Investigating the association between family connectedness and self-control in adolescence in a genetically sensitive design.

Family connectedness is key for the development of self-control in early and middle childhood. But is family connectedness still important during the transitional phase of adolescence, when adolescents demand more independence from their parents and rely more on their peers? The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control, and whether it still holds in adolescence using a genetically sensitive design. Data were used from a large sample of twins aged 14 (N = 11,260) and aged 16 (N = 8175), all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. We applied bivariate twin models and monozygotic twin difference models to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control and to unravel to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain this association. The results showed that more family connectedness is significantly related to better self-control in adolescence, albeit with a small effect size. Twin analyses revealed that this association was mainly explained by common genetic factors and that the effects of environmental factors were small. The current findings confirm the role of family connectedness in adolescent self-control. Importantly, however, the results demonstrate that phenomena we see within families seem the product of parent and children sharing the same genes rather than being exclusively attributable to environmental processes.

The role of disclosure in relationships.

Self-disclosure happens between people and lies at the heart of almost all relationships. It elicits a dynamic process that shapes and is shaped by, relationships. We review theoretical and empirical milestones in our understanding of how and why disclosure develops, is maintained, and unravels in relationships. We show that people use their and their partners' disclosure to discern relationship quality and negotiate relationship development.

Out of Control: Examining the Association Between Family Conflict and Self-Control in Adolescence in a Genetically Sensitive Design.

OBJECTIVE: Family conflict is associated with low self-control in adolescence. Thus far research about the direction of this association is inconclusive. In this study, we sort out whether this association reflects a causal effect or whether it is explained by a common underlying cause, including genetic factors. METHOD: In twin data, we fitted a series of causal models, and compared models for the association of family conflict and self-control including reciprocal causation, unidirectional causation from family conflict to low self-control, unidirectional causation from low self-control to family conflict, and common genetic susceptibility. We included data from a large sample of twins aged 14 years (N = 9,173), all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. RESULTS: The results suggested a unidirectional pathway model in which family conflict leads to low self-control in adolescence, with genetic factors also playing a role in explaining the association. CONCLUSION: Adolescents experiencing family conflict are at risk for showing hampered self-control capacities, with family conflict being a robust predictor of low self-control through common genetic factors but also through direct causal influences.

Parenting and Self-Control Across Early to Late Adolescence: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

Self-control plays a significant role in positive youth development. Although numerous self-control challenges occur during adolescence, some adolescents control themselves better than others. Parenting is considered a critical factor that distinguishes adolescents with good self-control from those with poor self-control, but existing findings are inconsistent. This meta-analysis summarizes the overall relationship between parenting and self-control among adolescents aged 10 to 22 years. The analysis includes 191 articles reporting 1,540 effect sizes (N = 164,459). The results show that parenting is associated with adolescents' self-control both concurrently (r = .204, p < .001) and longitudinally (r = .157, p < .001). Longitudinal studies also reveal that adolescents' self-control influences subsequent parenting (r = .155, p < .001). Moderator analyses show that the effect sizes are largely invariant across cultures, ethnicities, age of adolescents, and parent and youth gender. Our results point to the importance of parenting in individual differences in adolescent self-control and vice versa.

The Relationship between Family Violence and Self-Control in Adolescence: A Multi-Level Meta-Analysis.

Theoretical studies propose an association between family violence and low self-control in adolescence; however, empirical findings of this association are inconclusive. The aim of the present research was to systematically summarize available findings on the relation between family violence and self-control across adolescence. We included 28 studies with 143 effect sizes, representing more than 25,000 participants of eight countries from early to late adolescence. Applying a three-level meta-analysis, taking dependency between effect sizes into account while retaining statistical power, we examined the magnitude and direction of the overall effect size. Additionally, we investigated whether theoretical moderators (e.g., age, gender, country), and methodological moderators (e.g., time lag between family violence and self-control, informant) influenced the magnitude of the association between family violence and self-control. Our results revealed that family violence and self-control have a small to moderate significant negative association (r = -0.191). This association did not vary across gender, country, and informants. The strength of the association, however, decreased with age and in longitudinal studies. This finding provides evidence that researchers and clinicians may expect low self-control in the wake of family violence, especially in early adolescence. Recommendations for future research in the area are discussed.

Unraveling the Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between Well-Being and Depressive Symptoms Throughout the Lifespan.

Whether well-being and depressive symptoms can be considered as two sides of the same coin is widely debated. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the etiology of the association between well-being and depressive symptoms across the lifespan. In a large twin-design, including data from 43,427 twins between age 7 and 99, we estimated the association between well-being and depressive symptoms throughout the lifespan and assessed genetic and environmental contributions to the observed overlap. For both well-being (range 31-47%) and depressive symptoms (range 49-61%), genetic factors explained a substantial part of the phenotypic variance across the lifespan. Phenotypic correlations between well-being and depressive symptoms across ages ranged from -0.34 in childhood to -0.49 in adulthood. In children, genetic effects explained 49% of the phenotypic correlation while in adolescents and young adults, genetic effects explained 60-77% of the phenotypic correlations. Moderate to high genetic correlations (ranging from -0.59 to -0.66) were observed in adolescence and adulthood, while in childhood environmental correlations were substantial but genetic correlations small. Our results suggest that in childhood genetic and environmental effects are about equally important in explaining the relationship between well-being and depressive symptoms. From adolescence onwards, the role of genetic effects increases compared to environmental effects. These results provided more insights into the etiological underpinnings of well-being and depressive symptoms, possibly allowing to articulate better strategies for health promotion and resource allocation in the future.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Self-Control: Assessing Self-Control with the ASEBA Self-Control Scale.

This study used a theoretically-derived set of items of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment to develop the Achenbach Self-Control Scale (ASCS) for 7-16 year olds. Using a large dataset of over 20,000 children, who are enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register, we demonstrated the psychometric properties of the ASCS for parent-, self- and teacher-report by examining internal and criterion validity, and inter-rater and test-retest reliability. We found associations between the ASCS and measures of well-being, educational achievement, and substance use. Next, we applied the classical twin design to estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to self-control. Genetic influences accounted for 64-75% of the variance in self-control based on parent- and teacher-report (age 7-12), and for 47-49% of the variance in self-control based on self-report (age 12-16), with the remaining variance accounted by non-shared environmental influences. In conclusion, we developed a validated and accessible self-control scale, and show that genetic influences explain a majority of the individual differences in self-control across youth aged 7-16 years.