The Role of Parents in Young Adolescents’ Competence With Peers: An Observational Study of Advice Giving and Intrusiveness

Young adolescents who encounter difficulties with peers can consult with their parents to help solve these problems. In this context, this study examines the contribution of adolescents’ disclosure, parental advice giving, and parental intrusiveness into adolescents’ social and behavioral adjustment. Young adolescents (N = 93; 49% girls; mean age = 12.9) and their parents took part in a problem-solving task in which adolescent disclosure, parental advice giving, and intrusiveness where observed. Several indicators of social and behavioral adjustment were measured concurrently and 1 year later by using adolescents’ self-reports and teacher ratings. Results indicated that adolescent disclosure and advice giving were associated with adjustment, whereas intrusiveness was concurrently and longitudinally associated with maladjustment.