Predicting Youth Information Management in Emerging Adulthood from Parental Mindfulness and Social Support

Abstract

The current study examines associations between mindful parenting, family support, and youth information management practices (disclosure, lying, and secrecy) in a diverse sample of college-attending emerging adults (n = 304). Participants were recruited through college classes, and students completed surveys in classrooms or in nearby campus spaces. Data were analyzed to assess for the potential interactive implications of parental mindfulness and support. Results indicate that both parenting variables are important to consider when conceptualizing emerging adults’ information management. Youth who reported the highest levels of parental mindfulness and support also disclosed the most to their parents about their daily activities. In contrast, youth who reported the lowest levels of mindfulness and support lied the most to their parents. Low support was also associated with increased secrecy. Results suggest that parent-youth relationships continue to be important through the emerging adult developmental period, especially in terms of promoting communication practices that can help youth adjust to their increasingly complex worlds.

1. Introduction

When youth openly and willingly share information about their daily lives with their parents, they are at a lower risk for problem behavior, delinquency, and emotional distress [1,2]. Although overall disclosure declines across adolescence [3], maintaining an open and supportive relationship throughout the transition to adulthood remains an important factor for understanding youth well-being, as youth face increasingly more serious and sophisticated situations in their daily lives.

Family relationships are best understood within a framework of bidirectional, transactional, and dynamic interactions. This conception is articulated in contemporary bioecological theory, which uses the Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) conceptualization to explain the complex interpersonal interactions that promote development [4]. Proximal processes are thought to be the primary mechanism that facilitates development, where process refers to the reciprocal interactions between an individual and her/his/their environment [4]. Thus, even as parent–child relationships progress through the lifespan, it is important to emphasize that these relationships are bidirectional and reciprocal, and predictive of future interactions and relationship characteristics. It is also important to note that parent–child interactions are further shaped by more extraneous contextual factors such as culture, gender, health, and socioeconomic status.

There are numerous processes that are important to consider in the case of parent-youth relationships. Parent-youth relationship dynamics, for instance, are particularly important for encouraging youth disclosure, including the understudied construct of parental mindfulness when interacting with their children [5,6]. Mindfulness as a general construct refers to the act of being present, aware, and focused on the sensory and interpersonal aspects of the current moment, suspending one’s tendency to focus on intrusive thoughts or other cognitive distractions [7,8]. Mindfulness is associated with an increased sense of internal peace, wellbeing, and environmental awareness, and is commonly used as a meditative and spiritual practice in a variety of religious traditions and self-improvement ventures [9,10,11].

Parental mindfulness expands this construct and applies the principles of general mindfulness to the parent–child relationship. As articulated by Duncan and colleagues [12], parental mindfulness focuses on five specific aspects of mindful cognitive and interpersonal orientation during interactions with offspring. These include: (1) giving one’s full attention when listening to one’s child, (2) accepting oneself and one’s child in a non-judgmental manner, (3) being emotionally aware of oneself and one’s child, (4) self-regulation in one’s parenting capacity and relationships, and (5) having compassion for the self in the context of parenting. Evidence shows that this type of parenting orientation and intentionality of focus on parent–child interactions has positive implications for the parent, the child, and the parent–child relationship at a variety of points throughout the lifespan [13,14]. Research that specifically focuses on parent-adolescent relationships shows the positive impact of parental mindfulness during this age group in particular. Mindful parenting during adolescence predicts lower levels of psychological distress and increased wellbeing among youth [15,16]. Some evidence suggests that this link is partially explained by the enhanced positive parenting behaviors that mindful parenting promotes [17]. Adolescent behavior can be impulsive, reactive, and even risky or dangerous; thus mindful parenting during this developmental juncture can be especially important.

1.1. Information Management during Adolescence

Adolescence is a time when youth seek increased autonomy and freedom [18,19,20]. At the same time, however, adolescents are confronted with increasingly sophisticated and complex social situations that would strongly benefit from parental knowledge and input in an effort to promote and maintain safety. The existing evidence shows that when adolescents openly and willingly share information about their daily lives with their parents, they are at a lower risk for problem behavior, delinquency, and emotional distress [2,21,22,23]. This research has been important in showing the critical importance of developing a parent-adolescent relationship that includes voluntary youth disclosure and reduced levels of concealing behaviors such as keeping secrets and actively lying to parents. It is critical, then, to understand better what parents can do to facilitate this type of relationship with their adolescent children. That said, with a few notable exceptions described below, the majority of research that focuses on youth disclosure does so using these “information management” variables as predictor variables. Despite the benefits to developing a parent-adolescent relationship that facilitates adolescent disclosure and reduced lying and secret keeping, research focusing on parenting practices that are associated with open and honest youth information management has been scant.

