Cross-situational coping with peer and family stressors in adolescent offspring of depressed parents

Offspring of depressed parents are faced with significant interpersonal stress both within their families and in peer relationships. The present study examined parent and self-reports of adolescents' coping in response to family and peer stressors in 73 adolescent children of parents with a history of depression. Correlational analyses indicated that adolescents were moderately consistent in the coping strategies used with peer stress and family stress. Mean levels of coping were similar across situations, as adolescents reported greater use of secondary control coping (i.e., acceptance, distraction) than primary control coping (i.e., problem solving, emotional expression) or disengagement coping (i.e., avoidance) with both types of stress. Regression analyses indicated that fewer symptoms of self-reported anxiety/depression and aggression were related to using secondary control coping strategies in response to family stress and primary control coping in response to peer stress. Implications for understanding the characteristics of effective coping with stress related to living with a depressed parent are highlighted.     

A comparison of coping strategies used by parents of children with disabilities and parents of children without disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine whether coping strategies differ in parents of children with disabilities and parents of children without disabilities. Participants consisted of 112 parents, including 50 parents of children with disabilities and 62 parents of children without disabilities. It was hypothesized that coping strategies would be different between the two parent groups. It was also hypothesized that parents of children with disabilities would Seek Social Support and utilize Planful Problem Solving more often than parents of children without disabilities. Coping strategies employed were significantly different between the groups. Seeking Social Support was a more commonly used method of coping among parents of children with disabilities, as was Escape Avoidance and Positive Reappraisal.     

Stresses and Coping Strategies of Chinese Families with Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

Data from 368 families of children with autism and other developmental disabilities in the People’s Republic of China were gathered to understand the stresses that families experience and the coping strategies they employ. Chinese families of children with developmental disabilities perceived high levels of stress related to pessimism, child characteristics, and parent and family problems. Regarding coping strategies, acceptance, active coping, positive reinterpretation and growth, suppression of competing activities, and planning were the most frequently employed coping strategies. Parents of children with autism experienced more stress and used planning as a coping strategy to a greater degree than parents of children with other developmental disabilities. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Intergenerational discrepancies of parental control among Chinese American families: Links to family conflict and adolescent depressive symptoms

This study investigated how discrepancies between adolescents' and parents' endorsement of parental control contribute to adolescent depressive symptoms. Family conflict was hypothesized to mediate the link between parent-adolescent discrepancies and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of 166 pairs of Chinese American adolescents and their parents. The results indicated that, as predicted, greater discrepancies between adolescents and their parents on parental control related to greater adolescent depressive symptoms. Furthermore, adolescent's perceived degree of family conflict partially mediated this relation. Both parents and adolescents are changing and adapting to their cultural contexts; some in synchrony and some not. Identifying areas where parents and adolescents diverge concerning values, behaviors, and beliefs, is an important avenue to understanding Chinese American adolescents' mental health.     

Adolescents' as active agents in the socialization process: legitimacy of parental authority and obligation to obey as predictors of obedience

Adolescents' agreement with parental standards and beliefs about the legitimacy of parental authority and their own obligation to obey were used to predict adolescents' obedience, controlling for parental monitoring, rules, and rule enforcement. Hierarchical linear models were used to predict both between-adolescent and within-adolescent, issue-specific differences in obedience in a sample of 703 Chilean adolescents (M age=15.0 years). Adolescents' global agreement with parents and global beliefs about their obligation to obey predicted between-adolescent obedience, controlling for parental monitoring, age, and gender. Adolescents' issue-specific agreement, legitimacy beliefs, and obligation to obey predicted issue-specific obedience, controlling for rules and parents' reports of rule enforcement. The potential of examining adolescents' agreement and beliefs about authority as a key link between parenting practices and adolescents' decisions to obey is discussed.     

Predicting the filial behaviors of Chinese-Malaysian adolescents from perceived parental investments, filial emotions, and parental warmth and support

The present study examined the mediating role of perceived parental warmth and support in predicting Chinese Malaysian adolescents' filial behaviors from their age, perceived parental investments, and positive filial emotions toward their parents. The effects of these predictors were examined separately for mothers and fathers. Participants included 122 Chinese adolescents (M = 13.14 years; SD = 2.22) in Malaysia. Adolescents' perceived parental investments, filial emotions, and warmth and support from each parent were positively, and age was negatively associated with their filial behaviors. No gender differences were found. Perceived maternal warmth and support significantly mediated the effect of age, perceived investments from, and filial emotions toward mothers on adolescents' filial behaviors, but perceived paternal warmth and support did not have a mediating role. The present study sheds light on the unique maternal versus paternal filial role, and important familial processes in Chinese-Malaysian children and adolescents from a cultural perspective.     

