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An Examination of the Reciprocal Relationships Between Adolescents’ Aggressive Behaviors and Their Perceptions of Parental Nurturance

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 40, pages 207–220 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

This study examined reciprocal relationships between adolescents’ perceptions of parental nurturance and two types of adolescent aggressive behaviors (indirect and direct aggression) using a transactional model. Three waves of longitudinal data were drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The sample included 1,416 (735 female) adolescents who were 10- and 11-year-olds at Time 1 and became 14-and 15-year-olds at Time 3. The findings failed to support reciprocal effects, but confirmed parental effects at different ages for girls and boys. For girls, perceptions of parental nurturance at age 10 were negatively associated with both indirect and direct aggression at age 12. For boys, perceptions of parental nurturance at age 12 were negatively associated with both aggressive behaviors at age 14. Future research should continue to investigate reciprocal effects in parent-adolescent relationships to identify developmental periods where the effect of adolescents’ or their parents’ behavior may be stronger.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support given to Rübab G. Arım through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) doctoral fellowship and SSHRC- Initiative on the New Economy (INE) funding.

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Affiliations

  1. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Rübab G. Arım

  2. School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    V. Susan Dahinten

  3. School of Social Work, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Sheila K. Marshall

  4. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Jennifer D. Shapka

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  1. Rübab G. Arım
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  2. V. Susan Dahinten
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  4. Jennifer D. Shapka
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Correspondence to Rübab G. Arım.

Appendix

Appendix

Polychoric correlations between all items at each age group, separately for each gender and aggressive behavior (see Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Table 1 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the indirect aggression scale items at age 10
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Table 2 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the indirect aggression scale items at age 12
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Table 3 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the indirect aggression scale items at age 14
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Table 4 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the direct aggression scale items at age 10
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Table 5 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the direct aggression scale items at age 12
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Table 6 Polychoric correlations between the parental nurturance and the direct aggression scale items at age 14
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Arım, R.G., Dahinten, V.S., Marshall, S.K. et al. An Examination of the Reciprocal Relationships Between Adolescents’ Aggressive Behaviors and Their Perceptions of Parental Nurturance. J Youth Adolescence 40, 207–220 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9493-x

Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Aggressive behavior
  • Parental nurturance
  • Reciprocal
  • Transactional model