Abstract
In a questionnaire study of 883 high school students, subjects were asked the extent to which their parents criticized them for 18 criticizable behaviors or attitudes. Over 50% of the respondents reported being criticized for being disobedient, lazy, and messy—issues central to family life. Further analyses indicated a relationship between perceived criticism and self-image. The more criticism the teenager perceived for a specific behavior or attitude (e.g., being selfish), the more likely that teenager was to perceive himself/herself as being that way. The differential impact of criticism in the context of parental rejection was also explored.
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Received M.D. from Rush Medical College. Research interests are birth order and adolescence.
Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Research interests are adolescence and psychotherapy.
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Harris, I.D., Howard, K.I. Parental criticism and the adolescent experience. J Youth Adolescence 13, 113–121 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02089105
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02089105