The association of parental monitoring and family structure with diverse maladjustment outcomes in middle adolescent boys and girls

The aim of this study was to study the associations between family structure, parental monitoring and maladjustment outcomes among middle adolescent girls and boys. Data was collected through a school-based survey of a nationally representative sample of 17,643 Finnish adolescents aged 14-16 years. The less the parents knew the adolescents' friends and whereabouts, the more common were all the maladjustment outcomes studied. Non-intact family structure was associated with maladjustment and had associations independent of parental monitoring. We conclude that parental involvement with adolescents is conducive to healthy development, and that adolescents need the protection provided by parental supervision. Knowing the adolescent's whereabouts and friends is a concrete and easily measurable way of assessing parents' involvement in the adolescent's life.     

Adolescents’ somatic complaints in eight countries: what influence do parental rearing styles have?

Medically unexplained physical symptoms are frequently named by adolescents in both clinical and normative samples. This study analyzed the associations between parental rearing styles and adolescents’ body complaints in diverse cultural contexts. In a cross-cultural study of 2415 adolescents from eight countries (Argentina, France, Germany, Greece, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, and Turkey), the associations of maternal and paternal support, psychological control, and an anxious parental monitoring style with youth body complaints were tested. Girls reported more somatic complaints than boys, the level of complaints differed between countries, and gender differences varied significantly between countries. Hierarchic multilevel models revealed that the expression of distress via body complaints, after controlling for country, gender, and sociodemographic status, was significantly associated with parental rearing styles. The negative impact of mothers’ psychological control on body complaints generalize across countries. In addition, mothers’ anxious monitoring had a negative impact on the offspring’s health, whereas higher levels of paternal support and lower levels of paternal psychological control contributed to lower levels of somatic complaints. Sociodemographic variables such as family structure, standard of living, and employment status of the parents, did not turn out as significant in the final model. The findings point to the different roles of fathers and mothers play in adolescents’ health and their complex interplay.

     

Family factors contributing to emotional and behavioral problems in Korean adolescents with epilepsy

PurposeWe aimed to determine whether different aspects of family functioning are associated with emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents with epilepsy and, if not, to document any indirect associations mediated by other family factors.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, multicenter study. A total of 297 adolescents with epilepsy and their parents participated. Adolescent psychopathology was measured using the Youth Self-Report. Family factors were classified into proximal (parent–child interaction), distal (parent characteristics), and contextual factors (family characteristics) in accordance to their level of proximity to the adolescent's everyday life. Regression analyses were used to analyze the unique and combined predictive power of family factors in relation to psychopathology.ResultsIn total, 44 (14.8%) and 51 (17.2%) adolescents with epilepsy scored above the borderline cutoff (T-score ≥ 60) of internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Proximal and distal factors were independently associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems. High levels of parental depressive mood and parental overcontrol were the strongest factors contributing to internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Contextual factors were indirectly associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems through more proximal factors.ConclusionsBoth proximal and distal family factors affect psychopathology in Korean adolescents with epilepsy. Parental feelings of depression and parental overcontrol are the strongest factors contributing to internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively.     

Familial Factors Related to Suicidal Ideation of Latina Adolescents in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a Latina adolescent's perception of mother connectedness, father connectedness, parental caring, autonomy granting from parents, and parental interest in their child's school life predicts suicidal ideation above and beyond known risk factors of adolescent depression and acculturation. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Wave 1, 2 secondary logistic regression data analyses were conducted on a sample of 345 Latina adolescents. Results of correlational analyses indicated that perceived mother connectedness, father connectedness, parental caring, and academic interest were positively related; depression and nativity were negatively related to reports of suicidal ideation. Additionally, in a model with adolescents who reported having both a mother and father figure present in their life, depression and academic interest were significant predictors of suicidal ideation. In a second model, which included all Latinas regardless of the presence of both parents, depression, nativity, perceived academic interest, and caring were significant predictors. Implications are discussed for suicide prevention and intervention with Latina adolescents.     

