2 A systematic review 67 Timescale of Parenting Processes Parenting processes are complex dynamic systems in which the interactions on the micro-longitudinal scale are considered to be the driving mechanisms of longer-term developmental changes (dynamics systems approach; Granic & Patterson, 2006). Yet, from the current systematic review it became evident that longitudinal within-family studies typically assessed associations of parenting with adolescent adaptation on a macro-longitudinal timescale, with intervals of 6 months or longer (k = 30). Some of the included studies assessed processes at a daily timescale (k = 10), but smaller micro timescales or meso timescales that fall between daily and annual processes (e.g., weeks or months) were rare. Specifically, with respect to adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors, all studies were performed on a macro timescale, except for one daily diary study on internalizing behavior. Hence, whether findings can be generalized from one timescale to another is still an open question. For instance, according to the reactance theory (Brehm, 1966), exerting behavioral control may result in an immediate reduction of the adolescents’ problem behaviors while recurring controlling behavior may intensify problem behavior over time. Therefore, studying parenting at one timescale may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding processes at another timescale, which is referred to as the galloping horse fallacy1 (Keijsers & Van Roekel, 2018). To avoid the galloping horse fallacy and to increase the understanding of within-family parenting processes, empirical studies could consider and link different timescales (an overview of the timescales of included studies is provided in Figure 3). For example, by implementing the Experience Sampling Method that includes multiple measurements a day (Csikszentmihalyi et al., 1977; Van Roekel et al., 2019), real-time parent-adolescent interactions can be studied. Moreover, different timescales can be linked, for example, by studying how micro-longitudinal parenting processes, such as real-time parent-adolescent interactions, develop across age and how these micro-longitudinal parenting processes are related to later developmental change. Thus, assessing parenting processes at the micro- and meso-longitudinal time-scale, as well as studying how micro-dynamics change over time and accumulate into longer term developmental growth (e.g., with continuous 1 The galloping horse fallacy is a metaphor referring to the work of Muybridge in his famous series of pictures ‘horse in motion’. Only when he observed a galloping horse at microseconds apart, it was revealed that a galloping horse and a walking horse have a different mechanism of movement. Thus, one cannot observe a walking horse at a slower timescale to draw conclusions about how the mechanisms of galloping function at a faster timescale. Likewise, one cannot observe parenting at a one-year interval and assume that the day-to-day mechanisms follow the same principles.
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