This study examined the effects of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) on affection, communication, and relationship between elderly parents and their assisting adult children. Twenty-eight pairs of parents and children were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects took Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire as pre-, post-, and follow-up tests. Parents and children in the treatment groups attended a four-session STEP workshop. No significant differences were found on the 2 x 2 analysis of variance for repeated measures for the parents or adult children. Quinn's affection and relationship variables approached significance for the parents over time. His variable affection approached significance for the children over time, irrespective of group. Agreement approached significance for children in the treatment group. The results for the parents regarding affection suggest that the study may have emphasized their feelings of trust. Although the data for relationship approached significance, it was negative, indicating that parents in the treatment group may have reduced their interaction with their assisting children perhaps because they were learning new communication skills. The data for the children regarding affection approached significance, but it was negative, suggesting they felt free to question their feelings about themselves and their parents. The results for children in the treatment group regarding agreement may suggest that the study increased their awareness of areas of agreement with their parents. When the data for parents and children were compared, communication approached significance for the parents; that is, they felt more comfortable with their communication with their children than did their children. The variables affection and perception showed significance. The elderly parents perceived their relationship with their children more positively than did their children. Absence of statistically significant data may be explained because Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire was not sensitive enough. Analysis of covariance might have identified significant findings. Increasing the number of participants and informing them of the purpose of the study might also affect a repeated study.

Divorce creates significant stress that can have an impact on parent-child relationship satisfaction. Past researchers have indicated that in times of high stress, parents may not be available for their children due to their personal issues. Attachment theory demonstrates the importance of the parent-child bond for the child as he or she matures, so this bond needs to be protected. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine the predictive relationship between parental stress as measured by the Parenting Stress Index, 4th Edition, Short Form (PSI-4-SF) and the parent-child relationship satisfaction as measured by the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) following a separation or divorce. A sample of 17 recently separated or divorced, custodial mothers who had at least one child between the ages 5-13 years were recruited through local schools and the Walden Participant Pool. They completed the PSI-4-SF, the PCRI, and a demographics questionnaire. A correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between parental stress and the level of parent-child relationship satisfaction, which was found to possess a significant negative relationship. Multiple regression analyses were then conducted, but neither child gender or child age influenced this relationship between parental stress and parent-child relationship satisfaction. However, mothers did report higher parent-child relationship satisfaction when their child was male. This study has a small sample size, so results do need to be approached with caution. This knowledge of which families may be most at risk for increased stress may promote positive social change by providing professionals insight into which families may be most in need to learn stress control and management to help protect the parent-child relationship.

abstract: Mood disorders are highly prevalent, especially in adolescent populations. One potential cause of the widespread nature of these disorders is the formation of stigma around emotionality. Emotion research, while extensive, has not expanded to capture how a parent’s emotion regulation and expression may lead to stigmatized behaviors in their child affecting that child’s mental health into adulthood. The current thesis aimed to investigate the relevance of this novel concept – emotionality stigma – in the relationship between parental emotionality and adult-child mental health. Using social learning theory, parental emotionality was predicted to influence a child’s emotionality into adulthood. Specifically, this thesis investigated if parental emotion over- and under-expression (dysregulation) would influence adult-children to perceive a stigma around emotionality leading to worse mental health, whereas well-regulated parental emotion expression would relate to adult-child emotional intelligence, leading to better mental health. Moreover, it was predicted that these relationships would differ depending on parent and child gender. To examine these ideas, data was collected from 1,136 college and community individuals through a university survey system and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Using a combination of linear regression, PROCESS, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) models, the results supported the proposed hypotheses. As predicted, parental dysregulation in childhood predicted impaired adult-child mental health, whereas parental regulation in childhood predicted lower levels of adult-child depression and anxiety. Additionally, emotionality stigma and emotional intelligence partially mediated the relationship between parental emotionality and adult-child mental health. Furthermore, results showed interesting gender differences; male participants were more impacted by both maternal and paternal emotionality as compared to female participants. These findings not only build on emotion research, but also have numerous applications in practice including improving parenting classes and family therapy interventions. This study is the first to explore the role of parental emotionality on adult-child mental health through stigma and emotional intelligence. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2019

abstract: Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Cooley’s (1902) “looking-glass self” model, the current study examined how affective dimensions of parenting in adolescence contribute to psychopathology in early adulthood through the mediating mechanism of authenticity – one’s level of comfort with being oneself. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), a three-class solution was identified, classifying inadequate, adequate, and optimal profiles of parenting in adolescence. Class membership was used in a multilevel mediation structural equation model to examine longitudinal links with authenticity and psychopathology (e.g., internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse disorders) in early adulthood. Results demonstrated that optimal compared to inadequate parent-adolescent relationship quality was directly linked to higher levels of authenticity, which in turn, was directly linked to lower levels of all forms of psychopathology in early adulthood. Results also indicated that authenticity fully mediated the link between profiles of parent-adolescent relationship quality (e.g., grade 12) and internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse disorders in early adulthood (e.g., four years post-college). In conclusion, the current study demonstrated the influence of affective dimensions of parenting profiles in adolescence on the development of psychopathology in early adulthood via the mediating mechanism of authenticity. Moreover, findings from the current study suggest that authenticity is a critical feature shared in common among various forms of psychopathology. Finally, clinical implications are discussed regarding the potential effectiveness of evidence-based psychotherapies aimed at the promotion of authenticity as a mechanism for improving mental health and well-being. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2021

No description available.