Associations between adolescent depression and parental mental health, before and after treatment of adolescent depression

The negative impacts of parental mental health problems on children and adolescents are well known, but the relationship between a child’s depression and their parents’ health is not so well understood. Being a carer/parent of someone with mental illness can be associated with negative outcomes for the caregiver. This paper reports the associations between the mental health of adolescents with major depression and their parents, before and after treatment of the adolescent’s depression. Data were collected as part of the Adolescent Depression Antidepressants and Psychotherapy Trial, a randomised controlled trial of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors with and without cognitive behaviour therapy in 208 clinic-recruited adolescents with major depression. The baseline severity of depression in the adolescent was significantly associated with both maternal and paternal mental health (as rated by the General Health Questionnaire). This effect was not confounded by other psychiatric symptoms. The degree of improvement in parental and child mental health was positively correlated across time. Our results support the hypothesis that there is a significant association between parental mental health and adolescent depressive symptoms. This study was not able to establish the direction of this association. In clinical practice, the findings demonstrate the importance of considering the mental health of the parents when treating depressed adolescents.     

Prospective Associations Between the Family Environment,Family Cohesion,and Psychiatric Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls

The present study used a longitudinal design to investigate whether parental values, interests, and the perceived level of expressiveness, cohesiveness and control in the family were associated with changes in psychiatric symptoms during early adolescence. We used data gathered at ages 12, 14 and 17 from 1,600 adolescent girls in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. Using a novel approach we found significant informant effects of family cohesion on psychiatric symptoms, with stronger associations for adolescent ratings than parental ratings. Multivariate modelling adjusting for family cohesion (from parents and adolescents perspective), and parents’ depressive and eating disorder symptoms indicated parental ratings on the intellectual and cultural orientation of the family predicted small but significant increases in eating disorder symptoms, anxiety and a reduction in self-worth 2-years later. Parental control also predicted a reduction in anxiety and family expressiveness was related to increases in self-worth.     

Predicting school adjustment from multiple perspectives on parental behaviors

Past research supported the importance of parental autonomy support, involvement, and structure for student outcomes. The goal of this study was to test the contribution of these behaviors from mothers and fathers in predicting adolescents' adjustment in school using a multi-informant approach. A sample of 522 adolescents (233 boys, 389 girls), their mothers (n = 535), and fathers (n = 296) participated in the study. Results revealed that parents' self-evaluations explained additional variance in children's school adjustment, over and beyond the contribution of children's evaluation of their parents. Maternal reports on their positive behaviors (autonomy support, involvement, and structure) predicted their child's academic and emotional adjustment while their reported control predicted lower levels of these. Fathers' self-reported positive behaviors predicted academic adjustment while their control predicted lower academic and personal-emotional adjustment. These findings support the importance of multiple assessments of parental behaviors for improving the prediction of adjustment in school.     

Secrets from friends and parents: Longitudinal links with depression and antisocial behavior

Keeping secrets from parents is associated with depression and antisocial behavior. The current study tested whether keeping secrets from best friends is similarly linked to maladjustment, and whether associations between secrecy and maladjustment are moderated by the quality of the friendship. Adolescents (N = 181; 51% female, 48% white, non-Hispanic, 45% African American) reported their secrecy from parents and best friends, the quality of their parent–adolescent relationships and best friendships, and their depression and antisocial behavior at ages 12 and 13. Keeping more secrets from best friends was associated with more depression, but not with more antisocial behavior, when controlling for earlier adjustment, secrecy from parents, and the quality of the friendship. For girls associations between maladjustment and secrecy were conditioned by the quality of the relationships and whether secrets were kept from parents and friends. Discussion argues for expanding the study of secrecy in adolescence beyond the parent–child dyad.     

The relation of parental practices and self-conceptions to young adolescent problem behaviors and substance use

The object of the present research was to examine the role of parenting practices for young adolescent psychosocial adjustment and self-regulation problems. The sample included 287 sixth- and seventh-grade subjects from intact families. The participants completed a questionnaire that measured variables including family interaction, parental involvement in children's activities, parental support, joint decision-making, and monitoring of children's behavior. Children's involvement with friends, after-school activities, school achievement, and self-reported externalizing behaviors (problem behaviors, cigarette and alcohol use) were also measured. Self-concept domains (scholastic competence, social acceptance, and behavioral conduct) were assessed with Harter's Self-Perception Profile. The findings indicated that self-conceptions of positive behavioral conduct and higher parental monitoring of children's activities were consistently negatively related to young girls' and boys' behavior problems and substance use. Parental monitoring was higher for girls and for younger children. Lower monitoring was also related to children's pattern of after-school activities that were connected to at-risk behavior. Parental involvement and supervision of children's day-to-day activities seem particularly important in socializing children's behavior at the time of early adolescence.     

