Adolescent Aggression and Parent-Child Triangulation: The Mediating Effect of Mentalization
Abstract
Adolescence is a critical developmental period in which family relationships and psychological processes can substantially shape behavioral outcomes. This study examines the relationship between parent-child triangulation and adolescent aggression and investigates the mediating role of adolescent reflective functioning. Data were collected from adolescents using standardized self-report measures assessing parent-child triangulation, reflective functioning, and aggression. The data were analyzed using correlation analysis, direct effect analysis, and mediation analysis. The results showed that parent-child triangulation was positively correlated with adolescent reflective functioning and positively associated with adolescent aggression, whereas adolescent reflective functioning was negatively correlated with adolescent aggression. The direct effect analysis further showed that parent-child triangulation had a significant positive association with adolescent aggression. The mediation analysis revealed a significant negative indirect effect of parent-child triangulation on adolescent aggression through adolescent reflective functioning. This finding indicates that the positive association between parent-child triangulation and reflective functioning, together with the negative association between reflective functioning and aggression, forms a negative indirect pathway. Thus, reflective functioning represents a pathway through which parent-child triangulation is indirectly associated with lower aggression, despite the positive direct association between triangulation and aggression. These findings highlight the importance of considering both family relational experiences and adolescents’ psychological processes when understanding aggressive behavior. Interventions that strengthen adolescents’ reflective functioning, together with efforts to reduce adolescents’ involvement in problematic parental interactions, may provide useful directions for supporting adolescent adjustment.
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References
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