The Effects of Parental Self Disclosure and Connection on

Relationship Satisfaction, Social Initiative and Self Esteem.

Introduction • As children approach adolescence they will face

the difficult challenges of identity development and the formation of interpersonal relationships.

• Success in meeting these challenges will depend in part on their self-esteem and social competencies.

• Empirical evidence suggests that children with low self-esteem are more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, academic performance, delinquency, and other problems which negatively impact interpersonal and identity development .

• Similarly, deficits in social competencies in children have been related to illegal drug use, academic performance, depression, and other psychological and social problems.

Introduction II

• As primary socializers of children, fathers and mothers are most influential in the formation of a child’s identity and development of interpersonal relationship skills.

• Within the parent-child relationship children have their first opportunities and experiences relative to their identity and social development.

• Positive experiences within healthy and functional parent-child relationships prepare children for the eventual broadening of their interpersonal relationships and self concept development.

Parenting Factors Impacting Child Development

• Connection. The child’s sense of a positive, consistent, and stable interpersonal bond between himself and his parent that is based on the parent’s behaviors towards him. (social & confidence)

• Parental Self-Disclosure. Parent’s communications about themselves to their children that are not generally known and are not available to the children. (unknown)

• Relationship Satisfaction. In this study it refers to the child’s overall rating of how satisfied they are in their relationship with their parent. (social skills)

Child Outcome Measures

• Self-Esteem. The child’s global evaluative sense of self. This variable is often referred to as self-acceptance, self-worth, or self-image in the literature.

• Social Initiative. The extend to which the child seeks out relationships or social interaction with other individuals including peers and adults.

Hypotheses:1. Mothers would self-disclosing more than fathers.2. Mothers would self-disclose more to daughters while fathers

would self-disclose more to their sons. 3. Parental self-disclosure and parental connection would have

a positive and significant relationship.4. Parental self-disclosure would have a positive effect on

relationship satisfaction, child self-esteem, and child social initiative.

5. Parental self-disclosure would have an indirect and positive effect on child self-esteem and child social initiative by way of relationship satisfaction.

6. Parental connection would have a positive effect on relationship satisfaction, child self-esteem, and child social initiative.

7. Parental connection would have an indirect and positive effect on child self-esteem and child social initiative by way of relationship satisfaction

8. Parent-child relationship satisfaction would have a positive and direct effect on child self-esteem and social initiative.

FatherConnection

Father Self- Disclosure

Mother Self-Disclosure

Mother-ChildConnection

Father-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Mother-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Self-Esteem

SocialInitiative

Figure 1. Hypothesized Model of Parenting and Youth Outcomes

Demographics

Demographics of Subjects

Description Fifth Grade(N= 294)

Eighth Grade(N=306)

Age Mean= 10.75SD= .59Range= 9-13

Mean= 13.66SD= .59Range= 9-15

GenderMale Female

54.4% (n=160)45.6% (n= 134)

44.4% (n=136)55.6% (n=170)

RaceAmerican IndianBlackMexicanLatin AmericanAsian AmericanWhiteOther

4.8% 1.7%16.2% 1.0% 1.4%65.3% 9.6%

2.3% 1.0%13.7% 1.0% .7%78.1% 3.3%

Religious PreferenceProtestantRoman CatholicLDS (Mormon)JewishOther No preference

5.1%14.6%47.3% .3% 8.8%17.0%

3.0%13.4%54.4% .7% 8.7%19.8%

IncomeUnder $9000$9000 to $14900$15000 to $18999$19000 to $24999$25000 to $34900$35000 to $49000$50000 and OverNot Employed

8.3% 9.9% 7.5%16.1%25.2%15.3%11.6% 6.2%

8.7% 7.5% 4.8% 9.4%32.6%19.5%13.1% 4.5%

Parental Self-Disclosure

Parental Self-Disclosure assessment

How much has your father told you about the experiences and feelings he had when he was ateenager (ages 12-18)?1 Almost nothing.2 Very little.3 Some.4 Quite a bit.

