Disclosure and Monitoring as Predictors of Mother–Adolescent Agreement in Reports of Early Adolescent Rule-Breaking Behavior

Abstract

The current study tested whether greater monitoring by mothers and greater disclosure by early adolescents was linked to greater agreement in mothers’ and adolescents’ reports of rule-breaking behavior. In doing so, the article demonstrated how polynomial regression analyses can be used to test hypotheses in which informant discrepancies serve as the dependent variable. Data were obtained from 218 mother–adolescent dyads (M adolescent age = 11.5 years, 51% female, 49% European American, 47% African American). Mothers and early adolescents provided reports of their perceptions of maternal monitoring (i.e., solicitation and control through rules), adolescent disclosure, and adolescent rule-breaking behavior. Polynomial regression models tested monitoring and disclosure as moderators of the association between mothers’ and adolescents’ reports of the adolescents’ rule-breaking behavior. Mothers’ reports of rule-breaking behavior were more strongly associated with adolescents’ reports of their own rule-breaking behavior when mothers reported engaging in more solicitation or control through rules. There was less agreement in mothers’ and adolescents’ reports of rule breaking when adolescents reported that their mothers engaged in more solicitation. Adolescent disclosure did not moderate agreement in reported rule-breaking behavior. Greater monitoring by mothers may reduce the discrepancy in mother–adolescent reports of rule-breaking behavior. Findings also demonstrate the greater validity of polynomial regression approaches over difference scores when testing hypotheses with informant agreement as the outcome.