Puberty Moderates Effects of the Parent-Child Relationship on Adolescents’ Internalizing Symptoms

1. Puberty Moderates Effects of the Parent-Child Relationship on Adolescents’ Internalizing Symptoms Meredith A. Henry and Sylvie Mrug University of Alabama at Birmingham Introduction Measures (cont.) Results (cont.) • Early timing and faster tempo of pubertal development are risk factors for • internalizing and externalizing problems (Marceau et al., 2001). • Parenting and parent-child relationship quality play important roles in both • internalizing and externalizing problems (Gaertner, Fite, & Colder, 2010). • For instance, controlling parenting contributes to internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence, while warmth/nurturance, respect for autonomy, and other positive strategies are linked with better psychosocial health (Bayer et al, 2006). • Early pubertal timing increases adolescents’ susceptibility to negative • environmental influences such as poor parenting. • Specifically, harsh/inconsistent parental discipline has been linked to • increased externalizing problems in early maturers (Ge et al., 2002). • It is unknown whether pubertal timing moderates the role of parenting • in internalizing symptoms. • Additionally, no studies investigated pubertal tempo as a moderator of • environmental influences on adolescent development. • Previous studies of puberty and parenting relied on child and parent reports • of parenting; it is important to include more objective measures. • The purpose of the current study is to examine whether pubertal timing and tempo moderate prospective effects of the parent-child relationship on internalizing problems in adolescence. • Pubertal development: • Trained nurses assessed children’s pubertal development through 5 • Tanner stages of pubic hair and breast/penis and scrotum development • annually from ages 9 through 15. • Pubertal timing and tempo were estimated for each child from logistic • growth curves of Tanner stage progression over time. • Pubertal timing indicates the predicted age at which an individual will • achieve Tanner Stage 3. • Pubertal tempo indicates the speed with which an individual progresses • from Stage 1 to Stage 5 (reported as stages completed per year). β=.002 β=.14 β=-.68* β=-.38* Data Analysis • Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were performed in SPSS. • Separate analyses were conducted for each parenting factor. • Child and mother reports of age 15 internalizing problems served as • dependent variables. • Step 1: Internalizing symptoms at Grade 5, SES, Ethnicity, Gender, Pubertal Timing, Pubertal Rate, Parenting Factor • Step 2: Time*Parenting Factor, Rate*Parenting Factor • Significant interactions were followed up with simple slope analyses. Discussion • In summary, positive parent-child relationship factors appear to be more • protective against internalizing distress for late maturers. • One possible explanation for this finding may be the shift from parent to • peer orientation which occurs in adolescence, which may make peers more • influential and parents less so. • Indeed, early maturers appear more influenced by peers than their slower • maturing counterparts (Ferguson et al., 2007; Felson & Haynie, 2002). • Thus, protective effects of positive parent-child relationships may be more • prominent in adolescents with later pubertal timing. • It is unclear why observations of the parent-child relationship did not relate • to youths’ own reports of internalizing problems. However, the disconnect • between maternal and child reports of internalizing symptoms is consistent • with other research (Achenbach et al., 1987). • Perhaps adolescents’ feelings regarding internalizing symptoms in middle • adolescence are more dependent on peer relationships than past • parent-child relationship quality. • A notable strength of this study is the use of objective assessment • of parent-child relationship factors, rather than parent- or child-report • measures. However, it is possible that a child’s perception of interactions • with parents is more critical than the objective reality of those interactions in • the development of internalizing symptoms. • Finally, this study provided a limited snapshot of parent-child interactions, • assessing them only once in preadolescence. The parent-child relationship • changes throughout puberty and adolescence (Laursen, Coy, & Collins, • 1998), which may have attenuated the effects of age 11 parent-child • factors. Future research may benefit from incorporating multiple • assessments of parent-child interactions throughout adolescence. Results Participants • Descriptive Statistics: • Adolescents reached Tanner stage 3 at mean age 12.43 (SD=.93). • On average, they completed 1.06 stages a year (SD=.19). • Positive parent-child relationship factors were rated highly (M = 4.28 to • 5.16) and had sufficient variability (SD = .90 to 1.21). • The only negative factor, hostility, was rated very low (M=1.59, SD=.87). • Internalizing problems were generally low. • Mother-reported Internalizing at age 11: M=5.28, SD=5.15 • Mother-reported Internalizing at age 15: M=5.18, SD=5.29 • Child-reported Internalizing at age 15: M=9.78, SD=7.58 • Correlations: • Maternal hostility was negatively associated with the other parenting • factors (r =-.25 to -.65, p<.01). • All other parenting factors were positively related to one another • (r = .21 to .78, p<.01). • Early pubertal timing was related to slower pubertal tempo (r=.15, p<.05). • Mother- and child-reported internalizing problems at age 15 were not • related (r=.01, ns). • Multiple Regressions: • Neither parent-child relationship factors at age 11 nor pubertal timing or • tempo uniquely predicted age 15 internalizing problems. • However, pubertal timing interacted with several parenting factors in • predicting mother-reported internalizing problems: • Maternal respect for autonomy (β = -.57, p<.05) • Stimulation of cognitive development (β = -.43, p<.05) • Child’s Affection for the Mother (β = -.53, p<.05) • Affective Mutuality/Felt Security (β = -.54, p<.05) • Specifically, more positive parent-child interactions predicted lower levels • of internalizing difficulties for children with later onset of puberty, but not • those with early or on-time pubertal onset (see Figures 1 and 2). • NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. • 951 children followed from birth to age 15 • 50% female • 80% Caucasian • 13% African American • 7% Other Measures • Parent-Child Relationship Factors: • (Egeland & Hiester, 1993) • All children performed a discussion task and planning activity with their • mothers at age 11 (Grade 5). • Videotapes of these interactions were coded by trained observers to yield • objective assessments of 8 factors related to the parent-child relationship. • Mother’s respect for child autonomy • Mother’s supportive presence • Mother’s stimulation of cognitive development • Mother’s quality of assistance • Mother’s hostility towards the child • Child’s affection towards the mother • Affective mutuality/felt security • The coding scale ranged from 1 (“very low”) to 7 (“very high”) for each • factor. • Internalizing symptoms: • At child age 15, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; • Achenbach, 1991) and adolescents completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR; • Achenbach, 2001). • The total internalizing scores were used. • At age 11 (Grade 5), mothers also completed the CBCL yielding a total • internalizing score. Conclusions • Objective positive qualities of the parent-child relationship at age 11 predict • fewer mother-reported internalizing problems for late maturing • adolescents. • Future research should further address the role of puberty in both parental • and peer influences on adolescent adjustment. Contact: Meredith A. Henry University of Alabama at Birmingham Email: mahenry@uab.edu Phone: (205) 612-5560