Associations between Developmental Patterns of Parent Negativity and Emotion Regulation with Externalizing Symptoms, and Health Risk Behaviors

• In Event: Parental and Peer Influences on Adolescent Risk Taking

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that negative parenting (characterized by high levels of psychological control, and negative emotionality) is detrimental to healthy development of emotion regulation (ER) in adolescence (Buckholdt et al., 2014; Cui, Morris, Criss, Houltberg, & Silk, 2014; Luebbe, Bump, Fussner & Rulon, 2014; Walton & Flouri, 2010). However, these studies are limited by a cross-sectional design, leaving a gap in our understanding of how changes in parenting may be associated with continued development of ER during adolescence. Moreover, considering the close link between ER and adjustment outcomes (Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schweizer, 2010), maladaptive ER development may increase risk for a number of deleterious outcomes, including externalizing symptoms and risk taking (Berking & Wupperman, 2012). The present study sought to clarify developmental trajectories between negative parenting and ER during adolescence and elucidate their links to risk taking (i.e., health risk behaviors; HRBs) in early adulthood.

The current sample included 167 adolescents (53% males). Adolescents were 13 or 14 years of age at Time 1 and seen five times (annually for four years with an additional year gap between Time 4 and Time 5; 18-19 years of age at Time 5).

All variables were measured by adolescent self-report. Negative parenting was assessed via the Parent-Child Relationship Scale (Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992); ER was assessed via the Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields, & Cicchetti, 2001); Externalizing symptoms were assessed via the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001); and HRBs were assessed via several questionnaires. The HRB composite was created to fit with the CDC (2015) definition of HRBs in adolescents and includes 1) risk-taking behaviors contributing to unintentional injuries and violence, 2) sexual behaviors contributing to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, 3) alcohol and other drug use, 4) tobacco use, 5) unhealthy dietary behaviors, and 6) inadequate physical activity.

Growth mixture modeling identified two distinct classes of adolescent reported negative parenting. The two classes were characterized as (1) normative, decreasing (n = 140) and (2) at-risk, increasing (n = 27). Next, we considered whether adolescents’ negative parenting trajectory predicted their HRBs via their ER development and externalizing symptoms. Findings include that negative parenting trajectory predicted ER slope such that those in the at-risk increasing class saw decreases in ER abilities overtime. ER development then predicted externalizing symptoms at Time 4 such that poorer ER was associated with high externalizing symptoms. Finally, externalizing symptoms at Time 4 predicted HRBs at Time 5, indicating that high externalizing symptoms are associated with higher HRBs over time. The indirect effect of negative parenting on HRBs via ER slope and externalizing symptoms as sequential mediators was significant (b = 0.19, SE = 0.09, 95% CI [0.02, 0.16], b* = 0.08).

The present study demonstrates important developmental pathways that explain how differences in negative parenting during adolescence can increase risk for maladjustment outcomes. Notably, results highlight that negative parenting may influence ER development—a skill critical to healthy development—during adolescence with implications for risk-taking behaviors (including externalizing symptoms and HRBs) in late adolescence through young adulthood.

Authors

• Toria Herd, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Presenting Author

• Brooks King-Casas, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jungmeen Kim-Spoon, Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author