Two recent studies have challenged the well-established belief that offending behaviors are inversely related to the personality trait of conscientiousness. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore prisoners’ levels of traits according to the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality compared to control groups, with a focus on conscientiousness. Two separate samples of inmates in Swedish high-security prisons were investigated in three studies. Inmates and non-inmates completed a Swedish-language translation of Goldberg’s (1999) International Personality Item Pool questionnaire (IPIP-NEO, Bäckström, 2007). Male inmates (n = 46) in Studies 1 and 2 scored higher on conscientiousness than non-inmates (norm data based on approximately 800 males, and a students’ sample), which conflicts with previous results. Study 3 further explored the conscientiousness differences on the facet level. Male and female inmates (n = 131) scored higher on order and self-discipline (even after an adjustment for social desirability) than students (n = 136). In conjunction with previous findings, these differences are interpreted as being either temporal or enduring adjustments to the prison environment. It is suggested that researchers and clinical teams should cautiously interpret the FFM factor of conscientiousness (and its facets) when planning the further treatment of inmates.

Psychological control and lack of warmth are widely assumed to cause internalizing symptoms in adolescents (Hunter et al., 2015; Steinberg, 2001). However, most research has been cross-sectional, and longitudinal findings have been mixed (e.g., White et al., 2015) or the used statistical methods were not optimal to support causal conclusions (Hunter et al., 2015). Only few studies have inspected child effects on parenting (Brenning et al., 2015). Thus, evidence is lacking on whether parenting style affects adolescent internalizing symptoms such as depression, loneliness, and poor self-esteem. Moreover, from a systems perspective, further factors should be explored such as adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions of each other, goals, and strategies to change their mutual relationship. This study examines bidirectional effects of all these facets of parent-adolescent relationships and parenting behaviors and adolescent internalizing symptoms.

Using two annual data collections (N = 1,281/1,274/824 at T1/T2/overlap, resp.) in a representative Swedish community sample of adolescents originally in grades 7-10 (Mage = 15.2, SD = 1.2), effects of perceived parenting (warmth, psychological control, behavior control, overcontrol), adolescent relationship satisfaction, goals (establishing autonomy, submission under parental authority), and strategies (disclosure, secrecy) on internalizing problems (depression symptoms, loneliness, low self-esteem) and vice versa were examined, controlling for the respective dependent variable at T1, gender, and school grade. Parental attitudes (e.g., perceived child depression, satisfaction, and feelings of giving up) were assessed at T2 in a sub-sample (N = 290), allowing for the prediction of these attitudes by T1 internalizing. In order to preserve as much information as possible, missing data were multiply imputed (20 datasets), reaching over 95% efficiency of analyses. Still, those analyses involving parent attitudes are tentative due to the lack of T1 measures and the large number of missing data, reducing power and introducing bias if data were not missing at random (e.g., non-response of dissatisfied parents being not entirely predicted by adolescent data).

Consistent with and expanding previous research, most parenting and parent-adolescent relationship variables were cross-sectionally correlated with adolescent internalizing symptoms (see Table 1). In most instances of significant within-time associations, also the predictions over time of the respective parenting and parent-adolescent relationship variables by teen internalizing symptoms were significant (Table 1). In contrast, only three effects in the opposite direction reached or approached significance: feelings of being overly controlled by parents increased depression and tentatively reduced self-esteem, and low child disclosure increased loneliness. Supporting a systems perspective, parent-reported feelings of giving up and of low relationship satisfaction mediated effects of adolescent depression on e.g. reduced warmth and increased psychological control over time.

Thus, the study has shown broad deteriorating effects of teen internalizing on parenting and parent-adolescent relationship quality and has provided first evidence of mediation by parent cognitions and feelings. However, parenting effects on internalizing were sparse and involved other than the expected variables. If adolescents felt overly controlled by their parents, they became depressed and their self-esteem was tentatively reduced. And if they did not disclose much information to their parents, they became lonelier over time.

