Parent-child Discrepancies Research Articles

The relationship between mother–child discrepancies in educational aspirations and children's academic achievement: The mediating role of children's academic self-efficacy

We examined the relationships between parent–child discrepancies in educational aspiration and child academic achievement and the mediating role of child's academic self-efficacy. In total, 829 Chinese elementary students (10 years old) and their mothers (36 years old) were invited to participate. The educational aspirations of the students and their mothers and students' academic self-efficacy and academic achievement based on their most recent midterm and final examinations were assessed. The results indicated that the absolute difference between mothers' and children's raw aspiration scores was negatively associated with children's academic achievement. Additionally, after accounting for the degree of discrepancy, the direction of the discrepancies showed differential effects. Compared to children whose aspirations were the same as their mother's, children whose mothers held higher aspirations than their own had lower academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy played a significant mediating role in the relationship between children's academic achievement and the direction of discrepancy “mothers' aspirations > children's”. In contrast, the direction “mothers' aspirations < children's” was positively associated with children's academic achievement. The reasons for this finding are also discussed in the paper.

Do parents and children agree on rating a child’s HRQOL? A systematic review and Meta-analysis of comparisons between children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children with typical development using the PedsQLTM

Purpose: This meta-analysis was conducted to assess differences in a child’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as reported by the child and their parents using the Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM, and the effects in both children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those with typical development.Methods: Eight studies encompassing 16 independent groups met the inclusion criteria and were combined and compared in this meta-analysis. Fixed effect analysis was applied in the subgroup analysis to compare differences between children with ADHD and those with typical development.Results: Small to moderate magnitudes of parent-child discrepancies were found in the ratings of the children’s HRQOL both in those with ADHD (g = −0.23 [−0.33, −0.13], p < 0.001, physical HRQOL; g = −0.60 [−0.71, −0.48], p < 0.001, psychosocial HRQOL) and in those with typical development (g = −0.27 [−0.31, −0.23], p < 0.001, physical HRQOL; g = −0.29 [−0.33, −0.25], p < 0.001, psychosocial HRQOL) except for emotional HRQOL in children with typical development (g = 0.003 [−0.04, 0.04], p = 0.90). The parent-child discrepancy in rating the child’s psychosocial HRQOL was significantly larger in the children with ADHD than in those with typical development.Conclusions and implications: This meta-analysis suggests that a child’s HRQOL may be assessed in children and adolescents with ADHD both by parent proxy- and child self-reports. Parent-child discrepancies, especially in psychosocial HRQOL, and sources of discrepancy need to be addressed when assessing the child’s HRQOL and planning interventions in children with ADHD.Implications for RehabilitationParents reported a significantly worse health-related quality of life of their children than both the children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those with typical development.A child’s health-related quality of life needs to be assessed both by parent proxy and self-reports of the children.Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those with typical development differed significantly in parent-child discrepancy in child’s psychosocial health-related quality of life, but not in physical health-related quality of life.Parent-child discrepancies, especially in psychosocial health-related quality of life, and sources of discrepancy (e.g., child, parent or family characteristics) need to be addressed when assessing the child’s health-related quality of life and planning interventions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The Role of Parent-Child Discrepancies in Parenting Attitudes on Adolescents Prosociality

The Role of Parent-Child Discrepancies in Parenting Attitudes on Adolescents Prosociality

Multi-informant assessment of siblings of youth with autism spectrum disorder: Parent-child discrepancies in at-risk classification

BackgroundThe behavioral and emotional functioning of typically-developing (TD) siblings of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been frequently assessed in the literature; however, these assessments typically include only one informant, rarely considering differences between parent and self-reports of sibling adjustment. AimsThis study examined parent-youth reported informant discrepancies in behavioral and emotional functioning, including whether parent and youth reports yielded the same conclusions regarding TD sibling risk status. Methods, procedures, and resultsAmong 113 parents and TD siblings of youth with ASD, TD siblings self-reported more overall, conduct, hyperactivity, and peer problems (compared to parent reports). Although few siblings were considered at-risk, those who were identified were not usually identified as at-risk on both informants’ reports. Moreover, ASD symptoms, broader autism phenotype symptoms, parent mental health concerns, and social support from parents were all related to differences in at-risk classification between parent- and sibling self-report. Conclusions and implicationsThis paper highlights the necessity of multi-informant reporting when considering TD sibling psychological functioning. What this paper addsThis study helps to address gaps in the literature on assessment of emotional and behavioral functioning of TD siblings of youth with ASD. The results highlight the importance of utilizing both parent- and self-report when identifying TD siblings at-risk for maladjustment. Although few siblings were considered at-risk, those who were identified were not usually identified as such on both informants’ reports, and a variety of sibling- and parent-factors were associated with differences in at-risk classification. Thus, inclusion and examination of both parent- and self-report of TD sibling psychological functioning is vital for accurately identifying numbers of TD siblings at-risk of maladjustment.

