Family-centered profiles of mindful parenting: Longitudinal associations with negative parenting and youth emotional and behavioral problems.

There has been great interest in analyzing the potential of mindful parenting in promoting family well-being. Studies indicated that there is a lack of research on the predictive relationship between parenting practice and youth emotional and behavioral problems analyzed from a multi-informant perspective. This study evaluates the family-centered profiles of mothers and fathers' mindful parenting and negative parenting and youth problems associated with those profiles. A total of 441 youths (aged 9-14 years), along with their parents, answered self-report questionnaires in a three-wave longitudinal study conducted over 1 year. A latent profile analysis was performed to examine the mindful parenting profiles and to identify their associations with youth emotional and behavioral problems and negative parenting as outcomes. The results of latent profile analyses supported a three-profile solution: low mindful parenting family (35%), high maternal mindful parenting family (24%), and average mindful parenting family (41%). The low mindful parenting family profile showed the highest scores on negative parenting and youth emotional and behavioral problems. The high maternal mindful parenting family profile had the lowest scores on youth negative outcomes but demonstrated similar levels to those of the average mindful parenting family profile regarding negative parenting. Our findings highlight the importance of analyzing specific family profiles that help to develop personalized interventions with optimized treatments regarding family cohesion and environment.

Warmth and reciprocity with mothers, and young children's resilience to exposure to community violence in Colombia: findings from the La Sabana Parent-Child Study.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to community violence is common worldwide and is associated with emotional and behavioural problems in children. Little is known about sources of resilience. Building on our previous work on the contribution of callous-unemotional (CU) traits to child aggression in Colombia, we examined whether positive parenting is protective for children whose families are exposed to community violence. METHODS: Families were recruited from three demographically contrasting regions of Colombia. The sample comprised 235 children aged 3.5 years and their mothers, of whom 220 (93%) were followed up at age 5.0 years. Positive parenting was assessed as the average of maternal warmth and reciprocity, and as praise, and negative parenting as the average of negative affect and conflict seen in video recordings of standardized procedures. CU traits and oppositional defiant disorder were assessed by maternal report at ages 3.5 and 5.0 years, and mothers reported exposure to community violence over the 18 months between assessments. A range of potential confounds was included in adjusted analyses. RESULTS: In the families who were exposed to community violence, but not in the unexposed, maternal warmth and reciprocity were associated prospectively with lower CU traits (interaction, p = .007). In the exposed group maternal warmth and reciprocity explained 10% of the variance (ß = -.34, p = .001). Maternal praise was not associated with CU traits. Maternal negative parenting predicted higher CU traits as the main effect but not in interaction with community violence exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal warmth and reciprocity with young children may promote resilience in the face of community violence. Programmes to enhance these protective processes may be needed especially where prospects for reducing community violence are limited. The centrality of parents for these children highlights the plight of those exposed to community violence, and also either separated from parents or orphaned.

Parenting, emotion regulation, and externalizing symptomatology as adolescent antecedents to young adult health risk behaviors.

This study used longitudinal data to elucidate how trajectories of negative parenting across adolescence are associated with young adult health risk behaviors (HRBs) by testing difficulties with emotion regulation and externalizing symptomatology as sequential underlying mediators. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% males, Mage  = 14 at Time 1 and Mage  = 18 at Time 5) who were assessed five times. Adolescents self-reported on negative parenting, emotion regulation, externalizing symptomatology, and engagement in HRBs. Results suggest that increasingly negative parenting across adolescence has adverse consequences for emotion regulation development and in turn, externalizing symptomatology, which confers risk for young adult HRBs. Results offer insights towards mechanisms for prevention and intervention and public health policy aimed at reducing the prevalence and consequences of engagement in HRBs.

The role of student-teacher relationships in the association between negative parenting practices and emotion dynamics - Combining longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment data.

