Does your style matter, or your behavior An investigation of parents characteristics on childrens se

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Does your style matter, or your behavior? An
investigation of parents characteristics on
childrens self-worthiness and mental health

• Christopher H K Cheng, PhD, C.Psychol.
• Department of Applied Social Studies
• City University of Hong Kong
• Paper presented at the Centre for
  Intergenerational Practice 2007 Conference, Hume
  Hall, University of Manchester, UK July 17-19,
  2007

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Objective of study

• Examines the effects of family variables on the
  well-being of children
• Family variables parenting styles, parents
  behaviour treatment, parent-child conflicts
• Well-being of children self-esteem/
  self-concept, mental and general health

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I. Impacts of Family Parenting Styles

• Warmth-hostility vs Permissiveness-restrictiveness
  (Becker, 1964)
• Authoritarian, authoritative or permissive
  (Baurmind, 1968)
• Parental responsiveness vs parental demandingness
  (Baumrind, 1991)
• Authoritarian-autocratic, indulgent-permissive,
  authoritative-reciprocal, or indifferent-uninvolve
  d (Maccoby Martin, 1983) (see Table 1)

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Table 1 A fourfold classification of parenting
patterns (Baumrind, 1991 Maccoby Martin, 1983)
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Effects of Parenting Styles

• Adolescents
• behavioural outcomes
• self-esteem, self-concepts,
• personality
• emotions
• social skills relations
• school performance

Authoritative-reciprocal parenting
Authoritarian parenting
Indulgent-permissive parenting
Indifferent-uninvolved parenting
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Effects of Parenting Styles

• Children of
• Permissive parents worse school performance,
  more aggressive, less developed in maturity
  (Dornbush et al. 1987)
• Neglecting parents more emotional disturbances,
  more impulsive antisocial (e.g. Lamborn et al.,
  1991)
• Authoritarian parents less social skills, lower
  self-esteem, less self control, lower school
  performance, lower self-esteem (Dornbush et al.,
  1987 Lamborn et al., 1991)

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Effects of Parenting Styles (contin..)

• Authoritative parents higher self-esteem, more
  independent but also more comply with parents
  requests, more altruistic, better school
  achievements (Crokenberg Litman, 1990 Dornbush
  et al., 1987 Lamborn et al., 1991 Steinberg et
  al., 1989)
• However, above results are not all consistent
• One can be both affectionate firm, and children
  may respond positively

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II. Family variables Parents behaviours and
treatment

• Instead of overall style, specific parental
  behaviour, attitude and treatment to child, for
  example
• warmth, control
• democratic, dictating
• sarcasting, appreciating
• criticising, praising
• punishing, inducting etc

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• Parental support
• Adolescents who reported high level family
  support have higher global self-esteem (Gecas,
  Viktor, Schwalbe, 1986)
• Intrinsic support for parents was equally
  important in predicting life satisfaction of
  adolescent off-spring, regardless the gender of
  child or parent (Young, Miller, Norton Hill,
  1995)

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• Parental involvement (e.g. able to consistently
  know their whereabouts) a good predictor of
  childs self-esteem self-worth (e.g. Maccoby
  Martin, 1983 Patterson, 1986 Wenk, Hardesty,
  Morgan Blair, 1994) (but cautioned about over
  involvement esp. transition from child to
  adolescence)
• Induction and democracy are linked with a host of
  positive outcomes
• e.g. high self-esteem, prosocial behaviour,
  feelings of self-reliance (Hoffman, 1970 Maccoby
  Martin, 1983 Steinberg, 1990)

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• Parental consistency
• reinforces other positive parental attitudes/
  treatment involvement (not smothering),
  firmness (not rigidity), being democratic (but
  not simplistically so) etc (Newman Newman,
  1987)
• enhancing the childs self-esteem

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III. Family variables - Conflict between parent
and child

• Conflict
• Disagreement coupled with hostilities (Ohlson,
  1979)
• A common and significant problem for families
• A normal part of family interaction (Conklin,
  1979)
• Conflict so severe that extra help is necessary
  (Cockram Beloff, 1978 Elkin, 1979)

