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How Do Parents Learn About Adolescents' Experiences? Implications for Parental Knowledge and Adolescent Risky Behavior
Author(s) -
Crouter Ann C.,
Bumpus Matthew F.,
Davis Kelly D.,
McHale Susan M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00883.x
Subject(s) - psychology , spouse , developmental psychology , socioeconomic status , cluster (spacecraft) , path analysis (statistics) , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , social psychology , population , demography , medicine , statistics , mathematics , environmental health , sociology , anthropology , computer science , programming language
Cluster analysis was used to identify groups defined by the patterning of fathers' and mothers' sources of knowledge about adolescents' experiences in a sample of 179 families with adolescents ( M =16.5 years). Three clusters emerged for fathers (relational, relies on spouse, relies on others) and mothers (relational, questioners, relies on others). Cluster membership was associated with socioeconomic status, work hours, personal characteristics, and parent–child relationship quality. Longitudinal path analyses revealed that knowledge sources predicted levels of knowledge, which in turn predicted risky behavior 1 year later, indirect paths that were more consistent for fathers than for mothers. Although direct associations between sources of knowledge and subsequent risky behavior were scant, when fathers relied on spouses, youth engaged in less risky behavior.