Adolescent Children Of Parents Research Articles

A Study of Psychological Impact on Adolescent Children of Parents with Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract Context: Children of alcoholics face risks of problem behavior during childhood and mental health problems in adult life. Identifying these problems at the earliest can significantly reduce the problems in future. Aim: We aimed to study psychological impact on adolescent children of parents with alcohol use disorder. Settings and Design: This is a cross-sectional study done at a tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: Convenience sampling technique was used. One hundred adolescent children of alcohol use disorder patients were evaluated for problem behavior and perceived stress using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. Current status of severity of alcohol use in parents was assessed using the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software Package (version 20.0). Results: In our study, we found that children whose fathers had severe alcohol dependence were exhibiting more externalizing behavior on CBCL and higher perceived stress and it was statistically significant. Conclusion: A positive correlation was found between severity of alcohol use in fathers and problem behavior in children.

Psychosocial Functioning and Occupational Participation among Adolescent Children of Parents with Mental Illness: A Mixed Methods Study

There is limited focus on children of parents with mental illness (COPMI). This study explored the psychosocial functioning and occupational participation of COPMI. We used a mixed methods study design where parents’ perceptions about the adolescent’s psychosocial functioning were measured quantitatively, followed by qualitative interviews with some of the adolescents. Results indicated close to average levels of psychosocial functioning among the adolescents while the qualitative findings suggested some issues related to their emotional well-being. Limitations of this study include fewer participants and psychosocial functioning of the adolescents being measured through parents’ perceptions.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Internet Addiction Among Adolescent Children of Parents With Mental Illness.

Background:The internet can cause adverse psychological issues in children whose parents show less competence because of their mental illness. This study aims to find the level of internet addiction among adolescents who have a parent with psychiatric illness and its relationship to the type and duration of their parent’s illness.Method:This study was conducted among 283 adolescents whose parents suffered from mental illness. They were selected from the inpatient and outpatient services of a neuropsychiatric hospital in India. Informed written consent was obtained from the parent not suffering from psychiatric illness, and a semistructured interview accommodating various factors and statements from the internet addiction test was used to find the level of internet addiction.Result:A total of 79.5% of adolescents showed scores indicative of internet addiction, with 14.5% of the participants having mild levels of addiction, 60.8% having moderate levels of addiction, and 4.2% having severe levels of addiction. There is a significant relationship between internet addiction scores and the type and duration of psychiatric illness in a parent.Conclusion:The internet addiction scores in adolescents have a significant relationship to the various types of illnesses and the duration of illness of their parents.

The Impact of Parental Migraine on Children.

This review surveys our current understanding of the impact of parental migraine on children. Understanding the impact of migraine on others in a family unit is critical to describing the full burden of migraine and to developing psychosocial supportive interventions for patients and their families. Having a parent with migraine is associated with several early developmental features including infant colic. Adolescent children of parents with migraine self-report their parent's migraine interferes with school and activities and events. Further, migraine is perceived to impact the relationship between the parent and child. Having a parent with migraine increases a child's risk of having migraine, and having more severe migraine disease. However, children with migraine whose parent also has migraine appear to receive more early and aggressive treatment. The impact of migraine extends beyond the parent with migraine and influences children across biological, psychological, and social domains.

Psychopathology and Coping strategies in adolescent children of patients with alcohol dependence in an urban population

Background: Alcohol dependence is a mental disorder and a “Family illness.” Indian survey on substance use (2019) found 14.6% of the population (age 10 to 75 years) using alcohol. Adolescence is crucial with social and biological changes. Parental alcohol dependence causes a chaotic family environment. Adolescent children comprise 21% of the Indian population, and those having drinking parents face a lot of stress. Effective coping is a crucial component of resilience. Aim: To Study psychopathology, coping, and their association in adolescent children of patients with alcohol dependence and comparing with adolescent children of parents without alcohol dependence. Methods: Subjects were adolescent children of patients with alcohol dependence in a tertiary care hospital, and controls were children of parents without alcohol dependence selected from a school. CBCL was applied to study psychopathology and A-COPE for coping strategies. Results: Subjects included 67 boys and 33 girls whose fathers were alcohol dependent. Thirty-nine children did unskilled work to earn money, including students. The majority had academic problems, less involvement in games, selective friends and substance use. Subjects had high internalizing (mainly girls) and externalizing scores (mainly boys) compared to controls indicating higher psychopathology. Subjects would cope by ventilating feelings while controls developed social support and sought professional help. Comparing coping in subjects, boys avoided problems, used humour and relaxation while girls sought spiritual support. Conclusion: Psychopathology in adolescent children of drinking parents is higher, and they lack problem-focused coping strategies. Early screening and interventions improving coping with individualized care considering social context are important.

