Longitudinal associations between positive parenting and youths’ engagement in sexting behaviors: the mediating role of filial self-efficacy beliefs

Youths who enter emerging adulthood with a background of familial relations grounded in positive parent-child interactions are better equipped to cope with transitional stressors, to voice effectively their opinions with parents, and to resist engaging in risky activities. However, little is known about the longitudinal associations between positive parenting, filial self-efficacy beliefs and youths’ engagement in sexting behaviors. This study examined if positive parenting (mothers’ and fathers’ reports at child ages 13, 14, and 15) were related to youths’ engagement in sexting behaviors (child’s reports at age 19) both directly and indirectly, through adolescents perceived filial self-efficacy beliefs (child’s reports at age 18). Participants included 194 Italian children (MAgeAtTime1 = 13.54, 52.6% girls), their mothers (n = 193), and fathers (n = 150), who provided data across five waves over seven years. The mediation model was tested through a path analysis. Overall, results showed that, controlling for child gender and family SES, the effect of positive parenting on sexting behaviors was fully mediated by higher levels of perceived filial self-efficacy beliefs. The study reveals filial self-efficacy beliefs as central to the benefits conveyed to teens by parents in reducing their sexting behaviors

Positive Youth Development: Parental Warmth, Values, and Prosocial Behavior in 11 Cultural Groups

The current cross-cultural study aimed to extend research on parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior by examining relations among parental warmth, values related to family obligations (i.e., children\u27s support to and respect for their parents, siblings, and extended family), and prosocial behavior during the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 12). Mothers, fathers, and their children (N = 1107 families) from 8 countries including 11 cultural groups (Colombia; Rome and Naples, Italy; Jordan; Kenya; the Philippines; Sweden; Thailand; and African Americans, European Americans, and Latin Americans in the United States) provided data over 3 years in 3 waves (M-age of child in wave 1 = 9.34 years, SD = 0.75; 50.5% female). Overall, across all 11 cultural groups, multivariate change score analysis revealed positive associations among the change rates of parental warmth, values related to family obligations, and prosocial behavior during late childhood (from age 9 to 10) and early-adolescence (from age 10 to 12). In most cultural groups, more parental warmth at ages 9 and 10 predicted steeper mean-level increases in prosocial behavior in subsequent years. The findings highlight the prominent role of positive family context, characterized by warm relationships and shared prosocial values, in fostering children\u27s positive development in the transition to adolescence. The practical implications of these findings are discussed

Maternal and paternal psychological control and adolescents’ negative adjustment: a dyadic longitudinal study in three countries

Psychological Control (PC) interferes with autonomy-related processes in adolescence and has a negative impact on adolescents’ development related to internalizing and externalizing problems. Several scholars suggested that PC can be used differently by mothers and fathers. However, these differences are still understudied and mainly grounded on maternal and/or adolescents’ perspectives, leading to potentially incomplete inferences on the effects of PC. The present study extends previous research on PC in two directions. First, we tested the dyadic and cumulative effects of maternal and paternal PC on adolescents’ antisocial behaviors and anxious-depressive symptoms. Secondly, we explored the cross-cultural generalizability of these associations in three countries: Italy, Colombia, and USA. Participants included 376 families with data from three consecutive years (T1, adolescents’ age=13.70). Mothers’ and fathers’ reports of PC and youth’s reports of antisocial and internalizing behaviors were assessed. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) we found that maternal PC predicted adolescents’ reported antisocial behaviors whereas paternal PC predicted lower anxious-depressed symptoms. Comparisons across countries evidenced the cross-cultural invariance of the longitudinal APIM across Italy, Colombia, and USA. The practical implications of these results are discussed

Cross-national evidences of a school-based universal program for promoting prosocial behaviors in peer interactions: Main theoretical communalities and local uniqueness

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of prosocial behavior against aggression in a school-based universal intervention adapted in two different (non-Western) countries, Colombia and Chile. Using a randomized pretest-posttest design (and controlling for participants’ gender and parents’ level of education), current results highlighted different effects of a similar program in both sites. First, the school-based universal program designed for promoting prosocial behaviors in the peer context obtained a positive cross-national effect on prosocial behavior rated by three informants (i.e., self, peer, and teacher reports). In Colombia this effect was moderated by the initial level of prosociality of the participants and their level of education. Mediational two waves model corroborated that the improvement on prosocial behaviors in both countries (moderated in the case of Colombia) predicted significantly lower level of physical aggression. Characteristics of the implementation considering different cultural and historical backgrounds were discussed

Positive Youth Development: Parental Warmth, Values, and Prosocial Behavior in 11 Cultural Groups

