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Parent-Child Communication Processes: Preventing Children's Health-Risk Behavior
Abstract
Review individual, family, and environmental factors that predict health-risk behavior among children and to propose parent-child communication processes as a mechanism to mediate them.
Improving parent-child communication processes may: reduce individual risk factors, such as poor academic achievement or self-esteem; modify parenting practices such as providing regulation and structure and acting as models of health behavior; and facilitate discussion about factors that lead to involvement in health-risk behaviors.
Assessment strategies to identify youth at risk for health-risk behavior are recommended and community-based strategies to improve communication among parents and children need development.
... Health-risk behaviour is a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality among children, which are established during childhood and extend into adulthood [10]. Participation in risk-taking behaviour such as substance use decreased physical activity, and risky sexual behaviour practices usually make their debut during adolescents and thus have primarily been studied during that phase of development [11]. ...
... The use of alcohol among young children and young people could lead to alcohol-related injuries, academic, behavioural, and relationship problems, as well as the development of lifestyle diseases [4]. Thus, engagement in these types of activities could compromise wellbeing, health, and life-course development, which could further contribute to the global burden of disease [10]. Health-risk behaviour includes: (a) activities that contribute to unintentional injury and intentional injury and violence; (b) tobacco use; (c) alcohol and other drug use; (d) sexual behaviour that contributes to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); (e) dietary practices and (f) physical inactivity according to the Centre of Disease Control [12]. ...
... The bio-ecological perspective on human development Bronfenbrenner and Morris [14] have long argued for an ecological approach to understanding human development. Bronfenbrenner and Morris [14] suggested that human development takes place through a process of progressively more complex reciprocal interaction between an active, evolving biopsychological human organism and the persons, objects, and symbols in its immediate external environment [10]. Thus, to understand human development, humans should be studied in their natural living environments where interactions could occur on a regular basis and over an extended period of time, and not by recreating artificial situations [14]. ...
Background
Health risk behaviour among South African youth is a significant public health concern. Despite a societal mind shift to educating the public on the prevention of health risk behaviour, behavioural change is not progressing at the rate needed to influence health risk behaviour positively. The project aims to explore behavioural trends and willingness to engage in risky behaviour among senior primary school children. Secondly, to design a health risk behaviour prevention program which adequately equips senior primary school children with the necessary life skills to alter risk behaviour engagement.
Methods
The study will make use of an intervention mapping framework and a sequential, explanatory mixed methods design. Stratified random probability sampling will be used to select three primary schools in the region. Nonprobability purposive sampling will be used to select the stakeholders participating in the focus group sessions. Data collection consists of five phases with the results of each stage informing the structure and application of the next. Phase 1 - baseline data collection (needs analysis) using the child health risk behaviour survey. Phase 2 - focus group interviews. Phase 3 - a systematic review of the literature for result analysis triangulation. Phase 4 – the development of the child risk behaviour prevention program based on the outcomes of phases 1,2 and 3. Phase 5 - implementation of the program. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyse the quantitative data. Chi-square, ANOVA and multiple regression analyses will be used to predict health risk behaviour engagement. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse qualitative data.
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study that would attempt to establish a health risk behaviour prevention program in youth and young people in South Africa. Overwhelming evidence exists that adolescents engage in risky health behaviour which may potentially negatively impact their lives. This study provides an opportunity to address a gap in the current strategy by developing a prevention program for young people which could later be supported by further booster programs through their adolescents. This project would serve as a baseline prevention program that could assist in the reduction of risky health behaviour among various communities.
... The response of parents, who claimed that parent-child communication represents a pattern of behavior for a child to interact with others, is also supported by other studies (e.g., Riesch et al., 2006;Barbato et al., 2003). Moreover, researchers concluded that in the family, parents teach their children communication skills (Zolten & Long, 2006), the intergenerational transmission being an important aspect (Rauscher et al., 2020). ...
... The parent's statement is sustained by another research, which reported that those children who do not spend quality time with their parents have difficulties in building relationships and coping with life's challenges. Even a few minutes that parents spend with their child before bedtime could be a good time for communication (Riesch et al., 2006). ...
The aim of this paper was to explore and present a specific point of view of university teacher parents about communication with their children, using focus group interviews. The focus group was conducted with tenured teachers (N = 12) from a Life Science university from western Romania. The parents’ ages varied from 34 to 48 years old (M age = 39.83 years) and relating to gender, there were 7 females and 5 males. Data collected from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analyses methods. Most of the parents have considered that parent-child communication represents an essential element in child development and in a positive family environment. Time, stress and overuse of technology are considered, by questioned parents, to be the main barriers to positive and efficient communication with their children. School is not perceived as a catalyst in developing a positive parent-child communication. Even if the parents are tenured university teachers, with knowledge in effective communication, and high expectations from society to be especially good at parent-child communication, they face the same difficulties as any other parents. This aspect could lead to a conclusion that the problems of parent-child communication could be a general one. The implications for families with school-age children are discussed.
... Because supportive parents model appropriate behaviours, children learn adept social skills that are linked to competence with peers and academic achievement (Buysse, Goldman, West, & Hollingsworth, 2008) [11] . Children in such families also have better health behaviours (Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006) [39] . ...
... Because supportive parents model appropriate behaviours, children learn adept social skills that are linked to competence with peers and academic achievement (Buysse, Goldman, West, & Hollingsworth, 2008) [11] . Children in such families also have better health behaviours (Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006) [39] . ...
The present study aimed to explore the association between resilience and perceived parental authority. Resilience is the ability to overcome or bounce back from a situation that causes significant distress to the individual. Parental authority on the other hand, is the pattern of interaction between a parent and child, which influences the relationship between them. A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 120 adolescents. The parental authority questionnaire (Buri, 1991) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Conner and Davidson, 2003) was used to collect data. Analysis of data revealed that there was a significant correlation between resilience and authoritative parenting style.
... Because supportive parents model appropriate behaviours, children learn adept social skills that are linked to competence with peers and academic achievement (Buysse, Goldman, West, & Hollingsworth, 2008) [11] . Children in such families also have better health behaviours (Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006) [39] . ...
... Because supportive parents model appropriate behaviours, children learn adept social skills that are linked to competence with peers and academic achievement (Buysse, Goldman, West, & Hollingsworth, 2008) [11] . Children in such families also have better health behaviours (Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006) [39] . ...
The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between an individual’s cognitive appraisal of their lives and its relation to affect. Cognitive and emotional well-being plays an integral role in the way an individual perceives his/her life and its outcomes. Quantitative data was collected from 100 young adults between the ages of 18-24 using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et. al 1985) and Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (Watson et. al 1988). Analysis of data revealed that there was a significant difference in the level of cognitive well-being and positive affect between men and women. A moderate positive correlation was found between cognitive well-being and positive affect as well.
... In our study, the feeling of living in a world where nobody cares about the rules, where people cannot trust the public services or other people, strengthens the impact of the first family factor -parental knowledge of children's activities -on risk evaluation. It is reasonable that this happens because within an environment perceived as unreliable the family presents itself to young people as the only niche which rears and cares for its members (Riesch, Anderson and Krueger, 2006) and the only credible authority to define the risks related to certain behaviours. Conversely, when the social environment appears trustworthy, multiple models, including peers, other adults, the mass media, and environmental models represented by community policies are likely to influence adolescents' risk evaluation and support their commitment to socially shared criteria (values, concerns, rules) to define the acceptable rules of conduct and lifestyle. ...
... The result appears understandable. If on the one hand the feeling of living in an unreliable place can increase the need to find dialogue in the family as a system which brings up and cares for its members (Riesch, Anderson and Krueger, 2006), on the other hand parental monitoring and family rules may lose their power to regulate experience and provide guidelines in judging behaviour where even social institutions seem to neglect the value of norms and rules (see also : Salvatore et al., 2018). It is reasonable that mistrust in the willingness of the institutions (government, health system and so on) to intervene for the public good leads to a thought like "My parents can monitor me and set rules for me but they do not really know how the world outside works and its real risks and challenges". ...
The objective of this study is to analyse the relationship between adolescent evaluation of health risk behaviours and family practices, while accounting for moderating effects of the cultural models through which adolescents interpret their social environment.
Cultural models, perceived family practices and evaluation of the risk associated to alcohol consumption, drugs use, reckless driving and unprotected sexual behaviours were assessed among 392 adolescents (mean age: 16.88 ± 0.752) recruited in five different Italian high schools of the southern Italy.
The findings show that, beside family dimensions (parental knowledge of children’s activities, parental inquiry about children’s activities, family rules on bed time), a component of adolescents’ cultural model – related to evaluation of the micro-social environment – has a direct effect on risk evaluation, stronger than the other variables; another component – related to the evaluation of the macro-social environment – moderates the role of the family dimensions.
These results suggest the importance of cultural and social dimensions in the intervention programs.
... Less is known about the impact of parental migration on children's risk behaviors. Previous research has indicated that parental and familial factors contribute to healthy development among children, and that a stable family environment is the primary source for the transmission of basic social, cultural and biological factors that may affect individual differences in risk behaviors [23][24][25]. However, current studies have failed to generate consistent findings with regard to the impact of parental migration on the risk behaviors of LBC. ...
... One study however, found no difference in problem behaviors between LBC and non-LBC in two Chinese provinces [28]. Risk behaviors manifesting during adolescence, such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol and internet addiction, may perpetuate into adulthood and have lasting adverse health effects [25,29]. Given the large number of young Chinese netizens and a growing rate of internet overuse, it is urgent to examine addictive internet use among young children. ...
Background:
One in seven members of China's population are migrants. There are an estimated 41 million children left behind in rural areas who are living without one or both of their parents. The impact of two- and single-parent migration on child mental health and risk behaviors is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the mental health and risk behaviors among children whose parents are either both migrating (B-LBC), have one parent migrating (O-LBC) or those whose parents do not migrate (N-LBC).
Methods:
This study was a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire conducted in rural areas with high proportions of left behind children (LBC) in Anhui Province, southeast China. The tools used were the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaires, Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Young's Internet Addiction Test for Chinese.
Results:
Full data were available for 699 B-LBC, 552 O-LBC and 741 N-LBC. After adjusting for gender, age, grade, number of siblings and self-rated socio-economic status, B-LBC were significantly more likely to have higher emotional symptoms scores (B(SE) = 0.36(0.11), p < 0.01), higher hyperactivity scores (B(SE) = 0.22(0.11), p < 0.01) and higher total difficulties scores (B(SE) = 0.79(0.29), p < 0.01) than N-LBC. B-LBC were also more likely to be an addicted internet user (OR(95%CI) = 1.91(1.33, 2.76), p < 0.01) compared to N-LBC. However, there were no identified differences between O-LBC and N-LBC or between O-LBC and B-LBC in any measures.
