Parenting, self-regulation and social competence with peers and romantic partners

Parental control and college students' depressive symptoms: A latent class analysis

We examined how maternal and paternal parental control (helicopter parenting, behavioral control, and psychological control) among college students are related to their depressive symptoms. We collected data from college students who attended a private university in Upstate New York (n = 455) and analyzed it using three-step latent class analysis. Latent class analysis identified four parental control latent classes: weak parental control, strong psychological control, strong helicopter parenting, and strong parental control. College students in the weak parental control class reported lower depressive symptoms than those in strong psychological control and strong parental control classes. In addition, college students in the strong helicopter parenting class reported lower depressive symptoms than those in strong psychological control and strong parental control classes. College students' depressive symptoms were not significantly different between weak parental control and strong helicopter parenting classes. Future researchers are encouraged to continue to acknowledge the characteristics of different forms of parental control and their influence on college students' quality of life in the transition to adulthood, considering the unique approaches of both parents.

Maternal age differences in cognitive regulation: examination of associations and interactions between RSA and EEG frontoparietal alpha power coherence

Strong cognitive regulation is advantageous for flexible, responsive parenting. Optimal cognitive regulation is reliant on associations between physiological mechanisms of central and peripheral nervous system functioning. Across middle adulthood there may be shifts in how cognitive regulation functions, reflecting changes in the associations and interactions between these physiological mechanisms. Two physiological indicators of cognitive regulation are autonomic regulation of the heart (e.g., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) and activity of the brain's frontoparietal network (e.g., frontoparietal EEG alpha power coherence, FPc). In the current study we examined maternal age differences (N = 90, age M = 32.35 years, SD = 5.86 years) in correlations and interactions between RSA and FPc in the statistical prediction of cognitive regulation [i.e., executive function (EF), effortful control (EC), cognitive reappraisal (CR)]. Age-related patterns involving interaction between RSA and FPc were found, pointing to a potential shift from optimization to compensation for changes with aging or alternately, the effects of age-based decrements in functioning. Findings are discussed in the context of adult developmental changes in maternal caregiving.

Fast Track intervention effects on family formation

The present study examines whether the Fast Track (FT) intervention, a 10-year randomized controlled trial with children at risk for conduct problems, affects family formation in adulthood, as indexed by partnerships, parenthood, and family structure, and whether the intervention effect differs across participants' gender and race/ethnicity. Participants included 891 children (intervention n = 445; control n = 446; 69% male; 51% Black, 47% White) who were recruited in kindergarten and followed to age 32 or 34 (80% participation of still-living participants), when they reported on their romantic partnerships, parenthood, and family structure. Controlling for numerous covariates that are related to family formation, intervention participants were more likely than those in the control group to be married rather than single and to have a larger number of children; the intervention and control groups did not differ on cohabitation status, age at first marriage, whether they had ever been divorced, their likelihood of being a parent, the age at which they first became a parent, the spacing of births, family structure (partnered or not, with or without children), or in whether they were residentially independent of their parents and grandparents. Intervention effects were not moderated by gender, but race/ethnicity moderated the effect of the intervention on the probability of having any children and the number of children. These findings suggest that several elements of family formation may remain unchanged by an intervention that changes many other behavioral and psychological trajectories of participants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Link between Parenting Behaviors and Emerging Adults' Relationship Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Relational Entitlement

Previous research shows a link between parenting and children's characteristics and interpersonal behaviors. However, little is known about the ways in which parenting tactics affect children's romantic relationships and whether the children's characteristics can mediate these associations. With this study, the aim was to test the associations between parents' helicopter parenting/autonomy-supportive behaviors and emergent adults' relational satisfaction and couple conflict. In addition, it was tested whether the sense of relational entitlement (excessive and restricted) mediated the links. Two hundred and twelve emergent adult-parent dyads participated in this study. Mediation analyses showed that parental autonomy-supportive behaviors had indirect effects on both the relational satisfaction and the couple conflict reported by the emerging adults through excessive relational entitlement. The link was positive for the former couple-related outcome and negative for the latter one. Helicopter parenting was not related to any variable reported by the emerging adults. In conclusion, positive parenting can increase relational stability and well-being by diminishing some potentially negative psychological characteristics of emerging adults.