Previous research has shown that about 30% of adolescent girls and 15% of adolescent boys suffer from disordered eating (DE) which can be defined as problematic eating below criteria for eating disorders according to DSM-V (Hautala et al., 2008; Herpertz-Dahlman et al., 2008). Even sub-clinical unhealthy weight-control behaviors have predicted outcomes related to obesity and eating disorders five years later (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2006). However, two issues question the validity of DE. First, in contrast to eating disorders, under- or overweight/obesity are not necessary parts of DE. Second, some symptoms and correlates of DE are similar to those of depression. E.g., parent-adolescent relationships seem to play an important role in explaining both DE (Hautala et al., 2011; Berge et al., 2010) and internalizing problems (Soenens et al., 2012). Thus, this study examined associations between DE and a wide range of internalizing and externalizing problems, parent-adolescent relationship characteristics, and food intake and sleep habits in a general population of adolescents. Comparing results with and without controlling for depression reveals whether DE is a specific problem or merely a depressive symptom. This study also explored whether DE and the other variables under study are associated independently of weight status (underweight, overweight/obesity, and normal weight), specific to under- or overweight, or spurious if taking weight status into account.

The study is based on the first wave of an on-going longitudinal study, and all measures are child-reported (N=1,281). Adolescents attending grades 7 to 10 in a Southern Swedish municipality (age 12.5 to 19.3, M = 15.2, SD = 1.2) filled out questionnaires in class.  DE was measured using the SCOFF, a five-item screening scale validated for use in general populations (e.g. Muro-Sans et al., 2008; Noma et al., 2006).

The results of univariate ANOVAs indicate that associations with DE were largely independent of weight status. Moreover, most associations with disordered eating were spurious when controlling for depression. However, some associations remained. Above and beyond depression effects, adolescents with DE reported lower self-esteem, stronger feelings of being over-controlled by their parents and active withholding of information towards them, consumption of fewer meals during the week, and higher levels of daytime sleepiness. Boys with ED slept more hours during the week and ate more fruits and vegetables than boys without ED. In conclusion, despite an overlap between depressive symptoms and disordered eating, this study provides ample evidence that sleep, nutrition habits, self-esteem, and parental control issues distinguish eating disordered adolescents from those suffering from general depressive symptoms.

Previous research has shown that about 30% of adolescent girls and 15% of adolescent boys suffer from disordered eating (DE) which can be defined as problematic eating below criteria for eating disorders according to DSM-V (Hautala et al., 2008; Herpertz-Dahlman et al., 2008). Even sub-clinical unhealthy weight-control behaviors have predicted outcomes related to obesity and eating disorders five years later (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2006). However, two issues question the validity of DE. First, in contrast to eating disorders, under- or overweight/obesity are not necessary parts of DE. Second, some symptoms and correlates of DE are similar to those of depression. E.g., parent-adolescent relationships seem to play an important role in explaining both DE (Hautala et al., 2011; Berge et al., 2010) and internalizing problems (Soenens et al., 2012). Thus, this study examined associations between DE and a wide range of internalizing and externalizing problems, parent-adolescent relationship characteristics, and food intake and sleep habits in a general population of adolescents. Comparing results with and without controlling for depression reveals whether DE is a specific problem or merely a depressive symptom. This study also explored whether DE and the other variables under study are associated independently of weight status (underweight, overweight/obesity, and normal weight), specific to under- or overweight, or spurious if taking weight status into account.

The study is based on the first wave of an on-going longitudinal study, and all measures are child-reported (N=1,281). Adolescents attending grades 7 to 10 in a Southern Swedish municipality (age 12.5 to 19.3, M = 15.2, SD = 1.2) filled out questionnaires in class.  DE was measured using the SCOFF, a five-item screening scale validated for use in general populations (e.g. Muro-Sans et al., 2008; Noma et al., 2006).