Conclusions:
Our findings found that living with one parent or both parents was associated with better mental health and fewer risk behaviors than was being separated from both parents. Future research is needed to consider the implications of these findings for policies and programs to protect LBC, especially for those with two migrating parents.
... Marta [50] in research on parent-youth communication has reported that openness in expressing views, feelings and ideas as well as managing conflict effectively are vital ingredients of the communication process. It leads to reduction in the tendency to engage themselves in risky behaviours like substance abuse [62], [64]. On the other hand there is an increase in well-being, self-esteem and coping [37]; and an improvement in overall 'socialemotional' adjustment [71], [72]. ...
... When there is a clarity in parental communication there is less ambiguity and this is important for effectively conveying and transmitting the messages as well as the expectations, values and goals to children. Research indicates that it leads to improved adjustment in youth and children [64]. When communication is not clear, vague or left unresolved, it tends to create confusion amongst the family members and this leads to misinterpretation of the communicated messages. ...
... Finally, in the mediation model, PCC is considered a mediator that explains the association between risk factors and adolescent mental health (Riesch et al., 2006). None of the studies in the current review were designed as a mediation study in the strict sense (i.e., where PCC was considered as a potential mediator for the relation between two other constructs and timewise measured be- with the social environment and result in a negative feedback loop (Lebowitz et al., 2014;Wittenborn et al., 2016). ...
Background
This systematic review addresses how adolescent‐rated parent‐child communication (PCC) quality is related to adolescent mental health.
Methods
We performed a systematic literature search in Medline and APA PsycInfo, including peer‐reviewed quantitative studies examining associations between adolescent‐rated dyadic PCC quality and general as well as specific measures of adolescent mental health. Qualitative and case studies were excluded, as were studies reporting only parent‐rated communication quality or instruments assessing other constructs than dyadic PCC. We screened 5314 articles, of which 37 were included in the review. We assessed study quality with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.
Results
We synthesized the findings in a table and narratively, reporting the main outcomes organized according to mental health constructs. The included studies were mainly cross‐sectional. The results showed that adolescent‐rated PCC quality is negatively associated with mental health constructs, demonstrating small to large effects across different mental health constructs and populations. The associations were found for general mental health and specific domains, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, suicidal ideation, post‐traumatic stress symptoms, and addictive internet use/gaming.
Conclusions
The findings demonstrate that PCC is a relevant variable to consider in assessing adolescent mental health and preventive efforts. Limitations include the exclusive focus on adolescent‐reported PCC questionnaires since parent‐ and observer‐rated instruments may lead to different results. Also, PCC is related to other constructs, such as dyadic relationships, that were not included in this review. We conclude that PCC is a relevant variable to consider in mental health research. Our findings suggest that PCC may be considered in mental health practice, both in terms of assessing its quality and potentially by tailoring interventions to enhance PCC. These may represent a mean to promote adolescent mental health.
... As the well-established evidence suggested (51), this might be due to parental knowledge and weak supervision toward children and the low quality of the parent-child relationship with absent parents. Additionally, the combination of a greater vulnerability in mental health that correlates to substance abuse and the potential direct effect of parental (often fathers among MLBC) smoking behavior (51)(52)(53) might account for the rather alarming rate of smoking among MLBC as well. Besides, the problematic mother-adolescent communication that had a worse influence on their substance abuse might be another explanation, as we addressed in a previous study (54). ...
Background
In China, the figure for left-behind children (LBC) of migrants stood at 68. 77 million in 2015. Despite being seen as a whole in the last few decades, LBC today differ broadly in parental migrating status. This study focused on LBC with both parents migrating (BLBC), LBC with only mothers migrating (MLBC), LBC with only fathers migrating (FLBC), and previous LBC with one or both parents migrating (PLBC), separately. We aimed at exploring the extent to which LBC were being affected by each migrant parent on both mental health and risk behaviors.
Methods
Data from 4,832 children were collected by a school-based survey in both rural and urban areas of China's Anhui province. Each participant anonymously completed a self-administered questionnaire containing the sociodemographics, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the items from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), and Young's Internet Addiction Test for Chinese (YIAT-C). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the Chi-squared test. Associations were estimated by multiple linear regression and logistic regression analyses adjusted for several confounders.
Results
The results suggested that BLBC ( p < 0.001), MLBC ( p < 0.05), FLBC ( p < 0.01), and PLBC ( p < 0.001) significantly scored higher for total difficulties along with emotional symptoms and conduct problems than never left-behind children (NLBC). Besides, BLBC, FLBC, and PLBC further reported a significantly higher rate of smoking ( p < 0.001, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively) and drinking ( p < 0.01, p < 0.05, and p < 0.01, respectively) than did NLBC. Also, MLBC appeared higher risks of smoking problems [OR = 2.31, 95% CI (1.45–3.69), p < 0.001] and the internet addiction [OR = 2.15, 95% CI (1.24–3.72), p < 0.01], when compared to NLBC.
Conclusions
The findings provided insight into LBC within the different contexts of parental migrations and contributed to a better understanding of their specific and potentially persistent health risks. Correspondingly, the study highlighted the implications for differentiating LBC to capture the more vulnerable group and tailored interventions to prioritize.
... Also in the literature, the importance of good communication between parents and children is shown to contribute to minimizing the risk of behavioural disorders (e.g. Riesch, Anderson, Krueger, 2006). ...
Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze mental well-being, especially anxiety and a sense of loneliness of Polish children temporarily separated from their parent or parents who are migrating for economic reasons, and children who went abroad with their parents. Methods: Explicit Anxiety Scale was used to measure anxiety “Jaki Jesteś?” (“What are you like?” by Skrzypek and Choynowski) (textbook by Zwierzyńska, Matuszewski, 2007) and the Polish versions of the UCLA Loneliness Scale were used to measure loneliness (by Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, adapted by Rembowski, 1992). Test results were supplemented with an interview with children. 320 children from different types of migrant families participated in the study. Results: the highest level of anxiety is felt by children temporarily separated from their mother, and children who, together with their parents, went abroad and find it difficult to adapt to the new environment. The duration of emigration was an important factor. Most children in the sample ‒ regardless of the type of migratory family ‒ feel lonely, do not feel strong ties with close relatives, do not feel understood by them, do not feel associated with a peer group. Conclusion: The results of the research indicate the necessity to take actions in the area of institutional and legal as well as psychological support for families and children both in the situation of going abroad and returning from migration. The most important directions of activities concerning the creation of environmental forms of separation compensation and the environmental assistance system for the migration family are indicated at the stage of prevention related to people planning trips.
... Conversely, negative relationships in childhood can have harmful impacts, such as Adverse Childhood Experiences or peer-on-peer bullying (Asmussen, 2020). Parental health and relationships are particularly important for young people's later health outcomes, including their mental health (Morgan et al., 2012) and young people's likelihood of adopting health risk behaviours (Riesch et al., 2006). ...
This briefing paper provides a definition for health inequalities that is specific to young people and a conceptual framework to help us identify the causes and levers that influence health outcomes.
... This suggests that parents should provide a complete family to children. Moreover, positive engagement in family interactions (80) and improving family communication (81) are also helpful to create a positive family relationship. ...
Background: The evidence on the association between benevolent childhood experience (BCE) and depressive symptoms in students is complex. This study aims to explore the underlying mediation mechanism of BCE toward depressive symptoms and whether this link was moderated by the family relationship among Chinese undergraduates.
Methods: From March 2021 to May 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted in China, and 1821 undergraduates were recruited in this study. Participants were asked to complete a self-reported electronic questionnaire. The software SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the mediation and mediated moderated modeling analysis.
Results: Mediation analysis indicated that uncertainty stress (US) partly mediated the link between BCE and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = −0.47, 95% bootstrap CI = −0.55, −0.39). The indirect effect of the US accounted for 39.63% of the total variance in depression. Moderation analysis indicated that the association between the US and depressive symptoms was significantly modified by family relationships (interact effect = −0.019, P < 0.001). An integrative moderated mediation analysis indicated that the indirect effect from BCE to depressive symptoms through the US was also moderated by family relationships (interact effect = −0.012, P = 0.014).
Conclusion: Uncertainty stress plays a key role in bridging BCE and depressive symptoms while the family relationship can buffer the impact of the US on depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduates. Enhancing tolerance of uncertainty and improving family relationships are needed to protect undergraduates from depressive symptoms.
... Both suicidal behaviors and Internet addiction are important health issues for children and adolescents, especially for LBC (Lin et al., 2014). Evidence from studies in various countries supports that a stable family environment contributes to healthy development for children (Gao et al., 2010;Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006). A family with two parents is a better environment compared to a single-parent family or a situation where one or two parents are absent (W. ...
Many left-behind children (LBC) are emerging in rural China and growing evidence indicated that parental migration was associated with various psychological problems. However, little is known about Internet addiction and suicidal behaviors among LBC. The study aims to explore the effect of Internet addiction and parental migration on three stages of suicidal behaviors, including suicidal ideation (SI), suicide plans (SP), and suicide attempts (SA). A total of 15,232 students graded 7 to 12 were recruited across five representative provinces in China. Results showed that LBC had a higher prevalence of SI and SA than non-LBC. However, after controlling for confounders, parental migration was insignificantly associated with suicidal behaviors. Internet addiction was significantly associated with increased odds of SI, SP, and SA. In addition, some variables showed different effects on suicidal behavior between LBC and non-LBC. Among LBC, psychological resilience, emotion management, and social support were negatively while loneliness was positively associated with SI, SP, and SA. Our findings suggest that adolescents with Internet addiction are more likely to report suicidal behaviors in rural China. For LBC, suicide preventive strategies could focus on reducing problematic Internet use and loneliness as well as improving psychological resilience, emotion management, and social support.
... Ouder-kind relaties die gekenmerkt worden door open communicatie worden beschouwd als mechanismen die deze negatieve effecten kunnen verzachten of voorkomen. Over het algemeen zijn familiale relaties hechter wanneer de ouderkind communicatie meer open is, en een open ouder-kind communicatie lijkt een positieve invloed te hebben op de ontwikkeling van jongeren, met onder andere minder depressieve symptomen, minder problematisch gedrag, een hoger zelfvertrouwen en meer levenstevredenheid bij de jongeren (Ackard e. a., 2006;Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006). Alhoewel de samenhang tussen ouder-kind relaties en het gedrag van kinderen en jongeren behoorlijk onderzocht is, is er nog maar weinig onderzoek gedaan naar de determinanten van de ouder-kind communicatie. ...