Similarities amid the difference: Caregiving burden and adaptation outcomes in dyads of parents and their children with and without cerebral palsy

This study had two main objectives: first, to examine the direct and indirect effects, via social support, of caregiving burden on the adaptation outcomes of children/adolescents with cerebral palsy and their parents; and second, to assess the invariance of such models in clinical vs. healthy subsamples. Participants were 210 dyads of children/adolescents and one of their parents (total N = 420), divided in 93 dyads of children/adolescents with cerebral palsy and 117 dyads of children/adolescents with no medical diagnosis. Data on caregiving burden, social support and adaptation outcomes were obtained through self-report questionnaires. Caregiving burden was linked to parents and their children's psychological maladjustment and quality of life both directly (except for children's quality of life) and indirectly through social support. Findings were invariant across clinical and healthy subsamples. Caregiving burden may influence adaptation outcomes of children/adolescents with CP and their parents both directly and via their social support perceptions. These patterns are similar to those observed in typically developing children/adolescents.     

Monitoring and delinquency

This study examined the effects of parental monitoring in order to discover specific ways that their relationships with their parents affect adolescents’ delinquent behaviour. Data were taken from the National Survey of Youth 1972, a survey of a representative sample of 1395 Americans in the age range 11-18 years. Conditions such as the age and sex of the respondents, their affectional relationships with their parents, the composition of their families and their estimates of the delinquency of their friends all qualified the relationship between parental monitoring and their self-reported delinquency. In one condition, the generally negative relationship was reversed.     

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.     

The psychological costs of comparisons: Parents' social comparison moderates the links between family management of epilepsy and children's outcomes

Parents play a key role in how children deal with epilepsy. When diagnosed with health conditions, people seek comparison information from fellow patients and families, and this information has consequences for how they evaluate their situation. This study examined the moderating role of parents' social comparison orientation in the associations between family management (parental perceptions of family life difficulties and child's daily life) and adaptation outcomes of children with epilepsy (HRQoL and perceived stigma). Participants included 201 dyads of children with epilepsy and either their mother or father. The results showed that when parents perceived higher difficulties managing their child's epilepsy and/or reported that their child was more affected by this condition, children reported higher perceived stigma and worse HRQoL only when parents had a higher social comparison orientation. Our results are innovative in showing that when parents have a higher social comparison orientation, their children may be at increased risk of poorer outcomes.     

Parental psychopathology, parenting styles, and the risk of social phobia in offspring: a prospective-longitudinal community study

BACKGROUND: This article examines the associations between DSM-IV social phobia and parental psychopathology, parenting style, and characteristics of family functioning in a representative community sample of adolescents. METHODS: Findings are based on baseline and first follow-up data of 1047 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years at baseline (response rate, 74.3%), and independent diagnostic interviews with one of their parents. Diagnostic assessments in parents and adolescents were based on the DSM-IV algorithms of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Parenting style (rejection, emotional warmth, and overprotection) was assessed by the Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behavior, and family functioning (problem solving, communication, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement, and behavioral control) was assessed by the McMaster Family Assessment Device. RESULTS: There was a strong association between parental social phobia and social phobia among offspring (odds ratio [OR], 4.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-13.5). Other forms of parental psychopathology also were associated with social phobia in adolescents (depression: OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.4-9.1; any anxiety disorder other than social phobia: OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.4-8.8; and any alcohol use disorder: OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.1-7.8). Parenting style, specifically parental overprotection (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0-1.9) and rejection (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9), was found to be associated with social phobia in respondents. Family functioning was not associated with respondents' social phobia. CONCLUSIONS: Data suggest that parental psychopathology, particularly social phobia and depression, and perceived parenting style (overprotection and rejection) are both associated with the development of social phobia in youth.     