1.2. Family Support during Adolescence

Although adolescents are striving for autonomy, family relationships remain important predictors of behavioral outcomes, mental health, and wellbeing. Among adolescents, perceptions of parental support are linked with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems and aggression [24,25] and parental acceptance is associated with positive adjustment outcomes such as increased prosocial behavior [26]. Parental support is also associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges [27,28,29,30,31]. In contrast, parental rejection is associated with adjustment difficulties for children and adolescents [32]. For example, when youth perceive their parents to be rejecting of them, they are at a greater risk for emotional and self-esteem challenges [33], depression [34], and social anxiety years later [35].

Based on this research, it is clear that warm and supportive parental behavior is associated with positive youth adjustment and parent-youth relationships. In contrast, rejecting and harsh parenting behavior is associated with adjustment challenges and lower quality parent-youth relationships. It follows, then, that youth who do not experience these advantageous home environments may be more likely to withhold information from their parents. In contrast, youth who do experience higher levels of parental warmth and support would likely be more apt to initiate the disclosure of their day-to-day whereabouts and activities. Although some important research has been conducted that links parental rejection to challenges with the disclosure of sexual minority status among adolescents and emerging adults [36], no research to date has specifically examined potential links between adolescent information management of daily activities and perceptions of family support or the lack thereof.

1.3. Parent-Youth Relationships during the Transition to Adulthood

The period of approximately 18 through 29 years of age has been referred to as ‘emerging adulthood’ to delineate the unique developmental experiences and milestones that occur during this transitional phase [37,38,39]. Although this term and associated theory is not universally accepted in the literature [40], over the past 20 years since its conceptual introduction the terminology and rationale have gained increased acceptance [41]. Thus, the current paper will use the term ‘emerging adulthood’ to refer to this transitional period in between adolescence and adulthood that spans approximately the third decade of life, with the acknowledgement that the terminology is not universally accepted among developmental scientists.

Characterized by increased autonomy and individuation, emerging adulthood remains a period of general dependency on family of origin for many in terms of major life experiences and goals [42,43]. In contrast to the younger adolescent years, emerging adults are increasingly likely to live away from home, make independent behavioral decisions, and engage in adult-like interpersonal relationships with their friendships and romantic partners [38]. Even for relatively independent youth, emerging adults benefits from positive relationships with their parents. Although past research shows that many youth perceive that their relationships with their parents improve during the transition to adulthood, there is variability in these relational experiences [44,45]. In general, warm and moderately involved parenting during emerging adulthood predicts positive youth outcomes [46]. Continued parental involvement and positive relationship experiences are important, as many of the behaviors and situations that emerging adults find themselves in still require “more experienced adult” intervention for a variety of economic, statutory, or emotional supportive reasons. Thus, it is not surprising that emerging adults who experience high levels of familial support also report lower levels of stress and other internalizing symptoms, and greater levels of wellbeing and health [47,48]. Despite the clear continued importance of positive parent-youth relationships during emerging adulthood, little is known about factors that predict youth information management during this transitional time period.

1.4. The Present Study

Based on the issues described above, the purpose of the current study is to explore ways in which emerging adults’ perceptions of the parent–child relationships are associated with their information sharing strategies with their parents. Specifically, we examine links among youth perceptions of mindful parenting and family support, with youth information management strategies. We predicted that youth who perceived greater parental mindfulness and greater family support would be more likely to engage in voluntary disclosure to their parents about their daily activities. Similarly, we predicted that mindful parenting would be associated with lower levels of concealing behavior of lying and secrecy. We also expected that youth who perceived increased parental support would be more likely to voluntarily disclose, and less likely to engage in lying or secret keeping from their parents. We examine these issues in a diverse sample of college-attending emerging adults.

