Perceived parenting style and adolescent adjustment: Revisiting directions of effects and the role of parental knowledge.

Abstract

In the present research on parenting and adolescent behavior, there is much focus on reciprocal, bidirectional, and transactional processes, but parenting-style research still adheres to a unidirectional perspective in which parents affect youth behavior but are unaffected by it. In addition, many of the most cited parenting-style studies have used measures of parental behavioral control that are questionable because they include measures of parental knowledge. The goals of this study were to determine whether including knowledge items might have affected results of past studies and to test the unidirectional assumption. Data were from 978 adolescents participating in a longitudinal study. Parenting-style and adolescent adjustment measures at 2 time points were used, with a 2-year interval between time points. A variety of internal and external adjustment measures were used. Results showed that including knowledge items in measures of parental behavioral control elevated links between behavioral control and adjustment. Thus, the results and conclusions of many of the most highly cited studies are likely to have been stronger than if the measures had focused strictly on parental behavior. In addition, adolescent adjustment predicted changes in authoritative and neglectful parenting styles more robustly than these styles predicted changes in adolescent adjustment. Adolescent adjustment also predicted changes in authoritativeness more robustly than authoritativeness predicted changes in adjustment. Thus, parenting style cannot be seen as independent of the adolescent. In summary, both the theoretical premises of parenting-style research and the prior findings should be revisited.

Peer-group mediation in the relationship between family and juvenile antisocial behavior

“…Third, the mediation effects of parental monitoring on antisocial behavior through ties with antisocial peers were significant, which agreed with the findings of other studies (Haggerty et al, 2013). As the three family variables analyzed were strongly related and as other authors suggested (Kerr, Stattin, & Özdemir, 2012), it could be possible that the effects of family conflict and family support on antisocial behavior will exert through their association with parental monitoring. In other words, family conflict and support could influence antisocial behavior mediated by the level of parental monitoring, a variable which in turn had effects on antisocial behavior mediated through ties with antisocial peers.…”

Perceived Behavioral Autonomy and Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence to Adulthood

“…Although having parent and adolescent reports in this area of research is valuable, adolescent perceptions are stronger predictors of psychological adjustment such as depression (Smetana et al 2004;Qin et al 2009) and a strength of the present study was that we specifically focused on decisions over issues that youth consider outside the boundary of legitimate parental authority. Recent studies that have taken into account the direction of effect between parental control and adolescent adjustment have concluded that a child effect or reciprocal effect may be stronger than a unidirectional approach (Kerr et al 2012;Wijsbroek et al 2011). Adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms might also have externalizing problems, and parents' perception that their child is difficult to supervise is associated with increased control over decision-making (Wray-Lake et al 2010).…”

Parenting influence on the development of life history strategy

“…While there are differing accounts as to why parenting styles in adolescence are associated with adolescent outcomes (e.g., Steinberg, 2001;Kerr, Håkan, & Özdemir, 2012), it is clear that such an association exists; authoritative parenting being predictive of a number of what are considered positive social outcomes. Leaving aside an extensive account of the debate on the direction of influence, such an association means that there could be a significant parental influence on adolescent outcomes.…”