Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Legitimacy of Parental Authority: Developmental Trajectories and Relation to Adjustment Outcomes

Perceptions of the legitimacy of parental authority (LoPA) reflect the degree to which parents and adolescents believe parental control over an adolescent’s behavior is appropriate. LoPA may impact the level of autonomy granted to adolescents and adolescents’ compliance with parental demands and rules. Although low perceived LoPA has consistently been linked to increased externalizing symptoms, the association with internalizing symptoms is less clear. Furthermore, few studies have considered whether and how age-related changes in LoPA are related to adjustment and the implications of LoPA trajectories for mental health symptoms. In a community sample of early adolescents (n = 387; 55% female; 83.1% non-Hispanic White; mean age at T1 = 11.61, SD = 0.55) and parents, latent growth curve modeling was utilized to characterize trajectories of LoPA perceptions and test associations with externalizing, anxious, and depressive symptoms. Parent and adolescent perceptions of LoPA generally declined with age, although there were differences across domains. Adolescent perceptions of LoPA were prospectively linked to externalizing, anxious, and depressive symptoms, and the rate of change was associated with externalizing and depressive symptoms such that lower initial levels and steeper declines were associated with poorer adjustment, while parent perceptions of LoPA were not associated with adjustment outcomes.