with HIV-affected families should target both parent factors (e.g., communication skills) and child factors (e.g., emotion regulation), emphasizing parenting stress reduction in order to bolster family outcomes.

How biopsychosocial depressive risk shapes behavioral and neural responses to social evaluation in adolescence

INTRODUCTION

Understanding the emotional responsivity style and neurocognitive profiles of depression-related processes in at-risk youth may be helpful in revealing those most likely to develop affective disorders. However, the multiplicity of biopsychosocial risk factors makes it difficult to disentangle unique and combined effects at a neurobiological level.

METHODS

In a population-derived sample of 56 older adolescents (aged 17-20), we adopted partial least squares regression and correlation models to explore the relationships between multivariate biopsychosocial risks for later depression, emotional response style, and fMRI activity, to rejecting and inclusive social feedback.

RESULTS

Behaviorally, higher depressive risk was associated with both reduced negative affect following negative social feedback and reduced positive affect following positive social feedback. In response to both cues of rejection and inclusion, we observed a general neural pattern of increased cingulate, temporal, and striatal activity in the brain. Secondly, in response to rejection only, we observed a pattern of activity in ostensibly executive control- and emotion regulation-related brain regions encompassing fronto-parietal brain networks including the angular gyrus.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that risk for depression is associated with a pervasive emotional insensitivity in the face of positive and negative social feedback.

Leveraging the developmental science of psychosocial risk to strengthen youth psychotherapy

More than 50 years of randomized clinical trials for youth psychotherapies have resulted in moderate effect sizes for treatments targeting the most common mental health problems in children and adolescents (i.e., anxiety, depression, conduct problems, and attention disorders). Despite having psychotherapies that are effective for many children, there has been a dearth of progress in identifying the contextual factors that likely influence who will respond to a given psychotherapy, and under what conditions. The developmental psychopathology evidence base consistently demonstrates that psychosocial risk exposures (e.g., childhood adversities, interpersonal stressors, family dysfunction) significantly influence the onset and course of youth psychopathology. However, the developmental psychopathology framework remains to be well integrated into treatment development and psychotherapy research. We argue that advances in basic developmental psychopathology research carry promising implications for the design and content of youth psychotherapies. Research probing the effects of psychosocial risks on youth development can enrich efforts to identify contextual factors in psychotherapy effectiveness and to personalize treatment. In this article we review empirically supported and hypothesized influences of individual- and family-level risk factors on youth psychotherapy outcomes, and we propose a framework for leveraging developmental psychopathology to strengthen psychotherapies.

Examining effects of mother and father warmth and control on child externalizing and internalizing problems from age 8 to 13 in nine countries

This study used data from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and United States; N = 1,315) to investigate bidirectional associations between parental warmth and control, and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. In addition, the extent to which these associations held across mothers and fathers and across cultures with differing normative levels of parent warmth and control were examined. Mothers, fathers, and children completed measures when children were ages 8 to 13. Multiple-group autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that evocative child-driven effects of externalizing and internalizing behavior on warmth and control are ubiquitous across development, cultures, mothers, and fathers. Results also reveal that parenting effects on child externalizing and internalizing behaviors, though rarer than child effects, extend into adolescence when examined separately in mothers and fathers. Father-based parent effects were more frequent than mother effects. Most parent- and child-driven effects appear to emerge consistently across cultures. The rare culture-specific parenting effects suggested that occasionally the effects of parenting behaviors that run counter to cultural norms may be delayed in rendering their protective effect against deleterious child outcomes.

The Transactional Relationship between Parental and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Effect of Nurturant-Involved Parenting

Sameroff's transactional theory emphasizes a bidirectional process between parents and offspring. The present study explored the reciprocal relationships between parental and adolescent depressive symptoms using a cross-lagged model and examined the mediating effect of nurturant-involved parenting on the relationship between them. Data for the present study were collected from a longitudinal study, and a total of 1644 adolescents and their mothers and fathers participated in the present study. The results revealed a reciprocal relationship between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms, and the child-driven effect was more robust than the mother-driven effect. Adolescent depressive symptoms significantly predicted paternal depressive symptoms, but not vice versa. In addition, adolescent depressive symptoms indirectly predicted maternal and paternal depressive symptoms by deteriorating nurturant-involved parenting. These findings highlight a child-driven effect on parents' psychopathology, which may shed light on the mechanism underlying depression transmission between parents and adolescents.

