Non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: A longitudinal study of the relationship between NSSI,psychological distress and perceived parenting

ObjectiveThe present study investigates whether either adolescents' psychological distress and/or perceived parenting predicted the occurrence of NSSI. Furthermore, the consequences of NSSI are examined in a three-wave longitudinal study.DesignThe sample at time 1 (age 12) consisted of 1396 adolescent reports and 1438 parent reports. At time 2 (age 13), 827 adolescent reports and 936 parent reports were obtained. Time 3 (age 14) included 754 adolescent reports and 790 parent reports. Psychological distress of adolescents was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Perceived parenting behaviors were examined by the Parental Behavior Scale and the Psychological Control Scale.ResultsA total of 10% of the adolescents engaged in NSSI at least once before age 15. Higher psychological distress of adolescents at time 1 was associated with the presence of NSSI at time 2 or 3. The association between psychological distress at time 1 and perception of decreased parental rule setting at time 3 was mediated by the presence of NSSI at time 2.ConclusionsThe present study showed that psychological distress at age 12 predicts NSSI over time and that parental awareness of NSSI changes the perception of parenting behaviors.     

Predicting latent classes of drug use among adolescents through parental alcohol use and parental style: a longitudinal study

Purpose

The present study examined the roles of parental alcohol use and parental style as predictors of adolescent patterns of drug use.

Methods

6391 students in the 7th and 8th grades at 72 Brazilian public schools participated in a three-wave randomized controlled trial to evaluate a school drug-use prevention program. Patterns of drug use were identified through two latent class analyses using measures of the adolescents’ past-year drug use. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined whether parental alcohol use and parenting style at baseline predicted patterns of drug use in waves 2 and 3 of the study after controlling for sociodemographic covariates.

Results

In each of the two waves, three latent classes of drug use were identified among the students, defining three different groups of individuals: (1) abstainers/low users, (2) alcohol users/binge drinkers, and (3) polydrug users. First, parenting style (especially monitoring) was the strongest predictor for the prevention of polydrug use among adolescents. Second, occasional alcohol use by parents can act as a central predictor for adolescent alcohol use and binge drinking. Above all, maternal episodes of drunkenness were involved in the predictive models for both drug use classes in both waves.

Conclusion

Parental alcohol use and parenting style seem to be important predictors of adolescent’s likelihood of belonging to different latent classes of drug use. This conclusion may point to the importance of considering the inclusion of parenting skills and parental alcohol use within the scope of adolescents’ preventive interventions.

     

ADHD and parental psychological distress: role of demographics,child behavioral characteristics,and parental cognitions

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the relative roles of demographic, child behavioral, and parental characteristics in understanding the psychological distress suffered by parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It was hypothesized that a combination of child and parent demographics, severity of child behavioral disturbance, low knowledge of ADHD, causal and controllability attributions internal to the child, along with lower perceived parental control, would be associated with more severe psychological distress, as measured by parenting stress and depression. METHOD: One hundred mothers were interviewed and provided ratings of behavioral disturbance, severity of ADHD, knowledge of ADHD, attributions of cause and controllability of ADHD-related behaviors, parenting stress and depression. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the combination of these variables was significantly associated with parental psychological distress, accounting for 24% and 21% of the variance in parenting stress and depression, respectively. Unique contributions were evident for severity of behavioral disturbance and perceived parental control over child behaviors. Child's age, gender, medication status, and maternal education were controlled in the analyses. CONCLUSION: Results support the view that interventions for ADHD aimed only at child behavior are unlikely to alter long-term outcome.     

Perspective taking,empathic concern,agreeableness, and parental support: Transactional associations across adolescence

IntroductionEmpathy consists of a cognitive and an affective component, of which it is thought that there are gender differences. Previous studies also suggest that maternal and paternal support play a more prominent role in the development of an adolescent's affective and cognitive empathy, respectively. Besides the environmental factor, that is parenting, adolescent personality, and more specifically, agreeableness, is closely linked to both empathy and support, but this interplay was not extensively investigated longitudinally. The present study investigated the transactional associations among parental support, adolescent agreeableness, and adolescent empathy. More specifically, we examined (a) whether maternal/paternal support is differentially associated with cognitive/affective empathy, while taking into account adolescent agreeableness and (b) whether adolescent agreeableness still predicts empathy, while taking into account parental support.MethodsData from 993 Belgian adolescents (M_ageT1 = 13.96 years; [12.6–18.4]) and their parents across four time points were used in a random intercept cross-lagged panel model.ResultsAt the between-person level, maternal support was associated with affective, but not cognitive empathy, whereas agreeableness was associated with maternal and paternal support as well as with both types of empathy. At the within-person level, affective empathy predicted cognitive empathy one wave later.ConclusionsAt a population level, agreeableness and support are both important in adolescent empathy development with limited evidence for the differential roles of mothers and fathers. Within participants, affective empathy, and not parental support or agreeableness, predicted cognitive empathy.     

