NCJ Number
216651
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 949-958
Date Published
December 2006
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study used a sample of 671 parent-adolescent pairs to develop and test a new instrument on lying behavior and its associations with various areas of parent-child interaction and their implications for the child's behavioral and emotional adjustment.
Abstract
The psychometric properties of the new instrument on lying were satisfactory; the scale proved to be highly reliable. Apparently a single factor underlies the lying scale, and the individual items uniquely contribute to this factor. Even when controlling for related constructs such as secrecy and disclosure, lying is still related to most of the variables considered in the current study. This means that this instrument shows construct validity as well. Findings produced by the instrument indicate that children who frequently lie to their parents show less disclosure, higher levels of secrecy, poorer communication patterns, less trust between the parents and their child, and more alienation. Frequent lying by the child was related to less knowledge, less control, and less solicitation of information from the child. Adolescents who lie frequently to their parents show more behavioral and emotional problems. Two self-report questionnaires were developed, one to administer to the children at school and one to administer to parents at home. The study was conducted in the winter of 2000-2001. The scale consists of 12 items that assess the extent to which the adolescent explicitly lies to his/her parents about activities and actions, tells "white lies," and makes stories more interesting by adding incorrect information. Other instruments measured variables related to the quality of the parent-child interaction. 5 tables and 25 references