Abstract
Extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) survivors are at increased risk for experiencing both peer victimization and overprotective parenting. This study investigated if overprotective parenting moderated associations between peer victimization and psychopathology among ELBW adult survivors who have been followed since birth. Participants included 81 (31 male, 50 female) adults born with an extremely low birth weight from Ontario, Canada. The participants were predominately Caucasian. The experience of peer victimization and overprotective parenting prior to age 16 was self-reported at age 22–26 years. Peer victimization was reported using the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire and overprotective parenting was reported using the Parental Bonding Instrument. Current anxiety disorder and alcohol or substance use disorder was assessed using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview at age 29–36 years. The experience of overprotective parenting moderated the association between peer victimization and risk for an anxiety disorder in adulthood (OR 2.35, 95% CI, 1.01–5.50). If the ELBW survivor reported having an overprotective parent, peer victimization was associated with increased risk for having an anxiety disorder in adulthood (OR 2.45, 95% CI, 1.13–5.30). In contrast, this association was not significant in the absence of an overprotective parent (OR 1.04, 95% CI, 0.73–1.49). Future research should further investigate if parental support and encouragement of children’s independence may be important for reducing the negative effects of peer victimization among ELBW survivors.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. Kimberly L. Day is now in the Department of Psychology at the University of West Florida. We thank the many participants and their families for their continued participation. We are also grateful to the following research staff from McMaster University: Nicole Folland, PhD, Paz Fortier, BA, Karen Mathewson, PhD, Sue McKee, BA, Barbara Stoskopf, RN, MHSc, Jordana Waxman, MSc, and Shirien Yunus, BSc, for their help with data collection and organizing the assessments.
Author Contributions
K. L. D. analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. L. A. S. designed and executed the study and collaborated with the writing and editing of the final manuscript and provided funding. T. V. collaborated with the writing and editing of the final manuscript. S. S. collaborated with the design and execution of the study and collaborated with the writing and editing of the final manuscript. M. H. B. collaborated with the writing and editing of the final manuscript. R. J. V. designed and executed of the study and collaborated with the writing of the final manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grants CIHR: TMH-103145 (to Dr. Louis A. Schmidt) and CIHR: MOP42536 (to Dr. Saroj Saigal), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant NICHD: 1-R01HD40219 (to Dr. Saroj Saigal), and a Lawson Post-Doctoral Fellowship (to Dr. Kimberly L. Day).
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of McMaster University’s and Hamilton Health Sciences’ ethics committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Day, K.L., Schmidt, L.A., Vaillancourt, T. et al. Overprotective Parenting and Peer Victimization in Extremely Low Birth Weight Survivors. J Child Fam Stud 27, 907–915 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0922-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0922-2