Emotion dysregulation is increasingly implicated as a transdiagnostic risk factor in the etiology of mental health problems. This project aimed to explore the links between emotion regulation, negative parenting and student-teacher relationships using longitudinal and ecologically valid data. A sample of n = 209 young people enrolled in the 'Decades-to-Minutes' (D2M) study, based in Zurich, Switzerland, provided data from the ages of 7-20 via parent- and self-report questionnaires and ecological momentary assessment. Data were analyzed using Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM). Worse student-teacher relationships predicted increased negative affectivity and emotional lability. Negative parenting practices predicted emotional lability only via their impact on student-teacher relationships. The findings point to worse student-teacher relationships as risk factors in the socioemotional development of children and young people.

Longitudinal association between poor parental supervision and risk-taking behavior: The role of self-control and school climate.

INTRODUCTION: Although poor parental supervision has been associated with an increased adolescents' propensity for risk-taking behavior, few researchers have investigated nuanced mechanisms of how and for whom from the perspective of "family × school." Inspired by ecological system theory and self-control theory, this study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of school climate between the link between poor parental supervision and risk-taking behavior. METHODS: Four hundred and ninety-one Chinese adolescents (231 females, Mage = 15.39 ± 1.36) were recruited to participate in a three-wave longitudinal study (3 months apart) and complete questionnaires regarding poor parental supervision (W1), school climate (W1), self-control (W2), and risk-taking behavior (W1/W3). RESULTS: After controlling for W1 risk-taking behavior, our moderated mediation model indicated that W1 poor parental supervision was positively related to W3 risk-taking behavior by restraining the development of W2 self-control. Additionally, a high level of school climate as a protective factor buffered the negative impact of poor parental supervision on adolescents' self-control, further reducing risk-taking behavior. CONCLUSION: Our findings shed light on the processing mechanisms between poor parental supervision and risk-taking behavior among Chinese adolescents and underscore the importance of effective preventions and interventions to facilitate adolescents' healthy development.

Negative parenting styles and social adjustment of university students: a moderated chain mediation model.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between parenting styles and the social adjustment of university students as well as the mediating effects of attachment avoidance and friendship quality. We further examined the moderating role of gender. This study used convenience sampling to recruit 501 Chinese university students to complete the Chinese version of the Negative Parenting subscale of EMBU, Attachment Avoidance Scale, Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and Social Adjustment Scale. SPSS 24.0 and the Process 3.5 macro program were used to carry out descriptive statistical and correlation analyses and mediating effect and moderated chain-mediating effect tests on the data. The analyses revealed that negative parenting styles significantly negatively predicted social adjustment in university students. Attachment avoidance mediated the relationship between negative parenting styles and social adjustment in university students, and friendship quality mediated the relationship between negative parenting styles and social adjustment in university students. Attachment avoidance and friendship quality played a chain-mediating role in the relationship between negative parenting styles and university students' social adjustment. Gender moderated the effect of negative parenting style on friendship quality among university students. These results show how negative parenting styles affect college students' social adjustment and its underlying mechanisms in the context of China's collectivist culture and high power distance and further reveal the gender differences involved, providing insights to better understand the factors influencing college students' social adjustment.

Parental hostility predicts reduced cortical thickness in males.

Although impacts of negative parenting on children's brain development are well-documented, little is known about how these associations may differ for males and females in childhood. We examined interactions between child sex and early and concurrent parental hostility on children's cortical thickness and surface area. Participants included 63 children (50.8% female) assessed during early childhood (Wave 1: M age = 4.23 years, SD = 0.84) and again three years later (Wave 2: M age = 7.19 years, SD = 0.89) using an observational parent-child interaction task. At Wave 2, children completed a structural MRI scan. Analyses focused on regions of interest. After correcting for multiple comparisons, Wave 1 parental hostility predicted males' reduced thickness in middle frontal and fusiform cortices, and Wave 2 parental hostility was concurrently associated with males' reduced thickness in the middle frontal cortex. Interactions between sex and parenting on children's surface area did not survive corrections for multiple comparisons. Our findings provide support for a male-specific neural vulnerability of hostile parenting across development. Results have important implications for uncovering neural pathways to sex-differences in psychopathology, learning, and cognitive disabilities.

