Adapting to the changing needs of adolescents: parenting practices and challenges to sensitive attunement

Helicopter Parenting and Youth Affective Well-Being: Need Satisfaction as a Within-Family Mediator

Parenting processes occur within families and unfold over time. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), helicopter parenting can threaten youth's psychological need satisfaction and undermine well-being. This study represents the first investigation of these theorized within-family, time-lagged processes. The research followed 350 late adolescents in Hong Kong (Mage = 18.2, SDage = 1.09, 39.7% male, 60.3% female, 98.9% Chinese) for an academic year, collecting 16 bi-weekly reports of maternal helicopter parenting, youth affective well-being, and youth psychological need satisfaction. Preregistered Dynamic Structural Equation Models showed that, within families, helicopter parenting predicted decreased autonomy and relatedness (but not competence) satisfaction, which subsequently predicted decreased positive affect and increased negative affect. Parenting effects were time-dependent, exhibiting differences in valence and statistical significance between concurrent and time-lagged associations. This meso-longitudinal study highlights the applicability of SDT to parenting contexts and underscores the significance of considering the timeframe in understanding parenting processes.

Parents' Experiences of Raising 7- to 11-Year-Old Children With ADHD and Perception of a Proposed Parenting Program: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE

To examine the experiences of Australian parents raising primary school-aged children with ADHD and gather feedback on a proposed ADHD parenting program.

METHODS

Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews undertaken with 11 Australian parents of 7- to 11-year-old children with ADHD. Interviews were conducted over Webex, audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed in NVivo Ltd. software.

RESULTS

We identified four themes: (1) "I love my child but their ADHD traits are challenging," (2) "Compliance, control, and completion," (3) "It's hard, burdensome, and exhausting and I can feel like I'm alone," and (4) "What a welcome relief."

CONCLUSION

Parents report that although raising neurotypical children is difficult, the presence of childhood ADHD increases the emotional and support burden placed on them. Parents were also very interested in and supportive of the proposed ADHD parenting program. The program aims to enhance parents' understanding of the neurocognitive implications of ADHD and to foster secure parent-child attachment, attuned parental responsiveness, and age-appropriate development of traits that promote well-being, adaption and recovery in people with ADHD.).

On the edge of the social media landscape: associations with adolescent substance use and moderation by parental rules

BACKGROUND

Adolescent problematic social media use (PSMU) has been increasing. Digital engagement has been associated with substance use, but little is known about the potential protective role of parents. We investigated whether screen and substance-related parental rules moderated the associations between (problematic) SMU and intake of tobacco, alcohol, hashish/marijuana, and laughing gas.

METHODS

We used data from the Amsterdam Born Children and Development study (N = 1787; Mage = 15.86 years; SD = 0.36). Both frequent and problematic SMU in relation to tobacco, alcohol, hashish/marijuana, and laughing gas intake levels; and moderation by perceived parental rules (screen/substances), was tested with ordinal logistic regression models.

RESULTS

PSMU was associated with higher chances of higher substance use levels. Hashish/marijuana use and heavy drinking were less prevalent in adolescents reporting the presence of parental rules on alcohol/drugs, compared to adolescents reporting no rules. Although parental rules on alcohol/drugs, but not screen time, moderated the relationship between PSMU and both hashish/marijuana use and heavy drinking, the moderation effect was modest, especially in mitigating substance use at higher PSMU-scores.

CONCLUSION

PSMU was positively associated with a wide range of substance use behaviours. The potential significant role of parental rules (alcohol/drugs) mitigating these associations are highlighted.

