Low Parental Warmth Research Articles

Gender Differences in the Development of Children’s Conduct Problems: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract Gender differences in the trajectories of conduct problems have received very little attention in the literature. The present four-year longitudinal study explores gender differences in conduct problems trajectories through early childhood, assessing gender-specific predictors and outcomes. We identified gender-separated conduct problems trajectories in a sample of 2246 young children (M age in wave 1 = 4.25; 48.5% girls) using latent class growth analyses. We found five trajectories for girls (i.e., low, average, downward, upward, and stable high) and four for boys (i.e., low, average, stable high, and upward). Low parental warmth was related to the most problematic trajectories only in girls. The interpersonal psychopathic trait (grandiose-deceitful) was more pronounced in girls with higher conduct problems scores relative to other psychopathic traits, whereas in boys, the impulsive trait stood out. Meanwhile, boys’ trajectories were more diverse in terms of negative outcomes (e.g., bullying, victimization) than those of girls. This study contributes to the body of work on heterogeneity in conduct problems by identifying different trajectories according to gender, and shows the relevance of gender in understanding the predictors, development, and outcomes of conduct problems.

Aggression as a Mediator Between Ineffective Parenting Practices and Adolescent Deviant Behaviors

ABSTRACT This study examined the mediating effect of aggression on the relationship between three ineffective parenting practices (weak supervision, inconsistent parenting, and low warmth) and adolescent deviance. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) and a nationally representative longitudinal sample of South Korean adolescents (N = 1,823), results showed that all three parenting practices significantly affected aggression, which, in turn, significantly influenced deviance. Aggression fully mediated the effects of weak supervision and inconsistent parenting on deviance, while partially mediating the relationship between low parental warmth and adolescent deviance. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Life course predictors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a prospective intergenerational cohort study.

We examine precursors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a prospective intergenerational Australian cohort study. Parents (N = 549, 60% mothers) of 934 1-9-year-old children completed a COVID-19 specific module in 2020 and/or 2021. Decades prior, a broad range of individual, relational and contextual factors were assessed during parents' own childhood, adolescence and young adulthood (7-8 to 27-28 years old; 1990-2010) and again when their children were 1 year old (2012-2019). After controlling for pre-pandemic socio-emotional behaviour problems, COVID-19 child emotional distress was associated with a range of pre-pandemic parental life course factors including internalising difficulties, lower conscientiousness, social skills problems, poorer relational health and lower trust and tolerance. Additionally, in the postpartum period, pre-pandemic parental internalising difficulties, lower parental warmth, lower cooperation and fewer behavioural competencies predicted child COVID-19 emotional distress. Findings highlight the importance of taking a larger, intergenerational perspective to better equip young populations for future adversities. This involves not only investing in child, adolescent, and young adult emotional and relational health, but also in parents raising young families.

Fearlessness as an Underlying Mechanism Leading to Conduct Problems: Testing the INTERFEAR Model in a Community Sample in Spain.

Conduct problems (CP) in childhood and adolescence have a significant impact on the individual, family, and community. To improve treatment for CP, there is a need to improve the understanding of the developmental pathways leading to CP in boys and girls. Prior research has linked the child's fearlessness and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, as well as experiences of parental warmth and punitive parenting, to CP. However, few studies have tested the interplay of these factors in contributing to future CP development. The present study aimed to test the InterFear model, which suggests that fearlessness in early childhood leads to CP through an indirect pathway involving low positive parenting, high negative/punitive parenting, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The sample included 2467 Spanish children (48.1% girls; Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91), followed up across a five-year period. Besides a direct association between fearlessness in early childhood and future CP, the results found an indirect pathway whereby fearlessness reduces positive parenting and increases punitive parenting, which contributes to the development of CU traits and sets the stage for CP in later childhood. The specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CP via CU traits accounted for most of the variance, suggesting the existence of a temperamental pathway independent of parental variables. Further, two additional indirect pathways, exclusive of fearlessness, were identified, which started with low parental warmth and positive parenting, leading to CP via CU traits. These findings support the InterFear model, demonstrating multiple pathways to CP with the involvement of fearlessness, parenting practices, and CU traits. This model might play a pivotal role in the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for CP.

