Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Self-Esteem Mediates Longitudinal Associations from Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting to Adjustment

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study examines direct and indirect associations between perceptions of parenting and adolescent adjustment. We focus on self-esteem as an intervening variable. Participants included 446 girls and 471 boys ages 14 to 17 (M = 15.64) at the outset. A community sample of high school students was tracked for 3 consecutive years, completing annual surveys describing perceptions of parenting (i.e., psychological control and support), self-esteem, and adjustment (i.e., internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms). Longitudinal bidirectional associations emerged between adolescent perceptions of parenting (psychological control and support) and adolescent adjustment (externalizing and internalizing symptoms). Full longitudinal mediation analyses confirmed the hypothesized indirect links from perceived parenting to adolescent internalizing symptoms through adolescent self-esteem. High psychological control and low connectedness were associated with subsequent decreases in self-esteem, which, in turn, were associated with later increases in internalizing symptoms. Psychological control and connectedness also directly (but not indirectly) predicted changes in adolescent externalizing symptoms. Perceived psychological control and a lack of relatedness undercut self-confidence and undermine feelings of positive self-regard, which can eventually widen into more serious manifestations of psychological distress.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrindell, W. A., Richter, J., Eisemann, M., Gärling, T., Rydén, O., Hansson, S. B., Kasielke, E., Frindte, W., Gillholm, R., & Gustafsson, M. (2001). The short-EMBU in East-Germany and Sweden: A cross-national factorial validity extension. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 42(2), 157–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9450.00226.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67(6), 3296–3319. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131780.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. K., & Schluterman, J. M. (2008). Connectedness in the lives of children and adolescents: A call for greater conceptual clarity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 43, 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.01.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. K., Stolz, H. E., & Olsen, J. A. (2005). Parental support, psychological control, and behavioral control: Assessing relevance across time, culture, and method. Monographs for Society for Research in Child Development, 70(4), 1–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergh, D. (2015). Sample size and chi-squared test of fit—A comparison between a random sample approach and a chi-square value adjustment method using Swedish adolescent data. In Pacific rim objective measurement symposium (PROMS) 2014 conference proceedings (pp. 197–211). Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bögels, S. M., & van Melick, M. (2004). The relationship between child-report, parent self-report, and partner report of perceived parental rearing behaviors and anxiety in children and parents. Personality and Individual Differences, 37(8), 1583–1596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.02.014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudreault-Bouchard, A., Dion, J., Hains, J., Vandermeerschen, J., Laberge, L., & Perron, M. (2013). Impact of parental emotional support and coercive control on adolescents’ self-esteem and psychological distress: Results of a four-year longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescence, 36(4), 695–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.05.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burk, W. J., & Laursen, B. (2010). Mother and adolescent reports of associations between child behavior problems and mother-child relationship qualities: Separating shared variance from individual variance. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 657–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cappa, K. A., Begle, A. M., Conger, J. C., Dumas, J. E., & Conger, A. J. (2011). Bidirectional relationships between parenting stress and child coping competence: Findings from the PACE study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20(3), 334–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9397-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, K. J., Conger, R. D., & Scaramella, L. V. (1997). Parents, siblings, psychological control, and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(1), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743554897121007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, C. H. (1902). Looking-glass self. The production of reality: Essays and readings on social interaction, 6.

  • Day, R. D., & Padilla-Walker, L. M. (2009). Mother and father connectedness and involvement during early adolescence. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(6), 900–904. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Los Reyes, A., Lerner, M. D., Thomas, S. A., Daruwala, S., & Goepel, K. (2013). Discrepancies between parent and adolescent beliefs about daily life topics and performance on an emotion recognition task. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(6), 971–982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9733-0.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • DeLay, D., Hafen, C. A., Cunha, J. M., Weber, L. N., & Laursen, B. (2013). Perceptions of parental support buffer against depression for Brazilian youth with interpersonal difficulties. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37(1), 29–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson, D. J., Huey, M., Laursen, B., Kiuru, N., & Nurmi, J. E. (2018). Parent contributions to friendship stability during the primary school years. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(2), 217–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnellan, M. B., Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2005). Low self-esteem is related to aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency. Psychological Science, 16(4), 328–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01535.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fanti, K. A., Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K. A., & Kuperminc, G. P. (2008). Toward a transactional model of parent-adolescent relationship quality and adolescent psychological adjustment. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 28(2), 252–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431607312766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felson, R. B., & Zielinski, M. A. (1989). Children’s self-esteem and parental support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 727–735. https://doi.org/10.2307/352171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, M. S., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2012). Mediation models for developmental data. In B. Laursen, T. D. Little, & N. A. Card (Eds.), Handbook of developmental research methods (pp. 291–310). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garber, J., Robinson, N. S., & Valentiner, D. (1997). The relation between parenting and adolescent depression: Self-worth as a mediator. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(1), 12–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743554897121003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guimond, F. A., Laursen, B., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Dionne, G., & Boivin, M. (2016). Associations between mother–child relationship quality and adolescent adjustment: Using a genetically controlled design to determine the direction and magnitude of effects. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(3), 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025415620059.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hafen, C. A., & Laursen, B. (2009). More problems and less support: Early adolescent adjustment forecasts changes in perceived support from parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(2), 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015077.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Haney, P., & Durlak, J. A. (1998). Changing self-esteem in children and adolescents: A meta-analytical review. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27(4), 423–433. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2704_6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaslow, N. J., Broth, M. R., Smith, C. O., & Collins, M. H. (2012). Family-based interventions for child and adolescent disorders. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(1), 82–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00257.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.).