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Effects of Parent-Child Conflict

• Parent-adolescent conflict can be destructive to
  child development
• Longitudinal study (Hong Kong) - related to
  childs hopelessness, life satisfaction,
  self-esteem, purpose in life, and general
  psychiatric morbidity (Shek, 1998)
• Adolescents perceived level of family conflict
  associated with distress and psychological
  symptoms (Kleninman, Handal, Enos, Searight,
  Ross, 1989 Kurdek Sinclair, 1988 Slater
  Haber, 1984)

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DV Well-being of Child

• Definition
• The absence of manifested psychiatric symptoms
• The presence of positive mental health or
  existential attributes (Bradburn, 1969 Diener,
  1984)
• Indicators
• Health
• Life satisfaction
• Meaning in life, hope, optimism
• Self-worthiness, self-esteem, self-concept

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Conceptual Flow Chart
Family Environment
Parent-adolescent Conflict Assessed by FAC/ MAC
Parental treatment, practices Assessed by PTS/ MTS
Parenting Styles Assessed by PPS MPS
Psychological Well-being Assessed by GHQ
Self-esteem scales
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Method

• Sample 193 adolescents
• Age 12 to 17 (F.1-F.5 students)
• Design cross-sectional survey
• Instrument
• a close-ended questionnaire (in Chinese) on
  family variables and psychological well-being

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Method (Contd)

• Measures
• The Parental Style Scales (PS) (Lamborn et al.,
  1991 Shek, 1995)
• The Paternal and Maternal Treatment Scales (Shek,
  Lee, Ngai, Law, Chan, 1995)
• The Father-Adolescent Conflict Scale and the
  Mother-Adolescent Conflict Scale (Shek et al.,
  1995)
• Self-Esteem Scales - Family Self, Social Self,
  and General Self subscales of CASES (Cheng, 1997)
• The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Goldberg,
  1972)

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Method (Contd)

• The Parental Style Scales (PS) (Lamborn et al.,
  1991 Shek, 1995)
• Assess parenting styles
• Composing the Paternal Parenting Style (PPS) and
  the Maternal Parenting Style (MPS) scales (20
  items each)
• High scores indicate more authoritative
  responsive parenting style

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Method (Contd)

• The Paternal and Maternal Treatment Scales (Shek,
  Lee, Ngai, Law, Chan, 1995)
• Assess parental behaviour/ treatment
• 17 pairs of adjectives describing parents
  behaviour
• e.g. criticising/ praising, ridiculing/
  appreciating, showing concern/ harshness
• Composing the Paternal Treatment Scale (PTS) and
  the Maternal Treatment Scale (MTS)
• A high score indicates more positive paternal or
  maternal behaviours as perceived by the child

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Method (Contd)

• The Father-Adolescent Conflict Scale (FAC) and
  the Mother-Adolescent Conflict Scale (MAC) (Robin
  Foster, 1989 Shek et al., 1995)
• Assess parent-child conflict
• 20 items, asking whether there were
  inter-generational conflicts happened between the
  father/ mother and the child
• High scores indicating high levels of
  parent-adolescent conflict

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Method (Contd)

• Family, Social, and General scales of the Chinese
  Adolescent Self-Esteem Scales (CASES) (Cheng,
  1997 EMB, 2005)
• Assess sense of self-worthiness in the family,
  social domains and in general (total 26 items)
• High scores indicating higher self-esteem in
  general and in specific domains

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Method (Contd)

• The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Goldberg,
  1972)
• Assess the general and mental health conditions
• Designed to measure current psychiatric and
  non-psychotic disturbances (total 30 items)
• e.g. sleep problems, anxiety, stress, panic,
  social isolation, etc.
• high scores indicate high levels of psychiatric
  symptoms