Experience of Administering Life Grid in the Qualitative Interviews with Adolescent Children of Parents with Mental Illness.

Background:Methodological literature on qualitative research with children and young people suggests that traditional data collection methods can be strengthened through the use of creative and task-based methods. This article discusses the experience of using one such task-based method called the life grid, to explore the experiences of adolescent children who have a parent with psychotic illness, in the Indian context.Methods:The life grid was adapted for the present study and used with 24 adolescents aged 15–19 years. Feedback about their experience was collected on a five-point rating scale and via open-ended questions. The researchers’ observations and reflections were noted down as field notes.Results:A majority of the adolescents (83%) reported liking the activity. They appreciated the opportunity to use the life grid to generate a holistic perspective of their lives. Difficulties in recalling negative past events and language barriers were some of the challenges in the activity.Conclusions:The life grid appears to be an appropriate and useful tool for qualitative research with adolescents in India. This article contributes to ongoing discussions over culturally relevant methodologies and issues among child researchers in India.

Parenting Practices and Behavioral Problems among Adolescents’ of Parents with Psychopathology: Role of Adolescents’ Coping as Moderator”

Numerous studies suggest that symptoms of mental illness in parents become reflected in family and parent–child interactions, affecting the nature and quality of caregiving and, in turn, both short- and long-term child outcomes. Given the paucity of research in this area in Pakistan, present study aims to examine differences in parenting practices and behavioral problems among adolescent children of parents with psychopathology and without psychopathology. It also explores moderating role of adolescents’ coping on the relationship between parenting practices and behavioral problems. Sample included 348 parents and their adolescent children divided into two groups: Parents with Psychopathology and without Psychopathology. Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Youth Self Report, and Brief COPE were used for data collection. Results indicated that adolescent children having parents with psychopathology have elevated levels of behavioral problems as compared to adolescent children of parents without psychopathology. Results of moderation analyses revealed that problem-focused coping, positive coping, and religious coping mitigated the potential impact of negative parenting practices on externalizing problems whereas denial exacerbated this relationship. The implications are discussed for implementation of effective preventive interventions with at risk families and children.

Abstract P289: Parenting Practices are Associated With Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure Among Latinx Adolescents

Introduction: Adherence to dietary recommendations among Latinx adolescents is low, contributing to an increased risk for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Parents play a crucial role in adolescents’ disease risk and diet quality due to their role in modeling healthful behaviors and providing food. However, information about how parental monitoring and eating-related parenting practices are associated to cardiovascular risk is scarce. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that unhealthful parenting practices would be associated with higher cardiometabolic risk factors among Latinx adolescents. Methods: We included 61 parent-adolescent (6 th -8 th grade) Latinx dyads. Parents self-reported information about parental monitoring, family eating habits (use of media during meals, inclusion of specific foods during dinner, fast food intake), parental feeding style, and parental energy index (whether parents have had conversations with their children regarding weight and healthful diet and physical activity behaviors). Adolescent cardiometabolic risk factors measured include blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol, and HbA1c. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentile (BMI%) and z-scores (BMIz) were calculated from weight and height measurements. Associations between parental practices and cardiometabolic risk factors were analyzed using linear regression (B) and correlation (r). Results: Adolescents’ measured risk factors were as follows: SBP=106±11 mm Hg, DBP=62±7 mm Hg, weight=61±15 kg, BMI%=83±20, BMIz=1.2±0.9, HbA1c=5.1±0.4 %, and total cholesterol=164±12 mg/dL. Use of media during meals (e.g., TV, electronic devices) was associated with higher adolescent weight (B=7.97; r=.31; p=.02) and BMIz (B=.37; r=.27, p=.05). Parental restrictive feeding style was associated with higher adolescent weight (B=5.54; r=.22; p=.03), BMI% (B=13.19; r=.52, p=.001) and diastolic BP (B=2.50; r=.27, p=.04). Adolescent children of parents reporting a greater parental energy index had a greater body weight (B=6.90; r=.46; p=.001) and BMI % (B=6.28; r=.33, p=.01). Parent-reported frequency of consuming family meals, frequency of fast food meals, importance of consuming family meals, and inclusion of vegetables, fruit and 100% juice, milk, and sugar-sweetened beverages during family meals were not associated with adolescents’ BMI or BP. Associations with other risk factors were not significant. Conclusions: Results suggest that unhealthful parenting practices such as restrictive feeding and allowing the use of media during meals may negatively influence cardiometabolic risk factors among Latinx adolescents. Parents of children with a greater BMI reported having more conversations about weight and healthful behaviors with their children. Future family-based behavioral interventions for this population should incorporate more parenting strategies as part of their curricula.

