Relationships Among Emerging Adult Psychological Problems, Maltreatment, and Parental Psychopathology: Moderation by Parent-Child Relationship Quality

The Dyadic Influence of Relationship Hope on Family Functioning

There is a continued need to understand family factors that can promote child well-being and reduce their risks for mental health problems. Drawing from research on family dynamics and using a cross-sectional design, this study examined the association between relationship hope, couple satisfaction, and family functioning using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) on dyadic data collected from 537 opposi-gender, ethnically diverse, low-income couples. Results indicated that, while accounting for couple satisfaction as a covariate, women's relationship hope was positively associated with their own perceptions of parental teamwork and family relationship. Men's relationship hope was positively linked with their own perceptions of parental teamwork and parent-child relationships. Additionally, men's level of relationship hope positively influenced women's perceptions of family relationships. Findings highlight the systemic nature of relationship hope and its relationship to enhanced family functioning. Implications for clinical practice focus on the importance of fostering relationship hope within couples to promote positive parenting practices and family stability.

The moderating role of parent-child interaction in the relationship between maltreatment and psychological well-being among preschool children

Objective

This study aimed to examine the relationship between maltreatment and psychological well-being among preschool children and explore parent-child interaction's moderating role on this association.

Methods

This study employed a cross-sectional design and multistage stratified cluster random sampling method. Between December 2022 and January 2023, 180 kindergartens in the Hainan province-encompassing 4,886 newly enrolled children as participants-were selected. All data were collected using an online platform, on which parents or caregivers reported their children's history of abuse and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Chinese Parent-Child Interaction Scale.

Result

The reporting rate of child abuse in Hainan Province was 61.81%. Specifically, frequent physical abuse (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15-1.80), occasional physical neglect (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.37-2.11), frequent physical neglect (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.31-1.87), and frequent emotional abuse (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.31-1.87) were associated with a higher overall rate of difficulties. Frequent physical abuse (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.08-1.64) and frequent emotional abuse (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.16-1.61) were correlated with a higher rate of prosocial problems. A significant interaction was observed between parent-child interaction and occasional physical neglect on psychological well-being (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.54-0.98, p = 0.035).

Conclusion

Preschool children who experience maltreatment exhibit an increased risk of developing psychological health issues, indicating a cumulative effect. Our study indicates that positive parent-child interaction mitigates occasional physical neglect's negative impact on preschool children's psychological well-being but does not exhibit a moderating effect on frequent physical neglect or other forms of maltreatment.

Intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment exposure, mother-offspring relationship quality, and adult romantic attachment in emerging adults

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment (CM; sexual and physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and exposure to intimate partner violence) is a prevalent and harmful public health problem, with severe consequences for children's physical, psychological, and social development. CM exposure has been found to recur in families, indicating intergenerational continuity, which may stem from attachment-related factors.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine whether mothers' CM exposure is associated with attachment insecurity in their emerging adult offspring, through the emerging adult's CM exposure and mother-emerging adult relationship quality.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A sample of 139 mother-emerging adult dyads were recruited across Canada.

METHODS

Participants completed an online survey documenting CM exposure, attachment, and relationship quality. A sequential mediation model was tested.

RESULTS

An indirect association was found for mother's CM exposure with emerging adult romantic attachment anxiety, through emerging adult's CM exposure and mother-emerging adult relationship quality (β = 0.02, p = .036), and with romantic attachment avoidance through emerging adult CM exposure alone (β = 0.03, p = .047). Findings suggest that mothers reporting greater CM exposure tended to have offspring reporting greater CM exposure, which was negatively associated with mother-emerging adult relationship quality, and in turn greater emerging adult romantic attachment insecurity.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should replicate these findings using dyadic modeling with larger samples and longitudinal data. Policies increasing the accessibility of individual and group interventions for emerging adults and their parents who experienced CM are needed, particularly targeting interpersonal functioning, which may increase their social resources and reduce revictimization risk.