Family Violence Pathways and Externalizing Behavior in Youth

While studies suggest that youth who experience violence in the home are more likely to engage in externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance use, rule breaking), research is needed to understand factors that may explain how family violence is linked to externalizing, and whether there may be gender-specific trajectories to this outcome. The present study used a cross-sectional design and multigroup, path analytic modeling to test the degree to which personality traits (negative emotionality, constraint) in boys and girls (Model 1), as well as status offending primarily in girls (Model 2), may help explain relationships between exposure to familial adversity (witnessing family violence and child abuse) and adolescent externalizing behaviors in a mixed-gender, community sample with both caregiver and youth reports (N = 237, 57% female, 10-17 years old). Results indicated that personality traits fully explained the relationship between witnessing family violence and externalizing and partially explained the relationship between child abuse and externalizing among youth. Despite theory suggesting a female-specific trajectory involving status offenses, both models were similarly relevant for boys and girls. These findings have implications for understanding processes by which adverse family circumstances may relate to externalizing behavior in youth. Preliminary suggestions are provided for future longitudinal research, policy changes, and clinical techniques that may be essential in preventing the progression to long-term adverse outcomes among youth.

Longitudinal associations between mother-child conflict and child internalizing problems in mid-childhood

Several aspects of mother-child relationships are associated with children's internalizing problems. We examined longitudinal associations between mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems in middle childhood. Specifically, we examined whether conflict and children's internalizing problems predict each other longitudinally in a sample of children from 3rd through 6th grade (N = 1,364) and their mothers using a cross-lagged panel model with random intercepts. In line with expectations, we found stable between-family differences in both mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems. Contrary to expectations, we did not find that mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems showed significant cross-lagged associations. However, mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems had correlated errors at each wave, indicating that these two constructs covary with each other concurrently at multiple times across development, independent of stable between-family associations (i.e., as one increases, so does the other, and vice versa). The results of this study point to the importance of using statistical approaches that can disentangle between-family differences from within-family processes. In future studies, shorter time scales (e.g., weeks or months) may better capture dynamic associations between parent-child conflict and internalizing problems.

Parenting styles as a predictor of long-term psychosocial outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in early childhood

Objective: This study sought to determine whether parenting styles predict long-term psychosocial outcomes after traumatic brain injury in young children.Methods: The study involved a concurrent cohort, prospective design, with longitudinal assessments up to early adolescence. Participants included 126 children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury or orthopedic injury, ages 3 to 6 years 11 months, recruited between 2003 and 2006. Parents rated children's pre-injury behavioral adjustment, social competence, and executive functioning shortly after injury, and again 6.8 years post injury. Parents also rated their parenting styles (permissive, authoritarian, authoritative) at both occasions.Results: After controlling for pre-injury functioning, the groups differed significantly on all three outcomes (ΔR2 0.07 to 0.13). Late but not early parenting styles predicted outcomes in all groups (ΔR2 0.06 to 0.17): more permissive parenting predicted worse outcomes in all domains (β= -0.18, 0.20, 0.27); and more authoritative parenting predicted better social competence and executive functioning (β= -0.17, 0.46). Severe traumatic brain injury interacted with parenting style for several outcomes, with ineffective parenting exacerbating the negative sequelae.Conclusions: Parenting style predicts children's long-term psychosocial functioning after early childhood injury, and may moderate the effects of early traumatic brain injury.Implications for rehabilitationChildren with traumatic brain injury (especially those with severe injuries) are likely to require long-term monitoring and rehabilitation to address their psychosocial functioning.Interventions that focus on parenting may be an important avenue for promoting better psychosocial outcomes among children with severe traumatic brain injury.

Family Environment, Neurodevelopmental Risk, and the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Initiative: Looking Back and Moving Forward

The family environment, with all its complexity and diverse components, plays a critical role in shaping neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. Herein we review several domains of the family environment (family socioeconomic status, family composition and home environment, parenting behaviors and interaction styles, parental mental health and functioning, and parental substance use) and discuss how these domains influence neurodevelopment, with particular emphasis on mental health outcomes. We also highlight a new initiative launched by the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. We discuss the role that ECHO will play in advancing our understanding of the impact of the family environment on children's risk for psychiatric outcomes. Lastly, we conclude with important unanswered questions and controversies in this area of research, highlighting how ECHO will contribute to resolving these gaps in our understanding, clarifying relationships between the family environment and children's mental health.

