Ca. Mason et al., NEITHER TOO SWEET NOR TOO SOUR - PROBLEM PEERS, MATERNAL CONTROL, ANDPROBLEM BEHAVIOR IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS, Child development, 67(5), 1996, pp. 2115-2130
This study examined whether maternal control protects African American
adolescents from the negative influence of problem peers. Two forms o
f control were examined, behavioral control and psychological control.
It was hypothesized that there would be a curvilinear relation betwee
n control and adolescent problem behavior, with the strength of the re
lationship and the amount of control optimal for adolescent developmen
t varying by the level of peer problem behavior. In general, data supp
orted this model, particularly in regard to behavioral control, where
the predicted curvilinear interaction occurred even after controlling
for initial levels of problem behavior. The predicted curvilinear inte
raction between psychological control and peer problem behavior was st
atistically significant if initial levels of problem behavior were not
controlled for but was not significant after controlling for initial
problem behavior. These findings suggest that high-quality parenting c
an play a modest but critical role in the face of environmental advers
ity.