Differences in Parentification of Children and Adolescents in Two-Parent Military Families Versus One-Parent Military Families Due to Deployment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in parentification in military families with a deployed parent and without a deployed parent. Previous research has highlighted increased rates of parentification in situations involving parental absence or unavailability, such as divorce, parental illness, parental alcoholism, and domestic violence. This construct was assessed using the Parentification Questionnaire - Youth, a 20 item self-report survey for children and adolescents. Participants consisted of 22 children, ages 7-17, from military families with a deployed parent and military families without a deployed parent. After removing two statistical outliers from the intact military families group, an independent samples t-test was conducted. It was found that there was a significant difference between military families with a deployed parent and military families without a deployed parent. Military families with a deployed parent had higher rates of parentification than military families without a deployed parent. Limitations include a small sample size due to time constraints, the possible presence of one or both parents during the questionnaire, and lack of control groups. Future research should include a larger sample size, increase the comparison to more family groups (i.e. civilian, divorced, separated by work), and assess possible positive or negative impacts of parentification on military children from families separated by deployment

How culturally unique are pandemic effects? Evaluating cultural similarities and differences in effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on COVID impacts

Despite being bio-epidemiological phenomena, the causes and effects of pandemics are culturally influenced in ways that go beyond national boundaries. However, they are often studied in isolated pockets, and this fact makes it difficult to parse the unique influence of specific cultural psychologies. To help fill in this gap, the present study applies existing cultural theories via linear mixed modeling to test the influence of unique cultural factors in a multi-national sample (that moves beyond Western nations) on the effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on pandemic outcomes that include adverse financial impacts, adverse resource impacts, adverse psychological impacts, and the health impacts of COVID. Our study spanned 19 nations (participant N = 14,133) and involved translations into 9 languages. Linear mixed models revealed similarities across cultures, with both young persons and women reporting worse outcomes from COVID across the multi-national sample. However, these effects were generally qualified by culture-specific variance, and overall more evidence emerged for effects unique to each culture than effects similar across cultures. Follow-up analyses suggested this cultural variability was consistent with models of pre-existing inequalities and socioecological stressors exacerbating the effects of the pandemic. Collectively, this evidence highlights the importance of developing culturally flexible models for understanding the cross-cultural nature of pandemic psychology beyond typical WEIRD approaches

Received Social Support and Affect

R Code for social support and affect manuscrip

Perceived friendships protect against development of anger following childhood adversities in UK military veteran men residing in Northern Ireland

Experience of childhood adversity is associated with greater anger as an adult, particularly in men. Soldiers and veterans report higher incidence of adverse childhood experiences, many of whom also experience elevated rates of PTSD and anger. However, little is known about factors which may protect against the development of anger after experiencing childhood adversity. This study aims to assess the potential protective aspects of perceived social support in military veterans. Data from the Northern Ireland Veterans' Health and Wellbeing Study (  = 590,  = 56) was utilised in regression models to examine perceived social support (family, friend, partner; MSPSS) as a moderator of the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEQ-10) and anger (DAR-7). This sample comprised men who were UK Armed Forces veterans residing in Northern Ireland. Significant interaction effects, visualised using interaction plots, were found between perceived friend support and both child abuse and household challenge. When men perceived high friend support, there was no association between child abuse or household challenge and anger. For veteran men who perceived the maximum amount of partner support, there was no association between child abuse and anger. Family support did not change the positive association between child abuse, child neglect or household challenge and future anger. This study indicates that it is especially important to foster supportive and empathetic friendships for men that have experienced adversity as a child, perhaps through programmes such as Men's Sheds, as these friendships may alleviate the negative influences of child abuse and household challenge on anger

A tri-directional examination of adolescent personality, perceived parenting, and context in influencing adolescent behavioral outcomes

Introduction: adolescent personality is consistently linked to behavioral strengths and difficulties. However, most of this work is limited in that it does not consider personality beyond the Big Five or economic or parental adversity contexts. The Tri-Directional Framework of Parent and Offspring Traits and Outcomes highlights the collective influence of personality, parenting, and context on offspring behavioral outcomes. Methods: parent and adolescent cross-sectional data were collected from 2019-2021 as part of the Parents and Children Together project in the United Kingdom. Adolescents (N = 310, 48.7% female) self-reported on Dark Triad traits, parenting, and behavior. Parents (N = 288, 46.9% mothers) self-reported on socioeconomic status and adverse childhood experiences. In two path analysis models, we examined: (1) adolescent Dark Triad, context, and their interactions as predictors of perceived maternal and paternal warmth, hostility, and control; and (2) adolescent Dark Triad, perceived parenting, context, and personality-parenting interactions as predictors of adolescent behavioral strengths and difficulties. Results: adolescent narcissistic traits were the strongest predictors of perceived maternal parenting, whereas adolescent psychopathy and Machiavellianism were the strongest predictors of perceived paternal parenting. Adolescent personality interacted with contextual factors in predicting parenting, but not with perceived parenting in predicting behavior. Conclusion: adolescent Dark Triad traits, especially narcissism, and contextual factors are important for the parent-offspring relationship and developmental outcomes. We recommend that research move beyond assessing direct trait-outcome associations to examining how these associations operate in different environments. <br/

The Tri-Directional Framework of Parent and Offspring Traits and Outcomes: A systematic review and critical synthesis of influencing factors

Parental personality has substantial implications for offspring developmental outcomes. We report a systematic review and critical synthesis of literature on the relation between parental personality (e.g., Big Five and Dark Triad) and offspring outcomes (e.g., personality, temperament and behavioral problems) as well as intervening factors (e.g., parenting behaviors, family environment, socioeconomic status). This review allows for the organization and systematization of a body of dispersed literature and findings regarding parental personality and offspring outcomes. We identified 52 studies that linked parental personality with offspring outcomes and included at least one additional factor. Of these studies, 26 examined the Big Five in relation to offspring outcomes, 20 examined traits beyond the Big Five, and six examined traits across several personality domains. We suggest that the links between parental personality and child outcomes be viewed within the Tri-Directional Framework of Parent and Offspring Traits and Outcomes, according to which parent and offspring traits, parenting behavior, and contextual factors interactively influence offspring and parent outcomes. Further, we highlight the need (1) to consider parental personality domains beyond the Big Five, and (2) for a more comprehensive and systematic approach to the study of the parent-offspring relationship—one that incorporates environmental influences and situational demands upon the personality system