Relations of Parenting to Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Distress Moderated by Perception of Neighborhood Danger

Parental monitoring and warmth have traditionally been studied in the context of White, middle-class families. This article explores optimal levels of these parenting behaviors in preventing adolescent psychopathology in impoverished, urban high-crime areas while accounting for child perceptions of neighborhood danger. In this study, data were collected longitudinally at 2 time points 1 year apart from a sample of 254 African American young adolescents (T1: M age = 12.6 years, 41% male) and their parents. Parental monitoring and warmth, child perception of neighborhood danger, and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors were measured using questionnaires. Child internalizing behaviors were also measured using a time sampling technique capturing in vivo accounts of daily distress. Findings indicated associations between parental monitoring and children's externalizing behaviors along with linear and quadratic associations between parental monitoring and internalizing behaviors. Monitoring and warmth were differentially related to symptoms depending on neighborhood danger level. When children perceived less danger, more monitoring related to less externalizing. When children perceived more danger, more warmth related to less internalizing. In addition, adolescents' perceptions of neighborhood danger emerged as equally strong as monitoring and warmth in predicting symptoms. This study underscores the influence of carefully considering parenting approaches and which techniques optimally prevent adolescents' externalizing, as well as prevent internalizing difficulties. It also highlights how context affects mental health, specifically how perceptions of danger negatively influence adolescents' psychopathology, emphasizing the importance of initiatives to reduce violence in communities.     

The role of child gender,problem behaviors,and the family environment on maternal depressive symptoms: findings from mothers of substance abusing runaway adolescents

This study examined the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents' problem behaviors, moderated by adolescent gender, as well as the association between maternal depressive symptoms and the family environment characteristics above and beyond child variables. Data were collected from 137 mothers of runaway adolescents with alcohol and/or substance abuse problems. Results showed that both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors of adolescent girls, as opposed to problem behaviors of boys, were significantly associated with maternal depressive symptoms. In addition, higher family cohesion was significantly related to lower maternal depressive symptoms even after controlling for adolescent problem behaviors. However, no significant relationship was found between family conflict and maternal depressive symptoms. These findings indicate that both adolescents' problem behaviors and mothers' perceptions of the family environment are associated with maternal depressive symptoms, highlighting the potential utility of the family systems theoretical framework for understanding and intervening mothers' emotional problems in the family context. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Longitudinal relations between parental drinking problems, family functioning, and child adjustment

Relations between maternal and paternal problem drinking symptoms and destructive marital conflict, parenting problems, and children's internalizing and externalizing problems were investigated. Participants were community families with a child in kindergarten who completed questionnaire measures at baseline (N=235), 1 year later (N=227), and 2 years later (N=215). Structural equation modeling revealed that paternal problem drinking at Time 1 was associated with greater destructive marital conflict 1 year later. In turn, destructive marital conflict was related to decreased parental warmth and increased parental psychological control; these parenting problems were associated with greater child internalizing and externalizing problems at the third time point. Further analyses revealed that the indirect effects of paternal drinking on children's adjustment were significant, and that relations remained even after including autoregressive effects. Findings are discussed in terms of family process models for relations between parental drinking and child adjustment problems.     

How do adolescents adjust to their parent's multiple sclerosis?: An interview study

Objectives. The aim of this study was to explore how adolescents with a parent with multiple sclerosis (MS) adjust to their parents' illness. Design. We used an inductive qualitative approach with open ended questions as this was appropriate to facilitate the development of a broad and child‐centred understanding of how adolescents adjust and which resources they use to cope with the challenges that are associated with parental MS. Methods. Fifteen semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews were conducted. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results. Adolescents described both positive and negative experiences related to having a parent with MS. Benefits to having a parent with MS included reports of feeling more empathetic to others and more grown‐up. Negative impacts included family tension, less time to spend with friends, and worries about the future. The support from the well parent, siblings, and friends were found to facilitate adolescents' adjustment. Adolescents assuming a parenting role and illness characteristics, such as illness deterioration, relapses and fatigue, challenged adolescents' adjustment to having a parent with MS. Conclusions. Some adolescents described adjusting well to having a parent with MS, while others appeared to have more difficulty. Whilst the severity of the parent's deterioration and symptoms appeared to play a role in adjustment, other potentially modifiable factors such as the lack of well parent's support, adolescents' increased parenting responsibilities, and family tension also posed barriers to adolescents' adjustment. Support interventions may be helpful for vulnerable adolescents, which consider both family and individual factors.     