The Interpersonal Antecedents of Attachment Security in Early Adulthood

Background/Objectives: The relevance of adult attachment security for physical and emotional wellbeing is increasingly evident. Developing a better understanding of the interpersonal antecedents of secure attachment in childhood and adolescence could enable opportunities for its promotion when attachment styles are more easily modifiable. Methods: Data from 3648 participants in a longitudinal birth cohort study were examined. At 21 years, participants completed the confidence (in self and others) subscale of the Attachment Style Questionnaire, a measure of attachment security. Path analysis was used to longitudinally examine the influence of maternal and child-reported interpersonal variables at birth, 5, and 14 years on attachment security in early adulthood. Results: Two pathways were identified. Firstly, child and family social relations at birth and 5 years predicted attachment security via the number of the child's close friends at 14 years (β = 0.11, p < 0.001). Secondly, attuned caregiving at 14 years predicted attachment security via the recalled experiences of parental care up to 16 years, measured at 21 years (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). Greater adolescent family satisfaction directly predicted increased attachment security in early adulthood (β = 0.10, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Child and family social relationships from birth and throughout childhood and adolescence, along with attuned caregiving, led to increased attachment security in early adulthood. Public health and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening social support systems for caregivers and their children throughout childhood, and increasing the uptake of parenting programmes aimed at strengthening attuned caregiving, may lead to long-term improvements in the attachment security of offspring.

A mixed-methods exploration of autonomy-supportive parenting, confidence, and natural mentoring relationships among Black adolescents

The current study examined whether autonomy-supportive parenting practices may be associated with Black adolescents' quantity of natural mentors (i.e., adults from youths' everyday lives who youth go to for support and guidance) via adolescents' confidence. This study employed survey data from 216 Black youth and qualitative interviews from a subsample of youth (n = 25), their primary caregivers (n = 25), and one nonparental adult relative with whom the youth reported feeling close (n = 25). Comparative analyses were then completed among a subset of 10 family triads corresponding to youth from the qualitative subsample who had the highest (n = 5) and the lowest (n = 5) scores on a survey measure of adolescents' confidence. Study findings suggest that Black adolescents' confidence may be an explanatory link in the association between autonomy-supportive parenting practices among primary caregivers and Black adolescents' quantity of natural mentoring relationships. Moreover, we found that a range of autonomy-supportive parenting practices may be associated with youth confidence, which may, in turn, inform how Black adolescents engage with adults in their social networks.

A scoping review of the research evidence of the developmental assets model in Europe

Introduction

Positive Youth Development (PYD) is a strength-based perspective that focuses on the resources to promote a successful transition to adulthood, derived from the Relational Developmental Systems theory. In this line, the Developmental Assets (DA) model focuses on describing the personal resources (Internal Assets) and contextual resources (External Assets) that help to reach PYD. Most research from this approach has been carried out in United States and, to a lesser extent, in the European continent. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the evidence collected for the DA model in Europe.

Methods

Web of Science database was used to search for articles published between 2013 and February 2024. Initially, there were 55 possible articles to be included, but after applying the exclusion criteria, this number was reduced to 11.

Results

The findings suggested that the evidence for DA in Europe was in line with North American research, so that a higher presence of DA was related to higher well-being, better psychological adjustment, and lower risk behaviors. Internal Assets were the most influential assets, with the Positive Identity category being especially remarkable. Commitment to Learning and Social Competencies were also highlighted in the studies included in the review. Concerning External Assets, Positive Boundaries-expectations and Empowerment were emphasized as protective factors in youth development. These assets were found to present a protective effect against risk behaviors and were positively associated with PYD and socioemotional skills.

Discussion

Thus, these findings support the applicability of the DA framework in promoting PYD in European context, and some intervention strategies are discussed considering cultural diversity.

The lived experience of mental disorders in adolescents: a bottom-up review co-designed, co-conducted and co-written by experts by experience and academics

We provide here the first bottom-up review of the lived experience of mental disorders in adolescents co-designed, co-conducted and co-written by experts by experience and academics. We screened first-person accounts within and outside the medical field, and discussed them in collaborative workshops involving numerous experts by experience - representing different genders, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and continents - and their family members and carers. Subsequently, the material was enriched by phenomenologically informed perspectives and shared with all collaborators. The inner subjective experience of adolescents is described for mood disorders, psychotic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, externalizing disorders, and self-harm behaviors. The recollection of individuals' past histories also indexes the prodromal (often transdiagnostic) features predating the psychiatric diagnosis. The experience of adolescents with mental disorders in the wider society is described with respect to their family, their school and peers, and the social and cultural context. Furthermore, their lived experience of mental health care is described with respect to receiving a diagnosis of mental disorder, accessing mental health support, receiving psychopharmacological treatment, receiving psychotherapy, experiencing peer support and mental health activism, and achieving recovery. These findings can impact clinical practice, research, and the whole society. We hope that this co-designed, co-conducted and co-written journey can help us maintain our commitment to protecting adolescents' fragile mental health, and can help them develop into a healthy, fulfilling and contributing adult life.

