Parent-adolescent Communication, Psychological Distress and Attitude toward Authority in Mexican Adolescents: Their influence on school victimization

Abstract

Consequences of adolescent's school victimization compel a better understanding of the relations between influential factors. A randomized representative sample, was selected by conglomerates, including 1.698 Mexican adolescents (46% boys and 54% girls), with ages between 12-17 years (M = 13.65. SD = 1.14) attending secondary school. Self-report data about parents- adolescent communication, psychological distress and positive attitude toward institutional authority were analyzed using structural analysis. The resulting path structural model confirmed an indirect relation between parents-adolescent communication and school victimization trough psychological distress and a positive attitude toward institutional authority, underscoring the influence of parents-adolescent communication over adolescent`s school victimization.