Drawing upon both Social-Cognitive Domain Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the goal of the present multi-informant study was to test whether the correlates of maternal prohibitions depend on what is prohibited (i.e., the content of the social domain involved), thereby contrasting moral with friendship prohibitions, as well on how the prohibition is communicated, thereby contrasting an autonomy-supportive with a controlling communication style. In a sample of adolescents (N = 196; mean age = 13.9 years; 63 % female) and their mothers (N = 185; mean age = 44 years), we first examined mean-level differences between the two domains in terms of mothers' degree and style of prohibition, as well as on a number of developmental outcomes (i.e., adolescents' legitimacy perceptions, internalization, and oppositional defiance). Both adolescents and mothers reported more maternal involvement in the moral domain (e.g., higher scores for degree of prohibition and controlling communication style). In addition, adolescents reported greater perceived legitimacy and less oppositional defiance in the moral domain (as compared to the friendships domain). Second, we tested whether associations between degree and style of prohibition and the developmental outcomes were moderated by social domain. Whereas associations between degree of prohibition and developmental outcomes either were non-significant or moderated by domain, the associations with communication style were more domain-invariant, with an autonomy-supportive style generally yielding an adaptive pattern of correlates and with a controlling style relating to maladaptive outcomes. The discussion focuses on similarities and differences in the characteristics and correlates of both types of prohibitions.

Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

No abstract

Au cours des dernières décennies, on a assisté à une « pathologisation » de plus en plus importante des conduites à risque à l'adolescence rarement considérées comme de simples comportements de transgression constitutifs de cette période. Pourtant plusieurs auteurs ont souligné l'importance des conduites d'exploration dans la résolution des processus identitaires, d'individuation et de socialisation au cours de cette période développementale. Cet article a pour objectif de proposer une réflexion critique sur les conduites à risque à l'adolescence et examine en quoi l'approche théorique d'Erikson et les travaux néo-eriksonniens sur la construction identitaire offrent des pistes intéressantes par rapport à la compréhension du rôle de la prise de risque au cours de cette période développementale. MOTS-CLÉS : ADOLESCENCE, CONDUITES À RISQUE, EXPLORATION, IDENTITÉ Adresse de correspondance de l'ensemble des auteurs: FAmily and DevelOpment research center (FADO),

The present longitudinal study tested for the role of perceived parental autonomy-support and late adolescents' self-worth in their intimacy development. A sample of 497 Belgian late adolescents (M = 17.9, 43.5% girls) participated in this two-wave study. Results indicated that perceived autonomy-supportive parenting did not relate significantly to change in adolescents' experienced intimacy (in terms of closeness and mutuality), but was associated with a decrease in unmitigated agency (an excessive focus on the self) and unmitigated communion (an excessive focus on the other) across time. Adolescents' self-worth predicted an increase in experienced intimacy and a decrease in unmitigated agency and communion, and the initial level of experienced intimacy predicted an increase in self-worth. Finally, results suggested that adolescents' self-worth may mediate some of the longitudinal relations between perceived parental autonomy-support and adolescents' intimate functioning. No evidence was found for moderation by romantic involvement, gender or age.

We also express our gratitude to La Sage and La Forclaz for offering an inspiring context. Finally, we also thank the graduate students Virginie Hunkeler and Claudia Burei for their assistance with the data collection, and Irène Pittet and Tiffanie Jeanneret for their help with the data input.

Studies examining the associations between Internet use and social skills are increasingly frequent. However, most of them only evaluate offline social skills and consider them as equivalents to online social skills. So far, no instrument allowed differentiating social skills depending on online versus offline contexts. This study aimed to develop and validate the Real and Electronic Communication Skills questionnaire (RECS), a new measure evaluating several dimensions of social skills in two different contexts (i.e., face-to-face and computer-mediated communication). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses among a sample of 657 adolescents and young adults (mean age = 17.68 years; 67% female) showed that the best fitting model for each context is a bifactor solution, with one general factor (Social Competence) and four specific factors (Sociability, Emotion Decoding, Disclosure, and Assertiveness). Each specific factor was differentially correlated with theoretically relevant subscales of the Social Skills Inventory, confirming the external validity of the RECS. The RECS is the first instrument allowing not only to assess social competence in online settings but also to quantify the relationships between offline social skills and their online counterpart. Given its ease of use and brevity, the RECS is a useful and promising instrument to capture social skills in both online and offline contexts.

Developmental changes in secrecy during middle adolescence: Links with alcohol use and perceived controlling parenting.