Parenting, Family Relational Provisions and Internalizing Difficulties in Argentine Children: The Buffering Effect of Friendship Quality

SCHULZ BEGLE, ANNIE; LEMOS, VIVIANA; RICHAUD, MARÍA CRISTINA; RUBIN, K. H.

Seattle, Washington

Congreso; SRCD (Society for Research in Chid Development) 2013 Biennial Meeting Schedule; 2013

SRCD (Society for Research in Chid Development)

Research indicates that a child?s and adolescent psychological adjustment is greatly influenced by the relationships with both parents and peers (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Due to the stability and saliency of externalizing difficulties, most of the research examining the relation between parenting and psychosocial adjustment outcomes has focused on these behaviors, thus, the attention devoted to the effects of parenting on internalizing problems, such as loneliness and depression, has been relatively weaker (Gaertner, Fite, & Colder, 2010). From those studies which have addressed this relation it is known that overly controlling parents predict internalizing difficulties in childhood (Rubin and Burgess, 2002; Rubin and Mills, 1991). In contrast, parenting characterized by warmth and encouragement of autonomy has been linked to psychosocial adjustment in childhood and throughout adolescence (Bayer, Sanson & Hemphill, 2006). Similarly, positive and high quality friendships have been associated to fewer internalizing difficulties (Parker &Asher, 1993). Furthermore, the interaction between parenting practices and family factors on the one hand and friendship quality on the other has been well established (Lansford, Criss, Pettit, Dodge & Bates, 2003). This study examined the role of friendship quality as a moderator in the relation between parenting (parental acceptance and warmth, harsh control and autonomy granting) and family relational provision factors (intimacy and integration with family) and young adolescents? internalizing difficulties (depression and loneliness). The sample consisted of 132 children (51.5% girls; M=10.95 years old) from the city of Paraná, Argentina. The predictor variables were assessed using the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, Scale of Perceived Relationship with Parents and Relational Provision Questionnaire. The outcome measures used were the Argentine validations of the Dimensions of Depression Profile and Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents. Hierarchichal Linear Regression Analyses were used to examine the relations between constructs. Several main effects were observed in the prediction of depression. Significant predictors were maternal control and autonomy (positively), paternal acceptance (with a negative direction), control and autonomy (positively), and integration with the family (negatively). Friendship quality significantly predicted depression in a negative direction, however, and interestingly, this was not true for the prediction of loneliness, which was instead predicted by paternal and maternal control and both parents? autonomy granting (in all cases positively) and negatively by integration to the family. Some moderation effects were observed as well. The effects of maternal autonomy granting and integration with the family group were buffered by friendship quality, and a moderation effect involving personal intimacy with the family and friendship quality was evidenced despite the main effect of intimacy not being significant in the previous step. Analyses also revealed that interactions between both integration to the family group and personal intimacy with friendship quality were significant in predicting loneliness. The results support the theory that children obtain different provisions from different types of relationships (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985) and that these relationships moderate each other. However, some unexpected results were found which will be discussed from the perspective of culture and socioemotional development.