Poster #83 - Associations between parental psychopathology and child disruptive behaviors in justice-involved families: role of parenting

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

Children of parents with a history of delinquency are at higher risk of disruptive behaviors (Whitten et al., 2019). Delinquent behaviors during adolescence tend to have a snowball effect which results in many risk factors in adulthood (Thornberry, 2009), one of which is mental health difficulties (Teplin et al., 2002). Studies conducted in the general population have shown that parents with mental health problems, particularly depression (Lovejoy et al., 2000) and disruptive/antisocial behaviors (Tzoumakis et al., 2015) tend to have suboptimal parenting practices (Patterson, 2002), which could contribute to children’s socioemotional difficulties.

This study aims to better understand the parenting practices of parents with a history of detention during adolescence. The first aim is to examine if these parents' psychopathologies during adolescence and adulthood are associated with their children’s disruptive behaviors. The second aim is to test parenting practices as a mediator of these associations (see Figure 1).

The Raising Our Children’s study includes 96 parents (70% mothers) who were detained in adolescence and participated in the Northwestern Juvenile Project (NJP). As part of the NJP, parents were assessed several times for disruptive behavior disorders and depression during adolescence with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule Version IV (DIS-IV; Shaffer et al., 2000). When their child was on average 5 years old (range 3 to 7 years; 46% girls), we measured parenting practices (harsh parenting, positive engagement, and inappropriate discipline) and children’s disruptive behaviors with a combination of direct observations and parent-report questionnaires. We used the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self-Report (QIDS-SR; Rush et al., 1996) to assess current depressive symptoms and asked about forty types of antisocial behavior (e.g., stealing, driving offences, drug trafficking, physical assaults, etc.) since their children’s birth.

We tested mediation models whereby parenting practices mediated the relationship between parents’ adolescent and current depression and disruptive/antisocial behavior, using a structural equation modelling (SEM) framework, and controlling for children’s age and sex, parents’ sex, education, and income sufficiency. Results (Table 1) showed that only current depression predicted children’s disruptive behaviors (B = 0.135, p = 0.006). Parents’ disruptive behavior disorder history did not predict parenting practices, while adolescent depression predicted inappropriate discipline (B = 16.787, p = 0.014). For current psychopathologies, depression (B = 0.094, p = 0.001) and antisocial behavior (B = 0.123, p = 0.030) were both associated with one type of parenting practices, harsh discipline. Parenting practices were not associated with children’s disruptive behaviors, nor did they moderate the association between psychopathologies and child’s disruptive behaviors.

Findings indicate that, among families with a parental history of justice involvement, the severity of parents’ adolescent or adult disruptive/antisocial behaviors does not predict child disruptive behavior problems, at least not during the school transition period. However, as in the general population, current depressive symptoms are associated with child disruptive behavior problems. Current depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior are also associated with harsh parenting, creating a higher-risk environment for the child more generally.

Authors

• Marjorie Simard, Laval University
  Presenting Author

• Yohann Courtemanche

• Amelie Petitclerc, Laval University