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Parenting and Friendship Quality as Predictors of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Early Adolescence

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Abstract

Research indicates both parents and peers influence child and adolescent adjustment outcomes. Moreover, friendship quality has been found to buffer the influence of parenting on adolescent adjustment, particularly externalizing symptoms. Little to no research, however, has longitudinally examined whether friendship quality moderates the relation between parenting and adolescent internalizing symptoms. Accordingly, our study examines friendship quality as a moderator of the relation between parenting (positive parenting, poor parental monitoring, inconsistent discipline, parental involvement) and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms over one year’s time. The sample included 65 early adolescents (67% male), ages 10–13 at initial assessment. Friendship quality buffered the effect of positive parenting on internalizing symptoms over time. However, no moderating effects for externalizing symptoms were found. Implications and further directions are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was presented at the Society for Research in Adolescence biennial meeting held March 6–9, 2008 in Chicago, IL. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA14386) awarded to the third author and a SUNY Graduate Student Employee Union Professional Development Award to the second author. We would like to thank members of the research team for their help with data collection. Finally, we would like to thank the families who participated in our study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Alden E. Gaertner & Paula J. Fite

  2. Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York

    Craig R. Colder

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  1. Alden E. Gaertner
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  2. Paula J. Fite
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  3. Craig R. Colder
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Correspondence to Alden E. Gaertner.

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Gaertner, A.E., Fite, P.J. & Colder, C.R. Parenting and Friendship Quality as Predictors of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Early Adolescence. J Child Fam Stud 19, 101–108 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9289-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9289-3

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