There is strong evidence of a positive association between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes, but previous studies have suggested that the manner in which parents implement corporal punishment moderates the effects of its use. This study investigated whether severity and justness in the use of corporal punishment moderate the associations between frequency of corporal punishment and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. This question was examined using a multicultural sample from eight countries and two waves of data collected one year apart. Interviews were conducted with 998 children aged 7–10 years, and their mothers and fathers, from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. Mothers and fathers responded to questions on the frequency, severity, and justness of their use of corporal punishment; they also reported on the externalizing and internalizing behavior of their child. Children reported on their aggression. Multigroup path models revealed that across cultural groups, and as reported by mothers and fathers, there is a positive relation between the frequency of corporal punishment and externalizing child behaviors. Mother-reported severity and father-reported justness were associated with child-reported aggression. Neither severity nor justness moderated the relation between frequency of corporal punishment and child problem behavior. The null result suggests that more use of corporal punishment is harmful to children regardless of how it is implemented, but requires further substantiation as the study is unable to definitively conclude that there is no true interaction effect.

An important question for parents and educators alike is how to promote adolescents’ academic identity and school performance. This study investigated relations among parental education, parents’ attitudes toward their adolescents’ school, parental support for learning at home, and adolescents’ academic identity and school performance over time and in different national contexts. Longitudinal data were collected from adolescents and their parents in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). When adolescents were 16 years old, their mothers (N = 1083) and fathers (N = 859) provided data. When adolescents were 17 years old, 1049 adolescents (50% girls) and their mothers (N = 1001) and fathers (N = 749) provided data. Multiple-group path analyses indicated that, across cultures, higher parent education was associated with better adolescent school performance. Parents’ attitudes toward their adolescents’ school and parent support for learning in the home were not associated with adolescents’ school performance but were associated with academic identity. The findings suggest somewhat different pathways to school performance versus academic identity. Implications for helping parents and educators in different countries promote adolescents’ academic identity and achievement are discussed.

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how young women and men perceive the Internet as a phenomenon and what role and meaning they ascribe to the Internet as an arena for defining themselves and for shaping their identity.Methodology/approachThe empirical data consist of narratives written by Swedish adolescents. Using content analysis the analysis was carried out in three steps: (1) finding categories and themes, (2) calculation of statistical differences in category frequencies, (3) a theoretically informed interpretation of central themes, using Bourdieu's concept of different forms of capital, and Giddens' concept of "pure relations."FindingsThe narratives exemplify how computer literacy and technological competence can be converted into social, cultural, and symbolic capital. Gender differences occur both in statistical differences between category frequencies in girls' and boys' narratives and in the interpretation of central themes. But there are also several examples that show more complex and contradictory tendencies, exceeding or transformative of gender differences and hierarchy.Originality/valueThis study considers adolescents' own perspectives on an arena of great importance. The analyses have been performed both qualitatively and quantitatively, which gives a nuanced picture of young people's self-defining experiences on the Internet.

The present study was influenced by existential - and gender aspects on young people's everyday lives with the aim to shed light on the complexity of the phenomenon of risk-taking, the meaning and purpose of adolescent risk-taking in a traditional sense (e.g. smoking and drug using) and in noisy environments (e.g. discotheques and rock concerts). The intention was to identify possible new ways of understanding young people's experiences and apprehensions about different risk behaviours by the use of qualitative method; The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Sixteen adolescents (8 men/8 women, aged 15-19) were interviewed, 4 in separate interviews and 12 in focus groups. The analysis revealed two dimensions: "Social identity" and "Existential identity" and six superordinate themes of the phenomena of risk-taking. The two dimensions and the six super-ordinate themes were equal for women and men, while the sub-themes were found to be gender-related. The interviewees' responses revealed social (gender) - and existential considerations which affected the participants in many areas of their daily lives. The study implies that one of the challenges for the preventive strategies is to be able to talk about risk-taking in terms of both threat and development, and not as a case of either or. 

Music and high levels of sound have not traditionally been associated with risk-taking behaviors. Loud music may intensify and bring more power and meaning to the musical experience, but it can at the same time be harmful to hearing. The present study aims to increase the knowledge about young women′s and men′s risk judgement and behaviour by investigating patterns in adolescent risk activities among 310 adolescents aged 15-20 (143 women; 167 men). The Australian instrument ARQ was used with additional questions on hearing risks and a factor analysis was conducted. The main results showed that the factor structure in the judgement and behavior scale for Swedish adolescents was rather different from the factor structure in the Australian sample. Also, the factor structure was not similar to the Australian sample split on gender. The results are discussed from a gender- and existential perspective on risk taking, and it is emphasized that research on risk behavior needs to reconceptualize stereotypical ideas about gender and the existential period in adolescence.

For society, measures targeted at early crime prevention pose a dilemma. On the one hand, there is a risk that an early intervention can label a young person as a criminal, and have negative consequences on identity formation. On the other, lack of an intervention can have the consequence of a continued lifestyle involving crime. Many are the stories from former prisoners who claim that an earlier intervention could have disrupted an identity trajectory leading to becoming a ‘criminal’ (Kacprzak, 2019). Other research indicates that young people – particularly those from ethnic minority groups – relate to police preventative practices with dissatisfaction (Wästerfors & Burcar Alm, 2020). However, there are also studies which demonstrate that young people experience interventions from police and social services as legitimate and valuable. 

The current study seeks to explore the perceptions of young people aged between 11–17 who received an early intervention following the commission of a crime. In this collaborative project between police and social services, the young person received a coordinated chain of interventions involving first the police, thereafter a social worker, and, finally a qualified youth support worker. Each of the three elements occurred within a two-week period following the commission of the crime. The crime committed could range in severity from shoplifting to a drug offence, or a robbery. 

Participation in the research was voluntary. Those taking part (N=21) were interviewed on a minimum of one and a maximum of three occasions during and after the intervention period. In total, 40 interviews were conducted. The interviews sought to elicit the young people’s perceptions of police practices, the practices of the social and youth workers, the effects on the young people’s attitudes, and their thoughts about the future. Data was analyzed using a narrative approach (Riessman, 2001). Focus was directed to how the young person perceived and understood the actions and practices of professionals involved in the project. In this respect, the interview functioned not only as a means of providing insights, but also a space for self-presentation and the construction of understanding. 

