Family factors affecting psychopathological symptoms in children: attachment and parental rearing behaviors 1. Introduction Family factors are thought to play an important role in explaining the origins of internalizing and externalizing problems in young people. Externalizing symptoms refer to behaviors in which the child is in conflict with the environment, such as disruptive, aggressive, hyperactive, and antisocial behavior (Roelofs, Meesters, ter Huurne, Bamelis, & Muris, 2006; Yahav, 2007). Internalizing symptoms include feelings of anxiety and/or depression (Roelofs et al., 2006; Yahav, 2007). One important family factor which seems to affect the development of psychopathological symptoms in children is attachment. Attachment refers …show more content…
Parental rearing behaviors are also thought to play a prominent role in psychopathology in children and adolescents (Brown & Whiteside, 2008; Muris, Meesters, Schouten, & Hoge, 2004; Muris, Meesters, et al., 2003c; Nishikawa, Sundbom, & Hägglöf, 2010; Ritchie & Buchanan, 2011; Roelofs, Meesters, & Muris, 2008; Roelofs et al., 2006; Van Brakel et al., 2006; Yahav, 2007). Factor analytic studies have established two main dimensions of parental rearing behaviors (Baumrind, 1967; Baumrind, 1991; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). The first dimension, which can be defined as “care,” describes behaviors and attitudes related to acceptance, warmth, and on the reverse side, rejection and criticism. The second dimension, which can be labeled as “control,” refers to parental control, protection, and, on the reverse side, promotion of autonomy (Baumrind, 1967, 1991; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Research has supported the idea that these two main parental rearing dimensions play a role in the development of psychopathology in children and adolescents, especially in the development of internalizing problem behavior (Muris, Meesters, & van Brakel, 2003). For example, Ritchie and Buchanan (2010) suggest that negative parenting styles are significantly correlated with raised scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Muris et al., …show more content…
A study by Muris et al. (2003a) showed that both attachment and parental rearing behaviors accounted for a unique proportion of the variance of internalizing symptoms. In this study, only parental rearing behaviors declared a significant proportion of the variance in predicting externalizing symptoms. While previous studies did not find any gender effects, Roelofs et al. (2006) argue that there is a gender-specific relationship in examining the relative contribution of attachment style and perceived parental rearing behaviors. Roelofs et al. (2006) found that only secure attachment of boys towards the father explained a significant proportion in the variance of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Additionally, the results indicated that in children, and particularly in girls, attachment style seems to have a less prominent role in declaring variance in internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors compared to negative rearing behaviors (Roelofs et al.,