Parenting Style and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality in African American Mother-Adolescent Dyads

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study examined the relations between parenting styles and perceived mother-adolescent relationship quality in a socioeconomically diverse sample of African American mothers and adolescents. Design. African American female caregivers (N = 109) completed measures of maternal warmth, maternal monitoring, and information on family demographics. Adolescents completed measures assessing their perceptions of specific aspects of mother-adolescent relationship quality and demographic information. Results. Authoritative mothers reported greater monitoring than mothers classified as having authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful styles. Authoritative mothers also reported higher levels of warmth than mothers classified as authoritarian or neglectful styles. Authoritarian mothers reported significantly higher levels of monitoring when compared to indulgent mothers and neglectful mothers. Consistent with predictions, adolescents with authoritative mothers reported more positive mother-adolescent relationship quality in the form of greater communication, trust, and alienation when compared to adolescents with authoritarian and neglectful mothers. Against predictions, neither household income nor adolescent gender moderated the associations between parenting style and mother-adolescent relationship quality. Results from several exploratory analyses are also reported. Conclusions. The mother-adolescent relationship benefits from authoritative parenting in socioeconomically diverse African American families.