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The relationship between parents' and children's automatic thoughts in a college student sample
Reesa Donnelly1, Kimberly Renk, Valerie K Sims
1University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|October 26, 2010
Summary
Parents' positive automatic thoughts (ATs) correlate with their college-age children's ATs. Maternal ATs and communication influence children's psychological functioning, suggesting intergenerational transmission.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Early social interactions shape schemas and automatic thoughts (ATs).
- Limited research exists on intergenerational correlations in ATs.
- This study addresses the gap by examining parent-child AT relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between parents' and college-age children's automatic thoughts.
- To investigate gender differences in these intergenerational AT correlations.
- To examine the role of maternal communication in this transmission.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 252 college students and their mothers and fathers.
- Analysis of positive and negative automatic thoughts.
- Statistical examination of correlations and mediation effects.
Main Results:
- Significant positive correlations found between parents' and students' positive ATs.
- Gender-specific trends observed in parent-child AT relationships.
- Maternal positive ATs predicted students' positive ATs, partially mediated by communication.
- Maternal anxiety and self-esteem predicted students' anxiety and self-esteem, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Automatic thoughts show intergenerational transmission patterns.
- Maternal factors significantly influence offspring's psychological functioning.
- ATs may play a role in transmitting psychological traits across generations.
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