High Family Conflict Research Articles

EFFECTS OF FAMILY DYNAMICS ON PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS AND CRIMINAL TENDENCIES AMONG NON-CRIMINAL PEOPLE

The present study investigates the impact of family dynamics on the development of psychopathic traits in non-criminal populations. Utilizing a sample size of 200 participants, the study employs the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) to quantify psychopathic traits and examine the association with specific family patterns. The results indicate that poor parental supervision, inconsistent discipline, and high family conflict are significantly correlated with higher levels of psychopathic traits. Quantitative analysis reveals that individuals with high scores on the PCL-R are more likely to report negative family dynamics. Qualitative data from interviews and observations support these findings, highlighting the critical role of early family interactions in shaping psychological development. The study underscores the importance of early identification and family-based interventions to mitigate the development of psychopathic traits. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of psychopathy and offer valuable insights for developing targeted preventive strategies.

Longitudinal associations of diabetes-specific family conflict and diabetes management in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes-specific family conflict is a risk factor for diabetes indicators (e.g., higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lower adherence), but little longitudinal data are available to understand associations across time. To better inform targets and timing of interventions, we examined (a) whether fluctuations in conflict covary with diabetes indicators within adolescents across time; (b) whether reciprocal associations exist; and (c) whether aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship (e.g., parental acceptance) buffer associations across time. Adolescents (N = 235, ages 11.5-15.5 at baseline, 53.6% female) completed measures of diabetes-related conflict with mothers and with fathers (separately), parental acceptance, and adherence every 6 months across 1 year (three time points). HbA1c was obtained from medical records. Data were collected in 2009. Bivariate between-person correlations indicated that at each time point, adolescents who reported more conflict with mothers and fathers also had higher HbA1c and lower adherence. Within-person correlations (fluctuations across three time points) indicated that fluctuations in conflict with mothers were associated with fluctuations in HbA1c but not adherence. Actor-partner multilevel models indicated that fluctuations in family conflict at each time point were not associated with future diabetes indicators. Parental acceptance did not moderate associations of family conflict and diabetes indicators. While findings corroborate extant literature noting that adolescents with high average diabetes-specific family conflict may benefit from interventions designed to reduce conflict, conflict at one time point may not be predictive of future diabetes indicators. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Making Connections: Neurodevelopmental Changes in Brain Connectivity After Adverse Experiences in Early Adolescence.

Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to detrimental mental health outcomes in adulthood. This study investigates a potential neurodevelopmental pathway between adversity and mental health outcomes: brain connectivity. We used data from the prospective, longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study (N ≍ 12.000, participants aged 9-13 years, male and female) and assessed structural brain connectivity using fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter tracts. The adverse experiences modeled included family conflict and traumatic experiences. K-means clustering and latent basis growth models were used to determine subgroups based on total levels and trajectories of brain connectivity. Multinomial regression was used to determine associations between cluster membership and adverse experiences. The results showed that higher family conflict was associated with higher FA levels across brain tracts (e.g., t (3) = -3.81, β = -0.09, p bonf = 0.003) and within the corpus callosum (CC), fornix, and anterior thalamic radiations (ATR). A decreasing FA trajectory across two brain imaging timepoints was linked to lower socioeconomic status and neighborhood safety. Socioeconomic status was related to FA across brain tracts (e.g., t (3) = 3.44, β = 0.10, p bonf = 0.01), the CC and the ATR. Neighborhood safety was associated with FA in the Fornix and ATR (e.g., t (1) = 3.48, β = 0.09, p bonf = 0.01). There is a complex and multifaceted relationship between adverse experiences and brain development, where adverse experiences during early adolescence are related to brain connectivity. These findings underscore the importance of studying adverse experiences beyond early childhood to understand lifespan developmental outcomes.

Video-Delivered Family Therapy for Perinatal Women With Depressive Symptoms and Family Conflict: Feasibility, Acceptability, Safety, and Tolerability Results From a Pilot Randomized Trial.

