Daily Parent-Teen Conflict and Parent and Adolescent Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Daily and Person-Level Warmth

Peer Stress Spills Over to Family Stress in the Context of Emotion Regulation Difficulties: A Daily Diary Study with Chinese Adolescents

Conflict in peer and family relationships becomes more common in the adolescent period when compared to previous developmental periods. These typical developmental challenges can be exacerbated in the context of poor emotion regulation skills. Using daily diary data, the current study examined the stress spillover effects of peer and family stress on one another, as well as the moderating role of emotion regulation challenges (i.e., emotional inhibition, dysregulation). A sample of 310 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.02 years, SD = 0.76 years, 50.7% boys) completed an initial measure of emotion regulation difficulties, then reported on peer and family stress for 10 consecutive weekdays. Results indicated that there was an overall same-day peer stress spillover effect in which adolescents' peer stress on a given day was negatively associated with later conflictual interactions with their parents. Further, the relation between peer stress and same- and next-day family stress was exacerbated in the context of high levels of emotional inhibition. Family stress did not significantly relate to next-day peer stress, nor was this association moderated by difficulties with emotion regulation. These results highlight the temporal sequence of daily peer-to-family stress spillover. Though emotional inhibition may be culturally adaptive for maintaining interpersonal harmony, it can be maladaptive in managing stress for Chinese adolescents.

Family resilience during the COVID-19 onset: A daily-diary inquiry into parental employment status, parent-adolescent relationships, and well-being

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent-adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020-4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020-6/1/2020; N = 635 parent-adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents' and children's daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent-adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents' and adolescents' daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent-adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less likely to WFH than higher-income families. As inter-relations within the family are a malleable point for intervention, clinicians working with families recovering from the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to use approaches that strengthen family relationships, especially between adolescents and their parents. Unemployment subsidies are discussed as a means to support families struggling with job loss, and organizations are urged to consider the benefits of WFH on employee health and work-life balance.

A Dynamical Systems Investigation of the Co-regulation between Perceived Daily Parental Warmth and Adolescent Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms

Longitudinal research demonstrates that child ADHD symptoms and behaviors exhibit reciprocal associations with parenting behaviors over time. However, minimal research has investigated these associations and their dynamic links at the daily level. Intensive longitudinal data can disentangle stable between-person differences from within-person fluctuations and reveal nuanced short-term family dynamics on a micro timescale. Using 30-day daily diary data from a community sample of 86 adolescents (Mage = 14.5, 55% female, 56% White, 22% Asian) and latent differential equation modeling, this study examined the links between perceived daily parental warmth and ADHD symptoms as coupled dynamical systems. The results show that the magnitude of fluctuations in perceived daily parental warmth generally remains stable, while elevated ADHD symptoms return to their normal level over time. Perceived parental warmth is sensitive to change in ADHD symptoms such that adolescents feel that their parents will fine-tune their warmth with gradual changes when adolescents demonstrate heightened symptoms. There are substantial between-family differences in these regulating system dynamics. Among families with more baseline parental non-harsh discipline, both perceived parental warmth and ADHD symptoms tend to be more stable and fluctuate less often. Intensive longitudinal data and dynamical systems approaches offer a new lens to uncover short-term family dynamics and adolescent adjustment at a refined micro level. Future research should explore antecedents and consequences of between-family differences in these short-term family dynamics on multiple timescales.

Adolescent psychological adjustment and social supports during pandemic-onset remote learning: A national multi-wave daily-diary study

In spring 2020, U.S. schools universally transitioned to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, thus creating a natural experiment for examining adolescents' risk and resilience during an ongoing school crisis response. This longitudinal study used a daily-diary approach to investigate the role of social support in the link between remote learning and psychological well-being across 64 days among a national sample of adolescents (n = 744; 42% Black, 36% White, 22% Other ethnicity/race; 41% boys; 72% eligible for free/reduced-priced lunch; Mage=14.60, SDage=1.71, age-range = 12-17 years). On days when youth attended remote learning, they reported lower daily positive affect, more daily stress, and higher parent social support. There were no significant differences in the effect of remote learning on affect or stress by race or economic status. On days when youth experienced more parent support, they reported lower daily stress and negative affect and higher daily positive affect. On days when youth experienced more peer support, they reported higher daily positive affect. Overall, the study highlights the impact of pandemic-onset remote learning on adolescents' psychological well-being and emphasizes the need for future research on school crisis contingency planning to address these challenges.