Drawing on theories about procedural justice (Bradford, B. & Jackson, 2015) results reveal, firstly, that the participants experienced the intervention as an opportunity to reflect on the future. While the rapid response – from the police, the social workers, and the youth workers – came as a surprise, participants were positive about this swift reaction. In relation to the police practice of forcibly intervening when the crime had happened (frequently involving a shorter detention), this was perceived in a wider global context of police violence. For example, references were made to the George Floyd case (“I can’t breathe”). Frequently, police actions created a tangible sense of fear. Many participants perceived the intervention as reflective of society’s reaction to criminality. For some, experiences of being ‘labelled’ were prominent. While the results point to the value of a swift response, they also warn of the dangers attached to early labelling.

Children and young people living in families with alcohol misuse, violence or a parents psychiatric illness are commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social and health problems, but also at risk of failing in school. Teachers, school social workers and other relevant staff all have important roles to play in identifying pupils within this target group. However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged and professionals fail to identify young people at risk in early stages. This presentation offers an evaluation of the project Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare (2013 2015) funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency. The research questions are: Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support? , and In what way does this support influence school performance? In this presentation focus is directed to findings emerging from data with children and young people (N=88) who has received interventions. Statistics on grades (grade 7-9) and school absence and interviews (N=20). Thematic analysis has been adopted and the interview data was coded and closely analyzed by identifying increasinglevels of abstraction in the material. The result indicate that the children and young people perceive they can control whether, and if so, when they want to receive support from the support team (self-referrals). This, they report, contributes to a willingness to both emotionally and cognitively engage in the preRepuls program and in the counselling provided. Also three affordances facilitating childrens and young people´sself-referrals is identified: (i) the day-to-day presence of the social workers enables investment in relationships, (ii) team members use communication technologies in domains familiar to the children, and (iii) the social workers practice is visible. A further resultis also that grades are improved, often pointing to subjects such as Swedish, Maths and English and decreased absence from school.

Children living in families with alcohol or drug misuse, violence or a parent's psychiatric illness are commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social and health problems, but also at risk of failing in school. In Sweden social services have the responsibility to intervene to change the situation for such children (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2013). Teachers, school social workers and other relevant staff all have important roles to play in identifying pupils within this target group (Backlund, 2007). However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged. Nor is it unusual that parents and/or pupils are unwilling to accept support until the home situation becomes very serious and/or where the pupil's school achievements have deteriorated in a serious way (SOU 2010).This presentation offers an evaluation of an ongoing project 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' (2013–2015) funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency and which is one of sixteen projects aimed at children and young people within this target group in the national program 'Developing New Evidenced Methods for Prevention and Interventions'. The 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' project is based on the hypothesis that, by making established evidence-proven intervention methods normally offered by social services in social service settings available for pupils and their parents in a school setting, children and parents may be more willing to accept/or seek support at an earlier stage than had the interventions been available through normal social services channels. The research questions are: 'Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support?', and 'In what way does this support influence school performance?'In recent decades a great deal of attention has been directed to the creation and implementation of effective interventions designed to adress the needs of pupils at risk of failing academically (Allen-Meares, Montgomery & Kim, 2013; Dube & Orpinas, 2009). Interventions operate at a number of levels. While Tier 1 interventions are at the whole school level, Tier 2 interventions address specific groups and individuals (Allen-Meares et al., 2013). In Sweden a multitude of collaborative joint ventures by social services and schools at both tiers have emerged in recent years (SOU, 2010). A national evaluation of a government sponsored program comprising more than one hundred collaborative projects revealed that collaboration is in great need of development. Further, a majority of teachers report that collaboration with social services, child psychiatry, the police and other agencies is, in different ways, unsatisfactory (Danermark, Englund & Germundsson, 2010). From this point of departure the 'Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare' project is based on the assumption that if the school is the sole stakeholder in providing support interventions, actions can be more effectively directed in ways that best fit the school's organization and impact most directly on pupils' school achievement. For example, research demonstrates that when social services and schools are both stakeholders, the process of identifying and supporting pupils in need is not only unnecessarily time-consuming, but also less effective (Bolin 2011).Focusing on an interprofessional staff group comprising two teachers and two social workers based on-site in a medium sized primary/secondary school, and comparing pupils' and parents' perceptions of the availability of pupil welfare support with similar parental/pupil perceptions at another school used as a control, the objectives of this research is to theoretically analyse and critically evaluate the impact on school performance of on-site extended pupil welfare support. In this presentation focus is directed to findings emerging from interview data with pupils at the intervention school, and on their perceptions of the impact that the work of the interprofessional support team has had on their approaches to school work.Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedIn addition to assessing pupils' achievement (encapsulated in subject grades) the study also focuses on the perception the pupils have of the impact on school performance of on-site social welfare support, and it is these findings that are presented here. Individual interviews have been carried out with participating pupils and their parents. The rationale behind this choice is that interviews are contextualised and can thus provide depth and detail (as opposed to questionnaire based approaches), and are to be preferred when 'why' and 'how' questions have been posed (Flyvbjerg, 2007). The interviews with pupils were carried out using a semi-structured guide, as is recommended for interviews with children (Docherty & Sandelowski, 1999). The guide consisted of a series of open questions pertaining to the pupil's understanding of the process of receiving support; the pupil's perception of the impact of the intervention with regard to school performance; out-of-school activities and activities in the family, and if positive changes are experienced, how enduring the pupil perceives such changes to be. The interviews with the pupils took place in a municipality community hall or in a room at the school. When processing the raw information the interviews were digitally-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data was processed using NVIVO 10. Each interview transcript was entered as a single case, with twenty cases in total. The approach adopted when analysing the empirical data has been inspired by what Patton (2002) describes as thematic analysis and involves the recognition of patterns. Data was coded and closely analyzed by identifying increasing levels of abstraction in the material (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsPreliminary results indicate that pupils see encounters with the on-site interprofessional support team as impacting on their attendance, approaches to school work and achievement. This, as the pupils report, is in part due to the experience in lessons of being able to keep away from conflicts with other pupils and teachers. Previously a consequence of being involved in conflicts meant the pupil having to leave lessons. Pupils also speak of experiencing an increased capacity for subject goal attainment. A majority of the interviewees estimate that they have improved their grade in at least two or three subjects, often pointing to core subjects such as Swedish, Maths and English. Further, the results indicate that the pupils perceive they can control whether, and if so, when they want to receive support from the support team. This, they report, contributes to a willingness to both emotionally and cognitively engage in the program and in the counselling provided. They describe that this engagement gives them tools to better focus on subject learning in class, to take control of their emotions and not to initiate conflicts or respond violently in peer relations in the classroom. A particularly interesting finding is that pupils do not perceive that support from the onsite team is attached to any sense of stigma, shame or embarrassment. Indeed, some pupils' accounts indicate that, when receiving support from the team, they feel much more comfortable about talking about problems they experience in the home such as, for example, violence or parents' alcohol misuse. However, some negative experiences of receiving support from the onsite team are revealed. For example, pupils perceive that the staff are not as immediately available as they would like them to be, and that support is not sufficiently 'on-demand', thus causing causes them anxiety and feelings of reduced self-worth

