Parental listening when adolescents self-disclose: A preregistered experimental study
Abstract
Parental listening is believed to be an important quality of parent-child interactions, but its effects on adolescents are not well understood. The current study experimentally manipulated parental listening in video-recordings of an adolescent's self-disclosure to test effects on anticipated well-being (positive affect, self-esteem, and less negative affect) and self-disclosure intention. Good listening was manipulated in two situations relevant to vaping: hurt feelings of alienation from pressuring peers and having transgressed by vaping. Participants (N = 1001) aged 13-16 years viewed videos and reported on their anticipated reactions. Following a preregistered analytic plan, viewing good listening was found to predict greater well-being and self-disclosure intention. Consistent with self-determination theory, anticipated psychological need satisfaction for autonomy (freedom to be self-congruent) and relatedness (connectedness to parents) mediated the effects of listening on downstream outcomes. Parental listening effects on adolescent outcomes generalized across both situations of disclosure, in line with preregistered hypotheses.
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The manipulation check used two items adapted from Weinstein et al. (2021).
“The manipulation check was measured using two items adapted from Weinstein et al. (2021) who used them in a study of perceived support with mid‐ and older adolescents.”
From Teachers' motivational prosody: A pre‐registered experimental test of children's reactions to tone of voice used by teachers (2023) · cites this paper as Weinstein et al., 2021
The well-being composite was consistent with previous research that combined these indicators for a well-being measure in emerging adults aged 17-21 in the context of cyberbullying, as a result of parental listening, and in relation to daily experiences following social media use.
“This composite was consistent with previous research that has combined these indicators for a well‐being measure in emerging adults aged 17–21 in the context of cyberbullying (Waisglass, 2017), as a result of parental listening (Weinstein et al., 2021), and in relation to daily experiences following social media use (Mitev et al., 2021).”
From Teachers' motivational prosody: A pre‐registered experimental test of children's reactions to tone of voice used by teachers (2023) · cites this paper as Weinstein et al., 2021
The basic psychological need satisfaction scale has shown internal reliabilities of α = .60-.90 and responds in theory-consistent ways to autonomy-supportive climates.
“The basic psychological need satisfaction scale (La Guardia et al., 2000) is often used in close relationships and has been used as a predictor of positive and negative affect in emerging adults, showing internal reliabilities of α = .60–.90, and responding in theory‐consistent ways to autonomy‐supportive climates (Şimşek & Demir, 2013; Weinstein et al., 2021).”
From Teachers' motivational prosody: A pre‐registered experimental test of children's reactions to tone of voice used by teachers (2023) · cites this paper as Weinstein et al., 2021
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“Once a speaker experiences psychological safety, they aremore likely to self-disclose (Weinstein et al. 2021) and speak authentically (Ryan &Ryan 2019).”
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“…self-esteem, presumably because having their autonomy need satisfied helped participants to experience that their true self, as expressed through personally held but controversial attitudes, and were given space in a social context that provided high-quality listening (Itzchakov & Weinstein, 2021).”
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“Previous research indicates that good listeners benefit their speakers in numerous ways (e.g., Ames et al., 2012; Itzchakov & Weinstein, 2021; Pasupathi et al., 1998; Weinstein et al., 2021).”
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“The manipulation check was measured using two items adapted from Weinstein et al. (2021) who used them in a study of perceived support with mid-and older adolescents.”
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“Others have tested experimentally and supported the effects of listening on autonomy and relatedness (Itzchakov, Weinstein, & Cheshin, 2022a, b, c; Itzchakov et al., 2022a, b, c; Weinstein et al., 2021).”
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Self-citationListening and the pursuit of communal relationships
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Self-citationBalancing listening and action is key to supportive parenting
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“…soft verbal and non-verbal behaviors); and (3) that they understand the child or what they say (e.g., expressed through reflections or summaries of what children said [1,2]. r - r All three qualities must be conveyed for the child to perceive, holistically, that they have been listened to [3]. o r”
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Self-citationListen to this: Why consumer behavior researchers should care about listening
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Self-citationWhy listening to traumatic disclosures sometimes fails and how it can succeed.
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A Possible Dark Side of Listening? Teachers Listening to Pupils Can Increase Burnout
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“Observation and emulation of successful group practices in generative artificial intelligence usage may help acquire both technical skills and significantly associated with increased self-disclosure intention (Weinstein et al., 2021; Chiu et al., 2024).”
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“Relatedly, poor listening hinders the speaker’s speech fluency [10], reduces the speaker’s willingness to self-disclose [8], and negatively impacts memory [11] and creativity [12].”
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“This scale was used with children in previous research (Weinstein et al ., 2021) .”
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Puzzles of Interpersonal Listening: Conflicting Findings, Theories, and Future Research
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“…feedback include (a) reduced defensiveness (Itzchakov et al., 2017), (b) increased psychological safety (Castro et al., 2018; Castro et al., 2016), (c) openness to change (Itzchakov et al., 2020), (d) voice behavior (Tangirala & Ramanujam, 2012), and (e) self-disclosure (Weinstein et al., 2021).”
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- Authors
- Weinstein, N., Huo, A., & Itzchakov, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Reading (GB)
- University of Haifa (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Weinstein, Netta
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-09
- Volume
- 209
- Pages
- 105178
- ISSN
- 0022-0965 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3164880315
- Cited by
- 51
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 5.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Israel Science Foundation (460/18)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth
- Keywords
- adolescent self-disclosure, self-esteem, vaping, peer pressure, autonomy, relatedness, self-determination theory, parent-child interaction, adolescent mental health
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Humans, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Peer Group, Self Concept
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