In deze bijdrage gaan we na in welke mate opvoedingsstress en depressieve symptomen van gehuwde moeders en vaders een invloed hebben op de eigen communicatie met het kind (actoreffecten) en op de communicatie van de andere ouder met het kind (partnereffecten). Gegevens uit het project “Scheiding in Vlaanderen” van 196 niet‐gescheiden gezinnen werden geanalyseerd, waarbij gehuwde moeders en vaders hun eigen opvoedingsstress en depressieve symptomen beoordeelden, en waarbij de ouder‐kind communicatie door zowel het kind als de ouders beoordeeld werd. Structurele vergelijkingsmodellen tonen aan dat zelfgerapporteerde opvoedingsstress de eigen ouder‐kind communicatie beïnvloedt (actoreffect), terwijl zelfgerapporteerde depressieve symptomen een impact hebben op de ouder‐kind communicatie van de andere ouder (partnereffect). Deze effecten zijn even sterk voor moeders en vaders: de samenhang tussen opvoedingsstress en depressieve symptomen enerzijds en ouder‐kind communicatie anderzijds is dus genderneutraal. De resultaten hebben implicaties voor toekomstig onderzoek maar ook voor deskundigen. In toekomstige studies over ouder‐kind relaties moeten bij voorkeur zowel vaders als moeders betrokken worden. Ook opvoedingsondersteunende diensten moeten beide ouders in hun vizier nemen ongeacht of de hulpvraag van een van beide ouders komt. Partnereffecten geven immers aan dat zelfs milde vormen van depressieve symptomen van de ene ouder een impact kunnen hebben op de ouder‐kind communicatie van de andere ouder. Abstract : This study examines how parenting stress and depressive symptoms experienced by mothers and fathers influence their own (actor effects) and the partner’s (partner effects) parent‐child communication. Based on the Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model, data from 196 families were analyzed, with both parents rating their parenting stress and depressive feelings, and parents as well as children rating the open parent‐child communication.Actor effects were found between parenting stress and open parent‐child communication, while partner effects were prominent between depressive symptoms and open parent‐child communication. The results provide no evidence for gender differences in the strength of the pathways to open parent‐child communication. Implications for future research and practitioners are provided.
... Parent-child communication is likely to be one of the potential mechanisms. Parent-child communication plays an essential part of parenting and has great influence on children's development [25][26][27][28]. Good parent-child communication has been found to be negatively correlated with pathological internet use and predicted less depression and anxiety symptoms 5 months later in adolescents [29,30]. ...
This study aimed to explore the mediation process from maternal mindful parenting to adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems through mother–child communication and adolescent self-disclosure. A total of 496 mother-adolescent dyads participated in the current study. Mother-reported mindful parenting and mother–child communication and adolescent-reported self-disclosure and behavior problems were collected. Path analysis results showed that mothers’ mindful parenting was indirectly associated with adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors through mother–child communication and adolescent self-disclosure. In addition, the specific components of mindful parenting were examined in detail. The component of interacting with full attention showed unique patterns, while components of compassion and acceptance and emotion awareness of children showed similar pattern with the total score. These findings contribute to the knowledge of the mechanism underlying how mindful parenting benefit adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and have implications for clinical interventions.
... Our findings and the finding on adolescent video gameplay and family social cohesion by Durkin and Barber (2002) indicate further validity support for our LCA findings. The cross-validation also promotes the notion that video gaming among adolescents may be beneficial with family social cohesion which in turn may assist in reducing health-risk behavior among adolescents especially when bolstered through a serious game such as SSS (Riesch et al., 2006). ...
Serious game-based interventions offer promising health outcome results with the aid of pre-intervention player tailoring and the development of measurements that evaluate pre-intervention player characteristics and subgroups. Video gaming measures can potentially provide helpful tailoring information that discerns individual video gaming preferences which could influence their overall user experience. It is critical that measures that target adolescent video gaming be psychometrically validated. There is a gap in the literature with psychometrically validated measures evaluating adolescent attitudes towards computer games for learning and gaming archetypes. Therefore the aims of this dissertation were to 1) evaluate the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and validity) of the Attitudes Towards Computer Games for Learning (ATCGFL) adapted from Askar et al.’s Attitudes towards computer-assisted learning (CAL) scale that assessed attitudes towards computer games for learning among a sample of adolescents, and 2) explore and identify the latent class structure (LCA) of the BrainHex measure among the same sample of adolescents. Secondary data analysis of a data set extricated from the “It’s Your Game-Family” study was conducted. Participants were youth aged 11-14 years in Houston, TX, who answered self-guided questionnaires in their home. Exploratory data analysis of the ATCGFL scale was performed. Reliability testing through analyzing internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also performed with the ATCGFL scale. Then, exploratory data analysis of the BrainHex measure was performed through latent class analysis. Results from the exploratory analysis of the ATCGFL scale suggest the adapted attitudes scale supports a 3-factor solution (Satisfaction, Motivation, and Cognition). The 3-factor solution indicates the scale has a mixed quality level of internal consistency because Factor 1 and Factor 2 we have an acceptable level of internal consistency, but Factor 3 has a questionable level of internal consistency. The test-retest reliability of the ATCGFL scale was low, but significant. Last, the latent class analysis of the BrainHex measure results revealed a 3-class model (low probability of gaming element likability gamers, moderate probability of gaming element likability gamers, and high probability of gaming element likability gamers). Overall, these findings suggest the Attitudes Towards Computer Games for Learning scale and BrainHex measure both possess promising utility as measures in tandem with serious game-based interventions, and that further research to conduct confirmatory analysis with both measures is merited.
... Ми досліджували зв'язок алкогольної залежності дорослих дітей трудових мігрантів з особливістю їх сприйняття дитячо-батьківських стосунків в батьківській дистантній сім'ї. В дослідженні взяли участь 244 респонденти віком від 20 лі-то хороший хлопчина», «Колектив на роботі у нього питущий» тощо). Натомість батьки були емоційно стриманими, з холодним розумом вирішували всі необхідні організаційні питання. ...
... Such a difference in the role of communication with mother and with father may reflect perceived differences for the adolescent in the nature of the communication. Adolescents report that they talk more and prefer communication with their mothers than their fathers [48,49], which may result from the fact that the relationship between mother and child is characterized more than father-child interactions by warmth, responsiveness and intimate exchanges [50]. However, previous studies have reported mostly on the different character of communication, whereas our study reveals that those differences result in higher risks for EBP in the case that difficulties or lack of communication, especially with mother, is combined with ACE. ...
Background:
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor family support and communication can increase emotional and behavioural problems (EBP). Therefore, we assessed the association of difficult communication with mother and with father separately with both emotional and behavioural problems (EBP), and whether adolescents' communication with mother and with father moderates the association of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) with the EBP of adolescents.
Methods:
We used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia, comprising 5202 adolescents aged from 11 to 15 (mean age 13.53; 49.3% boys). EBP were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We used generalized linear regression adjusted for age, gender and family affluence to explore the modification of the associations between ACE and EBP by communication (easy vs. difficult communication) with mother and father.
Results:
Difficult communication or a complete lack of communication due to the absence of mother and father increased the probability of emotional (exp (b): 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92|1.00; and 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91|0.99, respectively) and also of behavioural problems (exp (b): 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92|1.00; and 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90|0.97, respectively). We found a statistically significant interaction of communication with father on the association of ACE with EBP, showing that the joint effects were less than multiplicative.
Conclusion:
Difficult communication with mother and father is related to EBP among adolescents, and adolescents' communication with father moderates the association of ACE with both emotional and behavioural problems among adolescents.
... Parent-child communication is associated with positive parenting practices, such as parental involvement, limit setting, and monitoring (Davidson & Cardemil, 2009;Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006;Schroeder & Kelley, 2009). Higher levels of social support have also been related to better parenting practices among women facing adversity. ...
Objective. Few studies have explored associations between strength-based factors and positive parenting among mothers experiencing adversity. Adopting a person-centered statistical approach, we examined how patterns of maternal strengths relate to positive parenting practices. Design. Participants were 188 female primary caregivers (71% African American) who experienced intimate partner violence and/or were living with HIV. Women were recruited from community organizations in the Mid-Southern United States and completed measures of adaptability, spirituality, ethnic identity, social support, parent-child communication, community cohesion, and parenting practices. Latent profile analysis was used to generate classes of individual (adaptability, spirituality, education), relational (family support, friend support, parent-child communication about Substance Abuse, Violence, and AIDS/HIV), and contextual (ethnic identity, community cohesion) factors, in line with the social-ecological model of resilience. Associations between the classes and positive parenting practices were examined. Results. Three classes emerged: (1) Low Individual, Relational, & Contextual (LIRC; n = 18); (2) Low SAVA Communication (LSC; n = 30); and (3) High Individual, Relational, & Contextual (HIRC; n = 140). Mothers in the LIRC class reported lower parental involvement and less positive parenting practices than those in the HIRC class. Conclusions. Mothers who endorse increased individual, relational, and contextual factors utilize more positive parenting practices. Optimal clinical approaches to enhance parenting should target supports at multiple levels.
... This can be problematic, as authoritarian and unidirectional communication ( Bastien et al. 2011), as well as aversive family communication (Andrews et al. 2000), may increase the risk for the child's future experiences with adversity. Open and engaged parent-child communication, in contrast, has been shown to protect against future adversity in youth ( Bastien et al. 2011;DiIorio et al. 2003) because parent-child communication is critical to the promotion of children's socioemotional development and the prevention of health risk behaviors ( Riesch et al. 2006). Open parent-child communication is related to a number of positive outcomes in youth, including increased self-esteem, academic achievement, and life satisfaction, as well as decreased psychological distress and reduced engagement in risky sexual behaviors (Alexopoulos and Cho 2018;Karofsky et al. 2001;Levin and Currie 2010;Steinberg 2001;Weinman et al. 2008). ...
Objective
Parent-child communication about substance abuse, violence, and HIV/AIDS (i.e., SAVA) may protect against intergenerational risks, as open communication can enhance children’s resilience to combat adversities. We used moderation analyses to identify variables that affect mothers’ comfort with communicating with their children about SAVA.
Methods
Participants (Mage = 34.62 years; SD = 7.95) were mothers of youth between the ages of 6 and 14 who endorsed experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) within the last six months. Mothers reported on their experiences with IPV victimization (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale) and perpetration (History of Violence Perpetration Measure), and their comfort communicating with their children about SAVA (Parent-Child Communication about SAVA Scale).
