Author ' s response to reviews Title : Parental academic involvement in adolescence as predictor of mental health trajectories over the life course : A prospective population-based cohort study (original) (raw)
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BMC Public Health, 2015
Background: Mental health problems are rising, especially among younger people, indicating a need to identify determinants of the development of mental health over the life course. Parental involvement in their children's studies, particularly in terms of academic socialisation, has been shown to predict better mental health in adulthood, as well as other more favourable health outcomes, but no study published so far has examined its impact on trajectories of mental health. We therefore sought to elucidate the role of parental involvement at age 16 on the life course development of internalised mental health symptoms. Methods: In a population-based cohort (452 women and 488 men, 87 % of the eligible participants), we examined the association between parental involvement in their offspring's studies, measured by teacher and pupil ratings at age 16, and an index of internalised mental health symptoms at the ages of 16, 18, 21, 30, and 43. Using latent class trajectory analysis, 5 different trajectories were derived from these indices: Very low stable (least symptoms), Low stable, Increasing, Moderate stable, and High decreasing (most symptoms). Multinomial logistic regression was used to regress trajectory membership on the parental involvement variables. Results: Teacher-rated parental interest in their offspring's studies during the last year of compulsory school was associated with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable (OR = 0.54; 95 % CI 0.30 to 0.98) and High decreasing (OR = 0.41; 0.18 to 0.91) trajectories, compared with the Low stable, also after adjustment for sex, parental social class and mental health, family unemployment and own school grades. Both these associations were present only in children with grades above the national average. Student-rated availability of assistance with homework was associated with a higher chance of entering the Very low stable trajectory in the whole sample (OR = 1.24; 1.07 to 1.43), in men (OR = 1.25; 1.05 to 1.48) and in those with above average grades (OR = 1.39; 1.13 to 1.72), and with a lower risk of entering the Moderate stable in women (OR = 0.74; 0.55 to 0.99), also after the same adjustments. Conclusions: Parental involvement in their offspring's studies may buffer against poor mental health in adolescence which may track into adulthood.
The Influence of the Family on Adolescent Academic Achievement
I would like to thank my program of study committee for their hard work, effort, and support given to this thesis. Without their expertise and encouragement, this thesis would never have been possible. Dr. Janet Melby, Dr. Jennifer Margrett, and Dr. Frederick Lorenz had a pivotal role in this project. I owe my sincere and earnest thanks to the Couple and Family Therapy program, all its student members, and all advisors who offered support and encouragement through this entire process. I am grateful to be a part of such a noble program. Lastly, this thesis would not have been possible without the love and support from my fiancé, who helped ensure that there I had someone to lean on in times of need and hardship. Thank you.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2013
Background Parental involvement in their children's studies, particularly in terms of academic socialisation, has been shown to predict academic achievement, and is thus a candidate modifiable factor influencing life course socioeconomic circumstances. Socioeconomic disadvantage is thought to impact on health over the life course partly by allostatic load, that is, cumulative biological risk. We sought to elucidate the role of parental involvement at age 16 on the life course development of allostatic load. Methods In a population-based cohort (365 women and 352 men, 67% of the eligible participants), we examined the association between parental involvement in their offspring's studies, measured by teacher and pupil ratings at age 16 and an allostatic load index summarising 12 physiological risk markers at age 43. Mediation through life course academic and occupational achievement was assessed by entering school grades, adult educational achievement and socioeconomic position at age 43 in a linear regression analysis in a stepwise manner and testing for mediation. Results Parental interest in their offspring's studies during the last year of compulsory school-rather than the parent's social class or availability of practical academic support-was found to predict adult allostatic load (β=−0.12, 95% CI −0.20 to −0.05). Further adjustments indicated that academic achievement over the life course mediated a large part of the effect of parental interest on allostatic load. Conclusions Parental interest in their offspring's studies may have protective effects by decreasing the likelihood of a chain of risk involving low academic achievement, low socioeconomic position and high accumulated physiological stress.
