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Links Between Parenting and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Cross-Cultural Evidence from Ten Countries
Alexander T Vazsonyi1, Albert J Ksinan2,3, Magda Javakhishvili2,4
1University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA. vazsonyi@uky.edu.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|March 22, 2021
Summary
Parenting styles significantly impact adolescent mental health globally. This study found that parental closeness, support, monitoring, communication, peer approval, and conflict consistently relate to fewer internalizing and externalizing problems across ten diverse cultures.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Adolescent Mental Health
Background:
- Parenting practices are crucial for adolescent well-being.
- Understanding cultural variations in parenting and its effects is essential.
- Previous research suggests parenting influences internalizing and externalizing problems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between perceived maternal and paternal parenting and adolescent internalizing/externalizing problems.
- To investigate whether these relationships differ across ten diverse cultures.
- To assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of parenting processes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized self-report data from 12,757 adolescents (mean age 17.13 years).
- Employed multigroup confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models.
- Assessed six parenting processes using the Adolescent Family Process, Short Form (AFP-SF).
Main Results:
- Measurement invariance (configural and metric) was established for maternal and paternal parenting processes.
- The links between parenting processes and internalizing/externalizing problems did not significantly vary across cultures.
- Parenting processes demonstrated a consistent association with adolescent psychological adjustment globally.
Conclusions:
- Parenting processes are universally important for adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems.
- Findings highlight the consistent role of parenting across Asian, European, Eurasian, and North American cultures.
- This research underscores the need for culturally sensitive, yet universally applicable, parenting support strategies.
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