Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Parenting Style Could Influence ADHD Severity in Kids

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

A shift in parenting early in a child's development might help curb the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research suggests.

When a preschooler exhibits an "excitable or exuberant" temperament, dialing down a "controlling" style of parenting in favor of what's known as "directive" parenting could mean milder ADHD symptoms as a child ages, Canadian researchers report.

“More directive parenting, which is not controlling but guides the child with verbal and physical cues, can help develop the child’s self-regulatory skills and prevent their ADHD symptoms from increasing," explained study co-author Dr. Heather Henderson, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario.

One type of temperament -- exuberant -- has been tied to the onset of ADHD, the team added.

Exuberance involves "high excitement, curiosity and positive responses to unfamiliar people and contexts," Henderson explained in a university news release.

While exuberance has some positive aspects, it is also linked to troubles with self-regulation of behaviors, as well as issues around working memory and flexible thinking.

Combined with family factors, an exuberant temperament "might predispose some kids to develop ADHD symptoms," Henderson said.

In the study, her team tracked outcomes for 291 kids ages 4 months to 15 years. They observed child temperament and parent-child interactions at age 3, tested the child's memory/thinking at age 4 and tracked ADHD symptoms in kids (as reported by parents) up to age 15.

The main finding: ADHD symptoms focused on memory and thinking may hinge on a combination of a child's temperament and their mom and/or dad's parenting styles.

Kids with less "directive" style parents tended to display increased ADHD symptoms throughout childhood, the researchers reported recently in the journal Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

“Symptoms of ADHD typically stabilize from ages 5 to 9 and decrease from ages 9 to 15. But for predictable cases of very young children with exuberant temperament and less directive parenting, that stabilization may not occur,” Henderson explained.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/parenting-style-could-influence-adhd-severity-in-kids

Even 'White Lies' From Parents Encourage Lying by Kids

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Kids are more likely to lie to their parents if their parents have been lying to them -- even with positive “white” lies, a new study shows.

But researchers found a difference between encouraging white lies and “instrumental” lies that involve false threats or promises.

Any sort of instrumental lie -- “Behave or I’ll call the police” or “Finish your homework and we’ll go to Disneyland” -- increased the likelihood that a kid would lie to their parents.

But white lies only affected kids if they knew that their parents weren’t telling the truth, researchers found.

“Our study shows that while both instrumental and white lies told by parents could result in children lying to their parents, the effect of white lies was seen only in children who know they have been lied to,” said lead researcher Pei Pei Setoh, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

“This suggests that the way children develop lying behaviors could depend on the way they understand and process different types of lies told to them,” she added in a university news release.

The new study involved 564 parent-child pairs in Singapore, with kids that were ages 11 and 12. Researchers picked this age because this is the time when children’s concepts of lying become more sophisticated.

The data suggest that the more children were told instrumental lies, the more likely they were to lie to their parents -- even if they didn’t know what they were told was a lie.

Since these instrumental lies can get a child to behave, kids might be gaining an unintended lesson from them, researchers speculated. They could be learning that such lies are effective in achieving a goal, making them more likely to lie.

But these instrumental lies also might cause negative feelings because they are coercive in nature, straining the parent-child relationship and making the kid more likely to lie out of resentment, researchers added.

However, white lies only promoted more lying if children knew their parent was being disingenuous.

The new study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/even-white-lies-from-parents-encourage-lying-by-kids

Study Suggests Secret for Getting Teens to Listen to Unsolicited Advice

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

A new study from the University of California, Riverside may hold a secret for getting teenagers to listen to appreciate unsolicited advice. The study, which included 'emerging adults' -- those in their late teens and early 20s -- found teens will appreciate parents' unsolicited advice, but only if the parent is supportive of their teens' autonomy.

Parents support autonomy by providing clear guidelines for limitations and rules that will be enforced.

They also participate in activities that are interesting to their teens, among other things.

"These parents consistently acknowledge and validate their child's feelings, and encourage and support their exploration of different interests as they figure out who they are and what they'll do with their lives," said Elizabeth Davis, a UCR psychology researcher and the senior author of the study, published in December in the journal Emerging Adulthood.

Conversely, Davis said, statements such as "Because I said so" minus context; "get over it," and "it's not a big deal" are the postures that will cause your child to build walls in the face of unsolicited advice.

The study included 194 emerging adults aged 18 to 25.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240130172849.htm

When Do Teens Lie to Their Parents (and When Do They Tell the Truth)?

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that most teenagers, at one time or another, will hide information from their parents. Some will lie outright.

