Parent and adolescent intentions to disclose and links to positive social behavior.

Abstract

Children's disclosure to parents as a buffer against antisocial behavior, and its parenting antecedents, have been extensively studied in recent years. The influence of parents' own disclosure on children's disclosure and positive social behavior has received little attention, however. We assessed mothers' (n = 149), fathers' (n= 105), and 12- to 14-year-old early adolescents' (n = 127) intentions to disclose about distress-related events and rule transgressions, their reasons for disclosing, and links to positive social behavior (assessed by mothers' ratings of willing compliance and by teachers' [n = 114] ratings of prosocial behavior). Parents reported that they disclosed to teach lessons or to encourage their children to disclose, whereas adolescents said they disclosed for comfort and advice. Child intention to disclose about distressing events mediated between mother (but not father) intention to disclose about these same issues and children's willing compliance, but not prosocial behavior in the classroom. Parent and child disclosure about rule transgressions were not related.