Although individual-level treatments exist for pregnant and postpartum women with depression, family conflict is a significant factor that can contribute to the development and severity of perinatal depressive symptoms. Yet, there is a lack of research on family therapy for perinatal women with moderate to severe depressive symptoms and family conflict. Further, research is needed on the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and tolerability of family therapies for perinatal depression that are delivered using Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant videoconferencing technology (VCT). This paper describes the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and tolerability of a VCT-based family therapeutic intervention, Resilience Enhancement Skills Training (REST), for perinatal women with moderate to severe depressive symptoms and moderate to high conflict with their family members. This paper includes data from an ongoing randomized trial that compares an experimental family therapeutic intervention (REST) to standard of care (VCT-based problem-solving individual therapy) for the treatment of moderate to severe depressive symptoms in perinatal women with moderate to high family conflict. Both interventions were delivered by masters-level therapists using VCT. A total of 83 perinatal women and their adult family members (N=166 individuals) were recruited for participation in the study. Feasibility, defined as therapist adherence to ≥80% of REST session content, was assessed in audio-recorded sessions by 2 expert raters. Acceptability was defined as ≥80% of families completing REST, including completion of ≥80% homework assignments and family report of satisfaction with REST. Completion of REST was assessed by review of therapist session notes, and satisfaction was assessed by participant completion of a web-based questionnaire. The Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition was administered to perinatal women by research assistants (blind to study group assignment) to assess safety, defined as a reduction in depressive symptoms during the treatment phase. The Family Environment Scale-Family Conflict subscale was administered by therapists to participants during the treatment phase to assess tolerability, defined as a reduction in family conflict during the treatment phase. On average, the therapists achieved 90% adherence to REST session content. Of the families who started REST, 84% (32/38) of them completed REST, and on average, they completed 89% (8/9) of the homework assignments. Families reported satisfaction with REST. The results showed that REST is safe for perinatal women with moderate to severe depressive symptoms, and none discontinued due to worsened depressive symptoms. The results showed that REST is well tolerated by families, and no families discontinued due to sustained family conflict. The results show that REST is feasible, acceptable, safe, and tolerable for families. These findings will guide our interpretation of REST's preliminary effectiveness upon completion of outcome data collection. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04741776; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04741776.

Alcohol Use Disorder Polygenic Risk Scores and Trajectories of Early Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors: Examining the Role of Parenting and Family Conflict in the Racially/Ethnically Diverse ABCD Sample.

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of alcohol use disorder genome-wide polygenic scores (AUD-PGS) and parenting and family conflict on early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Data were drawn from White (N = 6181, 46.9% female), Black/African American (N = 1784, 50.1% female), and Hispanic/Latinx (N = 2410, 48.0% female) youth from the adolescent brain cognitive development Study (ABCD). Parents reported on youth externalizing behaviors at baseline (T1, age 9/10), 1-year (T2, age 10/11) and 2-year (T3, age 11/12) assessments. Youth reported on parenting and family environment at T1 and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results from latent growth models indicated that in general externalizing behaviors decreased from T1 to T3. Across all groups, higher family conflict was associated with more externalizing behaviors at T1, and we did not find significant associations between parental monitoring and early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Parental acceptance was associated with lower externalizing behaviors among White and Hispanic youth, but not among Black youth. Results indicated no significant main effect of AUD-PGS nor interaction effect between AUD-PGS and family variables on early adolescent externalizing behaviors. Post hoc exploratory analysis uncovered an interaction between AUD-PGS and parental acceptance such that AUD-PGS was positively associated with externalizing rule-breaking behaviors among Hispanic youth, but only when parental acceptance was very low. Findings highlight the important role of family conflict and parental acceptance in externalizing behaviors among early adolescents, and emphasize the need to examine other developmental pathways underlying genetic risk for AUD across diverse populations.

Relationship between family risk factors and adolescent mental health.

Family risk factors are crucial to adolescent mental health. Few studies have investigated the complex relationship between family risk factors and adolescent mental health. This study aims to investigate the complex relationship between family cumulative risk (FCR) and adolescent mental health, and to clarify the factors contributing to adolescent mental health problems. This study recruited 903 junior high school students and 991 senior high school students in Changsha, Hunan and was conducted through an offline computer-based questionnaire survey using the Middle School Student Mental Health Scale (MSSMHS) and the Family Cumulative Risk Questionnaire (FCRQ) to assess the mental health status and FCR factors, respectively. Statistical analyses were conducted to clarify the demographic factors influencing MSSMHS total and factor scores, and to analyze the relationship between FCRQ and MSSMHS total and factor scores. Females exhibited more mental health problems than males in various MSSMHS factors (all P<0.05); adolescents were prone to different mental health problems at different stages (junior high school first-grade vs. senior high school first-grade); senior high school first-grade students were more likely to experience academic pressure and maladjustment than junior high school first-grade students (P<0.01), and junior high school first-grade students were more likely to exhibit obsessive, paranoia, and hostility symptoms than senior high school first-grade students (all P<0.01); adolescents with low family intimacy and high family conflict reported more symptoms in every dimension of MSSMHS (all P<0.05); adolecents with poor parent-child separation reported higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, academic pressure, maladjustment, emotional instability, and unbalanced mind than those with good parent-child separation (all P<0.05). Female, low family intimacy, high family conflict, and poor parent-child separation are risk factors of adolescent mental health problems. Higher-grade middle school students are prone to exhibit academic pressure and maladjustment, while lower-grade middle school students are prone to exhibit obsessive, paranoia, and hostility symptoms.