The prevalence and risk factors of conduct disorder among juvenile delinquents in China

Conduct disorders (CDs) are common in juvenile justice cases, but their prevalence varies across regions. It is useful to help people comprehend the incidence and risk factors for CDs in the judicial environment. To determine the prevalence of CDs among juvenile delinquents in China and explore the risk factors for CDs in terms of demographic characteristics, individual characteristics, and social environmental factors. A total of 545 male juvenile delinquents and 297 typically developed adolescents from China were recruited for this study. The Conduct Disorder Screening Form was used to assess the symptoms of CD, and related measurements, including the Demographic Questionnaire, Short-Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese (s-EMBU-C), the Short Form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), the Parental Monitoring Scale, the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale, the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), the Self-Control Scale (SCS), and the Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS), were carried out. Among the juvenile delinquents, 58.7% met the symptoms of CD, with adolescent-onset CD accounting for 90.94% of these cases. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of CD between the criminal group and the illegal group, but the criminal group scored higher on aggression than the illegal group. The adolescents with CDs differed from the typically developed adolescents in demographic characteristics, parenting style, individual characteristics, and deviant peer affiliation. Discriminant analysis revealed that deviant peer affiliation had the greatest impact on the CDs of adolescents (structural matrix = 0.85), followed by the level of parental monitoring and moral disengagement. CD is widespread in Chinese juvenile delinquents. CD symptoms differ between criminal and illegal juvenile delinquents. Risk factors such as deviant peer affiliation, inadequate parental monitoring, moral disengagement, and low parental warmth all contribute to the high prevalence of CD.

Parental warmth, stressful life events, and impulsivity: A gene-environment-wide interaction study.

Impulsivity is influenced by genetic, neural, and environmental factors, but no study has examined how these factors work together to generate individual differences in impulsivity. The present study aimed to define the functional network that subserves impulsivity and test its relations with the gene-environment interactions found in the gene-environment-wide interaction study. This study used a sample of healthy Chinese college students (N = 1,145) to identify gene-environment interactive effects on impulsivity, then defined the functional brain network related to impulsivity in an independent sample (N = 483), and explored the gene-brain associations using polygenic risk score. The present study found that 14 genes showed significant interactive effects with parental warmth (a protective environmental factor) and that six genes showed significant interactive effects with stressful life events (a risk environmental factor). The polygenic risk score for parental warmth was significantly correlated with functional connectivity especially the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG)-left inferior occipital and left MFG-left superior frontal gyrus functional connectivity, while the polygenic risk score for more stressful life events was significantly correlated with functional connectivity of left dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) to other regions. These associations were stronger in more adverse environments (i.e., low parental warmth or high stressful life events). This was the first gene-environment-wide interaction study of impulsivity. Future studies should replicate our results and explore the underlying mechanisms of these interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Socioeconomic and Demographic Risk Factors of Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

Child sexual abuse is a harsh reality and a threat of harm to children. Pakistan’s high population growth and increasing poverty has resulted in child labor on streets. Children are exposed to all forms of abuse including sexual exploitation. The main objective of this study is to find out the risk factors of child sexual abuse. The present study has been conducted in the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The respondents have been selected from places where children are found most often, selling products, or wondering in search of jobs. Primary data was collected through semi-structured questionnaire using snowball sampling. The total response was found at 50, including Pakistani and Afghan refugees’ children. According to the results 76% children are deprived of their parents’ proper attention, 96% are very poor and just earning below Rs. 8000, 66% are in the age group of 8 to 12 years, 72% of the respondents have only one room in their house, 78% respondents are not enrolled in school; about 22 % sample respondents left the school early, 64% of the respondent having large family size (family members more then 6), and 98% of the victims were out of homes for earnings. It is concluded that the main risk factors of child abuse consist of poverty, child labor, large family size, school dropout, and low parental warmth. With respect to most of the variables, no significant difference was found between the two nationals.

Parental warmth moderates the relation between children’s lying and theory-of-mind

Lying is a prevalent and normative behavior in young children. Conceptually, it is strongly linked with children’s theory-of-mind development. However, empirical studies show that the link between children’s lying and theory-of-mind is heterogeneous. This study examined whether parental control and parental warmth moderate the link between children’s lying and theory-of-mind understanding. Three- to six-year-old Singaporean children (N = 116, Mage = 59 months, 59 male, 81.0% Chinese) participated in the temptation resistance paradigm, in which they were asked to guess the identity of a toy but instructed not to peek at it when left alone. Parental control and parental warmth were assessed via a parent–child interactive game. Results showed that the relation between children’s maintenance of their initial lie and general theory-of-mind understanding was moderated by parental warmth. Specifically, there was a negative relation between children’s lying and theory-of-mind for dyads with high parental warmth, but a positive relation between children’s lying and theory-of-mind for dyads with low parental warmth. Overall, the findings suggest that children’s lying behavior is the outcome of a complex interaction between cognitive and social factors.

