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Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Reports of Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families

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Abstract

Parents and adolescents often have discrepant views of parenting which pose challenges for researchers regarding how to deal with information from multiple informants. Although recent studies indicate that parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting can be useful in predicting adolescent outcomes, their findings are mixed regarding whether discrepancies relate to more positive or more negative adolescent outcomes. This study examined the longitudinal implications of parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting (warmth, monitoring, and reasoning) on adolescent behavioral, psychological, academic, and physical health outcomes among Mexican immigrant families in the United States. Participants were 604 adolescents (54% female, M age.wave1 = 12.41 years) and their parents. Taking a person-centered approach, this study identified distinct patterns of parent–adolescent discrepancies in parenting and their different associations with later adolescent outcomes. Adolescents’ more negative perceptions of parenting relative to parents were associated with more negative adolescent outcomes, whereas adolescents’ more positive perceptions relative to parents related to more positive adolescent outcomes. There were also variations in discrepancy patterns and their associations with adolescent outcomes between mother–adolescent vs. father-adolescent dyads. Findings of the current study highlight individual variations of discrepancies among parent–adolescent dyads and the importance of considering both the magnitude and direction of discrepancies regarding their associations with adolescent well-being.

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Funding

Support for this research was provided through awards to Su Yeong Kim from (1) National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, 1651128 and 0956123 (2) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 5R03HD060045-02 (3) Office of the Vice President for Research Grant and Special Research Grant from the University of Texas at Austin, and (4) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 4R24HD042849-15 grant awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Author Contributions

Y.H. conceived of the study and drafted the manuscript; S.Y.K. created the study design and helped to draft the manuscript; A.D.B. participated in the interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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  1. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 108 East Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX, 78712-1248, USA

    Yang Hou, Su Yeong Kim & Aprile D. Benner

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  1. Yang Hou
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  2. Su Yeong Kim
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  3. Aprile D. Benner
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Correspondence to Yang Hou.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hou, Y., Kim, S.Y. & Benner, A.D. Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Reports of Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families. J Youth Adolescence 47, 430–444 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0717-1

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