Cross National Comparison of the Effects of Parental Strictness of Rules on Adolescents’ Well-being in Italy and the Netherlands
Cross National Comparison of the Effects of Parental Strictness of Rules on Adolescents’ Well-being in Italy and the Netherlands
Main Article Content
Abstract
Few investigations exist which have analyzed the effects that similar parenting behaviors have on adolescent psychological health outcomes across different nations. It is important to understand how common parenting behaviors may influence outcomes differently according to population setting. Italy and the Netherlands are two European countries that are dissimilar in family and societal norms and regulations. This study investigated the one year longitudinal associations of parental strictness of rules on adolescent psychological health indicators including: self-confidence, self-esteem, aggression, depression, positive self-perception, and sense of alienation. Additionally, we tested the potential moderating role that country, age and gender had on these associations. The sample consisted of 510 Italian and Dutch adolescents (mean age=17.4, SD=1.42). The sample was representative of adolescents attending high school in the selected parts of both countries. A general linear mixed model was applied to investigate main effect and moderating associations. Results showed that the effect of strictness of family rules on both self-confidence (?=-0.38, p=0.04) and positive self-perception (?=0.28, p=0.03) was lower among Dutch and older adolescents. Results point to the fact that greater efforts should be conducted which account for the influence of cultural and social effects of parenting on adolescent health outcomes.
References
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Stewart, S.M. & Bond, M.H. (2002). A critical look at parenting research from the mainstream: Problems uncovered while adapting Western research to non-Western cultures. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 379-392.
Stice, E. & Barrera, J. (1995). A longitudinal examination of the reciprocal relations between perceived parenting and adolescents' substance use and externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 31(2), 322-334.
Whiting, B.B. & Edwards, C.P. (1988). Children of different worlds: The formation of social behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Aunola, K., Stattin, H. & Nurmi, J.E. (2000). Parenting styles and adolescents' achievement strategies. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 205-222.
Barber, B.K. & Olsen, J. (1997). Socialization in context: Connection, regulation, and autonomy in the family, school, and neighborhood and with peers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(2), 287-315.
Bonino, S., Cattelino, E. & Ciairano, S. (2006). Italy. In J.J. Arnett (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 510-523). New York-London: Routledge.
Bonino, S., Ciairano, S., Jackson, S. & Bijstra, J. (1998). Vragenlijst: Ik en mijn gezondheid.
Groningen, Netherlands: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen.
Buzzi, C., Cavalli, A. & De Lillo, A. (2002). Giovani del nuovo secolo: quinto rapporto IARD sulla condizione giovanile in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Chao, R.K. (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training. Child Development, 65, 11111119.
Chassin, L., Presson, C.C., Montello, D., Sherman, S.J. & McGrew, J. (1986). Changes in peer and parent influence during adolescence: Longitudinal versus cross-sectional perspectives on smoking initiation. Developmental Psychology, 22, 327-334.
Ciairano, S., Kliewer, W., Bonino, S. & Bosma, H. (2008). Parenting and Adolescent Well-Being in Two European Countries. Adolescence, 43(169), 99-117. Claes, M. (1998). Adolescents’ closeness with parents, siblings, and friends in three countries: Canada, Belgium, and Italy. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 27, 165-184.
Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K.A., Bates, J.E. & Petit, G.S. (1996). Discipline among African American and European American mothers: Links to children’s externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1065-1072.
Eccles, J.S., Early, D., Frasier, K., Belansky, E. & McCarthy, K. (1997). The relation of connection, regulation, and support for autonomy to adolescents’ functioning. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 263-286.
Facio, A., & Batistuta, M. (1998). Latins, Catholics and from the far south: Argentinian adolescents and their parents. Journal of Adolescence, 21, 49-67.
Fuligni, A.J. & Eccles, J.S. (1993). Perceived parent-child relationships and early adolescents' orientation toward peers. Developmental Psychology, 29(4), 622-632.
Galambos, N.L., Barker, E.T. & Almeida, D.M. (2003). Parents do matter: Trajectories of change in externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 578-594.
Harkness, S., Super, C.M. & van Tijen, N. (2000). Individualism and the "Western mind" reconsidered: American and Dutch parents' ethnotheories of the child (Vol. 87). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hart, C.H., Newell, L.D. & Olsen, S.F. (2003). Parenting skills and social/communicative competence in childhood. In J.O. Greene & B.R. Burleson (Eds.), Handbook of communication and social interaction skill (pp. 753-797). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hibell, B., Andersson, B., Bjarnasson, T., Ahlstöm, S., Balakireva, O., Kokkevi, A. & Morgan, M. (2004). The ESPAD Report 2003. Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among Students in 35 European Countries: The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) and The Council of Europe, Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficing in Drugs (Pompidou Group).
Hofstede, G. (1979). Hierarchical Power Distance in Forty Countries. In C.J.L. a. D.J. Hickson (Ed.), Organizations Alike and Unlike: Towards a Comparative Sociology of Organizations (pp. 97-119). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's Recent Consequences: Using Dimension Scores in Theory and Research. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 1(1), 11-17.
Hofstede, G. & McCrae, R.R. (2004). Personality and Culture revisited: Linking traits and dimensions of culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38(1), 52-88.
Jessor, R., Donovan, J.E. & Costa, F.M. (1991). Beyond adolescence - Problem behavior and young adult development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jessor, R., Turbin, M.S., Costa, F.M., Dong, Q., Zhang, H. & Wang, C. (2003). Adolescent Problem Behavior in China and the United States: A Cross-National Study of Psychosocial Protective factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), 329-360.
Laursen, B., Coy, K.C. & Collins, W.A. (1998). Reconsidering changes in parent-child conflict across adolescence: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 69, 817-832.
Leaper, C. (2002). Parenting girls and boys. In M.H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting: Children and Parenting (pp. 189-225). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Meeus, W.H.J. (2006). Netherlands, International Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 666-680). New York: Routledge.
Miller, B., McCoy, J., Olson, T. & Wallace, C. (1986). Parental discipline and control attempts in relation to adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 503-512.
Murray, D.M. (1998). Design and Analysis of Group-Randomized Trials. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press.
Naldini, M. (2003). The Family in the Mediterranean Welfare States. London/Portland: Frank Cass.
Pettit, G.S., Laird, R.D., Dodge, K.A., Bates, J.E. & Criss, M.M. (2001). Antecedents and behavior-problem outcomes of parental monitoring and psychological control in early adolescence. Child Development, 72(2), 583-598.
Rohner, R.P. & Pettengill, S.M. (1985). Perceived parental rejection and parental control among Korean adolescents. Child Development, 36, 524-528.
Scabini, E., Lanz, M. & Marta, E. (2006). The transition to adulthood and family relations: An intergenerational perspective. New York: Psychology Press.
Steinberg, L., Dornbusch, S.M. & Brown, B.B. (1992). Ethnic differences in adolescent achievement: An ecological perspective. American Psychologist, 47(6), 723-729.
Stewart, S.M. & Bond, M.H. (2002). A critical look at parenting research from the mainstream: Problems uncovered while adapting Western research to non-Western cultures. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 379-392.
Stice, E. & Barrera, J. (1995). A longitudinal examination of the reciprocal relations between perceived parenting and adolescents' substance use and externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 31(2), 322-334.
Whiting, B.B. & Edwards, C.P. (1988). Children of different worlds: The formation of social behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.