Results
More severe IPV was associated with less comfort communicating (β = −003; p < 0.01). In addition, more frequent IPV perpetration was associated with less comfort communicating (β = −2.46; p < 0.01). Moderation was supported, such that the association between experiencing IPV and comfort with communication varied by experiences with IPV perpetration (β = 0.01; p < 0.01). Child’s age was a significant moderator of the relationship between bidirectional intimate partner violence (i.e., experiencing both victimization and perpetration), and comfort with communicating (β = −0.0004; p < 0.01).
Conclusions
Findings highlight the negative consequences of bidirectional violence, such that mothers who are both victims and perpetrators of violence were less willing to communicate with their children. Given the crucial role of communication in promoting resilience, this lack of communication may place children on a problematic health trajectory.
... Increased parent restrictions and limit setting, for example, has been shown to be an effective method to reduce teen risky driving (Beck et al., 2001;Hartos et al., 2002;Simons-Morton, 2007) and this may also translate to adolescent bicycling behaviors. Parent-child communication and parental monitoring during early adolescence have been found to be important mediators for health-risk behaviors (e.g., substance use, unintentional injury, risky sexual behaviors) (Dishion et al., 1998;Riesch et al., 2006;Bravender, 2015). ...
Introduction:
Efforts to encourage bicycling to school have increased in the United States. However, little is known about how parent-child communication affects bicycle safety. The purpose of this study was to examine parent-child agreement on biking instructions and their correlation with the early adolescents' real-world riding behavior.
Methods:
Parent-child dyads were asked open-ended questions about instructions they had given/received about bicycling. Answers were then coded into nine categories (e.g., crossing the road, bicycle control/handling). Distributions of parent-child agreement on parent-given bicycle safety instructions were examined in relation to the adolescent's real-world riding behaviors.
Results:
36 parent-child dyads were included. Average age was 11.9 (Range: 10-15) for adolescents and 43.3 (Range: 30-59) for parents. Common parental instructions included: wear helmet, ride on sidewalk, and trip routing specifications. High 'ride on sidewalk' instruction (38.9% both parent and adolescent, 22.2% parent only, 16.7% adolescent only) was concerning due to potential driveway conflicts. Agreement between parents and adolescents on reported instructions was low, overall. Mean safety-relevant event rates in real-world cycling did not differ significantly between bicycle safety instruction agreement groups (both parent & adolescent reported, parent only, adolescent only, neither). The proportion of time an adolescent rode on different infrastructure types (sidewalk, street, etc.) did not vary between dyads reporting parents had given instructions to ride on the sidewalk and those who had not.
Conclusions:
Results highlight lack of agreement between parents and adolescents on cycling instructions the adolescent receives from the parent. Parent instructions to adolescents regarding bicycling safety were not associated with actual riding behaviors. Results suggest parent messaging to adolescents may be ineffective. Given parents are in a position of influence, results indicate a need for parental training on effective safety-related communication strategies to assist them in capitalizing on their parental role to increase their child's safety.
... In this study, we aimed to understand the influence of family communication patterns (FCPs), both as a predictor and as a moderator of the parent-focused intervention, on teens' risky driving (self-reports and triggered events). Previous research indicates that parent-child communication processes are important contributors to teen health-risk behaviors 28,29 and that parents can play an important role in a teen's driving safety. [30][31][32] However, parents often are either not well trained to communicate about and reinforce safe driving behaviors of their teens, or underestimate driving risks and do not exert the full extent of their control toward managing those risks. ...
Objectives: Teen drivers are at increased crash risk, largely due to lack of experience. Parents play a key role in influencing teen behaviors and attitudes around driving safety. Parent-involved interventions may improve teen driving safety but tend to be resource intensive and have limited scalability. In this study, we examined how family communication patterns (FCPs) impact teen risky driving and the effectiveness of a parent-focused teen driving intervention. Methods: Our data came from a large randomized controlled teen driving intervention trial. We randomized parent-teen dyads into one of 3 groups: parent communication intervention plus in-vehicle event recorder feedback; in-vehicle event recorder feedback only ; or control. The primary outcome variable was teen risky driving (self-reports and triggered events); the primary exposure variables were FCPs and intervention group. We used generalized linear models to calculate effect estimates. Results: Teens' baseline risky driving did not vary by family communication pattern. The impact of the parent-focused intervention was stronger in families with a laissez-faire FCP. The laissez-faire FCP focuses little on child conformity and downplays communication. Conclusions: These results provide a framework for targeting high-resource teen driving interventions (event recorder feedback and parent-communication training) to families with laissez-faire communication patterns to attain the greatest risk reductions.
... It has been well reported that family structure and care is always one of the dominant factors affecting children's development [12][13][14][15]. Lack of parental support and supervision could bring significant effects on children which prompted attention of scholars from different fields. ...
Background
In recent decades, many workers from rural areas in China migrated to urban cities in search of a better livelihood. Due to the household registration policy and other financial barriers, more than 40 million of children were left behind in their rural home by their migrated parents in 2015. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate the influence of being left behind on these children’s physical and mental health.
Methods
A self-administered questionnaire was completed by participants about their demographic background and health status. Chi-square Test was conducted to investigate the influence.
Results
A total of 1662 participants responded and completed all the questions in the questionnaire. Significant differences existed between left-behind children group and non-left-behind children group on several health issues such as not going to school due to sickness (p = 0.080), completeness of the vaccination scheme (p = 0.036) and feeling of loneliness (p = 0.039). However, regarding symptoms like fever, cough or respiratory difficulties, diarrhea and twitch, as well as mental health problems like unhappiness and insomnia, no significant difference was found. Gender difference was also demonstrated showing that girls were more vulnerable than boys to certain symptoms and emotional problems.
Conclusion
This study indicated that both being left-behind and gender had an impact on the children’s health. It is necessary to further reform the household registration system to improve rights of equal access to employment, education and health resources for workers and their children from rural areas in China.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s12914-019-0191-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... 6 If there is an open form of communication with either parent, the adolescent will less likely be associated with delinquency, but, on the other hand, if there is a problem with communication between either parent and adolescent there is a great chance that the adolescent will be associated with delinquency. 6,7 Parents can help in influencing their adolescents in not participating in substance by open communication about the problem at home. 6 When a parent makes it known that they do not approve of substance use, the adolescents may be less likely to use a substance. ...
Background: In the Study, Mother and Father Adolescent Relationships and Substance Use in the Niger Delta: A Case Study of Twenty-Five (25) Communities in Yenagoa Local Government of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The extent of social interaction between parents and adolescents in Yenagoa Local Government was determine, the association between the level of interaction between the father and child on adolescent’s predisposition to substance use in Yenagoa Local Government Area was determine and the association between the level of interaction between the mother and child on adolescent’s predisposition to substance use in Yenagoa Local Government was examine.
Materials and method: Data obtained were analysed using both descriptive analysis and inferential statistics. Data was analysed descriptively using frequency and percentage while result was presented in table. Data was also presented pictorially using charts.
Results: Results showed that 27.3% of respondent had very cordial relationship with their fathers while 34.5% had very cordial social interactions with their mothers. This indicate that majority of the respondents do not have cordial relationship with their fathers and mothers. Further analysis revealed that 60.0% and 94.4% of the respondents do not have cordial relationship with their fathers and so are predispose to substance use. Also, 86.0% and 86.2% of the respondent do not have cordial relationship with their mothers. Indicating that majority of the adolescence were predispose to substance use.
Conclusion: The study concludes that, it is vital for parent and societies to seize the opportunity of applying behavior modification therapy to juveniles and young adults. as the need arises. It is also imperative that all stakeholders engage in concerted efforts to target both parents and adolescents in substance use control strategies.
Keywords: mother, father, quality, adolescent, substance use, interactions, Niger delta
... Introduction Adolescent health risk behaviors are an important public health concern worldwide. Health risk behaviors are a serious threat to adolescents' health and have lasting impacts on life quality in adulthood [1][2][3][4][5]. Additionally, adolescence is a critical time during which many individuals establish independence and adopt lasting health risk behavior patterns that are associated with increased long-term risk for disease [1]. ...
Background
Adolescent health risk behaviors are a public health priority given their prevalence and their associations with chronic diseases and life quality in adulthood. This study examined the heterogeneity of adolescent health risk behaviors and the associations between demographic characteristics and subgroup membership in rural western China.
Methods
In fall 2015, 2805 students from rural middle schools in Sichuan Province were surveyed using the Health-Related Behavior Questionnaire for Adolescents. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subgroups of adolescents with distinct patterns of health risk behaviors. Differences in class membership related to selected demographic characteristics were examined using multinomial logistic regression analysis.
Results
A four-class model emerged: (1) high-risk group (n = 108, 4.0%), (2) high-physical-inactivity and suicide-risk group (n = 340, 12.1%), (3) moderate-risk group (n = 897, 32.0%), and (4) low-risk group (n = 1460, 52.1%). The multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that boys and adolescents with poor parental relationships and high allowances (spending money) were significantly more likely to be in the high-risk group than the low-risk group.
Conclusions
Adolescents in rural western China are a heterogeneous population requiring different tailored and effective interventions.
... Body weight, a determinant of BMI, is an important criterion that affects student satisfaction with physical status and is associated with various dimensions of adjustment (Heshmat et al., 2015). Moreover, satisfaction with appearance increases self-esteem in adolescence and positively affects the self (Riesch, Anderson, & Krueger, 2006;Shin & Shin, 2008). ...
Background:
Mental and physical development during adolescence is a factor that may affect quality of life in adulthood.
Purpose:
The aims of this study were to investigate the developmental trajectories of body mass index (BMI), self-esteem, and adjustment among students from early to late adolescence and to examine the longitudinal relationships among these variables.
Methods:
Data from 2006 to 2012 were collected from the Korean Welfare Panel Study. Of the initial sample of 521 students, 487 completed a validated questionnaire measuring BMI, self-esteem, and adjustment. Latent growth curve modeling analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among the variables.
Results:
Univariate linear growth models showed a significant increase in BMI and significant declines in both self-esteem and adjustment across three time points from childhood to adolescence. The goodness of fit of the multivariate conditioned model supported the validity of the proposed longitudinal model (comparative fit index = .93, root mean square error of approximation = .08). Change in BMI was significantly linked with change in adjustment (β = .18, p < .05) but not with change in self-esteem, whereas change in self-esteem exerted a statistically significant effect on change in adjustment (β = .47, p < .001).
