Parent-child communication and third generation's difficulties: Roles of parental depression and self-efficacy.
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2025-08
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Abstract
This study examines whether parents' past communication with their own parents is associated with children's psychological difficulties and whether this association is mediated by parents' depression and self-efficacy. Evidence of the intergenerational transmission of parent-child relationships is well-documented in the literature, but few studies have explored the intergenerational paths between grandparents' and parents' (first and second generations, G1-G2, respectively) communication, parents' depression and sense of efficacy, and children's (third generation, G3) psychological difficulties. Drawing on participants from Fast Track, a multisite longitudinal study, the present analyses included data from 360 original children, now parents (54% fathers, mean age = 34), who completed measures about their own depression and self-efficacy as well as their children's psychological and behavioral difficulties; during childhood (mean age = 10) these same parents had reported on communication with their G1 parents. Running mediation path analyses, we discovered that G1G2 communication was significantly related to G2's depression and emotional and parental self-efficacy. No direct associations between G1G2 communication and G3's psychological difficulties were found, nor did G2's emotional and parental self-efficacy mediate this path across generations. Nevertheless, G2's emotional and parental self-efficacy were significantly associated with G3's psychological difficulties, showing evidence of two generations and not three generations effects. By focusing on three generations, the present study extends knowledge about the critical role of G1 and G2 relationship quality and parenting on the next generation's psychological development and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
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Gorla, Laura, Jennifer E Lansford, Jennifer Godwin and Kenneth A Dodge (2025). Parent-child communication and third generation's difficulties: Roles of parental depression and self-efficacy. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43). 10.1037/fam0001399 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/33694.
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Laura Gorla
Laura Gorla is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Center for Child and Family Policy in Durham, NC, USA. Prior to her current role, Gorla was a visiting scholar at the Center and has been collaborating with the Center since January 2023.
She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Milano-Bicocca (Milan, Italy). She is a licensed developmental psychologist in Italy and holds a Master’s in developmental psychology and protection processes, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in psychological sciences from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart (Milan, Italy). Before starting her postdoctoral position, she worked as a psychologist in Milan, providing support to children, adolescents, and their parents.
Her research focuses on how parenting practices influence children’s well-being and mental health from childhood through late adolescence. She is also particularly interested in family relational processes and the intergenerational transmission of parenting styles.
Jennifer Lansford
Jennifer Lansford is the director of the Center for Child and Family Policy and S. Malcolm Gillis Distinguished Research Professor of Public Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Dr. Lansford's research focuses on the development of aggression and other behavior problems in youth, with an emphasis on how family and peer contexts contribute to or protect against these outcomes. She examines how experiences with parents (e.g., physical abuse, discipline, divorce) and peers (e.g., rejection, friendships) affect the development of children's behavior problems, how influence operates in adolescent peer groups, and how cultural contexts moderate links between parenting and children's adjustment.
Kenneth A. Dodge
Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding and past director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, as well as the founder of Family Connects International.
Dodge is a leading scholar in the development and prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors. His work provides a model for understanding how some young children grow up to engage in aggression and violence and provides a framework for intervening early to prevent the costly consequences of violence for children and their communities.
Dodge joined the faculty of the Sanford School of Public Policy in September 1998. He is trained as a clinical and developmental psychologist, having earned his B.A. in psychology at Northwestern University in 1975 and his Ph.D. in psychology at Duke University in 1978. Prior to joining Duke, Dodge served on the faculty at Indiana University, the University of Colorado, and Vanderbilt University.
Dodge's research has resulted in the Family Connects Program, an evidence-based, population health approach to supporting families of newborn infants. Piloted in Durham, NC, and formerly known as Durham Connects, the program attempts to reach all families giving birth in a community to assess family needs, intervene where needed, and connect families to tailored community resources. Randomized trials indicate the program's success in improving family connections to the community, reducing maternal depression and anxiety, and preventing child abuse. The model is currently expanding to many communities across the U.S.
Dodge has published more than 500 scientific articles which have been cited more than 120,000 times.
Elected into the National Academy of Medicine in 2015, Dodge has received many honors and awards, including the following:
- President (Elected), Society for Research in Child Development
- Fellow, Society for Prevention Research
- Distinguished Scientist, Child Mind Institute
- Research Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health
- Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution from the American Psychological Association
- J.P. Scott Award for Lifetime Contribution to Aggression Research from the International Society for Research on Aggression
- Science to Practice Award from the Society for Prevention Research
- Inaugural recipient of the “Public Service Matters” Award from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
- Inaugural recipient of the Presidential Citation Award for Excellence in Research from the Society for Research on Adolescence
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