How much has your mother told you about the experiences and feelings she had when she was ateenager (ages 12-18)?1 Almost nothing.2 Very little.3 Some.4 Quite a bit.

Connection assessment

1= not like her/him2=somewhat like her/him3=a lot like her/him

My Mother or Father is a person who.....

1. makes me feel better after talking over my worries with her/him.

2. smiles at me very often.

3. is able to make me feel better when I am upset.

4. enjoys doing things with me.

5. cheers me up when I am sad.

6. gives me a lot of care and attention.

7. makes me feel like the most important person in her/his life.

8. believes in showing her/his love for me.

9. often praises me.

10. is easy to talk to.

Quality of Parent-Child Relationship

Parent Child Relationship Satisfaction assessment

How would you rate your relationship with your mother? (Circle the number that best describesyour relationship).

Poor Excellent1 2 3 4 5 6 7

How would you rate your relationship with your father? (Circle the number that best describesyour relationship).

Poor Excellent1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Communication Openness Assessment

1= strongly agree2= agree3= neither agree nor disagree4= disagree5= strongly disagree

How much do you agree with the following statements: (Leave it blank if you do not have amother or father you have regular contact with).

1. I can discuss my beliefs with my father/mother without feeling restrained or embarrassed.

2. I am very satisfied with how my father/mother and I talk together.

3. If I were in trouble, I could tell my father/mother

Self-Esteem assessment

1=strongly agree2=agree3=neither agree or disagree4=disagree5=strongly disagree

Below are some statements that describe how people feel about themselves. Please circlethe number that best describes how you feel about yourself.

1. I am able to do things as well as most people.

2. I certainly feel useless at times.

3. At times I think I am no good at all.

4. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

5. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.

6. I wish I could have more respect for myself

7. I take a positive attitude toward myself.

8. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

9. All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.

10. I feel that I’m a person of worth at least on an equal plane with others.

Social Initiative assessment

1= never/almost never true2=a little3=sometimes4=quite often5=very often/always true

1. I enjoy doing things and talking with peers.

2. I share feelings and ideas with peers.

3. I am comfortable joking with teachers and staff.

4. I help other students in need.

5. I join in classroom discussions.

6. I talk with adults at school.

7. I ask questions when I don’t understand someone.

Table 3. Means, Standard Deviations, and Ranges for all Variables by Age

FIFTH (N) = 294 EIGHTH (N) = 306

SD RANGE SD RANGE

FDISC * 2.57 1.08 1 - 4 2.68 1.01 1 - 4

FCON *** 2.44 .44 1 - 3 2.20 .54 1 - 3

FSAT ** 6.04 1.48 1 - 7 5.05 1.74 1 - 7

MDISC * 2.78 1.04 1 - 4 2.95 .97 1 - 4

MCON *** 2.59 .36 1 - 3 2.42 .48 1 - 3

MSAT 6.32 1.16 1 - 7 5.75 1.27 1 - 7

ESTM 3.54 .65 1.50-5.0 3.64 .68 1.60-5.00

SOCI ** 3.30 .84 1 - 5 3.08 .69 1 - 5FDISC= father self-disclosure, FCON= father connection, FSAT= father-child relationshipsatisfaction, MDISC= mother self-disclosure, MCON= mother-child connection, MSAT=mother-child relationship satisfaction, ESTM= child self-esteem, SOCI= child social intiative. *p< .05; ** p< .01; *** p< .001.