Daily parenting of children with cerebral palsy: The role of daily child behavior, parents' daily psychological needs, and mindful parenting

The purpose of this study was to advance the current understanding of the daily dynamics that are involved in raising a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Specifically, we examined the role of mindful parenting and of day-to-day variation in parents' psychological needs and child behavior in explaining day-to-day variation in parents' autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive parenting behavior. Parents (N = 58) of children with CP (Mage = 12.68 years) participated in a 7-day diary study. Multilevel analyses indicated that parents' autonomy-supportive, psychologically controlling, and responsive behaviors fluctuate considerably between days. Further, daily fluctuations in both child behavior and parents' own psychological needs were found to be associated with this daily variability in parenting. In addition, interindividual differences in mindful parenting were associated positively with parents' responsiveness and negatively with psychologically controlling parenting across the week. These findings point towards the changeability of parenting behavior among parents of a child with CP and suggest that interventions targeting parenting behavior in the context of CP will be most effective when taking into account both the parents' and the child's functioning.

Examining effects of parent warmth and control on internalizing behavior clusters from age 8 to 12 in 12 cultural groups in nine countries

BACKGROUND

Studies of U.S. and European samples demonstrate that parental warmth and behavioral control predict child internalizing behaviors and vice versa. However, these patterns have not been researched in other cultures. This study investigates associations between parent warmth and control and three child-reported internalizing behavior clusters to examine this question.

METHODS

Data from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries were used to investigate prospective bidirectional associations between parental warmth and control, and three child-reported internalizing behavior types: withdrawn/depressed, anxious/depressed, and somatic problems. Multiple-group structural equation modeling was used to analyze associations in children followed from ages 8 to 12.

RESULTS

Parent warmth and control effects were most pervasive on child-reported withdrawn/depressed problems, somewhat pervasive on anxious/depressed problems and least pervasive on somatic problems. Additionally, parental warmth, as opposed to control, was more consistently associated with child-reported internalizing problems across behavior clusters. Child internalizing behavior effects on parental warmth and control appeared ubiquitously across cultures, and behaviors, but were limited to ages 8-10. Most effects were pancultural, but culture-specific effects emerged at ages 9-10 involving the associations between parent warmth and withdrawn/depressed and somatic behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Effects of parent warmth and control appear stronger on some types of child-reported internalizing behaviors. Associations are especially strong with regard to parental warmth across cultures, and culture-specific effects may be accounted for by cultural normativeness of parent warmth and child-reported somatic symptoms. Child internalizing behavior effects on subsequent parenting are common across cultures.

Process and context: Longitudinal effects of the interactions between parental involvement, parental warmth, and SES on academic achievement

Parents' involvement in their children's education and parental warmth have been linked to many positive child outcomes. In addition to these positive associations, contemporary developmental theory stresses the interaction between different parenting variables and the interaction between parenting and broad contextual factors such as family socioeconomic status (SES). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine main and interaction effects of parent home-based involvement and parental warmth on achievement outcomes. Additionally, we evaluated whether these variables also interacted with SES to predict students' achievement growth. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort of 2010-11 (N = 2352), growth of academic outcomes was modeled from kindergarten to the fourth grade. We then used latent variable interaction (Maslowsky, Jager, & Hemken, 2015) procedures to examine interaction effects of our primary study variables. Few significant effects were noted for children's reading and mathematics scores, but more substantial main (home-based involvement) and interaction (parental warmth and SES) effects emerged for science achievement. At high SES levels, warmth negatively predicted growth in science, whereas at lower SES levels, warmth positively predicted growth. Findings are discussed in relation to importance of parent involvement, differential effects across SES contexts, and curricular emphasis in contemporary schools.

Psychometric Properties of a Comprehensive Parenting Practice Measure for Parents of Adolescents

Many measures exist that assess parenting skills and practices. Few comprehensive measures for parents of adolescents (13-17 years) exist. The aim of the current study was to develop a comprehensive assessment measure of parenting practices based on items from existing measures. Research and clinical settings can benefit from the advancement of a valid and more inclusive measure of parenting to assess youth behavior and functioning. This study utilized a sample that included 387 caregivers and youth (mean age of youth = 13.6, SD = .59) from a longitudinal study examining contextual influences on youths'substance use initiation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on 12 parent-report measures of parenting. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on a second sample, which included peers (N = 362, mean age of peers = 13.6, SD = 1.09) and peers' caregivers of the youth included in the original sample. The EFA results indicated a three-factor solution (i.e., parental knowledge and affective relationships, parental control, parental communication and involvement), which was supported in the CFA. The final measure demonstrated strong internal consistency and satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. This study supported the sound psychometrical features of the Parenting Practice Measure (PPM), a comprehensive measure of parenting quality for adolescent samples. The PPM can serve as a tool for clinicians to design more targeted treatment plans and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments when working with parents with children in the early teenage years.