Developmental Changes in Emotion Regulation during Adolescence: Associations with Socioeconomic Risk and Family Emotional Context

Although theoretical work proposes that emotion regulation development exhibits a positive growth trajectory across adolescence as prefrontal brain regions continue to mature, individual differences in developmental changes of emotion regulation merit elucidation. The present study investigates longitudinal links between the family environment (i.e., socioeconomic risk and family emotional context) and emotion regulation development. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% males) who were first recruited at 13-14 years of age and assessed annually four times. Latent change score analyses identified family emotional context as a mediator between socioeconomic risk and emotion regulation development, such that lower socioeconomic risk (higher socioeconomic status and lower household chaos) at Time 1 was associated with a more positive family emotional context (parent emotion regulation, parenting practices, and parent-adolescent relationship quality), which in turn was associated with larger year-to-year increases in emotion regulation. The findings highlight the important role of the family emotional context as a process explaining how the challenges of growing up in a household laden with socioeconomic risk may be associated with emotion regulation development during adolescence.

Parenting and the Development of Impulse Control in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes: The Mediating Role of Negative Affect

Parents are important for the development and maintenance of regulatory control. The current longitudinal study examined associations between parental coercion and autonomy support and impulse control in 117 youth (ages 8-16; Mage= 12.87, SD=2.53; 44% male) with Type 1 diabetes and explored whether youth negative affect mediated these associations. Parental coercion (but not autonomy support) was concurrently associated with lower impulse control and higher negative affect within individuals. Increases in youth negative affect partially mediated the within-person association between parental coercion and impulse control. These findings suggest that parent-directed interventions to reduce parental coercion may be most beneficial for impulse control if combined with youth-directed interventions to help them regulate negative affect. Replication of the current findings in a larger sample of youth with and without a chronic illness is needed to address the theoretical and empirical importance of negative affect as a potential mechanism through which parental coercion impacts youth impulsivity.

Relationship between parent involvement and academic achievement through metacognitive strategies: A multiple multilevel mediation analysis

BACKGROUND

Different studies reveal an association between parent involvement, metacognition, and academic achievement; however, the majority analyse the developmental process of acquisition in experimental or quasi-experimental designs with students enrolled in child education. Adolescence is an important stage in personal and academic development. Given the complexity of learning, and according to the metacognitive and affective model of self-regulated learning (Efklides, 2011, Educational Psychologist, 46, 6), different types of metacognitive processes are relevant for the optimal development of individuals in academic contexts. At the same time, individuals need stimuli from the environment, based on observation of their own and other's behaviour, as well as through communication and interaction with others.

AIM

The present study examined the relations among parent involvement, metacognitive strategies, and academic achievement to investigate the mediational role of metacognition in the relation between parent involvement and academic achievement.

SAMPLE

The participants were 1,398 high school students from Spain (47% female, M = 12. 5 years).

METHOD

Multiple multilevel mediation analyses with Monte Carlo confidence intervals were used for measuring within-subjects effects at the student level and between-subjects effects at the class level. Parent involvement (perception of support, organization, and interest in the educational process; expectations; school relationship; time of support with homework) and metacognition were measured by questionnaires, whereas academic achievement was assessed using the end-of-term grades obtained by students for nine subjects.

RESULTS

First, there was a significant direct effect of most parent involvement constructs on the mediational and dependent variables at both the within and between levels. Expectations had the highest predictive power on academic achievement. On the other hand, metacognitive strategies were an important mediator for all parent involvement constructs at both levels of analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the importance of metacognition during early adolescence and suggest that parent involvement is crucial for the future development of educational models.

Can Hovering Hinder Helping? Examining the Joint Effects of Helicopter Parenting and Attachment on Prosocial Behaviors and Empathy in Emerging Adults

While previous research has established links among multiple aspects of parenting, empathy, and prosocial behaviors in youth, little is known regarding the relations between helicopter parenting, a particular type of parental over control, and empathy and prosocial behaviors (Padilla-Walker, 2014). Because helicopter parenting could undermine empathic and prosocial outcomes by negatively impacting self-regulatory behaviors and promoting narcissistic tendencies (Padilla-Walker, 2014; Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, & Murphy, 2012; Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, & Montgomery, 2013), the author sought to examine potential relationships among these constructs. A battery of self-report measures was administered to an emerging adult sample (N = 187 college students; 49% women; M age = 18.81 years; 71% White). Hierarchical multiple regression model results indicated that both maternal and paternal helicopter parenting predicted fewer positive prosocial and empathic outcomes, and these relations depended on parental attachment, gender, and specific outcome assessed. Helicopter parenting appears to be a distinct type of parental overcontrol that especially contributes to moral development.