Parent-adolescent relationships
This is the first of two posts dealing with adolescence, here through three studies of parent-teen relationships. First, Bray, Gallegos, Cain & Zaring-Hinkle (2022) published “Parental monitoring, family conflict, and adolescent alcohol use: A longitudinal latent class analysis” in Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract:
This study examined relationships among parental monitoring, family conflict, and subgroups of adolescent alcohol use identified through longitudinal latent class analyses (LLCA). Differences in these subgroups across sex and race/ethnicity were also examined. The present study used data (N = 4,067; 51% male, 49% female) collected during a longitudinal study in which adolescents completed questionnaires each semester for seven semesters, beginning in spring of their freshman year of high school until spring of their senior year. LLCA demonstrated three classes of drinking over time (low, increasing, and moderate use). The majority of adolescents were increasing-use drinkers. Moderate drinkers were more likely to be male than female; nondrinkers were most likely to be African American; and increasing-use drinkers were more likely to be Mexican American. Adolescents who received less maternal monitoring and experienced more family conflict were more likely to be identified in the class of moderate alcohol use compared to nonuse. These results highlight the importance of encouraging parental monitoring and decreasing family conflict to reduce the likelihood of adolescent alcohol use throughout the high school years.
This sample is huge and balanced by gender. The increased-use finding is not at all surprising. It is also not surprising to find that weak maternal monitoring and higher family conflict are associated with alcohol use in adolescence. The next study is again not surprising but a good reminder of another factor. Nelson, Hafiz, Compton & Villarreal (2023) published “Household Chaos and Mother–Adolescent Communication” in Journal of Family Psychology. The edited abstract follows:
Household chaos creates unpredictability and stress in families’ lives compromising the quality of family interaction and communication. This study examined how mother and adolescent perceptions of daily household chaos relate to adolescent disclosure of information to mothers. We also explored indirect effects through mother and adolescent responsiveness. Participants included 109 mother–adolescent dyads who completed a 7-day diary study (adolescent age 14–18 years, 49% female, 38% White, 25% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 7% Black, 13% multiple/other ethnicities). Multilevel models revealed that on days when adolescents reported more household chaos than usual, they were more likely to disclose information to their mothers. On days when mothers and adolescents perceived more household chaos, they perceived their relationship partner as less responsive, and on days when mothers and adolescents perceived less responsiveness from their relationship partner, they reported less adolescent disclosure. There was a significant indirect effect among mothers’ reports at the daily level, such that on days when mothers reported more household chaos than usual, they reported their adolescents as less responsive, and in turn, as disclosing less information to them. Averages across the week showed that mothers who reported higher average levels of household chaos compared to other families reported less adolescent disclosure. Mothers and adolescents who reported more household chaos compared to other families perceived their relationship partner as less responsive, and less adolescent responsiveness predicted less adolescent-reported and mother-reported adolescent disclosure on average compared to other families. Findings are discussed in terms of relational disengagement in chaotic home environments.
I like this study because it is a study of mother-teen pairs well-balanced by gender and race/ethnicity. I also like the fact that the study examines variations in household chaos in relation to responsiveness and disclosure. I was intrigued by the fact that the teens were more likely to disclose when they saw more household chaos than usual. When both mom and teen perceive more chaos, they see the other as less responsive, with less responsiveness correlating with less disclosure. None of this is news but, like the first study, it offers helpful reminders of good questions to ask. Finally, Chiang, Ting, Chen & Liu (2023) published “Parent and Adolescent Emotional Variability and Adolescent Psychopathology” in Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract:
Emotional variability has been posited as a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology. However, it is unclear whether parent emotional variability may also function as a risk factor that heightens adolescent mental health problems. To fill this gap, the present study examined whether parent and adolescent emotional variability in both positive emotion (PE) and negative emotion (NE) is associated with adolescent psychopathology and potential sex differences in these associations. Participants were 147 adolescents and their parents in Taiwan who completed a baseline assessment, a 10-day daily diary study, and a 3-month follow-up assessment. The results indicated that parent NE variability was associated with risk for adolescent internalizing problems and depressive symptoms, after accounting for baseline levels, adolescent NE variability, parent internalizing problems, and mean levels of parent and adolescent NE. Adolescent PE variability was also associated with the risk for adolescent externalizing problems. Furthermore, higher parent PE variability was associated with more internalizing problems only for female but not male adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of assessing emotion dynamics in both parents and adolescents to better understand the development of adolescent psychopathology.
This study was interesting to me because of the emphasis on positive and negative emotion variability. I find it not at all surprising that parental negative emotionality is associated with internalizing and depression. I find it fascinating that teen positive emotionality variability relates to risk of externalizing problems. It seems to me that it means that kids who want to have positive emotions but can’t always have them are much more at risk for externalizing problems.