Re-examining the "cycle of abuse": Parenting determinants among previously maltreated, low-income mothers

Multidomain approaches toward understanding the transmission of harsh caregiving across generations have been largely overlooked in the literature. To address this, the current study examined how maternal and child factors may operate as mediating mechanisms in the association between maternal history of child maltreatment and maternal caregiving behaviors. In particular, we tested the relative roles of maternal depression, maternal efficacy beliefs, and child behavioral difficulties as explanatory variables in these associations. Participants (N = 127) were drawn from a community sample of mother-child dyads from socioeconomically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse backgrounds. Mother-child dyads were assessed at baseline, when the children were approximately 12 months old, with follow-up visits occurring when children were 26 and 37 months of age. Findings did not support a significant direct effect of childhood maltreatment on mothers' subsequent harsh or responsive parenting behavior. However, analyses demonstrated a significant indirect effect of childhood maltreatment history on later responsive parenting behaviors via maternal depression. Results also supported a significant indirect effect of childhood maltreatment history on later harsh parenting behavior through child behavior problems. Although mothers' childhood maltreatment history significantly predicted lower levels of maternal efficacy, results did not support a mediating role of maternal efficacy beliefs in the association between maltreatment history and subsequent parenting behaviors. Identifying specific factors that potentially disrupt the intergenerational pattern of maladaptive parenting can serve to guide prevention and intervention efforts aimed at facilitating more positive, responsive parenting strategies within high-risk families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Using automated computer vision and machine learning to code facial expressions of affect and arousal: Implications for emotion dysregulation research

As early as infancy, caregivers' facial expressions shape children's behaviors, help them regulate their emotions, and encourage or dissuade their interpersonal agency. In childhood and adolescence, proficiencies in producing and decoding facial expressions promote social competence, whereas deficiencies characterize several forms of psychopathology. To date, however, studying facial expressions has been hampered by the labor-intensive, time-consuming nature of human coding. We describe a partial solution: automated facial expression coding (AFEC), which combines computer vision and machine learning to code facial expressions in real time. Although AFEC cannot capture the full complexity of human emotion, it codes positive affect, negative affect, and arousal-core Research Domain Criteria constructs-as accurately as humans, and it characterizes emotion dysregulation with greater specificity than other objective measures such as autonomic responding. We provide an example in which we use AFEC to evaluate emotion dynamics in mother-daughter dyads engaged in conflict. Among other findings, AFEC (a) shows convergent validity with a validated human coding scheme, (b) distinguishes among risk groups, and (c) detects developmental increases in positive dyadic affect correspondence as teen daughters age. Although more research is needed to realize the full potential of AFEC, findings demonstrate its current utility in research on emotion dysregulation.

Changes in the Reciprocal Relationship Between Parenting and Self-Awareness During Adolescence: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Big Data

PURPOSE

This study aimed to identify the reciprocal relationship between parenting and self-awareness during adolescence.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This study analyzed longitudinal data from the Korea Children and Youth Panel Survey at three time points over a four-year period. Individuals (n = 2092; mean age 12.95 years) in their first year of middle school participated at the beginning of the survey. Repeated measurements were performed for the same participants in their third year of middle school and first year of high school between 2010 and 2016. Participants completed 18 self-awareness (self-esteem and self-identity) items and 21 parenting (positive and negative) items at three different time points. The autoregressive cross-lagged model was used to examine the causal relationship between parenting and adolescents' self-awareness.

RESULTS

Positive parenting and adolescents' self-awareness influenced each other. In terms of the magnitude of the effects of the two variables, the impact of adolescents' self-awareness on positive parenting was greater than that of positive parenting on adolescents' self-awareness. Adolescents' self-awareness at the previous time points negatively predicted negative parenting at the later time points. However, negative parenting at the previous time points was not a significant predictor of adolescents' self-awareness at the later time points.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the impact of adolescents' self-awareness on parenting was greater than was the case vice versa. This result could be regarded as reflecting adolescents' developmental characteristics.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Intervention programs directly focusing on improving adolescents' self-awareness may be more effective than parenting interventions to improve self-awareness in adolescents.

Indirect Effects of Early Parenting on Adult Antisocial Outcomes via Adolescent Conduct Disorder Symptoms and Callous-Unemotional Traits

