Guided cognitive reframing of adolescent-father conflict: Who Mexican American and European American adolescents seek and why

Abstract

Adolescents may seek to understand family conflict by seeking out confidants. However, little is known about whom adolescents seek, whether and how such support helps youth, and the factors that predict which sources are sought. This chapter offers a conceptual model of guided cognitive reframing that emphasizes the behavioral, cognitive, and affective implications of confidant support as well as individual, family, and cultural factors linked to support seeking. We present empirical data from 392 families of 7th graders of Mexican and European ancestry to predict whether adolescents seek mothers, co-resident fathers, and other sources and provide directions for subsequent research.

He Said What? Guided Cognitive Reframing About the Co‐Resident Father/Stepfather–Adolescent Relationship

“…However, we found limited evidence for this conclusion in the present work, because ethnicity accounted for very few differential associations. Additionally, in an earlier paper, we did not find evidence that cultural values predicted whether fathers were sought out to discuss the father–child relationship (Cookston et al., ), suggesting that the expression of respect may not result in differential guided cognitive reframing processes for adolescents of Mexican American and European ancestry.…”

“…Specifically, how much adolescents believe they matter to their co‐residential fathers and stepfathers explains problem behaviors such as depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors, exclusive of how much they believe they matter to their mothers. In an earlier investigation (Cookston et al., ), we found that whether the co‐residential father was a biological father or a stepfather was not associated with whether children sought him out for guided cognitive reframing. However, because the current study is focused on what happens after the child seeks out the co‐residential father/stepfather for conversation, we will test whether guided cognitive reframing operates differently for the two father types.…”

“…Evidence from the acculturation and display rule literatures suggest adolescents of Mexican ancestry might be less likely to seek out their mothers and co‐resident fathers/stepfathers than adolescents of European ancestry. However, in an earlier investigation (Cookston et al., ), greater endorsement of cultural values of familism, enculturation, or individualism by adolescents was not related to whether those adolescents were willing to seek out mothers, fathers/stepfathers, and other reframing agents. In the present investigation, we explore whether ethnicity determines who is sought out to reframe conflict, how those sources provide cognitive explanations for the situation, and the implications of that information for the adolescents' affective evaluations of themselves and their co‐resident fathers/stepfathers.…”

“…Thus, it is possible that behavior problems and psychological symptoms may influence how often adolescents seek sources, the cognitive experience of talking with others, and the affective products of such discussions. We previously reported that whether adolescents showed more problem behavior was unrelated to seeking out sources for reframing (Cookston et al., ); thus it does not appear that more adjustment problems lead to more reframing. Similar patterns failing to link adjustment problems to reframing were observed in these results as well.…”

Sense of coherence in late adolescence following involvement as a child in decision-making during parental separation

“…The significance of parent nurture as a determinant of how children will adapt to the parental separation transition has gained a lot of research attention (e.g. Adamsons & Johnson, 2013;Fabricius et al, 2012;Kelly & Emery, 2003;Robinson, 2006). Robinson (2006) states that warm and nurturing relationships with parents buffer the effects of adversity by providing a secure base in the continued development of child wellbeing, although child wellbeing has been empirically linked to relationships with both parents post separation (e.g.…”