Conclusions/implications for practice:
Our findings indicate that BMI and self-esteem are key determinants of student adjustment in school settings. Therefore, future health education interventions should focus on enhancing the positive physical and mental self-concepts of students, which should improve health and social behavior among students and subsequently afford a better quality of life for these students in adulthood.
... This conversation could include explanations of the efficacy or lack of efficacy of specific cultural health practices; to assist parents to set achievable goals and provide individualized health information to address each family's concerns. It is vital for health professionals to foster relationships with parents by engaging parents in conversations about health promotion (Riesch, Anderson, and Krueger 2006). Health professionals must be proactively involved discussing culturally specific health practices such as the use of traditional Chinese medication and bed-sharing practices. ...
Aims and objectives: To explore the role of culture in the seasonal influenza prevention practices of Hong Kong Chinese parents with a healthy preschool child.
Background: Cultural values and norms significantly influence parents’ health preventive practices and related health promotion strategies. Most research is concerned with influenza prevention and focuses on the factors affecting vaccination uptake, the use of facemasks and effective hand hygiene. There is limited research exploring the influence of culture on the seasonal influenza prevention practices of parents with a young child in Hong Kong.
Design: Mixed methods using a multiple-case study approach.
Methods: Purposive intensity sampling was employed to recruit 20 parents with children under five years old. A thematic analysis was employed to examine the qualitative interview data and the quantitative data were analysed descriptively. The data were then integrated to provide a more rigorous comprehension of parents’ cultural seasonal influenza preventive practices. Comparisons were conducted across the 20 cases and patterns examined.
Results: Five themes were identified. They were sharing beds; boiling white vinegar to kill air-born germs; diet therapy to enhance health; self-prescribed Chinese medication to manage a child’s cold symptoms; and the co-use of Western and traditional Chinese medications to prevent seasonal influenza.
Conclusions: The findings indicate that a pluralistic approach to health promotion should be considered to ensure the likelihood that families accept, support and comply with health advice in seasonal influenza prevention. The delivery of culturally appropriate health promotion requires a close partnership between nurses and parents.
... 12,28 In fact, based on numerous studies and empirical data indicating the role of the personality traits of the parents and their parenting style for their children's health behaviors, it is assumed that these traits and attitudes of education may also be important for monitoring the effectiveness of orthodontic therapy. 29,30 Moreover, selfefficacy, a term derived from social learning theory, understood as the belief that one is able to accomplish the established goals, is a variable whose critical role in forming health behavior and cooperation in the treatment of diseases has been amply demonstrated empirically. 15 Earlier studies on the determinants of the effectiveness of the therapy and prevention of dental diseases in children indicate the importance of the self-efficacy beliefs of the parents and their level of self-esteem in monitoring their children's health behaviors. ...
Background:
The effectiveness of orthodontic treatment with removable appliances arouses controversy concerning the level of patients' compliance. The compliance depends on factors controlled by the orthodontists, by the patients themselves and by their caregivers, and those beyond any control.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which the personality traits of patients and their caregivers affect the cooperation in removable appliance therapy.
Material and methods:
A total of 38 patients (19 boys, 19 girls) aged 9-12 years, presenting malocclusions suitable for removable appliance therapy were randomly selected. The EAS-C Temperament Questionnaire, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, NEO-Five Factor Inventory and Parental Attitude Scale developed by Plopa were employed to evaluate the patients' and the caregivers' temperamental dispositions. Electronic sensors were employed to objectively assess patients' cooperation.
Results:
Statistical analysis revealed a high positive correlation between removable appliance wear time and the results of the GSES and the SPR-R, a strongly positive correlation between wear time and the NEOFFIC results and a strongly negative correlation between wear time and the EAS-C-Emo measurement. The level of a generalized sense of efficacy, conscientiousness and the severity of requirements imposed on the child were the factors related to the caregivers, positively correlating with patients' cooperation.
Conclusions:
The cooperation of children treated with removable appliances may be foreseen with observation of the patients' and their caregivers' traits. Objective evaluation of the patients' cooperation and psychological tests may be valuable tools for the re-assessment of the paradigm of early orthodontic treatment.
BACKGROUND
This study examined student and caregiver preference for school communication and explored the feasibility and acceptability of a digital tool to assist with communication about school meal program between schools and families.
METHODS
The study used qualitative methodology through youth focus groups and caregiver semi‐structured phone interviews. The study was conducted in 4 high schools in a large, urban city. The phenomenon of interest included the exploration of preferences regarding communication around school meal programs and feasibility and acceptability of a digital tool for communication and promoting the ordering of healthful foods in the school environment. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed through NVivo qualitative software using thematic analysis approach to examine themes.
RESULTS
Forty‐seven students (ages 14‐21, grades 9‐12) participated in 7 focus groups and 24 caregivers participated in semi‐structured phone interviews. Three themes emerged around (1) communication preferences, (2) accessibility, and (3) extrinsic motivational factors for engagement in healthy eating behaviors.
CONCLUSION
Results indicated that communication methods could potentially influence motivation and engagement in youth school meal participation.
Parent–child communication plays a key role in adolescents' and parents' mental and behavioral health. Parent–child communication is associated with child well‐being outcomes, including socioemotional development (e.g., Grotevant, 2001), interpersonal relationships (e.g., Carson et al., 1999), and academic success (e.g., Branje, 2008; Noller & Feeney, 2004). Importantly, parent–child communication can be improved by interventions and serves as a key intervention mechanism for adolescent risk prevention programs (e.g., Doucette et al., 2021).
Background:
Families in which a parent has Huntington's disease (HD) are faced with significant stressors that can contribute to difficulties in communicating together about illness-related concerns. Family members who use more disengagement coping strategies, including denial and avoidance, to deal with illness-related stressors may have the greatest challenges to effective communication.
Objective:
The current study examined the associations of intrapersonal and interpersonal disengagement coping responses with observed and reported emotions of adolescents and young adults (AYA) at genetic risk for HD.
Methods:
Families included 42 AYA (n = 26 females) ages 10 to 34 (M = 19 years, 11 months; SD = 7 years, 6 months) and their parent with HD (n = 22 females, M age = 46 years, 10 months; SD = 9 years, 2 months). Dyads participated in observations of communication and completed questionnaires about disengagement coping and internalizing symptoms.
Results:
Disengagement coping of AYA was unrelated to their observed and reported emotional difficulties (intrapersonal coping). However, there was evidence for the importance of interpersonal disengagement coping, as AYA's negative affect was observed and reported to be highest when both AYA and their parents reported using high levels of avoidance, denial, and wishful thinking to cope with HD-related stress.
Conclusion:
The findings underscore the importance of a family-oriented approach to coping and communication in families affected by HD.
In this chapter, we discuss several issues surrounding parenting in the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong. Because family development is contingent on changing family ecology, we outline the family landscape in Hong Kong that influences parenting practice, such as the growing tendency of not having kids amongst married people. We examine some phenomena on parenting in contemporary Hong Kong, such as changing parenting behavior during adolescence. We also discuss parental differences in parenting with reference to recent research findings, which suggest the relatively more positive perceived parenting attributes of mothers. Based on recent studies, we also highlight how parents might influence adolescent development in different domains. Finally, we explore future directions for research in parenting in Hong Kong and discuss some problems with being a parent now.KeywordsChineseHong KongParenting studiesParental differencesParenting phenomena
The use of digital technology in school settings is increasing every year, where one aspect of digital technology is robotics in education. In relation to that and of uttermost importance is the issue of how to design teaching and learning activities that includes robot technology in education. In this paper we investigate how open-ended designs can allow children to playfully explore robotics in educational settings, drawing from workshops carried out with three third grade classes of Danish school children, aged 9–10 years old, that interact with robotics in a cross-case study. By the use of video recordings, the unit of analysis focuses on the activities with a special interest on children’s interactions with the robots and with each other. The research questions posed in the study are: (1) What happens when school children use robotics designed for open-ended interactions? And (2) In what ways do children’s playful experiences unfold while engaged with robotics? The study applies a qualitative approach and the theoretical framework used describes open-ended designs as resources to develop playful experiences. In doing so, Vygotsky’s theory on mediation, Hutt’s studies into children’s play with novel objects, and Bird and Edwards’ digital play framework are used as an analytical framework. The results of this study imply that by using an open-ended design in the teaching activity with the robot, which included an exploratory and problem-solving approach, conditions were created for playful and collaborative learning.
With the development of computer technology, more and more teenagers devote abundant time and effort to video games. Previous cross-sectional studies have found a negative relationship between video game playing time and parent-child communication frequency, but the causal direction between the two is still unclear. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the direction of the relationship between video game playing time and parent-child communication frequency among Chinese junior high school students. We analyzed the longitudinal data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). A total of 7340 junior high school students were analyzed across an academic year using cross-lagged analysis. The study results showed that the relationship between video game playing time and parent-child communication frequency is bidirectional. Our research helps to prevent and intervene in junior high school students’ excessive video game playing from a family perspective. Given the bidirectional influence between these two variables, families should focus on increasing parent-child communication with children to prevent junior high school students from excessive video game playing time.
Purpose
Communication quality is an essential indicator of family functioning and represents an important outcome after pediatric nursing interventions. However, few well-documented child-report questionnaires for family communication exist. We aimed to document the psychometric properties of a previously developed child-rated family communication scale for use in pediatric nursing.
Design and methods
We examined the Parent-Child Communication Scale – Child Report (PCCS-CR) in terms of factor structure, convergent validity against the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures scale (ECR-RS), and known-groups validity between a sample of siblings of children with pediatric health conditions and controls. The sample comprised 101 siblings of children with a pediatric health condition and 44 controls (M age = 11.5 years, SD = 2.2).
Results
We confirmed a two-factor structure of the PCCS-CR. One factor is communication from the child to the parent, labelled child communication (e.g., “I discuss problems with my parents”) and the other is communication from the parent to the child, labelled parent communication (e.g., “My parent is a good listener”). Convergent validity of the PCCS-CR was demonstrated through correlations with ECR-RS (r = −0.73 to −0.22, p ≤ .05). Further, construct validity through differences between families with and without a child with a pediatric health condition was demonstrated (g = 0.36–0.83, p ≤ .052).
Conclusion
The PCCS-CR appears to be a psychometrically sound measure of parent-child communication from the child's point of view.
Practical implications
The PCCS-CR can be administered in pediatric nursing care and can be used to target and measure the outcomes of interventions aimed at enhancing family functioning.
