Is a harsh childhood growth environment reflected in parental images and emotional distress in adulthood?

Abstract

Harsh parenting can predispose a child to emotional distress, whereas a supportive childhood environment furthers later subjective well-being. We investigated whether the mother’s self-reported assessment of her strictness and the adult offspring’s recollections of the disciplinary methods of their parents are reflected in the adult offspring’s recalled parental images and current emotional distress, anxiety and depression as assessed by the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-25). Further, we investigated whether the offspring’s parental images were also associated with the HSCL-25 scores. Data was collected from northern Finland. The mothers responded to a questionnaire when their child was seven years old (N = 354) and the adult offspring responded at age 28–29 (N = 337). The mother’s assessment of her own strictness was associated both with the adult offspring’s dominating images of their parents and their current emotional distress, anxiety and depression. The offspring’s recollections of restriction and corporal punishment were associated with dominating parental images, and these images further with current emotional distress, anxiety and depression of the offspring. Correspondingly, the offspring’s recollections of parental dialogic discipline were associated with supportive and sociable parental images, and recalled paternal dialogic discipline was associated with lower current emotional distress, particularly in the female offspring. In conclusion, harsh parenting was associated with dominating parental images, which in turn were associated with emotional distress in adulthood. Dialogic discipline and the father’s role in parenting were emphasized in the offspring’s well-being, but more research is needed to assess the importance of paternity for the offspring’s subjective well-being.

Evaluation of a Parenting Program for Disadvantaged Families in the Czech Republic

“…Moreover, as the perception of the usefulness of parent training is one of the important factors in the intervention (Graf et al, 2014), it seems crucial for social workers to be able to provide training that is understandable for the parents and communicate the benefits. And indeed, programs aimed at increasing the quality of children's environment, focused on fostering the skills of parents, can have long-term benefits, such as the improvement of well-being of children in adulthood (Kiviniemi et al, 2020; Vanwoerden et al, 2021). For this reason, and in line with other authors’ work, we think it would be especially the role of practitioners, their competence, experience or training, that holds an important role in successful implementation of evidence-based parenting programs (Shapiro et al, 2015; Turner et al, 2011).…”

“…A 2-year-long longitudinal effort from the US showed that families with high levels of conflict and low levels of positive family relations are linked to poor parental monitoring, an association of adolescents with deviant peers and further engagement in problem behavior (Ary et al, 1999). A recent Finnish longitudinal study found that parental strictness during children's upbringing can eventually lead to higher levels of emotional distress, anxiety, or depression symptoms in adulthood (Kiviniemi et al, 2020). In addition, early experiences of a negatively perceived childhood environment or lack of emotional support are connected to personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder (Vanwoerden et al, 2021).…”