Background. Parenting plays an important role in the development of adolescent’s emotion regulation (ER). Parental psychological control (PC) is negatively and parental autonomy support (AS) is...Show moreBackground. Parenting plays an important role in the development of adolescent’s emotion regulation (ER). Parental psychological control (PC) is negatively and parental autonomy support (AS) is positively linked to adolescent ER. Impaired ER has been linked to internalizing- and externalizing problems. Parenting is usually examined trough observation or trough self-report methods, but these methods are not interchangeable. Research question. Is adolescent-perceived or observed parenting more important for ER in adolescents, while controlling for depression? Method. In this cross-sectional and multi-method study, 35 depressed and 80 control adolescents (11-17 years) reported on perceived parental PC and AS using the Parental Bonding Inventory and their own behavioral ER using the Children's Emotion Management Scale. Parental PC and AS was observed and scored on the Problem-solving Interaction task. A multiple regression analysis was used. Results. Depressed adolescents showed significantly lower adaptive ER. There were no significant results for adolescent-perceived and observed PC and AS in relation to ER. For the interaction effect of group status with autonomy support, parental support, and ER, no significant results were found. A trend effect was found for the moderating effect between depression and adolescent-perceived PC. Conclusions. Depressed adolescents showed significantly lower adaptive ER, demonstrating the need for ER focused interventions. For teens in middle adolescence, PC and AS parenting did not have a significant effect on their ER. Lastly, when depressed adolescents experienced their parents as more psychologically controlling, they had more difficulty with their ER, highlighting the potential benefit of cognitive behavioral therapy.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
under embargo until 2024-08-01
2024-08-01T00:00:00Z
Causal beliefs about depression can shape patient behavior and treatment adherence and in the case of adolescent depression, causal beliefs of both depressed adolescents and their parents seem to...Show moreCausal beliefs about depression can shape patient behavior and treatment adherence and in the case of adolescent depression, causal beliefs of both depressed adolescents and their parents seem to be of equal importance. In this mixed-method study, we aimed to 1) qualitatively identify the causal beliefs of depression reported by clinically referred adolescents and their parents, and examine the discrepancies between mother-child and father-child pairs and to 2) quantitatively assess the relationship between these discrepancies and adolescent depression severity, and investigate whether this relationship was moderated by the adolescent’s attachment security with their parents. As part of the RE-PAIR project, a total of 34 adolescents, 34 mothers, and 26 fathers participated in interviews and completed questionnaires. The interview data was analyzed using thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti, and hierarchical regression analysis in SPSS was conducted to test the moderation hypothesis. The results revealed a total of 12 distinct causal beliefs, centered around relational issues, stressful family context, and inherent characteristics of the adolescent. We found high discrepancy levels (i.e. low agreement: 0-54%) between the reports of adolescents and their parents regarding these beliefs. However, these high discrepancies did not significantly relate to the severity of adolescent depression. While this study was the first to examine both adolescent and parental causal beliefs in a discrepancy-depression framework, further research is needed to understand the impact of discrepant perspectives on treatment outcomes and to explore the level of parental insight and understanding (e.g. good communication/ attachment security) for their adolescents’ perspective, despite differing views.Show less
This study examines the discrepancy between self-reports and parent-reports on adolescent depression severity and the relation and severity between this discrepancy and the child characteristics ...Show moreThis study examines the discrepancy between self-reports and parent-reports on adolescent depression severity and the relation and severity between this discrepancy and the child characteristics (externalizing behaviour and drug abuse) and the parent characteristics (depression of the parent and parental bonding). Depressed adolescents (N = 35, mean age= 15.60, 80% female) scored a mean of 19.97 on the patient health questionnaire (PHQ). Parents scored significantly lower with a mean of 12.09 by mothers (N=34) and 11.59 by fathers (N=27) on the PHQ filled in about their child. Of the parents 87% underestimated the depression severity of their child. Based on the distribution of the difference in scores of parents and adolescent, the sample was divided into two groups, a group with discrepancy of ten or lower (N=36) and a group with discrepancy of higher than ten (N=26). Adolescents from the high discrepancy group reported significantly more other drug use (p = .044) and lower parental care on the parental bonding instrument (PBI) (p = .029) compared to the small-moderate discrepancy group. For the remaining variables (externalizing behaviour, marihuana use, parental depression, parental autonomy and parental overprotection) no significant differences were found. The results clearly show underreporting scores of parents on adolescent depression severity and a possible link with drug use and parental care. Possibly, depressed adolescents do not feel understood by their parents and do not get the help they need. More research is needed to further discover potential influences on this discrepancy.Show less
