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Longitudinal mediation model for attachment anxiety to ODD symptoms at Time 2. Note Not pictured, gender included as control variable. Dotted line indicates non-significant pathway. ***p ≤ 0.001, **p < 0.01
Source publication
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a childhood disorder, commonly occurring in early school aged children with some symptoms becoming normative in adolescence (e.g., irritability, disagreeing). Affect dysregulation is a risk factor in the development of ODD. Affect regulation is nurtured within parent-child relationships, thus disruptions to at...
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Problematic mobile phone use can predict depression in adolescents, but few studies have thoroughly explored its internal mechanism. This study surveyed 1,768 Chinese adolescents in three educational levels (upper grades of elementary, junior middle, and high school levels) using a questionnaire. Results showed that (1) problematic mobile phone use...
Citations
... In a recent meta-analysis of 40 samples including 2927 adults, Herstell et al. (2021) found that healthy controls were distinguished from those with major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia by a large effect size in anxious and avoidant attachment (g = 0.94 and 0.63, for anxious and avoidant attachment respectively). Likewise, insecure attachment in youth is associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, conduct and oppositional behaviors, substance misuse, and suicidality (e.g., Craig et al., 2020;Schindler, 2019). ...
Background
Given the prevalence and recent increases in youth mental health problems, there is a pressing need for interventions that target transdiagnostic protective factors that could be targeted as mechanisms of change in treatment. Such interventions are most likely to succeed in meeting population needs if they are scalable, sustainable, and effective. Connect is a manualized, 10‐session trauma‐informed and attachment‐based parent program that is structured, emotion‐focused and skills‐oriented. Developed for broad implementation by community mental health workers, Connect is designed to promote parent–child attachment security, a well‐established transdiagnostic protective factor for youth mental health.
Methods
We examined whether parent–youth attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted reductions in internalizing and externalizing problems in a large one‐group clinical sample of youth (N = 527; ages 8–18 years) of parents (N = 690) who completed the Connect program in a longitudinal study with 6 time points (pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment; 6‐, 12‐ and 18‐month follow‐up).
Results
Findings confirmed that parent and youth reports of attachment anxiety and avoidance, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems, significantly declined over the course of the intervention. Parent reported reductions in youth attachment anxiety, but not avoidance, predicted declining levels of youth internalizing problems. As well, parent reported reductions in youth attachment avoidance and anxiety predicted declining youth externalizing behavior. In contrast, youth reports of reductions in youth attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, were associated with declines in youth externalizing problems.
Conclusion
Our findings support the role of attachment as an important transdiagnostic mechanism of change in attachment‐based programs for parents of teens with clinically significant mental health problems.
... likely due to a low number of items. Despite this, the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the AAAAI have been supported in previous research (Craig et al., 2020;Goulter et al., 2019;Konishi & Hymel, 2014;Moretti et al., 2015;Persram & Konishi, 2022;Steiger, 2003;Steiger & Moretti, 2005, 2008Steiger et al., 2009;Wong et al., 2020). ...
A history of maltreatment can increase risk for dating violence (DV) and risky sexual behaviour (RSB) among adolescents. Secure parent-child attachment may reduce this risk, yet few studies have examined this as a protective factor. This study differentiated developmentally appropriate, exploratory sexual behaviours from RSB and examined whether maltreatment experiences and parent-child attachment in adolescence predicted DV and RSB reported five years later in a high-risk sample. Participants were 179 adolescents (46% girls; Mage = 15.34, range = 12–18 years) at risk for aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Adolescents reported their maltreatment histories and attachment to their parents at Time 1; five years later, at Time 2, they reported their experiences with DV perpetration and victimization and engagement in RSB. Both bivariate correlations and structural analyses demonstrated that maltreatment was associated with DV perpetration and victimization but not RSB, and attachment avoidance was associated with fewer RSB but not DV. Attachment anxiety was associated with physical DV perpetration and greater condom use, but only at the correlational level; attachment anxiety was not associated with DV or RSB in the structural model. There were no significant interaction effects. Findings highlight the importance of considering key developmental factors such as maltreatment and parent-child attachment in understanding adolescent risk for DV and RSB, and may inform future research that accounts for contextual factors such as motivation for violence perpetration and contraceptive use with multiple and/or casual sex partners.
