Extending Knowledge of Parents’ Role in Adolescent Development: The Mediating Effect of Self-esteem

Abstract

Historically, scholars have consistently linked dimensions of parenting (e.g., support, control) to adolescent outcomes (e.g., internalizing and externalizing problems). Many now are working to identify the possible mechanisms that underlie these parenting effects. The present study extended an existing model by hypothesizing and testing adolescent self-esteem as a mediator of the association between perceived parenting (parental support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and youth outcomes (social initiative, depression, and antisocial behavior). Results from structural equation analyses of two, consecutive years of data from adolescents in the southwestern US showed that two aspects of self-esteem (i.e., positive self-esteem and self-derogation) mediated the effects of mothers’ and fathers’ psychological control on adolescent depression and antisocial behavior. The effects of maternal and paternal support and behavioral control were not mediated by adolescent self-esteem. Implications are discussed.