Adolescents' information management: comparing ideas about why adolescents disclose to or keep secrets from their parents

What is Parental Monitoring?

Parental monitoring is a construct of longstanding interest in multiple fields-but what is it? This paper makes two contributions to the ongoing debate. First, we review how the published literature has defined and operationalized parental monitoring. We show that the monitoring construct has often been defined in an indirect and nonspecific fashion and measured using instruments that vary widely in conceptual content. The result has been a disjointed empirical literature that cannot accurately be described as the unified study of a single construct nor is achieving a cumulative scientific character. Second, we offer a new formulation of the monitoring construct intended to remedy this situation. We define parental monitoring as the set of all behaviors performed by caregivers with the goal of acquiring information about the youth's activities and life. We introduce a taxonomy identifying 5 distinct types of monitoring behaviors (Types 1-5), with each behavior varying along five dimensions (performer, target, frequency, context, style). We distinguish parental monitoring from 16 other parenting constructs it is often conflated with and position monitoring as one element within the broader parent-youth monitoring process: the continuous, dyadic interplay between caregivers and youth as they navigate caregivers attempts' to monitor youth. By offering an explicit and detailed conceptualization of monitoring, we aim to foster more rigorous and impactful research in this area.

Active Parental Mediation and Adolescent Problematic Internet Use: The Mediating Role of Parent-Child Relationships and Hiding Online Behavior

In today's information society, with the growing integration of the Internet into individuals' lives, problematic Internet use (PIU) among adolescents has become more prevalent. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the correlation between active parental mediation and PIU in adolescents, as well as the potential mediating roles of parent-child relationship and adolescents' hiding online behavior. A total of 539 middle school students (mean age = 13.384) were recruited for this study and participated by completing a series of paper-and-pencil questionnaires. The findings indicated a significant negative relationship between active parental mediation and PIU. Furthermore, both the mediating role of the parent-child relationship and the role of hiding online behavior were found to be significant. Specifically, the mediating role is comprised of two paths: the independent mediating role of the parent-child relationship, and the sequential mediating role involving both the parent-child relationship and hiding online behavior. The study contributes an innovative theoretical perspective to deepen the understanding of the formation mechanism of PIU. Moreover, it offers practical empirical insights for the prevention and intervention of PIU among adolescents.

Patterns of Reasons for Not Disclosing Personal Activities and Feelings to Mothers and Fathers among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents

Adolescents' routine disclosure and self (non)disclosure to parents have been distinguished conceptually, but rarely empirically. Using latent profile analyses (LPA), these two types of (non)disclosure were operationalized and examined in terms of the patterns of reasons middle adolescents endorsed for not disclosing personal activities and personal feelings to mothers and fathers and their correlates. This was studied in a sample of 489 U.S. Chinese, Mexican, and European heritage middle adolescents (M_age = 16.37, SD = 0.77, 55% females). Three profiles emerged for both mothers and fathers: A majority profile for mothers consisting of adolescents who viewed personal activities and feelings as personal (i.e., private and not harmful), and much smaller sanction-driven and self-conscious profiles. With fathers, personal concerns were separated in the private profile, which also emphasized that fathers would not listen or understand, a harmless profile, and as with mothers, a sanction-driven profile. Overall, but varying in frequency for different profiles, middle adolescents emphasized personal concerns for not disclosing routine personal activities and psychological concerns for self nondisclosure. The profiles also differed by ethnicity/race, generational status, and trust in mothers and fathers. The father private profile and sanction-driven profiles with both parents were associated with more depressive symptoms and problem behavior relative to the other profiles. The results provide insight into why middle adolescents of diverse ethnicities do not disclose personal information to parents.

The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) used with adolescents - methodological report from clinical and community samples

PURPOSE

The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is a widely used retrospective screening tool for childhood maltreatment in adults. Its properties are less known in adolescents. The objective was to investigate acceptability and psychometric properties when used in adolescents.

METHOD

A community sample of adolescents (n=1885) in four waves (from 13 or 14 to 17 years old) and a clinical sample (n=74, mean age 18), both from Sweden, were used to assess acceptability and different aspects of validity and reliability.