... Items were rated using a 7-point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree). The scale has shown strong psychometric properties-including clear factor structure and strong convergent validity-in community and clinical samples [30,33,34]. Others who have used similar adaptations of the ECRS have also found strong psychometrics [35,36]. ...
This study investigated how youth attachment anxiety and avoidance are associated with informant discrepancies of intrafamilial aggression within families where youth have clinically significant mental health challenges (N = 510 youth–parent dyads). Using polynomial regressions, we tested whether youth attachment avoidance and anxiety moderated the absolute magnitude of the association between youth- and parent-reports of aggression toward each other. Furthermore, difference scores were computed to test whether youth attachment was associated with the direction of youths’ reports of the frequency of aggression relative to parents (i.e., did youth under- or over-report). Dyads’ reports of youth-to-parent aggression were more strongly related at high than low levels of attachment anxiety. Results also revealed that youth attachment anxiety was associated with youth over-reporting of youth-to-parent and parent-to-youth aggression (relative to parents), whereas attachment avoidance was associated with youth over-reporting parent-to-youth aggression (relative to parents). These findings highlight the importance of understanding the source of informant discrepancies in social-emotional development and family functioning.
... Of note, earlier ODD symptoms were not adjusted for in this study, which may have increased the likelihood of this finding being attributable to continuity in ODD symptoms. However, in another longitudinal study with mediation analysis, affect regulation did not directly impact later ODD symptoms among adolescents (Craig, Sierra Hernanderz, Moretti, & Pepler, 2020). ...
... The predictions from changes in emotion regulation to changes in the irritability and headstrong dimensions of ODD did not differ. Finding decreased emotion regulation to predict more symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder from childhood to adolescence adds to two former investigations revealing such a relation (Mitchison, Liber, Hannesdottir, & Njardvik, 2020;Yu et al., 2021) but runs counter to the null results of two other studies (Chen, He, et al., 2022;Craig et al., 2020). Notably, the latter two had considerably fewer participants than the study by Yu et al. (2021) and the present study. ...
Background
Childhood oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is associated with adverse outcomes which can continue to impair life well into adulthood. Identifying modifiable etiological factors of ODD is therefore essential. Although bullying victimization and poor emotion regulation are assumed to be risk factors for the development of ODD symptoms, little research has been conducted to test this possibility.
Methods
A sample (n = 1,042) from two birth cohorts of children in the city of Trondheim, Norway, was assessed biennially from age 4 to 14 years. Parents and children (from age 8) were assessed with clinical interviews to determine symptoms of ODD, children reported on their victimization from bullying, and teachers reported on children's emotion regulation.
Results
Oppositional defiant disorder symptoms increased from age 4 to 6, from age 8 to 10, and then started to wane as children entered adolescence. A Random Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel Model revealed that increased emotion regulation predicted a reduced number of ODD symptoms across development (β = −.15 to −.13, p < .001). This prediction was equally strong for the angry/irritable and argumentative/defiant dimensions of ODD. No longitudinal links were observed between bullying victimization and ODD symptoms.
Conclusions
Improving emotion regulation skills may protect against ODD symptoms throughout childhood and adolescence.
... Past research has demonstrated excellent factor structure and convergent validity of this modified scale (Craig et al., 2020;Goulter et al., 2019;Moretti & Obsuth, 2009;Moretti et al., 2015;Pasalich et al., 2021). Internal consistency was good to excellent in the present sample for total attachment security (α = 0.86), attachment avoidance (α = 0.90), and anxiety (α = 0.84). ...
Background
Research has demonstrated that parent–child attachment security and school connectedness (SC) are protective factors against substance use, depression, and suicidality during adolescence. However, past research has examined these factors independently, and little is known about how attachment security and SC work in conjunction to reduce risk.
Objective
The present study examined the moderating role of SC on the relations between parent-adolescent attachment (security, anxiety, and avoidance) and substance use, depression, and suicidality among at-risk adolescents.
Method
Using a cross-sectional design, 480 community-based adolescents (60.5% female; Mage = 14.86) aged 12–18 years self-reported parent-adolescent attachment, adolescent substance use, depression, and suicidality.