Explaining parent-child (dis)agreement in generic and short stature-specific health-related quality of life reports: do family and social relationships matter?

BackgroundIn the context of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) assessment in pediatric short stature, the present study aimed to examine the levels of agreement/disagreement between parents’ and children’s reports of generic and condition-specific HrQoL, and to identify socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables associated with the extent and direction of parent-child discrepancies.MethodsThis study was part of the retest phase of the QoLISSY project, which was a multicenter study conducted simultaneously in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and UK. The sample comprised 137 dyads of children/adolescents between 8 and 18 years of age, diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or idiopathic short stature (ISS), and one of their parents. The participants completed child- and parent-reported questionnaires on generic (KIDSCREEN-10 Index) and condition-specific HrQoL (QoLISSY Core Module). Children/adolescents also reported on social support (Oslo 3-items Social Support Scale) and parents assessed the parent-child relationships (Parental Role subscale of the Social Adjustment Scale) and burden of short stature on parents (QoLISSY- additional module).ResultsThe parent-child agreement on reported HrQoL was strong (intraclass correlation coefficients between .59 and .80). The rates of parent-child discrepancies were 61.5 % for generic and 35.2 % for condition-specific HrQoL, with the parents being more prone to report lower generic (42.3 %) and condition-specific HrQoL (23.7 %) than their children. The extent of discrepancies was better explained by family and social relationships than by clinical and socio-demographic variables: poorer parent-child relationships and better children’s social support were associated with larger discrepancies in generic HrQoL, while more parental burden was associated with larger discrepancies in condition-specific HrQoL reports. Regarding the direction of discrepancies, higher parental burden was significantly associated with parents’ underrating, and better children’s social support was significantly associated with parents’ overrating of condition-specific HrQoL.ConclusionsRoutine assessment of pediatric HrQoL in healthcare and research contexts should include child- and parent-reported data as complementary sources of information, and also consider the family and social context.

Patterns and Predictors of Mother–Adolescent Discrepancies across Family Constructs

Parent-child discrepancies pervade the family literature; they appear in reports of relationship dynamics (e.g., conflict; Laursen et al. 1998), parent and child behaviors (e.g., monitoring; De Los Reyes et al. 2010), and individual family members' beliefs (e.g., parental legitimate authority; Smetana 2011). Discrepancies are developmentally normative (Steinberg 2001) but also may be indicators of relationship and adjustment problems for teens (Ohannessian 2012). Because of this variation, it is important to consider the extent to which parent-child discrepancies are a function of both the dyad and the family construct considered. The present study contributed to our understanding of informant discrepancies in family relationships by considering the patterning, consistency, and correlates of mother-adolescent discrepancies across three family constructs that vary in their objectivity. Using person-centered analyses, discrepancies in adolescents' and mothers' ratings of parents' right to know about teens' activities, mothers' knowledge of them, and positive mother-adolescents relationships were examined in 167 middle class, primarily European American mother-adolescent dyads (M teen age=15.68years, SD=.64, 53% female). Each construct was best described by three profiles, one where adolescents' standardized ratings were consistently higher than mothers', one showing the reverse, and one revealing little disagreement. Adolescent-reported problem behavior (but not depression), behavioral and psychological control, and mothers' wellbeing significantly predicted profile membership. Most dyads maintained consistent membership in a discrepancy profile across at least two family constructs. Results contribute to understanding the different sources of discrepancies in views of the family.

