Abstract
The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine the associations among peer attachment, warmth from the mother and father, strict control by the mother and father, prosocial behavior, and physical and verbal aggression in adolescence. Few longitudinal studies have examined how peer attachment and parenting styles of the mother and father relate to prosocial behavior and aggression. Participants were 192 boys and 255 girls (M = 14.70 years; SD = 0.68) in wave 1. In the study participated 11 schools. For three successive years, participants reported on their fathers’ and mothers’ warmth and strict control, peer attachment, prosocial behavior, and aggression. Structural equations modeling was employed to explore two longitudinal models. Results show the influence of the mother and father on prosocial and aggression during adolescence. In addition, strong peer attachment predicted prosocial behavior in subsequent years. Therefore, the findings indicate that despite the increasingly important role of friends during the transition from childhood to adolescence, parenting styles play a key role in the personal and social development of their children. Programs aimed at preventing aggression should be designed considering the importance of stimulating and strengthening prosocial behavior, peer attachment and a family environment of affect, support and communication.
Highlights
Prosocial behavior and aggression are commonly observed social behavior that have important health and social implications (Carlo, 2006; Carlo et al, 2012a)
The main aim of this longitudinal study was to determine the relationships among peer attachment, warmth from the mother and father, strict control by the mother and father, prosocial behavior, and aggression in adolescence
With respect to the first hypothesis in which we argued that parenting styles built on warmth from the mother and father are related to greater peer attachment, whereas strict control by parents is not conducive to peer attachment, results in the concurrent model confirm that parenting characterized by affect and support from the mother is related to greater peer attachment, whereas strict control from the father does not promote peer attachment (Delgado et al, 2011; Samper et al, 2015)
Summary
Prosocial behavior and aggression are commonly observed social behavior that have important health and social implications (Carlo, 2006; Carlo et al, 2012a). Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior aimed at benefiting others. Such behavior includes sharing, caring and helping (Batson, 2011). Prosocial behavior enables social relationships and mitigates undesirable behavior while encouraging well-being and social adjustment, which in turn lead to positive development. Prosocial tendencies promote popularity among peers and help people to trust their own skills and positive emotions (Caprara et al, 2012; Caprara, 2014; Luengo et al, 2014)
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