Early life adversity and adolescent sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reorganization of adolescents' routines, especially their sleep schedules. Utilising 175 caregiver-adolescent dyads, the current study examined associations of biological (e.g., prenatal substance use), environmental (e.g., poverty), and relational (e.g., child maltreatment) subtypes of early life adversity (ELA) with various components of adolescents' sleep across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Relational ELA explained unique variance in adolescents' sleep disturbances, but not other sleep components, following short- and longer-term exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the direction of this association switched such that relational ELA predicted decreased sleep disturbances during the initial phase of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 beyond pre-pandemic levels, but, over time, contributed to increased sleep disturbances beyond early-pandemic levels as the pandemic extended into the winter of 2020.

The unique role of adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, and maternal-adolescent communication in their association with attachment in early adulthood

Attachment styles influence mental health and relationships through life. Few studies examine the adolescent factors associated with adult attachment styles. This paper examines the association between adolescent emotional and behavioral problems and maternal-adolescent communication with attachment style in early adulthood. Data from 3423 participants in a birth cohort study were examined. At 14-years, participants' mothers completed the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale. Participants completed the Youth Self-Report at 14-years which measures internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) at 21-years. The ASQ comprises five domains of internal working models of interpersonal relationships and attachment style: confidence (security), discomfort with closeness and relationships as secondary (avoidance), need for approval and preoccupation with relationships (anxiety). Associations were examined using general linear models. After adjustments, internalizing symptoms score was associated with all domains of attachment and externalizing symptoms score was associated with four domains of attachment insecurity, but not attachment security. Low openness in maternal-adolescent communication was most strongly associated with decreased confidence and high problem maternal-adolescent communication was associated with viewing relationships as secondary. Adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems and maternal-adolescent communication may benefit from attachment-based interventions to support the development of healthy relationships and attachments in young adulthood.

Psychometrics of the Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory among caregivers and youth with HIV

Parenting has been implicated in a range of youth health outcomes. Positive parenting during adolescence, a critical period of developmental change, may equip youth with the necessary tools for their transition into adulthood and, for youth living with HIV, their transition from pediatric HIV care into adult HIV care. Yet, because few studies have carefully assessed the psychometric properties of parenting instruments applied cross-culturally, the validity of parenting research derived in these contexts remains unclear. This study tested the factor structure of the Children's Report of Parenting Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) in a novel setting (e.g., Rwanda), context (e.g., youth with HIV), and considering multiple informants (caregivers and youth). Youth (N = 330) were on average 16.78 years of age; 51% self-identified as female. Caregivers (N = 330) were on average 44.40 years of age; 80% self-identified as female. The factor structures for youth and caregiver CRPBIs appeared to be indicative of two dimensions: (a) acceptance and positive involvement, and (b) hostile detachment and rejection. The CRPBI worked well for youth reports and showed predictive validity. The CRPBI worked less well for caregivers, necessitating the removal of 10 items, seven of which were related to hostile detachment and rejection. The reliability of both CRPBIs was supported. The CRPBI appears to function well for youth, but not as well for caregivers, in this novel context with this unique population of youth with HIV. The findings support careful assessment of instruments developed in high-resource settings and then used in resource-constrained contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Inter-Parental Conflict's Persistent Effects on Adolescent Psychological Distress, Adjustment Issues, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Lockdown

The current study sought to ascertain the impact of inter-parent conflicts on teenage psychological distress, social and academic adjustment and examine the suicide ideation during the COVID-19. The results found to be alarming as 22% of the individuals displayed suicidal tendencies, with 9% having attempted suicide once, 4.6% having tried suicide twice, and 11% stating that they were likely to do so again. Therefore, the media and the government might host awareness programs and counseling initiatives to promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior. Moreover, parents may be educated on community level, about the effect of inter-parental arguments on the mental health of their children.

Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy

Parental burnout refers to exhaustion caused by the parenting role. This devastating negative emotion can have repercussions for adolescent social development. Nevertheless, much remains unclear about the association between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior and the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. Based on theoretical and empirical evidence, the current study examined the relationship between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior by using a sequential mediation model that included both parental empathy and adolescent empathy as potential mediators. A total of 488 parent-adolescent dyads (for adolescents: 45.7% men, 54.3% women, Mage = 15.28 ± 1.67 years; for parents: 36.5% fathers, 63.5% mothers, Mage = 41.30 ± 3.79 years) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, social desirability, parental burnout, parental empathy, adolescent empathy, and adolescent prosocial behavior. After controlling for demographic covariates and social desirability, the results showed that parental burnout had a negative effect on adolescent-reported prosocial behavior through parental cognitive empathy and adolescent other-oriented empathy (adolescent cognitive empathy and empathic concern) sequentially. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of parental burnout as a family environmental factor detrimental to the positive functioning of adolescents through parental reactions to their children's emotions and children's own social competence.

The developmental trends of parental self-efficacy and adolescents' rule-breaking behaviors in the Italian context: A 7-wave latent growth curve study

Parental self-efficacy (PSE) captures parents' beliefs in their ability to perform the parenting role successfully and to handle pivotal issues of specific developmental periods. Although previous studies have shown that, across the transition to adolescence, parents show decreasing levels of PSE while adolescents exhibit increasing engagement in rule-breaking (RB) behaviors, there is a paucity of studies investigating whether and how changes in PSE are related to late adolescents' RB behaviors across development. The present study examined the developmental trends of PSE among Italian mothers and fathers over seven waves (representing children's transition from late childhood to late adolescence; approximately from 9 to 18 years old) as well as the longitudinal associations between PSE and RB behaviors during late adolescence. Data were drawn from seven waves of the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) project, a large-scale longitudinal, cross-cultural study, and included 200 Italian children (MAgeAtTime1 = 9.80, SD = 0.65; 50.5% girls) and their parents (200 mothers; 190 fathers). PSE was measured across all seven time-points (from T1 to T7), while adolescents' RB behaviors were measured at the first and last assessment (T1 and T7). Results of univariate latent growth models showed a cubic trend of mothers' PSE, which revealed a decreasing pattern characterized initially by a slight decline, followed by a rebound before continuously decreasing. By contrast, fathers' PSE followed a linear decrease over time. Finally, our findings evidenced that only the slope of mothers' PSE negatively predicted adolescents' RB behaviors at T7, implying that mothers who maintained higher levels of PSE over time had children who later engaged in lower RB behaviors. The study implications are discussed.

Adolescents' Comfort in Disclosing to Caregivers Predicts Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Directly and Indirectly Through Difficulties in Emotion Regulation

Despite adolescents' suicidal thoughts and behaviors being major health problems, sparse literature exists on the roles of adolescents' disclosing their feelings to caregivers in their suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This study examined whether adolescents' comfort in disclosing their feelings and problems to caregivers predicts subsequent suicidal thoughts and behaviors and whether difficulties in emotion regulation mediate this association. High school students (N = 5,346 from 20 schools, 49% female-identified adolescents, and 35% 9th graders, 33% 10th graders, and 32% 11th graders) participated in the study for two years with four waves, each six months apart: fall semester in Year 1 (Wave 1), spring semester in Year 1 (Wave 2), fall semester in Year 2 (Wave 3), and spring semester in Year 2 (Wave 4). The degree to which adolescents felt comfortable disclosing their feelings and problems to caregivers at Wave 1 predicted lower suicidal thoughts and behaviors at Wave 4 directly and indirectly via higher emotional clarity at Wave 2 and feeling more able to handle negative emotions at Wave 3. Moreover, when female-identified adolescents reported feeling unable to handle negative emotions at Wave 3, they reported engaging in more suicidal thoughts and behaviors at Wave 4 than male-identified adolescents. Therefore, enhancing adolescents' comfort in disclosing their feelings and problems to caregivers and adolescent emotion regulation and taking a nuanced approach to support female-identified adolescents regarding their ability to handle negative emotions could prevent adolescents' suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Experiences, Perspectives, and Barriers to Physical Activity Parenting Practices for Chinese Early Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Parents play an important role in shaping youth's lifestyle behaviors. This study aimed to investigate physical activity parenting practices (PAPP) for Chinese early adolescents and compare reporting discrepancies between parents and adolescent boys and girls.

