How maternal and paternal parenting behaviors predict developmental changes in self-control and deviance during early adolescence

Purpose

The present study tested the pattern of developmental changes in self-control during early adolescence, and whether maternal and paternal closeness, support, monitoring, and disciplinary inconsistency were associated with developmental changes in deviance, indirectly through developmental changes in self-control.

Methods

Five assessments part of the Brno Longitudinal Study of Youth on 582 early adolescents (58.4% female; M_age = 12.34 years, SD = 0.89 at baseline) were used for the study. A latent growth model tested the growth of self-control over two years in early adolescence. Associations between parenting and developmental changes in self-control as well as deviance were tested using structural equation modeling with latent constructs.

Results

Self-control declined over time; individuals varied both in initial levels and rates of change. Full mediation through developmental changes in self-control were found; more specifically, more maternal monitoring at age 12 was associated with increases in self-control at age 13, which, in turn, was associated with less deviance at age 14. Results also provided evidence of direct effects, where more maternal closeness at age 12 was associated with less deviance at age 14.

Conclusions

Self-control decreased during early adolescence, thus supporting continued malleability. Both maternal closeness and monitoring were associated with less deviance, where the effect of monitoring was mediated through self-control.