Abstract
A 2-wave survey study among 1173 10–14-year-olds tested the longitudinal contribution of secrecy from parents to psychosocial and behavioral problems in adolescence. Additionally, it investigated a hypothesized contribution of secrecy from parents to adolescent development by examining its relation with self-control. Results showed that keeping secrets from parents is associated with substantial psychosocial and behavioral disadvantages in adolescence even after controlling for possible confounding variables, including communication with parents, trust in parents, and perceived parental supportiveness. Contrary to prediction, secrecy was also negatively associated with feelings of self-control. Secrecy from parents thus appears to be an important risk factor for adolescent psychosocial well-being and behavioral adjustment.
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PhD student, Department of Social Psychology, Free University, The Netherlands. Received Master’s degree in social psychology at Utrecht University. Research interests are workings and consequences of secrecy in adolescence and adulthood, and evolutionary approaches to studying human social behavior.
Associate Professor, Department of Social Psychology, Free University, The Netherlands. Received PhD in clinical and social psychology at the University of Louvain, at Louvain-la-Neuve. Research interests are communication and relationships in adolescence and the conceptualization and measurement of secrecy.
Assistant Professor, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Research interests are family, work-stress, and methodological issues in multivariate longitudinal analyses.
Professor, Institute of Family and Child Care Studies, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Research interests are friendships, family relationships, and substance use and abuse in adolescence.
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Frijns, T., Finkenauer, C., Vermulst, A.A. et al. Keeping Secrets From Parents: Longitudinal Associations of Secrecy in Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 34, 137–148 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-3212-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-3212-z