The longitudinal role offamily conflict andneural reward sensitivity inyouth's internalizing symptoms.

Adolescence is often associated with an increase in psychopathology. Although previous studies have examined how family environments and neural reward sensitivity separately play a role in youth's emotional development, it remains unknown how they interact with each other in predicting youth's internalizing symptoms. Therefore, the current research took a biopsychosocial approach to examine this question using two-wave longitudinal data of 9353 preadolescents (mean age = 9.93 years at T1; 51% boys) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Using mixed-effects models, results showed that higher family conflict predicted youth's increased internalizing symptoms 1 year later, whereas greater ventral striatum (VS) activity during reward receipt predicted reduced internalizing symptoms over time. Importantly, there was an interaction effect between family conflict and VS activity. For youth who showed greater VS activation during reward receipt, high family conflict was more likely to predict increased internalizing symptoms. In contrast, youth with low VS activation during reward receipt showed high levels of internalizing symptoms regardless of family conflict. The findings suggest that youth's neural reward sensitivity is a marker of susceptibility to adverse family environments and highlight the importance of cultivating supportive family environments where youth experience less general conflict within the family.

Attachment-Based Family Therapy to Improve Family Functioning in Adolescent Binge-Spectrum Eating Disorders: An Initial Evaluation Via Case Series Design.

Binge-spectrum eating disorders (EDs; bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder) often develop during adolescence and are associated with serious psychological and physical consequences. Current treatments for adolescents are highly behavioral in nature and while efficacious, many patients do not reach remission indicating that current treatments fail to target a key maintenance factor for EDs. One potential maintenance factor is poor family functioning (FF). In particular, high family conflict (e.g., arguing, critical comments) and low family cohesion (e.g., warmth, support) are known to maintain ED behaviors. Poor FF can (1) cause or exacerbate an adolescent's use of ED behaviors to cope with life stress and/or (2) inhibit parents from being a resource to adolescents during ED treatment. Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) is specifically designed to improve FF, and thus may be a promising adjunct to behavioral ED intervention strategies. ABFT, however, has not been tested in adolescents with binge-spectrum EDs. Thus, the current study is the first to evaluate a 16-week adapted ABFT treatment for adolescents with EDs (N = 8, Mage = 16.00, 71.43% female, 71.43% White) fusing together behavioral treatment for EDs with ABFT for highest possible impact. Eight families were treated in an open pilot trial to examine treatment feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy on FF and eating pathology. Overall, findings were promising. ABFT + B treatment was feasible and acceptable and showed preliminary evidence that it could improve FF and ED behaviors. Future research will test this intervention in a larger sample and further examine the role of FF in maintaining ED symptoms.

Work-Family Conflict and Coping Strategies among Nurses of a Selected Teaching Hospital in Pokhara, Nepal

Introduction: Conflict between work and family is a consequence of incompatibilities between different roles of nurses. Nurses need to maintain equilibrium between the demands of work and family life because it is important for their physical and mental health. The elimination of distress is primarily achieved through effective coping. The objective of this study was to assess the status of work family conflict and coping strategies among nurses.&#x0D; Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the nurses of a teaching hospital. Consecutive sampling was employed for the selection of 110 nurses. A self-administered structured questionnaire consisting of Carlson work family conflict scale and brief cope inventory was used for data collection. Work-Family Conflict was categorized into high and low level based on the mean score. Similarly, Coping Strategies was also categorized into high and low coping based on the mean score. A Chi-square test was used to find the association between variables and status of work-family conflict.&#x0D; Results: Nearly half (44.5%) of the nurses were suffering from high work family conflict and more than half (51.8%) of the participants were adopting high coping strategies. The religion(p=0.042) and schedule flexibility (p=0.026) were found to be significantly associated with the status of work-family conflict.&#x0D; Conclusion: The study concludes that almost half of the nurses working in teaching hospital suffer from high work-family conflict. So, there is a need to pay attention to the interface of work and family roles in order to reduce the conflict level and enhance work output among nurses.

