Inflexible Parents, Inflexible Kids: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study of Parenting Style and the Development of Psychological Flexibility in Adolescents

Abstract

Parenting behaviors have been linked to children's self regulation, but it is less clear how they relate to adolescent psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility is a broad construct that describes an individual's ability to respond appropriately to environmental demands and internal experiences in the service of their goals. We examined the longitudinal relationships between perceived parenting style and psychological flexibility among students at five Australian schools (N= 749) over 6 years, beginning in Grade 7 (50.3% female, mean age 12.39 years). Parenting style was measured in Grades 7 and 12, and psychological flexibility from Grade 9 through 12. Psychological flexibility decreased, on average, with age. Multi-level modelling indicated that authoritarian parenting (low warmth, high control) in Grade 7 predicted later (low) psychological flexibility. Moreover, increases in authoritarian parenting and decreases in authoritative parenting (high warmth and control) were associated with adolescent psychological flexibility across the high school years. Change in parenting predicted future psychological flexibility but did not predict change over time. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that adolescent psychological flexibility in Grade 9 predicted later decreases in authoritarian and increases in authoritative parenting. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how parenting changes and the consequences of such change for the development of psychological flexibility.

Child Perceptions of Parental Care and Overprotection in Children with Cancer and Healthy Children

“…Prior research has highlighted the importance of gauging children’s perceptions of parenting practices. The history and experiences acquired through parent-child interactions are subjective (Liem, Cavell, Lustig, 2010; Williams, Ciarrochi, Heaven, 2012). Nonetheless, to truly appreciate the transactional pattern between parents and children it is also important to consider parental perspectives of their own behavior.…”

Parenting styles and trait emotional intelligence in adolescence

“…We examined the following hypotheses: (1) Authoritative parenting is positively related to trait EI (Milevsky, Schlechter & Netter, ; Williams et al ., ) and (2) Permissive and authoritarian parenting is negatively related to trait EI (Furnham & Cheng, ; Heaven & Ciarrochi, ; Milevsky et al ., ). In order to avoid potentially significant confounding issues, we adjusted for a number of characteristics that are expected to relate to adolescents’ trait EI.…”

“…First, parenting style is related to adaptability, emotion regulation and impulsiveness. Williams, Ciarrochi and Heaven (2012) found that high school adolescents with authoritative parents scored higher in their ability to appropriately adapt to environmental demands and internal experiences in order to achieve their goals (psychological flexibility). In contrast, adolescents with authoritarian parents demonstrated lower psychological flexibility.…”

The relationship between psychological flexibility, early maladaptive schemas, perceived parenting and psychopathology

“…For example, emotional abuse (derogation, rejection, extortion, teasing) is associated with developing most types of EMS but especially those representing expectations of malevolent treatment by others (mistrust), abandonment, being vulnerable to harm and insufficient self-control (McCarthy & Lumley, 2012). Similarly, parental styles influence the development of psychological flexibility, with authoritarian (cold, distant, intrusive) parenting inhibiting it, and warm, democratic parenting promoting flexibility (Williams, Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2012). In research on mentalizing (the capacity to understand human behavior in relation to internal states such as thoughts, needs, feelings and wishes), certain facets of psychological flexibility have been theorized to develop from the reciprocal interactions between infants and their caregivers which also give rise to dysfunctional schemas.…”