RESULTS

The CTQ-SF was found to be well-accepted. As expected, the community sample scored lower than the clinical sample on all maltreatment-scales and showed stability over-time. In the community sample, internal consistencies were substantial or excellent for all scales except Physical neglect, and in the clinical sample this was found for all scales. One-year test-retest consistencies of subscales were substantial or almost perfect, and for all scales, they increased from early to mid-adolescence. Directed inconsistencies on item level decreased from early to mid-adolescence. Convergent validity was shown in relation to scales on family climate, parental relations, and emotional health also from early adolescence. Discriminant analyses showed more moderate discriminatory ability although almost seven times better than by-chance.

CONCLUSIONS

The CTQ is well accepted and can be trusted to provide consistent and valid self-reports from the age of 14 on childhood maltreatment. Some caution is advised when used with younger adolescents, since the test-retest stability is then weaker, and the interpretation of the M/D scale is more ambiguous.

Communicating and Connecting: Associations Between Daily Adolescent Disclosure and Mother-Adolescent Responsiveness

Adolescents who share information with their parents tend to have more positive parent-adolescent relationships. This brief report examined daily variability in adolescents' disclosure to mothers and mother-adolescent responsiveness. Using a 7-day intensive longitudinal design with 109 mother-adolescent (14-18 years) pairs, multilevel models revealed the amount of information adolescents disclosed to mothers varied day-to-day, according to both adolescent and mother reports. On days when adolescents perceived mothers to be more responsive than usual, adolescents were more likely to disclose. On days when mothers perceived adolescents to be more responsive than usual, mothers perceived more adolescent disclosure. Lastly, more responsive adolescents disclosed more on average across the week according to both adolescent and mother reports of disclosure compared to less responsive adolescents.

Adolescent smoking, alcohol use, inebriation, and use of narcotics during the Covid-19 pandemic

Background

The aim of the study was to investigate how general family relations, reported changes in family interaction and involvement with peers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and following rules and recommendations during the pandemic relate to adolescent smoking, alcohol use, inebriation, and use of narcotics during Covid-19.

Methods

An online national survey of Swedish adolescents (n = 1818) aged 15–19 years was conducted in June 2020. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to predict adolescents’ reported change in substance use during the pandemic. Person-oriented analyses, were used to identify clusters of participants characterized by similar patterns of substance use following ANOVA analysis with Scheffe post hoc tests testing differences between clusters in terms of family relations, reported changes in family interaction and involvement with peers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and following rules and recommendations during the pandemic.

Results

Higher general family conflict, increased involvement with peers, a strained relationship with parents, and less compliance with rules and restrictions during the pandemic predicted a reported increase in adolescent substance use during this period. The grouping of scores for adolescent smoking, alcohol use, inebriation, and use of narcotics resulted in a six-cluster solution. One cluster (n = 767) either did not use or had decreased use of substances during the Covid-19 pandemic. Five other clusters, thus risk clusters, had retained or increased use of substances during the pandemic. Poor general family relations, increased peer involvement, and difficulties to conform to the rules and restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic were characteristics of risk clusters.

Conclusions

Most of adolescents in our study did not increase their substance use during the pandemic. However, adolescents with poor family relations who turn to peers during stressful times and who have difficulty following the government’s rules and restrictions, are at risk of increased substance use during the pandemic. This is a potential threat both to adolescents themselves and others in their surroundings which is why at-risk adolescents and their families need more attention from public health and social services during this time of crisis.

Dealing With Dependent Effect Sizes in MASEM

Abstract. The objective of the present study was to examine whether different methods for dealing with dependency in meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) lead to different results. Four different methods for dealing with dependent effect sizes in MASEM were applied to empirical data, including: (1) ignoring dependency; (2) aggregation; (3) elimination; and (4) a multilevel approach. Random-effects two-stage structural equation modeling was conducted for each method separately, and potential moderators were examined using subgroup analysis. Results demonstrated that the different methods of dealing with dependency in MASEM lead to different results. Thus, the decision on which approach should be used in MASEM-analysis should be carefully considered. Given that the multilevel approach is the only approach that includes all available information while explicitly modeling dependency, it is currently the theoretically preferred approach for dealing with dependency in MASEM. Future research should evaluate the multilevel approach with simulated data.