Daily association between parent-adolescent relationship and life satisfaction: The moderating role of emotion dysregulation

INTRODUCTION

In adolescence, life satisfaction is an early indicator of later psychological well-being. However, researchers know little about how daily family relationships shape adolescent life satisfaction. The current study examined the day-to-day associations between parent-adolescent relationships and life satisfaction, and whether adolescent emotion dysregulation moderated these associations.

METHODS

A total of 191 adolescents (Mage  = 12.93, SDage  = 0.75, 53% female) recruited from junior high schools in Taiwan participated in a 10-day daily diary protocol. We conducted multilevel analyses to examine within-family and between-family processes.

RESULTS

At the within-family level, adolescents reported higher life satisfaction on days when parent-adolescent closeness was higher, but lower life satisfaction on days when parent-adolescent conflict was higher. At the between-family level, higher parent-adolescent closeness was associated with greater life satisfaction on average, while parent-adolescent conflict was not related to adolescent life satisfaction. Cross-level interactions indicated that within-family changes in parent-adolescent closeness and conflict were only associated with life satisfaction for adolescents with higher levels of emotion dysregulation, indicating emotion dysregulation may intensify the role of daily parent-adolescent relationships in shaping adolescent life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

This study expands current literature and provides novel evidence that changes in day-to-day parent-adolescent relationships have important implications for adolescent life satisfaction, especially for youth higher in emotion dysregulation. The findings underscore the importance of evaluating family and individual characteristics to better support adolescent well-being.

The integral contributions of parental involvement and parenting style to adolescent adjustments: a regression mixture analysis

The integrative model of parenting has highlighted the integral contributions of parental involvement (quantity) and parenting style (quality) to adolescent psychological adjustments. The first aim of this study was to adopt the person-centered approach to identify profiles of parental involvement (quantity) and parenting styles (quality). The second purpose was to examine the associations between different parenting profiles and adolescent psychological adjustments. A cross-sectional online survey with families (N = 930) that included fathers, mothers, and adolescents (50% female, M age = 14.37 ± 2.31) was conducted in mainland China. The fathers and mothers reported their level of parental involvement; the adolescents rated fathers' and mothers' parenting styles, as well as their own levels of anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and loneliness. Latent profile analysis was adopted to identify parenting profiles using the standardized scores of fathers' and mothers' involvement and style (warmth and rejection). The regression mixture model was used to examine the relationships between different parenting profiles and adolescent psychological adjustments. Four classes best characterized the parenting behaviors: warm involvement (52.6%), neglecting noninvolvement (21.4%), rejecting noninvolvement (21.4%), and rejecting involvement (4.6%). Adolescents in the warm involvement group scored lowest on anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and loneliness. Adolescents in rejecting involvement group scored highest on psychological adjustment indicators. Adolescents in neglecting noninvolvement group scored lower on anxiety symptoms than those in rejecting noninvolvement group. Adolescents in the warm involvement group adjusted best, while adolescents in the rejecting involvement group adjusted worst among all groups. To promote adolescents' mental health, intervention programs need to consider both parental involvement and parenting styles simultaneously.

The Differential Impact of Parenting on Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors in the Context of Maternal Stress

The effectiveness of parenting on child outcomes may be dependent on other contextual factors. To date, few studies have focused on the potential moderating effect of maternal stress on the relationship between parenting and youth externalizing behaviors. This study extends prior work by assessing how the relationship between parenting and youth outcomes varies by the presence of maternal stress, while focusing on the developmental period of adolescence and two dimensions of parenting, parental knowledge and maternal warmth. Data were collected from 278 Mother-adolescent dyads (M_{adolescent age} = 14.05; 53.2% females; 61.9% minority) on maternal stress, maternal warmth and parental knowledge, and youth aggression and delinquency. Multi-level regression models found significant two-way interactions between parental knowledge and maternal stress on aggression and between maternal warmth and maternal stress on both outcomes. Parental knowledge was associated with lower aggression in the context of high maternal stress, but warmth only attenuated the risk of youth outcomes among low maternal stress. This study highlights the importance of considering how contextual factors impact the relationship between parenting and youth externalizing behaviors.

The Mediation of Care and Overprotection between Parent-Adolescent Conflicts and Adolescents' Psychological Difficulties during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Which Role for Fathers?

BACKGROUND

There is evidence of a significant raise in youths' emotional and behavioral difficulties during the pandemic. Only a few studies have addressed parent-adolescent conflict, and none investigated the possible mediating effect of parenting in the association between conflicts with parents and adolescents' symptoms. This study aimed at investigating youths' psychological symptoms during the pandemic, focusing on the predicting effect of parent-adolescent conflict. The mediating role of care and overprotection was also explored, considering whether adolescent gender moderated this mediation.