  • Kling, K. C., Hyde, J. S., Showers, C. J., & Buswell, B. N. (1999). Gender differences in self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125(4), 470–500. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.125.4.470.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuppens, S., Grietens, H., Onghena, P., & Michiels, D. (2009). Relations between parental psychological control and childhood relational aggression: Reciprocal in nature? Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38(1), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410802575354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, B., & Collins, W. A. (2009). Parent-child relationships during adolescence (pp. 3–42). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, B., Furman, W., & Mooney, K. S. (2006). Predicting interpersonal competence and self-worth from adolescent relationships and relationship networks: Variable-centered and person-centered perspectives. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (1982-), 572–600.

  • Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Gestsdottir, S., Naudeau, S., Jeličić, H., Alberts, A. E., Ma, L., Smith, L. M., Bobek, D. L., Richman-Raphael, D., Simpson, I., Christiansen, E. D., & von Eye, A. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions o fifth grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4-H study of positive youth development. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 17–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604272461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loukas, A., Ripperger-Suhler, K. G., & Horton, K. D. (2009). Examining temporal associations between school connectedness and early adolescent adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(6), 804–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Rutter, M., & Silva, P. A. (2001). Sex differences in antisocial behaviour: Conduct disorder, delinquency, and violence in the Dunedin longitudinal study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511490057.005.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2015). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2008). Low self-esteem prospectively predicts depression in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(3), 695–708. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.695.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., Widaman, K. F., & Conger, R. D. (2014). Is low self-esteem a risk factor for depression? Findings from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth. Developmental Psychology, 50(2), 622–633. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033817.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oudekerk, B. A., Allen, J. P., Hessel, E. T., & Molloy, L. E. (2015). The cascading development of autonomy and relatedness from adolescence to adulthood. Child Development, 86(2), 472–485. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parra Jiménez, Á., & Oliva Delgado, A. (2002). Comunicación y conflicto familiar durante la adolescencia. Anales de psicología, 18(2), 215–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R., & Capaldi, D. M. (1990). A mediational model for boys’ depressed mood. Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology, 141163. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511752872.010

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pinquart, M. (2017). Associations of parenting dimensions and styles with externalizing problems: An updated meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 53(5), 873–932. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Plunkett, S. W., Henry, C. S., Robinson, L. C., Behnke, A., & Falcon, P. C. (2007). Adolescent perceptions of parental behaviors, adolescent self-esteem, and adolescent depressed mood. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16(6), 760–772. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-006-9123-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Serbin, L. A., Kingdon, D., Ruttle, P. L., & Stack, D. M. (2015). The impact of children’s internalizing and externalizing problems on parenting: Transactional processes and reciprocal change over time. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4pt1), 969–986. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415000632.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sharabany, R., Eshel, Y., & Hakim, C. (2008). Boyfriend, girlfriend in a traditional society: Parenting styles and development of intimate friendships among Arabs in school. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32(1), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025407084053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shek, D. T. (2007). A longitudinal study of perceived parental psychological control and psychological well-being in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445. https://doi.org/10.1037//1082-989x.7.4.422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small, S. A., & Kerns, D. (1993). Unwanted sexual activity among peers during early and middle adolescence: Incidence and risk factors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 55(4), 941–952. https://doi.org/10.2307/352774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2008). Maladaptive perfectionism as an intervening variable between psychological control and adolescent depressive symptoms: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(3), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.3.465.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental psychological control: Proposing new insights on the basis of self-determination theory. Developmental Review, 30(1), 74–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2009.11.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4), 1072–1085. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trzesniewski, K. H., Donnellan, M. B., Moffitt, T. E., Robins, R. W., Poulton, R., & Caspi, A. (2006). Low self-esteem during adolescence predicts poor health, criminal behavior, and limited economic prospects during adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 381–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.381.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children's depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(4), 578–588. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-843x.111.4.578.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Valdes, O. M., Laursen, B., Guimond, F. A., Hartl, A. C., & Denner, J. (2016). Maternal psychological control and its association with mother and child perceptions of adolescent adjustment: More evidence on the strength of shared perspectives. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 2151–2163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widaman, K. F., & Thompson, J. S. (2003). On specifying the null model for incremental fit indices in structural equation modeling. Psychological Methods, 8(1), 16–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989x.8.1.16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Žukauskienė, R., Truskauskaitė Kunevičienė, I., Kaniušonytė, G., & Crocetti, E. (2017). How do Lithuanian adolescents address identity questions? A four-wave longitudinal study on change and stability in identity styles. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 41–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2017.1285762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York Institute of Technology, 16 West 61st Street, New York, NY, 10023, USA

    Melissa Huey

  2. Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA

    Brett Laursen

  3. Mykolas Romeris University, Didlaukio g. 55, 08303, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Goda Kaniušonytė, Oksana Malinauskienė & Rita Žukauskienė

Authors
  1. Melissa Huey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brett Laursen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Goda Kaniušonytė
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Oksana Malinauskienė
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rita Žukauskienė
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Huey.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Consistent with national policy procedures, parents were informed about the study by letter and asked to contact the school if they did not want their children to participate.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

POSIDEV was funded by a grant to Rita Žukauskienė from the European Social Fund under the Global Grant Measure, VP1-3.1-SMM-07-02-008. Brett Laursen received support for the preparation of this manuscript from the US National Science Foundation (0923745, 0909733) and the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD096457).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huey, M., Laursen, B., Kaniušonytė, G. et al. Self-Esteem Mediates Longitudinal Associations from Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting to Adjustment. J Abnorm Child Psychol 48, 331–341 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00599-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00599-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation