Quantity and quality of maternal consulting

Associations with adolescents' loneliness and peer victimization

Bibliographic Data

ID21443749
AuthorsNatalie Low (0000-0002-6418-537X, Northern Illinois University), Nina S Mounts (0000-0002-7435-6187, Northern Illinois University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume94
Issue3
Pages305-317
Publication date2022-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Adolescence (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-1971 • E-ISSN: 1095-9254
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jad.12020
PMID35390192
OpenAlexW4220804713
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited38

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this investigation was to understand the way in which the quantity and quality of maternal consulting are related to adolescents' peer victimization and loneliness and to examine whether these associations were moderated by adolescents' social competence. METHOD: = 12.39 years; 51.4% girls) and their mothers, living in the United States, completed questionnaires and were video recorded discussing hypothetical peer-related issues. Quantity of maternal consulting was assessed using adolescents' reports and observers' assessments. Observers' assessments of the quality (e.g., benign interpretation, threatening interpretations, and prosocial strategies) of maternal consulting were also examined. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that adolescents' reports of higher quantity of consulting predicted lower levels of peer victimization. Observers' assessments of higher quantity of maternal consulting were related to higher levels of peer victimization. More frequent threatening interpretations by mothers were related to higher levels of peer victimization. More frequent benign interpretations by mothers were related to higher levels of loneliness. However, higher use of prosocial strategies by mothers were related to lower levels of loneliness. Social competence moderated the direct associations such that contrasting patterns of results emerged for the adolescents' reports of consulting versus the observers' reports of consulting. CONCLUSION: Findings shed light on the way in which quantity and quality of maternal consulting differentially predicts adolescents' peer victimization and loneliness.

Developmental psychology · Injury prevention · Loneliness · Peer victimization · Poison control · Prosocial behavior · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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