Exploring the Pathways to Psychological Well-Being: Residential Mobility,Parental Sensitivity,and Adjustment in Emerging Adults

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of parental sensitivity on emerging adults' psychological well-being. Using a moderated mediation model, it explored how adjustment (prosocial and aggressive behavior) mediates the association between perceived parental sensitivity and psychological well-being of emerging adults. Additionally, residential mobility was examined as a moderator in the relationship between parental sensitivity and adjustment. A sample of 445 emerging adults (M_age = 21.46, SD_age = 2.33) reported the number of their past moves and rated their parents’ sensitivity, their adjustment, and their psychological well-being. Results revealed that high maternal sensitivity positively predicted psychological well-being through increased prosocial behavior. This indirect relationship was significant only among individuals with lower levels of residential mobility. This pattern was not observed with paternal sensitivity, and the model yielded insignificant results for aggressive behavior. These findings highlight the significance of early maternal sensitivity in influencing the adjustment and psychological well-being of emerging adults.

Keywords

emerging adulthood parental sensitivity adjustment psychological well-being residential mobility

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ackerman

B. P.

Kogos

Youngstrom

Schoff

Izard

(1999). Family instability and the problem behaviors of children from economically disadvantaged families. Developmental Psychology, 35(1), 258–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.35.1.258

Allgood

S. M.

Beckert

T. E.

Peterson

(2012). The role of father involvement in the perceived psychological well-being of young adult daughters: A retrospective study. North American Journal of Psychology, 14(1), 95–110.

Anderson

Leventhal

Newman

Dupéré

(2014). Residential mobility among children: A framework for child and family policy. Cityscape, 16(1), 5–36. https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2014-0006

Ang

R. P.

(2006). Effects of parenting style on personal and social variables for Asian adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(4), 503–511. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.503

Armsden

G. C.

Greenberg

M. T.

(1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16(5), 427–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202939

Arnett

J. J.

(2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x

Aydın

Akgün

(2014). Ergenlikte reaktif-proaktif saldırganlık, öfke ve narsisizm ilişkisi. Türk Psikoloji Dergisi, 29(73), 44–56.

Bartels

Cacioppo

J. T.

van Beijsterveldt

T. C.

Boomsma

D. I.

(2013). Exploring the association between well-being and psychopathology in adolescents. Behavior Genetics, 43(3), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-013-9589-7

Batson

C. D.

(2010). Empathy-induced altruistic motivation. In Mikulincer

Shaver

P. R.

(Eds.), Prosocial motives, emotions, and behavior: The better angels of our nature (pp. 15–34). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/12061-001

10.

Belsky

(1997a). Theory testing, effect‐size evaluation, and differential susceptibility to rearing influence: The case of mothering and attachment. Child Development, 68(4), 598–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb04221.x

11.

Belsky

(1997b). Attachment, mating, and parenting: An evolutionary interpretation. Human Nature, 8(4), 361–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02913039

12.

Belsky

(2005). Differential susceptibility to rearing influence: An evolutionary hypothesis and some evidence. In Ellis

Bjorklund

(Eds.), Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development (pp. 139–163). Guilford.

13.

Belsky

Bakermans-Kranenburg

M. J.

van IJzendoorn

M. H.

(2007). For better and for worse: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 300–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00525.x

14.

Belsky

Steinberg

Draper

(1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: And evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development, 62(4), 647–670. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01558.x

15.

Bowlby

(1969). Attachment and loss. Basic Books.

16.

Boyce

W. T.

Ellis

B. J.

(2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary–developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development and Psychopathology, 17(2), 271–301. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050145

17.

Bradley

R. H.

Corwyn

R. F.

(2008). Infant temperament, parenting, and externalizing behavior in first grade: A test of the differential susceptibility hypothesis. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 49(2), 124–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01829.x

18.

Buss

A. H.

Perry

(1992). The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(3), 452–459. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.3.452

19.

Carlo

Mestre

M. V.

Samper

Tur

Armenta

B. E.

(2011). The longitudinal relations among dimensions of parenting styles, sympathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35(2), 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025410375921

20.

Carlo

Randall

B. A.

(2002). The development of a measure of prosocial behaviors for late adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014033032440

21.

Choi

Oishi

(2020). The psychology of residential mobility: A decade of progress. Current Opinion in Psychology, 32, 72–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.008

22.

