Parenting and child adjustment: a comparison of Turkish and English families

The links between parenting and child behaviour in cultural context have received increasing research attention. We investigated the effect of parenting on child adjustment using a multi-method design, comparing English and Turkish families. The socioeconomically diverse samples included 118 English and 100 Turkish families, each with two children aged 4–8 years. Mothers completed questionnaires as well as parent–child interaction being assessed using a structured Etch-a-Sketch task with each child separately. Children were interviewed about their relationships with their mothers using the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Multiple-group Confirmatory Analysis was used to test Measurement Invariance across groups, and a multi-informant approach was used to assess parenting. We found partial cross-cultural measurement invariance for parenting and child adjustment. Strikingly, the association between parenting and child adjustment was stronger among English families than Turkish families. Culturally distinct meanings of both parenting and child behaviour must be considered when interpreting their association

Child mental health differences amongst ethnic groups in Britain: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Inter-ethnic differences have been reported for many mental health outcomes in the UK, but no systematic review on child mental health has been published. The aim of this review is to compare the population-based prevalence of child mental disorders between ethnic groups in Britain, and relate these findings to ethnic differences in mental health service use. METHODS: A systematic search of bibliographic databases for population-based and clinic-based studies of children aged 0-19, including all ethnic groups and the main child mental disorders. We synthesised findings by comparing each minority group to the White British study sample. RESULTS: 31 population-based and 18 clinic-based studies met the inclusion criteria. Children in the main minority groups have similar or better mental health than White British children for common disorders, but may have higher rates for some less common conditions. The causes of these differences are unclear. There may be unmet need for services among Pakistani and Bangladeshi children. CONCLUSION: Inter-ethnic differences exist but are largely unexplained. Future studies should address the challenges of cross-cultural psychiatry and investigate reasons for inter-ethnic differences

A randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of the ABCD Parenting Young Adolescents Program: rationale and methodology

Background: The transition to adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability for risk taking and poor health, social and academic outcomes. Parents have an important role in protecting their children from these potential harms. While the effectiveness of parenting programs in reducing problem behavior has been demonstrated, it is not known if parenting programs that target families prior to the onset of significant behavioral difficulties in early adolescence (9-14 years) improve the wellbeing of adolescents and their parents. This paper describes the rationale and methodology of a randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of a parenting program for the promotion of factors known to be associated with positive adolescent outcomes, such as positive parenting practices, parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent behavior.Methods/Design: One hundred and eighty parents were randomly allocated to an intervention or wait list control group. Parents in the intervention group participated in the ABCD Parenting Young Adolescents Program, a 6-session behavioral family intervention program which also incorporates acceptance-based strategies. Participants in the Wait List control group did not receive the intervention during a six month waiting period. The study was designed to comply with recommendations of the CONSORT statement. The primary outcome measures were reduction in parent-adolescent conflict and improvements in parent-adolescent relationships. Secondary outcomes included improvements in parent psychosocial wellbeing, parenting self-efficacy and perceived effectiveness, parent-adolescent communication and adolescent behavior.Conclusions: Despite the effectiveness of parenting programs in reducing child behavioral difficulties, very few parenting programs for preventing problems in adolescents have been described in the peer reviewed literature. This study will provide data which can be used to examine the efficacy of a universal parenting interventions for the promotion of protective factors associated with adolescent wellbeing and will add to the literature regarding the relationships between parent, parenting and adolescent factors

Early parenting intervention: Family risk and first-time parenting related to intervention effectiveness

The effects of cumulative risk and parity on the effectiveness of a home based parenting intervention were tested in a randomized controlled trial with 237 families with 1- to 3-year-old children screened for high levels of externalizing behavior. The intervention was aimed at enhancing positive parenting and decreasing externalizing behaviors. The results showed that cumulative risk was not associated with either change in child externalizing behaviors or change in positive parenting. When intervention effectiveness was compared for primiparas (i.e., first-time mothers) versus multiparas (i.e., mothers with more than one child), we found that intervention mothers of first-born children displayed an increase in their use of positive discipline strategies as compared to first-time mothers in the control group, whereas a similar effect for multiparas was absent. Among multiparas we found an intervention effect on sensitivity, with control group mothers showing an increase in sensitivity, whereas the intervention group showed a constant level of sensitivity over time. These results suggest that parity may be a moderator of intervention effectiveness. Implications for investigating moderators of intervention effectiveness are discussed. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Internalising and externalising problems in middle childhood: A study of Indian (ethnic minority) and English (ethnic majority) children living in Britain

The psychological adjustment of ethnic minority children has received little research attention, particularly in Britain. The present study set out to investigate the adjustment of Indian children living in Britain as well as the adjustment of their English peers. The sample consisted of 125 children (66 Indian and 59 English) between the ages of 7 and 9 years ( M = 8.51, SD = 0.62) and their parents and teachers. Mothers, fathers, and teachers reported about the children's problem behaviour, and parents also reported on their acculturation strategy and use of their Indian language. Analyses revealed that overall Indian children seem to be well adjusted in Britain. Nevertheless, according to parental reports, they exhibited more internalising problems than did their English peers. No significant differences, however, were found for externalising or total problem behaviour. Furthermore, within the Indian group, it was found that children whose mothers and fathers were more traditional in their acculturation style displayed lower levels of externalising, internalising and total problem behaviour, according to their teachers. In addition, children whose mothers and fathers utilised their Indian language to a greater extent displayed lower levels of externalising and total problem behaviour (teachers' reports). These findings highlight the importance of examining the adjustment of ethnic minority children in multiple contexts