Parent-child relationship, parenting behaviors, and adolescents' depressive symptoms after an earthquake: unraveling within-adolescent associations from between-adolescent differences.

This study assessed temporal associations between parent-child relationship, parenting behaviors (i.e., warmth, rejection, and overprotection), and adolescents' depressive symptoms after trauma, using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models to distinguish between- and within-adolescent differences. We surveyed Chinese adolescents 12 (Aug 2018; T1), 21 (May 2019; T2), 27 (Nov 2019; T3) months after the Jiuzhaigou earthquake that occurred in August 2017. Of the 585 adolescents who participated in at least two waves of the study, mean age at T1 was 15.50 years old (SD = 1.58 years) and 57.8% were girls. Controlling adolescents' gender, age, ethnicity, trauma exposure at T1, and parents' marital status, between-adolescent results showed that parent-child relationship and parenting behaviors, parent-child relationship and depressive symptoms were correlated across models of parental warmth, rejection, and overprotection, whereas depressive symptoms were only correlated with parental rejection and overprotection. Within-adolescent results indicated that parent-child relationship and adolescents' depressive symptoms had bidirectional associations via the mediation of parental warmth from T1 to T3. Over the longer term following the earthquake, we found that parental rejection was bidirectionally associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, whereas parental overprotection was unidirectionally influenced by adolescents' depressive symptoms from T2 to T3. In addition, more depressive symptoms in adolescents were associated with worsening parent-child relationship from T2 to T3. In conclusion, shortly after trauma, interventions should focus on improving parent-child relationship and relieving adolescents' depressive symptoms. Over the longer term after trauma, relieving adolescents' depressive symptoms should be prioritized to avoid its eroding effects on parent-child relationship and parenting behaviors, and to break the "vicious cycle".

How empathy, perceived parental care, and overprotection indexes are affected by participants' sex: investigating cultural differences.

Culture seems to affect how empathy's development is influenced by parental behaviors. Considering that empathy is a social ability whose development is affected by many environmental and biological factors, differences can be expected in the way fathers and mothers care for and protect their sons and daughters, as social roles are influenced by culture. The objective of this research was to assess to what extent empathy, perceived parental care, and overprotection are affected by the offspring's sex. 477 adults participated in the study and three instruments were used: the Brazilian versions of the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Empathy Quotient. Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and moderation analyses were conducted. Maternal and paternal care were related to empathy variables for women in the Brazilian context, whereas the perceived parenting behaviors of care and overprotection did not show significant associations with empathy for male participants. Preliminary analysis also suggests that the offspring's sex influences paternal care expressed through variables such as perspective taking and combined cognitive empathy. This study's outcomes suggest that the way Brazilian parents behave is dependent on their offspring's sex. The main results were discussed in comparison to literature that used distinct cultural samples, especially to the outcomes found in British reports, to identify Brazilian parents' behaviors specificities and their association with the autonomous-relational parenting orientation.

Sex-Specific Effect of Recalled Parenting on Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Adulthood.

Previous research has demonstrated the influence of parenting on the development of children's empathy. However, few studies have considered the impact of parents on empathy in adulthood, specific components of empathy, or the importance of parent and child biological sex. In the present study, 226 participants (71 men) completed online versions of the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker et al. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1-10 1979), Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163-175 2004), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85 1980). Paternal care and overprotection influenced affective empathy in men, whilst maternal overprotection predicted affective empathy in women. Further, maternal care related to cognitive empathy in men, whilst none of the parental care variables related to cognitive empathy in women. Findings are discussed in relation to sex differences in childhood parenting experiences on adult cognitive and affective empathy.

Parental care and overprotection predict worry and anxiety symptoms in emerging adult students.