Reach Out and Read is Feasible and Effective for Adolescent Mothers: A Pilot Study.

The Reach Out and Read program (ROaR) is associated with increased parent-child book reading and improved language development in children. Though children of adolescent parents may have an elevated risk of language delay, ROaR has never been specifically studied among adolescent-headed families. This pilot evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of ROaR among adolescent mothers and their children. This randomized controlled pilot followed thirty adolescent mothers with children aged 6-20 months in a teen-tot clinic in downtown Toronto. At each of three consecutive well child checkups, intervention families received a new children's book, reading-related anticipatory guidance customized to the mother's developmental stage, counselling from a librarian, and a public library card. Control families received routine care. At baseline and study completion, all mothers completed a survey on family reading patterns and the Beck Depression Inventory-Revised (BDI-IA). Though regression models were not statistically significant, bivariate analyses at study completion revealed that intervention mothers were significantly more likely than controls to report reading as one of the child's favorite activities (29 vs 0 %) and had significantly lower maternal depression scores (7.0 vs 12.5; ≥10 = clinically significant depression). Trends for all other variables, including time spent reading together and maternal enjoyment of reading, were also in the direction of benefit. This program was implemented at minimal cost and adopted permanently following study completion. This feasible and developmentally appropriate intervention shows promise in promoting shared book reading and reducing maternal depression within adolescent-headed families, warranting investigation with larger trials.

Parental determinants of metabolic syndrome among adolescent Asian Indians: A cross-sectional analysis of parent-offspring trios.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between parental metabolic syndrome (MS) and the risk of MS and associated abnormalities in adolescent offspring. This cross-sectional study was performed on 304 adolescents (12-16 years; 236 children with at least one parent and 124 father-mother-child trios) recruited from four schools representing different socioeconomic strata from Vellore, India. Anthropometric data was collected and blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipids were measured. The prevalence of MS in adolescent offspring, fathers, and mothers was 3.3%, 52.5%, and 48.7% respectively. The most commonly observed metabolic abnormality among adolescents was lower high-density lipoprotein. Maternal waist circumference (WC) was strongly correlated with adolescent body mass index (P = 0.007), WC (P < 0.001), serum triglycerides (P = 0.02), and systolic (P = 0.005) and diastolic (P = 0.01) blood pressure. Maternal MS status was significantly associated with a greater risk of central obesity (WC odds ratio [OR] 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-3.17) in offspring. Both parents having MS conferred a significant effect on the child's WC (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.72-2.07) and increased risk of MS (OR 6.19; 95% CI 1.64-23.26). This study highlights the possible heritable parental components that may contribute to the MS phenotype in offspring: MS in adolescent offspring is related to parental MS status, and maternal traits reflect offspring adiposity and metabolic traits more strongly than paternal factors. Therefore, adolescent children of parents with MS should be targets for primordial prevention of cardiometabolic disease.

Attachment styles and psychopathology among adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to compare attachment styles and psychopathology in adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) with a healthy control group.Material/MethodsWe studied 25 adolescents who had at least 1 parent with BD (BD group) and 28 adolescents who had no parents with BD (control group). The adolescent participants were between the ages of 12 and 17 years. We used the Adolescent Relationship Scales Questionnaire (A-RSQ) for the adolescents in the BD vs. control groups, and we used the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children – present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Clinician Version for each parent of adolescents in the BD and control groups to rule out psychopathologies.ResultsAttachment styles of participants were assessed according to A-RSQ, dismissing attachment style scores of adolescents in BD group were found significantly higher compared to the healthy control group (p<0.05). As a result of the assessments, 12 adolescents (48%) out of 25 in the BD group and 5 adolescents (18%) out of 28 in the control group were given DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis, which is a statistically significant result (p<0.05). However, when psychiatric diagnoses were assessed separately, the difference was not statistically significant.ConclusionsWe found that the adolescent children of parents with BD have increased risk of developing mental illnesses, and that these adolescents adopt dismissing attachment styles.