Children living in families with alcohol misuse, violence or a parent’s psychiatric illness are not only commonly regarded as a group at risk of developing social problems, but also at risk of failing in school. Teachers and school social workers have important roles to play in identifying these pupils. However research demonstrates that this process can be prolonged. Nor is it unusual that parents and/or pupils are unwilling to accept support until the home situation becomes serious and/or where the pupil’s school achievements have deteriorated.This presentation is based on an evaluation of the project ‘Extended In-Depth Pupil Welfare’ funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency´s national program ‘Developing New Evidenced Methods for Prevention and Interventions’. The project is based on the hypothesis that, by making established evidence-proven intervention methods normally offered by social services in social service settings available for pupils and their parents in a school setting, children and parents may be more willing to both seek and accept support at an earlier stage than had such interventions been available through normal social services channels. The research questions are: ‘Does availability influence willingness to seek and accept support?’, and ‘In what way does this support influence school performance?’ The empirical base for this presentation draws on (i) data from a survey of parents (N=137) and pupils (N=49) pre- and post-project that focused on perceptions of the availability of support from pupil welfare and socials services, (ii) data on school performance with regard to pupils in receipt of interventions (N=86), and (iii) individual interviews (N=20) with pupils who received interventions. Results indicate that the availability of social workers plays an important role for children’s motivation to seek/or accept support. Pupils regard encounters with the on-site interprofessional support team as impacting on their attendance, approaches to school work and achievement.

Research on young people’s perceptions of economic disadvantage has not focused on specific groups, or adversity connected to demographic phenomena such as migration. The current study seeks to explore perceptions about receiving state economic support among young people in newly arrived families from Syria. Participants were young people in families who arrived in Sweden between 2014 and 2016 and were in receipt of social assistance. Analysing interview data using a thematic approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006, Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 3, pp. 77–101) and applying Kuczynski and De Mol’s (2015) model of children’s agency reveal how participants’ experiences of social assistance in this study differ from those of young people in previous studies. Rather than connecting social assistance with hardship, limitations, stigma and shame, participants viewed social assistance as sufficient for current needs and providing opportunities to improve the family’s  situation. Reciprocity was also highlighted, with participants expressing the desire to contribute to a welfare system from which they currently benefitted.

The concept of children's agency can be used to understand how children actively shape their lives. While in social work there is a growing body of research on how children experience meetings that involve collaborating professionals, little is known about the ways in which they exert an influence and the strategies they use. The purpose of the study was, in a Swedish context, to explore children's perceptions of their agentic capacity to influence who works with them when many different professionals are involved in providing support. Secondly, the aim was to investigate the perceptions of their agentic capacity in regulating their participation and exerting an influence on outcomes in interprofessional collaborative meetings. Interviews were carried out with 28 children in receipt of social services support. The results revealed that, for the older children, perceptions of the exercise of agency involved both the exclusion of certain professionals from the collaborating group as well as the identification of those perceived asbeing able to help. Additionally, the children's agency could be seen to be implicated in their perceptions of actively making decisions to acquiesce in collaborative solutions. For the younger children agency was revealed in the way that they interpreted the situations involving collaborating professionals, recognizing that it is primarily parents who decide about contact with different 'helpers". Findings with regards to the second aim revealed that children perceive professionals' talk as restricting opportunities for input. They also perceive they have capacity to exercise agency by (i) conforming to expectations by pretending to be bored and disengaged, butat the same time paying close attention to what is going on, alert to important details concerning them, (ii) by using exit strategies, and (iii) by developing 'in-situ' strategies to end meetings believed to be of little value. Rather than, as previously suggested, being powerless in such circumstances, the children talk of how they carefully assess situations, and, from a position of apparent subordination, talk of ways of acting that reveal their agentic capacity. These insights are of importance for practitioners, who are encouraged to look beyond behaviours that first meet the eye.This research has been funded by the Swedish Children's Welfare Foundation Sweden (Stiftelsen Allmänna Barnhuset)

School-based social work can reach children at risk through the promotion of children’s participation in seeking support. Drawing on Gibson’s theory of affordances, the aim of this interview-based study was to identify affordances for self-referral associated with school-based social work support. Results reveal three affordances facilitating children’s self-initiated contact: (i) the day-to-day presence of social workers in the school environment supports investment in relationships, (ii) use of communication technologies facilitates contact and (iii) the visibility of the social workers’ practice encourages contact-initiation. Common to all three affordances are the accessibility of the social workers, and the generation of trust.

