Theses supervised by Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Yağmur Ar Karcı
10 theses · TED University
An investigation into the parentification experiences among male adolescents due to juvenile labour
The main aim of the current thesis was to examine parentification experiences of male adolescents due to juvenile labour. Accordingly, both instrumental and emotional parentification experiences of labourer children were investigated throughoutly from a developmental perspective. A qualitative study was performed to achieve this goal. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven male adolescents who were working at industrial areas of Ankara. Obtained data was analyzed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results suggested five super-ordinate themes across seven cases. These themes were (1) Compromisation of childhood for labour: the forced entry into adulthood, (2) Justification of being in labour as a child, (3) Implicit longing for the lost childhood, (4) Subtle inducement by family to enter labour and adulthood, and (5) 'The third parent' in the house, respectively. These themes were discussed in relation to relevant literature focusing on parentification and social injustice.
Moderating roles of father involvement and family protective factors on the relationship between maternal early maladaptive schemas and psychological symptoms of children
Development of psychopathology has been investigated for many years from different perspectives. Amongst others, effects of parents have been counted as a significant environmental condition on the psychosocial development of offspring. However, most of the studies focuses on the relationship between maternal factors and child's well-being, while only a limited number of research has examined the buffering impacts of different family units on the proposed relation. Accordingly, the current study investigated whether family protective factors and father involvement had a buffering effect on the relation between psychopathology susceptibility of mothers and children psychological symptoms. While the psychopathology susceptibility of the mothers was measured in terms of early maladaptive schemas, psychopathology of child was investigated with regard to psychological symptoms. One hundred fifty-three mother-late adolescent dyads participated to the current study. Late adolescents filled out Father Involvement Scale, The Inventory of Family Protective Factors, The Symptom Check List and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, while their mothers filled out The Inventory of Family Protective Factors and Young Schema Questionnaire- Short Form-3. Obtained results indicated that early maladaptive schemas of mothers significantly predicted their children's psychological symptoms, and emotion regulation skills of children mediated the proposed relation. The impact of mothers' maladaptive schemas on children psychological symptoms through emotion regulation skills accentuated when paternal involvement was low or moderate. However, family protective factors did not moderate the relationship between mother's early maladaptive schemas and children's psychopathology through children's emotion regulation. Obtained results were discussed in relation to Family System perspective and related psychosocial interventions.
Development of an instrument to measure paternal postpartum depression
The main aim of the current thesis was to develop a reliable and valid paternal postpartum depression (PPD) scale and to investigate psychosocial factors associated with PPD. To pursue this aim, a multi-method design was performed in that a qualitative and quantitative study were conducted, sequentially. In the qualitative strand, 12 fathers with moderate to high depression were interviewed, and obtained data was analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four super-ordinate themes were conceptualized: (1) Motherhood as an Idealized yet Overburdening Phenomenon, (2) Masculinity Related Pressures on Fathers, (3) Masculine Expression of Fatherhood Related Stress, and (4) Compromisation of Couple Relationship due to Parenthood. This strand aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of paternal postpartum depression experiences to delineate items of the newly developed scale. The second quantitative strand had two aims in itself: (1) development and psychometric validation of the paternal postpartum depression scale and (2) testing a moderated mediation model. Sample of the quantitative strand for psychometric validation included 190 fathers with new babies aged between 2 and 8 months old. New fathers completed the newly developed Paternal Postpartum Depression Scale (PPDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Based on the results obtained from Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), final version of PPDS consisted of 27 items with a 2-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha values were satisfactory. Correlation analysis revealed that PPDS was positively correlated with BDI and EPDS scores and negatively correlated with SWLS. Secondly, a moderated mediation model was tested by using PROCESS software to investigate mediating roles of parenting stress and marital adjustment on the relation between father's attachment styles and paternal depressive symptoms; and to inspect whether maternal depression moderated the proposed relationships. Accordingly, data obtained from 145 father-mother dyads were included for the subsequent analyses. The results showed that perceived parenting stress significantly mediated the relationship between paternal attachment styles and depression scores, and maternal depression significantly moderated this relationship. However, no significant impact was found for marital satisfaction in the model alone or with the involvement of maternal postpartum depression as the moderator. Findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature. Keywords: Paternal Postpartum Depression, Maternal Depression, Parenting Stress, Child Mental Health, Family Functioning, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Intergenerational transmission of narcissistic symptoms through parental control: The protective role of father involvement