Anxiety disorders represent a prevalent mental health concern, with escalating rates, especially among emerging adults. University students, in particular, face a myriad of academic and life stressors that can amplify feelings of worry and anxiety. While early parental bonding seem to predict anxiety disorders later in life, the applicability to emerging adult students and its applicability to predict sub-clinical and transdiagnostic anxiety features remain unclear. This study aims to examine i) the relationship between demographic variables and key features of anxiety disorders (i.e., worry and anxiety symptoms); and ii) the predictive association between early parental bonding and anxiety-related features. A sample of 370 university students in Italy (n = 279 females; M age = 20.84 years, SD age = 1.81 years) completed the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Females reported higher levels of worry and anxiety compared to males. Significantly higher worry and anxiety symptoms were reported by individuals who experienced affectionless control (low care and high overprotection) as compared to those exposed to optimal parenting (high care and low overprotection). Predictive models indicated that scores of parental care (i.e., the principal component between maternal and paternal care scores) and parental overprotection (i.e., the principal component between maternal and paternal overprotection scores) are robust predictors of worry and anxiety symptoms. However, this relationship showed a gender-specific pattern: lower parental care was more significant in predicting anxiety features in males, while high overprotection was more significant in females. The findings contribute to the comprehension of the risk factors influencing the susceptibility of emerging adult students to anxiety disorders.

Parental overcontrol is associated with dysmorphic concern severity: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Dysmorphic concern (DC) is a symptom affecting both clinical and non-clinical populations, with a severe impact on individuals' physical and psychological well-being. While Childhood Trauma (CT) has been identified as a risk factor for DC, there is a lack of research on a specific form of CT, that is, parental overcontrol. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the association between DC and parental overcontrol in a community sample of adults, controlling for other forms of CT and potential confounding variables. METHOD: 714 adults (508 females; mean age: 30.29 ± 11.67 years; age range: 18-77) participated in an online survey including the Body Image Concern Inventory (BICI), the Overcontrol subscale of the Measure Of Parental Style, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF). RESULTS: Parental overcontrol was independently associated with DC symptoms (ß = 0.111; p = .005; CI = [0.119;0.666]), even after controlling for other forms of CT and sociodemographic and clinical confounding variables. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design of the study, the unbalanced sex ratio, the retrospective self-reported data about parental overcontrol and CT should be considered. CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that parental overcontrol may play a role in the development and maintenance of DC symptoms, remarking the urge to take more into account parental overcontrol in the assessment of CT.

How Perceptions of Parents' Parenting Behaviors Pave the Way to Somatic Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Among Adults.

The purpose of this study was to investigate adult participants' reflections on their parents' parenting behaviors during childhood (parental overprotection and parental rejection), and their current emotion-regulation strategies and somatic symptoms. The study consisted of 627 participants and Somatization subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and Short EMBU Children Form were given to the participants. Four different multiple mediation analyses were conducted to test mediator roles of emotion regulation difficulties between perceptions of the parenting behaviors (parental overprotection and rejection) and somatic symptoms among adults. Participants' lack of goals and lack of strategies while dealing with negative emotions mediated the relationship between mother/father rejection and somatic symptoms. However, only participants' lack of strategies while dealing with negative emotions mediated the relationship between mother/father overprotection and somatic symptoms. As a clinical implication, problem-focused coping strategies may assist adults with somatic symptoms. Also, mental health practitioners may focus on perceptions of overprotective and rejecting parental behaviors while formulizing somatic symptoms of the adult patients. Findings, strengths and limitations of this study were discussed in the light of the literature.

The impact of parental overprotection on the emotions and behaviors of pediatric hematologic cancer patients: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Parental overprotection may have an impact on children's emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs). As pediatric hematologic cancer patients have compromised immune systems, parents of such children often worry excessively, interfering with their daily lives. Therefore, avoiding overprotection is crucial for the overall physical and mental health of pediatric hematologic cancer patients. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the current status of EBPs in pediatric hematologic cancer patients and analyze their associated risk factors. Design: This work was a multicenter cross-sectional observational and correlational study. We collected data anonymously through parental questionnaires from three pediatric hematologic oncology hospitals in China. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Parental Overprotection Measure (POM) scale, and a general information survey designed by the research team were employed to assess children's EBPs, the degree of parental overprotection, as well as basic demographic and disease-related information. Chi-square tests and generalized linear mixed-effects regression analysis were used to analyze the factors influencing EBPs among the pediatric hematologic cancer patients. Setting and participants: Using a convenience sampling method, a total of 202 participants' parents were selected. All participants were invited to complete the questionnaire through one-on-one guidance. Results: Emotional symptoms accounted for the highest proportion of abnormal EBPs in children (27.72%), followed by peer problems (26.24%), prosocial behavior (25.74%), behavioral problems (14.36%), and total difficulties (13.86%). A minority of children had abnormal hyperactivity scores (4.95%). The results of a generalized linear mixed regression analysis showed that age, duration of illness, and parental overprotection were significant factors influencing abnormal EBPs in children (p < 0.05). A POM score threshold of 37 exhibited good sensitivity (74%) and specificity (90%) in predicting abnormal EBPs in children. Conclusion: Pediatric hematologic cancer patients under excessive parental protection are more prone to experiencing EBPs. Healthcare professionals should guide parents to reduce this excessive protection, thus mitigating the occurrence of EBPs in children.

