Skip to main content

Lying Behavior, Family Functioning and Adjustment in Early Adolescence

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 35, pages 949–958 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Communication between children and parents has been the subject of several studies, examining the effects of, for example, disclosure and secrecy on adolescents’ social relationships and adjustment. Less attention has paid to adolescent deception. We developed and tested a new instrument on lying behavior in a sample of 671 parent-adolescent couples. Analyses on the psychometric properties showed that this instrument had one principal component, and high internal consistency, item-total correlations and inter-item correlations. Lying was moderately associated with other indicators of parent-child communication, the quality of the parent-child relationship, and with parenting practices. In addition, frequent lying was moderately related to behavioral problems and emotional problems.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

References

  • Achenbach TM (1991) Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen JP, Hauser ST, Bell KL, O’Connor TG (1994) Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego development and self-esteem. Child Dev 65:179–194

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armsden GC, Greenberg MT (1987) The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. J Youth Adolesc 16:427–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Backbier E, Hoogstraten J, Meerum Terwogt-Kouwenhoven K (1997) Situational determinants of the acceptability of telling lies. J Appl Soc Psychol 27:1048–1062

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botvin GJ, Botvin EM (1992) Adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse: Prevention strategies, empirical findings, and assessment issues. J Dev Behav Pediatr 13:290–301

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown BB, Mounts NS, Lamborn SD, Steinberg L (1993) Parenting practices and peer group affiliation in adolescence. Child Dev 64:467–482

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R (1983) A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav 24:385–396

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • DePaulo BM, Kashy DA, Kirkendol SE, Wyer MM, Epstein JA (1996) Lying in everyday life. J Pers Soc Psychol 70:979–995

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman RS, Tomasian JC, Coats EJ (1999) Nonverbal deception abilities and adolescents’ social competence: Adolescents with higher social skills are better liars. J Nonverbal Behav 23:237–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finkenauer C, Engels RCME, Baumeister RW (2005) Parenting and adolescent externalizing and internalizing problems: The role of self-control. Int J Behav Dev 29:58–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finkenauer C, Engels RCME, Meeus W (2002) Keeping secrets from parents: Advantages and disadvantages of secrecy in adolescence. J Youth Adolesc 31:123–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gervais J, Tremblay RE, Desmarais-Gervais L, Vitaro F (2000) Children’s persistent lying, gender differences, and disruptive behaviours: A longitudinal perspective. Int J Behav Dev 24:213–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpert E (2000) On lying and the lie of a toddler. Psychoanal Q 69:659–675

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Houtzager B, Baerveldt C (1999) Just like normal: A social network study of the relation between petty crime and the intimacy of adolescent friendships. Soc Behav Pers 27:177–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kashy DA, DePaulo BM (1996) Who lies? J Pers Soc Psychol 70:1037–1051

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr M, Stattin H (2000) What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment. Dev Psychol 36:366–380

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson DG, Chastain RL (1990) Self-concealment: Conceptualization, measurement, and health implications. J Soc Clin Psychol 9:439–455

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee K, Ross HJ (1997) The concept of lying in adolescents and young adults: Testing Sweetser’s folkloristic model. Merrill-Palmer Q 43:255–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller LC, Berg JH, Archer RL (1983) Openers: Individuals who elicit intimate self-disclosure. J Pers Soc Psychol 44:1234–1244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg M (1965) Society and the Adolescent Self-image. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell D, Peplau LA, Cutrona CE (1980) The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. J Pers Soc Psychol 39:472–480

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stattin H, Kerr M (2000) Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Dev 1:1072–1085

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stouthamer-Loeber M (1986) Lying as a problem behavior in children: A review. Clin Psychol Rev 6:267–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tagney JP, Baumeister RF (2000) High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Manuscript submitted for publication. George Mason University

  • Verhulst FC, van der Ende J, Koot HM (1996) Handleiding voor de Youth Self-Report (YSR). Rotterdam: Erasmus Universiteit/Sophia Kinderziekenhuis, Afdeling Kinder-en Jeugdpsychiatrie

Download references

Acknowledgements

Rutger Engels was supported by a fellowship of the Dutch Organization of Scientific Research during the preparation of this manuscript. We would like to acknowledge a grant of the Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, for conducting the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Rutger C. M. E. Engels

  2. Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Catrin Finkenauer

  3. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Dyana C. van Kooten

Authors
  1. Rutger C. M. E. Engels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Catrin Finkenauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dyana C. van Kooten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rutger C. M. E. Engels.

Additional information

full professor at the Radboud University Nijmegen. He received his Ph.D. in 1998 from the University of Maastricht. His major research interest is the study of social influence processes, personality characteristics and development of smoking, drinking and drug use in adolescents and young adults.

Associate Professor at the Free University of Amsterdam. She received her Ph.D. in 1998 from the University of Louvain, at Louvain-la-Neuve. Her major research interests are interpersonal relationships, social prediction, secrecy and disclosure, and affective forecasting for self and others.

working as a developmental psychologist. She received her MA in 2001 from the University of Leiden.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Engels, R.C.M.E., Finkenauer, C. & van Kooten, D.C. Lying Behavior, Family Functioning and Adjustment in Early Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 35, 949–958 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9082-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9082-1

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Lying
  • Parents
  • Communication
  • Adjustment