EMOTIONS AS CONTEXTS FOR ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY

Emotional expression may provide an ambiance in which parenting occurs and, in this sense, serves as a context that has an indirect impact o n child adjustment. This study investigates a mediational model for em otional expression and delinquency in which specific emotions were tes ted as contexts for parental supervision of adolescents. A model was p resented in which the relationship between emotions and later delinque ncy was fully mediated through a measure of Lax Supervision. Maternal humor as a main effect, the interaction term for maternal and adolesce nt contempt, and certain levels of adolescent neutral explained varian ce in Lax Supervision. Fathers' emotions did not contribute significan t effects in the models. No direct relationship was found between emot ional expression and Delinquent Peer Association or Delinquency. Lax S upervision and Delinquent Peer Association had large effects on Delinq uency, as hypothesized, with 35% of the variance of Delinquency explai ned in the model.