How parental smartphone addiction affects adolescent smartphone addiction: The effect of the parent-child relationship and parental bonding.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent smartphone addiction (ASA) has fueled concerns worldwide regarding the negative health effects. This study aimed to examine whether parental smartphone addiction (PSA) affected ASA, and evaluated the mediating role of the parent-child relationship and the moderating role of parental bonding in the effect from PSA to ASA, among a Chinese sample of parent-child pairs. METHODS: A large-scale cross-sectional survey was conducted among 10- to 15-year-old students and their parents. ASA and PSA were assessed by Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI). The parent-child relationship was evaluated by Child-Parent Relationship Scale-Short Form (CPRS-SF), and parental bonding was estimated by Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Conditional process model was used to examine the relationship between PSA and ASA, as well as the mediating effect of parent-child relationship and the moderating effect of parental bonding. RESULTS: A total of 9515 adolescents and their parents completed the online survey. PSA significantly positively predicted ASA (B = 0.488, p < 0.001). The parent-child relationship negatively mediated the association from PSA to ASA (B = -0.321, p < 0.001). Parental overprotection moderated the indirect path from PSA to ASA through the parent-child relationship (B = -0.016, p < 0.001), but parental care had not any moderation (B = -0.005, p > 0.05). Specifically, parental overprotection had a positive moderating effect on the second half mediation path. The indirect effect of PSA on ASA through parent-child relationship was greater in higher overprotection than in lower. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional study of self-administrated questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents had a higher tendency toward smartphone addiction when their parents excessively used smartphones. The findings highlighted the essential role of parent-child relationship and parental bonding in the association from PSA to ASA.

The interplay between parental care and OPRM1 in reward responsiveness.

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) explains a variety of reward-motivated behaviors as the result of the activation of biologically-based systems. Inspired by the influences of parental bonding and opioid peptide on reward system, we investigated the contributions of parental bonding and mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) towards motivation systems (i.e., the BAS, BIS-anxiety, and FFFS-fear). Results indicated that (1) parental care was negatively related to FFFS-fear, but parental overprotection was positively related to both FFFS-fear and BIS-anxiety; (2) parental care significantly interacted with OPRM1 rs1799971 in reward responsiveness with diathesis-stress model. Poor parental care reduced reward responsiveness among individuals with the G allele, but not those with the AA genotype. These findings from this study demonstrate a new gene-environment interactive mechanism of the RST.

Examining the Relationships Among Parental Overprotection, Military Life Adjustment, Social Anxiety, and Collective Efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to verify the relationships among parental overprotection (PO), military life adjustment (MLA), social anxiety, and collective efficacy (CE). There have been studies examining the influence of each of these variables in isolation, but no study has examined these variables simultaneously. Two hundred and thirty-one male conscript soldiers participated in the study. Results indicated that all four variables were correlated with one another. Through hierarchical regression analysis, we determined that social anxiety fully mediated the relationship between PO and MLA. Furthermore, we found that CE moderated the relationship between PO and social anxiety. Finally, we confirmed the moderated mediation effect of CE in our proposed model. We discuss the implications and limitations of this model.

Corrigendum: Combined Effects of Parenting in Childhood and Resilience on Work Stress in Nonclinical Adult Workers From the Community.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00776.].

Machine learning-based ability to classify psychosis and early stages of disease through parenting and attachment-related variables is associated with social cognition.

