Attachment and parent-adolescent discrepancies in reports of family functioning among suicidal adolescents: My review of the article by Chang et al. (2020).

Introduction:

For most families, parents-children relationships are not consistent all the time. When children are relatively young (pre-teen), they usually have strong relationships with their parents, always in productive communication. However, as they transition to the adolescent developmental stage, this previously seamless and productive relationship with the parents changes significantly. Usually, parents get into constant conflicts with their teenage children at this time, ultimately impacting overall family functioning. 

This apparent disruption in the previously robust family relationship is not necessarily a cause for alarm as it is, in most cases, a manifestation of the adolescents becoming less dependent on the parents as their primary support system. At other times though, it is a cause for alarm as it may indicate serious problems within the family. This way, it is essential to understand the various underpinnings to determine when specialist attention is needed. That said, this discussion aims at reviewing a total of five peer-reviewed journals that shed light on this topic of attachment and adolescent functioning.  

Article 1 of 5

“Attachment and Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Reports of Family Functioning among Suicidal Adolescents” by Chang et al. (2020)

The overall purpose of this article by Chang et al. (2020) is to examine adolescents’ and parents’ discrepancies in perceptions regarding family cohesion and conflict. Simply put, this study aims at investigating why parents and adolescents report divergent perceptions on cohesion and conflicts at home. Moreover, this article examines whether these discrepancies are caused by factors like suicidal ideation, particular adolescent attachment styles, and depressive symptomatology. According to past research, adolescents have overall negative perceptions of their families while parents’ perceptions are generally positive, leading to conflicts and putting a strain on family functioning (Weymouth et al., 2016). The article seeks to understand why these perceptions are different. They wonder whether it is because of avoidant and anxious attachment styles or a consequence of suicidal ideation and or depressive symptomology.

The study utilizes a quantitative methodology to answer the research questions. Specifically, the study collected perceptions of family cohesion and conflict from a total of 129 multi-ethnic adolescents and one caregiver for each adolescent. The adolescents were aged between 12 and 18 years. Further, to test for significance in the suicidal and depressive symptomology causation, participants chosen met inclusion criteria. The sampling entailed enlisting adolescents with some levels of suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms. Once enlisted, questionnaire interviews, over phone calls, and in-person were conducted to collect the participants’ perception of family conflict and cohesion. 

The results agreed with the study’s hypotheses. That is, while parents and caregivers reported family more cohesion, the adolescents reported less cohesion. Both caregivers and adolescents reported high levels of conflict. Interestingly, the study did not find any indications to suggest that depression and suicidal ideation were linked with the existing discrepancies in family conflicts and cohesion between parents and adolescents. A significant correlation was found with avoidant attachment styles.

This study is relevant to my interest in the psychology of adolescents' close relationships. Mainly, I have been interested in understanding the development of three central relationships in adolescence: relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners. I also am interested in exploring multiple perspectives, including the evolutionary and biological underpinnings of these relationships, as well as environmental contributors at the levels of the family, society, and culture. Also, I consider the impact of race and ethnicity, gender, social context, and socioeconomic status (SES) paramount in adolescents’ relationships. 

Firstly, it compares and contrasts adolescents’ relationships. To this end, the article explains that adolescents’ relationships with their parents decrease as they increase relationships with their peers. Secondly, the article reviews avoidant and anxious attachment as some of the major attachment styles that lead to discrepancies in family conflict and cohesion perceptions (Widom et al., 2018). For instance, it reveals that avoidant attachment leads to poor communication, ultimately straining family cohesion. In the way of implication, the article’s findings suggest that adolescent development can be enhanced by funding advocacy causes that educate parents on forming a productive attachment with their teenage children. However, this article fails to address the attachment theory conclusively. It also does not describe normative changes that cause conflict, such as cognitive changes during adolescence. 

References

Chang, C. J., Ohannessian, C. M., Ewing, E. S. K., Kobak, R., Diamond, G. S., & Herres, J. (2020). Attachment and parent-adolescent discrepancies in reports of family functioning among suicidal adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(1), 227–236.

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 & Review, 8(1), 95–112.

Widom, C. S., Czaja, S. J., Kozakowski, S. S., & Chauhan, P. (2018). Does adult attachment style mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental and physical health outcomes? Child Abuse & Neglect, 76, 533–545.