Transactional Links Between Social Anxiety Symptoms and Parenting Across Adolescence: Between- and Within-Person Associations

This 4-year longitudinal multi-informant study examined between- and within-person associations between adolescent social anxiety symptoms and parenting (parental psychological control and autonomy support). A community sample of 819 adolescents (46.1% girls; M_ageT₁ = 13.4 years) reported annually on social anxiety symptoms and both adolescents and mothers reported on parenting. Between-person associations suggested that adolescent social anxiety symptoms were associated with higher adolescent- and mother-reported psychological control and lower mother-reported autonomy support. At the within-person level, however, mothers reported lower psychological control and higher autonomy support after periods with higher adolescent social anxiety symptoms. Our findings illustrate the importance of distinguishing among between-person and within-person associations and including perceptions of both dyad members in longitudinal research concerning parenting and adolescent mental health.     

How adolescent mothers feel about becoming a parent

First-time adolescent mothers deal with challenges that place extra demands not only on their stage of adolescent development but also on their ability to adapt to their new role as a parent. The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand first-time adolescent mothers' meaning and experience of parenting during the 4-to-6-week postpartum period. A secondary content analysis was performed, using narrative data collected from a previously conducted study on factors that influence adolescent mothers' self-perceptions of parenting. Three themes emerged from the content analysis: "Being Caught Between Two Worlds," "Feeling Alone and Desperate," and "If I Knew Then What I Know Now." Findings revealed many adolescent mothers are unprepared for the demands of parenthood and, so, need extra guidance, instruction, and support from health-care providers and educators.     

Kinship Support and Maternal and Adolescent Well-Being in Economically Disadvantaged African-American Families

This study tested a conceptual model developed to explain the link between kinship support and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged African-American adolescents. The relation of kinship support with maternal and adolescent well-being and mothers' child-rearing practices was assessed in 51 African-American families whose incomes placed them at or below the poverty threshold. Findings revealed that kinship social support to mothers/female guardians was positively associated with adolescent psychological well-being, maternal well-being, and more adequate maternal parenting practices (acceptance, firm control and monitoring of behavior, autonomy granting). Maternal well-being and more adequate maternal parenting practices were positively related to adolescent well-being. Evidence of the mediational role of maternal well-being and parenting practices was revealed. When the effects of maternal well-being and maternal parenting practices were controlled, significant relations between kinship support and adolescent well-being were no longer apparent.     

Predictors and correlates of anger toward and punitive control of toddlers by adolescent mothers

In this study, the impact of rejection/acceptance experienced during the adolescent mother's childhood, social support received after the baby's birth, and infant irritability on angry, punitive maternal behavior are tested, and possible links between such maternal behavior and indices of child anger and noncompliance, low confidence, and social withdrawal are investigated. 40 mothers who gave birth as adolescents and their 2-year-old children participated in the study. When mothers experienced both rejection during childhood and little support from a partner after birth, they were likely to exhibit angry and punitive parenting. Infant irritability did not predict maternal behavior. Angry and punitive mothers had children who were angry and noncompliant and who distanced themselves from their mothers. Taken as a main effect, infant irritability was unrelated to later child behavior. However, the association between maternal behavior and 2 aspects of child behavior was stronger for children as irritable at 3 months postpartum: when irritable infants had angry and punitive mothers they were more likely to be angry and noncompliant and to exhibit less confidence than less irritable infants who experienced the same pattern of parenting.     

Antecedents and concomitants of parenting stress in adolescent mothers in foster care

OBJECTIVE: This study's aim was to examine variables associated with different short-term trajectories in multiply disadvantaged adolescent mothers by investigating antecedents and concomitants of parenting stress. METHOD: We followed 49 adolescent mothers (ages 14-18 at study outset) who were wards in Illinois foster care using a longitudinal correlational design. We examined whether parenting variables (childrearing beliefs, quality of parent-child interactions, and child abuse risk) and personal adjustment variables (emotional distress and social support) at initial assessment predicted parenting stress measured at follow-up (a mean of 22.5 months later). We also examined concurrent relationships between parenting stress and mothers' adaptive functioning in educational, social support, and childbirth areas at follow-up. RESULTS: We found that parenting variables, but not personal adjustment variables, predicted later parenting stress. Results also showed that current adaptive functioning was significantly related to parenting stress. Specifically, educational status and social support predicted concurrent parenting stress, whereas number of childbirths did not. CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend the small literature on the link between parenting difficulties and parenting stress to adolescent mothers in foster care. Parenting challenges, particularly as reflected in unrealistic childrearing expectations, appear to be markers for later parenting stress. Considering the longitudinal relationships observed, early and periodic assessment of adolescent mothers' parenting knowledge, skills, and interactions is recommended. Also, given that this study found concurrent social support and educational status to covary with current parental stress, these variables, and others for which they may serve as proxy, are implicated for careful monitoring.     

