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Specific parenting problems when adolescents have emotional and behavioural disorders
Turid Suzanne Berg-Nielsen1, Arne Vikan, Alv A Dahl
1Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. Turid.Suzanne.Berg-Nielsen@svt.ntnu.no
Nordic Journal of Psychiatry
|May 15, 2003
Summary
Parents of adolescents with behavior disorders exhibit significant parenting challenges across eight dimensions. These parenting issues are more pronounced than in families with emotional disorders or no adolescent disorders, impacting adolescent well-being.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychology
- Family Studies
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Adolescent behavioral and emotional problems are significant concerns for outpatient clinics.
- Parenting dimensions play a crucial role in adolescent development and mental health.
- Understanding specific parenting deficits associated with different adolescent disorders is essential for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate specific parenting dimensions in parents of adolescents referred for behavioral and emotional issues.
- To compare parenting dimensions between parents of adolescents with behavior disorders, emotional disorders, and no disorders.
- To explore the relationship between parenting deficits and adolescent psychopathology.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-seven parent-adolescent pairs from outpatient clinics participated.
- Parents completed a structured parenting interview.
- Adolescents underwent diagnostic interviews and completed the Child Assessment Schedule.
Main Results:
- Parents of adolescents with behavior disorders showed impairments in 8 out of 10 parenting dimensions compared to other groups.
- Specific deficits included issues with appreciation, involvement, setting limits, consistency, monitoring contact, parenting priority, and negative attributions.
- Impaired parenting by the same-gender parent was more strongly associated with adolescent problems than by the opposite-gender parent.
- Fathers' lack of contact with sons correlated with sons' anger expression.
Conclusions:
- Parenting deficits are significantly more prevalent in parents of adolescents with behavior disorders.
- Targeted interventions addressing specific parenting dimensions are crucial for this population.
- The influence of same-gender parenting and parental involvement, particularly fathers' contact with sons, warrants further attention in clinical practice.