Longitudinal Relations Between Parenting Practices and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation in a High-Risk Clinical Sample: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Parenting behaviors are associated with adolescent suicidal ideation (SI), but few studies have examined this relation longitudinally or investigated underlying mechanisms. We investigated a moderated mediation model to evaluate perceived burdensomeness as a mediator in the longitudinal relation between parenting behavior (warmth and verbal hostility) and adolescent SI. We hypothesized that this association would be particularly strong among adolescents with greater functional impairment. The sample included 147 adolescents (Mage = 14.9, Age Range = 12-18 years, 76.2% female) and a primary caregiver (Mage = 43.5, Age Range = 27-60 years, 81.4% female) enrolled in a clinical trial. Caregivers completed measures of warmth and verbal hostility (PCPR) and adolescents completed measures of functional impairment (CDI-2), perceived burdensomeness (INQ), and SI (SIQ-JR) at baseline, 12 and 18 months. Two moderated mediation path analyses, one for each parenting behavior, were conducted. Age, sex, treatment condition, baseline and 12-month SI, baseline perceived burdensomeness, and the alternate baseline parenting behavior were included as covariates. Neither model yielded a significant direct effect between baseline parental verbal hostility or warmth and 18-month SI. However, lower warmth and higher verbal hostility were positively associated with 18-month SI indirectly through greater 12-month perceived burdensomeness among youth with relatively higher levels of functional impairment. Perceptions of burdensomeness are a mechanism by which low parental warmth and high parental verbal hostility contribute to SI, but only among youth with greater functional impairment. Interventions to address youth perceptions of burdensomeness may be beneficial, particularly for the most highly impaired youth.

Does binge drinking mediate the relationship between four adverse childhood experiences and adult traumatic brain injury? Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort

ObjectiveAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased risk of sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Alcohol use may play an important role in this relationship. This study examines whether...

Psychological reactance and adolescent cannabis use: The role of parental warmth and monitoring

Psychological reactance (PR) is a psychological state or trait typified by resistant responses to threats to behavioral freedom. PR has been linked with negative health behaviors, including risky substance use; however, factors that may foster approaches to mitigate the impact of PR on these behaviors, as well as rejection of other health promotion communications is less understood. The current studies examined relations between parental warmth and monitoring with trait PR and responses to preventive cannabis communications and usage intentions. Two in-school surveys were administered to two difference samples of middle school students (Study 1, N=1,416; Study 2, N=1,118). Path analytic models tested multivariable linkages among relevant parenting variables, PR, and outcomes associated with cannabis use. Follow-up regression analyses explored significant interaction effects. In Study 1 (p<0.001) and Study 2 (p<0.01), parental warmth moderated the relation between monitoring and trait PR: High monitoring was a protective factor only when combined with high warmth. In turn, PR mediated the relationships between parenting practices and cannabis intentions in both studies (p<0.001). In Study 2, PR also was linked with resistance to persuasion via more unfavorable reactions to anti-cannabis appeals (p<0.001). Findings indicated that low parental warmth combined with high parental monitoring was associated with high trait reactance in adolescents, which predisposed them to stronger resistance to preventive communications. Interventions might focus on counseling parents about the likely outcomes of parenting style, and ways to implement beneficial approaches.

Development of cognitive control during adolescence: The integrative effects of family socioeconomic status and parenting behaviors

Cognitive control is of great interest to researchers and practitioners. The concurrent association between family socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescent cognitive control is well-documented. However, little is known about whether and how SES relates to individual differences in the development of adolescent cognitive control. The current four-year longitudinal investigation (N = 167, 13–14 years at Wave 1) used multi-source interference task performance (reaction time in interference correct trials minus neutral correct trials) and corresponding neural activities (blood oxygen level dependent contrast of interference versus neutral conditions) as measures of cognitive control. SES and parenting behaviors (warmth, monitoring) were measured through surveys. We examined direct and indirect effects of earlier SES on the development of cognitive control via parenting behaviors; the moderating effect of parenting also was explored. Results of latent growth modeling (LGM) revealed significant interactive effects between SES and parenting predicting behavioral and neural measures of cognitive control. Lower family SES was associated with poorer cognitive performance when coupled with low parental warmth. In contrast, higher family SES was associated with greater improvement in performance, as well as a higher intercept and steeper decrease in frontoparietal activation over time, when coupled with high parental monitoring. These findings extend prior cross-sectional evidence to show the moderating effect of the parenting environment on the potential effects of SES on developmental changes in adolescent cognitive control.

Developmental Precursors of Primary and Secondary Callous-Unemotional Traits in Youth.