Longitudinal Associations between Parental Support and Parental Knowledge on Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Adolescents

When testing longitudinal effects of parenting practices on adolescent adjustment, an integrated consideration of externalizing and internalizing behaviors is a gap in research. This study analyzed how parental support and parental knowledge directly and indirectly influence both antisocial behavior and emotional problems. The sample had 642 adolescents aged 12-15 (mean age = 12.49; 45.4% females) from Spain, who participated in a three-year long study. The results showed longitudinal bidirectional associations between parental support and parental knowledge. Only parental knowledge, however, directly predicted antisocial behavior and emotional problems. Parental support had an indirect effect on outcomes through the mediating effect of parental knowledge. This study has practical implications by indicating that increasing parental knowledge should be the target of educational-prevention programs.

Child disclosure, parental solicitation, and adjustment problems: Parental support as a mediator

Little is known about how perceived parental solicitation and child disclosure are negatively associated with early adolescent adjustment problems and/or if these associations are consistent across race/ethnic groups. This study used data from 209 early adolescents to examine perceived parental support as a mediator in the associations between perceived parental solicitation and child disclosure and subsequent adjustment problems, while also examining race/ethnic group differences across non-Hispanic White and Hispanic early adolescents using multi-group path analyses. Perceived parent support did not mediate the associations between child disclosure and perceived parental solicitation and subsequent adjustment problems. However, child disclosure was directly associated with subsequent conduct problems for Hispanic adolescents. Child disclosure and perceived parental solicitation may positively influence the parent-adolescent relationship by increasing parental support but may not entirely help in reducing the prevalence of adjustment problems. Child disclosure may be particularly beneficial for Hispanic early adolescents in reducing adjustment problems.

The Gratification of Psychological Needs and Well-Being Among Turkish Adolescents: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Links

Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), the present study tested a mediational model in a cross-sectional data and found that gratification of basic psychological needs (GBPN; autonomy, relatedness, and competence) in adolescents' relationships with their mother and father is linked with wellness (life satisfaction, problem-solving confidence, and anxiety), through family cohesion, and disclosure and secrecy from mother. Adolescents (N = 1,097; 61.6% girls, M_age  = 15.12, SD = 0.64; range = 14-16 years) were from nine public schools in Istanbul, Turkey. Findings showed that GBPN in the relationship with each parent has unique contribution to family cohesion, adolescent disclosure and secrecy from parents, and wellness. Findings also supported SDT's claim that GBPN is conducive to well-being cross-culturally.

Social Media Use and Monitoring for Adolescents With Depression and Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Study of Parent and Child Perspectives

BACKGROUND

Although youth report many positive experiences with social media (SM) use in their daily lives, adolescents with depression are more vulnerable to the risks of SM use than adolescents without depression. Parents protect adolescents with depression from the risks of SM use by monitoring their child's SM activity; however, this comes into conflict with the adolescent's need for autonomy in their web-based communication. The implications of SM use and monitoring for adolescents with depression and their parents are of particular relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic, as rates of SM use have increased in response to physical distancing measures.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore parent and child perspectives regarding the use and function of SM in the daily lives of adolescents with depression and parents' perceptions of and experience with monitoring their child's SM use.

METHODS

We conducted qualitative interviews with adolescents with depression (n=23) and one parent of each adolescent (n=23) between July 2013 and September 2014. The adolescents were patients seeking treatment for depression in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Data analysis included dyadic analysis of the adolescents' and parents' perspectives and qualitative descriptions of individual parent interviews to explore their experiences with SM use and monitoring. The construct of parental knowledge and factors hypothesized to contribute to parental knowledge, including adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control, were used to guide the codebook and dyadic data analysis.

RESULTS

Dyadic analyses showed that parents and their children disagreed on the use and function of SM in the daily lives of adolescents with depression, with adolescents viewing SM as a forum for honest expression of their emotions, whereas parents felt that their children's posts were inconsequential and interfered with the adolescents' lives. Furthermore, parents reported using a wide range of strategies to gain knowledge of their child's SM use to monitor their safety on SM, including direct solicitation and indirect solicitation, such as keeping the child's passwords, asking friends or siblings about their child's SM use, and restricting SM behavior and access to devices.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians should support adolescents with depression and their parents in finding common ground for an effective and acceptable monitoring approach. Resources are provided for clinicians navigating conversations about SM use and monitoring with adolescents with depression and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cross-Cultural Examination of Links between Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Psychological Problems in 12 Cultural Groups