Although several studies have investigated the transmission of mental disorders from parents to their children, how parental narcissism impacts on children psychological health has received limited attention. Existing studies either did not collect data from multiple informants or stayed at the theoretical level. Thereof, the main aim of the current thesis was to investigate intergenerational transmission of narcissistic features from mothers to late adolescents through maternal psychological control; and to examine how paternal involvement moderated the proposed relationship. Accordingly, data was obtained from 200 mother-late adolescent dyads to test five different moderated mediation models depending on the types of narcissism. Results indicated positive significant main effects of maternal narcissism on the late adolescents' narcissism scores only when the same narcissism subtypes were shared by the mother-offspring dyad. By contrast, when mothers and late adolescents had different narcissism subtypes, the obtained relationships between mother and child narcissism scores emerged as negatively significant. In contrast to our expectations, psychological control and father involvement did not indicate any significant effect in none of the moderated mediation models. Findings and limitations of the study were discussed in line with the relevant literature.
An investigation into the intergenerational transmission of psychological intimate partner violence
The main aim of the current thesis was to investigate psychosocial factors surrounding psychological intimate partner violence and its intergenerational transmission among young women. Accordingly, the experiences of young women exposed to psychological violence from their intimate partners and whose mothers were also subjected to psychological violence were examined from a clinical psychology perspective. A qualitative study was conducted to achieve this aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven young women, and obtained data were analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results suggested six super-ordinate themes across seven cases. These superordinate themes were (1) Simultenous presence of physical and psychological abuse, (2) "Feeling trapped": Gradual depletion of psychosocial resources as a consequence of psychological violence, (3) Self-harming as a self-defense, (4) "Better than my father": Preference for love and commitment over safety, (5) Possible routes of intergenerational transmission of violence, (6) Need for empowering mental health services. Findings were discussed in relation to literature with particular suggestions for psychosocial prevention and intervention programs.
Identity development of children raised under state protection or foster care system: A grounded theory study
The main purpose of the current study was to investigate the psychological experiences of late adolescents who grew up under state protection and/or foster family in their identity development processes. A qualitative method, grounded theory method was employed to pursue this aim. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 individuals from three different participant groups. As a result of the analysis, five super-ordinate themes were conceptualized: (1) ambiguous losses, (2) objectification, (3) discrimination and stigmatization, (4) resource allocation, and (5) identity. The results of the analysis revealed that growing up under state protection and/or foster family emerges difficulties in the personal, social, and political areas of late adolescents' lives. These difficulties manifest in the lives of these late adolescents as norms that they internalize or challenge. As a result of these two ways, growing up under protection results in these adolescents being proud of their identity or drifting from life. The findings of this study emphasized the importance of social arrangements that ensured a healthy identity development for late adolescents raised under government protection and/or foster family.
Psychosocial and political mechanisms of ambiguous loss among children having a parent with schizophrenia: A grounded theory study
The main purpose of the current study was to establish a theory investigating ambiguous loss experiences of offspring with parental schizophrenia through psychosocial and political lenses. The data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 10 participants. A qualitative design was employed, and for the analysis of the qualitative data, the grounded theory approach was utilized. The results of the analysis presented that having a parent with schizophrenia was associated with several impediments to offspring lives under three different contexts that were (1) impediments in the home environment, (2) impediments in the relationships with extended family members, and (3) impediments in the socio-politic realm. These impediments were interdependent and reinforced by a vicious cycle of secrecy around the disease, the lack of support resources, and stigmatization. Hence, offspring were isolating themselves and searching for meanings to comprehend their experiences regarding parental schizophrenia. Afterward, this path combines with the parentification and ambiguous loss under the effects of the psychological absence of the affected parent and longing for normality. As a result, multi-factorial losses with unresolved grief and parentification emerged as the outcomes of parental schizophrenia. The findings of the current study emphasized the necessity of psychological and sociopolitical arrangements for the target population in line with the importance of increasing awareness regarding community mental health resources in Turkey.