METHODS

Fifty-five adolescent-parent dyads participated in 16 paired focus group interviews, and an additional 122 dyads completed questionnaire surveys with open-ended questions. Participants were recruited from 3 public middle schools in Suzhou, China. Qualitative data were analyzed inductively using an open-coding scheme. Frequencies of codes were compared by parent-child role and adolescent gender using chi-square tests.

RESULTS

Eighteen types of PAPP were identified and grouped into 6 categories: goals/control, structure, parental physical activity participation, communication, support, and discipline. These PAPP were viewed as promotive, preventive, or ineffective. Participants had mixed opinions on the effects of 11 PAPP and identified parental, adolescent, and environmental barriers for parents to promote youth physical activity. Compared with parents, adolescents were more likely to value the effects of setting expectation, scheduling, and coparticipation as well as dislike pressuring, restriction, and punishment. Girls were more likely to favor coparticipation and were more sensitive about negative communication than boys. Parents paid more attention to environmental barriers, whereas adolescents, especially girls, focused more on personal issues.

CONCLUSIONS

Future studies need to address both positive and negative PAPP as well as perception discrepancies by child-parent role and adolescent gender to generate more evidence to promote parents as favorable socialization agents of youth physical activity.

Biological sensitivity to context as a dyadic construct: An investigation of child-parent RSA synchrony among low-SES youth

Parenting behaviors are significantly linked to youths' behavioral adjustment, an association that is moderated by youths' and parents' self-regulation. The biological sensitivity to context theory suggests that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) indexes youths' varying susceptibility to rearing contexts. However, self-regulation in the family context is increasingly viewed as a process of "coregulation" that is biologically embedded and involves dynamic Parent×Child interactions. No research thus far has examined physiological synchrony as a dyadic biological context that may moderate associations between parenting behaviors and preadolescent adjustment. Using a two-wave sample of 101 low-socioeconomic status (SES) families (children and caretakers; mean age 10.28 years), we employed multilevel modeling to examine dyadic coregulation during a conflict task, indicated by RSA synchrony, as a moderator of the linkages between observed parenting behaviors and preadolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. Results showed that high dyadic RSA synchrony resulted in a multiplicative association between parenting and youth adjustment. High dyadic synchrony intensified the relations between parenting behaviors and youth behavior problems, such that in the context of high dyadic synchrony, positive and negative parenting behaviors were associated with decreased and increased behavioral problems, respectively. Parent-child dyadic RSA synchrony is discussed as a potential biomarker of biological sensitivity in youth.

Parent-based interventions to improve multiple lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Lifestyle risk behaviors often co-occur and are prevalent among adolescents. Parent-based interventions addressing risk behaviors concurrently have the potential to improve youth and parent outcomes. This systematic review evaluated the efficacy of parent-based interventions targeting multiple lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents and parents. MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycInfo (Ovid), Scopus, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched from 2010-May 2021. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of parent-based interventions addressing 2+ risk behaviors: alcohol use, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, sedentary behaviors, and poor sleep. Studies directly targeting parents, and that assessed adolescent outcomes (11-18 years) were eligible. Where possible, random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. From 11,975 identified records, 46 publications of 36 RCTs (n = 28,322 youth, n = 7385 parents) were eligible. Parent-based interventions were associated with improved adolescent moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.18, 2.81; p = 0.007], and reduced screen time (SMD = -0.39, 95% CI = -0.62, -0.16, p = 0.0009) and discretionary food intake (SMD = -0.18; 95% CI = -0.30, -0.06; p = 0.002) compared to controls. However, there was some evidence that interventions increased the odds of ever using tobacco in the medium-term (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 0.99, 2.18, p = 0.06) and of past month tobacco use in the long-term (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.12, 1.90; p = 0.005). Overall, the quality of evidence was moderate. Parent-based interventions targeting multiple risk behaviors improved adolescent MVPA, and reduced screen time discretionary food intake. Further research is needed to address sleep problems and increase intervention efficacy, particularly for alcohol and tobacco use.

