Parental autonomy support and honesty: the mediating role of identification with the honesty value and perceived costs and benefits of honesty.

Previous research emphasizes the importance of honesty (or the absence of lying) in adolescent-parent communication as it is ultimately linked to adolescent non-delinquency (Engels, Finkenauer, & van Kooten, 2006). Empirical evidence also suggests that positive parental practices may prevent adolescents' lying (Darling, Cumsille, Caldwell, & Dowdy, 2006; Jensen, Arnett, Feldman, & Cauffman, 2004). This study tests an integrated model where perceived parental autonomy support and controlling parenting are expected to have opposite effects on adolescent's honesty in the parent-adolescent relationship via differential identification to the honesty value and perceived costs/benefits of being honest. Using structural equation modeling, results from 167 parent-adolescent dyads showed that autonomy support was associated with adolescents' identification to the honesty value and perceived low costs/high benefits of honesty. Opposite relations were observed with controlling parenting. Higher honesty value identification and low costs/high benefits of honesty in turn predicted adolescents' honesty. The importance of autonomy-supportive parenting in creating honest family settings is discussed.