AGREEMENT BETWEEN SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SCRIPTS OF AGGRESSIVE AND SOCIABLE ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS

Agreement between social problem-solving scripts of aggressive and soc iable adolescents and their parents was studied in the sample of a tot al of 282 subjects (94 adolescents, 94 mothers, and 94 fathers). Socia l problem-solving scripts were assessed by describing the subjects' th ree stories in which a hero was pressured by his peers into criminal o r immoral behavior. The subjects were subsequently asked a series of q uestions focusing on their problem-solving scripts and the motivation of those scripts. In addition to their own scripts the parents were as ked how they thought their children are likely to think and behave. Th e statistical analysis used was a personality-oriented pattern approac h. The results indicated extremely low if there was any congruence bet ween adolescents' and their parents' social decision-making scripts. P arents' expectations were, however, in line with the peer-rated behavi or of their children, i.e., aggressive children were expected to have aggressive scripts while sociable children were expected to be totally ''good''. This was not true with the children's own scripts. The find ings are discussed in terms of appropriate reinforcement, perceived se lf-efficacy, and supportive parent-child relationship. (C) 1995 Wiley- Liss, Inc.