An Exploration of Autonomy Promotive Parenting on Black Adolescents’ Confidence and Natural Mentoring Relationships

• In Event: Examining Family Processes across Culturally Diverse Families: A Focus on Family Functioning within Black, Latinx, and Chinese Families

Abstract

The onset of authentically formed close bonds with caring and supportive non-parental adults, known as natural mentoring relationships (NMRs), are relatively common during adolescence (Zimmerman et al., 2002). While growing empirical research points to the psychosocial benefits of these relationships among Black adolescents, there remains an incomplete understanding of factors and mechanisms that influence how they develop NMRs. Autonomy support from parents is considered a key component of a secure parental relationship in adolescence that fosters well-being. Specifically, autonomy supportive parenting may foster the confidence that youth need to be able to go out and develop new supportive relationships with adults other than their parents (Arbona & Power, 2013; Gorrese & Ruggieri, 2013). While the demands of adolescence alone may be enough to propel young people toward new relationships, the capacity for adolescents to be successful in establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with natural mentors may be driven by the personal confidence they have in forming and maintaining natural mentoring relationships with adults. Thus, the current study examined associations between Black parents’ autonomy promotive parenting practices and adolescents’ quantity of NMRs via the development of confidence. Survey data from 217 Black adolescents and interview data from a subsample of 24 adolescents (along with a primary caregiver and one familial non-parental adult for each adolescent) were analyzed to both test and probe associations of interest. Our quantitative findings indicated that, after accounting for adolescents’ level of extraversion and gender, more autonomy support from parents predicted increases in adolescents’ quantity of NMRs indirectly via increases in adolescents' confidence. We then utilized thematic analysis techniques to further illuminate how autonomy promotive parenting may have shaped adolescents’ confidence, and ultimately their willingness to pursue supportive relationships with non-parental adults. Findings of this mixed-method analysis will be presented alongside a discussion of the importance of considering parents’ role in the promotion of NMRs among Black adolescents.

Authors

• Bianka Charity-Parker, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Janelle Billingsley, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tianjiao Li, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nancy L Deutsch, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Noelle Hurd, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author