Longitudinal associations among routine disclosure, the parent–child relationship, and adolescents’ prosocial and delinquent behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore whether routine child disclosure to parents was longitudinally related to adolescent prosocial and delinquent outcomes via the parent–child relationship (parental knowledge, parental autonomy granting, and parental warmth/support). The participants included 463 adolescents (48% male, 73% European American, 37% single parent families) and their mothers and fathers who completed questionnaires across three waves from early to late adolescence ( M age of adolescent at Time 1 = 13 years old, Time 3 = 17 years old). The results showed that routine child disclosure was longitudinally associated with prosocial behavior toward family via greater parental warmth. Child disclosure was negatively related to delinquency via parental knowledge. Implications regarding the role of child disclosure on the parent–child relationship and the development of adolescent behavior are discussed.