Luc Goossens

This 3-wave longitudinal study examined the bidirectional associations between adolescents’ and mothers’ perceptions of the mother-adolescent relationship quality (i.e., warmth and hostility) and internalizing symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms and loneliness). The focus was on the direction of effects between internalizing symptoms and both the levels of and discrepancies in mothers’ and adolescents’ perceptions of mother-adolescent relationship quality and potential differential associations with depressive symptoms and loneliness over time. A total of 622 early adolescents (55% girls, M_{age T1} = 10.77 years, SD_{age T1} = 0.48, 90.3% Belgian nationality) and 489 mothers (M_{age T1} = 40.96, SD_{age T1} = 3.55) participated in the study. Latent Congruence Models (LCMs) revealed that higher levels of perceived parental hostility in the mother-adolescent relationship were a shared risk factor for both depressive symptoms and loneliness over time. Furthermore, both depressive symptoms and loneliness predicted larger discrepancies in reports of parental hostility over time. In contrast, depressive symptoms were linked to lower levels of perceived parental warmth and larger discrepancies in reports of parental warmth over time, whereas no significant associations between loneliness and warmth were found. Overall, these results revealed consistent patterns of findings across both internalizing symptoms for hostility, whereas depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with both levels and discrepancies in warmth.

Background: : Traditional peer victimization and cyber-victimization are predictive risk factors for suicidal behavior in adolescents. Family communication is a protective factor that has seldom been studied in the specific problem of suicidal ideation in adolescent victims of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization. The objective of the present study was to use two different moderated mediation models to analyze the direct and indirect-mediating-effects of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation in adolescents, as well as the moderating role of family communication in the relationships between traditional victimization, cyber-victimization, and suicidal ideation. Method: : 1007 adolescents (51.9% boys) aged 12-18 years participated. Results: : Significant direct and indirect effects of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation were confirmed. Family communication moderated the direct effects of cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation, but not the direct effects of traditional victimization on suicidal ideation. In addition, it moderated the relationship between traditional victimization and cyber-victimization. Conclusions: : Family communication is a protective factor associated with decreased cyber-victimization in adolescents who suffer traditional victimization and reduced suicidal ideation in victims of cyber-victimization.

Theory and research both point at epigenetic processes affecting both parenting behavior and child functioning. However, little is known about the convergence of mother and child’s epigenetic patterns in families. Therefore, the current study investigated epigenetic covariance in mother–child dyads’ methylation levels regarding four stress-regulation related genes (5HTT, NR3C1, FKBP5, and BDNF). Covariance was tested in a general population sample, consisting of early adolescents (M_age = 11.63, SD_age = 2.3) and mothers (N = 160 dyads). Results showed that mother and offspring 5HTT and NR3C1 methylation patterns correlated. Furthermore, when averaged across genes, methylation levels strongly correlated. These findings partially supported that child and parent methylation levels covary. It might be important to consider this covariance to understand maladaptive parent–child relationships.

In two independent studies, we aimed to examine the extent to which teacher and peer nominations of loneliness are associated with children’s and adolescents’ self-reported loneliness, respectively. Additionally, we examined whether loneliness nominations from teachers and peers were informative above and beyond peer status and social behaviors associated with loneliness. In Study 1 (N = 1594, M_age = 9.43 years), teacher nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with children’s self-reported loneliness as assessed using the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that teacher nominations of loneliness predicted children’s self-reported loneliness above and beyond teacher nominations of peer status and social behaviors. In Study 2 (N = 350, M_age = 13.81 years), peer nominations of loneliness showed a small to moderate correlation with adolescents’ self-reported loneliness as assessed using the peer-related loneliness subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA). The results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that peer nominations of loneliness predicted adolescents’ self-reported loneliness above and beyond peer nominations of peer status and social behaviors. We conclude that loneliness nominations are valuable, but caution is needed when they are used exclusively to identify lonely children and adolescents.