Protective and risk activities for emotional and behavioural well-being of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown

BACKGROUND

The lockdown imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic brought deep changes in the daily life of Italian children and adolescents, increasing the time spent at home. This study aims to explore how activities that children and adolescents carried out at home during the lockdown were related to their emotional and behavioural well-being.

METHOD

Parents completed an anonymous online survey on how much time their children and adolescents dedicated to social networks, solitary screen time, play time and to a series of parent-child dyadic activities. They also reported on their offspring's emotional difficulties and behavioural problems.

RESULTS

The use of social networks had a negative impact on children's emotional difficulties, while it promoted well-being in adolescents. Pertaining to solitary screen activities, these were associated with more behavioural problems in both children and adolescents. Regarding parent-child dyadic activities, get along with the parent was associated with less emotional difficulties and behavioural problems in children and with less behavioural problems in adolescents. Furthermore, for adolescents, the more they talked with the parent, the less behavioural problems they evidenced.

CONCLUSION

The current study may help to identify activities that could be promoted and those that should be limited to effectively menage home time, in order to ultimately safeguard the emotional and behavioural well-being of children and adolescents.

A Multi-Country Study of Risk and Protective Factors for Emotional and Behavioral Problems Among Early Adolescents

PURPOSE

Early adolescence (ages 10-14) is a critical period for psychosocial development, but few studies have focused on risk and protective factors for emergent psychosocial challenges among youth living in low- and middle-income countries. This study explored the contribution of social environmental factors to patterns of emotional and behavioral problems among early adolescents across four low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS

Participants were drawn from the Global Early Adolescent Study, and included 10,437 early adolescents from six low-resource urban settings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Indonesia, and China. Multivariate latent class regression was used to examine the associations between distinct patterns of emotional and behavioral problems and risk and protective factors across the family, peer, school, and neighborhood levels.

RESULTS

Across countries, childhood adversity, peer bullying behaviors, and a perceived lack of school safety were consistently associated with emotional and behavioral problems. With some contextual variability, peer substance use and a perceived lack of neighborhood safety also emerged as significant risk factors. The magnitude of these associations was generally greatest among a subgroup of early adolescents with co-occurring emotional and behavioral problems.

DISCUSSION

The overall consistency of findings across countries is suggestive of the generalizability of risk factors in early adolescence and indicates that interventions bolstering psychosocial adjustment among this age group may have applicability in diverse cross-national settings. Given the significance of peer bullying behaviors and school safety, multicomponent school-based interventions may be an especially applicable approach.

The Effectiveness of Educational Interventions on Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In consideration of the adverse societal, physical, and psychological impacts of bullying on a child's development and future, many studies have developed anti-bullying programs and educational interventions to curb bullying occurrences. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to examine the effectiveness of such educational interventions at reducing the frequencies of traditional bullying or cyberbullying and cybervictimization among adolescents. A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Only quantitative studies that reported the effects of educational interventions on reducing the frequencies of traditional bullying or cyberbullying victimization and perpetration were included. Seventeen studies (N_total = 35,694 adolescents, Range_{child age} = 10-18 years) were finalized, and meta-analyses were conducted using a random effect model. Overall, the existing educational interventions had very small to small effect sizes on traditional bullying and cyberbullying perpetration (traditional: standardized mean differences [SMD] = -.30 and cyber: SMD = -.16) and victimization (traditional: SMD = -18 and cyber: SMD = -.13) among adolescents. Type of intervention (i.e., whole school-based or classroom-based), program duration, and presence of parental involvement did not moderate program effectiveness, but cyberbullying programs were more effective when delivered by technology-savvy content experts compared to teachers. Since existing educational interventions were marginally effective in reducing bullying frequencies, further research is needed to identify key moderators that enhance educational programs or develop alternative forms of anti-bullying interventions.