Adolescent Parents and Their Children: A Multifaceted Approach to Prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Childhood experiences can have long-term effects. Research shows that children who undergo adverse childhood experiences (ACE) often have negative health and mental health outcomes later in life. Children of adolescent parents with high ACE Scores are at greater risk of ACE. As such, an intergenerational approach to preventing ACE is proposed in this article, addressing the needs of both the adolescent parent and their children. A review of the literature indicates that a public health perspective can guide the development of a prevention model aimed at reducing the effects of ACE. The current article proposes a universal, multifaceted, and interdisciplinary prevention science model that has two targets: adolescent parents and their children. Schools and early childhood programs can be mobilized to offer community prevention strategies across realms to include the individual, community, provider, coalitions/networks, organizational practices, and policy/legislation.

Growing up with a parent with schizophrenia: what children say they need

Despite the rich literature on the effects of parental mental health problems on child development, the needs of children of mentally ill parents have been overlooked in both research and services. This study investigated the needs of a neglected group, namely Chinese adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia, in order to gain insights into the design of programmes for these adolescents. In‐depth interviews were conducted individually with five Chinese adolescent girls whose mother or father was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Analysis of the interview data revealed four common themes: stigma and discrimination; mixed feelings of love and anger; the role of being a carer; and positive gains. The results shed light on the importance of taking cultural context into consideration when providing services for these children and further conducting research in this area. Although mental health problems are regarded as a taboo and associated with shame in Chinese culture, these children, out of a respect for their parents (‘filial piety’1), showed a strong sense of loyalty to their parents and suppressed their anger and sorrow for their parents' sake. Implications for social services for children whose parents have mental health problems and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Burden in adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia. The Edmonton High Risk Project.

Adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia are generally overlooked in studies of family burden. Few published data exist about this younger cohort compared to adult family members such as parents, spouses, and siblings. This pilot study aims to examine the types of burden described by adolescent children of parents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Thirteen adolescents (9F: 4M) between the ages of 13 and 18 who had at least one parent diagnosed with schizophrenia were administered a semi-structured interview as part of a pilot project to examine burden in this group. Questions asked during the interview were directed at the subject's knowledge of the disorder, relationship with the parent, impact of the disorder on personal life, coping strategies used, and future concerns. Responses showed that the adolescents were uninformed about their parent's illness, had difficulties dealing with symptoms (positive and negative), were required to assume additional household responsibilities, and were concerned about their parent's future welfare. This pilot study illustrates that children of individuals with schizophrenia feel their lives are impacted by their parent's illness. More research is needed in this area to quantify and describe the types of burden experienced by this vulnerable group to ensure availability of adequate support.

Psychiatric symptoms and syndromes among adolescent children of parents with lithium-responsive or lithium-nonresponsive bipolar disorder.

The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the initial course of psychiatric illness in the adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder who were divided into two groups on the basis of their response to long-term lithium monotherapy. Proband parents met Research Diagnostic Criteria for bipolar illness and predetermined criteria for a clear response or nonresponse to lithium prophylaxis. All adolescent offspring were interviewed by a blinded interviewer using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, and final diagnosis was made by blinded consensus. Psychiatrically ill children of lithium-responsive parents tended to have affective disorders that remitted and followed a recurrent course. Psychiatrically ill children of lithium-nonresponsive parents, however, manifested a broad range of psychopathology, had high rates of comorbid illnesses, and experienced nonremitting affective illnesses. These results suggest that family history and course of illness are important factors to consider in the diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of affective disorders.