Longitudinal links among parenting, self-presentations to peers, and the development of externalizing and internalizing symptoms in African American siblings

A longitudinal model that linked involved-supportive parenting and siblings' ability-camouflaging self-presentations to peers with the development of externalizing and internalizing symptoms was tested with 152 pairs of first- and second-born African American siblings (mean ages 12.7 years and 10.2 years at the first wave of data collection). Three waves of data were collected at 1-year intervals. Teachers assessed siblings' externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and academic competence; siblings reported their own self-presentations and desire for peer acceptance; and mothers and siblings provided multiinformant assessments of involved-supportive parenting. Involved-supportive parenting at Wave 1 was linked with peer-directed self-presentations at Wave 2. Wave 2 self-presentations were linked indirectly with changes from Wave 1 to Wave 3 in externalizing and internalizing symptoms through their association with academic competence.     

Effect of Co-Occurrence on the Referability of Internalizing and Externalizing Problem Behavior in Adolescents

Assessed the effect of co-occurring versus not co-occurring internalizing and externalizing behavior problems on the reasons parents reported for clinical referral of their adolescent child. Reasons for referral were coded for 181 inpatient adolescents, and parent ratings of internalizing and externalizing behavior were obtained for a general population sample of 500 adolescents. Parents concurrently reported internalizing and externalizing behavior as reasons for referral less frequently (p < .0001) than would be expected given the correlation between these two domains in the general population sample. This suggests that the presence of externalizing problems may decrease parents' concern or awareness of internalizing problems, the presence of internalizing problems may decrease parents' concern or awareness of externalizing problems, or both Implications for the clinical referral of adolescents and for informal parental efforts at helping their children with externalizing and internalizing problems are discussed.     

Protective Factors for Youth Exposed to Violence in Their Communities: A Review of Family,School, and Community Moderators

This review provides a comprehensive investigation of the pattern and strength of findings in the literature regarding the environmental moderators of the relationship between exposure to community violence and mental health among children and adolescents. Twenty-nine studies met criteria for inclusion in our analysis of family, school, and community variables as moderators. Dependent variables included internalizing (e.g., anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression, substance use). Effect sizes for the interactions of exposure to violence and potential moderators were summarized by their patterns of protective processes. The majority of studies in the literature examined family characteristics as moderators of the exposure to violence–symptom relationship, rather than school- or community-level factors. Our results indicated more consistent patterns for (a) close family relationships and social support for internalizing symptoms and (b) close family relationships for externalizing symptoms. Overall, the most common type of protective pattern was protective-stabilizing, in which youth with higher levels of the environmental attribute demonstrate relative stability in mental health despite exposure to violence. We found no consistent evidence that parental monitoring—a dimension inversely associated with exposure to violence in prior studies—moderated the relationship between exposure to violence and symptoms. The study emphasizes the importance of strengthening family support for young people's exposure to community violence; more research is needed to provide a solid evidence base for the role of school and community-level protective factors for youth exposed to violence.     

Presence of a Sibling as a Potential Buffer Following Parental Divorce: An Examination of Young Adolescents

Examined whether the presence of a sibling may buffer young adolescents from adverse influences of parental divorce. Subjects were 79 adolescents from intact families, 77 from divorced families, their mothers, and their social studies teachers. Independent variables included adolescent gender, parental marital status, and sibling group (i.e., no siblings, one older sibling only, or one younger sibling only). Dependent measures were externalizing behaviors as reported by the adolescent's teacher and internalizing behaviors as reported by the teacher and the adolescent. Results indicated a significant interaction between marital status and sibling group; specifically, adolescents with no siblings from divorced families were reported by teachers as demonstrating more externalizing problems than all other groups.     

Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease: Relations With Demographic, Medical, and Family Competence Variables

Objective: Investigate the hypothesis that family competencein addressing challenges associated with sickle cell disease(SCD) contributes to adolescents' adjustment. Method: During routine clinic appointments, 80 adolescents (Mage = 14·4 years) and their parents independently completedthe Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI), which assesses familycompetence, and measures of adolescent adjustment problems.Information related to disease severity was obtained from clinicfiles. Results: Regression analyses controlling for demographic andmedical variables revealed that higher family competence wasassociated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviorsby the adolescent; these relations were particularly true foryounger adolescents and for girls. Parental reports of somaticcomplaints in girls were predicted by parental ratings of familycompetence. Discussion: Interventions for adolescents with SCD should befamily-centered and should focus on strengthening the family'sability to manage stressors associated with parenting an adolescentwith a chronic illness.     

Parenting as a Moderator of the Effects of Maternal Depressive Symptoms on Preadolescent Adjustment

The purpose of this study was to examine whether parenting moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and initial levels and growth of preadolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This study used a community sample of preadolescent children (N = 214; 8–12 years old at Time 1), measuring maternal depressive symptoms and parenting at Time 1, and preadolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms at each year for 3 years. After modeling latent growth curves of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, growth factors were conditioned on maternal depressive symptoms, positive (acceptance and consistent discipline) and negative (rejection and physical punishment) parenting, and the interactions of depression and parenting. Maternal rejection moderated the relation of maternal depression with internalizing symptoms, such that high rejection exacerbated the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on initial levels of preadolescent internalizing problems. There were no significant interactions predicting externalizing problems. The findings highlight how specific parenting behaviors may alter the way in which maternal depressive symptoms confer risk for behavior problems.     

