Adolescent adjustment in the context of life change: the supportive role of parental structure provision

This study examined the associations among disruptive life events, supportive parenting practices, adolescent self-perceptions, and emotional outcomes. One-hundred and three 7th graders (68% minority, 32% European American) and their parents completed recent negative life events checklists. Parents also reported the total number of major transitions (changes in residences, schools, parent's romantic partners) that adolescents experienced since birth. Life events were related to lower adolescent-reported perceptions of competence and control, higher adolescent-reported depression and behavior problems, and higher parent-reported conduct problems. Regression analyses supported a mediational model in which competence and control perceptions explained relations between adolescent life events and symptomatology. Parental structure-the provision of clear, consistent and predictable rules and expectations-was associated with more adaptive adolescent functioning, especially among girls. Regressions indicated that structure related to higher perceptions of competence and control and fewer behavioral problems, even after accounting for the risk associated with negative life events and transitions.