Studies of parental supervision often fail to consider the broader ecology in which youth are developing. In this paper, moderation and mediation analysis were utilized to examine parental supervision along with the ecological asset of supportive relationships, which have been identified as especially powerful assets, in a sample of 289 adolescents from the United States. These factors are considered in relation to positive indicators that have specifically been associated with youth thriving: self-control and future aspiration. Results of a mediation analysis suggest that family support mediates the relationship between parental supervision and both indicators. Therefore, parents should ensure they are demonstrating support during attempts to supervise youth. In addition, supportive relationships with adults at school further promote the development of an important internal characteristic: self-control. Including aspects of the broader ecology in studies of youth development is essential to uncovering the role external assets play in promoting positive outcomes for adolescents.
BaronR.KennyD. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction and social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.
2.
BartonW. (2004). Bridging juvenile justice and positive youth development. In HamiltonS.HamiltonM. A. (Eds.), The youth development handbook: Coming of age in american communities (pp. 77–102). SAGE.
3.
BaumrindD. (1972). An exploratory study of socialization effects on black children: Some black-white comparisons. Child Development, 43, 261–267. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1127891
4.
BendaB.CorwynR. (1996). Testing a theoretical model of adolescent sexual behavior among rural families in poverty. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 13(6), 469–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01874302
5.
BensonP. (2002). Adolescent development in social and community context: A program of research. New Directions for Youth Development, 95, 123–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.19
6.
BensonP.ScalesP.SyvertsenA. (2011). The contributions of the developmental assets framework to positive youth development theory and practice. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 41, 197–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386492-5.00008-7
7.
BjerregaardB.SmithC. (1993). Gender differences in gang participation, delinquency, and substance use. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 9(4), 329–355. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23366013
8.
BowersE.JohnsonS.BuckinghamM.GascaS.WarrenD.LernerJ.LernerR. (2014). Important non-parental adults and positive youth development across mid- to late-adolescence: The moderating effect of parenting profiles. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(6), 897–918. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0095-x
9.
BronfenbrennerU. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In VastaR. (Ed.), Annals of child development (pp. 187–248). JAI Press.
10.
BurlewA.JohnsonC.FlowersA.PeteetB.GriffithK.BuchananN. (2009). Neighborhood risk, parental supervision and the onset of substance use among African American adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 680–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9273-y
11.
ChangoJ.McElhaneyK.AllenJ.SchadM.MarstonE. (2011). Relational stressors and depressive symptoms in late adolescence: Rejection sensitivity as a vulnerability. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(3), 369–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9570-y
12.
ChilcoatH.AnthonyJ. (1996). Impact of parent monitoring on initiation of drug use though late childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199601000-00017
13.
ColeyR.HoffmanL. (1996). Relations of parental supervision and monitoring to children’s functioning in various contexts: Moderating effects of families and neighborhoods. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(96)90005-2
14.
ColarossiL. G.EcclesJ. S. (2003). Differential effects of support providers on adolescents’ mental health. Social Work Research, 27, 19–30.
DamonM. (2004). What is positive youth development?The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 13–24.
18.
DarlingN.Tilton-WeaverL. (2019). All in the family: Within-family differences in parental monitoring and adolescent information management. Developmental Psychology, 55(2), 390–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000641
19.
Futch EhrlichV.DeutschN.FoxC.JohnsonH.VargaS. (2016). Leveraging relational assets for adolescent development: A qualitative investigation of youth-adult “connection” in positive youth development. Qualitative Psychology, 3, 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000046
20.
GentinaE.ShrumL. J.LowreyT.VitellS.RoseG. (2018). An integrative model of the influence of parental and peer support on consumer ethical beliefs: The mediating role of self-esteem, power, and materialism. Journal of Business Ethics, 150, 1173–1186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3137-3
21.
Harris-McKoyD.CuiM. (2013). Parental control, adolescent delinquency, and young adult criminal behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(6), 836–843. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9641-x
22.
HayesA. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
23.
Hombrados-MendietaM.Gomez-JacintoL.Dominguez-FuentesJ.Garcia-LeivaP.Castro-TravéM. (2012). Types of social support provided by parents, teachers, and classmates during adolescence. Journal of Community Psychology, 40(6), 645–664. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20523
24.
HurdN.ZimmermanM. (2010). Natural mentors, mental health, and risk behaviors: A longitudinal analysis of African American Adolescents Transitioning into Adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 36–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9325-x
25.
JeynesW. H. (2007). The relationship between parental involvement and urban secondary school student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban Education, 42, 82–110.
26.
KeijsersL.BranjeS.HawkS.SchwartzS.FrijnsT.KootH.van LierP.MeeusW. (2012). Forbidden friends as forbidden fruit: Parental supervision of friendships, contact with deviant peers, and adolescent delinquency. Child Development, 83(2), 651–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01
27.