Sverige har en lång historia av brottsförebyggande initiativ för att tidigt upptäcka ungdomar som är involverade i brottslighet eller befinner sig i kriminella miljöer. På operativ nivå involverar samarbetet främst socialtjänst och polis. Socialtjänsten i Trollhättans Stad har under 2021–2022 genomfört brottsförebyggande insatser inom ramen för projektet Tidig upptäckt – tidig insats (TUTI). Den här rapporten redovisar den följeforskning som bedrivits i anslutning till arbetet.TUTI bygger på tidiga interventioner, delaktighet och samverkan, såväl övergripande som i det enskilda fallet. Ambitionen med projektet var att minska risken för att unga 9–17 år utvecklar en kriminell livsstil samt förebygga risk för kriminalitet, missbruk, psykisk ohälsa och utanförskap. Detta genom att systematisera det arbete med brottsförebyggande insatser gällande unga förstagångslagöverträdare som sker i samverkan mellan socialtjänst, polis, åklagare och civilsamhälle.Följeforskningen har kartlagt typ av och bakgrund till orosanmälningar för unga 9–17 år i Trollhättans Stad samt undersökt ungas egna erfarenheter och förståelse av socialtjänstens brottsförebyggande insatser (TUTI-insatser). I studien har både kvantitativa och kvalitativa datainsamlingsmetoder använts. Data har tagits fram dels på aggregerad nivå gällande orosanmälningar i Trollhättans Stad under perioden 2017–2022, dels gällande de 196 unga som under perioden 2021–2022 erbjöds socialtjänstens brottsförebyggande insatser. Orsaker till orosanmälan var främst ringa stöld (30%), misshandel/våld/hot (20%) samt ringa narkotikabrott (20%). Ungefär hälften av de som erbjöds brottsförebyggande insatser tackade ja till insats. 21 av dessa deltog i återkommande kvalitativa intervjuer. Totalt genomfördes 41 intervjuer.Majoriteten av de intervjuade uppger vid uppföljningen cirka ett år efter den första intervjun att de inte har haft någon ny kontakt med socialtjänsten och att TUTI-stödet har förstärkt deras kapacitet att inte begå någon ny lagöverträdelse. Alla vittnar om att de redan vid tidpunkten för händelsen bestämt sig för att det var dumt gjort, men för några av dem var rentav det väsentligt att de fick stöd att vidmakthålla beslutet. De unga berättar att de har lärt sig mer om sig själva och utvecklat sin förmåga att ta positiva snarare än negativa beslut.För att förstå unga som för första gången kommer i kontakt med samhällets representanter när de misstänks för ett brott, har materialet analyserats med hjälp av modellen för proceduriell rättvisa (Tyler & Blader, 2003). Resultaten visar att de unga har högt förtroende för samhällets reaktion och ger legitimitet till det stöd som ges i kedjan av insatser: polis, mottagningsgrupp och familjebehandlare. Sammantaget kan vi konstatera att unga som genomgått hela TUTI-kedjan upplever samhällets reaktion vid sin första lagöverträdelse som positiv.

Ett flertal studier har beskrivit de omedelbara och långsiktiga effekter som ekonomisk utsatthet har på barns och ungas livssituation och möjligheter att utvecklas.Betydligt färre studier har fokus på barn och unga vars föräldrar erhåller någon form av ekonomiskt bistånd, såsom försörjningsstöd, och vilken plats barn och unga har i denna situation. Den aktuella forskningsstudien ger med sina tre delar en breddad och fördjupad bild av vilken plats barn och unga ges i försörjningsstödsärenden samt vilken syn och vilka strategier de själva ger uttryck för. En utgångspunkt för samtliga delar i studien är att barn och unga är aktiva aktörer, med egna behov och resurser, som bör beaktas vid handläggning av försörjningsstödsärenden.Del 1 har som syfte att beskriva hur barns och ungas situation dokumenteras i sambandmed försörjningsstödsärenden, dels generellt, dels beroende på om ärendepersonenär född i Sverige eller utomlands. Dokumentationsakter för en mindre kommuns samtliga biståndsärenden gällande familjer med minst ett barn i åldern0–21 år (N=147 ärenden; 368 barn) har granskats med avseende på den dokumentation som rör barn och unga.Del 2 har som syfte att undersöka barns och ungas syn på försörjningsstöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med 36 barn och unga i åldern 9–20 år vars föräldrar erhåller försörjningsstöd.Samtliga deltagare är födda i Syrien och kom som nyanlända till Sverige under 2014–2016.Del 3 har som syfte att undersöka barns och ungas vardag och strategier i relation till att familjen erhåller långvarigt försörjningsstöd. Intervjuer har genomförts med tolv barn och unga i åldern 10–21 år vars föräldrar erhållit försörjningsstöd under en längre tid. Deltagarna är antingen födda i Sverige eller har levt här under lång tid.Resultaten pekar på att barn och unga i familjer som erhåller försörjningsstöd tar ett stort eget ansvar samt utformar sina strategier utifrån det. Det kan finnas konflikter och svårigheter i familjerelationerna, men också förståelse och empati. Hur barns meningsskapande ser ut påverkas av familjens ekonomiska och relationella resurser. Barn utvecklaren ekonomisk kompetens med medvetenhet och kunskap om pengars värde.Vardagen formas genom de strategier som både barnen och föräldrarna använder sig av. Att bli sedd som avvikande kan leda till utanförskap och barn i familjer som erhåller ekonomiskt bistånd löper större risk att inte känna delaktighet.Synen på att erhålla försörjningsstöd skiljer sig åt mellan de två grupper av barn som vi har intervjuat, även om strategierna för att hantera situationen delvis överlappar. Bland barnen i nyanlända familjer ger många uttryck för att pengarna de erhåller är tillräckligtför att tillgodose familjens behov samt att försörjningsstödet ger dem och deras familj möjlighet att bygga nya liv. Även dokumentationen av barns och ungas situation i samband med försörjningsstödsärenden skiljer sig åt, eventuellt på grund av att anledningarna bakom föräldrarnas behov av försörjningsstöd är olika. Forskningen har genomförts i samarbete med Campus Västervik.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of the effects of parental religiousness on parenting and child development focus on a particular religion or cultural group, which limits generalizations that can be made about the effects of parental religiousness on family life.

METHODS: We assessed the associations among parental religiousness, parenting, and children's adjustment in a 3-year longitudinal investigation of 1,198 families from nine countries. We included four religions (Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and Islam) plus unaffiliated parents, two positive (efficacy and warmth) and two negative (control and rejection) parenting practices, and two positive (social competence and school performance) and two negative (internalizing and externalizing) child outcomes. Parents and children were informants.

RESULTS: Greater parent religiousness had both positive and negative associations with parenting and child adjustment. Greater parent religiousness when children were age 8 was associated with higher parental efficacy at age 9 and, in turn, children's better social competence and school performance and fewer child internalizing and externalizing problems at age 10. However, greater parent religiousness at age 8 was also associated with more parental control at age 9, which in turn was associated with more child internalizing and externalizing problems at age 10. Parental warmth and rejection had inconsistent relations with parental religiousness and child outcomes depending on the informant. With a few exceptions, similar patterns of results held for all four religions and the unaffiliated, nine sites, mothers and fathers, girls and boys, and controlling for demographic covariates.