Results
High levels of attachment security in conjunction with high SC predicted the lowest risk for adolescent substance use. Several sex differences were found: SC significantly moderated the relation between attachment security and depressive symptoms in female adolescents and suicidality in male adolescents. Results also revealed that the moderating of role of SC differed in relation to attachment anxiety versus attachment avoidance for female versus male adolescents.
Conclusion
Findings point to the importance of testing associations between multiple dimensions of attachment and SC on several well-established mental health outcomes in a sample of high-risk adolescents.
... Furthermore, previous research has demonstrated that cross-sectional mediation models using affect regulation tend to carry through to longitudinal analyses (e.g. Craig et al., 2021;Moretti & Craig, 2013). Nonetheless, a longitudinal design assessing the same individuals multiple times would provide a clearer understanding of the proposed theoretical mediation model at the between-and within-person levels. ...
Objective. Although physical activity declined with social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth who engaged in more physical activity experienced fewer mental health problems. If and how physical activity maintained its protective role throughout the ongoing pandemic remains unclear. This study models associations between three types of physical activity (indoor, outdoor, with parents), affect regulation, and anxious and depressive symptoms in two independent adolescent samples (T1: Summer 2020; T2: Winter 2020/21).
Methods and Measures. Six hundred sixty-two Canadian adolescents (T1: Mage = 15.69, SD = 1.36; 52% girls; 5% trans+) and 675 Canadian adolescents (T2: Mage = 15.80, SD = 1.46; 50% girls; 6% trans+) participated in an online survey. Data included frequency of physical activity indoors, outdoors, and with parents, affect regulation difficulties, and measures of anxious and depressive symptoms.
Results. Multiple-group path analysis showed indoor physical activity had an indirect effect on anxiety and depressive symptoms through affect dysregulation, but only at T1. Physical activity with parents was protective for adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms at both T1 and T2 and had an indirect effect through affect dysregulation and suppression.
Conclusion. Findings contribute to our understanding of how physical activity protects adolescent mental health, and point to strengthening family supports and recreation opportunities.
... Emerging evidence has shown that the youth-reported dysregulation and suppression are associated with several forms of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology (Craig & Moretti, 2019;Moretti & Craig, 2013). This measure has also shown good psychometric properties across high-risk and clinical samples (Craig et al., 2020;Goulter et al., 2019;Moretti & Craig, 2013). ...
The Affect Regulation Checklist (ARC) was designed to capture affect dysregulation, suppression, and reflection. Importantly, affect dysregulation has been established as a transdiagnostic mechanism underpinning many forms of psychopathology. We tested the ARC psychometric properties across clinical and community samples and through both parent‐report and youth self‐report information. Clinical sample: Participants included parents (n = 814; Mage = 43.86) and their child (n = 608; Mage = 13.98). Community sample: Participants included independent samples of parents (n = 578; Mage = 45.12) and youth (n = 809; Mage = 15.67). Exploratory structural equation modeling supported a three‐factor structure across samples and informants. Dysregulation was positively associated with all forms of psychopathology. In general, suppression was positively associated with many forms of psychopathology, and reflection was negatively associated with externalizing problems and positively associated with internalizing problems.
... Rather, results suggest African American adolescents with ODD symptoms were less likely to endorse suicidal ideations. Although not tested, it is possible that adolescents with ODD symptoms had a secure attachment with their parents, which has shown to decrease emotional dysregulation (Craig et al., 2021); thus, inversely associated with suicidal ideation. When examining the role of PD symptoms on suicidal ideations, we found null results, such that African American adolescents with PD symptoms did not endorse suicidal ideations. ...
Previous studies suggest that mental illness symptoms among adolescents, such as conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and panic disorder symptoms often associate with suicidal ideations. Despite this, few studies have examined whether these mental illness symptoms associate with suicidal ideations among African American adolescents. To address these limitations, the current study examined whether conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and panic disorder symptoms associated with suicidal ideations (N = 261). Using binominal logistic regression, results suggest that conduct disorder symptoms were associated with a higher likelihood of endorsing suicidal ideations than oppositional defiant disorder symptoms. Finally, panic disorder symptoms and gender differences were not associated with suicidal ideations. Preventive efforts and psychotherapy implications are discussed.