Clark

C. M.

Dahlen

E. R.

Nicholson

B. C.

(2015). The role of parenting in relational aggression and prosocial behavior among emerging adults. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 24(2), 185–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2015.1002653

23.

Coleman

J. S.

(1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120. https://doi.org/10.1086/228943

24.

Davidov

Grusec

J. E.

(2006). Untangling the links of parental responsiveness to distress and warmth to child outcomes. Child Development, 77(1), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00855.x

25.

Del Giudice

Ellis

B. J.

Shirtcliff

E. A.

(2011). The adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(7), 1562–1592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.11.007

26.

Dempster

A. P.

Laird

N. M.

Rubin

D. B.

(1977). Maximum likelihood from incomplete data via the EM algorithm. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society - Series B: Statistical Methodology, 39(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2517-6161.1977.tb01600.x

27.

Deneault

A. A.

Cabrera

N. J.

Bureau

J. F.

(2022). A meta‐analysis on observed paternal and maternal sensitivity. Child Development, 93(6), 1631–1648. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13832

28.

Eisenberg

(1986). Altruistic emotion, cognition and behavior. Erlbaum.

29.

Ellis

B. J.

Essex

M. J.

Boyce

W. T.

(2005). Biological sensitivity to context: II. Empirical explorations of an evolutionary–developmental theory. Development and Psychopathology, 17(2), 303–328. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050157

30.

Ellis

B. J.

Figueredo

A. J.

Brumbach

B. H.

Schlomer

G. L.

(2009). Fundamental dimensions of environmental risk: The impact of Harsh versus unpredictable environments on the Evolution and development of life history Strategies. Human Nature, 20(2), 204–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-009-9063-7

31.

Enders

C. K.

(2003). Using the expectation maximization algorithm to estimate coefficient alpha for scales with item-level missing data. Psychological Methods, 8(3), 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.8.3.322

32.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

A. G.

Buchner

(2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03193146

33.

Ferreira

Cadima

Matias

Vieira

J. M.

Leal

Matos

P. M.

(2016). Preschool children’s prosocial behavior: The role of mother–child, father–child and teacher–child relationships. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(6), 1829–1839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0369-x

34.

Field

(2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage Publications Limited.

35.

Finger

Hans

S. L.

Bernstein

V. J.

Cox

S. M.

(2009). Parent relationship quality and infant–mother attachment. Attachment & Human Development, 11(3), 285–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730902814960

36.

Fowler

P. J.

Henry

D. B.

Marcal

K. E.

(2015). Family and housing instability: Longitudinal impact on adolescent emotional and behavioral well-being. Social Science Research, 53, 364–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.06.012

37.

Fowler

P. J.

Henry

D. B.

Schoeny

Taylor

Chavira

(2014). Developmental timing of housing mobility: Longitudinal effects on externalizing behaviors among at-risk youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(2), 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.003

38.

Francis

Pai

M. S.

Badagabettu

(2021). Psychological well-being and perceived parenting style among adolescents. Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing, 44(2), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694193.2020.1743796

39.

Gracia

Esping-Andersen

(2015). Fathers’ child care time and mothers’ paid work: A cross-national study of Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Family Science, 6(1), 270–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/19424620.2015.1082336

40.

Gryczkowski

Jordan

S. S.

Mercer

S. H.

(2018). Moderators of the relations between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting practices and children’s prosocial behavior. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 49(3), 409-419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-017-0759-3, https://org/10.1007/s10578-017-0759-3

41.

Guarnieri

Smorti

Tani

(2015). Attachment relationships and life satisfaction during emerging adulthood. Social Indicators Research, 121(3), 833-847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0655-1, https://org/10.1007/s11205-014-0655-1

42.

Gurmen

M. S.

Kilic

(2022). Parenting in Turkey. In Selin

(Ed.), Parenting across cultures: Child rearing, motherhood and fatherhood in non-western cultures (pp. 243–257). Springer International Publishing.

43.

Hastings

P. D.

Utendale

W. T.

Sullivan

(2007). The socialization of prosocial development. In Grusec

J. E.

Hastings

P. D.

(Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 638–664). The Guilford Press.

44.

Hayes

A. F.

(2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis a regression-based approach (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press. Andrew F. Hayes; series editor’s note by Todd D. Little.

45.

Hayes

A. F.

(2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.

46.