Yet, when they do lie—do they plan to fib ahead of time? What about when they share information–do they do so voluntarily? And do they employ the same (mis)information strategies every time when they do something, or plan on doing something that they know their parents won't be happy about?

In a recent study, published in the Journal of Adolescence, Judith Smetana, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, and two University of Rochester psychology graduate students, Sduduzo Mncwabe and Yuejiao Li, explored the narratives of 131 teenagers and college students who had been interviewed about a time when they did something that their parents disagreed with or had expressly forbidden.

Here are some key findings from the study:

Teenagers disclose information to their parents primarily voluntarily (40%), or strategically (47%)—either as a means to an end, such as telling the truth about a party to which they may need a ride, or preemptively because they suspect their parents will find out anyway.

"It's significant," that only 40% of study participants disclosed the salient information of their own volition—"far less" than what had been commonly assumed, says Smetana.

Involuntary truth telling or involuntary disclosing, the team found, is much less frequent (13%), and could involve a friend's spilling the beans accidentally, a teen's getting a tattoo that is eventually seen by parents, or by getting pressured by parents to tell.

Timing plays a crucial role: adolescents were more likely to lie (53%) before the event or action that their parents would not condone. However, telling the truth or disclosing the information occurred more often after they had already engaged in the parentally disapproved activity (35% disclosed the dodgy activity shortly afterwards, 8% lied for an extended time before coming clean, and 23% told the truth at some unspecified time).

"Disclosure may not be the first thing they do. Maybe they tried to get away with it without telling their parents. Or maybe they concealed first, and then they disclosed. It's really shades of gray—usually not black and white," says Smetana.

Overall, the researchers found that, regardless of age, telling the truth (or part of it) voluntarily was associated with teens' reporting positive change, such as greater psychological growth in understanding themselves, their purpose, self-efficacy, or connections to others and parents.

"They had a better psychological understanding of themselves and made more psychological meaning out of disclosure, than out of concealment or lying," says Smetana.

Conversely, teenagers drew more negative conclusions when retelling experiences of lying, such as more negative views and less clarity about themselves, more negative emotions, or poorer self‐image. Additionally, disclosing after—rather than before—the narrated event was associated with greater likelihood of lessons learned about the self.

The key to sharing pertinent information are warm, trusting parent-child relationships that develop prior to adolescence and continue throughout life. There are some things teens choose not to disclose because they see the issues as personal and private—not the parent's business, notes Smetana.

To some extent that's ok, she says, because it helps foster teen autonomy. But parents and teenagers often differ on what is private and should be up to the teen to decide—versus what parents need to know to keep their teens safe. Adolescents may not tell parents about risky behavior, for example, because they are afraid they'll get in trouble, or that their parents will think less of them.

"This is where trust and good communication are especially important, because it might mitigate parents' negative responses," says Smetana. "Having a good relationship with your teen fosters disclosure. It's not a quick fix."

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-teens-parents-truth.html

New Study Highlights the Crucial Role of Parental Engagement on Teen Development

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Psypost.

In a recent study involving Swiss adolescents, researchers discovered that parental involvement significantly increases prosocial behavior in teens but does not necessarily decrease internalizing problems. The study, published in the Journal of Early Adolescence, also found an unexpected two-way relationship between prosocial behavior and internalizing problems, challenging previous assumptions about adolescent development.

The study drew upon data from the "Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths," an ongoing multi-rater longitudinal study that began in 2004. The researchers focused on data collected during four waves when the participants were approximately 11, 13, 15, and 17 years old. A substantial number of adolescents, totaling 1,523, were part of this detailed analysis.

One of the most significant revelations was the role of parental involvement. The researchers found that when parents were more involved in their adolescents’ lives – through activities like open communication, support, and showing interest in their children’s activities – the youths tended to exhibit more prosocial behavior as they grew older. This positive influence of parental involvement was consistent from early to mid-to-late adolescence.

The data showed that higher levels of parental involvement at ages 11, 13, and 15 predicted an increase in prosocial behavior two years later. This finding underscores the importance of parents staying actively engaged in their children’s lives throughout adolescence, not just during early childhood.

Another interesting outcome was the connection between parental involvement and self-control. The study found that greater parental involvement predicted improvements in self-control over time, indicating that parents play a crucial role in helping their children develop self-regulation skills.

“The findings of this study emphasize the relevance of parental involvement as a resource that may promote prosociality and self-control during adolescence,” said study author Fabiola Silletti, a Ph.D.candidate at the University of Bari Aldo Moro who also currently serves as a research scholar at the Resilience and Health Laboratory and the Developmental Risk and Cultural Resilience Laboratory.

