سبک ادارک شده پدر و مادر، تشخص زدایی، اضطراب و رفتار مقابله ای در نوجوانان

The present study investigated the relationship between perceived parenting styles, depersonalisation, anxiety and coping behaviour in a normal high school student sample (N=276). It was found that perceived parental psychological pressure correlated positively with depersonalisation and trait anxiety among the adolescents. Perceived parental warmth was positively associated with active coping and negatively correlated with trait anxiety in the adolescents. A cluster analysis revealed four types of parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and indifferent. The group with the authoritarian parenting style showed higher scores on depersonalisation and anxiety. The groups with the authoritative and permissive style of both parents showed the highest score on active problem coping. The discussion focuses on the role of parenting styles in dysfunctional personality traits during adolescence.

Several recent studies have indicated that there is a relationship between various forms of psychopathology during childhood and adolescence and perceived parenting style, that is the child's perceptions of their parent's behaviour. Parenting style is usually conceptualised along two dimensions: parental demand (e.g. control) and parental response (e.g. warmth). Four parenting styles can be distinguished: authoritative (high demand and high responsiveness), authoritarian (high demand and low responsiveness), permissive (low demand and high responsiveness) and indifferent or neglectful (low demand and low responsiveness) (Baumrind, 1971 and Paulson and Sputa, 1996). According to Darling and Steinberg (1993) parenting styles must be distinguished from parenting practices—behaviours defined by specific content and socialisation goals (e.g. school achievement). Parenting styles can be understood as attitudes toward the child that are communicated to the child and create an emotional climate in which parents' behaviour is expressed. Darling and Steinberg proposed a model in which parenting style is a contextual variable that moderates the relationship between specific parenting practices and specific child outcomes. Several studies emphasise the importance of perceived parenting styles as risk factors for individual development during adolescence (see Perris, Arindell, & Eisemann, 1994, for a review). In this context, individual differences such as coping strategies, anxiety and psychopathological factors seem to play an important role (Hoffman et al., 1992 and Endler and Parket, 1994). Many theoretical approaches divide coping efforts into two groups: those intended to act on the stressor (active or problem-focused coping) and those intended to regulate emotional states resulting from the stressful event (passive or emotion-focused coping; Compas, 1987). Previous research has concluded that problem-focused coping is associated with more adaptive functioning and that emotion-focused coping, reflective of emotional disregulation is associated with greater affective, behavioural, and social dysfunction (Windle and Windle, 1996 and Hoffman et al., 1992). The results of research investigating perceived parenting styles and adolescent maladjustment are very heterogeneous. In a longitudinal study with a large adolescent sample, Shucksmith, Hendry, and Glendinning (1995) found that permissive parenting style was predominant, and that the most effective style (based on measures of school integration and mental well-being) was the authoritative style. Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, and Dornbusch (1991) also reported that adolescents with authoritative parents were better adjusted (in terms of less school misconduct, drug use and delinquency) and more competent (areas of achievement) than adolescents with neglectful or indulgent parents. Johnson, Shulman, and Collins (1991) found that parental warmth was positively related to optimal psychological adjustment, and also found that rejecting discipline (e.g. control, punishment) was related to poorer psychological adjustment. Wagner, Cohen, and Brook (1996) also found that adolescents who reported warm parenting by both mother and father were less likely to suffer symptoms of depression in reaction to stressful events than were adolescents who reported harsher discipline by both parents. These results suggest that a positive relationship with parents provides a form of social support, which enhances psychological resources (e.g. self-esteem) and therefore enables adolescents to cope with stressful events (Cohen & Wills 1985; Baumrind, 1991). In a study of high school students, Dusek and Danko (1994) found that students with authoritarian parents reported less frequent use of active coping behaviour than did students with highly permissive or authoritative parents. The results of the described studies showed that perceived authoritarian and controlling parenting styles are closely related to psychological disturbance in adolescence. A smaller number of studies have investigated the role of perceived parenting styles in the development of anxiety (e.g. Gerlsma et al., 1990, Furukawa, 1992 and Muris and Merckelbach, 1998), suggesting that parental rejection and control are closely associated with anxiety in childhood. These studies suggest that the parenting styles perceived by the adolescents have a substantial impact on their level of psychopathology. 