The relation of parental practices and self-conceptions to young adolescent problem behaviors and substance use

Abstract

The object of the present research was to examine the role of parenting practices for young adolescent psychosocial adjustment and self-regulation problems. The sample included 287 sixth- and seventh-grade subjects from intact families. The participants completed a questionnaire that measured variables including family interaction, parental involvement in children's activities, parental support, joint decision-making, and monitoring of children's behavior. Children's involvement with friends, after-school activities, school achievement, and self-reported externalizing behaviors (problem behaviors, cigarette and alcohol use) were also measured. Self-concept domains (scholastic competence, social acceptance, and behavioral conduct) were assessed with Harter's Self-Perception Profile. The findings indicated that self-conceptions of positive behavioral conduct and higher parental monitoring of children's activities were consistently negatively related to young girls' and boys' behavior problems and substance use. Parental monitoring was higher for girls and for younger children. Lower monitoring was also related to children's pattern of after-school activities that were connected to at-risk behavior. Parental involvement and supervision of children's day-to-day activities seem particularly important in socializing children's behavior at the time of early adolescence.