... To our knowledge, very few studies have reported on the selfreported rates of symptoms of clinical concern for other mental health difficulties in adolescents during COVID-19, such as conduct disorder (CD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), separation anxiety, or social phobia. Symptoms of externalizing problems, such as CD, ODD, and ADHD, have been found to be highly associated with environmental influences such as maltreatment at home and poor relationships with parents (Booker et al., 2018;Craig et al., 2020Craig et al., , 2021. With the stay-at-home orders putting additional pressures on youth, it is possible that these behavior problems may be exacerbated and increases in symptoms may occur. ...
D’importantes préoccupations ont été soulevées au sujet des répercussions sur la santé mentale de la maladie causée par le coronavirus (COVID-19) en raison de l’isolement, de l’anxiété et de l’augmentation des conflits familiaux suscités par la pandémie. Cette étude a pour but d’examiner la présence de signes cliniques de maladie mentale et la consommation de substances, et de déterminer les stresseurs liés à la pandémie qui permettent de prédirent ces symptômes et l’usage de substances dans un vaste échantillon d’adolescents canadiens et selon les genres. Les participants (N = 809, Mâge = 15,67, É.-T. = 1,37), qui se sont définis en tant que filles (56,2 %), garçons (38,7 %), personnes trans ou non binaires (TNB; 5,1 %), ont été recrutés au moyen des médias sociaux pour répondre à un questionnaire en ligne. Une proportion élevée d’adolescents a rapporté des signes cliniques de dépression (51 %), d’anxiété (39 %) et de trouble de stress post-traumatique (45 %). Les taux d’autres problèmes de maladie mentale allaient de 9 à 20 %. Les adolescents se souciaient surtout de la santé des membres de leur famille et des populations vulnérables, ainsi que du niveau plus élevé de stress de la famille durant la pandémie. Les taux d’usage de substances étaient plus élevés que prévu : plus de 50 % des jeunes rapportaient avoir consommé au cours des 90 derniers jours, et près de 20 % consommaient au moins une fois par semaine. Les jeunes TNB et les filles rapportaient des taux plus élevés de troubles de santé mentale que les garçons. Le stress au sein de la famille causé par le confinement ainsi que la violence domestique étaient des facteurs associés à une plus grande incidence de symptôme de maladie mentale, mais pas aux problèmes de consommation de substances. Les taux plus élevés de problèmes de santé mentale et de consommation de substances nécessitent un soutien ciblé qui encourage le recours à des mécanismes positifs d’adaptation au stress supplémentaire causé par la pandémie de COVID-19.
... Furthermore, previous research has demonstrated that cross-sectional mediation models using affect regulation tend to carry through to longitudinal analyses (e.g. Craig et al., 2021;Moretti & Craig, 2013). Nonetheless, a longitudinal design assessing the same individuals multiple times would provide a clearer understanding of the proposed theoretical mediation model at the between-and within-person levels. ...
Objective. Although physical activity declined with social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth who engaged in more physical activity experienced fewer mental health problems. If and how physical activity maintained its protective role throughout the ongoing pandemic remains unclear. This study models associations between three types of physical activity (indoor, outdoor, with parents), affect regulation, and anxious and depressive symptoms in two adolescent samples (W1: Summer 2020; W2: Winter 2020/21). Methods and Measures. 662 Canadian adolescents (W1: Mage = 15.69, SD = 1.36; 52% girls; 5% trans+) and 675 Canadian adolescents (W2: Mage = 15.80, SD = 1.46; 50% girls;6% trans+) participated in an online survey. Data included frequency of physical activity indoors, outdoors, and with parents, affect regulation and measures of anxious and depressive symptoms. Results. Multiple-group path analysis showed indoor physical activity had an indirect effect on anxiety and depressive symptoms, but only in W1. Physical activity with parents was protective for adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms at both W1 and W2 and had an indirect effect through affect regulation. Conclusion. Findings contribute to our understanding of how physical activity protects adolescent mental health, and point to strengthening family supports and recreation opportunities.