Neuroendocrine and autonomic stress systems activity in young adults raised by mothers with mental health and substance abuse problems: A prospective cohort study.

Among the well-known physiological consequences of early adverse environments is dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. A number of studies demonstrate that negative parenting and living with parents with a history of substance abuse and mental health problems may be associated with HPA axis dysregulation in children. In contrast, studies of more delayed effects in adult offspring, especially prospective, are still scarce. This study was a prospective longitudinal investigation of the association between maternal mental illnesses/substance abuse and maternal negative parenting/parental stress on one side and, on the other side, adult offspring outcomes 10 years later-specifically, we studied the activity of offspring's neuroendocrine (cortisol) and autonomic (heart rate) systems when exposed to a mild psychological stressor. Children of mothers with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse were exposed to more disadvantaged conditions (higher negative parenting and community violence). Despite this, maternal risk groups (having a mother with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse) were not associated with any of the indicators of stress systems activity. Regardless of the risk group, participants with dysregulated HPA axis activity experienced a higher level of negative parenting. Altogether, our study provides evidence that negative parenting may have long-lasting effects on stress-sensitive physiological mechanisms.

Perceived parenting before adolescence and parity have direct and indirect effects via depression and anxiety on maternal-infant bonding in the perinatal period.

AIM: This study was aimed towards detecting how perceived parenting practices before adolescence affect maternal-infant bonding in the perinatal period, considering factors such as depression, anxiety, and parity. METHODS: We used the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) to examine perceived parenting practices. Participants included 1301 pregnant women who completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) at three time points: early pregnancy (approximately 12-15 weeks), late pregnancy (approximately 30-34 weeks) and postpartum (4 weeks after childbirth). We performed a path analysis with factors including parity, PBI subscales (paternal care, paternal overprotection, maternal care and maternal overprotection), HADS and MIBS. RESULTS: Perceived paternal or maternal low care parenting predicted higher HADS and MIBS scores in early pregnancy. Moreover, perceived maternal low care parenting predicted higher HADS scores at postpartum and higher MIBS scores in late pregnancy. Perceived paternal or maternal overprotective parenting predicted higher HADS scores in the pregnancy period. Furthermore, perceived maternal overprotective parenting predicted higher MIBS scores in late pregnancy. Being primipara predicted higher HADS scores at postpartum and higher MIBS scores in early pregnancy and at postpartum. Being multipara predicted higher MIBS scores in late pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that perceived negative parenting before adolescence has indirect effects (via anxiety and depression) and direct effects on maternal-infant bonding in the perinatal period.

Unsupportive parenting and internalising behaviour problems in children with or without intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Children with intellectual disability (ID) are at heightened risk for developing other psychological disorders, including internalising disorders. Anxiety and depression have been shown to be familial, and parenting is a contributing factor to the development of these disorders. To extend this research, we examined the extent to which mother and father depression and negative, unsupportive parenting related to child internalising behaviour problems, in children with ID or with typical development (TD). METHOD: Participants were 156 mother and father dyads and their children, assessed at ages 4 and 5 years. We examined parent (mother and father) and child delay status (ID and TD) in relation to measures of both observed and self-reported unsupportive, negative parenting. Utilising moderation models, we examined the relationship between parental depression, unsupportive/negative parenting and child internalising behaviour problems. RESULTS: Unsupportive, negative parenting differed based on parent gender and child delay status. In addition, father depression was a significant moderator of the relationship between unsupportive parenting and child internalising behaviour problems. CONCLUSIONS: Children with ID were found to be at higher risk of experiencing unsupportive, negative parenting than children with TD. Children of depressed fathers were especially vulnerable to developing internalising behaviour problems in an unsupportive parenting context.

Parental Burnout, Negative Parenting Style, and Adolescents' Development.