Family ecological resources and risks: The moderating role of Early Head Start

This study utilized latent class analysis to identify classes of family ecological resources and risks among low-income families with infants, examine differences in child and parent outcomes two years later, and explore Early Head Start (EHS) program quality and dosage from ages to 1 to 3 years as moderators of these associations. Data from a longitudinal study of families enrolled in EHS, the EHS Child and Family Experiences Study 2009–2012 (n = 527), were utilized to identify four classes: (a) Healthy, (b) Financial and Health Risks, (c) Educated and Supported, and (d) Depressed. There were no differences between the classes in children's outcomes, supportive parenting, or home environments two years later. Families in the Depressed class had higher family conflict and parenting stress. EHS quality did not moderate associations, however, some links between the classes and outcomes varied by dosage (numbers of home visits or days in center care).

세월호 참사 전후 한국 성인 인구의 우울 궤적 변화

This study aims to classify latent classes according to the depression trajectory of Korean adults, recorded before and after the occurrence of the Disaster of Sewol Ferry (DSF) in 2014. Accordingly, the influencing factors were verified. The subjects of the study included 9,393 adults aged 19 and above who responded to the CES-D questionnaire given in the 7th-13th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Survey. The Growth Mixture Model was applied as the analysis method. The study revealed major research findings. First, the following four latent classes were classified: 1) the ‘increased’ class, 2) the ‘decreased’ class, 3) the ‘resistance’ class, and 4) the ‘resilience’ class. Second, the factors affecting the classification of latent classes mainly included gender, age, self-esteem, stability of housing conditions, chronic diseases, and family conflict. Third, the impact of the DSF was found to be greater among women, individuals with high self-esteem, stable housing, high family conflict, and parents. Based on the findings, the implications and limitations of the classified latent classes indicating the depression trajectory of Korean adults before and after the occurrence of DSF, were discussed.

283-OR: Neighborhood Disadvantage for Teens with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) : Associations with Glycemic and Psychosocial Outcomes

Background: For teens with T1D, stress related to neighborhood disadvantage may exacerbate diabetes distress and contribute to disparities in care and outcomes. Objective: We explored associations among neighborhood disadvantage and clinical/psychosocial outcomes to identify patterns to inform future stress-resilience interventions. Methods: At baseline of a 2-site psychosocial intervention trial, 173 teens aged 13-18 years with T1D ≥1 year and elevated diabetes distress (57% Female, 2% American Indian/Alaska Native, 4% Asian, 15% Black, 11% Hispanic White, 6% Hispanic Non-White, 63% Non-Hispanic White, mean A1c= 8.7±2.1, 66% pump use) completed a demographics form and measures of resilience, diabetes distress, diabetes quality of life and family conflict.. We retrieved area deprivation index (ADI) scores for home addresses; this measure of neighborhood disadvantage considers factors related to income, education, employment, and housing quality at the census block group level and provides a state-relative decile score (higher scores indicate more disadvantage) . Fisher’s exact tests and regression analyses were used to examine associations of ADI with A1c and survey data. Results: Participant ADI spanned all deciles, M = 3.7± 2.4. Hispanic White/Non-White and Black teens and those not using pump had higher mean ADI. Higher ADI was associated with higher A1c (β=.18 [.06, 0.29], p=.003) and higher family conflict (β=.63 [.12, 1.1], p=.015) . ADI was not significantly related to resilience, diabetes distress, or quality of life. Conclusions: In a diverse sample of distressed teens with T1D, neighborhood disadvantage was associated with Hispanic ethnicity and Black race, lower pump use, poorer glycemic control and greater family conflict. Considering neighborhood disadvantage may help providers deliver personalized care to target systemic sources of stress, ultimately improving clinical and psychosocial outcomes. Disclosure M.B.O'donnell: None. M.E.Hilliard: None. J.Yi-frazier: None. B.Duran: None. C.Zhou: None. F.Malik: n/a. C.Pihoker: None. S.R.Scott: None. B.M.Ellisor: None. S.Garcia perez: None. D.Desalvo: Consultant; Dexcom, Inc., Insulet Corporation, Research Support; Insulet Corporation. Funding US National Institutes of Health R01DK121224

Sosialisasi Bahaya Adiksi Internet Bagi Anak dan Remaja di SMA Negeri 4 Pematangsiantar

Internet addiction is becoming one of the worrying phenomena for Indonesian teenagers. The internet has an impact on our lives, both positive and negative. The positive impact of the Internet includes helping children learn to explore, cognitively train, relieve tension or provide entertainment, and. affiliated with peers. While the negative impact that can occur when using the internet excessively is disrupting family life, work, education, sleep, hobbies, and social relationships. The most common threat when a person is addicted is his or her inability to regulate emotions. A person will more often feel feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, shame, fear to go out, be in situations of high family conflict, and have low self-confidence. These results in children and adolescents can become introverted and indifferent to the surrounding environment, thus affecting their social life, such as relationships with peers or family. It is likely that it can plunge children and adolescents who are addicted to the internet into criminal acts, both in the real world and cyberspace.

