Differentiating the effects of enacted parental support on adolescent adjustment in Taiwan: Moderating role of relationship intimacy

The moderating effect of relationship intimacy on the relation between enacted parental support and adolescent adjustment was examined. Using a pretest-posttest design, we studied 213 Taiwanese parent-adolescent dyads in which the adolescents were facing a major stressful event, the final school examinations. Analyses showed a significant cross-over interaction of provided parental support and relationship intimacy on change in emotional anxiety. Parental support predicted reduced anxiety when adolescent's perceived relationship with parents was intimate, and increased anxiety when it was distant. Possible underlying mediators that account for the moderating effect are discussed.