Adolescents’ Experience of Parental Reactions and its Relations to Externalizing and Internalizing Problems

Abstract

The present study examined 1336 twelve- and thirteen-year old Swedish adolescents’ experience of parents’ reactions to misbehavior and its relations to self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. Parental reactions were measured as degree of experienced angry outbursts, coldness-rejection and attempted understanding from parents. Internalization and externalization were measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Our findings show that adolescents’ internalization and externalization were linked to parental reactions to misbehavior. Adolescents’ who reported more parental angry outbursts also reported more externalizing and internalizing problems. Coldness-rejection was similarly related to both problem-styles. Attempted understanding was related to less internalizing and externalizing in adolescents and seems to function as resilience against mental health problems. However, this effect was in turn mediated by attachment.