A Multi-Informant Study of Strengths, Positive Self-Schemas and Subjective Well-Being from Childhood to Adolescence
- 113 Downloads
Abstract
The parent–child relationship is important for promoting strengths and well-being for youth. Despite this, empirical research examining how parents influence youths’ strengths and well-being has lagged. The current study extends this limited research by examining whether parental perceptions of youths’ strengths as rated by the parent are indirectly related to youths’ well-being by way of youths’ self-reported strengths. Additionally, the study explored associations of youths’ positive self-schemas (reflecting a different positive construct of youths’ self) with these constructs. To date, research on youths’ strengths, self-schemas, and well-being has operated within disparate fields of inquiry, and there has yet to be an empirical investigation examining if specific strengths and self-schemas are related, and their unique associations with youths’ well-being. Participants were 281 youth (57% female; M = 13.36 years, SD = 2.18; 68.6% Caucasian) and their parent. Findings support that parental views of youths’ strengths are indirectly related to youths’ happiness and life satisfaction via youths’ own self-perceived strengths. Relations also emerged between parental perceptions of strengths, youths’ self-reported strengths and self-schemas, and youths’ well-being. Further, specific strength and self-schema themes had unique relations with youths’ happiness and life satisfaction. This study provides empirical support for the relations between youths’ strengths, self-schemas, and well-being, which may advance theoretical models of positive youth development.
Keywords
Youth strengths Positive self-schemas Happiness Life satisfaction ParentingNotes
Funding
Kathlyn M. Cherry was supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Brae Anne McArthur was supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. This research was also supported by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation New Investigator Fellowship (Grant Number 049438) to Margaret N. Lumley.
References
- Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Oxford: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
- Anderson, C. G., Rawana, E. P., Brownlee, K., & Whitley, J. (2010). An investigation of the relationship between psychological strengths and the perception of bullying in early adolescents in schools. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 56(4), 470–481.Google Scholar
- Baumrind, D. (1966). Effects of authoritative parental control on child behavior. Child Development, 37(4), 887–907. https://doi.org/10.2307/1126611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Baumrind, D. (1967). Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75(1), 43–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology, 4(1), 1–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0030372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
- Beck, A. T. (1987). Cognitive models of depression. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 1(1), 5–37.Google Scholar
- Beck, A. T., Brown, G., Steer, R. A., Eidelson, J. I., & Riskind, J. H. (1987). Differentiating anxiety from depression: A test of the cognitive content-specificity hypothesis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96(3), 179–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Berkowitz, M. W., & Grych, J. H. (1998). Fostering goodness: Teaching parents to facilitate children’s moral development. Journal of Moral Education, 27(3), 371–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305724980270307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2018). Parenting cognitions→ parenting practices→ child adjustment? The standard model. Development and Psychopathology, 30(2), 399–416. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579417000931.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Boughton, K. L., & Lumley, M. N. (2011). Parent prediction of child mood and emotional resilience: The role of parental responsiveness and psychological control. Depression Research and Treatment, 2011, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/375398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bowlby, J. (1959). Separation anxiety. International Journal of Psycho-Analysts, XLI, 1–25.Google Scholar
- Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), 664–678. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Brazeau, J. N., Teatero, M. L., Rawana, E. P., Brownlee, K., & Blanchette, L. R. (2012). The strengths assessment inventory: Reliability of a new measure of psychosocial strengths for youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(3), 384–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Bronfenbrenner, U., & Ceci, S. J. (1994). Nature-nurture reconceptualized in developmental perspective: A bioecological model. Psychological Review, 101(4), 568–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Campbell, S. B., Deham, S. A., Howarth, G. Z., Jones, S. M., Whittaker, J. V., Williford, A. P., et al. (2016). Commentary on the review of measures of early childhood social and emotional development: Conceptualization, critique, and recommendations. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 19–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2016.01.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Caprara, G. V., & Steca, P. (2005). Affective and social self-regulatory efficacy beliefs as determinants of positive thinking and happiness. European Psychologist, 10(4), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.10.4.275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Caprara, G. V., Steca, P., Gerbino, M., Paciello, M., & Vecchio, G. M. (2006). Looking for adolescents’ well-being: Self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of positive thinking and happiness. Epidemiologia e Psichiatra Sociale, 15(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00002013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Cherry, K. M., & Lumley, M. N. (2019). The longitudinal stability and predictive capability of positive and negative self-schemas in a multi-informant study of child and adolescent depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-019-00018-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- De Los Reyes, A. (2011). Introduction to the special edition: More than measurement error: Discovering meaning behind informant discrepancies in clinical assessments of children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 40(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2011.533405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- De Los Reyes, A., & Kazdin, A. E. (2005). Informant discrepancies in the assessment of childhood psychopathology: A critical review, theoretical framework, and recommendations for further study. Psychological Bulletin, 131(1), 483–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.4.483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Diener, E. S. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Dodge, K. A., & Rabiner, D. L. (2004). Returning to roots: On social information processing and moral development. Child Development, 75(4), 1003–1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00721.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Dozois, D. J. A., & Beck, A. T. (2008). Cognitive schemas, beliefs and assumptions. In K. S. Dobson & D. J. A. Dozois (Eds.), Risk factors in depression (pp. 121–143). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.Google Scholar