Multidisciplinary Research Journal of European Academic Research
Abstract: Attributed to biological and hormonal changes, adolescence ensures psychosocial, behavioural, and sexual maturation. Adolescents’ performance in academics specifically during preparation for senior secondary examination and competitive examinations is attributed to a significant number of factors that often jeopardize children, adolescents and youths world over. During this phase of life, students are in double bind—being challenged by variety of mental and physiological changes; and being pressurized by substantial amount of academic (disproportionate) loads/burdens due to preparation for senior secondary school examination and competitive examinations. Based on available researches conducted earlier ( being cited later part of the article), it may be concluded that academic stress, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation and planning, parenting style/pattern, lack of mother-child (healthy) interactions are commonly and frequently studied variables in relation to adolescents depressive disorder by researchers in India and abroad. Interestingly, reviewed literature (from 2001 through 2014) fails to reveal any systematic attempt in which depressive behavior is examined through academic performance across parenting styles/patterns of adolescents who are preparing for competitive examinations. Though academic stress as one of the most frequently studied variables, without analyzing and examining academic load of competitive and regular examinations, it seldom possible to predict any sort of kinship between depression and academic stress— since preparation for senior secondary examination seeks subjective orientations on every concept of each subject undertaken for the studies; and competitive examinations, by and large demand objective orientations of some common subjects (aligned with school curricula) along with some extra papers (these are either subjects or courses/combination of subjects). Drawing experiences from literature (studies that are being cited later part of the article), researchers hypothesize “a significant kinship exists between parenting pattern and depressive disorders of adolescents who are taking up regular and competitive examinations”; which was verified through a study on 300 adolescents of Pathankot city of Punjab. Being designed with descriptive survey method, data were collected with the help of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II;1996) and Parenting Pattern Scale (Bharadwaj et.al.;1995); and collected data were further analyzed with the support of Pearson’s Coefficients of Correlation. The study being documented by Lovely Professional University mentions prevalence of severe and moderate level of depressive disorder demonstrated by 10% and 30% of adolescents respectively. The result of the study established low negative relationship between parenting pattern and depression; and it is implicit that better parenting pattern, lesser is the depressive experiences, and poor parenting pattern leads to depression. Keeping association between parenting pattern/style and depressive disorder, the study recommended that parenting through family life education could help parents in nurturing mental health of adolescents during preparation for competitive examinations. Depressive disorder is pervasive and has become a critical challenge since adolescents and young adults (youth) population is projected to be highest by 2016-20, therefore scholars of this article advocated certain strategies that are believed to be having healing effects and it is concluded that unless policies are well practiced, not only depressive disorders but also other forms of mental disorders will continue to have their ill-effects on our society by raising individuals that cause national wastage, in terms of not being able to produce and seeking support and welfare measures that put unwanted burden on public funds and governance. Key words: Parenting pattern, depression, academic performance, and competitive examinations.
The current study examines patterns of academic functioning and mental health in 184 middle school children and the relation of such patterns to their prior and subsequent functioning. Data were collected from children during their second, third, fourth, eighth, and ninth grade school years. Cluster analyses were used to delineate patterns of academic functioning and mental health during eighth grade. The authors examined the relation of these patterns to academic functioning and mental health 1 year later the transition to high school, and then examined the long-term developmental roots of the eighth grade patterns using data collected during elementary school years. Results indicated variegated patterns of academic and emotional functioning at eighth grade and stability in these patterns across the high school transition. Some long-term continuity was found among children showing uniformly positive or negative functioning at eighth grade. Studying child functioning across multiple domains and time periods is discussed.
2020
First and foremost, I wish to thank my supervisor and mentor, Hans-Christoph Steinhausen, for his support, advice, motivation, and especially for his patience throughout these past years. I had the great opportunity to learn from his epidemiological and scientific knowledge and have grown a lot through his constructive feedback and the chance to work with him on a longitudinal project. I have never seen anyone revise manuscripts faster and rephrase in such an eloquent way. I am most grateful that I always felt appreciated by him as a person and as a colleague. Additionally, I would like to thank Susanne Walitza, who gave me the opportunity to start my new life as a working adult and researcher. I also wish to thank Roselind Lieb for checking on me and offering support, advice and always having an open door for me. Thanks also to Andrea Meyer for helping me with statistical problems and questions. Further, I wish to thank my colleagues and coworkers at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology and the Outpatient Clinic of the Psychiatry of Baselland for their priceless support.