Variability in Parenting Self-Efficacy Across Prudential Adolescent Behaviors

Objective. Extant research examining the predictors and outcomes of parenting self-efficacy has predominantly focused on families with young children. Adolescence is a time of increased autonomy during which parents may be uncertain about their abilities to influence their adolescents’ risk-taking behavior. Design. Parents’ (N = 145 mothers and 53 fathers) confidence in their parenting abilities across prudential adolescent behaviors was investigated, including alcohol consumption, cyber activities, eating behaviors, and problem peer associations. Additionally, we explored how adolescents’ (N = 161, M_age = 14.4 years, 60% female) reports of their engagement in those behaviors were associated with parents’ perceptions of their ability to impact their adolescents’ behavior (i.e., self-efficacy). Results. Mixed-model analysis of variance revealed that mothers and fathers felt most efficacious in reducing their adolescents’ engagement in problematic cyber activities and least efficacious regarding alcohol consumption. Bivariate correlations indicated multiple negative associations between adolescents’ engagement in prudential behaviors and both mothers’ and fathers’ behavior-specific parenting self-efficacy. Conclusions. Results suggest that parents with adolescents have varying levels of confidence in their ability to parent different types of prudential adolescent behaviors. Additionally, for multiple behavior categories, mothers’ and fathers’ behavior-specific parenting self-efficacy was negatively associated with adolescent engagement in corresponding behaviors, such that increased adolescent engagement was related to lower levels of behavior-specific parenting self-efficacy.     

Mothers’ Knowledge of What Reduces Distress in Their Adolescents: Impact on the Development of Adolescent Approach Coping

Objective. This longitudinal study assessed the role of mothers’ knowledge of what is comforting to their adolescents when they are distressed. The authors proposed that the adolescents of mothers who were knowledgeable but dissatisfied with their adolescent would have adolescents who coped better than those whose mothers were less dissatisfied; dissatisfied mothers would be more likely to draw on their knowledge to engage in “not-too-nice” parenting, thereby allowing their adolescents to find their own means of self-comfort. Design. Participants were 111 early adolescents and their mothers. At the first time-point adolescents were assessed for approach coping and asked to rate what they would find comforting when they were upset; mothers were asked to predict those ratings and assessed for the extent of their dissatisfaction with their adolescent’s behavior. Adolescents were assessed again for approach coping 2 years later. Results. Mothers’ knowledge positively predicted adolescent approach coping, but only when mothers were high in dissatisfaction. Conclusions. The findings underscore the importance of parents’ knowledge of their adolescents in promoting coping, as well as the role that maternal dissatisfaction plays in adolescents’ ability to cope on their own.     

Interpartner conflict and child abuse risk among African American and Latino adolescent parenting couples

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to identify links between observed conflict interactions and risk for child abuse and harsh parenting among a multiethnic sample of adolescent mothers (14-19 years) and young fathers (14-24 years). METHODS: Prior to childbirth (T1), observation-based relationship data were collected from 154 expectant adolescent couples as well as information about physical aggression between partners. Two years after childbirth (T2), data relevant to harsh disciplinary practices and child abuse-prone attitudes were collected from both young mothers and fathers. Multiple regression analyses were run to examine the correspondence between (a) couples' relationship quality prior to childbirth and (b) subsequent risk for harsh and potentially abusive parenting practices. RESULTS: Findings indicated that interpartner violence prior to childbirth predicted physically punitive parenting behavior for fathers, but not for mothers. Young mothers and fathers observed to be more warmly engaged with each other during their pre-birth couple interactions (T1) reported lower rates of physically punitive parenting behavior with their children at T2. Couples' hostility at T1 predicted fathers' level of observed hostility toward his child during a structured play activity at T2. CONCLUSIONS: Results underscore the importance of addressing the quality of couples' relations as means of preventing dysfunctional parenting practices among adolescent mothers and their partners. Adolescent mothers and their partners are at heightened risk for engaging in dysfunctional parenting, including child abuse. Focusing on pregnant adolescents and their partners, this study sought to identify interpersonal predictors of child abuse risk. Although this study did not involve administering prevention or intervention services, the goal was to test hypotheses that would inform the development of programs for young at-risk couples. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The decision to recruit young couples prior to childbirth was based on the presumption that this period of time could provide a window of opportunity to administer couple-based child abuse prevention programs. Consistent with previous research on marital relations and parenting, results of this study support the idea that efforts to develop and administer preventive-intervention programs targeting at-risk couples could help reduce the occurrence of harsh parenting behavior and abuse.     

