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Parenting revisited: Profiles and associations with psychological distress among traumatized Chinese adolescents

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Abstract

While individual parenting behaviors have been shown to account for adolescents’ posttraumatic symptoms, no study has investigated whether parenting profiles can relate to posttraumatic symptoms among Chinese adolescents. This study aimed to identify parenting profiles using person-centered latent profile analysis and examine their associations with psychological distress. Nine hundred and fifty-four Chinese adolescents completed questionnaires measuring their perception of parental psychological control, behavioral control, autonomy granting, mother and father rejection, and psychological distress (PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity). Among them, six hundred and ninety-nine had experienced trauma in the past and were included in the data analysis. Four parenting profiles were generated: controlling-rejecting (lower level), autonomous-accepting, undifferentiated and controlling-rejecting (higher level). Undifferentiated parenting was the dominant profile. Adolescents who had parents with the autonomous-accepting parenting profile showed the least distress, while those with the controlling-rejecting (higher level) profile showed the most. Following trauma, adolescents can develop posttraumatic distress, the level of which can vary depending on different perceived parenting styles. Adolescents with parents who accept and give them autonomy tend to show a low level of distress.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because some results are yet to be published but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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  1. School of English Education, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Yabing Wang

  2. Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, CKB, 606, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

    Man Cheung Chung & Na Wang

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Wang, Y., Chung, M.C. & Wang, N. Parenting revisited: Profiles and associations with psychological distress among traumatized Chinese adolescents. Curr Psychol 42, 2049–2058 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01411-5

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