Mothers’ and Fathers’ Responsive Problem Solving with Early Adolescents: Do Gender, Shyness, and Social Acceptance Make a Difference?

Abstract

We assessed the extent to which youths' (n = 231) shyness and social acceptance in preadolescence were associated with parents' responsive problem solving 1 year later after controlling for initial levels of parents' problem solving. Teachers (n = 176) completed assessments of youths' shyness and social acceptance, and parents (n = 231 married pairs) completed assessments of their responsive problem solving with the child. For shy daughters, higher levels of social acceptance from peers predicted more responsive problem solving from fathers. Greater social acceptance predicted marginally less maternal problem solving for sons, but greater social acceptance predicted marginally more maternal problem solving with daughters. Results suggest the salience of child gender, shyness, and social acceptance when considering typical levels of parental involvement with youth. Implications for parents include the importance of successful problem solving discussions with emerging adolescents, especially youth who are shy or excluded by peers.

The Association between Parent and Adult Child Shyness, Social Skills, and Perceived Family Communication

“…We were able to support this claim by replicating it four times in this sample (i.e., parent and child shyness were associated with their own communication competence and social control). Researchers have found this association among children, adolescents, and young adults (e.g., Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 07:51 03 January 2015 Brunet & Schmidt, 2007;Eggum et al, 2009;Miller, Brody, & Murry, 2010). The current results extend these findings because we found that shyness is related to social skills in young adults and middle-aged adults, suggesting that this association persists across the life span.…”

Parent-Child Interactions and Adolescent Anxiety: A Systematic Review

“…Six studies (Caster et al, 1999;McClure et al, 2001;Miller et al, 2010;Schwartz et al, 2012;Van Zalk & Kerr, 2011;Wijsbroek et al, 2011) were part of larger studies. Participants were recruited through schools in all except four studies (McClure et al, 2001;Miller et al, 2010;Vazsonyi & Belliston, 2006;Wijsbroek et al, 2011), where participants were drawn from the community. One study included a referred, clinical population (Hudson & Rapee, 2001).…”

“…All but one study (Rapee, 2009) involved adolescents of both sexes. Six studies assessed adolescents for symptoms related to social anxiety or shyness (Caster et al, 1999;Fisak & Mann, 2010;Garcia-Lopez et al, 2009;Loukas, 2009;Miller et al, 2010;Van Zalk & Kerr, 2011), four studies assessed symptoms of generalized anxiety (Hale III et al, 2006;Muris, 2002;Wijsbroek et al, 2011;Wilson et al, 2011) and Wijsbroek et al (2011) also looked at symptoms of separation anxiety. The remaining twelve studies used measures that assessed general anxiety symptoms.…”

“…All the adolescents in Loukas' (2009) study were living with their biological mother. In Miller et al's (2010) study, all the parents were married and the biological parents of the adolescent. Verhoeven et al (2012) reported that 97-98% of participating mothers and fathers across their child and adolescent groups were the biological parent of the child.…”

Predictors of Hands-On Learning: Students’ Problem Approach Attitude, Problem Solving Confidence, and Problem Solving Style Relevant to Parental Monitoring

“…In these days, present studies of parental monitoring are focusing on the influences of parental monitoring and schooling [2], self-control of children [3], and academic achievement [4]. The former studies show that parental monitoring effects on the teen's problem solving skills [5]. However, there is no study focuses on the relationship of parental monitoring, hands-on learning attitude, problem approach attitude, problem solving confidence, and problem solving style.…”