Adolescent Psychopathology and Parent-Child Relationship

Objective: To establish the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Parental Bonding Inventory (CPBI) and to examine the association between psychopathology and parent- child relationship among young adolescents. Methods: The study sample consisted of 87 clinical subjects, and 174 school controls aged 10-15, and 1343 grade 7 students from 12 junior high schools in Taipei City and County using multistage sampling method. Mothers of all the clinical subjects and parents of 581 randomly selected school-based subjects completed the Children’s Behavioral Checklist ( CBCL) and CPBI. Student subjects completed CPBI to report their mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes toward them. One hundred and fifteen student subjects and their parents were reassessed after a 2- week interval. Results: The test-retest reliability and internal consistency for child reports ( Pearson correlation  =.68 ~ .82, intraclass correlation ICC = .68 ~ .82, Cronbach’s  = .73 ~ .87) and for paternal reports ( = .47 ~ .65, ICC= .47 ~ .65, Cronbach’s  = .75 ~ .84) indicated that most of the subscales of the CPBI constitute good reliability. The parent-child agreement on all the subscales was low and parents tended to report greater affection and less overprotection toward their children. Parents of children with behavioral syndromes tended to exhibit lack of affection and care for their children in terms of the eight behavioral syndromes of CBCL and show overprotection with regard to Attention Problems, Delinquent Behaviors, Somatic Complaints, and Thought Problems. Compared to school controls, clinical subjects with ADHD or other psychiatric disorders were more likely to report that their mothers denied their psychological autonomy and their fathers encouraged their behavioral freedom. There was no difference between the two groups based on parental reports. Complaints, and Thought Problems. Compared to school controls, clinical subjects with ADHD or other psychiatric