Internalizing and externalizing problems increase during adolescence. However, these problems may be mitigated by adequate parenting, including effective parent-adolescent communication. The ways in which parent-driven (i.e., parent behavior control and solicitation) and adolescent-driven (i.e., disclosure and secrecy) communication efforts are linked to adolescent psychological problems universally and cross-culturally is a question that needs more empirical investigation. The current study used a sample of 1087 adolescents (M = 13.19 years, SD = 0.90, 50% girls) from 12 cultural groups in nine countries including China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States to test the cultural moderation of links between parent solicitation, parent behavior control, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent secrecy with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. The results indicate that adolescent-driven communication, and secrecy in particular, is intertwined with adolescents' externalizing problems across all cultures, and intertwined with internalizing problems in specific cultural contexts. Moreover, parent-driven communication efforts were predicted by adolescent disclosure in all cultures. Overall, the findings suggest that adolescent-driven communication efforts, and adolescent secrecy in particular, are important predictors of adolescent psychological problems as well as facilitators of parent-adolescent communication.

Adolescent–Parent Relationships: Progress, Processes, and Prospects

The nature of adolescent–parent relationships has been a topic of enduring concern in developmental science. In this article, we review theory and current research on several central topics. First, we define adolescence as a developmental period and briefly discuss current theoretical and analytical approaches. Then, we consider adolescent–parent relationship quality, including developmental trends and individual differences in negative interactions, positive relationships, and conflict resolution, as well as research that examines relationship quality within different family subsystems. Next, we discuss effects of emotional variability and flexibility on parent–adolescent relationships and review research on adolescents’ and parents’ beliefs about parental authority legitimacy. This is followed by a discussion of current research on parenting effects on adolescent–parent relationships, including approaches that provide greater specificity in defining parental control and its links with relationship quality, as well as research on parental monitoring and adolescent information management. We conclude this article with directions for future research.

Age-varying associations of parental knowledge and antisocial peer behavior with adolescent substance use

Antisocial peer behavior and low parental knowledge of adolescents' activities are key interpersonal risk factors for adolescent substance use. However, how the magnitude of associations between these risk factors and substance use may vary across adolescence remains less well understood. The present study examined the age-varying associations of parental knowledge and antisocial peer behavior with adolescents' substance use (i.e., cigarette use, drunkenness, and marijuana use) using time-varying effect modeling. Using data from the Promoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) study, the final sample consists of 8,222 adolescents, followed from Grade 6 to Grade 12 (age 11 to age 18.9), including those who newly joined the schools at the targeted grade levels. Results showed that low parental knowledge and antisocial peer behavior were significantly associated with the use of each of the three substances across the majority of adolescence. The magnitude of the associations between substance use and both risk factors decreased across age, except between peer risk and marijuana use. Further, there was a significant interaction between parent and peer risk factors such that low parental knowledge was less strongly associated with substance use at higher levels of antisocial peer behavior. Findings highlighted early adolescence as an important period to target parent and peer prevention and interventions for reducing early substance use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Delinquency: Unraveling Within-Family Processes from Between-Family Differences

Understanding the factors that predict adolescent delinquency is a key topic in parenting research. An open question is whether prior results indicating relative differences between families reflect the dynamic processes occurring within families. Therefore, this study investigated concurrent and lagged associations among parental behavioral control, parental solicitation, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency by separating between-family and within-family effects in three-wave annual data (N = 1515; Mage = 13.01 years at T1; 50.6% girls). At the within-family level, parental behavioral control negatively predicted adolescent delinquency. Adolescent disclosure and delinquency, and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation, reciprocally predicted each other. Parental solicitation negatively predicted parental behavioral control. The findings indicate a prominent role of adolescent disclosure in within-family processes concerning parental-adolescent communication and adolescent delinquency.

Examining the Bidirectional Associations between Adolescents' Disclosure, Parents' Solicitation, and Adjustment Problems among Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic Early Adolescents

Research indicates that parents' solicitation and adolescents' disclosure of information are negatively associated with adjustment problems (depressive symptoms and conduct problems). However, few studies examine the bidirectional associations between these variables with early adolescents in the United States or the race/ethnic group differences in these bidirectional associations. We examined cross-lagged associations and race/ethnic group differences between parents' solicitation, adolescents' disclosure and adjustment problems among 209 non-Hispanic White (61.2%) and Hispanic (38.8%) early adolescents (67.5% female) across a 1-year period. The findings indicated that adolescents' disclosure was negatively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms, while parents' solicitation was positively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms. No significant race/ethnic group differences were indicated. Family-based interventions should encourage adolescents to disclose information to parent(s) due to its promotive capabilities.

