Adolescent-parent discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning and early adolescent self-competence

The relationship between discrepancies in adolescents' and their parents' p erceptions of family functioning and adolescent self-competence was examine d in a sample of 74 sixth and seventh grade students and their parents. Thi s relationship was examined by the gender of the adolescent and the gender of the parent Results indicated that discrepancies in adolescent-mother and adolescent-father perceptions of family functioning were related to lower levels of adolescent self-competence for girls. For boys, discrepancies in adolescent-mother perceptions of family functioning were also related to lo wer levels of adolescent self-competence, however, discrepancies in adolesc ent-father perceptions of family functioning were related to higher levels of adolescent self-competence. Explanations for these gender differences ar e provided. For both girls and boys, discrepancies in perceptions of family functioning predicted:lower levels of self-competence and lower levels of self-competence predicted discrepancies in perceptions of family functionin g. Consistent with current models of human development, these results empha sise the importance of examining both directions of influence when relation ships between characteristics of the individual and the family context are explored.