Parenting styles,perceived social support and emotion regulation in adolescents with internet addiction

AimThe aim of this study is to investigate parental attitudes, perceived social support, emotion regulation and the accompanying psychiatric disorders seen in adolescents who, having been diagnosed with Internet Addiction (IA), were referred to an outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric clinic.MethodsOf 176 adolescents aged 12–17, 40 were included in the study group. These scored 80 or higher on Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and met Young's diagnostic criteria for IA based on psychiatric interviews. Forty adolescents who matched them in terms of age, gender and socio-economic level were included in the control group. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS-PL), the Parenting Style Scale (PSS), the Lum Emotional Availabilty of Parents (LEAP), the Social Support Appraisals Scale for Children (SSAS-C), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were applied.ResultsThe results showed that the parents of adolescents with IA were more frequently inadequate in acceptance/involvement, supervision/monitoring and they had less emotional availability. The adolescents with IA had less perceived social support, greater difficulty in the identification and verbal expression of their feelings and emotion regulation. Lower parental strictness/supervision, higher alexithymia and the existence of an anxiety disorder were found to be significant predictors of IA. Internet addicted adolescents with comorbid major depressive disorder had higher levels of alexithymia and lower levels of emotional availability in their parents.ConclusionIt can be concluded that strategies for the prevention and treatment of IA in adolescents should focus on improving the quality of parenting parent-adolescent relationships, enhancing perceived social support and emotion regulation while reducing the associated psychiatric symptoms in adolescents.     

Does parental permissiveness toward cigarette smoking and alcohol use influence illicit drug use among adolescents? A longitudinal study in seven European countries

Purpose

Adolescents’ perceptions of parental norms may influence their substance use. The relationship between parental norms toward cigarette and alcohol use, and the use of illicit substances among their adolescent children is not sufficiently investigated. The purpose of this study was to analyze this relationship, including gender differences, using longitudinal data from a large population-based study.

Methods

The present study analyzed longitudinal data from 3171 12- to 14-year-old students in 7 European countries allocated to the control arm of the European Drug Addiction Prevention trial. The impact of parental permissiveness toward cigarettes and alcohol use reported by the students at baseline on illicit drug use at 6-month follow-up was analyzed through multilevel logistic regression models, stratified by gender. Whether adolescents’ own use of cigarette and alcohol mediated the association between parental norms and illicit drug use was tested through mediation models.

Results

Parental permissive norms toward cigarette smoking and alcohol use at baseline predicted adolescents’ illicit drug use at follow-up. The association was stronger among boys than among girls and was mediated by adolescents’ own cigarette and alcohol use.

Conclusion

Perceived parental permissiveness toward the use of legal drugs predicted adolescents’ use of illicit drugs, especially among boys. Parents should be made aware of the importance of norm setting, and supported in conveying clear messages of disapproval of all substances.

     

Exploring mediating factors in the association between parental psychological distress and psychosocial maladjustment in adolescence

Abstract  

Parental psychopathology is associated with increased psychosocial maladjustment in adolescents. We examined, from a psychosocial perspective, the association between parental psychological distress and psychosocial maladjustment in adolescents and assessed the mediating role of psychosocial covariates. This is a cross-sectional survey and the setting include representative sample of Quebec adolescents in 1999. The participants of the study include 13- and 16-year-old children (N = 2,346) in the Social and Health Survey of Quebec Children and Adolescents. The main outcome measures are internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders, substance use, and alcohol consumption. For statistical analysis, we used structural equation modeling to test for mediation. Internalizing and externalizing disorders were significantly associated with parental psychological distress, but not substance use or alcohol consumption. The higher the parental distress, the higher the risk of adolescent mental health disorders. The association between parental psychological distress and internalizing disorders was mediated by adolescent self-esteem, parental emotional support and extrafamilial social support. As for externalizing disorders, these variables only had an independent effect. In conclusion, A family’s well being is a necessary condition for psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. Beyond the psychiatric approach, psychosocial considerations need to be taken into consideration to prevent negative mental health outcomes in children living in homes with distressed parents.     