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Results

• 1. Parental variables and Childs self-esteem
  (ANOVA)
• All variables had significant effects on the
  childs Family Self-Esteem
• Fathers behaviour (inc. treatment conflict
  with child) had more extensive effects on
  self-esteem
• Parenting Style did not have effect on childs
  general and social self-esteems (only significant
  on Family Self-esteem)

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Results (Contd)

• 2. Parental variables and Childs general mental
  health conditions (ANOVA)
• The childs general mental health
• adversely affected by parent-child conflicts
  (both father- and mother-child conflicts)
• affected by fathers but not mothers style or
  treatment behaviours
• Parenting Styles were not quite conducive to
  general mental health (only very mild effects of
  fathers style)

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• Table 1 Effects of Fathers behaviour on Childs
  Self-Esteem (ANOVA)

plt.05, plt.01, plt.001, nsnon-significant
(pgt.05) GS self-esteem, SS social self, FS
family self, GHQ general health PS parenting
style, PT parental treatment, PAC
parent-adolescent conflict
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• Table 2 Effects of Mothers Behaviour on Childs
  Self-Esteem (ANOVA)

plt.05, plt.01, plt.001, nsnon-significant
(pgt.05) GS self-esteem, SS social self, FS
family self, GHQ general health PS parenting
style, PT parental treatment, PAC
parent-adolescent conflict
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Results (Contd)
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• 3. Relative importance of Parental variables on
  Adolescents well-being
• Family variables as a whole significantly
  predicted Childs Well-being (All regression
  models significant), strongest effect on Family
  Self-esteem (accounting for almost 80 variance)
• Fathers treatment/behaviour had strongest effect
  on childs self-esteem
• Parenting Style had weakest effects
• mother- or father-child conflict was NOT
  predictive of childs well-being (except FS)

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• Table 3 Regression Analysis of Parental
  Variables (either father or mother) on Childs
  Well-Being

plt.05, plt.01, plt.001 GS general
self-esteem, FS family self, SS social self,
GHQ general health PS parenting style, PT
parental treatment, PAC parent-adolescent
conflict
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• Multiple regression analysis using combined
  fathers mothers scores
• Parents treatment to child had strongest effect
  on childs self-esteem/self-concepts
• Parent-child conflict was the second factor on
  self-concepts (but not on GS)
• Parent-child conflicts predictive of childs
  general health, but not of self-esteem
• Parenting Style not predictive of all well-being
  variables

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• Table 4 Regression Analysis of Parental
  Variables (both father mother) on Childs
  Well-Being

plt.05, plt.01, plt.001 GS general
self-esteem, FS family self, SS social self,
GHQ general health PS parenting style, PT
parental treatment, PAC parent-adolescent
conflict
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Summary

• Parenting (style specific behaviours) has more
  effects on childs self-esteem/self-concept than
  on general health
• Parent-child conflicts have more effects on
  general health than on self-esteem/self-concepts
• Adolescents self-esteem is more affected by
  specific behaviours and treatment of their
  parents (e.g. criticising, encouraging, showing
  concern, being cold or passionate etc) rather
  than their overall style
• When the child experienced high conflicts with
  both the father mother, his health conditions
  will likely be hampered
• However, the family environment might not be so
  negative for the child if at least one part of
  parents (father or mother) could manage the
  conflicts positively with the child

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References

• Baumrind, D. (1968). Authoritarian vs.
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• Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting
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References (Contd)

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References (Contd)

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Acknowledgements

• Conference support from the Department of Applied
  Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong
• Sampling data collection by Josephine W Y NG,
  school social worker, for her dissertation
  submitted for the Postgraduate Diploma in
  Psychology under the supervision of the author
• Powerpoint preparation assisted by Phoebe H T
  Cheung, B.Soc.Sc.(Hons)(Psy), research assistant
• Data analysis assisted by L M Cheung, student of
  Postgraduate Diploma (Psychology), City
  University of Hong Kong
• Participating school principal, teachers, and
  students
• Correspondence Dr Christopher Cheng, Department
  of Applied Social Studies, City University of
  Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong
  Kong. Email chris.cheng_at_cityu.edu.hk