No abstract

While most of the existing literature has focused on the risks associated with parentification, we examined the potential benefits (i.e., posttraumatic growth) associated with parentification. Predictors of posttraumatic growth explored in our study included: attachment, differentiation of self, parentification, and resiliency. Partial support was found for the predictor variables leading to posttraumatic growth, with resilience emerging as the strongest predictor; resilience explained 14% of the variance in posttraumatic growth. These findings suggest that future research might explore additional resiliency factors that explain positive psychological outcomes related to childhood parentification.

Several decades of research have shown that people who experience parentification in childhood are at an increased risk of experiencing psychopathology in adulthood. A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the magnitude of the relation between self-reported parentification experienced in childhood and psychopathology evidenced in adulthood. Results from 12 nonoverlapping studies (N = 2,472), which were conducted between 1984 and 2010, revealed a small significant but reliable effect (r = .14; 95% confidence interval = .10 to .18). Moderator analyses were performed to explore possible explanations for the variance evidenced between parentification and psychopathology. Moderators that were examined include population factors, methodological factors, and type of psychopathology. The present findings indicate that four factors-types of psychopathology, type of sample, race, and parentification measure used-moderated the relation between parentification and psychopathology. The meta-analytic findings that emerged highlight the need for additional empirical research. Possible explanations and clinical

Attachment theory and family systems theory, taken together, are proffered as a potential framework to understand the adverse effects of parentification. Attachment theory helps clarify the process of parentification as it involves the relationship between child and parent and/or caregiver. Family systems theory gives clarity to the context (i.e., the family system) in which parentification takes place. Internal working models are discussed as the mechanism through which meaning making about the parentification process happens and thereby informs the opportunity for positive and negative outcomes in adulthood. The proposed framework allows for a potentially broader view of this ubiquitous phenomenon parentification.

Studies have demonstrated that parentification, a potential form of child maltreatment, is a ubiquitous phenomenon that most community counselors as well as other mental health care providers (e.g., school and family counselors, social workers) face. Although these studies have pointed to a relationship between parentification and later psychopathology, the potential for divergent outcomes is rarely discussed. This article advances an often-absent balanced discussion of the extent to which varied outcomes are evidenced in adulthood after one has been parentified in childhood. For example, varied outcomes such as psychopathology and posttraumatic growth may be feasible in adulthood after parentification in childhood. Suggestions related to research and practice efforts are put forth for mental health counselors.