The opportunity for online engagement increases possible exposure to potentially risky behaviors for teens, which may have significant negative consequences. Effective family communication about online safety can help reduce the risky adolescent behavior and limit the consequences after it occurs. Our paper contributes a theory of communication factors that positively influence teen and parent perception of communication about online safety and provides design implications based on those findings. While previous work identified gaps in family communication regarding online safety, our study quantitatively identified the factors that significantly contribute to parents' and teens' differing perceptions. We analyzed data from a survey of 215 teen-parent pairs through a cross-sectional design and examined the factors that contribute to increased family communication about online safety. For parents, active mediation, technical monitoring, and a perceived positive affect of the teen were associated with higher levels of family communication. Our results were similar for teens, except that the teen's online safety concern and parental monitoring were also positively associated with increased family communication, while restrictive mediation was associated with lower levels of family communication. Many existing designs for online safety support a restrictive approach, despite teens not wanting technical restrictions. A key implication of our findings is that teens view active mediation and monitoring positively in respect to family communication. Contrary to mainstream narratives, this finding suggests that teens value parental involvement and do not desire complete independence online. By examining specific mechanisms which can hinder or improve family communication between parents and teens regarding online safety, we recommend solutions that give teens an active role in their online safety and facilitate effective family communication through cooperation between both parties, rather than technologies that promote parental restriction.
This study adopts a family life course perspective to explore the health implications of intrafamilial transmission of COVID-19, asking whether the positive diagnosis of specific core family members (i.e., spouse, parents, children) exacerbates COVID-19 patients’ illness severity and whether this impact varies by patients’ age or life-course stage. We draw on patient-level administrative data from the cities of Jinan and Shenzhen in China, where all COVID-19 patients were immediately hospitalized upon diagnosis. Using survival modeling, we found that having a spouse who is also infected with COVID-19 is predictive of significantly extended hospital stay, an effect that is stronger for older patients than for younger ones. Additionally, having an infected parent—although not child—is also associated with lengthened hospital stay, and younger patients experience significantly worse outcomes from parental-child tie infection. These results are congruent with the existing literature that expects negative consequences of family members’ illness on one’s own health. They also call for more theorizing on the evolving relationship between various forms of family connectedness and health over life-course processes.
Native American youth endure a complex interplay of factors that portend greater risk-taking behaviors and contribute to marked health disparities experienced in adolescence. The Asdzáán Be'eená ("Female Pathways" in Navajo) program was developed as a primary prevention program to prevent substance use and teen pregnancy among Navajo girls. The Asdzáán Be'eená program consists of 11 lessons delivered to dyads of girls ages 8 to 11 years and their female caregivers. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact on risk and protective factors were assessed through a pre-/post study design. Data were collected from girls and their female caregivers at baseline, immediate, and 3 months postprogram completion. Forty-seven dyads enrolled in the study, and 36 completed the 3-month evaluation. At 3 months postprogram, girls reported significant increases in self-esteem, self-efficacy, parent-child relationship, social support, cultural, and sexual health knowledge. Caregivers reported increased family engagement in Navajo culture and parent-child communication and improved child functioning (fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviors). Findings suggest Asdzáán Be'eená has potential to break the cycle of substance use and teen pregnancy in Native communities by improving protective and reducing risk factors associated with these adverse health outcomes. Additional rigorous efficacy trials are necessary to establish program effectiveness.
Background
The family is a key setting for health promotion. Contemporary health promoting family models can establish scaffolds for shaping health behaviors and can be useful tools for education and health promotion.
Objectives
The objective of this scoping review is to provide details as to how conceptual and theoretical models of the health promoting potential of the family are being used in health promotion contexts.
Design
Guided by PRISMA ScR guidelines, we used a three-step search strategy to find relevant papers. This included key-word searching electronic databases (Medline, PSycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL), searching the reference lists of included studies, and intentionally searching for grey literature (in textbooks, dissertations, thesis manuscripts and reports.)
Results
After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the overall search generated 113 included manuscripts/chapters with 118 unique models. Through our analysis of these models, three main themes were apparent: 1) ecological factors are central components to most models or conceptual frameworks; 2) models were attentive to cultural and other diversities, allowing room for a wide range of differences across family types, and for different and ever-expanding social norms and roles; and 3) the role of the child as a passive recipient of their health journey rather than as an active agent in promoting their own family health was highlighted as an important gap in many of the identified models.
Conclusions
This review contributes a synthesis of contemporary literature in this area and supports the priority of ecological frameworks and diversity of family contexts. It encourages researchers, practitioners and family stakeholders to recognize the value of the child as an active agent in shaping the health promoting potential of their family context.
Extant research has discussed the importance of social climates surrounding sport-related concussion (SRC) reporting, especially the need to address parents/guardians’ role in concussion management. This study explores parents/guardians’ intentions toward SRC-related conversations with their children and their seeking of conversational resources via the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data collected from 292 parents/guardians of 1st-12th graders who play contact sports are examined via a structural equation model. The results indicate that parents/guardians’ intention toward communicating with their child about SRC reporting was determined by their attitudes and subjective norms but that perceived behavioral control was not a significant predictor of intention. Furthermore, parents/guardians’ intention toward having these conversations was predictive of whether they sought information to aid these conversations. This study answers calls to address parents/guardians’ involvement in SRC management and provides preliminary information for persuading parents/guardians to have conversations with their children about SRC reporting.
This study examined the effects of media narratives about concussions on parent’s intentions to inform their children about concussions. A randomized experiment of 600 parents whose children play football in middle school or high school were presented with one of the five narrative conditions or the control condition (where parents read a brochure). Results indicate that parents who read the narrative shared from the perspective of a high school football player, a parent, a coach, and a Center for Disease Control and Prevention researcher induced negative emotions, and those exposed to the narratives from the perspective of a high school football player and a parent also experienced a sense of identification and thereby reduced counterargument. Negative emotions and a reduced counterargument influenced intentions of these parents to inform their children of the dangers and risks of playing football and prompted them to read information on sports-related concussions. The results of this study have implications for communities and organizations seeking to motivate parents to engage in informative conversations with their children about the dangers and risks associated with playing football including concussions.
Based on attachment theory and a social-cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this study examined the roles of parent–child communication, perceived parental depression, and intrusive rumination in the association between insecure attachment to parents and PTSD among adolescents following the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. In this study, 620 adolescents were recruited to complete self-report questionnaires. The results showed that the direct association between anxious attachment and PTSD was significant, but that between avoidant attachment and PTSD was non-significant. In addition, both anxious and avoidant attachment had indirect associations with PTSD via the mediating effects of parent–child communication openness and problems, perceived parental depression, and intrusive rumination. However, the specific paths between anxious and avoidant attachment and PTSD were different. The findings indicated that insecure attachment among adolescents following the earthquake was predictive for their PTSD, and the mechanisms underlying the association between anxious attachment and PTSD and the association between avoidant attachment and PTSD were distinct. To alleviate PTSD, more attention should be paid to improving the quality of parent–child communication for adolescents with avoidant attachment to parents, and to reducing negative cognition in adolescents with anxious attachment.
In this chapter we examined parental beliefs of 5,749 Chinese parents based on an indigenous scale developed in the Chinese context. Results showed that the scale and the subscales were internally consistent. Findings based on frequency analyses revealed that Chinese parents generally held positive beliefs about their roles and responsibilities in parenting. However, Chinese parents showed more conservative attitudes in educating children on sexuality issues. Some parents also did not realize the necessity of learning about parenting, implying that they may be ill-prepared for parenting. Further analyses revealed that mothers possessed stronger parental beliefs than fathers did. Parents with lower educational levels tended to be more conservative in parental beliefs. Family income and employment status were also identified to be predictors of parental beliefs. In general, parents with lower family income or being unemployed tended to hold stronger traditional beliefs about roles and responsibilities in parenting than did high-income or employed parents. The research findings underscore the importance of understanding parental beliefs in Chinese societies.
Despite prior research indicating that parents and adolescents perceive conversations about the adolescent’s strengths and weaknesses to be important, information about these conversations and how they are related to other facets of the parent-adolescent relationship is limited. In a sample of 171 parent-adolescent dyads (adolescents were 14-17 years old), we conducted an initial exploratory study on the frequencies of parent-adolescent discussions about strengths and weaknesses. Within-dyad reports were correlated; however, parents reported higher frequencies of strengths-based communication and lower frequencies of weakness-based communication than adolescents. We also found differences in frequencies of weakness-based communication by socio-demographic variables. Spearman’s rank correlations and mixed effects regression models suggested that the frequency of communication about strengths, but not the frequency of weaknesses, was associated with parent-adolescent general communication, adolescent disclosure, and relationship quality. These results help shed much needed light on an under studied topic of importance to adolescents and parents.
Objectives
This study aimed to explore how parents communicate with children affected by sickle cell disease, a condition associated with social and cultural complexities that pose risks to open parent–child communication.
Design
A contextualist approach informed the qualitative exploration of parent experience using an individual interview design.
Methods
Twelve semi‐structured interviews were conducted with parents whose child had a diagnosis of sickle cell disease. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Parental communication was aimed at educating and protecting children from the physical and emotional effects of SCD in an age appropriate way. Parents commonly described avoidant communication and a small number described using this as a more predominant approach. This appeared to relate to fears about SCD, stigma, and uncertainty about how to best to respond.
Conclusions
As a known mediator of child outcomes, communication offers a promising target for intervention. The findings of this study suggest that parents of children with SCD are likely to benefit from formal support to adapt their communication to their child's needs. Parenting interventions should, in future, include the SCD parent population as a specific group to benefit child outcomes.
Statement of contribution
What is already known on this subject?
• Talking openly with children who have genetic conditions is known to promote acceptance and adjustment to illness. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic condition that is surrounded by various sociocultural issues that may act as barriers to parent–child communication. For example, it is condition that affects only Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups and is associated with longstanding stigma within BME communities due to the hereditary nature of the disease.
What does this study add?
• It adds a unique focus on communication in the SCD parent population (previous work has tended to study this group alongside parents of various other genetic conditions).
• The findings provide a rich insight into parent experience of communication with children about SCD.
• It reveals that many parents find it difficult to talk openly with children and often avoid sensitive issues such as inheritance, physical limitations, and risk of death which has important implications for child coping and adjustment.
• It is therefore recommended that health care services are designed to support parents with communication about SCD with their child.
Lying and deception are a common human behavior. Lying has many determinants, including developmental, biological, social, and psychodynamic. Understanding the neural basis of human honesty and deception has enormous potential scientific and practical value. Through a review of the, scientific and pseudo-scientific issues surrounding deception, a greater understanding is reached of the complexity of this universal and morally loaded behavior. The present research concentrates specifically on one of the greatest lies, the lie told by the sons of Jacob in Biblical times. Aspects of the story-the mechanisms of lying, the causes, lying behavior, parenting patterns, the relations between the brothers, jealousy and rivalry, severe conflict, and the aggressive behavior of the brothers were evaluated closely from a contemporary viewpoint.