Unemployment and Work Interruption among African American Single Mothers: Effects on Parenting and Adolescent Socioemotional Functioning

Using interview data from a sample of 241 single African American mothers and their seventh- and eighth-grade children, this study tests a model of how 2 economic stressors, maternal unemployment and work interruption, influence adolescent socioemotional functioning. In general, these economic stressors affected adolescent socioemotional functioning indirectly, rather than directly, through their impact on mothers' psychological functioning and, in turn, parenting behavior and mother-child relations. Current unemployment, but not past work interruption, had a direct effect on depressive symptomatology in mothers. As expected, depressive symptomatology in mothers predicted more frequent maternal punishment of adolescents, and this relation was fully mediated by mothers' negative perceptions of the maternal role. More frequent maternal punishment was associated with increased cognitive distress and depressive symptoms in adolescents, and consistent with predictions, these relations were partially mediated by adolescents' perceptions of the quality of relations with their mothers. Increased availability of instrumental support, as perceived by mothers, predicted fewer depressive symptoms in mothers, less punishment of adolescents, and less negativity about the maternal role. Both economic stressors were associated with higher levels of perceived financial strain in mothers, which in turn predicted adolescents' perceptions of economic hardship. Adolescents who perceived their families as experiencing more severe economic hardship reported higher anxiety, more cognitive distress, and lower self-esteem.     

Early motherhood and harsh parenting: The role of human,social, and cultural capital

ObjectiveThis study examined the role of maternal human, social, and cultural capital in the relationship between early motherhood and harsh parenting behavior.MethodsThis study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) Study. Harsh parenting behaviors by mothers who were 19 years or younger at birth of the focal child (n = 598) were compared with that of adult mothers 26 years or older (n = 1,363). Measures included: For harsh parenting behavior, three proxies were created from the Parent to Child version of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-PC) and self-reports of maternal spanking. For maternal human capital, education, employment, and depression were used. For maternal social capital, expected-social support, paternal support, and lone caregiver status were included. For maternal cultural capital, religious attendance and attachment to race/ethnic heritage were used.ResultsMultivariate analyses indicated that adolescent motherhood has a significant impact on all three harsh parenting behavior outcomes even after controlling for demographic and maternal capital characteristics. Working since the birth of the focal child, depression scores, paternal support, expected-social support, and attendance at religious services made independent contributions to the prediction of harsh parenting behavior.ConclusionsFindings emphasize the importance of the prevention of adolescent motherhood and suggest intervention strategies for reducing the risk of maternal harsh parenting behavior. Further study is necessary to examine the complicated relationships among maternal capital and parenting. One method may be to focus on the development of measures of maternal capital, notably measures of expectations regarding and perceptions of received capital.Practice implicationsFindings from this study have implications for social work practice, particularly for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy and intervention with adolescent mothers and their children. First, the study calls for more recognition of school social work and intervention programs in school settings as important components of prevention services. Second, the importance of identifying fathers and helping them become involved and connected with their young families are highlighted. Finally, practitioners should become more aware of the role of culture in young families as the effect of cultural capital on parenting behavior becomes better understood.     

Fathers' and Mothers' Parenting Predicting and Responding to Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviors

Transactional models of problem behavior argue that less effective parenting and adolescent problem behaviors coevolve, exerting bidirectional influences. This article extends such models by analyzing growth trajectories of sexual risk behaviors and parenting processes among 3,206 adolescents (aged 13–18) and their residential parents. Within individuals, increases in regular family activities prospectively predicted declines in adolescents' risky sexual activities. In contrast, increases in risky sexual activities predicted heightened father knowledge. Between-individual comparisons revealed bidirectional links between more involved parenting, particularly family activities and father knowledge, and lower adolescent risky sexual activity. Results highlight the importance of family activities as a protective force for adolescents and suggest that fathers may react differently than mothers in the face of youth problem behaviors.     