Risk factors for problem behavior in adolescents of parents with a chronic medical condition

A wide array of risk factors for problem behavior in adolescents with chronically ill parents emerges from the literature. This study aims to identify those factors with the highest impact on internalizing problem behavior (anxious, depressed and withdrawn behavior, and somatic complaints) and externalizing problem behavior (aggressive and rule-breaking behavior) as measured by the Youth Self-Report (YSR). The YSR was filled in by 160 adolescents (mean age = 15.1 years) from 100 families (102 chronically ill parents and 83 healthy spouses). Linear mixed model analyses were used, enabling separation of variance attributable to individual factors and variance attributable to family membership (i.e., family cluster effect). Predictors were child, parent, illness-related and family characteristics. The results showed that almost half of the variance in internalizing problem scores was explained by family membership, while externalizing problems were mainly explained by individual factors. Roughly 60 % of the variance in internalizing problems was predicted by illness duration, adolescents' feeling of isolation, daily hassles affecting personal life and alienation from the mother. Approximately a third of the variance in externalizing problems was predicted by adolescents' male gender, daily hassles concerning ill parents and alienation from both parents. In conclusion, the variance in adolescent problem behavior is largely accounted for by family membership, children's daily hassles and parent-child attachment. To prevent marginalization of adolescents with a chronically ill parent, it is important to be alert for signs of problem behavior and foster the peer and family support system.     

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 relationship of gender,gender identity,and coping strategies in late adolescents

The relationships among gender, gender identity, and coping in late adolescents were examined. One hundred sixty-nine late adolescents completed measures assessing their masculinity and femininity, as well as their use of coping strategies. Females endorsed greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies than males. Late adolescents who were high in masculinity endorsed higher levels of problem-focused coping strategies than those who were low in masculinity. In contrast, late adolescents who were high in femininity endorsed higher levels of emotion-focused coping strategies than those who were low in femininity. Neither the gender nor the masculinity and femininity of late adolescents were predictive of the use of avoidant coping strategies. Overall, gender identity made an important and independent contribution to the endorsement of coping strategy use. These results emphasize the importance of assessing both gender and gender identity with regard to coping in late adolescents.     

Parents of children with enduring epilepsy: predictors of parenting stress and parenting

OBJECTIVE: The goals of the work described here were (1) to predict parenting stress and parenting from stressors, resources, and parental coping behaviors in parents of children with epilepsy, and (2) to determine whether parenting stress mediates the effects of these predictors on parenting. METHODS: Participants were 91 parents of children with epilepsy (mean age of children=8 years, 5 months). Parental perceptions of stressors, resources, parental coping behaviors, parenting stress, and parenting were assessed by means of questionnaires. Regression analyses were used to analyze the unique and combined power of the predictors to predict parenting stress and parenting. Sobel tests were used to identify the mediational role of parenting stress. RESULTS: Evidence was found for direct effects of stressors, resources, and coping behaviors on parenting stress and parenting, with relatively large effects for stressors. The mediational role of parenting stress was largest in the domain of parental behavioral control. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of pediatric epilepsy, parenting stress mediates both disruptive and resilient family factors for their effects on parenting. Parents of children with epilepsy may benefit from parent training programs that, to reduce parenting stress, address epilepsy education, the management of difficult child temperament, building social support networks, and the modification of inadequate parental coping behaviors.     

Adolescents' experiences of parental employment and parenting: connections to adolescents' well-being

This paper examines whether the relationship between parental work and adolescents' well-being would be mediated through parenting behaviour. The primary focus was on the experiences of adolescents. Questionnaire-based data from families (both parents and one children, n = 77) and adolescents (n = 126) were collected in Finland in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The adolescents were on average 14 years old. Results showed that the relationships between parents' negative work experiences and adolescents' depression (all perceived by adolescents) were partially mediated by adolescents' experience of lessened autonomy granting in parenting and increased conflicts between parents and adolescents. In addition, the relations between fathers' negative work experiences and adolescents' negative attitude regarding school (all reported by adolescents) were mediated by adolescents' perceptions of increased conflicts between fathers and adolescents.     

