Parental behavior and dimensions of adolescent self-evaluation.

Abstract

The focus of the study is on the relationship between two dimensions of parental behavior: support and control, and the adolescent's self-evaluation. Drawing on sociological theory which stresses the importance of the evaluative behavior of significant others in the development of the individual's selfevaluation, it was hypothesized that both parental support and parental control would be positively related to adolescent self-evaluation. The findings strongly supported the first hypothesis but not the second. Two foci of selfevaluation were identified through factor analysis: Power and Worth, and were found to be relted to support but not control. Both the level of selfevaluation on power and worth and the relationships between the parental and the self variables varied somewhat by social class and by sex of parent and respondent. The findings were interpreted as giving added support to the interactionist proposition, that the self-concept arises through interaction with significant others, by pointing to the behavioral dimension especially salient in this respect, parental support. The study also suggests the importance of focusing on specific contents of self-evaluation, such as power and worth.