Parental Influence On Youth Alienation and Its Associated Effects On Well-Being Outcomes

Positive socialization has long been associated with a constructive adjustment in life and with health oriented behaviors. Past research has shown that alienation in adolescents has been associated to many poor health and behavioral outcomes including normlessness, poor academic performance, poor self-esteem, and low expectation of success. While youth alienation has generally been looked at from an individual psychological perspective, this study explored the influence of parenting on youth alienation and its association with youth well-being. Studies such as this can prove valuable to inform interventions looking to better integrate maladaptive youth into classroom and family settings.

Using a prospective longitudinal study with 2 time points, we investigated the influence of three parenting variables (control, strictness, support) on youth alienation at one year follow up. Additionally, this study investigated the moderating effects of self-esteem, academic performance, and sense of independence between the associations of parenting and youth alienation.

The study was conducted among 324 youths (56% male) ranging in age from 15-20 (M = 17.29 yrs, SD = 1.61) attending three different types of secondary schools in Northwest Italy. Due to the clustering of students within grades and possible intra-school correlation between students, a general linear mixed model was applied in the analysis. Age, gender, and parental education were used as covariates in the analysis.

Results showed that higher levels of alienation were associated with higher reports of parental control (β = .15, p < 0.01) and parental strictness (β = .16, p < 0.004). Additionally, this study showed evidence for the moderating effects of self-esteem and sense of independence between the associations of parenting and youth alienation.

This study presents findings which could be used to inform youth interventions aimed at increasing their social integration in hopes of achieving better adjustment and well-being in school and family settings. Further research is needed which can further elucidate the influence and interactions of parental determinants on youth alienation and the potential effects on specific health indicators.