Factores psicosociales y conducta externalizada en adolescentesla relevancia de los estilos parentales y las actitudes hacia la violencia escolar

Resum

The general aim that has led to the realization of the studies developed in this thesis has been to examine the relationship between parental educational styles and other psychosocial factors, such as the attitude towards adolescent violence, and the involvement in school violence in the Region de Murcia. In order to do so, we first carry out a conceptual approach to violence in adolescents, in a general context, that is, the externalization of behaviors, and a more defined one, violence in the school setting. We will analyze the prevalence data, and for its prevention, we will explore the psychosocial factors that intervene in its development in the current literature, always putting special interest in the parental styles and in the attitude of adolescents towards school violence. In the second part, the empirical work consists of three studies written in the form of an article. In the first study, we conducted a systematic review on the influence of parental styles and other psychosocial factors in the development of adolescents' externalizing behaviors. The second study consists of a transverse work that investigates the same elements, as well as the attitudes of adolescents towards violence in a sample obtained from the Region de Murcia. The last study focuses on analyzing whether attitudes towards violence or parental styles, among other elements, are also related to violence in the school setting. The results confirm the positive effect of a moderate control as well as affection, typical of the authoritative style, by promoting the acquisition of prosocial behaviors in their children. In contrast, the authoritarian style, defined by exercising iron control, without showing affection, poses a risk to the development of externalizing behaviors. Coercive discipline, imposition or physical punishment, are related to externalizing behaviors. Among the possible differences of mothers or fathers, the results point out that it is really the type or the parental dimension that characterizes what causes the true effect, regardless of who practices it. There are also no differences according to the gender of the adolescents in the development of externalizing behaviors. However, during the review some works do find distinctions that are described in this work. The following studies describe the main social and demographic characteristics of ESO students in the educational centers of the Comunidad Autónoma de Murcia. Regarding the parental styles, the data are consistent with those previously described, and the predictive model confirms that the affect and care of the mother, especially, acts as a protective factor against the development of behavioral problems in boys and girls. Regarding the attitude variable, we observed that any favorable attitude towards violence encourages externalizing behaviors in adolescents (verbal aggression or behavior problems). Among the variables studied there are sex differences. Thus, in boys, positive attitudes towards violence are more strongly influenced and violence in the school environment is used more in all its dimensions (form and functions of aggression). On the other hand, in the girls mediate the parental styles (paternal affection and paternal overprotection) on the development of externalizing behaviors. It is important to underline how three of the four attitudes examined are predictive factors of these behaviors in both sexes. These findings point to the lack of coping strategies and social skills in young people when it comes to resolving conflicts.