Abstract
Emotional expressiveness is an important type of parental emotion-related socialization that has been associated with adolescent prosocial and problem behaviors; yet little is known about the relation between paternal emotional expressiveness and adolescent behaviors in the Chinese context. In this study, we investigated how paternal emotional expressiveness was associated with Chinese adolescent prosocial and problem behaviors and whether father-adolescent closeness and conflict mediated these associations when controlling for maternal influences. Participants were 166 adolescents (aged between 12 and 16; 53% males) and their parents in Mainland China. Fathers and mothers reported their positive and negative emotional expressiveness in the family, the closeness and conflict in their relationships with adolescents, and adolescent prosocial and problem behaviors. Results revealed that paternal negative emotional expressiveness was directly and positively related to adolescent problem behaviors, controlling for maternal emotional expressiveness and mother-adolescent relationship. Moreover, both paternal positive and negative emotional expressiveness were indirectly associated with adolescent problem behaviors through father-adolescent conflict, controlling for maternal influences. In the same model, paternal positive and negative emotional expressiveness were not related to father-adolescent closeness, but father-adolescent closeness was positively related to adolescent prosocial behaviors. An alternative model examining whether father-adolescent relationship was related to paternal emotional expressiveness, which in turn was related to adolescent behaviors was tested. Results showed that the hypothesized model fit the data better than the alternative model. Findings highlight the role that the father plays in Chinese adolescent behaviors by expressing positive and negative emotions within the family.
Highlights
-
Paternal negative emotional expressiveness was positively related to father-adolescent conflict and problem behaviors.
-
Father-adolescent closeness was positively associated with adolescent prosocial behaviors.
-
Adolescents who had higher conflict with fathers exhibited more problem behaviors.
-
Paternal positive and negative emotional expressiveness were linked to problem behaviors via father-adolescent conflict.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aho, K., Derryberry, D., & Peterson, T. (2014). Model selection for ecologists: The worldviews of AIC and BIC. Ecology, 95, 631–636. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1452.1.
Breivik, K., Olweus, D., & Endresen, I. (2009). Does the quality of parent–child relationships mediate the increased risk for antisocial behavior and substance use among adolescents in single-mother and single-father families? Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50, 400–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502550902766282.
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1. Theoretical models of human development (pp. 793–828). John Wiley.
Bronte-Tinkew, J., Moore, K. A., & Carrano, J. (2006). The father-child relationship, parenting styles, and adolescent risk behaviors in intact families. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 850–881. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05285296.
Cabrera, N., Fitzgerald, H., Bradley, R., & Roggman, L. (2014). The ecology of father‐child relationships: An expanded model. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 6, 336–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12054.
Camras, L. A., Bakeman, R., Chen, Y., Norris, K., & Cain, T. R. (2006). Culture, ethnicity, and children’s facial expressions: A study of European American, Mainland Chinese, Chinese American, and adopted Chinese girls. Emotion, 6, 103–114. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.1.103.
Chang, L., Chen, B. -B., & Ji, L. Q. (2011). Attributions and attitudes of mothers and fathers in China. Parenting, 11, 102–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2011.585553.
Chen, E., & Berdan, L. E. (2006). Socioeconomic status and patterns of parent-adolescent interactions. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2006.00117.x.
Chen, S. H., Zhou, Q., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., & Wang, Y. (2011). Parental expressivity and parenting styles in Chinese families: Prospective and unique relations to children’s psychological adjustment. Parenting, 11, 288–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2011.613725.
Cumberland-Li, A., Eisenberg, N., Champion, C., Gershoff, E., & Fabes, R. A. (2003). The relation of parental emotionality and related dispositional traits to parental expression of emotion and children’s social functioning. Motivation and Emotion, 27, 27–56. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023674308969.
Cummings, E. M., Cheung, R. Y. M., & Davies, P. T. (2013). Prospective relations between parental depression, negative expressiveness, emotional insecurity, and children’s internalizing symptoms. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 44, 698–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0362-1.