The results of univariate ANOVAs indicate that associations with DE were largely independent of weight status. Moreover, most associations with disordered eating were spurious when controlling for depression. However, some associations remained. Above and beyond depression effects, adolescents with DE reported lower self-esteem, stronger feelings of being over-controlled by their parents and active withholding of information towards them, consumption of fewer meals during the week, and higher levels of daytime sleepiness. Boys with ED slept more hours during the week and ate more fruits and vegetables than boys without ED. In conclusion, despite an overlap between depressive symptoms and disordered eating, this study provides ample evidence that sleep, nutrition habits, self-esteem, and parental control issues distinguish eating disordered adolescents from those suffering from general depressive symptoms.

Associations between parenting behaviors of support, behavior control and overcontrol, and psychological control/disrespect with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems have been studied extensively (Barber et al., 2012; Kerr & Stattin, 2000), and also adolescent behaviors of disclosure and secrecy in the context of these problems (Frijns et al., 2010). However, few studies have assessed how parent and child behaviors might moderate each other’s associations with problems (Keijsers et al., 2009). This study investigates interaction effects of the above-mentioned parent and adolescent behaviors when predicting depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem (internalizing), and delinquency, aggression, and drug/alcohol use (externalizing). Given the variety of behaviors and problems under study, it is hypothesized that various kinds of moderation effects will emerge.

An ethnically diverse sample of 1,281 adolescents attending grades 7 to 10 in a Southern Swedish municipality (age 12.5 to 19.3, M = 15.2, SD = 1.2) filled out questionnaires in class. All scales have been published internationally; however, some items were added to short scales. Each of the internalizing and externalizing problems was regressed on all possible combinations of one of the four parenting variables and one of the two adolescent behaviors under study, resulting in 48 regression analyses.

Confirming previous findings, parent psychological control and overcontrol were associated with internalizing and externalizing problems, and behavior control and insufficient support with internalizing problems. Adolescent disclosure predicted low levels of both kinds of problems and secrecy predicted high levels. Two-way interactions of parent and adolescent behaviors added significantly (p < .05) to the variance in 13 of 48 analyses which is beyond chance level (p < .001). In addition to the inspection of significant effects, t-values across all analyses were analyzed in order to distinguish between more general trends and solitary effects on specific internalizing or externalizing problems only. Confirming the hypothesis, interaction effects varied across the combinations of parent and adolescent behaviors (η² = .26) and were further moderated by the distinction between internalizing and externalizing problems (η² = .38). These effects were grouped into five kinds of interaction effects: In mutually enhancing and mutually exacerbating effects, two positive or two negative, respectively, behaviors increased each other’s associations with problem levels. In protection effects, usually adolescents’ behavior reduced associations between negative parenting and problems. Relationship split effects might reflect an alienated parent-adolescent relationship in which negative behaviors cannot do much additional harm. Finally, maintained relationship/sabotage means that the lowest level of problems occurred if one generation maintained the relationship by a positive behavior and the other generation abstained from “sabotaging” it by a negative behavior. Otherwise, problem behaviors increased sharply without the other generation’s behavior having any large effect any longer.

In conclusion, analyses provide ample evidence that adolescents’ behavior moderates links between parents’ behaviors and adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Possible causal interpretations include adolescents as “gatekeepers” of parenting efforts, families’ functional and dysfunctional adaptations, and parent and child behavior combinations as consequences of internalizing and externalizing problems.

Föräldrar och barn till 962 familjer med elever i årskurserna 2, 4, 6 och 9 fyllde i enkäter om barns cyklande till skolan och till fritidsaktiviteter, i syftet att få kunskap om möjliga bakomliggande faktorer. Förutom lokala förhållanden som återspeglas i skillnader mellan deltagande skolorna hade föräldrars förebild som cyklister och barns egna cykelvanor de starkaste samband med barns cyklande, dessutom i viss mån barns och föräldrars attityder. Artikeln drar slutsatser om möjliga strategier för att öka barns säkra cyklande.

