The role of observed autonomy support, reciprocity, and need satisfaction in adolescent disclosure about friends

Abstract

Although research increasingly addresses the role of parenting in fostering adolescent disclosure, most research relied on self-report measures of parenting and did not address the role of autonomy support. In the present observational study (conducted in Belgium), with 62 motheradolescent dyads (mean age mothers = 44 years; mean age adolescents = 14 years; 77% of adolescents female), we rated mothers' provision of autonomy support during a 10-minute conversation about friendships. We found that observed maternal autonomy support was related positively to adolescents' degree of and volitional reasons for disclosure about friends. These associations were mediated by observed non-verbal reciprocity during the conversation and by adolescent satisfaction of their needs for autonomy and relatedness. Mothers' autonomy-support and mother-adolescent reciprocity also predicted mothers' own psychological need satisfaction and conversation pleasure. The relevance of the findings for adolescent autonomy and disclosure are discussed.'My child tells me so little!' At least some parents of adolescents express this complaint. Indeed, during adolescence children tend to keep more information for themselves (Keijsers, Frijns, Branje, & Meeus, 2009) and they use a variety of strategies to manage information to parents, including not only disclosure but also secrecy and lying (Smetana, 2008). Parents may differ in their approach towards fostering disclosure (Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991). Some parents may act "pushy" in their attempts to find out what is happening in their children's life. Yet, such a controlling approach might backfire, leading adolescents to share less parent-desired information. Other parents may behave more empathically, patiently respecting the adolescent's pace to talk about private issues. They may be sincerely interested in the few things their adolescents share, thereby creating a warm and reciprocal parent-child environment. In such an environment adolescents might feel understood and accepted, which may make them more willing to share information, even when parents dislike the information.Disclosure is defined herein as disclosure of activities and whereabouts, which has been referred to as 'routine disclosure'. Such disclosure is distinct from disclosure of private thoughts and feelings, which has been referred to as 'self-disclosure' (Tilton-Weaver, Marshall, & Darling, 2014). Given that adolescent routine disclosure is a main source of parental knowledge about the child's whereabouts and is a consistent predictor of psychosocial adjustment Kerr, Stattin, & Ozdemir, 2012), it is important to examine which factors promote or hinder adolescents in disclosing information to their parents. One line of research addressing the role of parents in adolescent routine disclosure has focused on the role of parenting practices such as parental solicitation and parental rule setting regarding adolescents' whereabouts. These practices appear to be rather weakly related to adolescents' general routine disclosure (e.g....

Parental Solicitation and Adolescents’ Information Management: The Moderating Role of Autonomy-Supportive Parenting

“…Indeed, when adolescents perceive parents' initiation of conversations as a sign of caring and interest, they seem to be more willing to share information and, by doing so, they seem to try to maintain a close relationship with them. Moreover, in line with previous studies (e.g., Mageau et al, 2017;Wuyts et al, 2018), perceived maternal and paternal autonomy support were positively related to adolescents' disclosure, and negatively associated with secrecy and lies. In other words, when parents are perceived to provide an autonomysupportive parenting context, for example by being sensitive for their children's feelings and by offering choices whenever possible, their adolescents are more likely to disclose information.…”

“…In other words, when parents are perceived to provide an autonomysupportive parenting context, for example by being sensitive for their children's feelings and by offering choices whenever possible, their adolescents are more likely to disclose information. As Wuyts et al (2018) suggested, in an autonomy-supportive parenting context, adolescents disclose information because they personally want to (i.e., for volitional reasons), rather than because their parents pressured them to share information (i.e., for controlled reasons).…”

“…For instance, Mageau et al (2017) found that mothers who reported more autonomy support have children who disclosed more information about activities and whereabouts away from home. Similarly, using an observational methodology, Wuyts, Soenens, Vansteenkiste, and Van Petegem (2018) showed that maternal autonomy support, as observed in a 10-minute conversation about friendships, was related to more disclosure about friends. Conversely, controlling parenting has been found to relate to less disclosure (e.g., Soenens, Vansteenkiste, Luyckx, & Goossens, 2006;Urry, Nelson, & Padilla-Walker, 2011) and more secrecy (Tilton-Weaver et al, 2010).…”

Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions

“…While an autonomy-supportive style involves a number of basic practices (i.e., taking the child's perspective, building in desired choice, offering a meaningful rationale for requests, and the use of informational language; Ryan and Deci 2017; Vansteenkiste and Soenens 2015), some of these practices may be more salient, critical and easily applicable in certain contexts and at certain ages than others. To illustrate, parental autonomy support and control manifest differently during a puzzle solving task with toddlers (e.g., Bernier et al 2010) versus during a conversation about sexuality (Mauras et al 2013) or friendships with adolescents (e.g., Wuyts et al 2018).…”

How Parents Contribute to Children’s Psychological Health: The Critical Role of Psychological Need Support

“…Relatedly, autonomy-support fosters open and honest communication in parent-child relationships (Bureau & Mageau, 2014;Wuyts, Vansteenkiste, Soenens, & Van Petegem, 2015). Possibly because of these beneficial effects of parental autonomy support on children's need satisfaction and motivation, autonomy-support is related to adjustment in specific domains of life and to children's and adolescents' overall well-being (Joussemet, Koestner, Lekes, & Landry, 2005).…”