Parenting discrepancies in the aggregate parenting context and positive child outcomes in Chinese parent–child dyads

Although past research has corroborated the harmful effects of parent–child discrepancies in parenting on child development, they tended to either treat these discrepant effects as independent of the general and aggregate family context where both parents and children construct and share mutually, and/or seldom examined those positive child outcomes as the consequence. To fill these gaps, the present study attempted to examine effects of parent–child discrepancies in effective parenting practices on multiple positive child outcomes concomitantly, while taking the aggregate nature of effective parenting into account. The sample consists of 223 Chinese parent–child dyads, in which parents were the main caregivers and the children were aged between 14 to 21years old. Consistent with prior findings, parent–child discrepant effects were adversely related to the positive child outcomes, but these effects were found to be substantially moderated by the aggregate nature of the parenting. Implications of the findings and future research directions are also discussed.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in Reporting of Child Depression in Ethnic Groups

Although parent-child discrepant reporting of child depressive symptoms has been an issue, it is not well understood whether there are ethnic differences and what factors influence such differences. Using data from a large community-based study, our sample included 516 sixth-grade students and their parents. Results indicate that African and Asian students had greater discrepancies than European students on depressive symptoms and suicide ideation. Parenting was a significant predictor of discrepant reporting, but not parent history of depression. Future research should investigate underlying mechanisms of family factors in ethnic groups and barriers to utilization of mental health services.

Parent–Child Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Sacrifice and Achievement Motivation of Chinese Adolescents Experiencing Economic Disadvantage

Based on a sample of 275 intact Chinese families having at least one child aged 11 to 16 experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong, the relationship between parent-adolescent discrepancies in perceived parental sacrifice and adolescent achievement motivation was examined. It was found that parents and adolescents had different perceptions of parental sacrifice, with adolescents perceived lower levels of parental sacrifice than did their parents. Although the effect size of father-adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal sacrifice was greater than mother-adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal sacrifice, results indicated that mother-adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal sacrifice negatively predicted adolescent achievement motivation in poor Chinese families, whereas father-adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal sacrifice did not. The present study is the first scientific study showing that parent–child discrepancy in perceived parental sacrifice influences achievement motivation of poor Chinese adolescents, which provides insight for researchers, youth counsellors, and family practitioners to give more attention to the dyadic interactions on resource allocation among Chinese family members experiencing economic disadvantage.

Parent–child discrepancies in the assessment of children’s and adolescents’ happiness

In this study, we assessed parent–child agreement in the perception of children’s general happiness or well-being in typically developing children (10- and 11-year-olds, n=172) and adolescents (15- and 16-year-olds, n=185). Despite parent and child reporters providing internally consistent responses in the General Happiness single-item scale and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire–Short Form, their perceptions about children’s and adolescents’ general happiness did not correlate. Parents of 10- and 11-year-olds significantly overestimated children’s happiness, supporting previous literature on the parents’ positivity bias effect. However, parents of 15- and 16-year-olds showed the reverse pattern by underestimating adolescents’ happiness. Furthermore, parents’ self-reported happiness or well-being (reported 6 months later) significantly correlated with their estimations of children’s and adolescents’ happiness. Therefore, these results suggest a potential parents’ “egocentric bias” when estimating their children’s happiness. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications for research into child–parent relationships.

Parent–Child Discrepant Effects on Positive Youth Outcomes at the Aggregate Family Functioning Context in Hong Kong

Prior investigations concerning the influence of parent–child discrepancies in family functioning on child development seldom examined different family functioning components, e.g., parenting and family processes, in a single study, or they predominantly emphasized the negative side of child outcomes, e.g., delinquencies and psychological problems. What’s more, most studies considered parent–child discrepant effects independent of aggregate nature of the family dynamics under study and also did not consider any potential factors’ role in mediating the relationship. To fill in the research gap, a sample of 223 Chinese parent-youth dyads, in which the youth were mainly in their middle and late adolescence as well as young adulthood, was surveyed to examine the effects of parent–child discrepancies in family functioning in terms of effective parenting and positive family processes on the youths’ positive outcomes, i.e., self-control and other perspective taking behavior. In the current study, youth self-concept was included as a mediator, and the aggregate nature of family functioning components was taken into account. Results affirmed the adverse effects of parent–child discrepancies on the two positive youth outcomes directly or indirectly through self-concept. However, these adverse effects are found to be contingent on the aggregate family functioning. Implications and future study directions are also discussed.

Item-level informant discrepancies between children and their parents on the PROMIS(®) pediatric scales.

