Parent–child Engagement in Decision-making and the Development of Adolescent Affective Decision Capacity and Binge-drinking

Authors

C. Anderson Johnson, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Lin Xiao, University of Southern California
Antoine Bechara, University of Southern California
Paula Palmer, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Dennis R. Trinidad, University of Southern California
Yonglan Wei, Chengdu Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Yong Jia, Chengdu Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Document Type

Article

Department

Community and Global Health (CGU)

Publication Date

8-2011

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Mental and Social Health | Social Psychology | Substance Abuse and Addiction

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate how parents’ engagement of their child in everyday decision-making influenced their adolescent’s development on two neuropsychological functions, namely, affective decision-making and working memory, and its effect on adolescent binge-drinking behavior.

We conducted a longitudinal study of 192 Chinese adolescents. In 10th grade, the adolescents were tested for their affective decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Questionnaires were used to assess perceived parent–child engagement in decision-making, academic performance and drinking behavior. At one-year follow-up, the same neuropsychological tasks and questionnaires were repeated.

Results indicate that working memory and academic performance were uninfluenced by parent–child engagement in decision-making. However, compared to adolescents whose parents made solitary decisions for them, adolescents engaged in everyday decision-making showed significant improvement on affective decision capacity and significantly less binge-drinking one year later.

These findings suggest that parental engagement of children in everyday decision-making might foster the development of neurocognitive functioning relative to affective decision-making and reduce adolescent substance use behaviors.

Rights Information

© 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.023

Recommended Citation

Xiao, L., Bechara, A., Palmer, P.H., Trinidad, D.R., Wei, Y., Jia, Y., & Johnson, C.A. Parent-child engagement in decision making and the development of adolescent affective decision capacity and binge-drinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(3), 285-292, 2011.