Speaker
Description
Family conflict (e.g., arguments, threats) and parental psychological control (e.g., guilt inducement, withdrawal of love) are associated with a variety of negative outcomes for adolescents, such as greater emotional reactivity and less emotional security. As a result, adolescents may be poorly equipped to meet the emotional and behavioral needs of their children if they become parents themselves. Using two independent and demographically distinct cohorts, the current two-study investigation examined how family conflict and psychological control in the family-of-origin predicted two different problematic parenting outcomes in the next generation. Both studies drew from longitudinal, three-generation samples, with data on adolescents (Study 1/2 N’s: 184/266), their parents (N’s 184/193), and the children of adolescents who later became parents (N’s 126/385). In both studies, teens and parents reported on their family conflict and maternal and paternal psychological control during adolescence. In Study 1, adolescents who became parents reported on their unsupportive responses to the third-generation’s negative emotions (e.g., “I tell my child to quit overreacting and being a baby”). In Study 2, third-generation children reported on their parents’ inconsistent discipline (e.g., “My parent frequently changed the rules I was supposed to follow”). Linear regression results from both studies revealed links between family conflict and parental psychological control to unsupportive and inconsistent parenting behaviors in the next generation. These findings support the theory that experiencing family conflict and psychological control in the family-of-origin during adolescence may reduce teens’ ability to effectively respond to the emotions and behaviors of their future children.