The social ecology and early parenting of Caucasian adolescent mothers

Social characteristics, maternal behaviors, and the home environments of Caucasian adolescent and nonadolescent mothers were investigated in a sample of 50 primiparous low- and middle-class women and their 4-month-old infants. The mothers were interviewed about their child-care network and about stressful life events that may have occurred since the infant's birth. The HOME inventory was completed and videotapes of 2 hours of home observations were coded to assess maternal proximity, verbalizations, activity, and physical contact with the infant. Interview data indicated that adolescent mothers relied more frequently on other teenagers and other network members for help in child care than nonadolescent mothers. In addition, they also received more frequent support from their mothers and less frequent help from their partner's and partner's mother and siblings than nonadolescent mothers. During the home visit, they were less verbal with their infants and scored significantly lower on the Responsiveness and Maternal Involvement subscales as well as on the total HOME inventory; these results were replicated on subgroups matched for socioeconomic status, emphasizing the unique social context and parenting practices of teenage mothers.     

Change in Parenting Democracy during the Transition to Adolescence: The Roles of Young Adolescents' Noncompliance and Mothers' Perceived Influence

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the direct relation between young adolescents' regulated noncompliance and mothers' democratic childrearing practices as well as the potential mediating role of mothers' perceived influence during the transition to adolescence. DESIGN: Three years of self-reported adolescent noncompliance, perceived influence, and parenting democracy were gathered from 166 mothers and their firstborn children (55% female), ages 9 - 11 years at time 1. RESULTS: Longitudinal path analysis indicated a total effect between adolescents' regulated noncompliance and higher maternal democracy. In addition, the total effect was mediated by mothers' perceived influence, such that adolescents' regulated noncompliance at time 1 was associated with greater perceptions of influence at time 2, which, in turn, was associated with greater maternal democracy at time 3. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers with young adolescents who resist in a relatively mature, regulated manner tend to have more positive perceptions of their influence on their emerging adolescents' behavior. In turn, mothers expecting to maintain their influence despite normative adolescent resistance are more likely to use democratic parenting strategies, granting their adolescents more input in decisions.     

Emotion regulation and academic perceptions in adolescence

Although studied extensively in the field of adolescent mental health, the role of emotion regulation (ER) in the academic functioning of adolescents is not well understood. This study examined the role of ER in adolescents’ perceptions of themselves and their learning environments. We compared adolescents with high and low levels of ER on perceptions of school achievement and attitudes towards school and their perception of their parents’ academic involvement. Students completed surveys about perceptions of their learning and parental involvement, as well as their ER abilities. Results indicated that students with higher emotion dysregulation endorsed more negative self-perceptions of their own academic abilities, had more negative attitudes towards school, and rated their mothers and fathers as more controlling in relation to their learning. These results demonstrate the importance of ER in the academic context, particularly in the home learning environment.     

Mothers' parenting cognitions in cultures of origin, acculturating cultures, and cultures of destination

Japanese and South American immigrant mothers' parenting cognitions (attributions and self-perceptions) were compared with mothers from their country of origin (Japan and Argentina, respectively) and European American mothers in the United States. Participants were 231 mothers of 20-month-old children. Generally, South American immigrant mothers' parenting cognitions more closely resembled those of mothers in the United States, whereas Japanese immigrant mothers' cognitions tended to be similar to those of Japanese mothers or intermediate between Japanese and U.S. mothers. This study provides insight into the nature of parenting cognitions generally and those of immigrant mothers specifically and therefore the parenting climate in which immigrant children are reared.     

"Going Beyond the Call of Doula": A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Diverse Roles Community-Based Doulas Play in the Lives of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Mothers

This article presents some of the most salient qualitative results from a larger program evaluation of pregnant and parenting adolescents who participated in a community-based doula program. Using grounded theory analysis, seven problem-solving strategies emerged that doulas apply in helping pregnant and parenting adolescents navigate multiple social and health settings that often serve as barriers to positive maternal- and child-health outcomes. The ethnographic findings of this study suggest that the doulas provide valuable assistance to pregnant and parenting adolescents by addressing social-psychological issues and socio-economic disparities. "Diverse role-taking" results in doulas helping pregnant adolescents navigate more successfully through fragmented social and health service systems that are less supportive of low-income adolescents, who are often perceived to be draining scarce resources. The findings have implications for the roles of community-based doulas assigned to low-income adolescents of color seeking to overcome obstacles and attain better educational and economic opportunities.     

