Risk for Child Psychopathology Across Development: The Role of Paternal Internalizing Symptoms and Child Self-Regulation

• Author / Creator

  Slater, Kelsie

• Dramatic increases in anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems have been documented during the transition from middle childhood to early adolescence (Merikangas et al., 2010; Twenge et al., 2020). Therefore, developmental psychopathologists are continually trying to understand factors that confer risk or resilience to facilitate early intervention and prevention efforts (Cicchetti & Rogosh, 2022). Although fathers exert a significant influence on older children and adolescents (Wilson & Durbin, 2010), there is only a limited understanding of how anxiety and depression in fathers influence maladaptation in youth. Additionally, extant literature suggests that children’s ability to self-regulate may protect or enhance risk for maladaptation during this time (Eisenberg, 2010; Nigg, 2017), however, no studies known to me have examined how interactions between paternal internalizing symptoms and child SR influence child mental health. Thus, using longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study®), the current study adopted a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal design combined with a rigorous statistical approach to understand how internalizing symptoms in fathers interact with child SR to predict later externalizing and internalizing symptoms in youth. Results indicated that paternal internalizing problems positively predicted youth internalizing symptoms over time. Further, children of fathers with elevated internalizing problems and weak top-down SR skills were at a higher risk of later internalizing symptoms. Paternal internalizing problems did not significantly predict child externalizing symptoms, though results demonstrated that poor top-down SR is a particularly salient risk factor for externalizing problems regardless of paternal symptoms. Important implications for research and early intervention efforts targeting paternal mental health and child SR were discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Child Psychopathology
  • Developmental Psychopathology
  • Self-Regulation
  • Executive Functioning
  • Effortful Control
  • Internalizing
  • Externalizing
  • Psychopathology
  • Paternal
  • Fathers
  • Moderation
  • Regression
  • Quantiative
  • Longitudinal
  • Multi-Method
  • Multi-Informant
  • Middle Childhood
  • Early Adolescence
  • ABCD
  • Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development

• Graduation date

  Fall 2024

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-b0t4-ch08

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.