How Does (In)congruence in Perceived Adolescent-Parent Closeness Link to Adolescent Socioemotional Well-Being? The Mediating Role of Resilience

In general, a supportive relationship with parents facilitates children's socioemotional well-being (SEWB). However, adolescents and parents often present discrepant views on their relationship quality, and these discrepancies could lead to meaningful impacts on adolescent adjustment as depicted in the operations triad model. Few studies have investigated how the degree and direction of (in)congruence in perceived adolescent-parent closeness is associated with SEWB and the potential mediation role of resilience in accounting for these associations during the transition from childhood to adolescence. In the present study, 211 Chinese preadolescents (10-12 years old;49.8% boys) and one of their parents reported their perceptions of adolescent-parent closeness. Adolescents also self-reported their SEWB and resilience. The results of polynomial regression with response surface analysis showed that both adolescent-parent congruence and incongruence were related to adolescent SEWB. What's more, congruently high levels of closeness between adolescents and parents and higher closeness perceived by adolescents than their parents were associated with higher adolescent SEWB via the mediating role of resilience. These findings extended the operations triad model by elaborating the distinct outcomes corresponding to (in)congruent perceptions of adolescent-parent dyads on their closeness and providing new knowledge on the mediating role of resilience. Future research may consider relationship-based family interventions targeting adolescent-parent incongruent views of closeness and incorporate resilience training to facilitate SEWB among Chinese adolescents.