Epidemiological research on parent-child conflict in the United States: subgroup variations by place of birth and ethnicity, 2002-2013.

Background. Chronically escalated parent child conflict has been observed to elicit maladaptive behavior and reduced psychological well-being in children and youth. In this epidemiological study, we sought to estimate the occurrence of escalated parent child conflict for United States (US) adolescent subgroups defined by (a) ethnic self identification, and (b) nativity (US -born versus foreign -born). Methods. US study populations of 12 -to -17 -year -olds were sampled, recruited, and assessed for the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2002-2013 (n = 111,129). Analysis -weighted contingency table analyses contrasted US -born versus foreign -born who self -identified as: (a) Hispanic, (b) non -Hispanic African American, (c) non -Hispanic Asian, and (c) non -Hispanic White. Results. Frequently escalated parent child conflict was most prevalent among US -born non -Hispanic White adolescents, from 18% at age 12 (95% CI [17.6%, 18.9%[) to 29% at age 17 (95% CI [28.3%, 29.7%[), followed by US -born Hispanic and non Hispanic Asian children. Estimated prevalence proportions were markedly lower for African -American children, from 8% at age 12 (95% CI [6.8, 8.5]) to 16% at age 17 (95% CI [14.3, 16.7]). Broad and sometimes overlapping CI indicate that larger sample sizes are needed for complete evaluation of an apparent excess occurrence of frequent parent -child conflict among US -born versus foreign -born. Nonetheless, in the larger subgroups, the US -born show a clear excess occurrence of frequent parent child conflict. For example, US -born Mexican children have 1.7 times higher odds of experiencing frequent parent -child conflict than foreign -born Mexican children (OR = 1.7, 95% CI [1.5, 2.0], p -value 0.001). Discussion. The main discovery from this multi -ethnic sample investigation is a rank ordering of parent -child conflict prevalence estimates from high (non -Hispanic White) to low (non -Hispanic African -American). The pattern also suggests a possibly generalizable excess associated with US -born sub -groups. The epidemiological estimates presented here merit attention in future cross-cultural research focused on parent -child conflict.