Maternal cultural values and parenting practices: longitudinal associations with Chinese adolescents' aggression

Interrelations among cultural values, parenting practices, and adolescent aggression were examined using longitudinal data collected from Chinese adolescents and their mothers. Adolescents' overt and relational aggression were assessed using peer nominations at Time 1 (7th grade) and Time 2 (9th grade). Mothers reported endorsement of cultural values (collectivism and social harmony) and parenting practices (psychological control and inductive reasoning) at Time 1. While controlling for Time 1 adolescent aggression, maternal collectivism and social harmony indirectly and longitudinally linked to adolescent aggression through maternal parenting practices. Specifically, maternal collectivism was positively related to inductive reasoning, which, in turn, negatively related to adolescent overt aggression at Time 2. Similarly, maternal social harmony negatively related to psychological control that positively predicted later adolescent relational aggression. Results of the present study shed light on mechanisms through which culture may indirectly influence adolescent aggression.     

Adolescents’ affective and neural responses to parental praise and criticism

Social feedback from parents has a profound impact on the development of a child’s self-concept. Yet, little is known about adolescents’ affective and neural responses to parental social feedback, such as criticism or praise. Adolescents (n = 63) received standardized social feedback supposedly provided by their mother or father in the form of appraisals about their personality (e.g., ‘respectful’, ‘lazy’) during fMRI scanning. After each feedback word, adolescents reported their mood. Additionally, adolescents had rated whether feedback words matched their self-views on an earlier occasion. In line with preregistered hypotheses, negative parental feedback worsened adolescents’ mood, which was exacerbated when feedback did not match adolescents’ self-views. Negative feedback was associated with increased activity in the neural ‘saliency network’, including anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Positive feedback improved mood and increased activity in brain regions supporting social cognition, including temporoparietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and precuneus. A more positive general self-view and perceived parental warmth were associated with elevated mood, independent of feedback valence, but did not impact neural responses. Taken together, these results enhance our understanding of adolescents’ neural circuitry involved in the processing of parental praise and criticism, and the impact of parental feedback on well-being.     

Identifying sensitive periods when changes in parenting and peer factors are associated with changes in adolescent alcohol and marijuana use

Purpose

There are well-established associations between parental/peer relationships and adolescent substance use, but few longitudinal studies have examined whether adolescents change their substance use in response to changes in their parents’ behavior or peer networks. We employ a within-person change approach to address two key questions: Are changes in parenting and peer factors associated with changes in adolescent marijuana and alcohol use? Are there sensitive periods when changes in parenting and peer factors are more strongly associated with changes in adolescent marijuana and alcohol use?

Methods

We analyzed longitudinal data collected annually on 503 boys, ages 13–19, recruited from Pittsburgh public schools. Questionnaires regarding parental supervision, negative parenting practices, parental stress, physical punishment, peer delinquency, and peer drug use were administered to adolescents and their caretakers. Alcohol and marijuana use were assessed by a substance use scale adapted from the National Youth Survey.

Results

Reductions in parental supervision and increases in peer drug use and peer delinquency were associated with increases in marijuana frequency, alcohol frequency, and alcohol quantity. Increases in parental stress were associated with increases in marijuana and alcohol frequency. The magnitudes of these relationships were strongest at ages 14–15 and systematically decreased across adolescence. These associations were not due to unmeasured stable confounders or measured time-varying confounders.

Conclusions

Reducing or mitigating changes in parenting and peer risk factors in early adolescence may be particularly important for preventing substance use problems as adolescents transition into young adulthood.

     

Parenting behaviour and paranoia: a network analysis and results from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescents (NCS-A)

Purpose

Parenting behaviours—including the extent to which parents are protective, hostile, or caring—likely impacts whether a child develops a sense of vulnerability that carries forward into adulthood. Ideas of vulnerability are a contributory factor to the occurrence of paranoia. Our aim was to assess whether there is an association between specific parenting behaviours and paranoia.

Method

We examined cross-sectional associations of parenting and paranoia in an epidemiologically representative cohort of 10,148 adolescents (National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescents; NCS-A) and a second dataset of 1286 adults in Oxfordshire. Further, a network analysis was conducted with paranoia, parenting behaviours, and cognitive-affective variables (compassion, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression). Overprotectiveness, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and amount of care were assessed in mothers and fathers separately.

Results

Nearly all parenting variables were significantly associated with paranoia, with parental verbal and physical abuse showing the largest associations. For example, the odds of reporting paranoia was over four times higher for those in the adult sample reporting a lot of paternal verbal abuse, compared to those reporting none (OR = 4.12, p < 0.001, CI 2.47–6.85). Network analyses revealed high interconnectivity between paranoia, parenting behaviours, and cognitive-affective variables. Of the parenting variables, paranoia most strongly interacted with paternal abuse and maternal lack of care.