90-81 - The early course of illness among adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder

90-81 - The early course of illness among adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder

Adolescent Parents and Medical Decision-Making

The growing phenomenon of teenage pregnancy introduces the problem of who should serve as surrogate decision makers for the children of adolescent parents. The justifications which sanction society's grant of presumptive decision making authority for adult parents, and the rationales and empirical evidence supporting a central role for adolescents who wish to make medical decisions regarding their own care, together suggest that older adolescent parents should be viewed as the presumptive decision makers for their children. There is, however, empirical evidence that adolescent parents lack the cognitive abilities of childless adolescents of the same age and that many exhibit lower levels of emotional stability, sensitivity to infant needs, and social adjustment. These deficiencies, where present, undermine the very justifications for allowing adolescents to make medical decisions for their children. These findings are strong enough to justify a greater level of watchfulness over the competency and decisions of those adolescents who wish to make decisions for their children, but not definitive enough to conclude that, as a group, they be presumed incapable of making those decisions.

Exploring Factors Related to Parenting Competence among Navajo Teenage Mothers: Dual Techniques of Inquiry

There exists a need for a comprehensive understanding of adolescent parenting, especially the analysis of cross-ethnic populations. To date, examinations have included primarily Euro-American, followed by African-American, and Hispanic-American populations (Wasserman, Rauh, Brunelli, Garcia-Castro, & Necos, 1990). Despite high rates of teenage parenting on the Navajo Reservation, no investigations of this population exist. In this manuscript, two studies exploring adolescent parenting among Navajo adolescent women are described. The first investigation included Navajo adolescent mothers living in a rural, Navajo Reservation community. This investigation was based on the tenets of the Process Model of Parenting Competence (Belsky, Robins, & Gamble, 1984), and employed quantitative techniques to explore factors posited as predicting parenting competence among adult and adolescent populations. Correlational analyses revealed associations in the expected directions suggesting the variables posited by the model are associated in the hypothesized ways for a young native group. A follow-up, qualitative investigation was conducted with a comparable sample of American Indian Navajo adolescent mothers. Interviews focused on factors posited by Belsky et al. (1984) for determining parenting behavior and revealed significant within group differences. Suggestions for future research are discussed. Key Words: adolescent parenting, American Indian, Navajo Reservation, parenting competence. Rochelle L. Dalla* and Wendy C. Gamble In the United States, approximately one million teenagers become pregnant every year and 60% carry their to term (Zabin & Hayward, 1993). Social scientists have increasingly focused their research inquiries on teenage pregnancy and childbearing (Kissman, 1988), and primarily on the negative consequences, with results suggesting educational deficits, economic strain and poor marital histories among women who become mothers as teenagers (see Zabin & Hayward, 1993; Mott & Marsiglio, 1985; Duncan, 1984). In addition, previous research has noted cognitive, social, and physical developmental delays in the children of adolescent parents, when compared to those born to older mothers (Zabin & Hayward, 1993; Panzarine, 1988; Garcia-Coll, Hoffman, Van Houten, & Oh, 1987). Yet, poor consequences are not universally characteristic of teenage pregnancies (Boyce, Schaefer, & Uitti, 1985, p. 1279). Age alone is an insufficient marker from which to judge maternal parenting efficacy and child outcome; rather, other personal and contextual factors contribute significantly to the developmental consequences, for both mother and child (Fulton, Murphy, & Anderson, 1991; Hechtman, 1989; Geronimus, 1987, 1986). A growing body of research has identified several exogenous factors which may exacerbate the stresses of adolescent parenting (e.g., discrimination, restricted educational opportunities, and poverty), or conversely, promote healthy adaptation to the parenting role (e.g., emotional and economic support, and high self-esteem of the primary caregiver) (Cox, Owen, Lewis, & Henderson, 1989; Boyce, Kay, & Uitti, 1988; Kleinman & Kessel, 1987) and contribute to more optimal developmental outcomes for children (Dubow & Luster, 1990). Such variables often distinguish competent, responsive parents from those who are less adequately adjusted to the parenting role, less sensitive to the needs of their children and thus, more at risk for adverse parenting practices. The Process Model of Parenting Competence (Belsky, Robins, & Gamble, 1984) serves as a heuristic for organizing both endogenous and exogenous determinants of parenting. Belsky and colleagues identify four factors influential in this regard, including, in order of significance: (1) psycho-social adjustment (or personal resources) of the primary caregiver (e.g., self-esteem and confidence in the parenting role); (2) quality of the marital relationship; (3) environmental sources of stress (e. …

Resilience among 4-year-old children of Adolescent parents

Resilience among 4-year-old children of Adolescent parents

School Behavior in Adolescent Children of Parents with Mental Disorder

Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics: September 1983 - Volume 4 - Issue 3 - p 226