Do Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies Predict Deviant Peer Affiliation and Subsequent Substance Use?

Recent evidence suggests parent-adolescent discrepancies regarding adolescent disclosure can provide insight into parent-child relations and adolescent adjustment. However, pathways linking discrepancies to adjustment are not well known. We tested a model linking parent-adolescent discrepancies in disclosure to adolescent substance use through affiliation with deviant peers. Using three annual waves of data from a community-based study (N = 357; 91% African American; 53% female; M_age = 13.13 years, SD = 1.62 years at baseline), findings revealed that adolescent-reported secrecy and deviant peer affiliation were positively associated with substance use one and two years later, respectively, but there was no evidence of mediation. The results highlight associations of adolescent secrecy and adjustment, and the role peers play in adolescent substance use behaviors.

Adolescent Information Management and Parental Knowledge in Non-Latino White and Latino Youth Managing Type 1 Diabetes

Objectives

The objective of this study is to examine associations between adolescents' regulation of information about their type 1 diabetes (adolescent disclosure, secrecy), parental knowledge about their adolescent's diabetes management, diabetes outcomes (adherence, HbA1c), and depressive symptoms in Non-Latino White and Latino families.

Methods

In all, 118 adolescents (56 = Latino, 62 = Non-Latino White) completed surveys of disclosure to and secrecy from parents, parental knowledge of adolescent diabetes management, adherence, and depressive symptoms, and mothers completed measures of maternal knowledge and adolescent adherence. Glycemic control was extracted from medical records. Adolescents also completed structured interviews about parental knowledge about their diabetes-related problems.

Results

Interviews revealed that adolescent disclosure is the primary method by which parents gain knowledge about adolescent diabetes management problems. Adolescent disclosure to and secrecy from parents were uniquely associated with diabetes management and depressive symptoms independent of parental knowledge across ethnic groups; maternal reports of knowledge about her adolescent's diabetes care activities were associated with diabetes management independent of adolescent disclosure and secrecy.

Conclusions

Adolescent information management strategies are a primary means by which parents gain knowledge about diabetes, which may facilitate more effective management.

Meeting the goal of concurrent adolescent and adult licensure of HIV prevention and treatment strategies

The ability of adolescents to access safe and effective new products for HIV prevention and treatment is optimised by adolescent licensure at the same time these products are approved and marketed for adults. Many adolescent product development programmes for HIV prevention or treatment products may proceed simultaneously with adult phase III development programmes. Appropriately implemented, this strategy is not expected to delay licensure as information regarding product efficacy can often be extrapolated from adults to adolescents, and pharmacokinetic properties of drugs in adolescents are expected to be similar to those in adults. Finally, adolescents enrolled in therapeutic HIV prevention and treatment research can be considered adults, based on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and the appropriate application of state law. The FDA permits local jurisdictions to apply state and local HIV/sexually transmitted infection minor treatment laws so that adolescents who are HIV-positive or at risk of contracting HIV may be enrolled in therapeutic or prevention trials without obtaining parental permission.

Mexican Adolescents' Self-Reports of Parental Monitoring and Sexual Communication for Prevention of Sexual Risk Behavior

PURPOSE

Assess perceptions of parental monitoring and sexual communication for sexual health promotion among adolescents who are Mexican.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Adolescents (N=153, n=85 females, n=68 males) between 14years (n=80) and 15 years (n=73) were recruited at a public high school in Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. All participants were living with a parent(s). Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to assess sociodemographic characteristics of the group. Chi-square analyses were conducted to identify potential group differences among the adolescents by age, gender and sexual activity regarding responses to each item of the Spanish Version Parental Monitoring and Sexual Communication Scale (a=0.88).

RESULTS

Eleven percent of adolescents self-reported sexual activity. Significant group differences by age, gender and sexual activity were identified concerning parental monitoring and sexual communication including: less parental monitoring with older age (14 versus 15 year olds); more parental monitoring for females than males; less monitoring for sexually active adolescents; greater sexual communication for males than females, and among adolescents who were sexually active.