Parental harsh punishment and warmth have been associated with child and adolescent conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of guilt, empathy, and deficient affect); however, it is unclear whether the effect of these parenting behaviors on antisocial outcomes persists into adulthood. Thus, the present study aimed to test whether adolescent CD symptoms and CU traits mediate the effect of parental harsh punishment and warmth on adult antisocial outcomes (i.e., antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), externalizing psychopathology, partner violence, and violent and substance crime). Participants included the high-risk control and normative samples from the Fast Track project (N =753, male = 58%, African American = 46%). Harsh punishment during kindergarten through grades 1-2 predicted higher adolescent CD symptoms, and directly observed warmth during kindergarten through grades 1-2 predicted lower adolescent CU traits. Adolescent CD symptoms predicted greater adult substance crime, and adolescent CU traits predicted greater adult ASPD symptoms and externalizing psychopathology. Further, adolescent CD symptoms indirectly accounted for the effect of parental harsh punishment on adult substance crime, and adolescent CU traits indirectly accounted for the effect of parental warmth on ASPD symptoms and externalizing psychopathology. Findings support the importance of early interventions targeting parenting behaviors to reduce risk for the development of antisocial behavior, and inform developmental models of antisocial behavior in adolescence through adulthood.

Reciprocity in Undesirable Parent-Child Behavior? Verbal Aggression, Corporal Punishment, and Girls' Oppositional Defiant Symptoms

Parental verbal aggression and corporal punishment are associated with children's conduct problems and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The strength of bidirectional relationships among specific disruptive behaviors has been inconsistent across gender, and the direction of influence between parental aggression and girls' ODD symptoms is particularly understudied. This study tested reciprocal effects between aggressive parent behaviors and girls' ODD dimensions of oppositionality, antagonism, and irritability. Data from the Pittsburgh Girls Study (N = 2,450) were used, including annual child and parent-reported aggressive discipline and girls' parent-reported ODD symptoms between ages 5 and 16. Separate clustered Poisson regression models examined change in parent or child behavior outcomes using predictors lagged by one time point. After controlling for demographic factors, behavior stability, and other disruptive behaviors, parent-reported corporal punishment predicted girls' increasing antagonism and irritability, whereas child-reported corporal punishment was unrelated to ODD symptom change. Both parent- and child-reported verbal aggression predicted increases across ODD dimensions. Girls' oppositionality and antagonism predicted increasing parent-reported verbal aggression over time, but only oppositionality was significantly related to child-reported verbal aggression. Although ODD symptoms were unrelated to change in corporal punishment, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predicted increasing parental aggression of both types. Bidirectional associations emerged such that parental verbal aggression escalates reciprocally with girls' behavioral ODD symptoms. Verbal aggression contributed to increasing irritability, but irritability did not influence parenting behavior. "Child effects" may be most salient for behavioral ODD symptoms in transaction with verbal aggression and for ADHD symptoms in predicting worsening corporal punishment and verbal aggression.

The Interaction Between Child Behavioral Inhibition and Parenting Behaviors: Effects on Internalizing and Externalizing Symptomology

Both child temperament and parenting have been extensively researched as predictors of child outcomes. However, theoretical models suggest that specific combinations of temperament styles and parenting behaviors are better predictors of certain child outcomes such as internalizing and externalizing symptoms than either temperament or parenting alone. The current qualitative review examines the interaction between one childhood temperamental characteristic (child behavioral inhibition) and parenting behaviors, and their subsequent impact on child psychopathology. Specifically, the moderating role of parenting on the relationship between child behavioral inhibition and both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology is examined, and the methodological variations which may contribute to inconsistent findings are explored. Additionally, support for the bidirectional relations between behavioral inhibition and parenting behaviors, as well as for the moderating role of temperament on the relationships between parenting and child outcomes, is briefly discussed. Finally, the clinical applicability of this overall conceptual model, specifically in regard to future research directions and potential clinical interventions, is considered.

Child Effects on Lability in Parental Warmth and Hostility: Moderation by Parents' Internalizing Problems

Research documents that lability in parent-child relationships-fluctuations up and down in parent-child relationships-is normative during adolescence and is associated with increased risk for negative outcomes for youth. Yet little is known about factors that predict lability in parenting. This study evaluated whether children's behaviors predicted lability in parent-child relationships. Specifically this study tested whether youth maladjustment (delinquency, substance use, internalizing problems) in Grade 6 was associated with greater lability (e.g., more fluctuations) in parents' warmth and hostility towards their children across Grades 6-8. The study also tested whether the associations between youth maladjustment and lability in parents' warmth and hostility were moderated by parents' internalizing problems. The sample included youth and their parents in two parent families who resided in rural communities and small towns (N = 618; 52% girls, 90% Caucasian). Findings suggest that parents' internalizing problems moderated the associations between child maladjustment and parenting lability. Among parents with high levels of internalizing problems, higher levels of youth maladjustment were associated with greater lability in parents' warmth. Among parents with low in internalizing problems, higher levels of youth maladjustment were associated with less lability in parents' warmth. The discussion focuses on how and why parent internalizing problems may affect parental reactivity to youth problem behavior and intervention implications.