There is growing evidence of diverse etiological pathways to the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, known as primary and secondary CU variants. The purpose of the present study was to extend previous cross-sectional research and examine theoretical predictors of CU variants prospectively from childhood to adolescence. Participants included high-risk control and normative samples from the Fast Track project (N = 754, male = 58%, Black = 46%). Using structural equation modelling, primary CU traits, identified in early adolescence, were associated with higher levels of childhood emotion regulation and lower levels of prosocial behavior. Secondary CU traits were associated with lower levels of childhood emotion regulation and low parental warmth, but not prosocial behaviour. Neither CU variant was related to harsh parenting. Parental warmth moderated emotion regulation and prosocial behavior on secondary CU traits. Results were not moderated by sex. A greater understanding of theoretical developmental precursors of CU variants may better guide intervention efforts.

Parenting Characteristics among Adults With Social Anxiety and their Influence on Social Anxiety Development in Children: A Brief Integrative Review.

The purposes of this brief integrative review are to identify and critically evaluate recent work in the area of parenting processes that are disproportionately observed among parents with social anxiety disorder (SAD) that may ultimately increase risk among offspring, and to further link these processes to specific targets for intervention. Accordingly, we first evaluate the relevance of specific parenting styles as they pertain to increased risk of developing SAD among offspring. Second, we link these parenting processes to observations of certain unfavorable consequences among socially anxious youth, such as low perceived autonomy and poorer social skills. Finally, in light of these consequences we extend our conclusions into potentially modifiable targets among parents with SAD, focusing on the enhancement of autonomy and facilitating offspring's normative period of transition into independence during adolescence. Overall, we conclude that parenting behaviors commonly observed among adults with SAD, such as overcontrol and low parental warmth, likely have a direct impact on the development of social anxiety symptoms among their children. However, these parenting behaviors are plausibly modifiable and therefore repurposing existing interventions for use among parents with SAD in conjunction with interventions with their offspring is likely to provide direct clinical benefit.

(In)Congruent Parent–Child Reports of Parental Behaviors and Later Child Outcomes

This study evaluated hypothesized relations of (in)congruent parent–child perceptions of parental warmth and hostility at age 7 with changes in child and parent reports of children’s depressive symptoms and rule-breaking behaviors from ages 7 to 10. Dyads consisted of 193 parents (93.3% biological mothers) and children (49.2% female; 46.1% Latinx) drawn from a longitudinal study of child development. Child and parent reports of parental warmth and hostility were collected using parallel measures at age 7. Child and parent reports of child depressive symptoms and rule-breaking behaviors were collected at ages 7 and 10. After controlling for children’s prior symptomatology and individual informant effects, polynomial regression analyses revealed a significant relation between (in)congruent perceptions of parental warmth and child-reported depressive symptoms. Specifically, congruent perceptions of high parental warmth at age 7 predicted decreased levels of child-reported depressive symptoms from ages 7 to 10, whereas congruent perceptions of low parental warmth predicted increased levels of child-reported depressive symptoms, especially among daughters. (In)congruent perceptions of parental hostility were related to child-reported rule-breaking behaviors. Specifically, congruent perceptions of high parental hostility predicted increased rates of child-reported rule-breaking behaviors, whereas incongruent perceptions of high parent-reported and low child-reported parental hostility predicted decreased rates of child-reported rule-breaking behaviors, especially among sons. This study documented the adaptive significance of parent–child (in)congruence in perceptions of parenting across middle childhood and revealed the potential specificity of relations by domain of adaptation and/or gender, thereby suggesting important implications for risk identification and treatment.

Low Parental Warmth and High Youth Impairment: A Recipe for Perceived Burdensomeness?

Theory and research document the role of perceived burdensomeness in the development of suicide ideation, including in youth. There is a critical need to identify and evaluate variables that foster perceived burdensomeness in youth, with an eye toward advancing etiological models and informing prevention approaches for at-risk youth who are not yet actively suicidal. The current study examined and replicated a conceptual model wherein the association between low parental warmth and burdensomeness is moderated by youth impairment. Participants were 75 and 150 clinic referred youths in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively, with anxiety-related difficulties. Youth impairment significantly moderated the association between low parental warmth and youth perceived burdensomeness such that the association was negative and statistically significant at high levels of impairment, but not at low levels of impairment. The moderation effect was statistically significant in both studies while controlling for anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings provide insight into variables that are associated with a sense of burdensomeness toward others in youth, and identify potential targets for preventing or intervening to reduce perceived burdensomeness in clinic-referred youth.