BACKGROUND: Recent views posited that negative parenting and attachment insecurity can be considered as general environmental factors of vulnerability for psychosis, specifically for individuals diagnosed with psychosis (PSY). Furthermore, evidence highlighted a tight relationship between attachment style and social cognition abilities, a key PSY behavioral phenotype. The aim of this study is to generate a machine learning algorithm based on the perceived quality of parenting and attachment style-related features to discriminate between PSY and healthy controls (HC) and to investigate its ability to track PSY early stages and risk conditions, as well as its association with social cognition performance. METHODS: Perceived maternal and paternal parenting, as well as attachment anxiety and avoidance scores, were trained to separate 71 HC from 34 PSY (20 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia + 14 diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic manifestations) using support vector classification and repeated nested cross-validation. We then validated this model on independent datasets including individuals at the early stages of disease (ESD, i.e. first episode of psychosis or depression, or at-risk mental state for psychosis) and with familial high risk for PSY (FHR, i.e. having a first-degree relative suffering from psychosis). Then, we performed factorial analyses to test the group x classification rate interaction on emotion perception, social inference and managing of emotions abilities. RESULTS: The perceived parenting and attachment-based machine learning model discriminated PSY from HC with a Balanced Accuracy (BAC) of 72.2%. Slightly lower classification performance was measured in the ESD sample (HC-ESD BAC = 63.5%), while the model could not discriminate between FHR and HC (BAC = 44.2%). We observed a significant group x classification interaction in PSY and HC from the discovery sample on emotion perception and on the ability to manage emotions (both p = 0.02). The interaction on managing of emotion abilities was replicated in the ESD and HC validation sample (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that parenting and attachment-related variables bear significant classification power when applied to both PSY and its early stages and are associated with variability in emotion processing. These variables could therefore be useful in psychosis early recognition programs aimed at softening the psychosis-associated disability.

Influence of Parenting Quality and Neuroticism on Perceived Job Stressors and Psychological and Physical Stress Response in Adult Workers from the Community.

BACKGROUND: The complex interaction between parenting styles, job stressors, and the stress response has not been clarified to date. We hypothesized that neuroticism acts as a mediator in the effects of parenting quality on perceived job stressors and the psychological and physical stress response (PPSR), and tested this hypothesis using covariance structure analysis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted research between April 2017 and April 2018 on 597 adult from the community, and 69 subjects were excluded owing to missing data or nonworkers. Finally, a total of 528 participants were analyzed using the following self-administered questionnaires: the Parental Bonding Instrument, the shortened Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ). The data were analyzed by single regression analyses and covariance structure analyses. Job stress was assessed by the BJSQ and 2 subscales, ie, perceived job stressors and the PPSR. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tokyo Medical University. RESULTS: On covariance structure analysis, high parental overprotection was associated with high neuroticism and high PPSR directly, but had no significant effect on perceived job stressors. High parental overprotection was associated with high-perceived job stressors and the high PPSR indirectly through enhanced neuroticism. High parental overprotection was also associated with the high PPSR indirectly through 2 combined paths of neuroticism and perceived job stressors. This model accounted for 40% of the variability of the PPSR. On the other hand, parental care had opposite effects to parental overprotection, and this model of parental care accounted for 39% of the variability of PPSR. The model fits of the 2 models were good. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the quality of parenting in childhood is associated with perceived job stressors and the PPSR indirectly through neuroticism.

Combined Effects of Parenting in Childhood and Resilience on Work Stress in Nonclinical Adult Workers From the Community.

BACKGROUND: Stress responses induced by job stressors are modified by individual factors. Perceived parental bonding and resilience would play important roles as such individual factors. In this study, we analyzed the mediating roles of resilience on parenting, job stressors, and stress responses among adult workers from the community. METHODS: A total of 528 workers participated in this study after providing written consent, and completed questionnaires on demographic data, as well as Parental Bonding Instrument, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Associations between perceived parental bonding, resilience, perceived job stressors, and the psychological and physical stress response (PPSR) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling with covariance structure analysis showed that parental overprotection reduced resilience and increased perceived job stressors and PPSR. Resilience and perceived job stressors and their combination mediated the effect of parental overprotection on PPSR. Resilience mediated the effect of parental overprotection on perceived job stressors. Perceived job stressors mediated the effect of resilience on PPSR. Parental care had opposite effects to parental overprotection, but the difference was small. CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed that perceived parental bonding affects resilience, and that both factors affect the stress response and perceived job stressors. These findings suggest that parental bonding and resilience are major individual factors affecting work stress, and should be noted when considering industrial hygiene measures for individual workers.

Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms and Early Parental Bonding Interact in Shaping Instagram Social Behavior.

Human beings engage in multiple social interactions daily, both in person and online. There are, however, individual differences in the frequency and quality of these interactions. This exploratory study focuses on online interactions and aims to model these differences by looking at potential environmental and genetic factors. The environmental factor is the childhood parental relationship, as reported by the participants in the dimensions of the Parental Bonding Instrument (N = 57, 41 females). At a genetic level, buccal mucosa cell samples were collected to assess participants' genetic susceptibility, and OXTr regions rs2254298 (G/G homozygotes vs. A-carriers) and rs53576 (A/A homozygotes vs. G-carriers) were analyzed. To capture participants' online activity, Instagram was probed. The number of people that the individual follows ("followings"), followers, and posts were used as a proxy for the quantity of interaction, and a Social Desirability Index (SDI) was computed as the ratio of followers to followings. An interaction between OXTr groups and parental bonding scores on the number of followings and posts was hypothesized. A gene-environment interaction for OXTr/rs2254298 on the number of Instagram posts was identified. In line with the hypothesis, participants with a genetic risk factor (A-carriers) and a history of low paternal care showed fewer Instagram posts than those without this risk factor (G/G genotype). Moreover, an interaction effect between maternal overprotection and OXTr/rs2254298 on the Instagram SDI was detected. These findings could represent an indirect pathway through which genes and parental behavior interact to shape social interactions on Instagram.

Antecedents of Looming Cognitive Style: Associations With Reported Perceived Parenting and Attachment.

Looming Cognitive Style, which was proposed as cognitive vulnerability model specific for anxiety disorders, suggests that anxiety-prone individuals have a tendency to perceive threats and dangers as getting closer, becoming larger, and more agonizing every passing minute. Yet, very few studies focused on the family-related variables that are associated with development of Looming Cognitive Style. This study aims to investigate the relationship of Looming Cognitive Style with measures perceived parenting and attachment. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 389 university students aged between 18 and 35 as participants. The participants were assessed through Looming Cognitive Style, perceived parenting, attachment anxiety, and avoidance. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated Looming Cognitive Style to be significantly predicted by maternal overprotection and anxiety dimension of attachment. The results are important in understanding how parenting-related variables are related to development of cognitive vulnerabilities specific to anxiety disorders.

Childhood experiences of parenting and age at menarche, age at menopause and duration of reproductive lifespan: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

OBJECTIVES: The parent-child relationship is critical for human development, yet little is known about its association with offsprings' reproductive health outside the context of abuse and neglect. We investigated whether childhood experiences of poor-quality parenting (characterized as decreased parental care and increased parental overprotection) are associated with women's reproductive timing and lifespan. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study of 2383 women aged 55-89 years in 2007 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported ages at menarche and menopause and duration of reproductive lifespan. RESULTS: Increasing maternal and paternal overprotection were associated with later menarche (≥16 years) after adjustment for age and childhood socioeconomic position (relative risk ratio (RRR) 1.11, 95% CI 1.02-1.21 and 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.21, respectively, per unit increase in the predictor). Increasing parental overprotection and decreasing paternal care were associated with earlier menarche (≤10 years). However, these associations were marginally non-significant. Maternal and paternal overprotection were also inversely associated with age at natural menopause after adjustment for age, childhood socioeconomic position and age at menarche (p value for linear trend = 0.041 and 0.004, respectively). Further, increasing paternal overprotection was associated with a shorter reproductive lifespan (≤33 years) (RRR 1.09 (1.01-1.18), per unit increase in the predictor) after adjustment for age and childhood socioeconomic position. Adjustment for additional childhood and adult factors did not explain these associations. CONCLUSIONS: Women who experienced poor-quality parenting in childhood, especially increased levels of parental overprotection, might be at increased risk of an unfavourable reproductive health profile that is characterized by late or early menarche, premature menopause and a shorter reproductive lifespan.