NCJ Number
215386
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 491-505
Date Published
August 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the relationships between maternal and paternal parenting processes and measures of internalizing behaviors, symptoms of anxiety and depression, operated similarly or differently across different cultural contexts and developmental periods.
Abstract
Evidence was found that the patterns of associations between individual parenting processes and measures of internalizing behaviors were highly similar across cultural contexts. The best two predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms across countries were parental support and conflict. Both maternal and paternal support was negatively associated with measures of internalizing behaviors. The results suggest that youth who experience tension with parents and who may be exposed to excessive levels of coercive interactions more generally, are at risk for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results also provide consistent evidence across contexts that key parenting processes are more important than others in understanding internalizing behaviors. Lastly, comparisons across developmental periods only indicated differences in the effects of perceived maternal conflict both for anxiety and depression symptoms, where maternal conflict was more highly associated with internalizing behaviors in middle adolescents than in late adolescents. This study examined the cultural and developmental significance of maternal and paternal parenting processes for measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of 8,417 middle and late adolescents from the countries of Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. In addition, the study examined the importance of closeness, support, monitoring, communication, conflict, and peer approval in explaining anxiety and depression. Tables, references