The Mediation of Family Context and Youth Depressive Symptoms by Adolescent Emotion Regulation

During adolescence, young people develop crucial capacity for emotion regulation, and family context can be a risk or protective factor for adolescents developing affective disorders. We leveraged data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey ( N = 7664) to propose adolescent emotion regulation as a mediator between family conflict, family protection, and adolescent depressive symptoms in the social development model. Latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent regulation of negative emotions mediated the relationship between family conflict and depressive symptoms—adolescents with higher family conflict had more emotion regulation difficulties and more depressive symptoms. Adolescent age was a moderator such that associations between family protective factors and reduced depression, and between family conflict and emotion regulation difficulties were weaker in high school compared to middle school. Findings highlight the importance of youth emotion regulation processes and family emotional context in reducing adolescent depressive symptoms.

Linking Foster Family Characteristics and Mental Health Symptoms of Youth in Care.

Youth in foster care are disproportionately at risk for developing internalizing and externalizing problems (Lawrence et al., 2006); however, a history of maltreatment prior to foster care placement does not automatically result in poor mental health outcomes. Among non-foster care youth, the quality of family interactions has been related to adjustment outcomes, such that low family cohesion and high family conflict is associated with poor mental health symptoms (Caples & Barrera, 2006). While little is known about these constructs in foster care placements, they may help explain the variance in internalizing and externalizing problems for youth in foster care. The present study aimed to examine whether characteristics of the foster care environment (i.e., conflict, cohesion) across various placement types (i.e., traditional foster homes, group-care settings) could help explain the link between previous maltreatment exposure and mental health problems. The sample included 178 youth in foster care (Mage = 15.18, SD = 1.76) and their foster caregivers living in the Midwest. Youth participants completed self-report measures about prior maltreatment history, current family environment characteristics, and youth internalizing symptoms. Foster caregivers completed measures on current family environment and youth externalizing symptoms. Results indicated that caregiver report, but not youth report, of family cohesion was negatively associated with youth report of internalizing problems. When examining the indirect effects, youth report of family conflict partially accounted for the link between youth self-report of maltreatment and internalizing symptoms (B = 0.106, 95% CI = 0.026–0.186). Caregiver report of family conflict fully accounted for the association between youth self-report of maltreatment and caregiver report of youths’ externalizing symptoms (B = 0.108, 95% CI = 0.005–0.211). Findings highlight the importance of utilizing multiple informants when measuring foster family environment and suggest that family conflict is particularly salient for the mental health of youth in foster care.

Brain structure is linked to the association between family environment and behavioral problems in children in the ABCD study

Children’s behavioral problems have been associated with their family environments. Here, we investigate whether specific features of brain structures could relate to this link. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging of 8756 children aged 9-11 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Developmental study, we show that high family conflict and low parental monitoring scores are associated with children’s behavioral problems, as well as with smaller cortical areas of the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and middle temporal gyrus. A longitudinal analysis indicates that psychiatric problems scores are associated with increased family conflict and decreased parental monitoring 1 year later, and mediate associations between the reduced cortical areas and family conflict, and parental monitoring scores. These results emphasize the relationships between the brain structure of children, their family environments, and their behavioral problems.

Race, Family Conflict and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among 9-10-Year-Old American Children.

Family conflict is known to operate as a major risk factor for children’s suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). However, it is unknown whether this effect is similar or different in Black and White children. Objectives: We compared Black and White children for the association between family conflict and STBs in a national sample of 9–10-year-old American children. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. This study included 9918 White or Black children between the ages of 9 and 10 living in married households. The predictor variable was family conflict. Race was the moderator. The outcome variable was STBs, treated as a count variable, reflecting positive STB items that were endorsed. Covariates included ethnicity, sex, age, immigration status, family structure, parental education, and parental employment, and household income. Poisson regression was used for data analysis. Results: Of all participants, 7751 were Whites, and 2167 were Blacks. In the pooled sample and in the absence of interaction terms, high family conflict was associated with higher STBs. A statistically significant association was found between Black race and family conflict, suggesting that the association between family conflict and STBs is stronger in Black than White children. Conclusion: The association between family conflict and STBs is stronger in Black than White children. Black children with family conflict may be at a higher risk of STBs than White children with the same family conflict level. These findings align with the literature on the more significant salience of social relations as determinants of mental health of Black than White people. Reducing family conflict should be regarded a significant element of suicide prevention for Black children in the US.

