Premium
Disclosure to Parents About Everyday Activities Among American Adolescents From Mexican, Chinese, and European Backgrounds
Author(s) -
Yau Jenny P.,
TasopoulosChan Marina,
Smetana Judith G.
Publication year - 2009
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.1467-8624.2009.01346.x
Subject(s) - closeness , psychology , ethnic group , feeling , obligation , developmental psychology , mexican americans , asian americans , chinese americans , social psychology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , sociology , anthropology , political science , law
Disclosure to parents and reasons for not disclosing different activities were examined in 489 Chinese, Mexican, and European American adolescents ( M = 16.37 years, SD = 0.77). With generational status controlled, Chinese American adolescents disclosed less to mothers about personal and multifaceted activities than European Americans and less about personal feelings than other youth, primarily because these acts were considered personal, not harmful, or because parents would not listen or understand. Disclosure regarding prudential behavior was lower among Mexican American than among European American adolescents, primarily due to concerns with parental disapproval. Multigroup path analyses indicated that greater closeness to parents is associated with more disclosure for all youth and activities; associations between family obligation and disclosure varied by domain and ethnicity.