The current cross-cultural study aimed to extend research on parenting and children’s prosocial behavior by examining relations among parental warmth, values related to family obligations (i.e., children’s support to and respect for their parents, siblings, and extended family), and prosocial behavior during the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 12). Mothers, fathers, and their children (N = 1107 families) from 8 countries including 11 cultural groups (Colombia; Rome and Naples, Italy; Jordan; Kenya; the Philippines; Sweden; Thailand; and African Americans, European Americans, and Latin Americans in the United States) provided data over 3 years in 3 waves (Mage of child in wave 1 = 9.34 years, SD = 0.75; 50.5% female). Overall, across all 11 cultural groups, multivariate change score analysis revealed positive associations among the change rates of parental warmth, values related to family obligations, and prosocial behavior during late childhood (from age 9 to 10) and early-adolescence (from age 10 to 12). In most cultural groups, more parental warmth at ages 9 and 10 predicted steeper mean-level increases in prosocial behavior in subsequent years. The findings highlight the prominent role of positive family context, characterized by warm relationships and shared prosocial values, in fostering children’s positive development in the transition to adolescence. The practical implications of these findings are discussed

The development of prosocial behavior from late childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal and multicultural study

Introduction: Prosocial behavior (i.e., voluntary actions aimed at benefiting others, such as helping, comforting, and sharing) has proven beneficial for individuals' adjustment during the transition to adolescence. However, less is known about the role of the broader sociocultural context in shaping prosocial development across different cultures. Thus, the present study explored the longitudinal trajectory of prosocial behavior in the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 16) by examining the role of the Human Development Index (HDI) in relation to prosocial development. Methods: A sample of 915 children (Time 1: 50.5% males; Mage = 9.24, SD = 0.69) across six countries (Colombia, Jordan, Italy, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States) participated in the study. Over four time points covering 7 years, prosocial behavior was assessed using a self-report measure. Results: A second-order Latent Growth Curve Model, controlling for child gender and family SES, showed that prosocial behavior remained stable in contexts with high HDI, whereas increases in prosocial behavior were evidenced as children moved into adolescence in contexts with low HDI. Moreover, cultural differences in the mean level of prosocial behavior were shown during late childhood and the earliest phase of adolescence, whereas the national development of a given context did not account for differences in prosocial behavior during late adolescence. Discussion: Findings underscore that national life expectancy, education, and wealth play a role in age-related changes in other-oriented behaviors during adolescence. The role of sociocultural factors in shaping trajectories of prosocial behavior across six countries is discussed

Mother's personality, parenting and child's externalizing behavior problems

The first study, titled “Maternal irritability and aggressive behavior in family context “, aims to extend actual knowledge on the relation between mother Irritability trait and mother aggressive discipline toward her child. It examined the construct validity of the reduced version of Irritability Scale (Caprara et al., 1985) on 200 mother-child dyads from two family Italian context: Rome and Naples. The first part of the study 1 presents the construct of irritability trait and its relation with aggressive behaviors, it continues by reviewing the main theoretical models for the development of aggressive behavior [Frustration-Aggression Theory (Dollard et al., 1939); Cognitive Neo-Association Theory (Berkowitz, 1989); Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1971)] and it concludes with a review of studies (experimental, correlational and in familiar contexts) on the relationship between irritability, aggressive behaviors and harsh parenting measures. The empirical part of the study, first analyzes the internal validity of Irritability Scale (Caprara et al., 1985) in family contexts: it confirms mono-factorial structure and reveals partial invariance between samples. Then, adopting a multi-informant approach, the study confirms construct validity, showing positive associations among maternal irritability and mother’s physical aggression, verbal aggression, and hostility-rejection. The second study, titled “Trait and state variance of mother’s irritability and mother’s harsh parenting in two italian samples”, is a longitudinal study that aims to estimate the effects of situation and trait on irritability and to examine the relation between mother’s irritability and her harsh parenting over time (four time-points). The first part of the study 2 presents the Latent State-Trait Theory (Steyer, Ferring, & Schmitt, 1992; Steyer, Schmitt, & Eid, 1999), on which is based the study. The empirical part of the study, preliminarily analyzes the factor structure of the Irritability Scale in both Italian sample (i.e., Naples and Rome) and at each wave: the results confirm mono-factorial structure of the scale. Then, it analyzes latent state-trait of irritability: the results indicate that each single indicator contained more trait than situation influence. Finally, it examines a conditional latent-state model: the results reveal that mother trait irritability component had a statistically significant effect in predicting later harsh parenting, above and beyond the effects of the occasion-specific situation. The third study, titled “Mother personality and child temperament as predictors of externalizing behavior problem trajectory from age 12 to age 14”, is a longitudinal study that explorer the joint contribution of parents’ personality characteristics (irritability) and children’s temperament (inhibitory control) to the development of children’s externalizing problems. The first part of the study 3 presents the ecological theoretical models of child development (e.g., Belsky, 1984; Bronfenbrenner, 1986), on which is based the study and examines the relationship between the child's externalizing behaviors, temperament of the child and mother's personality. The empirical part of the study identifies, using multilevel modeling (MLM), trajectory of adolescents’ externalizing behavior problems, including mother’s irritability and inhibitory control as predictors. The results indicate that higher levels of mothers' irritability predicted higher levels of externalizing behaviors over time and the inhibitory control moderates this relation