title: Impact of parental emotional support and coercive control on adolescents' self-esteem and psychological distress: results of a four-year longitudinal study.
abstract: This study aims at investigating the impact of parental practices on youths' adjustment. In all, 605 adolescents completed questionnaires at ages 14, 16 and 18. Self-esteem, psychological distress as well as parental emotional support and coercive control were measured. Analyses based on individual growth models revealed that self-esteem increased with age, but psychological distress remained stable over time. Boys reported higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of psychological distress than girls. Maternal and paternal emotional support reinforced self-esteem over time. Maternal coercive control undermined self-esteem, but only at ages 16 and 18. Psychological distress decreased with parental emotional support but increased with parental coercive control at ages 14, 16 and 18. Overall, these results indicate that positive parental practices are related to youths' well-being. These findings support the importance of establishing intervention strategies designed to promote best practices among parents of teenagers to help them develop into well-adjusted adults.
authors.affiliation: Département des sciences de la santé, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 bl. Université, Saguenay, Québec, Canada, G7H 2B1. annemarie.bbouchard@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Boudreault-Bouchard
authors.forename: Jacinthe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dion
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hains
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandermeerschen
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Laberge
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perron
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001318:Authoritarianism; D003068:Coercion; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Parental control; Parental practices; Parental support; Psychological distress; Self-esteem