Associations among the parent-adolescent relationship, aggression and delinquency in different ethnic groups: a replication across two Dutch samples.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study is to examine whether the patterns of association between the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship on the one hand, and aggression and delinquency on the other hand, are the same for boys and girls of Dutch and Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands. Since inconsistent results have been found previously, the present study tests the replicability of the model of associations in two different Dutch samples of adolescents.


METHODS
Study 1 included 288 adolescents (M age = 14.9, range 12-17 years) all attending lower secondary education. Study 2 included 306 adolescents (M age = 13.2, range = 12-15 years) who were part of a larger community sample with oversampling of at risk adolescents.


RESULTS
Multigroup structural analyses showed that neither in Study 1 nor in Study 2 ethnic or gender differences were found in the patterns of associations between support, autonomy, disclosure, and negativity in the parent-adolescent relationship and aggression and delinquency. The patterns were largely similar for both studies. Mainly negative quality of the relationship in both studies was found to be strongly related to both aggression and delinquency.


CONCLUSIONS
Results show that family processes that affect adolescent development, show a large degree of universality across gender and ethnicity.
Eichelsheim
Veroni I
VI
Research Centre Psychosocial Development in Context, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. v.i.eichelsheim@uu.nl
Buist
Kirsten L
KL
Deković
Maja
M
Wissink
Inge B
IB
Frijns
Tom
T
van Lier
Pol A C
PA
Koot
Hans M
HM
Meeus
Wim H J
WH
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco / Q000208:ethnology; D009426:Netherlands; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data