CONCLUSIONS: Parents and children agree that parental religiousness is associated with more controlling parenting and, in turn, increased child problem behaviors. However, children see religiousness as related to parental rejection, whereas parents see religiousness as related to parental efficacy and warmth, which have different associations with child functioning. Studying both parent and child views of religiousness and parenting are important to understand the effects of parental religiousness on parents and children.

Background: Most studies of the effects of parental religiousness on parenting and child development focus on a particular religion or cultural group, which limits generalizations that can be made about the effects of parental religiousness on family life.

Methods: We assessed the associations among parental religiousness, parenting, and children’s adjustment in a 3-year longitudinal investigation of 1,198 families from nine countries. We included four religions (Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and Islam) plus unaffiliated parents, two positive (efficacy and warmth) and two negative (control and rejection) parenting practices, and two positive (social competence and school performance) and two negative (internalizing and externalizing) child outcomes. Parents and children were informants.

Results: Greater parent religiousness had both positive and negative associations with parenting and child adjustment. Greater parent religiousness when children were age 8 was associated with higher parental efficacy at age 9 and, in turn, children’s better social competence and school performance and fewer child internalizing and externalizing problems at age 10. However, greater parent religiousness at age 8 was also associated with more parental control at age 9, which in turn was associated with more child internalizing and externalizing problems at age 10. Parental warmth and rejection had inconsistent relations with parental religiousness and child outcomes depending on the informant. With a few exceptions, similar patterns of results held for all four religions and the unaffiliated, nine sites, mothers and fathers, girls and boys, and controlling for demographic covariates.

Conclusions: Parents and children agree that parental religiousness is associated with more controlling parenting and, in turn, increased child problem behaviors. However, children see religiousness as related to parental rejection, whereas parents see religiousness as related to parental efficacy and warmth, which have different associations with child functioning. Studying both parent and child views of religiousness and parenting is important to understand the effects of parental religiousness on parents and children.

We assessed 2 forms of agreement between mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States (N = 1110 families). Mothers and fathers in all 9 countries reported socially desirable responding in the upper half of the distribution, and countries varied minimally (but China was higher than the cross-country grand mean and Sweden lower). Mothers and fathers did not differ in reported levels of socially desirable responding, and mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding were largely uncorrelated. With one exception, mothers’ and fathers’ socially desirable responding were similarly correlated with self-perceptions of parenting, and correlations varied somewhat across countries. These findings are set in a discussion of socially desirable responding, cultural psychology and family systems.

A focus group methodology was used to examine attitudes toward dating violence among 86 adolescents (aged 12-17) from four northern European countries (England, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium). Four superordinate themes were identified from thematic analyses: gender identities, television as the educator, perceived acceptability of dating violence, and the decision to seek help/tell someone. Although violence in relationships was generally not condoned, when violence was used by females, was unintended (despite its consequences), or was in retaliation for infidelity, violence was perceived as acceptable. Adolescents indicated that their views were stereotypical and based solely on stereotypical television portrayals of violence in relationships. Stereotypical beliefs and portrayals generate barriers for victimized males to seek help because of fear of embarrassment.

This paper provides an overview of the development of 'Green Acres High', a serious game-based primary intervention to raise awareness of and change attitudes towards dating violence in adolescents, and an analysis of how adolescents described their experience of playing this game. Transcripts from focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis. The global theme that was developed, Assessment of the game, was represented by two organising themes, Positive assessment: Pedagogical Underpinnings andNegative Assessment: Functionality Limitations and Frustrations. These represented the fact that overall the learning experience was positive based on the pedagogical principles and content that could be embedded in this digital game but that technical issues with the game needed to be addressed as these could impinge on the learning experience of the adolescents. It was seen that using a serious game was a valid and meaningful way for adolescents to learn about dating violence and that this is a viable alternative or adjunct to traditional teaching methods.

Little is known about the developmental trajectories of parental self-efficacy as children transition into adolescence. This study examined parental self-efficacy among mothers and fathers over 3 1/2 years representing this transition, and whether the level and developmental trajectory of parental self-efficacy varied by cultural group. Data were drawn from three waves of the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) project, a large-scale longitudinal, cross-cultural study, and included 1178 mothers and 1041 fathers of children who averaged 9.72 years of age at T1 (51.2% girls). Parents were from nine countries (12 ethnic/cultural groups), which were categorized into those with a predominant collectivistic (i.e., China, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, and Jordan) or individualistic (i.e., Italy, Sweden, and USA) cultural orientation based on Hofstede's Individualism Index (Hofstede Insights, 2021). Latent growth curve analyses supported the hypothesis that parental self-efficacy would decline as children transition into adolescence only for parents from more individualistic countries; parental self-efficacy increased over the same years among parents from more collectivistic countries. Secondary exploratory analyses showed that some demographic characteristics predicted the level and trajectory of parental self-efficacy differently for parents in more individualistic and more collectivistic countries. Results suggest that declines in parental self-efficacy documented in previous research are culturally influenced.

In this study, we examine the predictions of a storm and stress characterization of adolescence concerning typicality and trajectories of internalizing, externalizing, and wellbeing from late childhood through late adolescence. Using data from the Parenting Across Cultures study, levels and trajectories of these characteristics were analyzed for 1,211 adolescents from 11 cultural groups across eight countries. Data were longitudinal, collected at seven timepoints from 8 to 17 years of age. Results provide more support for a storm and stress characterization with respect to the developmental trajectories of behavior and characteristics from childhood to adolescence or across the adolescent years than with respect to typicality of behavior. Overall, adolescents' behavior was more positive than negative in all cultural groups across childhood and adolescence. There was cultural variability in both prevalence and trajectories of behavior. The data provide support for arguments that a more positive and nuanced characterization of adolescence is appropriate and important.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted all systems essential to human life and wellbeing (Masten & Motto-Stefanidi, 2020). The complex combination of health and economic stressors together with difficulty accessing protective factors may impact the family system in particular. Families differ in their responses to stressors (Bonanno et al., 2010), and the way in which families adjust to events and transitions related to the pandemic may be related to the distress perceived by children and their long-term wellbeing (Felix et al., 2013).This symposium will examine whether and through which processes families adjust during the global outbreak of COVID-19. We explore 2 research questions: 1)What did families do during the pandemic to maintain resilience? 2)What are the main protective and risk factors within the family context that are related to children’s and adolescents’ adjustment during this stressful and potentially traumatic event?Three strengths characterize the symposium. First, longitudinal designs with pre- and post-onset measurements enabled us to capture the dynamic nature of changes impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Second, the global nature of the outbreak is represented in cross-cultural perspective to understand commonalities and specificities of the processes activated by the event in different countries from Europe, North America, and Asia. Finally, mechanisms of resiliency and vulnerability examining the adjustment of the family members are assessed through longitudinal moderation and mediation analyses.

