Parental behavior and adolescent self-esteem in clinical and nonclinical samples

This study investigated the relationships between multiple dimensions of self-esteem and adolescents' perceptions of parental behaviors using nonclinical (n = 119) and clinical (n = 30) samples of adolescents. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), a modified version of Osgood's Semantic Differential (OSD), Schaefer's Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) short form), and a demographic questionnaire were administered to participants. Scores from the self-esteem measures were empirically combined and factor analyzed, yielding four dimensions of self-esteem. Multivariate analysis of variance were used to compare self-esteem dimension scores for males and females within both samples. Correlations and partial correlations were conducted to determine the nature of the relationships between each dimension of self-esteem and perceptions of parental behaviors. Nonclinical adolescents scored higher than did clinical adolescents on all self-esteem dimensions. Males scored higher than females only on the dimension of Self-Esteem Competence. Perceptions of parental behaviors were consistently unrelated to dimensions of self-esteem among adolescents in the clinical sample. Among adolescents in the nonclinical sample, perceptions of parental support and autonomy granting were related to multiple dimensions of self-esteem. Perceptions of parental discipline were inconsistently related to dimensions of nonclinical self-esteem.