Haynie

D. L.

South

S. J.

(2005). Residential mobility and adolescent violence. Social Forces, 84(1), 361–374. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2005.0104

47.

Hui

B. P.

J. C.

Berzaghi

Cunningham-Amos

L. A.

Kogan

(2020). Rewards of kindness? A meta-analysis of the link between prosociality and well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 146(12), 1084–1116. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000298

48.

Humke

Schaefer

(1995). Relocation: A review of the effects of residential mobility on children and adolescents. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 32(1), 16–24.

49.

Jelleyman

Spencer

(2008). Residential mobility in childhood and health outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 62(7), 584–592. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2007.060103

50.

Jeong

J. G.

Choi

S. B.

Kang

S. W.

(2022). Leader’s perception of corporate social responsibility and team members’ psychological well-being: Mediating effects of value congruence climate and pro-social behavior. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063607

51.

Johnson

P. O.

Neyman

(1936). Tests of certain linear hypotheses and their application to some educational problems. Statistical Research Memoirs, 1, 57–93.

52.

Karacan

Berument

S. K.

(2012). Yetişkin gelişiminin anababalık rolleri açısından niteliksel olarak incelenmesi. Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(3), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.117/1303-0876

53.

Karu

Tremblay

D. G.

(2018). Fathers on parental leave: An analysis of rights and take-up in 29 countries. Community, Work & Family, 21(3), 344–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2017.1346586

54.

Kjeldsen

Nilsen

Gustavson

Skipstein

Melkevik

Karevold

E. B.

(2016). Predicting well‐being and internalizing symptoms in late adolescence from trajectories of externalizing behavior starting in infancy. Journal of Research on Adolescence: The Official Journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence, 26(4), 991–1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12252

55.

Kumar

S. A.

Mattanah

J. F.

(2016). Parental attachment, romantic competence, relationship satisfaction, and psychosocial adjustment in emerging adulthood. Personal Relationships, 23(4), 801–817. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12161

56.

Kumru

Carlo

Edwards

C. P.

(2004). Olumlu sosyal davranışların ilişkisel, kültürel, bilişsel ve duyuşsal değişkenlerle ilişkisi. Türk Psikoloji Dergisi, 19(54), 109–125.

57.

Lauri

M. A.

Calleja

S. S.

(2019). Prosocial behaviour and psychological Wellbeing. In Vella

Falzon

Azzopardi

(Eds.), Perspectives on wellbeing (pp. 46–62). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004394179_005

58.

LeBaron

A. B.

Hill

E. J.

Rosa

C. M.

Marks

L. D.

(2018). Whats and hows of family financial socialization: Retrospective reports of emerging adults, parents, and grandparents. Family Relations, 67(4), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12335

59.

Love

K. M.

Murdock

T. B.

(2004). Attachment to parents and psychological well-being: An examination of young adult college students in intact families and stepfamilies. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 18(4), 600. 608, https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.18.4.600

60.

H. J.

Chang

(2019). Aggression and risk‐taking as adaptive implementations of fast life history strategy. Developmental Science, 22(5), Article e12827. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12827

61.

McKinney

Morse

Pastuszak

(2016). Effective and ineffective parenting: Associations with psychological adjustment in emerging adults. Journal of Family Issues, 37(9), 1203-1225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x14537480

62.

Miles

Andiappan

Upenieks

Orfanidis

(2022). Using prosocial behavior to safeguard mental health and foster emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A registered report protocol for a randomized trial. PLoS One, 16(1), Article e0245865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245865

63.

Miller

J. G.

Hastings

P. D.

(2019). Parenting, neurobiology, and prosocial development. In Laible

D. J.

Carlo

Padilla-Walker

L. M.

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of parenting and moral development (pp. 129–144). Oxford University Press.

64.

Newton

E. K.

Laible

Carlo

Steele

J. S.

McGinley

(2014). Do sensitive parents foster kind children, or vice versa? Bidirectional influences between children’s prosocial behavior and parental sensitivity. Developmental Psychology, 50(6), 1808–1816. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036495

65.

Oishi

(2010). The psychology of residential mobility: Implications for the self, social relationships, and well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 5(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691609356781

66.

Oishi

Kesebir

Miao

F. F.

Talhelm

Endo

Uchida

Shibanai

Norasakkunkit

(2013). Residential mobility increases motivation to expand social network: But why? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(2), 217–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.10.008

67.

