Parenting, self-regulation and social competence with peers and romantic partners

The present cross-sectional study tested a portion of the tripartite model of familial impacts on self-regulation (Morris et al., 2007) in reference to social competence during early adulthood. N = 302 young adults ages 18 to 24 years (64.9% female; 80.4% European American; 10% Hispanic) were recruited through Mechanical Turk (n = 254) and the local community (n = 48). All participants responded to anonymous online questionnaires about self-regulation, parenting practices, and interpersonal competence with same-sex peers and romantic partners. High parental acceptance and low psychological control were linked to high levels of self-regulation. High social competence in both relationship types was associated with high acceptance and self-regulation; lifetime romantic relationship experience also covaried with high romantic competence. Findings suggest that the tripartite model is applicable to interpersonal competence in emerging adulthood.