The external environment has traditionally been considered as the primary driver of animal life history (LH). Recent research suggests that animals' internal state is also involved, especially in forming LH behavioural phenotypes. The present study investigated how these two factors interact in formulating LH in humans. Based on a longitudinal sample of 1223 adolescents in nine countries, the results show that harsh and unpredictable environments and adverse internal states in childhood are each uniquely associated with fast LH behavioural profiles consisting of aggression, impulsivity, and risk-taking in adolescence. The external environment and internal state each strengthened the LH association of the other, but overall the external environment was more predictive of LH than was the internal state. These findings suggest that individuals rely on a multitude and consistency of sensory information in more decisively calibrating LH and behavioural strategies.

Safety is essential for life. To survive, humans and other animals have developed sets of psychological and physiological adaptations known as life history (LH) tradeoff strategies in response to various safety constraints. Evolutionarily selected LH strategies in turn regulate development and behavior to optimize survival under prevailing safety conditions. The present study tested LH hypotheses concerning safety based on a 6-year longitudinal sample of 1,245 adolescents and their parents from 9 countries. The results revealed that, invariant across countries, environmental harshness, and unpredictability (lack of safety) was negatively associated with slow LH behavioral profile, measured 2 years later, and slow LH behavioral profile was negatively and positively associated with externalizing behavior and academic performance, respectively, as measured an additional 2 years later. These results support the evolutionary conception that human development responds to environmental safety cues through LH regulation of social and learning behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction

Prosocial behavior (i.e., voluntary actions aimed at benefiting others, such as helping, comforting, and sharing) has proven beneficial for individuals' adjustment during the transition to adolescence. However, less is known about the role of the broader sociocultural context in shaping prosocial development across different cultures. Thus, the present study explored the longitudinal trajectory of prosocial behavior in the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 16) by examining the role of the Human Development Index (HDI) in relation to prosocial development.

Methods

A sample of 915 children (Time 1: 50.5% males; M age = 9.24, SD = 0.69) across six countries (Colombia, Jordan, Italy, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States) participated in the study. Over four time points covering 7 years, prosocial behavior was assessed using a self-report measure.

Results

A second-order Latent Growth Curve Model, controlling for child gender and family SES, showed that prosocial behavior remained stable in contexts with high HDI, whereas increases in prosocial behavior were evidenced as children moved into adolescence in contexts with low HDI. Moreover, cultural differences in the mean level of prosocial behavior were shown during late childhood and the earliest phase of adolescence, whereas the national development of a given context did not account for differences in prosocial behavior during late adolescence.

Discussion

Findings underscore that national life expectancy, education, and wealth play a role in age-related changes in other-oriented behaviors during adolescence. The role of sociocultural factors in shaping trajectories of prosocial behavior across six countries is discussed.

Abstract This study grapples with what it means to be part of a cultural group, from a statistical modeling perspective. The method we present compares within- and between-cultural group variability, in behaviors in families. We demonstrate the method using a cross-cultural study of adolescent development and parenting, involving three biennial waves of longitudinal data from 1296 eight-year-olds and their parents (multiple cultures in nine countries). Family members completed surveys about parental negativity and positivity, child academic and social-emotional adjustment, and attitudes about parenting and adolescent behavior. Variance estimates were computed at the cultural group, person, and within-person level using multilevel models. Of the longitudinally consistent variance, most was within and not between cultural groups—although there was a wide range of between-group differences. This approach to quantifying cultural group variability may prove valuable when applied to quantitative studies of acculturation.

The current longitudinal study is the first comparative investigation across Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs) to test the hypothesis that harsher and less affectionate maternal parenting (child age 14 years, on average) statistically mediates the prediction from prior household chaos and neighborhood danger (at 13 years) to subsequent adolescent maladjustment (externalizing, internalizing, and school performance problems at 15 years). The sample included 511 urban families in six LMICs: China, Colombia, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed consistent associations between chaos, danger, affectionate and harsh parenting, and adolescent adjustment problems. There was some support for the hypothesis, with nearly all countries showing a modest indirect effect of maternal hostility (but not affection) for adolescent externalizing, internalizing, and scholastic problems. Results provide further evidence that chaotic home and dangerous neighborhood environments increase risk for adolescent maladjustment in LMIC contexts, via harsher maternal parenting. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The goal of the current study was to investigate potential cross-cultural differences in the covariation between two of the major dimensions of parenting behavior: control and warmth. Participants included 1,421 (51% female) 7- to 10-year-old (M = 8.29, SD = .67 years) children and their mothers and fathers representing 13 cultural groups in nine countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. Children and parents completed questionnaires and interviews regarding mother and father control and warmth. Greater warmth was associated with more control, but this association varied widely between cultural groups.

The present study examines parents' self-efficacy about anger regulation and irritability as predictors of harsh parenting and adolescent children's irritability (i.e., mediators), which in turn were examined as predictors of adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (N = 1,298 families) from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and United States) were interviewed when children were about 13 years old and again 1 and 2 years later. Models were examined separately for mothers and fathers. Overall, cross-cultural similarities emerged in the associations of both mothers' and fathers' irritability, as well as of mothers' self-efficacy about anger regulation, with subsequent maternal harsh parenting and adolescent irritability, and in the associations of the latter variables with adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings suggest that processes linking mothers' and fathers' emotion socialization and emotionality in diverse cultures to adolescent problem behaviors are somewhat similar. 