Intergenerational transmission of paternal early maladaptive schemas through intergenerational transmission of parenting styles
Early maladaptive schemas are proposed as to be shaped through frustration of core emotional needs during childhood and persist into adulthood by leading psychological and relationship problems. While early maladaptive schemas' associations with various psychopathologies and psychosocial variables are well established in the literature, intergenerational transmission of them has been studied rarely and existing studies mostly focused on mother-to-child transmission. The current study aims to examine schema transmission from fathers to children and focused on a specific schema domain, which is impaired limits and exaggerated standards. 172 families, i.e., fathers, mothers and their young adult children, participated to the study. While fathers and young adults completed Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3 (YSQ-SF3) and Young Parenting Inventory, mothers completed YSQ-SF3 to be used as a control variable. The results revealed that schema domain of impaired limits and exaggertaed standards of fathers is significantly associtaed with the same schema domain and disconnection and rejection schema domain of their children, and adverse parenting styles of fathers reported by their children mediate these relationships. In addition, it was revealed that adverse parenting styles of fathers' own parents are associated with impaired limits and exaggerated standards schema domain and disconnection and rejection schema domain of their children and in these relationships, impaired limits and exaggerated standards schemas of fathers and adverse parenting styles of fathers reported by their children are the mediating variables, respectively. Embodying psychosocial variables from three generations, the current study reveals different pathways for transmission of paternal schemas.
Intergenerational transmission of relationship-related obsessive compulsive symptoms: Roles of insecure attachment styles and perfectionism
Looking through literature, it has been determined that there are numerous studies on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but relatively few on Relationship-Related OCD (ROCD) symptoms which have been added to the literature in a decade , and there are even no studies on the intergenerational transmission of relationship-related OCD symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of insecure attachment styles and perfectionism in the transmission of relationship-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms from mothers to offspring. The participants in the study consist of 139 late adolescents and mother dyads. The results revealed that both anxious attachment style and perfectionism, as well as avoidant attachment style and then perfectionism, played a serial mediating role in the relationship between parent-child-focused obsessive-compulsive symptoms and relationship-focused obsessive-compulsive symptoms. On the other hand, while the avoidant attachment style and then perfectionism had a serial mediating role in the relationship between parent-child-focused obsessive-compulsive symptoms and partner-focused obsessive-compulsive symptoms, it was found that anxious attachment style and perfectionism did not have a serial mediating effect on this relationship. The findings of the study were discussed through empirical data obtained from the literature. Based on attachment theory and techniques related to perfectionist tendencies, several v recommendations for therapeutic treatments aimed at the familial transmission of relationship-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms have been made.
Intergenerational transmission of emotion regulation in the framework of the emotional cascade model through childhood emotional invalidation
The current study aimed to investigate the intergenerational transmission of emotion regulation in the framework of the Emotional Cascade Model through perceived childhood emotional invalidation. In this context, the mediating roles of perceived childhood emotional invalidation and emotional cascades (rumination, thought suppression, catastrophizing) in the association between the emotion regulation difficulties of parents and the dysregulated behaviors (excessive reassurance-seeking, drinking to cope, NSSI, bulimia symptoms) of emerging adults were investigated through serial mediation analyses. The participants in the study consist of 148 emerging adults and parent dyads. The results revealed that perceived childhood emotional invalidation and thought suppression serially mediated the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties of parents and excessive reassurance-seeking, drinking to cope, and NSSI behaviors of emerging adults. Further, perceived childhood emotional invalidation and then catastrophizing played a serial mediating role between parents' emotion regulation difficulties and emerging adults' excessive reassurance-seeking behaviors. On the other hand, it was found that perceived childhood emotional invalidation and rumination did not have a serial mediating effect between the emotion regulation difficulties of parents and any of the dysregulated behaviors of emerging adults.