Source: Psypost
https://www.psypost.org/2023/11/new-study-highlights-the-crucial-role-of-parental-engagement-on-teen-development-214755#google_vignette

Kids Who Feel Their Parents Are Less Reliable Take Fewer Risks Vital to Learning and Growth

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

Trying something new is a risk every child undertakes as they explore and learn about the world. While risk can be costly, it can also pay off in rewards or knowledge. But new research suggests children without predictable support from the adults in their lives are less willing to take those risks -- and reap those rewards.

"If you're in a resource-rich environment -- meaning for a child that you're safe, your meals are coming, someone is at home for you, you're surrounded by adults that are protecting you -- you'll try new things," says Seth Pollak, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of psychology who studies childhood adversity. "And that's how you discover and learn about the world."

But not every exploration will be rewarding and, according to a new study of childhood exploration and parental predictability that Pollak and collaborators today published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, kids who don't believe they have the support of reliable parents are less willing to risk the unknown.

The researchers studied decisions that more than 150 children ages 10 to 13 made while playing games designed by C. Shawn Green, a UW-Madison psychology professor. The games offered the children opportunities to risk a little and explore for potential gains.

The kids and their parents also participated in a battery of surveys and assessments. The researchers gauged the stress the children experience and the predictability of their lives -- based on factors like parental job loss, divorce, death or illness in the family, and changing schools and homes -- as well as children's own views about whether or not their parents were reliable and predictable.

The less reliable and predictable the kids felt their parents were, the less likely they were to take exploratory risks in the games they played.

"I think it makes sense," Pollak says. "Their brains are doing exactly what we want our brains to do, right? If you really feel things are not predictable and you don't know how things are going to land, you'd stick to what works and what's familiar. You wouldn't waste your resources on something that could all fall apart."

The researchers ran their experiments first with a group of nearly 80 kids, then repeated it with a second group of just over 80 more to confirm their results.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231127180715.htm

Revealing the Impact of Parental Tech Use on Adolescent Mental Health and Behavior

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

A new review titled "Parental technoference and adolescents' mental health and violent behavior: a scoping review" carried out by Bangor University and Public Health Wales and published in the journal BMC Public Health has shown how parent's use of technology can interfere with the relationship between parents and adolescents and influence adolescents' mental health and behavioral outcomes.

This interference or disruption caused by technology in our daily lives, particularly in our interpersonal relationships is termed "technoference." It refers to the negative impact that technology such as smartphones, computers, and other digital devices, can have on our face-to-face interactions, communication, and overall well-being.

Technoference can include things such as prioritizing attention paid to devices over spending quality time with others, constantly checking phones during conversations, or getting distracted by notifications and social media while in the company of friends or family. This has previously been found to lead to decreased interpersonal connections, reduced attention and engagement in real-world interactions, and increased feelings of isolation and disconnection.

The review showed that adolescents recognize that some level of parental technoference is a typical part of the digital environment we live in. However, studies consistently show when parents show increased technoference, this is associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in violent behaviors (e.g., cyber-bullying) and poorer mental health outcomes (e.g., depression and anxiety) in adolescents. Some studies showed that adolescents' risks of experiencing poorer mental health were influenced by parental warmth and personal psychological factors (e.g., self-esteem, agreeableness, neuroticism).

Donna Dixon, Lecturer in Education, Childhood and Youth Studies at Bangor University, who contributed to the research said, "The disruptive influence of technology in the daily lives of families, particularly within interpersonal relationships, can have far-reaching consequences.

"Our study reveals that proactive measures are crucial, emphasizing the importance of considering contextual factors like the frequency and duration of device use. Parents should critically examine their screen use while in the presence of children to minimize distractions and set a positive example for the next generation."

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-revealing-impact-parental-tech-adolescent.html

Melatonin Use Skyrockets Among U.S. Kids

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Record numbers of children and tweens now take melatonin for sleep, potentially doing harm to their development, a new study warns.

Nearly one in five school-aged kids are popping melatonin to help them rest, often with the help of their parents, researchers reported in the Nov. 13 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

But safety and effectiveness data for melatonin is slim, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t heavily regulate such supplements, researchers say.

“We hope this paper raises awareness for parents and clinicians, and sounds the alarm for the scientific community,” said lead study author Lauren Hartstein, a postdoctoral fellow in the Sleep and Development Lab at University of Colorado Boulder.

“We are not saying that melatonin is necessarily harmful to children,” Hartstein added in a university news release. “But much more research needs to be done before we can state with confidence that it is safe for kids to be taking long-term.”