The study objective was to describe the individual item-level discrepancies between children ages 8-17 years and their parents for the PROMIS(®) pediatric scales. Contextual effects on item-level informant discrepancies for the pediatric pain interference items were further analyzed conditional on whether the child, the parent, or anyone else in the household experienced chronic pain. Parallel pediatric self-report and parent proxy-report items were completed by approximately 300 parent-child dyads depending on form assignment and individual nonresponse. Agreement between parent and child responses to individual items was measured using the polychoric correlation coefficient and weighted κ. The Chi-square test of symmetry was utilized for a comparison of the pattern of parent-child item discrepancies on the response scales, and the differences between the child and parent responses on the 1-5 item response scale are summarized . A continuum of higher item-level parent-child discrepancies was demonstrated starting with peer relationships, anger, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, followed by progressively lower parent-child discrepancies for energy, fatigue, asthma impact, pain interference, upper extremity, and mobility items. Parent-child discrepancies for pain interference items were lower in the context of chronic pain either in the child or in the parent. Parent-child item-level discrepancies were lower for more objective or visible items than for items measuring internal states or less observable items measuring latent variables such as peer relationships and fatigue. Future research should focus on the child and parent characteristics that influence domain-specific item-level discrepancies, and under what conditions item-level parent-child discrepancies predict child health outcomes.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in Reports of Parental Monitoring and Their Relationship to Adolescent Alcohol-Related Behaviors.

Discrepancies between parents and adolescents regarding parenting behaviors have been hypothesized to represent a deficit in the parent-child relationship and may represent unique risk factors for poor developmental outcomes. The current study examined the predictive utility of multiple methods for characterizing discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' reports of parental monitoring on youth alcohol use behaviors in order to inform future study design and predictive modeling. Data for the current study came from a prospective investigation of alcohol initiation and progression. The analyzed sample consisted of 606 adolescents (6th-8th grade; 54% female) and their parents were surveyed at baseline, with youth followed up 12months later. A series of hierarchical logistic regressions were performed for each monitoring-related construct examined (parental knowledge, parental control, parental solicitation, and child disclosure). The results showed that adolescents' reports were more closely related to outcomes than parents' reports, while greater discrepancies were frequently found to be uniquely associated with greater likelihood of alcohol use behaviors. Implications for future work incorporating parents' and adolescents' reports are discussed.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in the Assessment of Internalizing/Externalizing Behavior

This study focused on informant discrepancies in reports on internalizing/externalizing child behavior and associations with parenting dimensions. The study was based on two longitudinal samples followed from Grade 2 to 4 and from Grade 4 to 6. Internalizing/externalizing symptoms were assessed yearly by children’s self-reports and parent-proxy reports. Responsiveness and behavioral and psychological control assessed by the children and their parents were included as parenting dimensions. Child reports on symptoms were higher than parent-proxy reports. Regarding internalizing symptoms, the discrepancies decreased with children’s age. Relations to parenting were shown mainly for psychological control. If parents perceive themselves as psychologically controlling, the discrepancies are smaller, while discrepancies are larger when children perceive their parents as psychologically controlling. Psychologically controlling parents may have a strong focus on the behavior of their children, leading to a stronger agreement between child reports and parent-proxy reports. Children, however, may report more problem behavior if they feel themselves to be under close observation by their parents.

Parent–Child Discrepancies in Educational Expectations: Differential Effects of Actual Versus Perceived Discrepancies

This study explored how discrepancies between parents' and adolescents' educational expectations influenced adolescents' achievement using a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of 14,041 students (14 years old at baseline). Actual discrepancies (i.e., those between parents' and adolescents' actual educational expectations) and perceived discrepancies (i.e., those between adolescents' perceptions of their parents' educational expectations and adolescents' own) were examined. Achievement was higher when parents actually held higher expectations than adolescents held or when adolescents perceived that their parents' expectations were lower than their own. In contrast, achievement was lower when parents actually held lower expectations than adolescents held or when adolescents believed that their parents' expectations exceeded their own. Implications for identifying adolescents at risk and promoting adaptive parent-child educational expectations are discussed.

Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Perceived Parenting Characteristics and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes in Poor Chinese Families

We examined the relationships between parent–adolescent discrepancies in perceived parenting characteristics (indexed by parental responsiveness, parental demandingness, and parental control) and adolescent developmental outcomes (indexed by achievement motivation and psychological competence) in poor families in Hong Kong. A sample of 275 intact families having at least one child aged 11–16 experiencing economic disadvantage were invited to participate in the study. Fathers and mothers completed the Parenting Style Scale and Chinese Parental Control Scale, and adolescents completed the Social-Oriented Achievement Motivation Scale and Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale in addition to paternal and maternal Parenting Style Scale and Chinese Parental Control Scale. Results indicated that parents and adolescents had different perceptions of parental responsiveness, parental demandingness, and paternal control, with adolescents generally perceived lower levels of parenting behaviors than did their parents. While father–adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal responsiveness and mother–adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal control negatively predicted adolescent achievement motivation, mother–adolescent discrepancy in perceptions of maternal responsiveness negatively predicted psychological competence in adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage. The present findings provided support that parent–child discrepancies in perceived parenting characteristics have negative impacts on the developmental outcomes of adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage. The present study addresses parent–child discrepancies in perceived parental behaviors as “legitimate” constructs, and explores their links with adolescent psychosocial development, which sheds light for researchers and clinical practitioners in helping the Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage.

