Latent Growth Curve Model of Perceived Family Relationship Quality and Depressive Symptoms During Middle Adolescence in Spain

This study aimed to examine longitudinal associations between the perceived quality of family relationships and self-reported depressive symptoms during middle adolescence. A 2-year follow-up study, with three assessments at 1-year intervals, was conducted. A total of 525 Spanish adolescents completed paper-based self-report assessments, which included the 10-item Child Depression Inventory and a brief Likert-type scale to measure the quality of the relationships with their father and their mother separately. The results indicated that a decline in the quality of both adolescent–father and adolescent–mother relationships were related to an increase in depressive symptoms during middle adolescence. Furthermore, adolescent–father relationships were found to be worse for girls than for boys and were observed to be associated with gender differences in depressive symptoms after the follow-up. The results provide longitudinal evidence on the importance of parent–adolescent relationships and gender differences in depressive symptoms during adolescence.

Fatherhood in adolescence in the context of the health services, school and community

This study aimed to investigate the perception of the adolescent father regarding his interaction with the health services, school and community. It is an extract from the multicentric study turned Social Support Networks for Fatherhood in Adolescence, and has a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach. It was undertaken with 14 adolescent fathers in a university hospital. The semi-structured interviews were held six months after the birth of the child, between 2009 and 2010. Discursive textual analysis and the theoretical framework of Urie Bronfenbrenner were used for the construction of three categories: The adolescent father's perception regarding his interaction with the school; with the health services; and with the community. The adolescent fathers were shown to be receptive to formal study, and present and participative in the health services and community; the possible difficulties of interaction between the adolescent fathers and the environments studied seem to result from the lack of organization and appropriate preparation for embracing them.

Fathers Matter

Infant mortality is the most widely used indicator of a nation’s health status and is associated with a plethora of maternal and socioeconomic factors. Although the association between young and old maternal age and the risk of infant mortality is well established, the link between paternal age and birth outcomes has received far less attention. This study seeks to examine the added impact of paternal age on infant mortality, above and beyond that of maternal age among married couples. Using the 2002 linked birth and infant death data set ( N = 63,754), hazard odds ratios for the association between combined adolescent and adult maternal and paternal age and the risk of infant mortality were estimated. Maternal demographic characteristics, such as education and race/ethnicity were controlled. The findings indicate that, independent of maternal education and race/ethnicity, adolescent father adds additional risk, above and beyond that of maternal age, only when the mother is older (21-45 years; hazard ratio = 2.7). This study highlights that for married couples, adolescent fathers add to the risk of infant mortality when the mothers are older, providing insight into the role of paternal age in infant mortality. Implications for additional research are discussed.

Grandparents, Adolescents, and Parents

This article examines intergenerational relations from the perspective of Taiwanese youth. Specifically, the major focus is on how the relations between second and third generations may be affected by prior family experiences between first, second, and third generations. Possible effects of the three-generation living arrangement on intergenerational relations are also explored. Panel data of 2,500 seventh graders in 2000 in northern Taiwan show that half of teenagers were raised in coresidence living arrangement with grandparents. Results confirm that relations between grandparents and parents and between grandparents and grandchildren do affect parent-teenager relations. Notably, more so than coresidence, the early family experience of being cared for by paternal grandparents produces significant positive effects on adolescent-father relations and negative adolescent-father relations if cared for by maternal grandparents. It is suggested that the impact of earlier family process on subsequent family relations is worth further investigation.

Adolescent-parent discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning and early adolescent self-competence

The relationship between discrepancies in adolescents’ and their parents’ perceptions of family functioning and adolescent self-competence was examined in a sample of 74 sixth and seventh grade students and their parents. This relationship was examined by the gender of the adolescent and the gender of the parent. Results indicated that discrepancies in adolescent-mother and adolescent-father perceptions of family functioning were related to lower levels of adolescent self-competence for girls. For boys, discrepancies in adolescent-mother perceptions of family functioning were also related to lower levels of adolescent self-competence, however, discrepancies in adolescent-father perceptions of family functioning were related to higher levels of adolescent self-competence. Explanations for these gender differences are provided. For both girls and boys, discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning predicted lower levels of self-competence and lower levels of self-competence predicted discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning. Consistent with current models of human development, these results emphasise the importance of examining both directions of influence when relationships between characteristics of the individual and the family context are explored.