Oishi

Miao

F. F.

Koo

Kisling

Ratliff

K. A.

(2012). Residential mobility breeds familiarity-seeking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024949

68.

Oishi

Rothman

A. J.

Snyder

Zehm

Hertel

A. W.

Gonzales

M. H.

Sherman

G. D.

(2007). The socioecological model of procommunity action: The benefits of residential stability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 831–844. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.831

69.

Oishi

Schimmack

(2010). Residential mobility, well-being, and mortality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 980–994. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019389

70.

Oldfield

Humphrey

Hebron

(2016). The role of parental and peer attachment relationships and school connectedness in predicting adolescent mental health outcomes. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 21(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12108

71.

Parente

M. E.

Mahoney

J. L.

(2009). Residential mobility and exposure to neighborhood crime: Risks for young children's aggression. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(5), 559–578. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20314

72.

Pastorelli

Lansford

J. E.

Luengo Kanacri

B. P.

Malone

P. S.

Di Giunta

Bacchini

Bombi

A. S.

Zelli

Miranda

M. C.

Bornstein

M. H.

Tapanya

Uribe Tirado

L. M.

Alampay

L. P.

Al-Hassan

S. M.

Chang

Deater-Deckard

Dodge

K. A.

Oburu

Skinner

A. T.

Sorbring

(2016). Positive parenting and children's prosocial behavior in eight countries. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 57(7), 824–834. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12477

73.

Posada

Jacobs

Richmond

M. K.

Carbonell

O. A.

Alzate

Bustamante

M. R.

Quiceno

(2002). Maternal caregiving and infant security in two cultures. Developmental Psychology, 38(1), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.38.1.67

74.

Raine

(2002). Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behavior in children and adults: A review. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(4), 311–326. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015754122318

75.

Ryff

C. D.

(1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

76.

Schwartz

S. J.

Zamboanga

B. L.

Ravert

R. D.

Kim

S. Y.

Weisskirch

R. S.

Williams

M. K.

Bersamin

Finley

G. E.

(2009). Perceived parental relationships and health‐risk behaviors in college‐attending emerging adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), 727–740. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00629.x

77.

Soucie

K. M.

Lawford

Pratt

M. W.

(2012). Personal stories of empathy in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 58(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.2012.0010

78.

Sumer

(2003). Personality and behavioral predictors of traffic accidents: Testing a contextual mediated model. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 35(6), 949–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00103-3

79.

Sumer

Gungor

(1999). Psychometric evaluation of adult attachment measures on Turkish samples and a cross-cultural comparison. Turkish Journal of Psychology, 14(43), 71–106.

80.

Tseliou

Maguire

Donnelly

O'Reilly

(2016). The impact of childhood residential mobility on mental health outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood: A record linkage study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 70(3), 278–285. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-206123

81.

Turkish Labor Code No. 4857 . (2003). Retrieved from https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.4857

82.

van Wel

Linssen

Abma

(2000). The parental bond and the well-being of adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005195624757

83.

Waters

S. F.

Virmani

E. A.

Thompson

R. A.

Meyer

Raikes

H. A.

Jochem

(2010). Emotion regulation and attachment: Unpacking two constructs and their association. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(1), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-009-9163-z, https://org/10.1007/s10862-009-9163-z

84.

Wei

Kendall

P. C.

(2014). Parental involvement: Contribution to childhood anxiety and its treatment. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 17(4), 319-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-014-0170-6, https://org/10.1007/s10567-014-0170-6

85.

Weinstein

Ryan

R. M.

(2010). When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 222–244. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016984

86.

Weisskirch

R. S.

(2018). Psychosocial intimacy, relationships with parents, and well-being among emerging adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(11), 3497–3505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1171-8

87.

Yamawaki

Nelson

J. A. P.

Omori

(2011). Self-esteem and life satisfaction as mediators between parental bonding and psychological well-being in Japanese young adults. International Journal of Psychology and Counselling, 3(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJPC.9000042

88.

Yilmaz

Selcuk

Gunaydin

Cingöz-Ulu

Filiztekin

Kent

(2022). You mean the world to me: The role of residential mobility in centrality of romantic relationships. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(7), 1151–1162. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211061017

89.

Zhu

H. J.

Chang

(2020). Effects of peer influences and life-history strategy on Chinese junior high school students’ prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Frontiers in Education, 5, Article 593744. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.593744

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.10 MB

0.17 MB