As children grow up, they expand their territorial range (Andrews, 1973). This increasing autonomy allows them for reaching new places of activities, thereby attaining further developmental tasks. However, less is known about what children and adolescents do that makes them familiar with an increasing area. Various means such as walking, riding a bicycle, taking a bus or getting a lift by car differ in the mobility and the knowledge about the environment they provide (Rissotto & Tonucci, 2002) and in the motor, perceptual, and cognitive skills required to use them. Thus, these means of transportation may not only be tools for autonomy development, but becoming able to use them might be a part of autonomy development (Bullens et al., 2010). Thus, the frequencies of walking, riding a bicycle or a bus, and of being given a lift by the parents, will be explored in two domains: transportation to school and to spare-time activities. The former focuses on the use of means of transportation to a mandatory destination whereas the latter explores the twofold autonomy to make use of a means of transportation and to access targets which might change with age.

A total of 715 children (54.4% girls) attending grades 4, 6, and 9 (ages 10, 12, and 15) and 497 parents of children (51.5% girls) attending grades 2, 4, and 6 (ages 8, 10, and 12) filled out questionnaires. Both parents and children indicated on how many days of the week the child walked, cycled, took the bus, and was driven to school and to free-time activities, respectively. Multilevel analyses were used because participants were nested in 16 schools which were nested in 6 municipalities in adjacent regions of Denmark and Southern Sweden. Predictor variables were grade, gender (dummy-coded), and distance to school (four categories, recoded to approximate kilometers). In the next step, country was added into equations, in order to explain part of the variance between municipalities. Finally, theoretically meaningful interactions between grade, gender, and distance from school were added. The final model for each dependent variable was the one with the best fit (AIC, BIC). Variables had been transformed to approach normal distribution.

Walking and riding the bicycle (especially in girls) were mainly used for shorter distances. In contrast, bus and the family car were used for more distant destinations. Danish children used more active, individual ways of transportation whereas Swedish children used public transport. Girls tended to use more passive means such as being driven by car or riding the bus whereas boys, at least at certain ages, walked more or rode their bicycles. Although age effects were similar on a global level, such as that children depended less of their parents’ help to get somewhere, details differed. The youngest children did not any longer need the car ride to school, but it were the oldest ones who did not any longer get lifts to spare-time activities nearby. Thus, age trends in how to get to school did not explain age trends in accessing spare-time activities. On the contrary, when controlling for getting lifts to school, the absence of net age effects in parent-reported car rides turned out to be the sum of the opposite trends towards independence from parents and towards having more destinations to reach.

The results show that children choose varying means of transportation according to their development of needs and skills. The differences between the age trends for the two types of destinations suggest a larger flexibility than known previously. Still, gender and cultural differences affect this facet of autonomy development.

Traditionally, parents’ firm and consistent behavior control has been regarded as effective protection against adolescents’ drug use and delinquency (Steinberg, 2001). However, the validity of findings has been questioned (Stattin & Kerr, 2000; Kerr & Stattin, 2000). The widely-used indicator of behavior control, parental knowledge, appears rather to reflect a trusting relationship (Masche, 2010). However, little is known about which facets of the relationship are most important: Is it more “nasty,” guilt inducing and interfering behavior, i.e. psychological control, which leads to substance use and deviance? Or is it parents’ ability to be “nice” and create close family relations marked by solidarity that prevents these problem behaviors?

A total of 143 adolescents attending grade 9 (age 15-16, 58% male) in two medium-sized Swedish cities filled out questionnaires at school. Scales on alcohol and drug use focused on frequency and intensity of use and on symptoms of substance abuse. The deviance scale ranged from minor delinquency to violent acts. Adolescents answered also scales on their experienced relationship quality to their parents, on parents’ psychological control and behavior control (e.g., needing permission before going out on the evening). Mother and father scales were summed because of their high inter-correlations. Drug consumption was generally low, and several items did not even vary between participants. Still, all scales were sufficiently reliable (α’s ≥ .80). Because 44% of the sample had other than Swedish ethnic background – in most instances were the parents born in the Middle East –, ethnicity, gender, and their interaction were included into the analyses, but did not predict substance use or deviance.

