Parental behaviors related to adolescents’ self-disclosure: Adolescents’ views

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore adolescents' perceptions of their parents' behaviors that inhibited or facilitated adolescents' self-disclosures to them. Four focus groups with 16 girls and 16 boys from Croatia (13-14 year-olds) were conducted. Results indicate that adolescents perceive their self-disclosures to be influenced by a variety of specific parental actions and reactions in disclosure-related situations. According to adolescents' views, not only can parents hinder adolescent's disclosure by unfavorable reactions, but they can also prompt adolescent to disclose by behaving in certain manner. Identified parental behaviors and emotional states (labeled as "inviters", "inhibitors", "negative reactions" and "positive reactions"), are discussed in terms of contemporary perspectives on optimal parenting based on children's psychological needs and children's rights.

Parental Behaviors in the Context of Adolescent Disclosure (PBAD): Instrument Development

“…In order to explore the adolescents' perceptions of parental behaviors affecting their disclosure, four focus groups with adolescents aged 13 to 14 were conducted (for detailed report see Tokić & Pećnik, 2011). This particular age was targeted, because by then, self-disclosure to parents had already started to decrease (Buhrmester & Prager, 1995) and adolescents oriented themselves more to their peers (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984).…”

“…The participants were asked to recall a situation in which they disclosed to their parent and to describe the occurred parental behaviors (if any) that encouraged them to do so (Tokić & Pećnik, 2011). They were also invited to recall a situation in which they decided not to disclose to their parent, and to report about parental behaviors that discouraged them from disclosing.…”

“…Parental antecedents of adolescents' disclosure (PBAD-A items) were formed to represent dominant categories of mothers' and fathers' behaviors perceived by adolescents to have preceded and influenced their self-disclosures, which were identified by a content analysis of focus groups material (Tokić & Pećnik, 2011). Those categories were: asking unobtrusive questions (items 1/6/15), creating opportunities for adolescent's disclosure (9), recognizing adolescent's emotional state (17), inviting unconditional disclosure (5), parental own self-disclosure (2/10/12), unavailability (3/ 7/11/14) and intrusiveness (4/8/13/16).…”

“…Parental reactions to adolescents' disclosure (PBAD-R items) were formed to describe the dominant categories of mothers' and fathers' behaviors perceived by adolescents as following their previous and influencing their subsequent self-disclosures (Tokić & Pećnik, 2011). They can generally be divided into positive and negative reactions.…”

“…Very few quantitative studies explored parental reactions to youths' disclosures (Kerr, Stattin, & Trost, 1999;Tilton-Weaver et al, 2010), and none of them thoroughly described and classified such parental reactions. Apart from the reactions following adolescents' disclosures, parental emotional states or behaviors that take place prior to actual self-disclosure also play a role in inviting or preventing adolescents' opening up to a parent (Tokić & Pećnik, 2011).…”