Parenting Practices and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Moderating Effects of Socially Demanding Kin Relations

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2012-06, Vol.21 (3), p.474-485
• Main Authors: Taylor, Ronald D., Lopez, Elizabeth I., Budescu, Mia, McGill, Rebecca Kang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjustment; Adolescence; Adolescents; Affective Behavior; African Americans; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Child Rearing; Comparative Analysis; Correlation; Depression (Psychology); Economically Disadvantaged; Emotional Adjustment; Emotions; Externalizing behaviour; Externalizing problems; Factor analysis; Families & family life; Family (Sociological Unit); Family Relationship; Family studies; Internalization; Internalizing problems; Interpersonal Relationship; Kinship; Mental Health; Mothers; Original Paper; Parent-child relations; Parenting; Parenting Styles; Parents; Psychology; Resistance (Psychology); Social Control; Social psychology; Social Sciences; Socioeconomic factors; Sociology; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Teenagers; U.S.A; Well Being
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-011-9501-0

Association of socially demanding kin relations, mother’s emotional support, behavioral control/monitoring, family organization and psychological control with adolescent’s internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed in 200 economically disadvantaged, African American mothers and adolescents. Demanding kin relations and mother’s psychological control were positively associated with adolescent’s internalizing problems. Demanding kin relations also moderated the association of control/monitoring, family organization, and psychological control, with internalizing. For mothers with more demanding kin relations, increased control/monitoring was associated with increased adolescent internalizing. In comparison, increased control/monitoring was associated with decreased adolescent internalizing for mothers with less demanding kin relations. Negative association of family organization with internalizing was more apparent for mothers with more compared to less demanding kin relations. Positive association of mother’s psychological control with internalizing was more apparent for mothers with more compared to less socially demanding kin relations. Demanding kin relations and mother’s psychological control were positively associated with adolescent’s externalizing problems. Mother’s emotional support and family organization were negatively associated with externalizing. Also, negative association of family organization with externalizing was more apparent for families with more compared to less demanding kin relations. The need for research on the factors associated with negative relation with kin was discussed.