Conduct Problems in Adopted and Non-Adopted Adolescents and Adoption Satisfaction as a Protective Factor

BackgroundAlthough there is a clear phenotypic relationship between the quality of the interparental or marital relationship and child conduct problems (CP), the etiology of this association is as yet unclear. One possibility is that this association takes the form of a genotype–environment interaction (G × E), whereby the quality of the interparental relationship acts to moderate the etiology of child CP. The current study sought to evaluate this possibility.MethodWe examined multiple measures and informant reports of the quality of the interparental relationship in a sample of more than 700 child twin families from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR). Analyses consisted of a series of latent G × E models.ResultsThe ‘no moderation’ model provided the best fit to the data in nearly all cases, findings that collectively provide strong evidence against the possibility that the etiology of CP is moderated by the quality of the interparental relationship.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that, contrary to implicit (and sometimes explicit) assumptions in the field, it is not the case that every environmental risk (or protective) factor exacerbates (or suppresses) genetic influences on CP. Future research should seek to delineate the specific environmental experiences that do serve as etiologic moderators of CP, and to clarify how this G × E interplay might change over the course of development.

Download Full-text

The Role of the Family’s Emotional Climate in the Links between Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Psychosocial Functioning

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology ◽

10.1007/s10802-020-00705-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sabina Kapetanovic ◽

Therése Skoog

Keyword(s):

Conduct Problems ◽

Psychosocial Development ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Emotional Problems ◽

Self Report ◽

Emotional Climate ◽

Parenting Strategies ◽

Adolescent Disclosure

Abstract The current study was designed to extend the parenting literature by testing the moderating role of the family’s emotional climate, operationalized with parent-adolescent emotional closeness and adolescent feelings of being overly controlled by parents on the longitudinal associations between parent-driven communication efforts (i.e. parental behavioral control and solicitation of information from their adolescent), adolescent-driven communication efforts (i.e. adolescent disclosure and secrecy) and adolescent psychosocial functioning (i.e. emotional problems, conduct problems, delinquency, and wellbeing). We conducted a series of cross-lagged models controlling for adolescent gender and ethnicity using a two-wave Swedish longitudinal set of self-report data (N = 1515, 51% girls, M age = 13.0 and 14.3 years at T1 and T2, respectively). Multi-group analyses revealed that the negative links between T1 parental control and T2 adolescent delinquency, T1 parental solicitation and T2 adolescent conduct problems and delinquency, and T1 emotional problems and T2 adolescent disclosure were moderated by the family’s emotional climate. When the family’s emotional climate was positive, the parenting strategies had a more positive effect on adolescent psychosocial functioning, and adolescents with emotional problems communicated more openly with their parents. These findings suggest that the relational context in the family is an important protective factor and add specificity to the previously established role of parent-adolescent communication in adolescent psychosocial development. In terms of preventive interventions, strategies to enhance the family’s emotional climate should be considered prior to teaching specific parenting strategies.

Download Full-text