The human pineal gland naturally produces melatonin, to signal to the body that it is time to sleep and to regulate the 24-hour circadian sleep cycle. Many countries classify melatonin as a drug that’s available by prescription only, researchers said in background notes. But in the United States, melatonin is available over the counter as a dietary supplement -- increasingly available in child-friendly gummies.

To get a sense of how many kids now take the supplement, researchers surveyed about 1,000 parents in the first half of 2023. What they found was startling:

• Nearly 19% of children ages 5 to 9 had taken melatonin in the previous 30 days, and more than 19% of tweens 10 to 13 did
• Nearly 6% of preschoolers ages 1 to 4 had used melatonin in the previous month.
• Preschoolers using melatonin had been taking it for an average of a year, while grade schoolers and tweens had been using on average for 18 and 21 months, respectively.
• The older the child, the greater the dosage, with preschoolers taking between 0.25 milligrams (mg) to 2 mg and preteens taking up to 10 mg.

Reports of melatonin ingestion to poison control centers increased 530% from 2012 to 2021, the authors noted, largely occurring among children under age 5. More than 94% were unintentional overdoses, and luckily 85% were asymptomatic, researchers added.

Giving children melatonin also sends a message that If you’re having trouble sleeping, a pill is the answer, the researchers noted. “If this many kids are taking melatonin, that suggests there are a lot of underlying sleep issues out there that need to be addressed,” Hartstein said. “Addressing the symptom doesn’t necessarily address the cause.”

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/melatonin-use-skyrockets-among-us-kids-study-finds

Parental Pressures Are Taking the Fun Out of Children's Play

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

Modern-day parenting pressures and expectations are leading to the death knell for children enjoying spontaneous play, according to a new study from the University of Essex.

While parents have always felt some responsibility for their children's development, the heightened intensity of parenting in recent years now means parents are expected to spend more time exhaustively watching, noticing, and responding to their children's desires and behaviors.

This, the research suggests, is leaving less time for children to play independently, where they learn for themselves the risks and dangers of outdoor play.

According to the study published in the journal Sociology of Health & Illness, parents are worried this lack of spontaneous play means their children are not as developed and well-rounded as they could be, coupled with the fact children's play is increasingly more sedentary due to technology.

"Until around the 1990s, parents were not expected to endlessly entertain and monitor their children in the same way they are today, so children had greater freedom to play independently," explained the study's author Dr John Day. "But since those children have become parents themselves, society has changed, so there is a heightened feeling of responsibility for their children's development."

This generational shift was noticed by Dr Day, from Essex's School of Health and Social Care, when conducting in-depth interviews with 28 UK residents born between 1950 and 1994 about their physical activity history and how family members influenced these experiences.

The research found that the rise in structured physical activity for children happened at the same time as, and possibly caused, a decline in children playing spontaneously.

"Society today positions parents as the sole engineers in their children's development which represents an unrealistic burden that brings with it unjust pressure and expectation," added Dr Day.

To help address this trend, Dr Day says there needs to be a culture shift where health policymakers ensure children are encouraged to learn about the risks of physically active play, independent of adult supervision.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230815131826.htm

Kids Who Are Close to Their Parents Become Kinder, More Helpful Adults

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that kids who reported having a loving, strong bond with their parents around age three tended to be more kind, empathetic, and generous by adolescence.

In other words, researchers say parents should do their best to cultivate a meaningful, close relationship with their children as early as possible during their lives together. While the notion that fun times spent with mom or dad at age two or three could lead to more kind, prosocial behaviors years later may seem farfetched at first, researchers explain that parent-child relationships and closeness are incredibly important to an adolescent’s development. That process begins pretty much as soon as the family’s new addition comes home from the hospital. It’s never too early to start spreading the love in your household.

The research team analyzed a massive dataset encompassing over 10,000 people born between 2000 and 2002.

Study authors eventually concluded people who experienced warm and loving relationships with their parents at age three not only tended to have fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence but also exhibited better prosocial tendencies, which refers to socially desirable behaviors that help others (kindness, generosity, empathy, volunteering, helpfulness).

While the noted correlation between parent-child relationships and later prosociality must be validated by additional research projects, this work certainly suggests a compelling and sizable association is at play here. On average, researchers say that for every standard unit above “normal” levels that a child’s closeness with their parents was higher around age three, their prosociality was higher by 0.24 of a standard unit by the time adolescence set in.

The project was undertaken and led by Ioannis Katsantonis and Dr. Ros McLellan, both from the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge.

In conclusion, the study authors say this work highlights the importance of parents building a strong loving relationship with their kids as early as possible.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/close-to-parents-kinder-adults/