Parental involvement and mental health among Thai adolescents

The objective of this analysis was to examine the associations between parental involvement and mental health in Thai middle school students. Data from the 2671 school-going adolescents aged 12–15 y who participated in the nationally representative Global School-based Student Health Survey in Thailand in 2008 were analysed. About 16.5% of students reported symptoms of depression, and about 8.6% reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year. High levels of parental involvement – homework checks, monitoring of free time and seeking to understand children's problems – were associated with significantly lower odds of symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts for both boys and girls. Skipping school without permission was associated with significantly increased odds of poor mental health, including loneliness and anxiety. Active parenting and effective communication between schools and parents about truancy may contribute to the promotion of adolescent mental health and early detection of psychological problems.     

Significance of family life events in middle adolescence: A survey on Finnish community adolescents

Finnish middle adolescents (n=3242) were assessed for family characters, family life events, depression and frequent drunkenness. Odds ratios for maladjustment outcomes associated with each event were computed and logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of confounders. In the presence of serious illness or injury of a family member, increasing conflicts between parents and financial difficulties in the family, the probability of depression was twice as high than without the presence of these events. Parental unemployment, parent getting involved with the law and financial difficulties in the family were associated with frequent drunkenness. The associations between life events and depression were fairly similar among boys and girls. Among girls there were several events associated with frequent drunkenness even when family structure and socio-economic status were accounted for, while among boys there were only few. The significance of associations between family life events and depression may vary between the specific events while the associations between family life events and frequent drunkenness may be better explained with cumulative stress. Both males and females react to family stress, but the symptoms presented may differ. In case of family adversities, both internalizing and externalizing outcomes must be screened for.     

Parents of adolescents with psychiatric disorders: insight into the disorder,self-stigma and parental stress

Background

Parents of adolescents with mental disorders experience stress partially due to the way they perceive and experience their offspring's disorder. The current study assessed the mediator role of self-stigma in the relationship between insight into the disorder and parental stress of parents of adolescents with mental disorders.

Method

A total of 37 parents of adolescents with psychiatric disorders were assessed for their level of insight, self-stigma and parental stress.

Results

The hypothesized mediation model was confirmed and is consistent with previous study on parents of adults with severe mental illness.

Discussion

The positive association between insight and parental stress is mediated by these parents' self-stigma, suggesting that insight increases the self-stigma, which in turn increases the parental stress. These results may have clinical implications with regard to the treatment of the family of adolescents with mental disorders.     

Parental efficacy,parental monitoring efficacy,and monitoring among Asian-Indian parents of adolescents living in Chennai,India

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parental efficacy and a new concept entitled parental monitoring efficacy, and to examine the association between parental monitoring efficacy and monitoring. We conducted two studies on two samples of Asian-Indian parents and adolescents living in Chennai, India. In the first study of 241 parents of adolescents in grades, 9–12, we constructed a new measure of parental efficacy that included two factors. The first factor, responding competently to negative adolescent behavior was more strongly predictive of parental monitoring efficacy than the second factor, instilling positive behavior. In the second study of 215 parents and adolescents in grades 10 and 12, parental monitoring efficacy predicted monitoring, especially adolescent disclosure and parental control. The importance of parental control as a monitoring technique among traditional Indian parents was discussed.     

Do family environment factors play a role in adolescents' involvement in organized activities?

The study assessed the association of family environment factors with adolescents' participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA). We used data on 10,472 Czech adolescents aged 11–15 years (49.2% boys) from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. The associations of family support, the presence of parental screen-time rules and joint family activities with participation in at least one OLTA were assessed using logistic regression. High family support and the presence of parental screen-time rules were associated with higher odds of OLTA participation. Moreover, adolescents playing sports, indoor games and going for walks with their families at least weekly were more likely to participate in OLTA. Conversely, those spending time in joint family TV/video watching on most days were less likely to do so. A supportive family environment and direct parental involvement in their adolescent children's leisure are associated with OLTA participation in early to middle adolescence.     

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.