Zhang Jing, Slesnick Natasha
Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 135 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2017 Mar;46(3):668-681. doi: 10.1007/s10964-016-0549-4. Epub 2016 Aug 1.
Parents' and children's autonomy and relatedness behaviors are associated with a wide range of child outcomes. Yet, little is known about how parents and children's autonomy and relatedness behaviors jointly influence child outcomes. The current study captured this joint influence by exploring the longitudinal trajectory of mother-child discrepancies in autonomy and relatedness behaviors and its association with child problem behaviors. The effects of a family systems intervention on the trajectory of mother-child discrepancies were also examined. The sample included 183 substance using mothers and their children (M age = 11.54 years, SD = 2.55, range 8-16; 48 % females). Both the mother and child completed an assessment at baseline, 6- and 18-month post-baseline. A person-centered analysis identified subgroups varying in mother-child discrepancy patterns in their autonomy and relatedness behaviors. The results also showed that participation in the family systems therapy was associated with decreased mother-child discrepancies, and also a synchronous increase in mother's and child's autonomy and relatedness. Additionally, increased mother-child discrepancies and mother-child dyads showing no change in autonomy and relatedness was associated with higher levels of children's problem behaviors. The findings reveal a dynamic process of mother-child discrepancies in autonomy and relatedness behaviors related to child outcomes. The findings also support the effectiveness of the family systems therapy, and highlight the importance of understanding the complexities in family interactions when explaining children's problem behaviors.
父母与子女的自主性和关联性行为与多种儿童成长结果相关。然而，对于父母与子女的自主性和关联性行为如何共同影响儿童成长结果，我们却知之甚少。本研究通过探究母子在自主性和关联性行为上差异的纵向轨迹及其与儿童问题行为的关联，捕捉了这种共同影响。同时，还考察了家庭系统干预对母子差异轨迹的影响。样本包括183名有物质使用问题的母亲及其子女（平均年龄 = 11.54岁，标准差 = 2.55，年龄范围8 - 16岁；48%为女性）。母亲和孩子在基线、基线后6个月和18个月时均完成了一项评估。以人为中心的分析确定了在自主性和关联性行为上母子差异模式不同的亚组。结果还表明，参与家庭系统治疗与母子差异的减少相关，同时母亲和孩子的自主性和关联性同步增加。此外，母子差异的增加以及自主性和关联性没有变化的母子二元组与儿童更高水平的问题行为相关。研究结果揭示了自主性和关联性行为中母子差异与儿童成长结果相关的动态过程。研究结果还支持了家庭系统治疗的有效性，并强调了在解释儿童问题行为时理解家庭互动复杂性的重要性。
