Perceived Parenting and Adolescent Cyber-Bullying: Examining the Intervening Role of Autonomy and Relatedness Need Satisfaction, Empathic Concern and Recognition of Humanness

Due to the progress in information technology, cyber-bullying is becoming one of the most common forms of interpersonal harm, especially among teenagers. The present study (N = 548) aimed to investigate the relation between perceived parenting style (in terms of autonomy support and psychological control) and cyber-bullying in adolescence. Thereby, the study tested for the intervening role of adolescent need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy and relatedness), empathic concern towards others, and adolescents' recognition of full humanness to cyber-bullying offenders and victims. Findings revealed both a direct and an indirect relation between parenting and cyber-bullying. More specifically, parental psychological control directly predicted cyber-bullying, whereas parental autonomy support related to less cyber-bullying indirectly, as it was associated with the satisfaction of adolescents' need for autonomy, which predicted more empathic concern towards others, which in turn differentially related to recognition of humanness to victims and bullies. The discussion focuses on the implications of the current findings

Justice reactions to deviant ingroup members: Ingroup identity threat motivates utilitarian punishments

To maintain a positive overall view of their group, people judge likeable ingroup members more favorably and deviant ingroup members more harshly than comparable outgroup members. Research suggests that such derogation of deviant ingroup members aims to restore the image of the group by symbolically excluding so-called ‘black sheeps’. We hypothesized that information about a harm-doer’s group membership influences observers’ justice-seeking reactions. Motives for punishment vary on the basis of whether the goal is to punish past harm-doing (i.e., retributive motives), help harm-doers recognize the harm inflicted and reintegrate into society (i.e., restorative motives), or control harm-doer’s future behavior through incapacitating practices and exclusion from society (i.e., utilitarian motives). We hypothesized that immoral behaviors by ingroup rather than outgroup members jeopardize the group’s reputation and therefore activate utilitarian (i.e., exclusion-oriented) motives for punishment. Study 1 (N=187) confirmed that people displayed more utilitarian motives and less restorative motives when sanctioning an ingroup as opposed to an outgroup harm-doer. Study 2 (N=122) manipulated typicality to the ingroup. Participants displayed stronger utilitarian (i.e., exclusion-oriented) punishment motives when the harm-doer was presented as a typical ingroup rather than an outgroup member. Study 3 (N = 292) replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 and further showed that people displayed stronger utilitarian punishments against an ingroup offender through the experience of increased identity threat. Contrary to our expectations, observers’ ingroup identification did not moderate the effect of group membership or typicality to the ingroup on justice reactions. Yet, ingroup identification influenced both experienced identity threat (i.e., mediator) and utilitarian motives for punishment with high identifiers experiencing higher threat and displaying stronger utilitarian punishment motive. We discuss the results in terms of people’s concern for the protection of their group identity

Parenting Dimensions and Internalizing Difficulties in Italian and U.S. Emerging Adults: The Intervening Role of Autonomy and Relatedness

The present study examined the associations between emerging adults’ perceived parental psychological control and autonomy support, and their autonomy, relatedness and internalizing difficulties in Italy and the U.S. The participants included 494 Italian and 414 U.S. college students, between 18 and 28 years of age (Mean = 21.58, SD = 2.18). Our findings showed that dependency-oriented psychological control had no significant direct associations with autonomy, relatedness or internalizing difficulties. Moreover, the association between parental autonomy support and internalizing problems was fully intervened by autonomy and relatedness, whereas the association between achievement-oriented psychological control and anxiety and depressive symptoms was partially intervened by autonomy and relatedness. Finally, although parental psychological control and autonomy support had similar effects on maladjustment across the two countries, relatedness appeared to play a more central role as an intervening variable for anxiety in the Italian group than in the U.S. group. Overall, our findings highlighted the importance of examining parents’ contributions to emerging adults’ internalizing problems via autonomy support and psychological control across cultures

Parenting and late adolescents’ well-being in Greece, Norway, Poland and Switzerland : associations with individuation from parents

Cross-cultural studies focusing on individuation and parent-child relationships during late adolescence in the European context are sparse. This study investigated relationships between maternal and paternal responsiveness, demandingness and autonomy granting and late adolescents subjective well-being in Greece, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland. Additionally, the role of psychological, functional, and financial aspects of adolescents’ individuation in these relationships were assessed. Late adolescents (18-20-years-old, N=745) reported on their parents’ behaviors and themselves. Structural models with latent constructs were applied to test the hypothesized relationships. Results showed that in all four countries, maternal and paternal autonomy granting and responsiveness were positively associated with adolescents’ well-being. No significant results were found for demandingness. Further, the study found that psychological and functional connectedness with mothers and financial connectedness with fathers partially explained the associations between parenting behaviors and adolescents’ well-being. The results indicate more similarities than differences across Europe in the associations between parenting on late adolescents’ outcomes. More importantly, the study points out that maternal and paternal parenting may play different roles in late adolescenc