Conclusion

There are associations between participants’ self-reported experiences of parental behaviours and paranoia. Despite being associated with paranoia, cognitive-affective variables did not appear to mediate the relationship between parenting and paranoia, which is surprising. What might explain the link therefore remains to be determined.

     

The association between parental attributions of misbehavior and parenting practices in caregivers raising children with prenatal alcohol exposure: A mixed-methods study

Background and aimsLimited research has focused on parenting practices used by caregivers raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The current study hypothesized that parental attributions of children’s misbehavior would relate to the parenting strategies caregivers utilize with children with FASD. This study also aimed to develop a coding scheme to allow quantification of these treatment-relevant constructs in future intervention trials.MethodsThirty-one caregivers of children with FASD (age 4–8) were interviewed with the Parenting Practices Interview (PPI), a study-developed qualitative interview. Quantitative measures of FASD knowledge, parenting sense of competence and stress, and child behavior problems were included. Mixed-method analyses assessed the relationship between parental attributions of misbehavior and parenting practices.ResultsCaregivers who attributed their child’s misbehavior to underlying neurodevelopmental disabilities were more likely to use antecedent strategies and feel more confident in managing their child’s behavior. Parents who attributed their child’s misbehavior to willful disobedience were more likely to rely on consequence strategies and feel more ineffective.ConclusionsResults are consistent with theoretical models for FASD parent training interventions. Assessment of theorized mechanisms of change in intervention trials is needed; the development of the PPI and quantitative coding system will facilitate this type of research.     

Effects of gender,age and diagnosis on perceived parental care and protection in adolescents

To assess whether perceived parental care and protection varied according to age and gender of the child and whether they were associated with psychiatric diagnoses, these constructs were measured with the Parental Bonding Instrument in a cohort of non-referred adolescents (n= 762), in a clinically referred cohort (n= 1299), and in a group of adolescents from the referred cohort (n= 365) for whom DSM-III diagnoses were available. Significant differences in parental care and protection according to clinical status, age, gender and diagnosis were found. However, perceived parental affectionless control was not associated with emotional disorders in adolescents, contrary to reports in adult subjects, but with clinical status.     

Identity exploration in the dating domain: The role of attachment dimensions and parenting practices

We examined relations among perceived parenting practices (support and psychological control), attachment dimensions for romantic relationships (anxiety and avoidance) and exploration of the dating identity among actively dating adolescents in two high school aged samples. In the all female sample of Study 1 (n = 653) and the gender balanced sample of Study 2 (n = 1003), parenting practices contributed to adolescent exploration of the dating identity. Parent psychological control, but not parental support, also contributed to elevated feeling of avoidance and anxiety in romantic relationships. Avoidance, in turn, was related to less exploration of the dating identity while anxiety seemed to increase it. Gender moderated the model, with parenting practices predicting exploration only for girls and with the links for avoidance and anxiety with exploration stronger for boys than girls. Indirect effects for parenting practices through attachment dimensions on exploration of the dating identity were also noted.     

The relationship between adolescent academic capability beliefs,parenting and school grades

The purpose of this study was to examine the interplay between parenting, adolescent academic capability beliefs and school grades. First, we examined how aspects of parenting and adolescent's cognitive ability predicted adolescent academic capability beliefs and school grades at 6th grade, which, in turn, predicted adolescent school outcomes at 9th grade. Second, we examined how configurations of adolescents (based on cognitive ability, parental involvement, and capability beliefs) at 6th grade, related to their school grades at 9th grade. The sample included 641 German adolescents. The first set of analyses suggest that parents who demonstrated more warmth, engaged in more discussions concerning academic and intellectual matters with their adolescents, had higher school aspirations for their adolescents, and reported more interest/involvement in their adolescent's schooling, had adolescents with higher capability beliefs at 6th grade, and this, in turn, related to better school grades for adolescents at 9th grade. In the second set of analyses, results show that adolescents who were characterized by the configuration of having above average ability, parental school involvement and capability beliefs, received the best school grades. In contrast, adolescents who were characterized by below average ability, parental school involvement and capability beliefs, demonstrated the worst school performance.     