Parent substance use as a predictor of adolescent use: A six-year lagged analysis

The present study investigated the role of parental use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana on lagged changes in the specific substance use of their adolescent offspring over a six-year period. The analyses also examined the relative influence of mothers and fathers and their interaction as moderated by marital status and age and gender of the adolescent. A generalized estimating equations approach, analogous to quasi-like-lihood, was employed to estimate regression coefficients via an iterative weighted least squares algorithm. Findings indicated that, when employed as time-varying covariates, parental substance use resulted in substance-specific effects on fluctuations in the adolescent’s own use. Age, parent marital status, and each parent’s marijuana use independently were jound to significantly affect adolescent marijuana use. In contrast, the complex relationship between parent and adolescent use of alcohol and cigarettes showed variation by substance, age, and gender of both parents and adolescents. Within a developmental context, the results suggest that parent use of substances must be considered risk factors with particular effects on their younger offspring. Thus, prevention efforts should be directed at middle childhood and include components aimed at parents as well as their children.

     

The role of coping strategies in predicting change in parenting efficacy and depressive symptoms among mothers of adolescents with developmental disabilities

Background Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) face greater caregiving demands than parents of children without DD. There is considerable variability in parents' adjustment to raising a child with DD, however. In line with a strengths‐based approach, this study explores coping strategies as potential mechanisms of resilience among mothers of adolescents with DD. This study examines the frequency with which mothers use various coping strategies and the extent to which those strategies moderate the relationship between adolescent behaviour problems and aspects of maternal well‐being. Both positive and negative dimensions of well‐being are explored, with maternal depressive symptoms and perceived parenting efficacy examined as outcomes cross‐sectionally and longitudinally. Methods The present study focuses on 92 mothers and their adolescents with DD. The adolescents had a wide range of diagnoses, all with continuing special needs. Data were collected from mothers through interviews and self‐administered questionnaires when their adolescents were aged 15 and aged 18. A structured assessment of the adolescent was completed during home visits at age 15. Results Mothers reported frequently using strategies of denial and planning but rarely using strategies of mental and behavioural disengagement to cope with recent stressful situations. Adolescent behaviour problems were found to contribute to greater symptoms of depression and lower feelings of parenting efficacy as well as increases in depressive symptoms over time. Mothers of sons, but not daughters, reported increases in parenting efficacy across their child's adolescent period. Above and beyond adolescent factors, several coping strategies emerged as significant predictors of mothers' symptoms of depression and perceived parenting efficacy. Moreover, use of Active Coping/Planning, Positive Reinterpretation/Growth, and Behavioural/Mental Disengagement as coping strategies moderated the impact of adolescent behaviour problems on maternal depressive symptoms. Conclusions This study extends previous findings by focusing on both positive and negative dimensions of parent well‐being during their child's adolescent period. Adolescence can be a stressful time for parents, with typical developmental tasks entailing additional strains for parents of adolescents with DD. The present findings point to several coping strategies that may reduce the impact of challenging behaviours during this period on mothers' symptoms of depression and feelings of parenting efficacy. Certain coping strategies were found to exert a greater impact on maternal well‐being for parents of adolescents with higher levels of behaviour problems, suggesting that interventions may benefit from an increased focus on this group of mothers with heightened caregiving demands.     

Parental disclosure from the perspective of late adolescents

Although parental relations are considered influential in adolescents' transition to adulthood, we know little about lessons that parents provide through self-disclosure. This study explored the content and extent of parents' disclosure, from the perspective of their children in late adolescence. College students were asked to indicate how much each parent had shared about various matters in their lives, to characterize the quality of each parent's disclosure to them and their disclosure to each parent, and to recall each parent's most meaningful, awkward and first disclosures. Based on previous research regarding adolescents' disclosure to parents, gender differences in disclosure, and reciprocity of disclosure, it was predicted that greater disclosure would be exchanged with mothers than with fathers. Results confirmed initial predictions, indicated some of the functions that parental disclosure may serve, and suggested a model by which intra-family disclosure might evolve.     

Gender-specific differences in the process of coping in families with a parent affected by a chronic somatic disease (e.g. multiple sclerosis).

Based on the investigation of 52 families and their 87 offspring by means of semistructured interviews, we evaluated the coping abilities of the parent affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), the healthy parent and their children. The results show that the gender of the child significantly influences his or her coping behaviour. Daughters cope better than sons, independently of the gender of the MS-affected parent. Only the daughter's coping is positively affected by age and disease variables. The correlation between the coping behaviour of parents and children is significant between children and their healthy parents and even stronger between children and healthy parents of the same gender. Healthy mothers and daughters cope better with the increasing disability of the father. This is not the case for healthy fathers and sons. Gender seems to be an important moderating factor in chronic parental disease and it has complex effects on the coping capacity of children.     