- Eccles, J. S. (1993). School and family effects on the ontogeny of children’s interests, self-perceptions, and activity choices. In R. Dienstbier & J. E. Jacobs (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: 1992: Developmental perspectives on motivation (Vol. 40, pp. 145–208). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
- Franks, J., Rawana, E., & Brownlee, K. (2013). The relationship between strengths in youth and bullying experiences at school. Educational and Child Psychology, 30(4), 44–58.Google Scholar
- Friedmann, J. S., Lumley, M. N., & Lerman, B. (2016). Cognitive schemas as longitudinal predictors of self-reported adolescent depressive symptoms and resilience. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 45(1), 32–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2015.1100212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Garber, J., & Flynn, C. (2001). Predictors of depressive cognitions in young adolescents. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25(4), 353–376. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005530402239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Gillham, J., Adams-Deutsch, Z., Werner, J., Reivich, K., Coulter-Heindl, V., Linkins, M., et al. (2011). Character strengths predict subjective well-being during adolescence. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2010.536773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Govindji, R., & Linley, P. A. (2007). Strengths use, self-concordance and well-being: Implications for strengths coaching and coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(2), 143–153.Google Scholar
- Gray, M. R., & Steinberg, L. (1991). Unpacking authoritative parenting: Reassessing a multidimensional construct. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61(3), 574. https://doi.org/10.2307/353561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Gutman, L. M., Schoon, I., & Sabates, R. (2012). Uncertain aspirations for continuing in education: Antecedents and associated outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 48(6), 1707–1718. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Haridas, S., Bhullar, N., & Dunstan, D. A. (2017). What’s in character strengths? Profiling strengths of the heart and mind in a community sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 113, 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.03.006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
- Hill, N. E., Liang, B., Price, M., Polk, W., Perella, J., & Savitz-Romer, M. (2018). Envisioning a meaningful future and academic engagement: The role of parenting practices and school-based relationships. Psychology in the Schools, 55(6), 595–608. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four-Factor Index for Social Status. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
- Jach, H. K., Sun, J., Loton, D., Chin, T. C., & Waters, L. E. (2018). Strengths and subjective wellbeing in adolescence: Strength-based parenting and the moderating effect of mindset. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(2), 567–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9841-y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Jones, S. M., Zaslow, M., Darling-Churchill, K. E., & Halle, T. G. (2016). Assessing early childhood social and emotional development: Key conceptual and measurement issues. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.206.02.00.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Keyfitz, L., Lumley, M. N., Hennig, K. H., & Dozois, D. J. A. (2013). The role of positive schemas in child psychopathology and resilience. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37(1), 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9455-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Larson, R. W. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55(1), 170–183. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X,55.1.170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Gestsdottir, S., et al. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions of fifth-grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4-H study of positive youth development. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 17–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604272461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E., & Geldhof, G. J. (2015). Positive youth development and relational developmental systems. In W. F. Overton & P. C. Molenaar (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Vol. 1 Theory and method (7th ed., pp. 607–651). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lewinsohn, P., Redner, J., & Seeley, J. (1991). The relationship between life satisfaction and psychosocial variables: New perspectives. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwartz (Eds.), Subjective well-being (pp. 193–212). New York, NY: Plenum.Google Scholar
- Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- López-Pérez, B., Sánchez, J., & Gummerum, M. (2016). Children’s and adolescents’ conceptions of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(6), 2431–2455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9701-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Loton, D. J., & Waters, L. E. (2017). The mediating effect of self-efficacy in the connections between strength-based parenting, happiness and psychological distress in teens. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1707), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Louis, J. P., Wood, A. M., Lockwood, G., Ho, M. H. R., & Ferguson, E. (2018). Positive clinical psychology and schema therapy (ST): The development of the young positive schema questionnaire (YPSQ) to complement the young schema questionnaire 3 short form (YSQ-S3). Psychological Assessment, 30(9), 119–1213. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lumley, M. N., Dozois, D. J. A., Hennig, K. H., & Marsh, A. (2011). Cognitive organization, perceptions of parenting and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(4), 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-011-9365-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Massey, E. K., Gebhardt, W. A., & Garnefski, N. (2008). Adolescent goal content and pursuit: A review of the literature from the past 16 years. Developmental Review, 28(4), 421–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2008.03.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- McArthur, B. A., Burke, T. A., Connolly, S. L., Olino, T. M., Lumley, M. N., Abramson, L. Y., et al. (2019). A longitudinal investigation of cognitive self-schemas across adolescent development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(3), 635–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-00981-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- McArthur, B. A., Cherry, K. M., & Lumley, M. N. (2017). Exploring factors relating to positive outcomes for youth with bipolar spectrum disorder: A multi-informant, mixed methods study. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 2, 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Moran, S., Bundick, M. J., Malin, H., & Reilly, T. S. (2012). How supportive of their specific purposes do youth belief their family and friends are? Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(3), 348–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558212457816.