ABSTRACT
Parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) are developmental and multiply determined. However, longitudinal studies on the development patterns of ERSBs and their antecedents, especially for Chinese fathers, are scarce. This study examined the longitudinal trajectories of Chinese fathers' ERSBs during early adolescence and whether they are influenced by the father (depressive symptoms and emotion dysregulation) and adolescent factors (depressive symptoms and emotional intelligence). We used 4-year, self-reported, survey-based data from Chinese early adolescents (46.70% girls, Mage at Wave 1 = 10.26 years, SD = 0.33) and their fathers (Mage at Wave 1 = 40.36 years, SD = 4.22), and data analyses were conducted using unconditional and conditional latent growth model (N = 1061 at Wave 1). The results revealed an increase in the father's supportive and non-supportive ERSBs over 4 years. Furthermore, father's depression symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and adolescent's depression symptoms can predict paternal supportive ERSBs' trajectories, while only the father's depression symptoms and emotion dysregulation can predict the change in non-supportive ERSBs. The findings give a holistic picture of the developmental trajectories of paternal ERSBs during early adolescence, and highlight the importance of accounting for differences in father and adolescent factors in understanding changes in parental ERSBs during this critical developmental period.
ABSTRACT
Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is important for parenting and child development. To effectively assess PRF in Chinese parents, this study aimed to revise the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) for the Chinese context. The original Chinese version of the PRFQ (PRFQ-C) was revised by following psychometric validation procedures in a sample of Chinese parents (N = 2,021, 1,034 mothers and 987 fathers). A series of psychometric analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency reliability analysis, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity analysis, and analysis for measurement invariance between mothers and fathers, were conducted. The CFA results indicated that the final 12-item, three-factor model had a good fit {χ 2(49) = 472.381; CFI = 0.929; TLI = 0.904; RMSEA = 0.065, 90%CI = [0.060, 0.071]}. The Chinese version of the PRFQ with 12 items (PRFQ-12C) showed satisfactory reliability (omega = 0.68-0.82), discriminant validity [heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) values < 0.85], and criterion-related validity. The PRFQ-12C also had measurement invariance across mothers and fathers. In conclusion, the PRFQ-12C is psychometrically sound and can be applied in China.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a period when adolescents seek autonomy and parent-adolescent conflict appears inevitable. Even though some research found that parental psychological control triggered parent-adolescent conflict, studies clarifying the directionality of effects at the within-family level are scarce. This study investigated the longitudinal relations between parental psychological control and parent-adolescent conflict using a traditional cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and the random-intercept CLPM (RI-CLPM) framework. METHODS: Data from 2473 Chinese adolescents (Mage Time1 = 13.20 years, standard deviation = 0.52 years; 51.4% male) were collected via a cross-sectional survey across three time points. Adolescents reported on parental psychological control, parent-adolescent conflict, and demographic characteristics at each time point. CLPM and RI-CLPM were utilized. RESULTS: The results from the CLPM analyses suggested a reciprocal effects model. However, the results from the RI-CLPM framework supported a conflict-driven model at the within-family level, wherein if parent-adolescent conflict increased, subsequent parental psychological control would increase as a result. The reverse pattern was not observed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the maladaptive processes of parent-adolescent conflict that shape parental psychologically controlling behaviors in Chinese families at the within-family level. Practical implications, including how to assist Chinese parents to address parent-adolescent conflict and to reduce psychological control, are discussed.
Subject(s)
Parent-Child Relations , Parents , Adolescent , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
This study investigated the characteristics and development of peer support networks in an effort to unravel the role of friendship in this developmental process. The relationships between friendship networks and peer support networks were explored, and the influence of dyadic and triadic friendships on the development of peer support relationships was examined. Two waves of data were collected among a sample of adolescents in six Chinese junior high schools (n = 913 students from 28 classrooms; mean age = 14.13 years; 50.49% boys), and classroom friendship networks and peer support networks were analyzed. The results showed that peer support networks were sparse, hierarchical, and sex-segregated. Furthermore, peer support networks and friendship networks partially overlapped. Friends tended to have similar support-seeking and support-providing ties. Longitudinal multiplex social network analysis revealed that peer support networks changed moderately over time, and friendships played various roles in the development of peer support networks. Dyadic friendships improved the formation of peer support ties. A mutual friend improved the formation of support relationships between two students when the mutual friend chose the two students as friends, but a mutual friend also hindered or had no effects on the formation of support relationships in other cases. The implications for educators to improve peer support networks are presented, and directions for future research are discussed.
