Sifaki, Maria;
Flouri, Eirini;
Midouhas, Emily;
(2024)
Childhood Trajectories of Paternal and Maternal Psychological Distress and Decision-making in Early Adolescence.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
10.1007/s10826-024-02854-7.
Preview |
Text
s10826-024-02854-7.pdf - Published Version Download (699kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Decision-making is important for adolescent wellbeing, and predictive of several other outcomes. While past research demonstrates the role of maternal psychological distress in adolescent decision-making, the role of paternal psychological distress remains relatively unexplored. This study examined the association between trajectories of paternal and maternal psychological distress, jointly modelled, in childhood and child decision-making in early adolescence. Using data from 9846 families of the Millennium Cohort Study, we identified paternal and maternal psychological distress trajectories across child ages 3–11 using joint group-based trajectory modelling and explored their associations with offspring decision-making at age 11 with multiple linear regression models. Paternal and maternal psychological distress was measured with the Kessler-6 scale, while adolescent decision-making was assessed using the Cambridge Gambling Task. We identified 2 trajectories for fathers (‘low distress’ and ‘moderate-increasing distress’) and 4 for mothers (‘minimal distress’, ‘low distress’, ‘moderate-increasing distress’ and ‘severe distress’). When jointly modelled, paternal and maternal trajectories predicted decision-making in fully adjusted models. Compared to the ‘low distress’ paternal trajectory, the ‘moderate-increasing distress’ paternal trajectory was associated with less delay aversion, although this effect disappeared when examining only two-parent biological families. Compared to the ‘minimal distress’ maternal trajectory, the ‘moderate-increasing distress’ trajectory predicted slower deliberation time, whereas the ‘severe distress’ trajectory predicted greater risk-taking. There were no gender differences in these paths. Consistently moderate and high levels of maternal distress during childhood are associated with increased decision latency and greater risk-taking, respectively, in early adolescence.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Childhood Trajectories of Paternal and Maternal Psychological Distress and Decision-making in Early Adolescence |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10826-024-02854-7 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02854-7 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Adolescent decision-making ● Group-based trajectory modelling ● Maternal psychological distress ● Millennium Cohort Study ● Paternal psychological distress |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10192611 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