Associations between parents' and grandparents' depressive symptoms, intergenerational coparenting relationships, and (grand)parenting behaviors: An actor-partner interdependence mediation model

Intergenerational coparenting has become an increasingly common family phenomenon across the globe. In this study, we examined the associations among depressive symptoms, perceptions of intergenerational coparenting relationships, and (grand)parenting behaviors. Participants were parents and grandparents most involved in child care from 464 Chinese coparenting families sampled in urban China. The results from a test of the actor-partner interdependence mediation model showed that the depressive symptoms of parents and grandparents were indirectly and positively related to their harsh discipline of children or negatively related to their supportiveness toward children, and the association was mediated via their own perceptions of the coparenting relationship. In addition, parents' depressive symptoms were indirectly and positively related to grandparental harsh parenting or negatively related to grandparental supportive parenting through grandparents' perceived coparenting relationship. Grandparents' depressive symptoms were indirectly and positively related to parental harsh parenting or negatively related to parental supportive parenting through parents' perceptions of the coparenting relationship. This study highlights the importance of uncovering the processes and dynamics of parent-grandparent coparenting practices through a lens of family systems and interdependence theories as well as a dyadic approach. It also has practical implications for family interventions in the context of intergenerational coparenting. Specifically, this study recommends parallel (grand)parenting intervention sessions for parents and grandparents simultaneously to benefit the well-being of all three generations.

Maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms and family conflict: An autoregressive cross-lagged examination of competing models in multi-stressed mothers and adolescents

Maternal and adolescent depression are challenges that often co-occur. Many studies have drawn bivariate associations between maternal depressive symptoms, adolescent depressive symptoms, and family conflict, but few have examined reciprocal effects. Even among extant studies, there is a lack of clarity related to directionality of influence. Three competing theoretical models may explain the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms, adolescent depressive symptoms, and family conflict, and these processes may differ by adolescents' sex. Using three time points of data from 187 diverse mother-adolescent dyads, we fit a taxonomy of autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models to simultaneously evaluate the competing theoretical models and also examine differences by sex using multiple-group analyses. Results indicate a symptom-driven model whereby adolescent depressive symptoms predicted increases in family conflict. Sex differences were also found. For males, but not females, greater adolescent depressive symptoms predicted subsequent increases in maternal depressive symptoms, which then predicted lower family conflict-possibly indicating maternal disengagement/withdrawal. Our findings suggest addressing adolescent depressive symptoms in order to prevent family conflict and that distinctive targets for the prevention/intervention of family conflict should account for differences by adolescents' sex.

Child maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and parental monitoring in relation to adolescent behavior problems: Disaggregating between and within person effects

BACKGROUND

Parent-child relationship quality (PCRQ) and parental monitoring (PM) are associated with adolescent behavior problems following child maltreatment (CM). Whether these associations are best characterized as between (trait) or within-person (state) differences is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

Disaggregate between and within-person effects for PCRQ and PM on adolescent behavior problems and test whether these effects vary as a function of prior CM.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants (n = 941) are from the Longitudinal Studies on Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).

METHODS

Multi-level modeling was employed using PCRQ, PM, and adolescent behaviors assessed at ages 12, 14, and 16 and confirmed CM prior to age 12.

RESULTS

At the between-person level, adolescents with higher average levels of PCRQ and PM had significantly lower initial levels of externalizing (b = -9.47 and -5.54, respectively, p's < 0.05; possible range 0-66) and internalizing behaviors (b = -4.45 and -6.41, respectively, p's < 0.001; possible range 0-62). At the within-person level, greater declines in externalizing and internalizing behaviors were found when individuals reported higher-than-usual levels of PCRQ (b = -4.99 and -2.59, respectively, for externalizing and internalizing, p's < 0.001) and PM (b = -3.58 and -1.69, respectively, for externalizing and internalizing, p's < 0.001). There was an interaction between PM and CM on internalizing behaviors over time (b = -1.15, p = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONS

There are between and within-person effects of PCRQ and PM on adolescent behavior problems. Adolescents with CM histories and low levels of PM may be at risk for sustained internalizing behaviors.

