Loneliness as a mediator variable between parenting and coping in adolescence

MARÍA CRISTINA RICHAUD; CARLA SACCHI; BELÉN MESURADO

Austin, Texas

Congreso; 15th SRA Biennial Meeting; 2014

Society for Research on Adolescence

Theories about the development of social skills and secure, trusting relationships with peers during adolescence (Ladd & Pettit, 2002), indicate that while parental affection and support strategies encourage a sense of security in the relationship with their children?s peers, intrusive and autonomy-inhibiting parental styles, create obstacles to belonging to groups as well as to social competence (Soenens, et al 2006). Problems in parent-child relationships increase the probability of vulnerability to loneliness, causing insecurity and very strict standards for relationships (Hurt, Hoza, & Pelham, 2007; Richaud & Sacchi, 2004). Given that parenting styles generate different feelings of support and loneliness throughout the child?s development, we hypothesize that the relation between perceived parental relationship with adolescents and dysfunctional ways of coping, is mediated by feelings of loneliness. The objectives are: 1) the relation between dimensions of the adolescent perception of parental relationship with them (acceptance, pathological control and extreme autonomy) to adolescent functional/dysfunctional coping; 2) the relation between adolescent feelings of loneliness based on family rejection, rejection by peers, personal inadequacy and difficulties in establishing new networks, to adolescent functional/dysfunctional coping; 3) the relation between the adolescent perception of parental relationship with them with their feelings of loneliness, 4) the relation between adolescent perception of parental relationship with them with coping, meditated by feelings of loneliness. The abridged and adapted version of Frydenberg and Lewis? (1997) Adolescent Coping Scale, CRPBI (Schaefer,1965) adapted and abridged in Argentina, and the Adolescents? Loneliness Assessment (Richaud & Sacchi, 2004) were administered to a sample of 950 Argentine middle class adolescents, aged 13 to 16. SEM were carried out. Model 1, depicted in Figure 1, corresponds to the study of the influence of perceived acceptance in the parental relationship on adolescents feelings of loneliness and of these on dysfunctional coping, with their respective path coefficients, is presented. The model showed a moderate fit with the empirical data χ2 (24) = 253.6 p < .000, χ2/gl= 10.56, GFI = .94; AGFI = .89, RMR = .04; and RMSEA = .09. Figure 2 presents the structural equations model corresponding to the influence of the perceived parental relationship in terms of parental pathological control on feelings of loneliness among adolescents and of these on dysfunctional forms of coping, with their respective path coefficients. The results were satisfactory χ2 (24) = 109.12, p < .000, χ2/gl =4.55, GFI = .97; AGFI = .95; and RMSEA = .06. Figure 3 presents the structural equations model corresponding with the influence of perceived parental relationship in terms of extreme autonomy on the feelings of adolescents and of these on dysfunctional coping, with their respective path coefficients. The results were satisfactory χ2 (24) = 75.4, p < .000, χ2/gl= 3.14, GFI = .98; AGFI = .97; and RMSEA = .05. The results suggest that even though during adolescence, parental styles keep acting on dysfunctional coping with conflict, they do so with less intensity in direct ways, but above all they influence feelings of loneliness and through these on coping.