Parenting and adolescents’ values and behaviour: the moderating role of temperament

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parenting and adolescent fearfulness on adolescents’ pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour. A total of 134 adolescents (M age = 16.22, 72 girls, 62 boys) responded to questions regarding their own fearfulness, pro‐social values and pro‐social and antisocial behaviour, as well as their perceptions of maternal attachment and maternal appropriateness. Results revealed few main‐effect findings, most notably a negative relation between attachment and antisocial behaviour. However, findings pointed to several multiplicative relations as a function of parenting, adolescent fearfulness, and child gender, including: (1) maternal appropriateness was more important for boys than for girls, (2) maternal attachment was related to greater importance of pro‐social values and higher pro‐social behaviour for boys low on fear and (3) maternal appropriateness was related to lower antisocial behaviour for boys low on fear. The discussion focuses on the importance of examining the multiplicative relations between parenting and adolescent temperament and the implications of this for both educators and parents.     

Harsh parenting and child aggression: Child moral disengagement as the mediator and negative parental attribution as the moderator

As the negative outcomes of harsh parenting for child development have been gradually revealed, researchers become increasingly interested in the mechanisms through which harsh parenting affects child development. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of child moral disengagement and the moderating role of negative parental attribution in the relation of harsh parenting to child aggression. A sample of 397 Chinese adolescents aged from 12 to 16 years (227 boys and 170 girls, Mage = 13.98) with their parents were recruited as participants from two public schools situated in rural areas of Shandong province in China. Data were gathered from parents reporting on their harsh parenting and negative parental attribution, adolescents reporting on their moral disengagement, and peers nominating out aggressive children. Results indicated that harsh parenting was both directly and indirectly associated with adolescent aggression via adolescent moral disengagement. Negative parental attribution was found to moderate the indirect relation of harsh parenting to adolescent aggression via moral disengagement. Specifically, harsh parenting was only significantly associated with moral disengagement for adolescents with high levels of moral disengagement was more likely to induce aggression among adolescents with high levels of negative parental attribution (bsimple = of harsh parenting to adolescent aggression, adolescent moral disengagement could mediate the association between harsh parenting and aggressive behaviors for adolescents with high levels of negative parental attribution.     

Parents' and Children's Perceptions of Parental Behavior: Associations with Children's Psychosocial Adjustment in the Classroom

Objective. We examined correspondence in parents' and children's perceptions of parenting and associations between these perceptions and children's social adjustment in the classroom. Design. The sample included 214 children (M age = 9) from third to fifth grades and their parents. Children and parents reported on parenting behavior. Results. Parents' self-reports and children's reports about parents showed systematic differences, with parents perceiving themselves as more supportive than children perceived them to be. Direction of discrepancy between child and parent reports appeared to be more important than size of discrepancy in predicting child outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parents' self-perceptions of parenting and children's perceptions of parenting were predictive of different measures of child psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions. The results of this study support the assumption that parents' self-perceptions and children's perceptions of parenting provide unique views of the family and unique relations to children's psychosocial adjustment.     

Family Context,Mexican‐Origin Adolescent Mothers' Parenting Knowledge,and Children's Subsequent Developmental Outcomes

This study examined parenting knowledge among Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers (N = 191; M_age = 16.26 years), family contextual factors associated with adolescents' parenting knowledge, and toddlers' (M_age = 2.01 years) subsequent developmental outcomes. Data came from home interviews and direct child assessments. Adolescents both underestimated and overestimated children's developmental timing, and showed differences in their knowledge of specific developmental domains. Instrumental support from mother figures was positively linked to adolescents' knowledge accuracy, whereas emotional support was negatively related to adolescents' knowledge confidence. Furthermore, whereas mother figures' autonomy granting was positively linked to knowledge confidence, psychological control was associated with less accurate adolescent parenting knowledge. Toddlers of adolescents with more accurate knowledge showed positive developmental functioning. Intervention implications are discussed.