Observing Change Over Time in Strength-Based Parenting and Subjective Wellbeing for Pre-teens and Teens

Abstract

The focus of this study was on adolescent mental health. More specifically, the relationship between strength-based parenting (SBP) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) during adolescence was examined at three time points over 14 months (N = 202, Mage = 12.97, SDage = 0.91, 48% female). SBP was positively related to life satisfaction and positive affect at each of the three time points, and was negatively related to negative affect. SBP and SWB both declined significantly over time. When examining the causal relationships between SBP and SWB, two different statistical models were applied: latent growth-curve models (LGM) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM). The LGM revealed a strong positive relationship between changes in SBP and SWB. Specifically, this model showed that SBP at one time point predicted adolescent SWB at future time points. However, when the more stringent statistical test was completed through RI-CLPMs, no cross-lagged paths reached significance. Thus, while parenting is a significant predictor of wellbeing for pre-teens and teens in real time, it is not predictive of wellbeing at future time points. Parents, thus, cannot assume that their current levels of SBP are ‘banked’ by their children to support future wellbeing. Instead, SBP needs to be an ongoing, contemporary parenting practice. Furthermore, the fact that perceptions of SBP decline in this age bracket suggest that SBP interventions may be helpful in supporting adolescent mental health.

Parenting Practices and Psychosomatic Complaints Among Swedish Adolescents

“…Taken together, the results indicate that parenting practices are linked with concurrent psychosomatic complaints, but do not exhibit any long-term effects on this specific outcome. Our findings are in line with those of an Australian study [ 58 ] which showed that parenting was associated with subjective wellbeing in real time but not in future time points. This suggests that positive parenting practices cannot be assumed to be ‘banked’ by adolescents, but that parental involvement has to be frequent and ongoing [ 58 ].…”

“…Our findings are in line with those of an Australian study [ 58 ] which showed that parenting was associated with subjective wellbeing in real time but not in future time points. This suggests that positive parenting practices cannot be assumed to be ‘banked’ by adolescents, but that parental involvement has to be frequent and ongoing [ 58 ]. It is, however, important to acknowledge that the lack of clear associations in the prospective analyses could partly be attributed to the relatively long interval between the two time points, and that more frequent repeated measurements could have yielded different results [ 59 ].…”

Raising Children in Risk Neighborhoods from Chile: Examining the Relationship between Parenting Stress and Parental Adjustment

“…The relationship between stress and depression in fathers and mothers was de-scribed in different investigations [ 42 , 43 ], as well as the impact of stress on the socio-emotional development of children [ 44 , 45 ]. In Chile, a recent analysis carried out by UNICEF, [ 40 ] based on data from the Longitudinal Survey of Early Childhood, a direct association between psychological factors of caregivers with child development in the socio-emotional and cognitive sphere was reported.…”

Positive Parenting, Prosocial Behavior, Meaning in Life, and Subjective Well-being in Adolescents: a Parallel and Serial Mediation Analysis

“…Parents respect their children's interests, encourage them to explore, and help them build self-confidence and a positive sense of self (Arslan et al, 2022b;Jach et al, 2018). Strengths-based parenting can lay the groundwork for children's increased self-esteem, independence, and social skills (Loton & Waters, 2017;Waters & Sun, 2016), providing a foundation for long-term happiness (Waters et al, 2019). Hence, parents with high levels of strength knowledge and use support their children in practicing and using their known and unrealized strengths, which positively influences their development and functioning by allowing them to discover their potential.…”

“…Hence, parents with high levels of strength knowledge and use support their children in practicing and using their known and unrealized strengths, which positively influences their development and functioning by allowing them to discover their potential. Previous studies have emphasized that, in adolescent samples, strength-based parenting is positively associated with life satisfaction, self-efficacy, stress-related growth, and positive feeling (Allen et al, 2022;Loton & Waters, 2017;Waters et al, 2019), and negatively related to (e.g., is protective against) depression, anxiety, stress, and negative moods (Waters, 2015b;Waters et al, 2019). Therefore, we predict that this parenting approach serves as an important psychosocial factor that can influence an adolescent subjective well-being through meaning in life and prosocial behavior.…”