Family Versus Individual Therapy: Impact On Discrepancies Between Parents’ And Adolescents’ Perceptions Over Time

This study examined the degree of disagreement between runaway adolescents and their primary caretakers, defined as informant discrepancies, on their view of their family. How these discrepancies changed over time and whether family therapy or individual therapy could impact that change were also explored. The current sample (N = 179 dyads) included adolescent substance abusers residing in a runaway shelter and their primary caretakers. Adolescent gender was examined as a correlate of change, and treatment attendance was controlled. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to measure discrepancies between the individuals within a dyad. Results showed that among those receiving family therapy, but not individual therapy, informant discrepancies decreased significantly over time. Additionally, dyads with a male adolescent showed a significantly slower rate of improvement in discrepancy scores across time compared with dyads with a female adolescent. Previous research indicates that lower levels of discrepant perceptions are associated with better individual and relationship functioning. Therefore, this study’s findings support family therapy as superior to individual therapy for addressing parent–child discrepancies––possibly through its focus on improving family communication, perspective taking, and understanding.

Parent–Child Discrepancies in Report of Psychopathology: The Contributions of Response Bias and Parenting Stress

This study explored the associations between response-bias features, parenting stress, and parent–child discrepancies in self-report and parent ratings of psychopathology in a sample of 153 preadolescents from an inpatient psychiatric setting. Correlational and multiple regression analyses utilized combinations of dissimulation (FB) and defensiveness (DEF) validity scales from the Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY; Lachar & Gruber, 1995) and Personality Inventory for Children (PIC–2; Lachar & Gruber, 2001) and components from Abidin's (1995) Parenting Stress Index (PSI) to predict normalized parent–child discrepancies between the PIY/PIC–2 clinical scales. Response-bias features were significantly associated with hypothesized patterns of under- and overreporting and accounted for most of the variance in parent–child discrepancies. Although child stress components of the PSI demonstrated a generalized pattern of moderate relationships with parent–child discrepancies, parent stress components demonstrated a weaker and more specific pattern of relationships.

The Relations among Measurements of Informant Discrepancies within a Multisite Trial of Treatments for Childhood Social Phobia

Discrepancies between informants' reports of children's behavior are robustly observed in clinical child research and have important implications for interpreting the outcomes of controlled treatment trials. However, little is known about the basic psychometric properties of these discrepancies. This study examined the relation between parent-child reporting discrepancies on measures of child social phobia symptoms, administered before and after treatment for social phobia. Participants included a clinic sample of 81 children (7-16 years old [M = 11.75, SD = 2.57]; 39 girls, 42 boys) and their parents receiving treatment as part of a multisite controlled trial. Pretreatment parent-child reporting discrepancies predicted parent-child discrepancies at posttreatment, and these relations were not better accounted for by the severity of the child's pretreatment primary diagnosis. Further, treatment responder status moderated this relation: Significant relations were identified for treatment non-responders and not for treatment responders. Overall, findings suggest that informant discrepancies can be reliably employed to measure individual differences over the course of controlled treatment trials. These data provide additional empirical support for recent work suggesting that informant discrepancies can meaningfully inform understanding of treatment response as well as variability in treatment outcomes.

Predictive Value of Informant Discrepancies in Reports of Parenting: Relations to Early Adolescents’ Adjustment

Research has demonstrated a lack of agreement between parent and child reports across a range of parent and child variables. These discrepancies hinder the interpretation of research findings as well as diagnostic and treatment decisions in clinical practice. The current study examined the hypothesis that discrepancies between parent and child reports of parenting can be useful as predictors of future child outcomes. The participants included 559 early adolescents and their primary caregivers (79% African American, 21% Caucasian). Both respondents provided information on parental nurturance, harsh discipline and inconsistent discipline. A year later, information of adolescents' internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and social competence was collected. Structural equation modeling revealed that parent-child discrepancies in parenting reports could be explained by a latent factor which was a significant predictor of child internalizing problems and social competence, but not of externalizing problems, after adjusting for initial internalizing and externalizing problems. The three models applied across gender and ethnicity.