Coping,distress, and well-being in mothers of children with autism

As is the case in stress research generally, studies examining the relationship between coping and mental health outcomes in parents of children with autism frequently classify parental coping methods as being either problem- or emotion-focused. We argue that this dichotomization of coping strategies oversimplifies the way parents respond to their child's autism. In the present study, the coping methods employed by 113 mothers of children with autism were investigated using the Brief COPE (Carver et al., 1989). Exploratory factor analysis of Brief COPE subscales identified four reliable coping dimensions: engagement coping, distraction coping, disengagement coping, and cognitive reframing coping. In addition, using multiple regression, we examined the relationship of coping strategies to negative and positive maternal outcomes (depression, anger, and well-being). In general, maternal use of avoidant coping (distraction and disengagement) was found to be associated with increased levels of maternal depression and anger, while use of cognitive reframing was associated with higher levels of maternal well-being. In several instances, child characteristics, particularly severity of child maladaptive behavior, moderated the effect of coping on maternal outcomes. Study findings are discussed in light of previous research in the area; in addition, study limitations and clinical implications are highlighted.     

Parenting and adolescent self-regulation

This study examined the relationship between adolescents' academic and non-academic self-regulation (SR), authoritative parenting (as demonstrated by high levels of Involvement, Strictness, and Autonomy Granting), and parent self-efficacy in four areas. Participants were 214 Australian high school students and their parents. There was a moderate correlation (r = 0.63) between academic and non-academic SR. Adolescents and their parents differed significantly in their perceptions of parenting behaviours, with parents rating themselves higher than their children on Involvement, Autonomy Granting, and Strictness behaviours. A model of the relationships between the constructs was developed showing a strong path from parent self-efficacy to both academic and non-academic SR via high parental Involvement (as perceived by adolescents). Strict parenting and the granting by parents of psychological autonomy to their adolescent children did not appear to be important in the development of young people's self-regulatory behaviours.     

Parenting stress and coping styles in mothers and fathers of pre‐school children with autism and Down syndrome

Background The study examined the profile of stress in mothers and fathers of preschool children with autism, Down syndrome and typically developing children. A further aim was to assess the association between parenting stress and coping style. Methods A total of 162 parents were examined using Holroyd's 66‐item short form of Questionnaire of Resources and Stress for Families with Chronically Ill or Handicapped Members and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Endler and Parker. Results and Conclusions The results indicated a higher level of stress in parents of children with autism. Additionally, an interaction effect was revealed between child diagnostic group and parent's gender for two scales of parenting stress: dependency and management and limits of family opportunities. Mothers of children with autism scored higher than fathers in parental stress; no such differences were found in the group of parents of children with Down syndrome and typically developing children. It was also found that parents of children with autism differed from parents of typically developing children in social diversion coping. Emotion‐oriented coping was the predictor for parental stress in the samples of parents of children with autism and Down syndrome, and task‐oriented coping was the predictor of parental stress in the sample of parents of typically developing children. The results strongly supported earlier findings on parenting stress in parents of children with autism. They also shed interesting light on the relationship between coping styles and parental stress.     

A qualitative investigation of adolescents' experiences with parental HIV/AIDS

The present qualitative study investigated the implications of parental HIV/AIDS for affected adolescents. The purpose of the study was (a) to understand adolescents' perceptions of and experiences with parental HIV/AIDS and (b) to explore how parental HIV/AIDS affects adolescents' psychosocial functioning, particularly in the home and school environments. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17. Major themes included loss, transitions, disclosure, school implications, paradoxical situations, support networks, and coping. Findings validated and expanded on previous research and yielded hypotheses for future research.     

Child, parent and family factors as predictors of adjustment for siblings of children with a disability

Background Siblings adjust to having a brother or sister with a disability in diverse ways. This study investigated a range of child, parent and family factors as predictors of sibling adjustment outcomes. Methods Forty‐nine siblings (aged 7–16 years) and parents provided information about (1) sibling daily hassles and uplifts; (2) sibling coping; (3) parent stress; (4) parenting; and (5) family resilience. Multiple regression techniques were used. Results It was found that parent and family factors were stronger predictors of sibling adjustment difficulties than siblings’ own experiences of stress and coping. Specifically, socio‐economic status, past attendance at a sibling support group, parent stress, family time and routines, family problem‐solving and communication, and family hardiness‐predicted sibling adjustment difficulties. Finally, siblings’ perceived intensity of daily uplifts significantly predicted sibling prosocial behaviour. Conclusions The results revealed that the family level of risk and resilience factors were better predictors of sibling adjustment than siblings’ own experiences of stress and coping resources, highlighting the importance of familial and parental contributions to the sibling adjustment process. The implications of these results for the design of interventions and supports for siblings are discussed.