Brief report: Agreement between parent and adolescent autonomy expectations and its relationship to adolescent adjustment.
While disagreement in autonomy expectations between parents and their adolescent children is normative, it may also compromise adolescent adjustment. This study examines the association between parents' and adolescents' agreement on autonomy expectations by cognitive social domains and adolescent adjustment. A sample of 211 Chilean dyads of adolescents (57% female, Mage= 15.29 years) and one of their parents (82% mothers, Mage= 44.36 years) reported their expectations for the age at which adolescents should decide on their own regarding different issues in their life. Indexes of parent-adolescent agreement on autonomy expectations were estimated for issues of personal and prudential domains. Greater agreement in the prudential than in the personal domain was observed. For boys and girls, higher agreement in adolescent-parent autonomy expectations in the personal domain was associated with lower substance use. A negative association between level of agreement in adolescent-parent autonomy expectations in the prudential domain and externalizing behaviors and substance use was found.
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Desarrollo, Avda. La Plaza 680, San Carlos de Apoquindo, Las Condes, 7610658, Santiago, Chile; Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, 7820436, Chile. Electronic address: janetperez@udd.cl.
J Carola
JC
Pérez
Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, 7820436, Chile. Electronic address: pcumsill@uc.cl.
Patricio
P
Cumsille
Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, 7820436, Chile. Electronic address: mlmartig@uc.cl.
M Loreto
ML
Martínez
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Adolescent adjustment; Autonomy expectations; Parent–adolescent agreement