Parental Behavior and the Quality of Adolescent Friendships: A Social‐Contextual Perspective

On the basis of an evolving social-contextual perspective, the authors predicted and found that socioeconomic advantage in terms of income and parental education promotes supportive and inhibits hostile parental behaviors toward an adolescent child (N = 221). These parental behaviors predicted similar actions by the child toward a close friend 4 years later. In turn adolescent supportiveness promoted close friendship ties, whereas hostility diminished the quality of friendships. The results support the notion that, to a significant degree, the quality of family interactions: (a) arises from the social context surrounding the family, (b) is transmitted across generations, and (c) has a demonstrable impact on the quality of adolescents' social ties outside the family. Key Words: adolescent friendships, parental behavior, social context. Friendships have great potential for contributing to adolescent development (Youniss & Smollar, 1985), such as providing adolescents with opportunities for intimacy and affection, providing support and companionship, and enhancing self-esteem (e.g., Clark & Ayers, 1988; Peterson & Leigh, 1990). Berndt and Keefe (1992) found that adolescents with supportive friendships became increasingly involved with school, whereas those who considered their friendships to be conflict-- ridden became increasingly disruptive and troublesome. Given the importance of friendships for competent social development, the processes or mechanisms that foster the establishment of close and supportive adolescent friendships should be a central focus of developmental inquiry. Earlier research suggests that parents provide a training ground for the development of social skills that are likely to influence the development of children's friendships (Doyle & Markiewicz, 1996). Especially important, the positive or negative emotional tone of parental behaviors toward a child appears to play a role in the development of appropriate behavior regulation and communication skills (e.g., Isley, O'Neil, Glatfelter, & Parke, 1999). Consistent with this perspective, we investigated the influence of parents' supportive and hostile behaviors on adolescent actions predicted to enhance or diminish the quality of adolescent friendships. Because these dimensions of parental behavior have been strongly linked to the socioeconomic characteristics of the family (Conger & Elder, 1994), we also considered the social context in which these hypothesized parental influences occur. LINKING PARENTS To ADOLESCENT FRIENDSHIPS Theoretical Background At least two major developmental theories suggest specific mechanisms or pathways through which parents may have an influence on children's social ties (Ladd, 1992). Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) predicts that children will learn specific social behaviors from their parents, such as how to provide emotional support, gain compliance from others, or manage conflict. The theory further proposes that children and adolescents will employ these behaviors in relationships with friends. From this perspective, adolescents emulate the social styles of their parents, which can range from warm, supportive, or involved to hostile, coercive, or contemptuous. Presumably, learned behaviors that reflect supportiveness will increase the likelihood of developing satisfying relations with friends, whereas hostility should reduce the quality of child or adolescent friendships. Previous work suggests that there is a connection between expressions of supportive or hostile behavior and the course of close relationships (e.g., Bryant & Conger, 2002; Conger, Cui, Bryant, & Elder, 2000; Matthews, Wickrama, & Conger, 1996). Attachment theory also predicts an association between parents' behavior and the quality of children's friendships. The theory proposes that children develop internal representations of parents' behavior, anticipate similar treatment from their friends, and then behave the same way themselves (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980; Park & Waters, 1989; Youngblade & Belsky, 1992). …