The relation of psychosocial protective factors to involvement in problem behavior—alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, and sexual precocity—was investigated in a longitudinal study of 7th-, 8th-, and 9th-grade adolescents in a large, urban school district. Protective factors were drawn from the personality, the perceived environment, and the behavior systems of problem-behavior theory. The findings show a significant inverse relation between protection and problem-behavior involvement. There is a significant interaction between protection and risk in the prediction of problem behavior: Protection is shown to moderate the relation of risk to problem behavior. Protective factors are also significant predictors of change in adolescent problem behavior over time. Direct effects of protection are consistent across all gender and racial/ethnic subgroups; moderator effects are evident for female, White, and Hispanic subgroups only.
This article describes a revised Conflict Tactics Scales (the CTS2) to measure psychological and physical attacks on a partner in a marital, cohabiting, or dating relationship; and also use of negotiation. The CTS2 has (a) additional items to enhance content validity and reliability; (b) revised wording to increase clarity and specificity; (c) better differentiation between minor and severe levels of each scale; (d) new scales to measure sexual coercion and physical injury; and (e) a new format to simplify administration and reduce response sets. Reliability ranges from .79 to .95. There is preliminary evidence of construct validity.
This study disaggregated parenting styles into three socialization dimensions: connection/involvement, regulation, and psychological autonomy. Six dependent variables were used (grades and educational expectations, psychological and somatic symptoms, and delinquent acts and substance use), and the three socialization measures were associated individually with all six outcomes. When multiple regressions included all three socialization measures simultaneously, connection/involvement was associated positively with educational outcomes, whereas regulation andpsychological autonomy were associated significantly with all six outcomes in the three domains. For deviance, regulation appeared to be the strongest socialization dimension. For health, psychological autonomy was the strongest. Educational outcomes were more balanced among the three socialization measures, with all three contributing positively to these outcomes. Using instrumental variables allowed the regression models to isolate the direction of causality from the socialization variables to the six outcomes. The impact of each socialization dimension was stable across allfour ethnic groups and both genders.
reviews major issues and trends in the study of parenting where culture is also an object of conscious attention / through an integrated historical review of developments in both anthropological and psychological research . . . attempts to bridge the chasm between the 2 fields as they relate to parenting / reviews classical ethnographic studies of whole cultures carried out by anthropologists from the end of the 19th century to roughly the 1950s / considers the work of researchers who saw the cultural construction of childhood experience as the medium of cultural transmission and thereby the production of culturally specific adult personality patterns / discusses how systematic cross-cultural analyses, drawing from the accumulated ethnographic literature, have constituted a distinctive contribution to understanding parenting as it varies in different cultures (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Introduces and summarizes the
Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS), which is a macro-level observational coding system designed to measure behavioral and emotional characteristics of individuals, the nature of behavioral exchanges from one family member to another, and attributes regarding overall family processes. The development of the IFIRS and their underlying theories are examined. Sociometric properties of the IFIRS' construction are delineated and the training of personnel who will code responses is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Genes do not by themselves produce structural or functional characteristics. Variables within the organism (e.g., cells, tissues) and extraorganism contextual variables reciprocally interact with genes, making changing organism–context relations the basic process of development. This conception of basic process raises 2 sets of conceptual and methodological alterations for developmental psychology, especially for research pertinent to humans. First, research questions must be formulated that involve intra- and extraorganism contextual relations and that are necessarily multidisciplinary in scope. Second, greater research sensitivity must exist to issues of contextual variability, to diversity in human life and development, and to interindividual differences in the timing of organism–context interactions. Scholars must develop empirically generative models that link integratively developing people with their changing contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
It is clear that the central issues for ethnic and minority parents reflect a complex combination of group, individual and contextually derived processes. Group processes are embodied in the traditional childbearing formulations on which parents draw according to their own ethnic background. Historically the literature on ethnic and minority parenting in the U.S. displays prevalence of deficit models, whereby parenting practices of ethnic and minority families have been conceptualized as those of "the other" group, which then are compared to the "standard" (defined as those displayed by Caucasian, middle-income, Northern European, American parents). In contrast, several approaches to the study of ethnic and minority parenting represent a deviation from the deficit model that has dominated most of the field until now, shifting away from a social pathological perspective to one emphasizing the resilience and adaptiveness of families under a variety of social and economic conditions. Within these frameworks, most goals of parenting may be seen as universal, but how these goals are accomplished may vary based on context. Research on ethnic and minority families needs to be integrated into normative views of parenting in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this chapter, the authors address theoretical considerations relevant to the study of parenting among Latinos, including with-in group heterogeneity, the individualism-sociocentrism construct, and definitions of culture, examine central issues in parenting among Latinos, including childrearing beliefs and values, particularly
respeto and
familismo ; parent--child interactions in early childhood; acculturation and ethnic identity, including intergenerational maintenance of culture and socialization for ethnic pride; and possible role of culture and parenting with regard to academic achievement among Latino adolescents, explore practical implications of an understanding of Latino culture for practitioners who serve Latino families, and suggest future directions for research on parenting among Latino families in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The aim of this study was to test whether the relation between physical discipline and child aggression was moderated by ethnic-group status. A sample of 466 European American and 100 African American children from a broad range of socioeconomic levels were followed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Mothers reported their use of physical discipline in interviews and questionnaires, and mothers, teachers, and peers rated children's externalizing problems annually. The interaction between ethnic status and discipline was significant for teacher- and peer-rated externalizing scores; physical discipline was associated with higher externalizing scores, but only among European American children. These findings provide evidence that the link between physical punishment and child aggression may be culturally specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
• The aim of the present research is to explore the role of psychosocial protective factors in adolescent problem behavior. The authors' first concern is to determine whether protective factors are, indeed, associated with lower levels of involvement in problem behavior. The authors' second concern is to determine whether protective factors moderate the relationship between risk and problem-behavior involvement. And the final concern is to determine whether protective factors are related to change in adolescent problem behavior over subsequent time.
2,410 7–9th graders participated in the first wave of the study in 1989. 2,016 students participated in Wave-2, or 84% of the Wave-1 sample. At Wave-3 (1991), 1,974 students filled out questionnaires, and in Wave-4, 1,782 took part. Overall, 1,591 students filled out all 4 annual questionnaires; they represent 66% of the Wave-1 sample.
Results indicate that psychosocial protective factors indeed appear to play an important role in the etiology and the developmental course of adolescent problem behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Current findings on parental influences provide more sophisticated and less deterministic explanations than did earlier theory and research on parenting. Contemporary research approaches include (a) behavior-genetic designs, augmented with direct measures of potential environmental influences; (b) studies distinguishing among children with different genetically influenced predispositions in terms of their responses to different environmental conditions; (c) experimental and quasi-experimental studies of change in children's behavior as a result of their exposure to parents' behavior, after controlling for children's initial characteristics; and (d) research on interactions between parenting and nonfamilial environmental influences and contexts, illustrating contemporary concern with influences beyond the parent-child dyad. These approaches indicate that parental influences on child development are neither as unambiguous as earlier researchers suggested nor as insubstantial as current critics claim.
The present study extends previous research by examining the relationship between adolescent sexual intercourse and several important but yet to be studied factors including history of physical abuse, neighborhood monitoring, and the adolescent's attachment to school, as well as factors that have previously shown inconsistent findings. The present investigation also tests whether a cumulative risk factor model provides a useful approach to predicting adolescent sexual activity. Findings indicate that there are a number of significant risk factors related to whether or not adolescents are sexually experienced and that the importance of some of these risk factors vary by gender. The data also provide strong support for the concept of cumulative risk and suggest that the more risk factors present in adolescents' lives, the greater the likelihood that they will be sexually experienced.
This paper examines the determinants of initiation of coitus in early adolescence. Using a panel design on the population of whole schools, we tested determinants in three domains: motivation, social controls, and attractiveness. We obtained measures of variables from respondents, their identified friends, parents, and interviewers. We interpret the results within the framework of other findings from a hormone analysis of a partially overlapping sample. White males' initiation of coitus in early adolescence is dominated by motivational hormone effects and social attractiveness, with no observed effects of social controls. White females' initiation of coitus is dominated by the effects of social controls. We observed no effect of attractiveness, no hormone effects, and no effects of sexual motivation. Black females' initiation of coitus is dominated by their level of pubertal development (an attractiveness variable), with no observed effects of social controls.
A short-term behaviorally-oriented treatment program for parent-adolescent conflict is described. The problem-solving communication training program has been designed to teach family members: 1) effective skills for seeking independence; 2) methods of communicating without antagonizing and alienating each other; 3) methods for resolving specific disputed issues; 4) ways of identifying, challenging and restructuring inappropriate attitudes; and 5) methods for relating in an adult-adult manner rather than an adult-child manner. The general content of the treatment program is described, procedures for treatment are presented and an illustrative case study is reviewed.
Data from a panel study of white virgin adolescents first interviewed in junior high school confirm previous findings by others that parental marital status and its changes are related to initiation of coitus by young adolescents. Compared to the experience of adolescents in stable households with two natural parents, the state of being in a mother-only household predicts a higher probability of subsequent transition to coitus for girls. Only the disruption of the two-parent household between interviews predicts transition to coitus for boys. Parental marital status has the same effects on other age-graded delinquencies that it has on initiation of coitus. This finding supports conceptualizing marital status effects on adolescent coitus as parental loss of control over the whole class of age-graded delinquencies rather than a specific sexual effect.
Although scientific knowledge of youth development has grown dramatically over the last 2 decades, theoretical frameworks for translating research into more supportive environments for youth have lagged. This article proposes a risk/protective theoretical perspective grounded in ecological and developmental contextualist theories. Principles extrapolated from the theory are illustrated with the success of Wisconsin Youth Futures, a campus/community partnership that has built 18 community coalitions to promote positive youth development and prevent problem behaviors.
The IMC is an interaction technique which was developed to provide valid and reliable interaction data on decision-making processes and conflict resolution in couples. The IMC consists of 18 vignettes which present various types of marital conflicts that are generally relevant to couples. The IMC has several advantages compared to other marital interaction techniques and a new 29-category coding system has been developed to score the interaction material. The IMC also provides win scores and information on the relevancy of the material for each couple. Data has been collected from 1,000 couples married one and two years, with and without children. In addition to its possibilities as a research tool, the IMC also has potential as a diagnostic tool for marital therapy and as a means of evaluating process change resulting from treatment.