Table 2. Means, Standard Deviations, and Ranges for all Variables by Child Gender

SONS (N) = 296 DAUGHTERS (N) = 304

SD RANGE SD RANGE

FDISC 2.60 1.04 1 - 4 2.65 1.04 1 - 4

FCON 2.35 .50 1 - 3 2.29 .52 1 - 3

FSAT * 5.80 1.56 1 - 7 5.28 1.76 1 - 7

MDISC ** 2.57 1.01 1 - 4 3.15 .92 1 - 4

MCON 2.50 .44 1 - 3 2.51 .43 1 - 3

MSAT 6.04 1.25 1 - 7 6.01 1.25 1 - 7

ESTM 3.62 .67 1.50-5.0 3.57 .67 1.60-5.00

SOCI 3.11 .82 1 - 5 3.26 .73 1 - 5FDISC= father self-disclosure, FCON= father connection, FSAT= father-child relationshipsatisfaction, MCON= mother-child connection, MDISC= mother self-disclosure, MSAT=mother-child relationship satisfaction, ESTM= child self-esteem, SOCI= child social intiative. *p< .05; ** p< .01; *** p< .001.

Table 4. Bivariate Correlations among Parenting and Youth Outcome Variables by Gender ofChild

FDISC FCON FSAT MDISC MCON MSAT ESTM SOCI

FDISC .35** .28** .32** .10 .01 .14** .14**

FCON .24** .60** .08 .50** .23** .22** .27**

FSAT .29** .68* .04 .30** .49** .23** .13*

MDISC .20** .01 -.04 .30** .14* .12* .04

MCON .11 .55** .33** .26** .56** .24** .22**

MSAT .13* .36** .48** .24** .61** .17** .12*

ESTM .03 .38** .26** .10 .38** .27** .22**

SOCI .13* .24** .23** .02 .16** .22** .18**NOTE: Correlation for males are above the diagonal; correlations for females are below thediagonal; * p < .05, ** p < .01; FDISC= father disclosure, FCON= father connection, FSAT=father-child relationship satisfaction, MCON= mother-child connection, MDISC= motherdisclosure, MSAT= mother-child relationship satisfaction, ESTM= child self-esteem, SOCI=child social esteem.

FatherConnection

Father Self- Disclosure

Mother Self-Disclosure

Mother-ChildConnection

Father-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Mother-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Self-Esteem

SocialInitiative

.05

.10

-.04

.08

.24**

-.08

.17**

.05

.06

-.06

.03

-.05

.10

.55***

.30***

.60***

-.03 -.03

.02

.32***

.35***

.10

.08

.50***

.15

Figure 2. Model of Parenting and Youth Outcomes for Sons

-.01

FatherConnection

Father Self- Disclosure

Mother Self-Disclosure

Mother-ChildConnection

Father-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Mother-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Self-Esteem

SocialInitiative

.16*

-.04

-.02

.07 .17

.03

.02

.20**

.05

-.08

.05

-.03

-.06

.14**

.67***

.25***

.55***

.09 .04

.26**

.20***

.24***

.11

.01

.55***

.02

Figure 3. Model of Parenting and Youth Outcomes for Daughters

N= 304*p< .05**p< .01***p < .001

FatherConnection

Father Self- Disclosure

Mother Self-Disclosure

Mother-ChildConnection

Father-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Mother-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Self-Esteem

SocialInitiative

.04

.09

.03

.05

.22**

.01

.07

.09

-.07

-.02

.01

-.07

.17***

.46***

.27**

.42***

-.03 .08

.24**

.25***

.27***

.07

.04

.56***

.01

Figure 4. Model of Parenting and Youth Outcomes for Fifth

N= 294*p< .05**p< .01***p < .001

.10

FatherConnection

Father Self- Disclosure

Mother Self-Disclosure

Mother-ChildConnection

Father-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Mother-ChildRelationshipSatisfaction

Self-Esteem

SocialInitiative

.18*

-.08

-.01

.15*

.21**

-.15

.32***

-.03

-.01

-.02

-.01

-.10*

.13**

.65***

.40***

.65***

.09 -.06

.05

.25***

.36***

.16**

.05

.47***

.25**

Figure 5. Model of Parenting and Youth Outcomes for eighth

N= 306*p< .05**p< .01***p< .001

-.02

Conclusions

• Mother’s disclose more

• Father disclosure is predictive

• Absence of literature on parental-disclosure

• Connection with father influences self-esteem and social initiative. Connection with mother only impacts self-esteem.