CONCLUSIONS

An assessment of adolescents' perceptions of parental monitoring and sexual communication is useful for development of strategies concerning sexual health promotion in Mexico.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The Spanish Version Parental Monitoring and Sexual Communication Scale can be used for assessment and modification of interventions for adolescent populations in Mexico. Information obtained from this assessment can be used to assist parents to enhance positive outcomes for parental monitoring and sexual communication with their children.

How Mental Health Interviews Conducted Alone, in the Presence of an Adult, a Child or Both Affects Adolescents' Reporting of Psychological Symptoms and Risky Behaviors

The normative process of autonomy development in adolescence involves changes in adolescents' information management typically characterized by decreasing disclosure and increasing concealment. These changes may have an important impact on the early detection and timely treatment of mental health conditions and risky behavior. Therefore, the objective was to extend our understanding of how these developmental changes in adolescent disclosure might impact adolescent mental health interviews. Specifically, we estimated the effects of third party presence and type of third party presence (adult, child, or both) on adolescents' reports of psychiatric symptoms, substance use, suicidal behavior, and childhood adversity. In this representative sample of 3005 adolescents from Mexico City (52.1 % female), administered the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI-A), adult presence influenced reporting the most; in their presence, adolescents reported more ADHD, parental mental illness and economic adversity, but less panic disorder, PTSD, drug use and disorder, and suicidal behavior. The presence of children was associated with increased odds of reporting conduct disorder, opportunity for drug use, parental criminal behavior, neglect, and the death of a parent. While adolescent information management strategies are normative and even desirable as a means of gaining emotional autonomy, they may also interfere with timely detection and treatment or intervention for mental health conditions and risky behaviors. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent Disclosure to Parents and Daily Management of Type 1 Diabetes

Objective

To examine how adolescents’ daily disclosure to parents about type 1 diabetes management may foster a process whereby parents gain knowledge and are viewed as helpful in ways that may aid diabetes management.

Methods

A total of 236 late adolescents (M age = 17.76) completed a 14-day diary where they reported daily disclosure to, and solicitation from, their parents, how knowledgeable and helpful parents were, and their self-regulation failures and adherence; blood glucose was gathered from meters.

Results

Multilevel models revealed that adolescent disclosure occurred in the context of greater parent solicitation and face-to-face contact and was positively associated with adolescents’ perceptions of parental knowledge and helpfulness. Disclosure to mothers (but not to fathers) was associated with better diabetes management (fewer self-regulation failures, better adherence).

Conclusions

Adolescent disclosure may be an important way that parents remain knowledgeable about diabetes management and provide assistance that serves to support diabetes management.

What parents don't know: Disclosure and secrecy in a sample of urban adolescents

Research with two-parent European households has suggested that secrecy, and not disclosure of information per se, predicts adolescent adjustment difficulties. The present study attempted to replicate this finding using data from a 4-wave study of 358 poor, urban adolescents (47% male; M age = 12 yrs) in the United States, most of whom (>92%) were African American. Adolescents self-reported secrecy, disclosure, depressive symptoms, and delinquency at each wave. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a two-factor model with secrecy and disclosure as separate, but correlated, factors was a better fit than a one-factor model. However, predictive models differed from previous research. Secrecy did not predict depressive symptoms, rather depressive symptoms predicted secrecy. For delinquency, there were significant paths from both secrecy to delinquency and delinquency to secrecy, as well as from delinquency to disclosure. These results did not differ by age or sex. Comparisons with previous findings are discussed.

Understanding How Mindful Parenting May Be Linked to Mother-Adolescent Communication

Researchers have sought to understand the processes that may promote effective parent-adolescent communication because of the strong links to adolescent adjustment. Mindfulness, a relatively new construct in Western psychology that derives from ancient Eastern traditions, has been shown to facilitate communication and to be beneficial when applied in the parenting context. In this article, we tested if and how mindful parenting was linked to routine adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation within a longitudinal sample of rural and suburban, early adolescents and their mothers (n = 432; mean adolescent age = 12.14, 46 % male, 72 % Caucasian). We found that three factors-negative parental reactions to disclosure, adolescent feelings of parental over-control, and the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship-mediated the association between mindful parenting and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation. Results suggest that mindful parenting may improve mother-adolescent communication by reducing parental negative reactions to information, adolescent perceptions of over-control, and by improving the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. The discussion highlights intervention implications and future directions for research.