Terms such as risk, risk factors, and especially the term cause are inconsistently and imprecisely used, fostering scientific miscommunication and misleading research and policy. Clarifying such terms is the essential first step. We define risk and a risk factor (protective factor) and their potency, set out the conceptual basis of the methods by which risk factors are identified and potency demonstrated, and propose criteria for establishing the status of a risk factor as a fixed or variable marker or a causal risk factor. All definitions are based on the state of scientific knowledge (empirical documentation), rather than on hypotheses, speculations, or beliefs. We discuss common approaches and pitfalls and give a psychiatric research example. Imprecise reports can impede the search for understanding the cause and course of any disease and also may be a basis of inadequate clinical or policy decision-making. The issues in risk research are much too important to tolerate less than precise terminology or the less than rigorous research reporting that results from imprecise and inconsistent terminology.
The facts that not all children go through pubertal development at the same time and that children are aware of their actual stage of development vis-a-vis their peers have intrigued psychologists for the past 40 years. The Berkeley, Oakland, and Fels growth studies have explored the effects of early and late maturation upon individuals' social adaptation in adolescence and beyond. Early maturers seemed to have an advantage relative to late maturers in many aspects of social-emotional functioning. In the Oakland Growth Study, for example, early maturing boys were seen as more relaxed and attractive to adults and more attractive and popular with their peers than were the late maturers (Jones and Bayley, 1950; Jones, 1965). In late adolescence, early maturing boys were more likely to be leaders and to display more adult behavior than were late maturers (Clausen, 1975; Mussen and Jones, 1957). Finally, differences in social functioning were still seen when the subjects reached adulthood (Clausen, 1975). In contrast, the Berkeley Guidance Study found that early maturation had detrimental as well as positive behavioral correlates. Peskin (1967) found that early maturing males were more somber, temporarily more anxious, and more submissive around the time of puberty, but this was not the case for the late maturers.
The relationships of family cohesion and adaptability to adolescent intimacy development were explored by administering the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales survey and the Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation - Behavioral Version survey to 207 middle adolescents (70 males and 137 females) from a small midwestern high school. The adolescents' perceptions of family adaptability correlated with the amount of responsibility the teens expressed in their relationships, while cohesion correlated with companionship and affection in their relationships; however, females' scores were related to cohesion, while males' scores were related to satisfaction with cohesion in their families. The study suggests that family cohesion and adaptability differentially influence intimacy development based on the adolescent's gender.
This article reviews the etiology of chemical use and abuse among children and adolescents as well as states the etiological pathways of youth drug behavior between initial, occasional and regular use. The authors also discuss determinants of the onset of chemical use such as the family; peers; early antisocial behavior; school; attitudes, beliefs and personality traits; and early initiation of use. They develop a theoretical premise based on the most current etiological research and offer a social development model that serves as a basis for prevention intervention.
With the launch of Healthy People 2010 in January 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) committed the nation to an overarching goal, to “eliminate health disparities.” Like the preceding Healthy People 2000 initiative, Healthy People 2010 outlines a comprehensive disease prevention and health promotion agenda. Although this goal has met with considerable support throughout the nation, upon further examination, it is clear that the term “health disparity” has been used with a number of very different meanings. Since the scope of the eliminating disparities goal for the DHHS Imitative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health is narrower than that of Healthy People 2010, discussion of the two goals in the same context can lead to confusion.
Purpose: To describe smoking initiation, and to investigate factors that predict the early initiation of smoking in schoolchildren using a longitudinal approach.Methods: A prospective study of smoking habits of children from the third and fourth grades through the eighth and ninth grades. The initial study population was 1970; 79.8% were white and 20.2% were African-American. Children were classified as “nonsmokers,” “experimental smokers,” or “current smokers” at five time points over 6 years. Multivariate regression models examined relationships of demographic and developmental factors with smoking initiation.Results: Experimental smoking increased from 4% at Grades 3–4 to 42% at Grades 8–9, and current smoking prevalence rose from 0.4% to 9% over the same period. The mean age of initiation of smoking was 12.3 years. Smoking initiation (experimental smoking) was significantly different by racial group, socioeconomic status (SES), and pubertal development. White children and those of low SES were more likely to be experimental smokers, and also started earlier than African-American children and children of high SES. Once they started, white children advanced more rapidly to become current smokers. Boys had a higher prevalence of experimental smoking than girls at all time points. Children in rural areas were more likely than urban children to start smoking after age 12 years. Children who were at a higher pubertal stage than their peers were also more likely to experiment with smoking.Conclusions: Race, SES, and pubertal stage are important predictors of initiation of smoking in schoolchildren. This study indicates a need for smoking prevention classes in elementary and middle school, especially in areas with large numbers of white and low-SES youth. Also, smoking cessation programs, as well as smoking prevention classes, would be useful for middle school and high school students.
There is great interest in understanding adolescent sexual behavior because of its links to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. This study's purpose was to analyze biological and social antecedents of adolescent sexual intentions and behaviors, including age, pubertal development, quality of parent/adolescent communication, and adolescent sexual values. Analyses were based on longitudinal data collected in 1991, 1992, and 1993 from 473 families. Structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect effects among the time-ordered variables separately by gender Both for males and females, parent/adolescent communication quality was related positively to adolescent sexual abstinence values, abstinence values had a strong negative effect on sexual intentions, and sexual intentions had a significant positive effect on sexual behaviors. Parent/adolescent communication quality was related directly to sexual intentions measured 1 year later among females only. Early pubertal development, relative to same-age peers, was related directly to sexual behaviors of both genders.
This study examines the utility of a process model which links economic pressure and adolescent use of alcohol in a sample of 76 rural families from a midwestern state. A series of path analyses trace the empirical relations from perceived economic problems through parents' feelings of depression/hostility and their observed hostile/irritable behaviors to the problematic use of alcohol and the antisocial behavior of early adolescents. The findings suggest that parental hostility directed toward children is associated with adolescent antisocial behavior through a process of social learning that leads to deviant friends and alcohol use. Conflict in the marriage is directly related to adolescent drinking as a possible coping response to family stress and, perhaps, through the disruption of parents' ability to function as effective agents of social control.
focus on what [the author sees] as the important functions of communication in families with adolescents / discuss 5 such functions: (a) enabling the renegotiation of roles, rules, and relationships; (b) providing an appropriate climate for identity exploration; (c) enhancing rather than diminishing self-esteem; (d) providing appropriate modeling and teaching of problem solving; and (e) enabling adolescents to make the important decisions that affect their lives / [look] at the need for parents of adolescents to provide the type of family environment in which adolescents are most likely to be healthy and well-adjusted (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this chapter, we undertake to bring together and to integrate significant changes in the ecological model of human development that have been introduced since the most recent integrative effort, which was published in the preceding edition of this Handbook, now well over a decade ago (Bronfenbrenner & Crouter, 1983). Two considerations dictate the need for a new integration. First, the main focus of that chapter was on the empirical and theoretical roots of a model already in use that centered on the role of the environment in shaping development. By contrast, the present chapter is oriented toward the future, and data from the future are not yet available. Second, and we hope of greater consequence, the present model introduces major theoretical innovations both in form and content. The purpose of the present chapter, however, is better served by presenting the model in its current, albeit still-evolving form, now called the bioecological model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter is unlike most others in this volume because it focuses on a developmental period rather than a developing system of the individual. A full understanding of adolescence requires consideration of the rapidly changing individual in ongoing interaction within dynamically changing, multilayered contexts. These contexts include belief systems and scripts associated with personal characteristics of individuals; relationships with parents, siblings, other family members, and friends; activity settings such as schools, religious institutions, and leisure activities; and macrosystems such as history, culture, and political and economic environments. Because of the inherent link between adolescence and social/cultural contexts, this chapter focuses on research that attempts to elucidate such linkages. Even though an increasing number of studies examine differences by race, ethnicity, culture, class, or gender, the focus of such studies is often on the differences per se rather than on the processes that mediate them. Our knowledge of adolescence will advance further when we understand the embeddedness of adolescent development within history, culture, gender, race, and class; therefore, primary attention in this chapter is devoted to the process issues concerning these linkages, especially as they are played out within families. Studies using contextual variables or processes as moderators or mediators of adolescent outcomes are highlighted. This chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the available literature, which would require one or more volumes of its own. Interested readers might wish to consult other reviews on the following topics: broad overviews of adolescence (Adelson, 1980; Feldman & Elliott, 1990; Petersen, 1988, 1993; Takanishi, 1993); contexts (Cooper, 1994; Crockett & Crouter, 1995; Irwin & Vaughan, 1988; Moen, Elder, & Luescher, 1995; Parke & Kellam, 1994; Silbereisen & Todt, 1994; Steinberg & Darling, 1994); families (Collins & Russell, 1991; Gecas & Seff, 1990; Grotevant & Cooper, 1986, in press; Hill, 1987; Noller, 1994; Youniss & Smollar, 1985). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Discusses etiological risk factors and theoretical models of childhood and adolescent alcohol and drug use and abuse. Studies show strong, consistent correlations between parental drug use (including alcohol and other legal drugs) and the initiation of drug use and abuse by youth; and other studies support genetic transmission of primary alcoholism among males. Family environmental and interactional variables impact drug use. Early antisocial behavior is a predictor of drug abuse, but is a less strong predictor of later alcoholism. Poor academic performance and lack of commitment to education are related to drug use. Association with drug-using peers is a strong predictor of adolescent drug use. Attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits showing a lack of social bond between the individual and society are involved in delinquency and drug use. Deviance, social control, and social developmental theories help explain youth drug misuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the prevalence of family structural and dynamic factors in terms of type, frequency, and multiplicity of drug use among 151 drug-using adolescents. Ss completed the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES III) and the Parent–Adolescent Communication Inventory. In general, relational family factors, including cohesion, discipline, and open communication with mother, were more salient than structural factors, such as family size, birth order, biological parents' relationship status, and number of parents in the household, in discriminating drug use patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Central issues faced by African American parents are: lack of adequate financial resources, roles of education, high proportions of single parents, grandparents as primary parent, and the task of racially socializing their children. These tasks are held in addition to all the many tasks that all parents must perform. This chapter examines African American parenting in the context of the interaction of race, social class, culture, and ethnicity. The interactions of these factors have resulted in a wide array of types and diversity of life experiences. The variety of family settings, family interaction patterns, and socioeconomic environments has resulted in diverse family arrangements. The families have evolved in