The relations among depression in fathers, children's psychopathology, and father-child conflict: a meta-analysis

Research on parental depression is beginning to recognize the importance of studying fathers in relation to maladaptive outcomes in their offspring. Paternal depression is hypothesized to correlate with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents and to compromise adaptive parent-child relationships (e.g., increased conflict). In the present paper, meta-analytic procedures were applied to this literature to address the magnitude and direction of covariation between paternal depression and children's functioning. In addition, we tested whether variation in findings could be accounted for by study characteristics. Results indicated that paternal depression was significantly related to offspring internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and father-child conflict. Larger effects for internalizing symptoms were associated with the use of community samples and symptom rating scales of internalizing problems.     

Family Stability as a Protective Factor Against Psychopathology for Urban Children Receiving Psychological Services

Family stability, defined as the consistency of family activities and routines, was examined in a sample of urban families (n = 70) with children (ages 7 to 16) receiving psychological services. Parent-reported family stability was associated with lower parent-reported children's internalizing behavior problems. Child-reported family stability significantly attenuated the influence of parental depressive symptoms on parent-reported children's internalizing, externalizing, and total behavior problems, while controlling for the effect of children's age. Parental depressive symptoms were associated with problems in child adjustment only at the low level of family stability.     

Children's coping strategies and coping efficacy: relations to parent socialization, child adjustment, and familial alcoholism

The relations of children's coping strategies and coping efficacy to parent socialization and child adjustment were examined in a sample of school-age children that included families in which some of the grandparents and/or parents had an alcoholism diagnosis. Parents and older children reported on the children's coping strategies; parents reported on their parenting behavior; and teachers reported on children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Measures of parent socialization were associated with parents' and children's reports of active coping strategies and parents' reports of both support-seeking coping and coping efficacy. Some of these relations were moderated by familial alcohol status. Children higher in parent-reported active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy were rated lower in teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing adjustment problems. The findings were consistent with the view that active/support-seeking coping and coping efficacy mediated the association of parent socialization to children's psychological adjustment and that this relation was sometimes moderated by parental alcohol status.     

Early therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome in individual and family therapy for adolescent behavior problems

The impact of early therapeutic alliance was examined in 100 clients receiving either individual cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) or family therapy for adolescent substance abuse. Observational ratings of adolescent alliance in CBT and adolescent and parent alliance in family therapy were used to predict treatment retention (in CBT only) and outcome (drug use, externalizing, and internalizing symptoms in both conditions) at post and 6-month follow-up. There were no alliance effects in CBT. In family therapy, stronger parent alliance predicted declines in drug use and externalizing. Adolescents with weak early alliances that subsequently improved by midtreatment showed significantly greater reductions in externalizing than adolescents whose alliances declined. Results underscore the need for ongoing developmental calibration of intervention theory and practice for adolescent clinical populations.     

Associations Between Marital Conflict and Adolescent Conflict Appraisals,Stress Physiology,and Mental Health

The goal of the current study was to examine conflict appraisals and diurnal cortisol production as mediators of the robust association between marital conflict and adolescent adjustment problems. Parents reported their marital conflict and were observed engaging in a marital conflict discussion; they also reported adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Adolescents (n = 105, 52% female, 10–17 years of age) appraised their parents’ marital conflict and reported their internalizing and externalizing behaviors. After the laboratory visit, adolescents provided four saliva samples on each of 2 consecutive days to assess diurnal cortisol production. More-negative marital conflict predicted more self-blame for parental conflict, which in turn predicted less robust decreases in cortisol across the day. Further, this flattened cortisol production pattern mediated the relationship between greater self-blame for parental conflict and adolescents’ elevated internalizing behaviors. Feeling responsible for parental conflict appears to be particularly damaging in terms of physiological regulation and adjustment, and may therefore be a particularly useful intervention target.     

Perceived discrimination and youths' adjustment: sleep as a moderator

Adolescents' sleep duration was examined as a moderator of the association between perceived discrimination and internalizing (anxiety, depression) and externalizing symptoms. Participants were 252 adolescents (mean: 15.79 years; 66% European American, 34% African American) who reported on their perceived discrimination (racial and general) and adjustment. Sleep duration was measured using actigraphy. Moderation effects were evident. The lowest levels of internalizing symptoms were observed for adolescents with longer sleep duration in conjunction with lower levels of perceived racial discrimination. Further, general perceived discrimination was associated more strongly with externalizing behaviours for youth with shorter versus longer sleep. Findings highlight the importance of sleep as a bioregulatory system that can ameliorate or exacerbate the effects of discrimination on youths' adjustment.     