2. Depersonalisation experiences during adolescence Depersonalisation experiences represent a specific type of dissociation, and can be described as “a loss of familiarity with both environment and self” (APA, 1987). Depersonalisation experiences may appear along a continuum of severity ranging from common, mild experiences (Dixon, 1963), along with transient symptoms in response to psychosocial stressors (Elliott, Rosenberg, & Wagner, 1984), to a chronic depersonalisation disorder causing marked distress (Steinberg, 1991 and Silberg et al., 1997). These chronic forms of adolescent depersonalisation can have their roots in childhood trauma (physical and/or sexual abuse, emotional neglect, domestic violence, see Atlas and Hiott, 1994, Brunner et al., 2000, Hornstein, 1996 and Santonastaso et al., 1997). Hornstein and Putnam (1992) examined a sample of traumatised adolescents and found that 60–90% showed hypervigilance, exaggerated startle behaviour, a variety of fears, anxieties and avoidance behaviour- these may lead to depersonalisation, as some studies have found a close association between depersonalisation and anxiety (Trueman, 1984 and Wolfradt, 1997). Mild depersonalisation symptoms during adolescence may result from sleep deprivation, illness, psychological stressors and drug-induced states (Steinberg, 1991). Mild and transient symptoms of depersonalisation seem to be normal phenomena—during puberty the adolescent is confronted with the developmental task of integrating various components of identity to achieve a harmony between self definition and the role expectation by his/her family and society (Erikson, 1971). Harter (1983) suggested that, especially around the age of 14, adolescents feel divided into different selves (e.g. one version of self for friends, and a different version for peers). According to Rosenberg (1987) this changing of self may challenge the sense of personal sameness and thus can produce feelings of depersonalisation. Probst and Jansen (1991) provided evidence that depersonalisation is not an unusual phenomenon. They examined the incidence of depersonalisation experiences in a non-clinical adult and adolescent sample, and found an 80% prevalence rate for depersonalisation. Although dissociative experiences in general, and depersonalisation in particular, might be associated with experienced trauma, depersonalisation phenomena may play an adaptive role during identity formation. When exposed to negative events, individuals may use adaptive dissociative capacities to defend themselves against events that would otherwise overwhelm ordinary coping abilities (Beahrs, 1990 and Schumaker, 1991). There is a small amount of research investigating the relation between depersonalisation or dissociative experiences and perceived parenting styles among adolescents. A study by Mann and Sanders (1994) suggested a relationship between parental inconsistency and rejection, and dissociation in a sample of 40 boys. Berenbaum and James (1994) found a positive relationship between perceived negative dominant family environment (e.g. showing contempt for another's action) and dissociation among undergraduate students. Additionally, some authors characterised dissociative families as authoritarian (e.g. Kluft, 1984 and Spiegel, 1986). There are different explanations for the close relationship between specific parenting styles and dissociative experiences. One explanation is the insecure attachment behaviour between parents and child in dissociative families (Main & Hesse, 1996), another explanation is that children learn to dissociate, when they begin to oppose strong parental demands (such as in authoritarian parenting). According to Putnam (1997) the interplay of discrete states of consciousness (such as mood states) is a major vehicle for family interactions. He writes: ‘There are many reasons why individuals want to influence the states of mind of their family members. In addition to the issues of power and authority, there are more subtle positive human needs, such as feeling understood. Struggles to set dominant affective tonal state for family interactions may revolve around the need for congruency of affect and emotional perspective’ (pp. 167/168). In this context, children, being in a lower power position in family hierarchy, activate specific states (e.g. fantasy worlds or dissociative states) when they are unable to exert influences about the family scene. Little attention has been paid to this relationship in previous research. The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between perceived parenting styles and individual differences in depersonalisation, anxiety, and coping styles among adolescents. More specifically, it aims to examine which types of perceived parenting style are associated with depersonalisation, anxiety and different kinds of coping behaviour in an adolescent sample. One major emphasis is to increase knowledge about individual differences in a measure of depersonalisation, a concept that is a fruitful area of study among adolescents. It is hypothesised that adolescents characterised by a perceived authoritarian parenting style would show a higher level of depersonalisation and anxiety and use a more passive (avoidant) coping strategy, in comparison with adolescents perceiving a permissive or authoritative parenting style.