Eating and feeding are skills learned in early childhood that are important to human survival. These activities are complex and require physical, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral skills. Understanding the nature of picky eating and addressing it in this essential developmental period is critical to establishing healthy eating habits that persist into adulthood. Educating and equipping parents and caregivers with the tools they need to support their child will create healthy, sustainable eating habits. Picky eating is a concern for parents of children at all developmental stages that is frequently associated with parent stress and mealtime disruptions. Researchers often refer to picky eating as a passing childhood phase; however, clinical studies and longitudinal results indicate that picky eating could persist into adulthood and cause obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and respiratory problems. Three main factors cause picky eating: the child, the caregiver, and the mealtime climate. Together in Every Bite is a virtual hands-on parent education program that aims to educate parents and caregivers to establish healthy habits around mealtime and decrease picky eating behavior in children in their early developmental stages (6-24 months) and decrease mealtime stress and anxiety. Caregivers will engage in problem-solving and plan-building activities coinciding with the learned material, developing their self-efficacy and confidence while reducing stress and anxiety. The program director will also distribute valuable information provided through this platform to health professionals who work with parents of infants. This paper outlines the relevant literature and theory, and the evaluation, funding, and dissemination plans for Together in Every Bite.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka föräldraförmågans (parental self-efficacy) dimensioner i förhållande till den självupplevda föräldrabarnrelationen. Undersökningen genomfördes som en tvärsnittsstudie av kvantitativ design med 151 deltagare. Deltagarna rekryterades på sociala medier och besvarade en digital enkät. För att analysera data användes det statistiska programmet SPSS. Dataanalys visade att samtliga dimensioner av föräldraförmågan i mätinstrumentet TOPSE korrelerade positivt med responsvariabeln föräldrabarnrelationen. Det innebär att ju högre den subjektivt upplevda föräldraförmågan är, desto bättre relation upplever föräldrarna till sina barn. Empati och förståelse var den starkaste prediktorn av föräldrabarnrelationen följt av kontroll, känslor och tillgivenhet samt social press. Denna studie visar att den subjektivt upplevda föräldraförmågan, mätt genom de åtta dimensionerna av TOPSE-mätinstrumentet, är en viktig prediktor för den självupplevda föräldrabarnrelationen. / This study examines the relationship between dimensions of parental self-efficacy in relation to the subjectively perceived parent-child relationship. The survey was conducted as a cross-sectional study of quantitative design with 151 participants, parents of children 0-6 years. Participants were recruited on social media and answered a digital survey. The statistical program SPSS was used to analyze the data. Dataanalysis showed that all eight dimensions in the parental self-efficacy measuring instrument TOPSE correlated positively with the response variable parent-childrelationship. This means that the higher the self-perceived parental self-efficacy is, the better relationship parents experience with their children. Empathy and understanding were the strongest predictors, followed by control, emotion and affection, and social pressure. This study shows that parental self-efficacy, measured through the eight dimensions of the TOPSE measuring instrument, is an important predictor of the subjectively experienced parent-child relationship.

No description available.

Grow Up is a collection of five short stories that explore the parentification of bourgeois youth and the concerns of growing up in a postmodern, performative culture. The characters are faced with circular situations where the causality of their feelings and actions are often obscured or scattered. Special attention is given to identity through emotion and perception where youth react against the marginalization, homogenization, or the commoditization of their experience. The stories also attempt to describe the condition of neglected youth in social situations and environments that are polarized, paradoxical, and fractured because of isolation among their many parts. The fictional characters and their environment raise the question as to whether their environment is anachronistic in its attitudes and approaches to youth and their relations, or whether youth today is becoming anachronistic in itself.

The study investigated the relationships between perceived contingency of parental rewarding and punishing behaviors and locus. of control. Scores on Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales were correlated with scores on Yates, Kennelly, and Cox's (1975) Perceived Contingency of Rewards and Punishments Questionnaire. Few significant correlations were obtained. Maternal non-contingent reward related negatively and significantly to internality for males. Paternal non-contingent reward related positively and significantly to males' perception of control by powerful others. And paternal contingent reward related negatively and significantly to females' perceptions of control by chance. Results are discussed relative to learned helplessness research interpretations.