Research on parental burnout has focused more on its antecedents than on its consequences. Burned-out parents may experience a series of behavioral changes, negatively affecting their children's physical and mental development. This study examined the effects of primary caregivers' parental burnout on adolescents' development and the mediating role of negative parenting styles. This study used a time-lagged design, and data were collected at three different time points. Adolescents were asked to identify their primary caregivers, and parents were asked whether they were the primary caregivers of their children. Thereafter, paired data from the children and primary caregivers were collected. A total of 317 junior middle school students (178 boys, Mage = 14.20 ± 0.8 years) and primary caregivers (71 fathers, Mage = 42.20 ± 4.53 years) from Henan province participated. Primary caregivers' parental burnout was positively associated with negative parenting styles, and negative parenting styles mediated the relationship between parental burnout and adolescent development. From the perspective of prevention-focused interventions, it is necessary to focus on preventing the occurrence of parental burnout. Further, parents should try to avoid using abusive behaviors toward their children and neglecting them.

The Relationship of Parent-Child Technoference and Child Problematic Smartphone Use: The Roles of Parent-Child Relationship, Negative Parenting Styles, and Children's Gender.

Purpose: With the increasing ubiquity of smartphones in our daily lives, technoference has emerged as a novel threat to family relationships and child development. This study explored the impact of parent-child technoference on child problematic smartphone use and its underlying mechanism and potential gender difference among children. Participants and Methods: The participants were 3032 fourth-grade students (42.6% female; 80.6% one-child families; 32.9% lower income level families, 33.3% middle income level families; Mage = 10.59 years, SD=0.32) from 535 primary schools. Students in the target classes were invited to participate anonymously in the questionnaire survey in classrooms. Then, SPSS, AMOS and other software were used to analyze the data. Results: 1) Parent-child technoference, negative parenting styles and child problematic smartphone use were positively correlated with each other, while they were negatively correlated with parent-child relationship; 2) Parent-child technoference can not only directly and positively predict child problematic smartphone use, but also indirectly and positively predict child problematic smartphone use through parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles respectively; 3) Parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles play a chain mediating role between parent-child technoference and child problematic smartphone use; 4) There are significant gender differences in the chain mediation model. Conclusion: The results showed that parent-child technoference significantly affected child problematic smartphone use through a chain mediation of parent-child relationship and negative parenting styles. Gender differences were observed, with girls experiencing a more pronounced disruption in the parent-child relationship, while boys were more likely to develop problematic smartphone use. In cases of strained parent-child relationships due to technoference, girls also tended to perceive more negative parenting styles. These findings promote parents' understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of child problematic smartphone use, especially helpful for follow-up measures to prevent and intervene child problematic smartphone use from the perspective of families and parents.

Reciprocal Effects Between Negative Parenting and Children's Callous-Unemotional Traits From Mid to Late Childhood.

OBJECTIVE: The role of negative parenting in the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits remains unclear. Both negative parenting and CU traits are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The authors used genetically informed longitudinal cross-lagged models to examine the extent to which reciprocal effects between negative parenting and children's CU traits in mid-to-late childhood are genetic versus environmental in origin. METHODS: In 9,260 twin pairs from the Twins Early Development Study, the authors estimated cross-lagged effects between negative parenting (discipline and feelings) and children's CU traits in mid (ages 7-9) and late (ages 9-12) childhood. RESULTS: CU traits were strongly heritable and stable. Stability was explained largely by genetic factors. The influence of negative parenting on the development of CU traits was small and driven mostly by genetic and shared environmental factors. In mid childhood, the influence of children's CU traits on subsequent negative parenting (i.e., evoked by children's CU traits) was also small and mostly genetic in origin. In late childhood, CU traits showed no effects on negative parental discipline and small effects on negative parental feelings, which reflected mostly shared environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS: In mid-to-late childhood, genetic factors strongly influenced the development of CU traits, whereas environmental effects of negative parenting were small. Negative parenting was also relatively unaffected by CU traits. The small reciprocal effects originated mostly from genetic and shared environmental factors. Therefore, repeated intensive interventions addressing multiple risk factors rather than negative parenting alone may be best positioned to support families of children with CU traits across development.