Davis, E., Greenberger, E., Charles, S., Chen, C., Zhao, L., & Dong, Q. (2012). Emotion experience and regulation in China and the United States: How do culture and gender shape emotion responding? International Journal of Psychology, 47, 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2011.626043.
Ducharme, J., Doyle, A. B., & Markiewicz, D. (2002). Attachment security with mother and father: Associations with adolescents’ reports of interpersonal behavior with parents and peers. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 203–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407502192003.
Duncombe, M. E., Havighurst, S. S., Holland, K. A., & Frankling, E. J. (2012). The contribution of parenting practices and parent emotion factors in children at risk for disruptive behavior disorders. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43, 715–733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0290-5.
Dyer, W. J., Kaufman, R., & Fagan, J. (2017). Father-child closeness and conflict: Validating measures for nonresident fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 31, 1074–1080. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000384.
Eisenberg, N. (2020). Findings, issues, and new directions for research on emotion socialization. Developmental Psychology, 56, 664–670. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000906.
Eisenberg, N., Cumberland, A., & Spinrad, T. L. (1998). Parental socialization of emotion. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 241–273. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0904_1.
Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Morris, A. S., Fabes, R. A., Cumberland, A., & Reiser, M., et al. (2003). Longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children’s regulation, and quality of socioemotional functioning. Developmental Psychology, 39, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.3.
Ferreira, T., Cadima, J., Matias, M., Vieira, J. M., Leal, T., & Matos, P. M. (2016). Preschool children’s prosocial behavior: The role of mother–child, father–child and teacher–child relationships. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1829–1839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0369-x.
Flannery, D. J., Montemayor, R., Eberly, M., & Torquati, J. (1993). Unraveling the ties that bind: Affective expression and perceived conflict in parent adolescent interactions. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10, 495–509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407593104002.
Foster, P. A., Reese-Weber, M., & Kahn, J. H. (2007). Fathers’ parenting hassles and coping: Associations with emotional expressiveness and their sons’ socioemotional competence. Infant and Child Development, 16, 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.507.
Gao, M., & Han, Z. R. (2016). Family expressiveness mediates the relation between cumulative family risks and children’s emotion regulation in a Chinese sample. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1570–1580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0335-z.
Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x.
Halberstadt, A. G., Cassidy, J., Stifter, C. A., Parke, R. D., & Fox, N. A. (1995). Self-expressiveness within the family context: Psychometric support for a new measure. Psychological Assessment, 7, 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.7.1.93.
Ho, D. Y. F. (1987). Fatherhood in Chinese culture. In The father’s role: Cross cultural perspectives (pp. 227–245). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hu, Y., Wang, Y., & Liu, A. (2017). The influence of mothers’ emotional expressivity and class grouping on Chinese preschoolers’ emotional regulation strategies. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 824–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0606-3.
Li, L., Lin, X., Chi, P., Heath, M. A., Fang, X., Du, H., & Wang, Z. (2016). Maltreatment and emotional and behavioral problems in Chinese children with and without oppositional defiant disorder: The mediating role of the parent–child relationship. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 2915–2939. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515624234.
Li, X. (2018). Chinese fathers in the twentieth century: Changing roles as parents and as men. Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 26, 331–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2018.1534138.
Li, X., & Lamb, M. E. (2015). Fathering in Chinese culture: Traditions and transitions. In J. L. Roopnarine (Ed.), Fathers across cultures: The importance, roles, and diverse practices of dads (pp. 273–306). Praeger, ABC-CLIO.
Liang, Z., Zhang, G., Deng, H., Song, Y., Zheng, W., & Sun, L. (2013). Links between marital relationship and child-parent relationship: Mediating effects of parents’ emotional expressiveness. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 45, 1355–1367.
Little, S. A., Germeroth, C., & Garber, J. (2019). Father–adolescent conflict and adolescent symptoms: The moderating roles of father residential status and type. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 3193–3206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01495-5.
Little, T. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. Guilford Press.