An attachment-based intervention for parents of adolescents at risk: mechanisms of change

Mechanisms that account for treatment effects are poorly understood. The current study examined processes that may underlie treatment outcomes of an attachment-based intervention (Connect) for parents of pre-teens and teens with serious behavior problems. Parents (N = 540) in a non-randomized trial reported on their teen’s functioning prior to and following treatment. Results confirmed significant decreases in parents’ reports of teens’ externalizing and internalizing symptoms, replicating prior evaluations of this program. Reductions in parents’ reports of teen attachment avoidance were associated with decreases in externalizing symptoms, while reductions in parents’ reports of teen attachment anxiety were associated with decreases in internalizing symptoms. Parents’ reports of improved teen affect regulation were also associated with decreases in both internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results were comparable across gender and for parents of teens with pre-treatment externalizing symptoms in the clinical versus sub-clinical range. A model of therapeutic change in attachment-based parenting programs is discussed.     

Low Vagal Tone Magnifies the Association Between Psychosocial Stress Exposure and Internalizing Psychopathology in Adolescents

Vagal tone is a measure of cardiovascular function that facilitates adaptive responses to environmental challenge. Low vagal tone is associated with poor emotional and attentional regulation in children and has been conceptualized as a marker of sensitivity to stress. We investigated whether the associations of a wide range of psychosocial stressors with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were magnified in adolescents with low vagal tone. Resting heart period data were collected from a diverse community sample of adolescents (ages 13–17; N = 168). Adolescents completed measures assessing internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and exposure to stressors occurring in family, peer, and community contexts. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated from the interbeat interval time series. We estimated interactions between RSA and stress exposure in predicting internalizing and externalizing symptoms and evaluated whether interactions differed by gender. Exposure to psychosocial stressors was associated strongly with psychopathology. RSA was unrelated to internalizing or externalizing problems. Significant interactions were observed between RSA and child abuse, community violence, peer victimization, and traumatic events in predicting internalizing but not externalizing symptoms. Stressors were positively associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescents with low RSA but not in those with high RSA. Similar patterns were observed for anxiety and depression. These interactions were more consistently observed for male than female individuals. Low vagal tone is associated with internalizing psychopathology in adolescents exposed to high levels of stressors. Measurement of vagal tone in clinical settings might provide useful information about sensitivity to stress in child and adolescent clients.     

Parental imprisonment: long-lasting effects on boys' internalizing problems through the life course

Qualitative studies suggest that children react to parental imprisonment by developing internalizing as well as externalizing behaviors. However, no previous study has examined the effects of parental imprisonment on children's internalizing problems using standardized instruments, appropriate comparison groups, and long-term follow-up. Using prospective longitudinal data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, we compared boys separated because of parental imprisonment during their first 10 years of life with four control groups: boys who did not experience separation, boys separated because of hospitalization or death, boys separated for other reasons (usually parental disharmony), and boys whose parents were only imprisoned before the boys' births. Individual, parenting, and family risk factors for internalizing problems were measured when boys were ages 8-11 years. Separation because of parental imprisonment predicted boys' internalizing problems from age 14 to 48, even after controlling for childhood risk factors including parental criminality. Separation because of parental imprisonment also predicted the co-occurrence of internalizing and antisocial problems. These results suggest that parental imprisonment might cause long-lasting internalizing and antisocial problems for children.     

Pathways between profiles of family functioning, child security in the interparental subsystem, and child psychological problems

This study was designed to delineate pathways between systems profiles of family functioning, children's emotional insecurity in the interparental relationship, and their psychological adjustment in a sample of 221 children and their parents. Consistent with family systems theory, cluster analyses conducted with assessments of marital, coparental, and parent-child functioning indicated that families fit into one of four profiles: (a) cohesive families, characterized by warmth, affection, and flexible well-defined boundaries in family relationships; (b) disengaged families, reflected in high levels of adversity and low levels of support across family subsystems; (c) enmeshed families, evidenced by high levels of discord and weak maintenance of relationship boundaries in the family unit; and (d) adequate families, defined by elevated parental psychological control within a larger family context of low discord and high warmth. In comparison to children in cohesive families, children in enmeshed and disengaged families exhibited greater signs of insecurity in the interparental relationship concurrently and internalizing and externalizing symptoms both concurrently and 1 year later. Structural equation models revealed that a latent, multimethod measure of insecurity in the interparental relationship partially mediated associations between family enmeshment and disengagement and children's psychological symptoms 1 year later. Results are discussed in relation to how they inform and refine a family-wide model of the emotional security hypothesis.