We tested a model that children’s tendency to attribute hostile intent to others in response to provocation is a key psychological process that statistically accounts for individual differences in reactive aggressive behavior and that this mechanism contributes to global group differences in children’s chronic aggressive behavior problems. Participants were 1,299 children (mean age at year 1 = 8.3 y; 51% girls) from 12 diverse ecological-context groups in nine countries worldwide, followed across 4 y. In year 3, each child was presented with each of 10 hypothetical vignettes depicting an ambiguous provocation toward the child and was asked to attribute the likely intent of the provocateur (coded as benign or hostile) and to predict his or her own behavioral response (coded as nonaggression or reactive aggression). Mothers and children independently rated the child’s chronic aggressive behavior problems in years 2, 3, and 4. In every ecological group, in those situations in which a child attributed hostile intent to a peer, that child was more likely to report that he or she would respond with reactive aggression than in situations when that same child attributed benign intent. Across children, hostile attributional bias scores predicted higher mother- and child-rated chronic aggressive behavior problems, even controlling for prior aggression. Ecological group differences in the tendency for children to attribute hostile intent statistically accounted for a significant portion of group differences in chronic aggressive behavior problems. The findings suggest a psychological mechanism for group differences in aggressive behavior and point to potential interventions to reduce aggressive behavior.

The authors examined the association between working memory and response inhibition on the Stroop task using a cross-sectional, international sample of 5099 individuals (49.3% male) ages 10–30 (M = 17.04 years; SD = 5.9). Response inhibition was measured using a Stroop task that included "equal" and "unequal" blocks, during which the relative frequency of neutral and incongruent trials was manipulated. Competing stimuli in incongruent trials evinced inhibitory functioning, and having a lower proportion of incongruent trials (as in unequal blocks) placed higher demands on working memory. Results for accuracy indicated that age and working memory were independently associated with response inhibition. Age differences in response inhibition followed a curvilinear trajectory, with performance improving into early adulthood. Response inhibition was greatest among individuals with high working memory. For response time, age uniquely predicted response inhibition in unequal blocks. In equal blocks, age differences in response inhibition varied as a function of working memory, with age differences being least pronounced among individuals with high working memory. The implications of considering the association between response inhibition and working memory in the context of development are discussed.

In the present analysis, we test the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking in a cross-national sample of over 5,200 individuals aged 10 through 30 (M = 17.05 years, SD = 5.91) from 11 countries. We examine whether reward seeking and self-regulation make independent, additive, or interactive contributions to risk taking, and ask whether these relations differ as a function of age and culture. To compare across cultures, we conduct 2 sets of analyses: 1 comparing individuals from Asian and Western countries, and 1 comparing individuals from low- and high-GDP countries. Results indicate that reward seeking and self-regulation have largely independent associations with risk taking and that the influences of each variable on risk taking are not unique to adolescence, but that their link to risk taking varies across cultures. © 2016 American Psychological Association.

In the original publication, the legends for Figs 4 and 5 were incorrect, such that each regression line was mislabeled with the incorrect country. Below are the correctly labeled countries. The authors apologize for any confusion or misinformation this error may have caused.

Epidemiological data indicate that risk behaviors are among the leading causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality worldwide. Consistent with this, laboratory-based studies of age differences in risk behavior allude to a peak in adolescence, suggesting that adolescents demonstrate a heightened propensity, or inherent inclination, to take risks. Unlike epidemiological reports, studies of risk taking propensity have been limited to Western samples, leaving questions about the extent to which heightened risk taking propensity is an inherent or culturally constructed aspect of adolescence. In the present study, age patterns in risk-taking propensity (using two laboratory tasks: the Stoplight and the BART) and real-world risk taking (using self-reports of health and antisocial risk taking) were examined in a sample of 5,227 individuals (50.7% female) ages 10-30 (M = 17.05 years, SD = 5.91) from 11 Western and non-Western countries (China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the US). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) risk taking follows an inverted-U pattern across age groups, peaking earlier on measures of risk taking propensity than on measures of real-world risk taking, and (2) age patterns in risk taking propensity are more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Overall, risk taking followed the hypothesized inverted-U pattern across age groups, with health risk taking evincing the latest peak. Age patterns in risk taking propensity were more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Results suggest that although the association between age and risk taking is sensitive to measurement and culture, around the world, risk taking is generally highest among late adolescents

Background:

The prevalent, neuropsychiatric, deficit perspective on childrenand youth diagnosed with ADHD prohibits a multidimensional approach wheresocio-economic status, family stress and relationships within the familiesare relevant factors to examine. Assessments of ADHD through the use ofrating scales and short-term interventions may lead not only to overdiagnosis but also to a reductionistic approach in the psychiatric field. This literaturereview aims to address research outside the prevailing discourse on ADHD as an organic brain dysfunction and broaden the perspectives on children’s behavioral difculties.

Methods:

The articles included in this applied, mixed-method, systematic review includes 26 peer-reviewed articles, both English and French, with a search focus on ADHD in children and youth related to Attachment stylesand relationships.

Results:

In the studies reported, researchers approached correlations between ADHD and attachment in different ways, and in most cases, there was a caution to address causality. The role of parents was found to be both buffering and aggravating for the appearance of ADHD. In the French case studies, the diagnosis was conceptualized as a relational phenomenon where the child’s behavior was inseparable from family member’s suffering.

Discussion:

This review article illustrates how children’s difficulties in terms of ADHD symptoms can be addressed through a paradigm where emotional and cognitive dysregulation is understood through psychosocial factors rather than as a neurological condition. In our view, to avoid an overly reductionistic and medicalized approach to children’s behavioral difficulties, it is time to reiterate the value of the biopsychosocial perspective.

Conclusion:

Professionals and researchers need to acknowledge that becoming diagnosed with ADHD has a strong connection to economic disadvantage, social status, and familial care. The academic discourse of addressing brain dysfunctions might serve the unintended purpose of masking emotional stress and social disadvantage that manifests across generations. A biopsychosocial approach to ADHD including family, emotional history, and socio-economic issues could imply a lesser focus on medical treatment as a first choice.