Parental Discipline During Emerging Adulthood: A Person-Centered Approach

Although most parental discipline research examines the effects of discipline in children and adolescents, recent research has demonstrated that emerging adults continue to receive parental discipline. Importantly, a newly validated instrument for assessing discipline specifically during emerging adulthood has been created. Scales from this instrument include maternal and paternal approval, disappointment, and abuse, and these scales were associated with other parenting behaviors and psychological outcomes during emerging adulthood. However, a person-centered approach has not been conducted with this instrument. Given that discipline occurs at an idiographic level and that group norms inform such behaviors, a person-centered approach would identify highly informative emerging adult profiles based on patterns of discipline they receive from their parents. Thus, the current study utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) of 1110 participants attending a Southern United States university to identify emerging adult discipline profiles. These groups were then associated with parental and emerging adult psychological problems to gain an understanding of how these factors relate to different patterns of discipline across gender. Results best supported four profiles labeled as approving, distant, disappointed, and abusive. These groups reported increasingly higher parental and personal psychological problems across approving, distant, disappointed, and abusive profiles. Gender moderated some of these effects. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Parent-Child Relationship Quality, Childhood Maltreatment, and Psychological Symptoms in Chinese Adolescent

This study aimed to examine the association between childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality with psychological symptoms and to explore the moderating role of parent-child relationship quality in the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms among adolescents. It also probed to the role of gender differences in this effect. A representative sample of 14,500 middle school students in China were asked to complete a standard questionnaire on the details of childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and psychological symptoms. All data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. The PROCESS program was used to analyze whether parent-child relationship quality moderated the link between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms. The analyses revealed significant correlations between childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and psychological symptoms (p < .001). Specifically, paternal relationship quality moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms in the total sample (B = -0.01, p < .05) and the subgroup of girls (B = -0.01, p < .05), while maternal relationship quality moderated only the association between childhood maltreatment and psychological symptoms in the subgroup of boys (B = -0.01, p < .05). As the findings indicate, priority should be given to the quality of parent-child relationship and gender-specific methods employed to effectively reduce the psychological symptoms of adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Emerging Adult Antisocial Problems and Psychological and Physical Maltreatment: Moderation by Other Parent-Child Relationship Quality

Current research supports that both psychological/physical maltreatment by parents and parent-child relationship quality strongly correlate with children's psychopathology. Less research has examined the interaction effects among these variables, especially in emerging adults. The current study analyzed the association between psychological/physical maltreatment experienced from one parent and antisocial behaviors displayed by emerging adults, as well as the moderating effect of the other parent's parent-child relationship quality. This sample included 1,364 emerging adults (953 females, 411 males) who reported on past year psychological and physical maltreatment and parent-child relationship quality. Results indicated that, when considered together, parent-child relationship quality was a stronger predictor of emerging antisocial problems than maltreatment, with the exception of the father-son dyad. Additionally, overall findings suggested that having a high-quality relationship with one caregiver was associated with lower antisocial problems in the context of high maltreatment from the other caregiver. Nevertheless, there were deviations from this norm. Unexpectedly, the lowest antisocial problems in females were associated with higher levels of paternal physical maltreatment combined with higher levels of maternal parent-child relationship quality. Moreover, the combination of low paternal psychological maltreatment and low maternal relationship quality was associated with particularly high antisocial problems in males. It is important to note the findings in the context of this sample of college students, who could be considered an advantaged group relative to some others. Since our sample might not represent our entire population of interest, which is emerging adults, it is important for future studies to examine these relationships across more diverse emerging adults. Practical implications are discussed.

Demographic, clinical, and service-use characteristics related to the clinician's recommendation to transition from child to adult mental health services

PURPOSE

The service configuration with distinct child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and adult mental health services (AMHS) may be a barrier to continuity of care. Because of a lack of transition policy, CAMHS clinicians have to decide whether and when a young person should transition to AMHS. This study describes which characteristics are associated with the clinicians' advice to continue treatment at AMHS.

METHODS

Demographic, family, clinical, treatment, and service-use characteristics of the MILESTONE cohort of 763 young people from 39 CAMHS in Europe were assessed using multi-informant and standardized assessment tools. Logistic mixed models were fitted to assess the relationship between these characteristics and clinicians' transition recommendations.

RESULTS

Young people with higher clinician-rated severity of psychopathology scores, with self- and parent-reported need for ongoing treatment, with lower everyday functional skills and without self-reported psychotic experiences were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment. Among those who had been recommended to continue treatment, young people who used psychotropic medication, who had been in CAMHS for more than a year, and for whom appropriate AMHS were available were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment at AMHS. Young people whose parents indicated a need for ongoing treatment were more likely to be recommended to stay in CAMHS.

CONCLUSION

Although the decision regarding continuity of treatment was mostly determined by a small set of clinical characteristics, the recommendation to continue treatment at AMHS was mostly affected by service-use related characteristics, such as the availability of appropriate services.