Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Amy Gentzler

Committee Member

Mariya Cherkasova

Committee Member

Nicholas Turiano

Abstract

Adolescent self-control appears to be an important competency to develop. It has pervasive links with various outcomes (e.g., educational, financial, and interpersonal) both during adolescence and into adulthood (Allemand et al., 2019, Moffitt et al., 2011). Adolescents often report lower self-control compared to adults, although individual levels of self-control vary widely between adolescents (Allemand et al., 2019, Romer et al., 2010). Despite its importance, very little is known about how self-control develops. Thus, the current study aims to examine the relationship between parents’ self-control and that of their teen children. To further understand how adolescents' self-control may be socialized by parents, parental behaviors that may be evidence of self-control (e.g., exercise, social media addiction, etc.) and adolescent self-control were examined. Additionally, because a domain-specific model of self-control has been shown to better fit individuals’ patterns of self-control than a domain-general model (Tsukayama et al., 2012), the current study employs both a domain-general and domain-specific approach.

As part of a larger study conducted in the Appalachian region of the United States, 226 adolescents (Mage = 15.09, 51.8% female) and at least one of their parents (N = 207 mother-figures; N = 72 father-figures) reported on their domain-general and domain-specific self-control. The current study utilized data from 2 waves of collection which occurred roughly six months apart. Parents reported on their general self-control, SES, difficulty paying bills, BMI, eating, exercise, drug use, social media addiction, attachment in relationships, education, and relationship satisfaction at Wave 1, and their self-control in the domains of health, leisure, money, relationships, and work at Wave 2. Teens reported their general self-control and domain-specific self-control at Wave 2.

Regression models were used to predict teens’ self-control from their parents’ self-control, and separately, from their parents’ self-controlled behaviors. Several associations between parental behaviors and teen self-control were found (e.g., fathers’ drug use was negatively associated with teens’ leisure self-control, mothers’ difficulty paying bills was positively associated with teens’ money self-control). After accounting for multiple comparisons using the False Discovery Rate (Benjamini & Hochberg, 1995), only two associations remained significant: higher maternal relationship satisfaction with their teen significantly predicted greater general self-control in their teens (b = .27, SE = .07), and greater maternal health self-control significantly predicted greater health self-control in their teens (b = .26, SE = .07).

The current study provides important preliminary information on the utility of a domain-specific model of self-control, as well as the role of socialization in intergenerational transmission of self-control between parents and their adolescent teens. Furthermore, the study highlights a need for additional research on the factors that contribute to the development of self-control in teens.

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