KerrM.StattinH. (2000). What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental Psychology, 36(3), 366–380. https://doi.org/10.1037//0012-1649.36.3.366
28.
LansfordJ.Deater-DeckardK.DodgeK.BatesJ.PettitG. (2004). Ethnic differences in the link between physical discipline and later adolescent externalizing behaviors. Journal of Child Psychology and psychiatry, 45(4), 801–812. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00273.x
29.
LernerJ.BowersE.MinorK.BoydM.MuellerM.SchmidK.NapolitanoC.Lewin-BizanS.LernerR. (2012). Positive youth development: Processes, philosophies, and programs. In LernerR.EasterbrooksM.MistryJ.WeinerJ. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology, Volume 6: Developmental psychology (2nd ed., pp. 365–392). Wiley.
30.
Lewin-BizanS.BowersE.LernerR. (2010). One good thing leads to another: Cascades of positive youth development among American adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 22(4), 759–770. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000441
31.
LippoldM.GreenbergM.CollinsL. (2013). Parental knowledge and youth risky behavior: A person oriented approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(11), 1732–1744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9893-1
32.
LiuY. L.ChangH. T. (2016). The role of effortful control in the relationships among parental control, intentional self-regulation, and adolescent obedience. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(8), 2435–2447. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0405-x
33.
McElhaneyK.AllenJ.StephensonJ.C.HareA. (2009). Domains of individual development in adolescence. In LernerR.SteinbergL. (Eds.) Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 358–403). https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479193.adlpsy001012
34.
MeltonT. N.BrehmM.DeutschN. (In Press). Broadening the perspective on youth’s systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence. Journal of Community Psychology.
35.
MilevskyA.SchlechterM.NetterS.KeehnD. (2007). Maternal and paternal parenting styles in adolescents: Associations with self-esteem, depression and life-satisfaction. Journal of child and Family Studies, 16(1), 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-006-9066-5
36.
OriolX.TorresJ.MirandaR.BilbaoM.OrtúzarH. (2017). Comparing family, friends and satisfaction with school experience as predictors of SWB in children who have and have not made the transition to middle school in different countries. Children and Youth Services Review, 80, 149–156.
37.
ParkerJ.BensonM. (2004). Parent-adolescent relations and adolescent functioning: self-esteem, substance abuse, and delinquency. Adolescence, 39(155), 519–531.
38.
PhillipsJ.SpringerF. (1992). Extended national youth sports program 1991-1992 evaluation highlights, part two: Individuals protective factors index (IPFI) and risk assessment study. Report prepared for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. EMT Associates.
39.
RassartJ.LuyckxK.ApersS.GoossensE.MoonsP. (2012). Identity dynamics and peer relationship quality in adolescents with a chronic disease: the sample case of congenital heart disease. Journal of Developmental and Behavior Pediatrics, 33(8), 625–632. DOI:10.1097/DBP.
40.
SchmidK.PhelpsE.LernerR. (2011). Constructing positive futures: Modeling the relationship between adolescents’ hopeful future expectations and intentional self regulation in predicting positive youth development. Journal of Adolescence, 34(6), 1127–1135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.009
41.
StattinH.KerrM. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4), 1072–1085.
42.
StotskyM.BowkerJ. (2018). An examination of reciprocal associations between social preference, popularity, and friendship during early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 1830–1841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0846-1
43.
StutzM.SchwarzB. (2014). Effects of different facets of paternal and maternal control behavior on early adolescents’ perceived academic competence. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 11(2), 227–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2013.867846
44.
ValentinoK.NuttallA.ComasM.BorkowskiJ.AkaiC. (2012). Intergenerational continuity of child abuse among adolescent mothers: Authoritarian parenting, community violence, and race. Child Maltreatment, 17(2), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559511434945
45.
VargaS. M.ZaffJ. F. (2018). Webs of support: An integrative framework of relationships, social networks, and social support for positive youth development. Adolescent Research Review, 3, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-017-0076-x
46.
VauxA. (1988). Social support: Theory, research, and intervention. Praeger Publishers.
47.
WhitlockJ. (2006). Youth perceptions of life at school: Contextual correlates of school connectedness in adolescence. Applied Developmental Science, 10, 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532480xads1001_2
48.
WoodyE. (2011). An SEM perspective on evaluating mediation: What every clinical researcher needs to know. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 2(2), 210–251. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.010410
49.
YuM.DeutschN.EhrlichV.ArbeitM.JohnsonH.MeltonT. (2019). “It’s like all of his attention is on you”: A mixed methods examination of attachment, supportive nonparental youth-adult relationships, and self-esteem during adolescence. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(2), 414–434. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22129
50.
YuM.JohnsonH.DeutschN.VargaS. (2018). “She calls me by my last name”: Exploring adolescent perceptions of positive teacher-student relationships. Journal of Adolescent Research, 33(3), 332–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558416684958