Liu, S. K., Chien, Y. L., Shang, C. Y., Lin, C. H., Liu, Y. C., & Gau, S. S. F. (2013). Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54, 720–730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.01.002.
Luebbe, A. M., & Bell, D. J. (2014). Positive and negative family emotional climate differentially predict youth anxiety and depression via distinct affective pathways. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 897–911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9838-5.
Michalik, N. M., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Ladd, B., Thompson, M., & Valiente, C. (2007). Longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity and sympathy and prosocial behavior in adolescence. Social Development, 16, 286–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00385.x.
Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16, 361–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00389.x.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2018). Mplus user’s guide (eighth ed.). Muthén & Muthén.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2015). National Bureau of Statistics of China. http://data.stats.gov.cn/english/easyquery.htm?cn=E0103.
Peng, Y., Zhu, L., & Wang, Z. (2018). Association between parental emotion expressiveness and adolescent behavior problem: The mediating role of the parent-child attachment and loneliness. Psychological Development and Education, 34, 504–512. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2018.04.15.
Pianta, R. C. (1992). Child-parent relationship scale. Unpublished measure, University of Virginia.
Pinquart, M. (2017). Associations of parenting dimensions and styles with internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Marriage and Family Review, 53, 613–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2016.1247761.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. -Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.
Shek, D. T. L., & Ma, H. K. (2001). Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior: A longitudinal study in a Chinese context. Adolescence, 36, 544–555.
Silberg, J. L., Maes, H., & Eaves, L. J. (2010). Genetic and environmental influences on the transmission of parental depression to children’s depression and conduct disturbance: An extended Children of Twins study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 51, 734–744. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02205.x.
Stocker, C., Ahmed, K., & Stall, M. (1997). Marital satisfaction and maternal emotional expressiveness: Links with children’s sibling relationships. Social Development, 6, 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.1997.tb00112.x.
Stocker, C. M., Richmond, M. K., Rhoades, G. K., & Kiang, L. (2007). Family emotional processes and adolescent adjustment. Social Development, 16, 310–325. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00386.x.
Suveg, C., Raley, J. N., Morelen, D., Wang, W., Han, R. Z., & Campion, S. (2014). Child and family emotional functioning: A cross-national examination of families from China and the United States. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 1444–1454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9800-8.
Weymouth, B. B., Buehler, C., Zhou, N., & Henson, R. A. (2016). A meta-analysis of parent-adolescent conflict: Disagreement, hostility, and youth maladjustment. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 8, 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12126.
Xiao, S. X., Hashi, E. C., Korous, K. M., & Eisenberg, N. (2019). Gender differences across multiple types of prosocial behavior in adolescence: A meta-analysis of the prosocial tendency measure-revised (PTM-R). Journal of Adolescence, 77, 41–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.09.003.
Zhang, X. (2013). Bidirectional longitudinal relations between father-child relationships and Chinese children’s social competence during early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.06.005.
Zhang, X., Chen, H., Zhang, G., Zhou, B., & Wu, W. (2008). A longitudinal study of parent-child relationships and problem behaviors in early childhood: Transactional model. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 40, 571–582. http://journal.psych.ac.cn/xlxb/EN/Y2008/V40/I05/571.
Zhou, Q., Eisenberg, N., Losoya, S. H., Fabes, R. A., Reiser, M., & Guthrie, I. K., et al. (2002). The relations of parental warmth and positive expressiveness to children’s empathy-related responding and social functioning: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 893–915. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00446.
Acknowledgements
We thank all the families that participated in our study. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments throughout the publication process.
Funding
The study was partly funded by Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (14ZDB160).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by XZ, LL, and LB. Data analyses were performed by LL and XZ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by XZ and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Beijing Normal University and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, X., Li, L., Bai, L. et al. Father-Child Relations Mediate the Relations Between Paternal Expressiveness and Adolescent Behaviors. J Child Fam Stud 30, 1016–1027 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01901-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01901-x