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Park, N. (2004). The role of subjective well-being in positive youth development. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203260078.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006). Character strengths and happiness among young children: Content analysis of parental descriptions. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7(3), 323–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3648-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2009). Character strengths: Research and practice. Journal of College and Character, 10(4), 2–9. https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Peterson, C., Ruch, W., Berrmann, U., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2007). Strengths of character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3), 149–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701228938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Preacher, K. J., & Kelley, K. (2011). Effect size measures for mediation models: Quantitative strategies for communicating indirect effects. Psychological Methods, 16, 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Proctor, C. L., Linley, P. A., & Maltby, J. (2009). Youth life satisfaction: A review of the literature. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(5), 583–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-008-9110-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Proctor, C., Maltby, J., & Linley, P. A. (2011). Strengths use as a predictor of well-being and health-related quality of life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(1), 153–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-009-9181-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Putnick, D. L., Bornstein, M. H., Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Deater-Deckard, K., Di Giunta, L., et al. (2018). Parental acceptance-rejection and child prosocial behavior: Developmental transactions across the transition to adolescence in nine countries, mothers and fathers, and girls and boys. Developmental Psychology, 54(10), 1881–1890. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Rawana, E., & Brownlee, K. (2009a). Making the possible probable: A strength-based assessment and intervention framework for clinical work with parents, children, and adolescents. Families in Society, 90(3), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.3900.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Rawana, E. P., & Brownlee, K. (2009b). Strengths assessment inventory (S.A.I) product overview. Thunder Bay, ON: Center of Excellence for Children & Adolescents with Special Needs at Lakehead University.Google Scholar
- Rawana, E. P., & Brownlee, K. (2010). Strengths assessment inventory—manual. Thunder Bay, ON: Strengths assessment inventory—manual, Lakehead University.Google Scholar
- Rawana, E. P., Brownlee, K., & Hewitt, J. (2006). Strength Assessment Inventory for Children and Adolescents. Unpublished manuscript, Lakehead University at Thunder Bay, Ontario.Google Scholar
- Royer-Gagnier, K., Skilling, T. A., Brown, S. L., Moore, T. E., & Rawana, J. S. (2016). The strengths assessment inventory—youth version: An evaluation of the psychometric properties with male and female justice-involved youth. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 563–574. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sağkal, A. S., & Özdemir, Y. (2019). Strength-based parenting and adolescents’ psychological outcomes: The role of mental toughness. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2019.2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sameroff, A. (2010). A unified theory of development: A dialectical integration of nature and nurture. Child Development, 81(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01378.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Scales, P. C., Benson, P. L., Leffert, N., & Blyth, D. A. (2000). Contribution of developmental assets to the prediction of thriving among adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 4(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532480XADS0401_3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: Our view on the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7(2), 147–177. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.2.147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Schneider, K. (2014). Humanistic and positive psychology need each other, and to advance, our field needs both. American Psychologist, 69, 92. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Seligson, J. L., Huebner, E. S., & Valois, R. F. (2003). Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research, 61(2), 121–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Shields, D. (2011). Character as the aim of education. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(8), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171109200810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2004). The role of life satisfaction in the relationship between authoritative parenting dimensions and adolescent problem behaviour. Social Indicators Research, 66(1–2), 165–195.Google Scholar
- Suldo, S. M., Savage, J. A., & Mercer, S. H. (2014). Increasing middle school students’ life satisfaction: Efficacy of a positive psychology group intervention. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(1), 19–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9414-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Tomlinson, R. M., Keyfitz, L., Rawana, J. S., & Lumley, M. N. (2017). Unique contributions of positive schemas for understanding child and adolescent life satisfaction and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18(5), 1255–1274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9776-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Viljoen, J. L., Beneteau, J. L., Gulbransen, E., Brodersen, E., Desmarais, S. L., Nicholls, T. L., et al. (2012). Assessment of multiple risk outcomes, strengths, and change with the STARV:AV: A short-term prospective study with adolescent offenders. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 11(3), 165–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2012.737407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Waterman, A. S. (2013). The humanistic psychology–positive psychology divide: Contrasts in philosophical foundations. American Psychologist, 68(3), 124–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Waters, L. (2015a). Strength-based parenting and life satisfaction in teenagers. Advances in Social Science Research Journal, 2(11), 158–173. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.211.1651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Waters, L. (2015b). The relationship between strength-based parenting with children’s stress levels and strength-based coping approaches. Psychology, 6(6), 689–699. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2015.66067.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Waters, L. E., Loton, D., & Jach, H. K. (2019). Does strength-based parenting predict academic achievement? The mediating effects of perseverance and engagement. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(4), 1121–1140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9983-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. New York, NY: The Guildford Press.Google Scholar