METHODS

195 adolescents aged 14-18 years participated in an online longitudinal study. Perceived conflict with parents and parenting dimensions (Parental Bonding Instrument; PBI) were assessed at baseline (2021). Self-reported psychological difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) were collected at baseline and after one year (2022).

RESULTS

A significantly severer symptomatology was found in adolescents having a conflictual relationship with one or both parents. Major conflicts with parents correlated with lower care and greater overprotection in mothers and fathers. However, parental overprotection and maternal care were not mediators of the relationship between conflict and youths' difficulties. The only exception was represented by paternal care that fully mediated this relationship in both adolescent males and females.

CONCLUSIONS

Although further investigations are needed to overcome limitations due to the small sample, findings extend our insight into the impact of parent-adolescent conflict, highlighting the role of fathers' care and the need to maximize their involvement in clinical interventions.

Children's and Adolescents' Happiness and Family Functioning: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

the present research represents the first systematic review of the literature on the relation between happiness (i.e., subjective well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect) and family functioning in families with children aged 6-18 years.

METHOD

relevant articles were systematically searched in three scientific databases (i.e., PsycInfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science) in June 2022. The databases were searched for original articles published after 1968 with the keywords "happiness" and "family functioning."

RESULTS

of the 2683 records recovered, 124 original articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The articles were divided according to four emergent themes: (1) family dimensions and happiness; (2) global family functioning (i.e., family functioning, and family relationships), environmental variables, and happiness; (3) parental differences; (4) longitudinal studies.

CONCLUSIONS

the results of the review provide evidence for a positive relation between happiness and family functioning, across different cultures and age groups: Family dimensions (e.g., cohesion, communication) were found to strongly predict children's and adolescents' happiness. Future studies should investigate the differences between fathers and mothers using multi-informant and mixed methods procedures and a longitudinal research approach. The implications of the findings for children's positive development are discussed.

Good can be stronger than bad: the daily relationship among maternal warmth, mother-teen conflict and adolescents' self-esteem

Self-esteem is associated with adaptive adolescent outcomes but tends to decline in adolescence. Parent-teen warmth has been linked to concurrent increases in adolescents' self-esteem while adolescents' conflict with parents is detrimental to their self-esteem in cross-sectional or longitudinal studies. However, it is unknown how adolescents experience of maternal warmth and conflict with mothers are correlated with their daily self-esteem, and whether these associations vary in adolescents' gender, age and family subjective socioeconomic status (SES) from the perspective of Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) theory. To address this gap, 293 adolescents (M age = 13.88 years, SD = .62) were recruited from a school, reporting their daily experience of maternal warmth, conflict with mothers and self-esteem by answering checklists for up to 7 days. Multilevel analysis showed that adolescents reported significantly higher self-esteem on days they experienced more warmth or less conflict with mothers than usual. Moreover, maternal warmth was linked to next-day self-esteem positively, yet mother-teen conflict not shown this spill-over effect. Gender, age and subjective SES did not moderate all the daily associations among mother-teen warmth, conflict and self-esteem. Findings suggest that mother-teen interactions play both protective and detrimental role in adolescents' daily self-image and that "good" interaction goes a longer way than "bad" one.

A longitudinal test of acculturative family distancing theory explaining latino/a/x adolescents' adjustment

According to acculturative family distancing theory, adolescents' perceptions of cultural incongruencies with parents can diminish the quality of parent-adolescent relationships and, as a result, harm adolescent adjustment. Using four time points of data for a sample of 547 diverse Latino/a/x adolescents, this study examined how parent-adolescent relationship quality and acculturative family distancing were associated with changes in adolescent school performance and internalizing symptoms. At baseline, the school-based sample ranged from 11- to 14-years-old (M = 12.78) and included slightly more females (55%) than males (45%). Cross-lagged structural equation model results indicated that adolescent reports of greater acculturative family distancing were associated with adolescent perceived increases in parent-adolescent conflict and decreases in parental support. Conflict mediated associations between acculturative family distancing and decreased school performance. Associations between parent-child relationship qualities and Latino/a/x adolescent adjustment were bidirectional.