Maternal threats and college student mental health: The role of perceived anxiety control.

Objective: Although parental threatening behaviors are associated with poor mental health outcomes among college students, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are understudied. This investigation examined the underlying role of perceived anxiety control in the association between childhood exposure to maternal threatening behaviors and depression, worry, and attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) symptoms. Participants: Participants (N = 862; Mage = 18.75 years, SD = 1.04, age range = 18-24) were recruited from a large state university in the northeast. Methods: Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. Results: Tests of indirect effects indicated that greater childhood exposure to maternal threats was associated with lower perceived anxiety control, which in turn was associated with more severe depression, worry, and ADHD symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: Childhood exposure to maternal threatening behaviors may contribute to college students' low perceived anxiety control, which in turn increases the risk for these symptom clusters.

Parental Phubbing and Children's Social Withdrawal and Aggression: A Moderated Mediation Model of Parenting Behaviors and Parents' Gender.

The present study sought to examine whether parental phubbing was significantly related to children's social withdrawal and aggression, and determine whether positive and negative parenting behaviors mediated this association. We further examined whether parents' gender moderated the direct and indirect relationships between parental phubbing and children's social withdrawal and aggression. The participants included 465 Chinese fathers and mothers from different families, and each father or mother had one child from preschool and early school aged 4-10 years. They completed the measures regarding their experience with parental phubbing, positive and negative parenting behaviors, and children's social withdrawal and aggression. Results showed that parental phubbing was positively related to children's social withdrawal and aggression. Positive and negative parenting behaviors significantly mediated the associations between parental phubbing and children's social withdrawal and aggression. Furthermore, parents' gender moderated the relationships between parental phubbing and children's social withdrawal and aggression. Specifically, in the mediating model of positive parenting behavior, the pathways from parental phubbing to children's social withdrawal and parental phubbing to children's aggression were significantly different. In the mediating model of negative behavior, the pathway from negative parenting behavior to children's social withdrawal was significantly different.

The Role of Parenting, Dysregulation and Self-Esteem in Adolescents' Problematic Social Network Site Use: A Test of Parallel and Serial Mediation Models in a Healthy Community Sample.

The study addresses some gaps in the current understanding of adolescents' Problematic Social Network Site Use (PSNSU) by exploring the role of parenting as a precursor, and dysregulation and self-esteem as possible mediators. The sample includes 148 parents (15% fathers) and their adolescent offspring (23% male, age ranging from 14 to 18 years old, M = 15.96, SD = 1.36). Parent-reported dysregulation and positive/negative parenting style and adolescent-reported PSNSU and self-esteem were collected. As to positive parenting, simple parallel mediations were fully supported: positive parenting was associated with less dysregulation and higher self-esteem and both conditions independently predicted adolescents' PSNSU. Additionally, a serial mediation model was confirmed, suggesting that positive parenting is associated with less PSNSU by means of the sequential effect of dysregulation on self-esteem. As to negative parenting, results only support one simple mediation: negative parenting predicted PSNSU through dysregulation. Self-esteem was not impacted by negative parenting, interrupting the indirect pathways. The direct effect of negative parenting on PSNSU was significant, suggesting a partial mediation. Findings deepen the current understanding of teens' PSNSU and highlight the importance of targeting parenting when implementing interventions to prevent and treat PSNSU.

Mediators between Positive and Negative Parenting and Child Depressive and Anxious Symptoms: Findings from a Diverse, At-Risk Sample.

