Links between perception of parental actions and prosocial behavior in early adolescence

We analyzed the links between parental styles, practices, and empathy and specific forms of prosocial behaviors in early adolescence. The Argentine scale of perception of relationships with parents for children and young adolescents, prosocial tendencies measure, parenting practices measure, and children’s perception of parental empathy were administered to a sample of 289 middle class children, aged 10–16, of both sexes, from primary and secondary schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Correlations and hierarchical regressions were used to examine (1) relationships between parental styles, children’s perception of parental empathy, parental practices, and children’s prosocial behavior, (2) the amount of unique prediction from parental styles, children’s perception of parental empathy, and parental practices to children’s prosocial behavior. Results indicated that different aspects of parental actions (parental styles, practice, and empathy) have a differential relation according to the type of prosocial behavior involved. When taking these three kinds of parental behavior into account, parental styles are related to public and responsive aspects especially through extreme control by the mother. Parental practices, in turn, are related mainly with anonymous and altruistic aspects, but with this latter negatively. Finally, adolescents’ perception of parental empathy explains added variance in all the cases, though to a lesser extent.Fil: Richaud, Maria Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones En Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J.a Rimoldi; ArgentinaFil: Mesurado, Maria Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones En Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J.a Rimoldi; ArgentinaFil: Lemos, Viviana Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones En Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J.a Rimoldi; Argentin

Perception of Parenting Style by Children with ADHD and Its Relation with Inattention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity and Externalizing Symptoms

Children’s perception of their parents’ behavior is very important for their adjustment. Raising a child with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be particularly challenging. However, little is known about how children with ADHD perceive their parents’ childrearing style. The main purpose of this paper is to study how children with ADHD perceive acceptance and control in parent–child relationships and this perception’s relationship with inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and externalizing behaviors. Participants were children between 7 and 13 years old with ADHD who were attending psychotherapy (ADHD), children without ADHD who were attending psychotherapy (APG), and children with unknown ADHD status who were not attending psychotherapy (NPG). Furthermore, one parent of each child participated in the study. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that children with ADHD perceived higher levels of pathological control in their relationships with their mothers than did APG and NPG children. NPG children perceived higher extreme autonomy than ADHD and APG children. Linear regression analyses revealed that the perception of pathological parental control and extreme autonomy predicted externalizing symptoms in children with ADHD. The perception of maternal acceptance and pathological control predicted inattention in APG children. Also, perceived maternal pathological control and perceived paternal acceptance predicted externalizing symptoms in APG children. Thus, these results show the importance of taking into account children’s perception of their relationships with their parents in addition to parental reports of their own behavior.Fil: Molina, María Fernanda. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Musich, Francisco Martín. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Interzonal de Agudos "Eva Perón"; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; Argentin

Friendship Relationships in Children and Adolescents: Positive Development and Prevention of Mental Health Problems

Studying childhood and adolescence from the perspective of Positive Development involves seeing them from the creation of skills and values that allow the child and the adolescent to move towards adulthood in a successful way, as well as considering them from the avoidance and prevention of violence, addiction, depression and other mental health problems.Developmental Psychology theorists such as Harry Stack Sullivan have put forward that friendships can provide a unique developmental context in which children and adolescents learn about Conflict and Negotiation and develop Perspective Taking Skills and Empathic Concern; also in that relationship, furthermore, they satisfy social needs of Companionship and Intimacy.First of all, in this chapter it is presented the Argentine adaptation of Bukowski Friendship Quality Scale (children´s version), an instrument that evaluates friendship quality and explores six dimensions of peer relationships: Companionship, Balance, Conflict, Help, Security and Closeness.Subsequently, two studies conducted with this instrument, in the adolescent version, are presented. The first study evaluates the relationship between Friendship quality and Loneliness feelings in adolescents. It is observed that the rejection of peers and loneliness self-perception feelings with their peers, are negatively correlated with Friendship quality dimensions: Balance, Companionship, Help, Security and Closeness. The Conflict Friendship dimension correlates positively with Family loneliness and Peer loneliness.In the second study, it is presented the results of the hierarchical regressions performed to evaluate Empathy and Values dimensions as predictive variables of Friendship Quality dimensions. Regarding Value Scale, Honesty is the best predictor of Friendship Quality dimensions; and regarding Empathy, Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern are the best predictors of Friendship Quality dimensions.Finally, it is considered how these contributions highlight the important role of friendship and peer relationships in the prevention of mental health problems.Fil: Rodriguez, Lucas Marcelo. Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina "santa Maria de Los Bs. As.". Facultad Teresa de Avila. Centro de Investigacion Interdisciplinar En Valores, Integracion y Desarrollo Social.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Moreno, José Eduardo. Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina "santa Maria de Los Bs. As.". Facultad Teresa de Avila. Centro de Investigacion Interdisciplinar En Valores, Integracion y Desarrollo Social.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mesurado, Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi; Argentin

Positive Emotions in Children: Current Research and Future Directions

Current studies indicate that positive emotions contribute to the development of social, affective, and cognitive resources that promote psychosocial well-being. However, most research has focused on adolescents and adults rather than children, although the basis for emotional development is established during childhood and affects the emergence of social and cognitive processes during this period. This chapter reviews Latin American studies that have examined how children's positive emotions are related to other variables as well as proposed models for assessing and fostering these emotions. It concludes with suggestions for future research.Fil: Oros, Laura Beatriz. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin