Linking internalizing and externalizing problems to warmth and negativity in observed dyadic parent–offspring communication

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Marie‐Louise J. Kullberg,Renate S. M. Buisman,Charlotte C. Schie,Katharina Pittner,Marieke Tollenaar,Lisa J. M. Berg,Lenneke R. A. Alink,Marian J. Bakermans‐Kranenburg,Bernet M. Elzinga
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12847

RESEARCH

Linking internalizing and externalizing problems

to warmth and negativity in observed dyadic

parent–offspring communication

Marie-Louise J. Kullberg

1

|Renate S. M. Buisman

2,3

|

Charlotte C. van Schie

1,3,4

|Katharina Pittner

2,5

|

Marieke Tollenaar

1,3

|Lisa J. M. van den Berg

1,3

|

Lenneke R. A. Alink

2,3

|Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg

2,3,6

|

Bernet M. Elzinga

1,3

1

Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

2

Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

3

Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

4

School of Psychology and Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

5

Charité –Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of

Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany

6

Clinical Child & Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Correspondence

Marie-Louise Kullberg, Wassenaarseweg

52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.

Email: m.j.kullberg@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

Funding information

This study was supported by the Leiden

University Research Profile “Health,

Prevention and the Human Life Cycle”and by

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific

Research (NWO) with two VICI-grants (B.M.

E., No. 45314001; M.J.B.-K. No. 45309003)

and a VIDI-grant (L.A. No. 016.145.360).

Author note

L.A., M.B.-K., B.E., and M.T. initiated and

developed the study concept and contributed

to the study design. Testing, data collection,

and data cleaning were performed by R.B.,

K.P., and L.v.d.B. R.B. coded the observed

behavioral data. Data analysis and

interpretation were performed by M.K. under

the supervision of C.v.S, B.E., and R.B. The

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the relative associations of

mothers’/fathers’and offspring’s internalizing and exter-

nalizing problems with parent-to-offspring and offspring-

to-parent warmth and negativity.

Background: Psychological conditions of family members

may be related to intrafamilial social interactions. Particu-

larly, internalizing and externalizing problems may affect

the quality of parent–offspring communication.

Method: In this study, fathers (N=94), mothers

(N=125) and their offspring (N=224, age

range

offspring

=7.5–65.5 years)from137nuclearfamilies

participated in a behavioral conflict interaction task dur-

ing which expressed warmth and negativity were observed.

Associations between parents’and offspring’s psychologi-

calproblems(ofthepast6 months)andparent-to-

offspring and offspring-to-parent communication were

Received: 31 January 2022Revised: 19 July 2022Accepted: 31 December 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12847

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2023 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2777–2799. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2777

manuscript was drafted by M.K. All authors

provided critical revisions and approved the

final version of the paper for submission. All

authors declare that they have no conflicts of

interest.

We are grateful to all the families that have

invested their time by participating in this

study and to everyone who contributed to the

data collection. We thank Marinus van

IJzendoorn for his substantial contribution to

the study and his financial support. We also

would like to thank Marjolein Fokkema for

her advice with regard to the method of

handling missing data and controlling for

family structure in the structural equation

models.

tested simultaneously using structural equation models

separated for fathers and mothers. Based on prior findings

in the study sample, our analyses were controlled for his-

tory of childhood abuse.

Results: Offspring’s internalizing problems were related to

less negativity toward their father, whereas offspring’s

externalizing problems were related to more negativity

toward their father and to receiving less warmth from their

mother. Father’s externalizing problems were linked to

more negativity toward offspring. No associations were

found between maternal and paternal internalizing prob-

lems and dyadic parent–offspring interactions, nor for

maternal externalizing problems.

Conclusion: Findings support that psychological condi-

tions of one family member have an impact on their social

interactions within the family.

Implications: Supporting families with interventions to

improve parent–offspring interactions and (early) treat-

ment of externalizing problems is recommended.

KEYWORDS

dyadic conflict interaction task, externalizing problems, family

communication, internalizing problems, parent–offspring interactions

INTRODUCTION

The quality of parent–offspring interactions has been identified as an important factor con-

tributing to offspring’s emotional, psychological, and behavioral development

(e.g., Bowlby, 1969; Steinberg, 2001). Warm and sensitive interactions between parents and

their offspring foster a secure internal working model for a person’s interaction with others

(Bretherton et al., 1990; Kochanska et al., 2019), whereas poor parent–offspring relationship

quality, characterized by negativity and lack of warmth, increases difficulties with interper-

sonal relations in general and can have negative consequences for offspring’s mental health

(Pinquart, 2017; Rokita et al., 2018; Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2010). The parent–offspring rela-

tionship is one of the most long-lasting emotional connections, in a lifetime, up to (late)

adulthood, and remains important for mental well-being across the life span (Oliveira

et al., 2020; van Wel et al., 2000).

Families can be seen as a complex social system in which parents and their offspring are

continuously interacting and influencing one another (Minuchin, 1985). According to the fam-

ily systems theory of human behavior, this means that mental states and conditions of one fam-

ily member do not only reside in the individual, but may also have an impact on their social

interactions within the family (Bowen, 1966). As such, internalizing and externalizing problems

of fathers, mothers, and their offspring may influence the quality of parent–offspring interac-

tions. To more fully understand the intergenerational associations and transmission of psycho-

logical problems, we examined fathers’, mothers’, and offspring’s psychological problems and

the association with observed dyadic parent–offspring communication. Thus, the four research

directions focused on (a) parental psychological problems and parent-to-offspring behavior,

(b) parental problems and offspring-to-parent behavior, (c) offspring problems and parent-to-

offspring behavior, and (d) offspring problems and offspring-to-parent behavior, including

mothers and fathers and examining internalizing and externalizing problems.

2778 FAMILY RELATIONS