The Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Autonomy Support, Autonomy and Peer Resistance

Abstract

Adolescents’ autonomy is considered to be shaped within family and peer contexts. However, the specific dynamics of the within-person associations between parental autonomy support, adolescents’ general autonomy, and peer resistance over time remain unclear. To address this, random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were employed in a sample of 290 Dutch youth in early adolescence (Mage = 11.58, SD = 0.44 at T1; 49.3% boys) and 220 Dutch youth in middle to late adolescence (Mage = 17.79, SD = 1.47 at T1; 25.0% boys), who were followed over two years across four time points. Results showed that changes in adolescents’ general autonomy were concurrently associated with changes in their parental autonomy support and peer resistance at the within-person level. However, these associations were not observed longitudinally over a six-month period. These findings suggest that increases in supportive parenting and peer resistance co-occur with increases in adolescents’ autonomy within individuals.