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IJERPH
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Conflictual Parent-Child Relationship and Children's Mental Health
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Conflictual Parent-Child Relationship and Children's Mental Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 5722

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marcella Caputi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Weiss 21, 34128 Trieste, Italy
Interests: theory of mind; social cognition; social relations; moral development; resilience; wellbeing
Dr. Simona Scaini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Ripa di Porta Ticinese 77, 20143 Milano, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; internalizing disorders; life events; behavioral genetics
Dr. Barbara Forresi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Child and Youth Lab, Sigmund Freud University, Ripa di Porta Ticinese 77, 20143 Milano, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; trauma; maltreatment; abuse; violence; natural disasters

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue dedicated to the relationship between parent–child conflict and children's and adolescents’ mental health.

The parent–child relationship is the first and most important bond that individuals develop and is likely to greatly impact youth socioemotional development. A conflictual parent–child relationship is characterized by difficult interactions in which both members of the dyad display negative affect and behaviors. Parent–child exchanges characterized by elevated rates of conflict can place children and adolescents at risk of mental health issues exhibited both in the short- and in the long-term.

There is a particular need for studies addressing this topic. Therefore, we welcome theoretical papers, literature reviews, meta-analyses and empirical works aimed at extending the knowledge about the connection between parent–child conflict and youth mental health, and the potential mechanisms involved in this relationship. Articles addressing potential and effective clinical interventions and prevention programs are also welcome.

We encourage the submission of contributions from all parts of the world, as well as cross-cultural research aimed at comparing different cultural contexts.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Children.

Dr. Marcella Caputi
Dr. Simona Scaini
Dr. Barbara Forresi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • parent–child conflict
  • mental health
  • child adjustment
  • parent–child relation
  • parent–child interaction
  • parent–child dyad
  • parental hostility
  • internalizing symptoms
  • externalizing symptoms
  • maltreatment

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1091 KiB  
Article
Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescence: Parental Narratives Explore Causes and Responsibilities
by Luna Carpinelli and Meike Watzlawik
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4075; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054075 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2932
Abstract
Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental disorder with a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, adolescent girls being especially vulnerable. Parents can be a resource and occasionally a burden when their children suffer from AN; thus, parents play a key role in recovery. This study [...] Read more.
Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental disorder with a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, adolescent girls being especially vulnerable. Parents can be a resource and occasionally a burden when their children suffer from AN; thus, parents play a key role in recovery. This study focused on parental illness theories of AN and how parents negotiate their responsibilities. Methods: To gain insights into this dynamic, 14 parents (11 mothers, 3 fathers) of adolescent girls were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was used to provide an overview of the parents’ assumed causes for their children’s AN. We also looked for systematic differences in the assumed causes among different groups of parents (e.g., high versus low self-efficacy). A microgenetic positioning analysis of two mother–father dyads provided further insight into how they viewed the development of AN in their daughters. Results: The analysis stressed the overall helplessness of parents and their strong need to understand what was going on. Parents differed in stressing internal and external causes, which influenced whether they felt responsible and how much they felt in control and able to help. Conclusions: Analysing the variability and dynamics shown can support therapists, especially those working systemically to change the narratives within families for better therapy compliance and outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conflictual Parent-Child Relationship and Children's Mental Health)
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11 pages, 770 KiB  
Article
Cooperation with Teachers as a Mediator of the Relationship between Family Conflict and Children’s Psychological Difficulties
by Marcella Caputi, Barbara Forresi, Ludovica Giani and Simona Scaini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13151; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013151 - 13 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1694
Abstract
Parent–child conflict can have a series of negative consequences concerning youth emotional and behavioral development. The link between family conflict and children’s externalizing symptoms is well established, whereas the association with internalizing symptoms is less explored. Within the school context, children are engaged [...] Read more.
Parent–child conflict can have a series of negative consequences concerning youth emotional and behavioral development. The link between family conflict and children’s externalizing symptoms is well established, whereas the association with internalizing symptoms is less explored. Within the school context, children are engaged in other meaningful relationships (i.e., with teachers and peers) which contribute to their growth. This cross-sectional study aimed at understanding whether a cooperative behavior with the teachers is able to mediate the association between parent–child conflict and children’s psychopathological symptoms. We recruited 319 (150 boys) school-aged children (M = 11.3 years; SD = 1.8 years) and their parents and teachers. Children self-reported on their internalizing symptoms, whereas parents completed a questionnaire concerning their relationship with the child, and teachers rated children’s behavior and internalizing/externalizing symptoms. Analyses conducted through Hayes’ PROCESS tool showed that cooperation with the teacher partially mediated the association between parent–child conflict and child-reported depressive symptoms. Notably, cooperative behavior fully mediated the link between parent–child conflict and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms reported by teachers. Difficulties exhibited at school partly derive from a conflictual home environment. Our findings showed that such problems can be reduced thanks to a cooperative relationship with the teacher. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conflictual Parent-Child Relationship and Children's Mental Health)
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