Does parental warmth buffer the relationship between parent-to-child physical and verbal aggression and adolescent behavioural and emotional adjustment?

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate whether childhood levels of parental warmth buffer the relationship between parent-to-child physical and verbal aggression and behavioural and emotional adjustment (violent offending, substance use, depression and anxiety) among adolescent boys and girls. Data were drawn from a large self-report school survey conducted among 9th graders in Lower Saxony, Germany (n = 7423). Controlling for socio-demographic factors and risk-seeking, results showed that parent-to-child physical and verbal aggression were related to increased externalizing and internalizing behaviour, while parental warmth was related to decreased anxiety and depression. Perceived parental warmth during childhood buffered effects of parent-to-child verbal aggression on later violent offending. More specifically, the strongest relationship between parent-to-child verbal aggression and externalizing behaviour was found in individuals with low parental warmth. Child and parent gender did not qualify the moderating effect of warmth. Results underscore the need for programmes and policies that promote stable family environments particularly marked by the absence of parent-to-child physical and verbal aggression.

Parenting Is an Environmental Predictor of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: A Monozygotic Twin Differences Study

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits increase risk for children to develop severe childhood aggression and conduct disorder. CU traits are typically described as highly heritable, and debate continues about whether the parenting environment matters in their etiology. Strong genetically informed designs are needed to test for the presence of environmental links between parenting practices and CU traits. Our objective was to determine whether parental harshness and parental warmth were related to children's aggression or CU traits when accounting for genetically mediated effects. We examined 227 monozygotic twin pairs (454 children) drawn from population-based and at-risk samples of twin families, leading to oversampling of twins living in poverty. We computed multi-informant difference scores combining mother and father reports of their harshness and warmth toward each twin, and differences in mother reports of each twin's aggression and CU traits. Twin differences in parental harshness were related to differences in both aggression and CU traits, such that the twin who received harsher parenting had higher aggression and more CU traits. Differences in parental warmth were uniquely related to differences in CU traits, such that the twin receiving warmer parenting evidenced lower CU traits. These effects were not moderated by child sex, age, or family income, with the exception that the relationship between differential parental harshness and differential child aggression was stronger among low-income families. Parenting is related to child CU traits and aggression, over and above genetically mediated effects, with low parental warmth being a unique environmental correlate of CU traits.

Do parenting behaviors modify the way sensation seeking influences antisocial behaviors?

Parenting behaviors have been shown to moderate the association between sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors. Data were obtained from the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of 2,491 Puerto Rican youth living in the South Bronx, New York, and the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. First, we examined the prospective relationship between sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors across 3 yearly waves and whether this relationship varied by sociodemographic factors. Second, we examined the moderating role of parenting behaviors-including parental monitoring, warmth, and coercive discipline-on the prospective relationship between sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors. Sensation seeking was a strong predictor of antisocial behaviors for youth across two different sociocultural contexts. High parental monitoring buffered the association between sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors, protecting individuals with this trait. Low parental warmth was associated with high levels of antisocial behaviors, regardless of the sensation seeking level. Among those with high parental warmth, sensation seeking predicted antisocial behaviors, but the levels of antisocial behaviors were never as high as those of youth with low parental warmth. Study findings underscore the relevance of person-family context interactions in the development of antisocial behaviors. Future interventions should focus on the interplay between individual vulnerabilities and family context to prevent the unhealthy expression of a trait that is present in many individuals.

Parental bonding and adolescents’ depressive and anxious symptoms in Pakistan

A quantitative cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the role of parental bonding in relation to depressive and anxious symptoms among secondary school adolescents in Pakistan. The study also aimed to investigate the construct validity of the parental bonding inventory in the cultural context of Pakistan. The sample consisted of 1124 adolescents recruited from eight secondary schools in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Urdu translated versions of Parental Bonding Instrument (Qadir et al., 2005) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (Mumford et al., 1991) were administered in classroom settings. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. Results from the CFA of the Urdu version of the Parental Bonding Instrument supported a modified version of the three factor model proposed by Kendler (1996) consisting of warmth, protectiveness and authoritarianism. Based on SEM, we found a significant relationship between low parental warmth and depression symptoms among adolescents, whereas maternal protectiveness was a significant predictor for anxiety. Parental authoritarianism was not a significant predictor for depression or anxiety. Findings of this study indicate that parental bonding is a central construct within a developmental framework in the cultural context of Pakistan, and is important when considering long-term psychosocial functioning of individuals. It should be explored further in clinical populations of Pakistani adolescents to ascertain significance of these constructs for interventions.