Infant sleep and early parental sleep-related cognitions predict sleep in pre-school children

ObjectiveTo investigate early predictors of sleep patterns in pre-school age children. Specifically, we were interested in exploring whether infant sleep patterns and parenting factors assessed at 12 months would predict sleep in four year-old children.MethodsThis was a follow-up study of a home-based longitudinal study, exploring the links between parental cognitions and children’s sleep. The present study included 71 families (boys 58%) and focused on data collected when children were 12 months and four years old. Sleep at both time points was assessed for four weekdays by actigraphy and parental reports.ResultsStatistically significant zero-order correlations were found between early sleep patterns, maternal cognitions, and soothing behaviors at 12 months, and sleep patterns at four years. Multiple regression analysis revealed that 12 months maternal cognitions reflecting difficulties with limiting parental nighttime involvement were a statistically significant predictor of fragmented child’s sleep and of parental bedtime involvement at four years. More objective infant night-wakings at 12 months predicted lower sleep efficiency at four years.ConclusionsBoth early sleep patterns and maternal sleep-related cognitions during infancy are significant predictors of sleep quality of pre-school children. These findings are clinically meaningful as they suggest that improving infant sleep and addressing early parental beliefs and perceptions regarding infant sleep may help in preventing sleep problems of pre-school children.     

Parenting,self-concept,and attitudes about romantic relationships

IntroductionThis study examined associations among the perceived parenting, self-concept, and adolescent attitudes of Chinese adolescents regarding romantic relationships.MethodsA survey of 729 high school students in Macau was carried out to collect information on the degree to which they perceived their fathers and mothers as demanding or responsive, their general self-concept, and their attitudes about romantic relationships.ResultsStructural equation modeling showed that maternal and paternal responsiveness positively associated with adolescents’ self-concept, which then positively contributed to their attitudes about romantic relationships. Maternal demandingness could link directly to positive adolescent attitudes about romantic relationships and indirectly to negative self-concept.ConclusionsThe present study's findings suggest that perceived maternal parenting may be more important than perceived paternal parenting regarding adolescents' romantic attitudes, and parental responsiveness is particularly critical to positive self-concept and positive romantic attitudes in Chinese culture.     

Understanding perceptions underlying the self-reported stress among parents of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Considerations for supporting families

BackgroundParents raising adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often report higher stress than other parents. The influence of parents’ internal, or cognitive, experiences (i.e., their own perceptions) on this elevated stress has yet to be explored. Addressing this gap may reveal opportunities for enhancing support for families by elucidating malleable targets for reducing parents’ self-reported stress and/or informing family-focused intervention. The Double ABCX Model of Family Adaptation is a framework for understanding how perceptions, social support, and personal resources (i.e., coping) may affect stress.MethodsWe examined parents’ perceptions about ASD, perceived support, and coping among 214 parents of adolescents with ASD. Regression analyses were used to explore whether these factors were associated with parenting stress among those raising adolescents with ASD. Moderation effects of positive coping on the relationship between parent perceptions and parenting stress were also explored.ResultsParent perceptions about within family support, the extent of ASD symptom predictability, and treatment being able to ‘control’ ASD were related to parenting stress. However, positive coping did not moderate the relationship between these perceptions and parenting stress.ConclusionsStudy findings emphasize significant associations between specific parental perceptions and the self-reported stress among families of adolescents with ASD. Particularly important to parenting stress were how much parents’ perceived adequate support within the family, that treatment was useful for controlling their adolescent’s ASD, and that their adolescent’s symptoms were predictable. These findings suggest that the way parents think about their adolescents’ ASD and the adequacy of the support within their own families are associated with parenting stress, and therefore may serve as treatment targets for positively affecting whole family outcomes, as well as foundations for additional research.     

Evidence for similarities between adolescents and parents in sleep patterns

ObjectiveSleep in adolescence may vary according to strain and environmental factors. In particular, parents’ behavior may affect their children’s psychological functioning and sleep. However, no data have been gathered with respect to parents and their adolescent children’s concurrent sleep patterns. This was the aim of the present study, together with exploration of the possible influence of parenting style on adolescents’ sleep.MethodsA total of 293 adolescents (mean age: 17.55; 214 females, 79 males) completed several questionnaires regarding their own psychological functioning as well as a sleep log for seven consecutive days. Additionally, adolescents rated parents’ sleep and parenting styles.ResultsAdolescents’ and parents’ sleep patterns proved to be correlated. Moreover, mother’s sleep was related to adolescents’ psychological functioning. However, SEM showed that mother’s sleep influenced adolescents’ sleep not directly, but indirectly, via parenting style and adolescents’ psychological functioning.ConclusionsSleep patterns of parents and their adolescent children show similarities. Moreover, mother’s poor sleep has a direct impact on parenting style, which in turn affects adolescents’ psychological functioning and sleep. Therefore, sleep problems in adolescents may mirror an unfavorable parenting style and sleep complaints among mothers. These conclusions might usefully inform family counseling and treatment of adults’ and adolescents’ sleep complaints.