Associations among solicitation, relationship quality, and adolescents' disclosure and secrecy with mothers and best friends

Disclosure and secrecy with mothers and best friends about personal, bad behavior, and multifaceted (e.g., staying out late) activities were examined using daily diaries among 102 ethnically diverse, urban middle adolescents (M = 15.18 years, SD = .89). Adolescents disclosed more and kept fewer secrets from best friends than from mothers and more frequently disclosed and kept secrets about their personal than their bad behavior and multifaceted activities. Better daily relationship quality was associated with more disclosure about personal and multifaceted activities and less secrecy about bad behaviors for both mothers and best friends. Overall, when mothers solicited information, adolescents disclosed more but also kept more secrets from them, whereas best friends' solicitation was mostly associated with more disclosure.

Secrecy From Parents and Type 1 Diabetes Management in Late Adolescence

OBJECTIVES

This study examined (a) associations of parent-adolescent relationship characteristics and adolescent problem behavior with late adolescents' secrecy from parents about type 1 diabetes management, and (b) whether secrecy was associated with diabetes and psychological outcomes independently of these factors.

METHODS

Adolescents (N = 247, Mage = 17.76 years) completed survey measures of diabetes-related secrecy from parents, disclosure, parental acceptance, parental knowledge, and conduct problems. Mothers and adolescents reported on adolescent adherence to diabetes regimens and adolescents reported their depressive symptoms. Glycemic control was obtained from HbA1c test kits.

RESULTS

Adolescent-reported disclosure to parents was uniquely negatively associated with secrecy from parents. Controlling for relationship variables, conduct problems, and sociodemographic and illness-related variables, secrecy from mothers was uniquely associated with poorer glycemic control and secrecy from both parents was associated with lower adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

Secrecy about type 1 diabetes management is uniquely associated with diabetes outcomes independent of other relationship characteristics and problem behaviors.

Adolescent disclosure of information about peers: the mediating role of perceptions of parents' right to know

Following the important insight that what parents know about their adolescent offspring depends primarily on what the child tells them, this study examines how attitudes about what parents have a right to know mediate the associations between several factors (quality of parent-child relationships, time spent with family and peers, levels of antisocial and prosocial behaviors, and gender and age) and adolescents' disclosures about peer relations. In two studies of early and middle adolescents (Ns = 231, 249; M ages = 14.5, 13.0; 62.3, 51.8 % female; 53.7, 67.5 % European American), a new measure of right-to-know attitudes is derived and then applied to four facets of adolescents' experiences with peers: details of activities with peers, issues in specific relationships, and positive and negative peer characteristics. The findings indicate that adolescents are more inclined to disclose certain aspects of their peer relations than others, but these inclinations are related to several factors-especially the quality of mother-child relationships and involvement in antisocial behavior-and mediated by adolescents' attitudes regarding what parents have a right to know about peers. The results are related to autonomy development and parental oversight of adolescent peer interactions.

Like parent, like child? Development of prejudice and tolerance towards immigrants

Although intergroup attitudes are assumed to develop due to the influence of parents, there is no longitudinal evidence supporting this claim. In addition, research on socialization of intergroup attitudes has omitted possible effects of adolescents on their parents. We also know little about the conditions under which intergroup attitudes are transmitted. This two-wave, 2 years apart, study of adolescents (N = 507) and their parents examined the relations between parents and adolescents' prejudice and tolerance from a longitudinal perspective. The study tested whether parental prejudice and tolerance would predict over-time changes in adolescents' attitudes and whether adolescents' prejudice and tolerance would elicit changes in parental attitudes. Additionally, it explored whether some of the effects would depend on perceived parental support. Results showed significant bidirectional influences between parents and adolescents' attitudes. In addition, adolescents who perceived their parents as supportive showed higher parent-adolescent correspondence in prejudice than youth with low parental support. These findings show that intergroup attitudes develop as a result of mutual influences between parents and adolescents. Hence, the unidirectional transmission model and previous research findings should be revisited. The results also suggest that parents' prejudice influence adolescents' attitudes to the extent that youth perceive their parents as supportive.