Developmental Stage-Specific Effects of Parenting on Adolescents' Emotion Regulation: A Longitudinal Study From Infancy to Late Adolescence

The quality of parenting shapes the development of children's emotion regulation. However, the relative importance of parenting in different developmental stages, indicative of sensitive periods, has rarely been studied. Therefore, we formulated four hypothetical developmental timing models to test the stage-specific effects of mothering and fathering in terms of parental autonomy and intimacy in infancy, middle childhood, and late adolescence on adolescents' emotion regulation. The emotion regulation included reappraisal, suppression, and rumination. We hypothesized that both mothering and fathering in each developmental stage contribute unique effects to adolescents' emotion regulation patterns. The participants were 885 families followed from pregnancy to late adolescence. This preregistered study used data at the children's ages of 1 year, 7 to 8 years, and 18 years. At each measurement point, maternal and paternal autonomy and intimacy were assessed with self- and partner reports using the Subjective Family Picture Test. At the age of 18 years, adolescents' reappraisal and suppression were assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and rumination using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Stage-specific effects were tested comparing structural equation models. Against our hypotheses, the results showed no effects of mothering or fathering in infancy, middle childhood, or late adolescence on adolescents' emotion regulation patterns. The results were consistent irrespective of both the reporter (i.e., self or partner) and the parental dimension (i.e., autonomy or intimacy). In addition to our main results, there were relatively low agreement between the parents in each other's parenting and descriptive discontinuity of parenting across time (i.e., configural measurement invariance). Overall, we found no support for the stage-specific effects of parent-reported parenting in infancy, middle childhood, or late adolescence on adolescents' emotion regulation. Instead, our findings might reflect the high developmental plasticity of emotion regulation from infancy to late adolescence.

Neural signatures of parental empathic responses to imagined suffering of their adolescent child

Empathy is deemed indispensable for sensitive caregiving. Neuroimaging studies have identified canonical empathy networks consisting of regions supporting cognitive and affective aspects of empathy. However, not much is known about how these regions support empathy towards one's own offspring and how this neural activity relates to parental caregiving. We introduce a novel task to assess affective and neural responses to the suffering of one's own adolescent child. While in the scanner, 60 parents (n = 35 mothers, n = 25 fathers) were confronted with unpleasant situations involving their own child, an unfamiliar child, and themselves. Parents were asked to vividly imagine these situations and indicate their levels of distress. Parents reported higher levels of distress when imagining suffering for their own child relative to an unfamiliar child or themselves. Neuroimaging results showed increased activation within the cognitive empathy network (i.e., temporoparietal junction, dorsomedial- and ventromedial prefrontal cortex) when contrasting suffering of one's own child versus an unfamiliar child or the self. The task also engaged regions of the affective empathy network (i.e., anterior insula and anterior mid-cingulate cortex), which was however not modulated by whether suffering was for the self, one's own child, or an unfamiliar child. Parental care did not co-vary with activity in the empathy networks, but parents who were perceived as less caring exhibited increased activity in anterior prefrontal regions when imagining their own child suffering. These results provide new insights into neural processes supporting parental empathy, highlighting the importance of regions in the cognitive empathy network when confronted with the suffering of their own adolescent child, and suggest that additional (i.e., emotion regulation) networks may be relevant for parental caring behavior in daily life.

Familial Acculturative Stress and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Latinx Immigrant Families of the Southwest

Experiencing acculturative stress burdens Latinx families in a variety of negative and deleterious ways. Using the Family Stress Model, this study aims to explore the patterns and experiences of acculturative stress in Latinx families, and how these experiences related to Latinx adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Data came from baseline reports of three cohorts of parent-youth dyads (n = 532) participating in a longitudinal randomized control effectiveness trial testing a parenting intervention in southwestern U.S. area. Findings indicate that youth exhibited more depressive symptomology when both parent and child reported higher acculturative stress. While youths' anti-social behaviors were only associated with their own acculturative stress and not their parents' acculturative stress levels. This study advances new knowledge about the relationship between acculturative stress and youth behaviors, and provides recommendations for developing future interventions with Latinx youth to prevent the onset of internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

The interaction between parental behavior and motivations to drink alcohol in high school students

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use during adolescence has been predicted by motives to drink or abstain, as well as parental attitudes to youth drinking. As peers can provide access and opportunities to drink, permissiveness of peers' parents toward alcohol is also of importance.

OBJECTIVES

We examined whether adolescent alcohol use is predicted by motives to drink or abstain, strictness of one's own parents, alcohol permissiveness by peers' parents, and an interaction between these factors.