Daily Experiences of Discrimination and Ethnic/Racial Minority Adolescents' Sleep: The Moderating Role of Social Support

Using data from a 14-day diary study of 95 ethnic/racial minority adolescents, this study examined the within-person effect of daily discrimination tied to multiple social identities on adolescents' daily sleep quality and duration and whether daily support from important others (i.e., friends, parents, and teachers) would moderate these links. We found that daily discrimination was a low-frequency, but high-impact event associated with shorter sleep duration. Results pointed to the nuanced roles of daily support. Support from friends was negatively related to sleep duration, whereas support from parents appeared to be promotive to sleep quality. Support from teachers protected adolescents from the negative effects of discrimination on sleep duration. Implications for future interventions targeting sleep disturbances associated with discrimination are discussed.

Building a Theoretical Model for Supporting Teens' Autonomy Daily (STAND): A Network Analysis of Family-Perceived Changes

Little is known about processes through which behavior therapy (BT) for adolescent ADHD improves outcomes. The purpose of this study was to build a theoretical model for the processes through which a BT for adolescent ADHD (Supporting Teens' Autonomy Daily; STAND) impacts functioning. Seventy-eight audio recordings from a standard therapeutic task in the final STAND session were analyzed as parents and adolescents (ages 11-16) reflected upon what changed during STAND and why. Qualitative coding sorted parent and teen statements into orthogonal categories of perceived changes. Network analysis examined inter-relations between categories. Results indicated twenty-one categories of perceived change areas. Parent use of behavioral strategies, adolescent motivation, and adolescent organization skills were central nodes in the network of perceived changes, with strong relations to academic and parent-teen relationship outcomes. A model is proposed in which skills training in STAND increases parent behavioral strategy use and teen organization skills, while Motivational Interviewing (MI) in STAND increase parent behavioral strategy use and initial adolescent motivation. In turn, parent behavioral strategy use is proposed to further reinforce teen motivation through contingency management, thereby increasing teen application of organization skills to daily life. As a result of improved teen motivation and organization skills, the model proposes that ADHD symptoms, academic problems, and parent-teen conflict abate. We discuss secondary mechanisms and outcomes in this model, the possibility of person-specific processes, implications for community-based adaptation of STAND, and plans to validate this conceptual model using sophisticated mediational models.

COVID-19 Employment Status, Dyadic Family Relationships, and Child Psychological Well-Being

PURPOSE

COVID-19 has led to soaring unemployment rates and the widespread adoption of working-from-home (WFH) arrangements that have disrupted family relationships and adolescent psychological well-being. This longitudinal study investigated how parental employment status (i.e., job loss and WFH) influenced adolescents' daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent-adolescent conflict and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family's socioeconomic status.

METHODS

Daily-diary approaches were used to collect dyadic parent-adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (6,524 daily assessments from 447 parent-adolescent dyads; 45% black, 36% white, 10% Latinx, 7% Asian American, 2% Native American) over the course of 15 consecutive days at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Parents who experienced job loss demonstrated increases in parent-child conflict, which in turn predicted decreases in child positive affect and increases in child negative affect. Furthermore, parents' WFH status predicted increases in parental warmth, which in turn predicted increases in child positive affect and decreases in child negative affect. Parents of low-income families were more likely to experience job loss (24% vs. 13%) and less likely to WFH (44% vs. 73%) than middle-high income parents.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents from families facing economic hardship and employment shifts during COVID-19 experienced changes in parent-child relational dynamics that influenced their emotional well-being. Recognizing these shifts in family ecology is critical to health providers' ability to screen for mental health, assess existing family supports, and provide timely, targeted information about stress management and contending with family conflict.

Topical Review: Developmental Framework of Moderators of Family Conflict for Type 1 Diabetes Outcomes

OBJECTIVE

To present a developmental framework of family conflict in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) that aims to guide future research.

METHODS

Developmental and pediatric literature are reviewed to highlight family factors that may modify the degree to which diabetes-related family conflict is related to adolescent health outcomes.

RESULTS

Developmental literature suggests that family conflict is not inherently bad; rather, conflict that arises under optimal conditions (moderate frequency, warm and accepting relationships) can be adaptive for adolescents. However, family conflict is consistently associated with poor disease outcomes in youth with T1D, with few researchers examining specific moderators of these associations. In this topical review, we highlight moderators of family conflict and developmental outcomes identified in adolescents without chronic illness (e.g., cultural factors, parent-child relationship quality, conflict characteristics) and how these moderators may operate for a pediatric chronic illness such as T1D.

CONCLUSIONS

Incorporating conceptualizations of family conflict from mainstream developmental research has important implications for future research and intervention adaptations on family conflict in pediatric populations.