BACKGROUND: Although children's depressive and anxious symptoms have been broadly construed as internalizing problems, the current study sought to identify factors that may differentially contribute to these two mental health problems in a high-risk sample. Prior research has not adequately tested both depressive versus anxious symptoms simultaneously, nor has it adequately considered the role of negative versus positive parenting simultaneously, thereby neglecting the potential overlap in both sets of constructs. Overlooking such potential statistical overlap obfuscates how factors may differentially contribute to either depressive versus anxious symptoms. Existing research has also focused on lower-risk community samples. METHOD: The present study investigated whether children's negative self-concept or maladaptive attributional style mediated the link between both negative and positive parenting in a racially diverse, at-risk sample of 65 primary school-age children recruited from mental health agencies. RESULTS: When tested together, more negative parenting, but not less positive parenting, retained direct effects on both depressive and anxious symptoms. Both negative self-concept and maladaptive attributional style fully mediated the association between less positive parenting and children's depressive symptoms, whereas positive self-concept, but not attributional style, mediated between less positive parenting and anxious symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings underscore potential differential intervention targets for these two internalizing problems and highlight the need for future research to consider both depressive and anxious symptoms, and related predictors, simultaneously to control for their shared variance.

Parenting Styles, Parenting Stress and Hours Spent Online as Predictors of Child Internet Addiction Among Children with Autism.

The current study examined the association between hours spent online (HOS), positive parenting, negative parenting, autism parental stress and Internet addiction among Singapore based boys and girls (aged 6 to 14 years old) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research participants included 59 parents (41 females and 18 males) aged between 28 and 74 years old (mean age 37.95). Results indicated HOS, negative parenting and autism parenting stress predicted 54.8% of the total variance in Child Internet Addiction scores of children with ASD. Autism parental stress was the most significant predictor explaining 25.3% of the total variance with time spent online explaining another 23.5% and negative parenting predicted 6%. Positive parenting was not found to be significant. The findings reinforce the importance of according greater consideration for the role of parents when working with such children.

The relations between childhood experience of negative parenting practices and nonsuicidal self-injury in Chinese adolescents: The mediating roles of maladaptive perfectionism and rumination.

BACKGROUND: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a highly prevalent and serious public health concern among adolescents worldwide, and family experiences are influential in its development. However, the potential mediating mechanisms underlying the relations between childhood experience of negative parenting practices and NSSI are not fully understood. This study tested a mediating model to examine the roles of maladaptive perfectionism and rumination in these relations. METHODS: A total of 5,619 Chinese adolescents (54.7 % males; mean age = 15.92 years, SD = 0.73) participated in this study and completed self-report measures of negative parenting practices, maladaptive perfectionism, rumination, and NSSI. RESULTS: There were significant positive correlations among negative parenting practices, maladaptive perfectionism, rumination, and NSSI. In the mediation analyses, all negative parenting practices were indirectly related to NSSI via maladaptive perfectionism, while rumination only mediated the relation of maternal overprotection to NSSI. In addition, among all negative parenting practices, maternal rejection was the most closely associated with maladaptive perfectionism. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study expand our understanding of the influences of negative parenting practices on NSSI. Clinicians may pay special attention to maternal rejection and focus on adolescents' maladaptive perfectionism and rumination when interacting with individuals with NSSI.

Intergenerational Transmissions of Mother-Adolescent Smartphone Dependency: The Mediating Role of Negative Parenting and the Moderating Role of Gender.

Given the prevalence and undesirable consequences of smartphone dependency among adolescents, it is necessary to explore the influencing factors of adolescent smartphone dependency. The aim of this study was to examine the intergenerational transmission of mother-adolescent smartphone dependency and the mediating role of negative parenting, moderated by adolescent gender. Data for 2541 middle school students (mean aged = 13 years)-mother dyads were obtained from the first wave of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 (KCYPS 2018). The moderated mediation model using Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 14) was employed to test the study hypothesis. The moderated mediation model revealed that maternal smartphone dependency was associated with adolescent smartphone dependency. Perceived negative parenting mediated this link and adolescent gender moderated the relationship between negative parenting and adolescent smartphone dependency, especially for adolescent girls. Our findings showed that both maternal smartphone dependency and negative parenting were determinants of adolescent smartphone dependency, suggesting that both factors were important for understanding these issues. Moreover, the mediating role of negative parenting (between maternal and adolescent smartphone dependency) implies that parental education programs designed to improve negative parenting may reduce adolescent smartphone dependency, especially for adolescent girls.