Decomposing complex links between the childhood environment and brain structure in school-aged youth

Childhood experiences play a profound role in conferring risk and resilience for brain and behavioral development. However, how different facets of the environment shape neurodevelopment remains largely unknown. Here we sought to decompose heterogeneous relationships between environmental factors and brain structure in 989 school-aged children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. We applied a cross-modal integration and clustering approach called ‘Similarity Network Fusion’, which combined two brain morphometrics (i.e., cortical thickness and myelin-surrogate markers), and key environmental factors (i.e., trauma exposure, neighborhood safety, school environment, and family environment) to identify homogeneous subtypes. Depending on the subtyping resolution, results identified two or five subgroups, each characterized by distinct brain structure–environment profiles. Notably, more supportive caregiving and school environments were associated with greater myelination, whereas less supportive caregiving, higher family conflict and psychopathology, and higher perceived neighborhood safety were observed with greater cortical thickness. These subtypes were highly reproducible and predicted externalizing symptoms and overall mental health problems. Our findings support the theory that distinct environmental exposures are differentially associated with alterations in structural neurodevelopment. Delineating more precise associations between risk factors, protective factors, and brain development may inform approaches to enhance risk identification and optimize interventions targeting specific experiences.

Family Processes and Child Psychopathology: A Between- and Within-Family/Child Analysis.

A vast array of family processes is linked to child mental development, among which (1) low parental acceptance and (2) high family conflict are known as transdiagnostic risk factors for child internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. In contrast to most prior research adopting cross-sectional or lagged designs, the current study applied fine-grained multilevel modeling to elucidate the complex relationships among parental acceptance, family conflict, and child psychopathology, considering the nesting structure of children within families and longitudinal changes within children. We focused on preadolescents from the two-wave Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N = 4,953; aged 9-12) and accounted for parental psychopathology and sex differences. Our findings suggest that consistent between-family and between-child differences in parental acceptance play a transdiagnostic role for both child internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, whereas family conflict is only significantly associated with externalizing psychopathology. Additionally, short-term within-family and within-child improvements in parental acceptance and family conflict across one year were associated with decreased externalizing, but not internalizing, psychopathology. These findings support the potential importance and feasibility of targeting these family process factors for child externalizing problems outside of an intensive treatment setting. We further discussed how such findings serve as a foundation for future research on family processes and child internalizing problems. The varying results across different grouping levels highlight the importance of decomposing within- from between-family/child effects in future studies on family processes and child psychopathology.

Parenting Among Rohingya and Afghan Refugee Parents Residing in Malaysia

ObjectiveThis study examined the measurement properties of parenting‐related measures among 140 Rohingya and Afghan refugee parents residing in Malaysia, then examined factors associated with these parenting outcomes.BackgroundUnprecedented numbers of forced migrant families reside in countries of first asylum with temporary status and limited legal rights. Limited research examines parenting experiences among these communities.MethodTo examine construct validity and reliability of parenting‐related measures among this sample, we carried out confirmatory factor analysis to examine respectively the factor structure of scales measuring underlying latent constructs of Child Adjustment &amp; Parent Efficacy, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Family Functioning Scale. Their associations with individual (gender, age, ethnicity, education), social (marital status, number of children), and environmental factors (time in Malaysia, food insecurity, employment, and emotional distress) were examined using structural equation modeling.ResultsResiding in Malaysia for a longer period of time was associated with higher child behavioral intensity, lower parent self‐efficacy, and higher family conflict. Food insecurity was associated with lower parent self‐efficacy, and being employed was associated with positive parenting as well as poor supervision. Higher levels of emotional distress were associated with higher child behavioral intensity, lower parent self‐efficacy, and lower levels of poor supervision.ConclusionDisplacement challenges negatively affect refugee parents and families.ImplicationsSolutions are needed that bolster the abilities of forced migrants to establish permanence and provide for their families. Additionally, attention toward the unique challenges of refugee families can guide service provision within countries of first asylum.