A Lot of Warmth and a Bit of Control? How Parenting Mediates the Relationship Between Parental Personality and Their Children’s Mental Health Problems

Research has identified parental personality and parenting behaviour as important contributors to healthy child development. However, indirect associations are largely unknown. The current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of parenting dimension relations between parental personality and adolescent mental health problems. The cross-sectional sample included 4258 German adolescents (48.7% male, 11–17 years) and one parent who participated in a national health survey (KiGGS Wave 2). The results underline and extend previous indications of direct associations between parental personality and their children’s mental health problems by highlighting the adverse role of neuroticism. Furthermore, new insights are added regarding the mediating roles of parenting dimensions (i.e., warmth, behavioural control, and psychological control). Future efforts and parent-focused prevention programmes should be extended by parental personality to identify maladaptive parenting behaviour and thus contribute to the development of their children’s mental health.

The Influence of Father Involvement on Their Children’s Self-Esteem in the Arab World

To understand the role of Arab fathers in raising their children, which remains understudied, this study analyzed different forms of father involvement during childhood and their relationship with children’s self-esteem during adult life. Drawing on a larger study on father involvement, data were collected from 2,170 respondents across ten countries in the Arab world, consisting of questionnaires about their relationships with their fathers and life history interviews focusing on father involvement. Regression analyses indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between nurturing father involvement, socioeconomic status (SES), and self-esteem, while psychological control showed a statistically significant negative association with self-esteem. Further analysis, differentiating between Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and non-GCC countries, revealed that SES has a stronger relationship with self-esteem in non-GCC countries than in the resource-rich GCC countries.

Parenting Practices and Emerging Adult Well-Being in the United States and China

Parenting practices that promote or inhibit autonomy in their emerging adult child can impact the well-being of emerging adults. This study explored a variety of parenting practices and how these practices impact emerging adult well-being across two cultures. Associations between parental support, involvement, helicopter parenting, and psychological control and emerging adults’ well-being were compared between two samples of participants ages 18-25: American ( n = 643) and Chinese ( n = 514). Results indicate that parental support can promote well-being among emerging adults, but autonomy-limiting practices of psychological control and helicopter parenting seem to be unfavorable for emerging adults regardless of culture. Differences in reported mean levels of the four parenting practices were observed across the two culturally specific samples; however, the strength of associations between practices and emerging adult well-being was not statistically different.

PARENTS’ SELF-COMPASSION AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF CHILD REARING PRACTICES

The issue of parents’ psychological well-being, parents’ ability to recognize their physical and emotional resources, ability to avoid exhaustion of those resources has become increasingly important. In this context parents’ self-compassion could be psychological resource for parents to implement positive parenting approaches and encourage positive contact with the child. The aim of this research was to examine whether there is an association between parents’ self-compassion and their perceptions of child rearing practices. Data were collected from 203 respondents in 2019. The results showed a statistically significant positive correlation (rs= .268 p < .01) between self-compassion and the Positive parenting indicators; statistically significant negative correlation (rs= -.214 p < .01) between self-compassion and Psychological control; statistically significant negative correlation (rs= -.192, p < .01) between self-compassion and Physical control. Keywords: psychological well-being, self-compassion, perceptions of child rearing