METHOD

A sample of high school students from the Pacific Northwest (N = 1056; 49% girls; m _age = 15.6) completed alcohol use and parenting measures, the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised, and the Motives for Abstaining from Alcohol Questionnaire. A zero-inflated negative binomial regression model examined the combined influence of motives, parent's strictness, and peer's parents' permissiveness on past month use.

RESULTS

Parental permissiveness was associated with higher rates of drinking among students with low (but not high) conformity motives and motives to abstain. Higher parental permissiveness was associated with higher rates of drinking among students with low (but not high) coping motives.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that parental strictness regarding teen alcohol use extends beyond the family unit to influence adolescent drinking in the broader social network. Parents may have a limited capacity to deter drinking through setting rules and expectations for adolescents who are motived to drink to conform but such limit setting maybe particularly helpful for youth with fewer motives to abstain.

Family-based prevention of adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems through early childhood parent factors

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated whether initiating the Family Check-Up (FCU) during early childhood prevented a severe form of psychopathology in adolescence-co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems-and whether effects operated indirectly through early childhood maternal depression and parents' positive behavior support.

METHOD

Participants were drawn from a randomized controlled trial of the FCU (50.2% FCU; 49.5% girls; 46.6% Caucasian, and 27.6% Black; 13.4% Hispanic/Latino). At Ages 2 and 3, mothers self-reported depression, and primary caregivers' (PCs') positive behavior support was coded by trained observers. PCs, alternate caregivers (ACs), and teachers reported on 14-year-olds' problem behaviors. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) identified problem behavior groups for each reporter, which were outcomes in multinomial logistic regressions (PC, n = 672; AC, n = 652; teacher, n = 667).

RESULTS

LPAs identified a low-problem, internalizing-only, externalizing-only, and co-occurring-problem group for each reporter. For PC- and AC-reported outcomes, the FCU predicted a lower likelihood that adolescents belonged to the co-occurring group relative to the low-problem, externalizing-only (p < .05), and internalizing-only (p < .05 for PC, p < 0.10 for AC) groups; these effects operated through maternal depression (p < .05). For teacher-reported outcomes, the FCU predicted a lower likelihood that adolescents belonged to the co-occurring group relative to the low-problem, internalizing-only, and externalizing-only (p < 0.05) groups; effects operated through positive behavior support (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Early delivery of the FCU indirectly prevented adolescents' co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems in both home and school contexts by improving the quality of the early home environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationships between Risky Sexual Practices and Spiritual Intelligence of Adolescents in Indonesia

Adolescents' health problems are closely related to risky practices, one of which is risky sexual practice. Among others, a factor that is important to prevent risky sexual practices is spiritual intelligence of the adolescents. The study aims to analyze the association between spiritual intelligence and risky sexual practice in adolescents in a junior high school at Curug city of Depok, Indonesia. A quantitative observational analysis with cross-sectional approach was applied. The instrument used to measure the variables of spiritual intelligence was the spiritual intelligence self-report inventory. The variable sexual risky practices was measured with the instrument Sexual Risk Survey (SRS). The study involved 302 adolescents who came from three junior high schools (SMP) selected by stratified random sampling. Pearson test analysis showed a significant negative correlation between spiritual intelligence with sexual risky practices (p = .019; r = -.135). A multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression showed that sex is the most influential variable on sexual risky practices. Based on the findings of the research, there is a need to continuously monitor the stage of adolescent growth especially by improving the spiritual intelligence status, so that spiritually intelligent adolescents can suppress the incidence of sexual risky practices.

Protective parenting: neurobiological and behavioral dimensions

The current review focuses on a dimension of parenting that has largely been neglected in studies on human parenting, namely parental protection. Human protective parenting can be observed already during pregnancy, when mothers experiencing morning sickness avoid foods that are likely to carry pathogens and thus could be harmful to the fetus. After the birth of the baby, one of the foremost anxieties of parents is that their child will be abused or killed by strangers. Protective parenting seems to be a species-wide evolutionary-based behavior complementary to the innate bias of each newborn to strive for proximity to a potentially protective attachment figure. Most important target for future work might be to describe, explain and uncover the correlates and consequences of individual differences in the quality of protection-in parents and other caregivers.