Although alcohol use and deviance were highly correlated, these two problem behaviors were somewhat differently associated with parenting and relationship variables: Adolescents who consumed a lot of alcohol tended to have poor relationships to psychologically controlling parents. However, deviant adolescents reported in the first place psychologically controlling parents and only to a lesser degree also a poor relationship quality. Drug use (which generally was low) was only associated with psychological control. Multiple regression analyses revealed whether each parenting and relationship variable uniquely predicted substance use and deviance. The results were similar to the bivariate correlations, confirming the general importance of psychological control. Relationship quality still predicted low alcohol use, but was not any longer important for deviance when controlled for psychological control. Behavior control did not predict any of these problem behaviors in any analysis.

This study confirms findings questioning the role of behavior control (Kerr & Stattin, 2000; Stattin & Kerr, 2000). It tells what might be important instead. Hostile, guilt-inducing behavior was consistently associated with externalizing problems whereas a close relationship showed more specific associations. To the degree that parents affect adolescents’ externalizing behaviors rather than are affected by them, these findings suggest that parents above all should avoid being “nasty,” i.e. psychologically controlling. Being “nice,” i.e., to contribute to a close companionship with their children, also appears important, but more specifically against alcohol consumption.  

Parents can support their adolescent child’s psychosocial development by a parenting style which is warm and involved, firm and consistent, and which grants psychological autonomy (the freedom to have one’s own thoughts and feelings). Psychological autonomy granting is regarded as particularly beneficial for the prevention of anxiety, depression, or other kinds of internalizing distress (McLeod, et al., 2007; Steinberg, 2001). However, longitudinal research has produced mixed evidence (Birmaher, et al., 2000; Colarossi & Eccles, 2003; Galambos et al., 2003; Steinberg, et al., 1994). Even less is known on long-term effects into young adulthood. Besides parental behaviors, also the parent-adolescent relationship might be important. Teens who feel close to their parents and who communicate frequently with them might experience a “secure base” which protects against depression and fosters the children’s well-being even in the future. Thus, this study examined reciprocal effects between parenting styles (psychological control and affection) and the parent-adolescent relationship (felt closeness to and communication with parents) and emotional, social and psychological well-being, and depression.

This study used the 2002, 2005, and 2007 waves of an ongoing longitudinal study, representative for the USA. Out of 1,319 adolescents aged 11-19 in 2002, 575 young adults, then 18-22 years old were re-interviewed in 2005. By 2007, more adolescents had reached young adulthood, thus, 878 young adults of age 18-24 were re-interviewed in 2007. Also 224 of the originally youngest adolescents were re-interviewed in 2007 as a separate sample. Parenting styles were assessed in the adolescent data collections 2002 and 2007, and parent-child relationships and well-being at all occasions.

Albeit adolescents’ perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles were highly correlated, specific effects on well-being occurred in cross-lagged regression analyses. Maternal psychological control in 2002 predicted lowered levels of emotional and social well-being and elevated levels of depression in 2005 (β’s = -.10, -.08, and .11, resp.). In part, these effects were found even after five years in 2007. Maternal support did not have any significant effects. For fathers, only one effect was found, of psychological control 2002 on depressive symptoms 2007 (β = .08). Measures of the parent-adolescent relationship did not predict well-being, with the exception of communication to mothers in 2002 which predicted emotional well-being in 2005.

In the opposite direction of effects, depression predicted maternal psychological control five years later (β = .18, p = .023), despite the smaller sample of still adolescent respondents. Also some effects of parenting and of well-being on the parent-young adult relationship occurred.

In conclusion, advice to parents might focus on how to avoid psychologically controlling behaviors, especially for mothers were these might conflict most with North-American gender roles. Future research should investigate why such detrimental behaviors occur in response to adolescents’ emotional problems. That parental support as a general style proved unimportant does not mean that support never would be needed: It might be that in key situations of danger or adolescent problems, adolescents need the impression that parents care, and not only abstain from psychological control (Olsson & Wik, 2009).