In this study, we examined parents’ online activities and whether engagement in specific activities attracts certain parents. Additionally, we examined sub-groups of parents regarding their difficulties to interpret and deal with online information. We used a sample of 401 parents of children below the age of five living in Sweden. The results showed that most parents used the Internet frequently, but there were differences in what activities parents were involved in. In general, results suggested that mothers and parents of younger children used the Internet more to find information about parenting related issues compared to fathers and parents of older children. Mothers seemed to rely more on online information in their parenting role than did fathers, but at the same time, they reported more troubles dealing with the information they found online. Additionally, parents with higher education read parenting blogs whereas parents with lower education posted photos and information on Social Networking Sites (SNS). The results of this study offer important knowledge regarding variations in parents’ online use and might be used to develop support offered to different groups of parents. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Parents’ social comparisons on social networking sites (SNS) is a research area of growing interest. In this study, we examined parents’ positive and negative feelings when comparing with other parents and associations with self-reported distress (i.e., stress and depression) and self-efficacy. We used a sample of 422 Swedish parents of children below the age offive (Mage = 1.29 years). In a first step, we examined construct validity of two new measures on parents’ positive and negative feelings when doing comparisons on SNS. In a second step, we examined associations with self-reported parenting.

Results showed that parents reported more positive feelings than negative feelings in relation to other parents on SNS.

Further, negative feelings when doing social comparisons were linked to more distress and lower level of self-efficacy, where as positive feelings when doing social comparisons predicted higher level of self-efficacy, but not distress. These results suggest that negative feelings are related to lower actual levels of distress and self-efficacy, but positive feelings can have an instant positive effect on parents’ perceived competence, but not on their well-being. Practitioners can encourage parents to reflect on who they compare with on SNS and why, as it might enable evaluations that could lead to selfimprovement rather than weakening of oneself as a parent.

INTRODUCTION: Creating romantic relationships characterized by high-quality, satisfaction, few conflicts, and reasoning strategies to handle conflicts is an important developmental task for adolescents connected to the relational models they receive from their parents. This study examines how parent-adolescent conflicts, attachment, positive parenting, and communication are related to adolescents' romantic relationship quality, satisfaction, conflicts, and management.

METHOD: We interviewed 311 adolescents at two time points (females = 52%, ages 15 and 17) in eight countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Generalized and linear mixed models were run considering the participants' nesting within countries.

RESULTS: Adolescents with negative conflicts with their parents reported low romantic relationship quality and satisfaction and high conflicts with their romantic partners. Adolescents experiencing an anxious attachment to their parents reported low romantic relationship quality, while adolescents with positive parenting showed high romantic relationship satisfaction. However, no association between parent-adolescent relationships and conflict management skills involving reasoning with the partner was found. No associations of parent-adolescent communication with romantic relationship dimensions emerged, nor was there any effect of the country on romantic relationship quality or satisfaction.

CONCLUSION: These results stress the relevance of parent-adolescent conflicts and attachment as factors connected to how adolescents experience romantic relationships.

The present study examined Swedish mothers’ and fathers’ warmth towards their children in relation to their children's agency. It also examined the longitudinal relation between agency and children's externalising, internalising, and school achievement. Swedish children's mothers and fathers (N = 93) were interviewed at three time points (when children were 8, 9, and 10 years old) about their warmth towards their children, children's agency, and children's externalising and internalising behaviours and school achievement. Parental warmth at Time 1 was significantly correlated with child agency at Time 2, which was significantly correlated with child externalising and internalising behaviours and academic achievement at Time 3. There were no differences between girls and boys. Results from this study indicate that Swedish parents’ warmth is directly related to subsequent perceptions of children's agency, which in turn are related to subsequently lower child externalising and internalising problems and higher academic achievement. These findings held in the context of a three-year longitudinal study and for both boys and girls, suggesting the importance of child agency in the link between parental warmth and children's adjustment.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine children's perception of their agency in different relationship contexts. Historically, most studies conducted in Sweden concerning children's agency, in relation to their self-efficacy and perceptions of their effectiveness as agents, have been carried out in school situations or other institutional organizations. Past research has shown that children'sagency has positive links to health, school achievement and/or adjustment. Method: Interviews were conducted with 103 10-year-old Swedish children to examine three relationship contexts: parent-child, teacher-pupil, and peer relations. Vignettes about the different contexts were presented to the children and their answers were analysed with thematic analysis. Results: The results show that children think of their agency differently depending upon which relationship context they find themselves in. Most perceived agency are found insituations with peers, and children perceive they have the least agency with teachers. In situations with parents, children think they would react with more resistance than with peers and teachers. It is mainly with other children that they would show assertiveness and try to find asolution together, while they would be more emotional and perceive less power with adults. Conclusion: We conclude that children make adistinction in their perception of agency depending upon the relationship context. These findings can be relevant for helping children receive more agency in all contexts, which might have apositive impact on health and adjustment.

To examine whether mothers' and fathers' individualism, collectivism and conformity values are significantly related to parenting behaviours and child adjustment during middle childhood, mothers (n = 95), fathers (n = 72) and children (n = 98) in Sweden were interviewed when children were, on average, 10 years old. Mothers' collectivism was significantly correlated with mothers' and fathers' higher expectations for children's family obligations. Fathers' collectivism was significantly correlated with mothers' and fathers' higher warmth and with fathers' higher expectations for children's family obligations. Fathers' conformity values were significantly correlated with fewer child internalising problems. Fathers' higher collectivism was associated with more paternal warmth even after taking into account the other cultural values, child gender and fathers' education. Our findings indicate that individual-level cultural values are correlated with some aspects of parenting and child adjustment in Sweden.

Swedish children's rights to school and a childhood were discussed as early as 1900 and today nearly all (99.9%) Swedish children from the age of six attend comprehensive school for ten years. Comprehensive school, both private and public, is free of charge and compulsory for everyone. In general, Sweden is described as a country where young people are perceived as individuals with agency, both in the family and in school. It is expected that students should be treated with respect and taught about their rights and how to practice them. Teachers are supposed to encourage young people's agency by, for example, letting them take responsibility and be involved in decisions about the school work and their lives. This is related to the goal of teaching young people more about how to become citizens and about democratic values in society. Although Swedish schools have a high interest in students' own agency and their mental health, politics put pressure on the schools to achieve higher academic success among students. This chapter presents the current Swedish education system and its challenges when it comes to maintaining high values concerning students' mental health and, simultaneously, striving for better academic results, focusing particularly on families belonging to the lower socioeconomic class and with a migration background.