Kristianstad University College, Centre for Psychology, SE-291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden.
J Adolesc. 2010 Apr;33(2):271-84. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.08.002. Epub 2009 Sep 25.
This study aimed to explain why parental knowledge of adolescents' whereabouts declines with age. Such an investigation is important because previous studies have established an association between behavior problems and low levels of parental knowledge. A time-sequential sample comprising 2415 adolescents aged 13-18 years was investigated on five annual occasions. Each year, parental knowledge declined by .10 SD. Adolescents' establishment of a private sphere (less disclosure; defiance) was the most important mediator of age effects on knowledge. Taken together, declining parental control and the establishment of a private sphere explained 37.5% of the age-related decline in knowledge. Parental control was, however, not a significant predictor any longer when disclosure and defiance were controlled for. Results also revealed that some of the mediating variables were stronger in early-to-mid adolescence. Other variables appeared to slow the age-related decline, especially in mid-to-late adolescence. These variables are therefore interpreted as parents' and adolescents' attempts to balance autonomy development and connectedness. If this balancing fails, adolescent behavior problems might arise along with low levels of parental knowledge early on.
本研究旨在解释为什么父母对青少年行踪的了解随着年龄的增长而下降。这样的调查很重要，因为先前的研究已经确定了行为问题与父母知识水平低之间存在关联。在五个年度场合对 2415 名 13-18 岁的青少年进行了时间序列样本调查。每年，父母的知识都会下降.10 SD。青少年建立私人领域（较少的披露；反抗）是知识对年龄影响的最重要中介。总的来说，父母控制的下降和私人领域的建立解释了知识与年龄相关的 37.5%的下降。然而，当披露和反抗被控制时，父母控制不再是一个显著的预测因素。研究结果还表明，一些中介变量在青少年早期到中期更为强烈。其他变量似乎减缓了与年龄相关的下降，尤其是在从中年到后期青少年时期。因此，这些变量被解释为父母和青少年试图平衡自主性发展和联系。如果这种平衡失败，青少年行为问题可能会随着父母知识水平的降低而早期出现。
