Adolescent Relations with Their Mothers, Siblings, and Peers: An Exploration of the Roles of Maternal and Adolescent Self-Criticism

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate self-criticism as a potential mediating factor in the link between mother-adolescent relationships with aggression and perceptions of social competence. The sample consisted of 888 older (M = 14.3 years) and younger (M = 11.6 years) adolescent children from the same family. Maternal self-criticism strongly corresponded to the quality of relationships with children, and an intergenerational similarity in levels of self-criticism, particularly for older children, was found. Mother-adolescent relationships and adolescent self-criticism were significantly related to aggression and perceptions of social competence. In addition, results supported the hypothesis that self-criticism in adolescents mediates the link between mother-adolescent relationships and social competence.