2. Methods

2.1. Participants

Participants were 304 college-attending emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 29 years old (M = 21.02 years; SD = 2.03 years). The sample, drawn from a mid-sized public university in the Northeastern United States, was relatively diverse in terms of race/ethnicity (50% White/European American, 23.4% Hispanic/Latino/a/x; 11.5% Black/African American; 6.3% Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander; 6.6% mixed ethnic/racial background) and college experience (6.9% freshman, 14.15 sophomore; 40.8% junior, 34.2% senior, and 3.3% graduate or certificate seeking). Most students resided at home with their parents (58.6%), although 27.6% lived in the dorms, 10.2% lived in off-campus housing with roommates, and 2.9% indicated that they lived in an ‘other’ residential setting. Students who identified as female comprised 72.6% of the sample, whereas students who identified as male constituted 26.3%. Participants were recruited from in-person university classrooms during regular class time. All students over the age of 18 who attended class on the day of recruitment were eligible to participate. Participants represent a broad range of disciplines across the university (Business, Family Science and Human Development, Physical Sciences, Psychology, Public Health, Speech and Language Pathology); classes targeted for recruitment were selected based on instructors’ availability to provide class access and time during the data collection process

2.2. Measures

Parental mindfulness. To measure youths’ perceptions of whether their parents engage in mindful parenting, we modified the Duncan (2007) Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale [49] to make it applicable for youth self-report. The current measure included 10 items (α = 0.85); participants indicated their responses on a scale from 1 (never true) to 5 (always true). Higher scores corresponded to perceptions of greater mindfulness; responses were averaged to yield the composite score. A sample item is, “When they are upset with me, my parents take the time to notice how they are feeling before acting.” The wording of the scale items was such that participants’ answers reflected their perceptions of both/all available parents in their lives.

Family social support. Items from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support [50] were used to assess perceived family support. Participants answered four questions pertaining to family support (α = 0.90), using response options ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Responses were averaged to compute the scale. Higher scores indicate perceptions of increased levels of family social support. To illustrate, a sample item is, “I can talk about problems with my family”. Participants’ responses reflected their experiences with family support in general and were not specific to either their mothers or fathers.

Youth disclosure. To measure the extent to which youth voluntarily disclosed aspects of their daily lives and whereabouts to their parents, a modified version of the Frijns et al. (2010) youth disclosure scale was used [51], including also items measuring youths’ online social experiences [22]. Thus, a total of 5 items measured youth disclosure in the current study (α = 0.67); the scale was comprised by averaging responses to the items. Youth responded to questions on a scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (often). Higher scores correspond to greater disclosure. An example item is, “Do you usually tell your parents about your friends?”. The wording of the items on this measure was such that participants answered about their parents in general, and not specifically about a particular parent.

Youth secrecy. A modified version of the Frijns et al. (2010) scale [51] was used to measure the extent to which youth engaged in secret keeping from their parents. As was the case with the disclosure measure, the current study also included items measuring youths’ online social experiences [22]. In total, 5 items comprised this scale (α = 0.86). Response options range from 1 (never) through 5 (often); higher scores on this scale indicate greater secrecy. A sample item is, “Do you hide what you have been doing online from your parents?”. Consistent with the other measures in this study, youth responses here reflected their experiences with parents in general, and were not specific to their secrecy from their fathers or mothers in particular.

Youth lying. To measure the extent to which youth engaged in lying to their parents, the Jensen et al. (2004) Lying to Parents scale was used [52], and was supplemented by additional items focusing on online behavior. Thus, a total of 8 items were presented to participants asking them to indicate how often in the past year they had lied to their parents about a variety of different lifestyle/daily issues such as sexual behavior, dating, substance use, and online behavior (α = 0.80). Higher scores correspond with increased lying behavior. To illustrate, a sample item is, “Over the past year I have lied to my parents about something that has happened to me online”. Youth responses here reflected their behavior to parents in general, and not with regard to their mother or father specifically.

2.3. Procedure

Data collection took place in university classrooms, during either regularly scheduled class time, or immediately following class time. Hard copies of surveys were distributed; students completed the surveys with pens, pencils, or other writing instruments. Surveys took approximately 30–40 min to complete; the data reported on in this manuscript come from this larger survey. Participants were provided with a small thank you gesture for participating in the study (either candy, gum, or a small school supply item). Trained researchers (primarily the first or second author) administered the surveys and were available to answer any questions that emerged. All study procedures were approved by the university’s IRB.

3. Results

3.1. Descriptive Statistics and Gender Differences

First, it was of interest to examine the means and standard deviations of all study variables, and to compute gender comparisons via a series of t-tests. As indicated in

Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and t-test Analyses by Gender.

Variable	Male		Female		t	df	p
	M	SD	M	SD
Lying to Parents	1.60	0.70	1.57	0.65	0.29	275	0.77
Family Social Support	5.65	1.32	5.60	1.43	0.27	291	0.78
Disclosure	2.91	1.12	3.11	1.06	−1.29	262	0.20
Secrecy	1.94	1.03	1.71	0.89	1.77	266	0.08
Mindful Parenting	3.38	0.63	3.26	0.75	1.31	157.85	0.19

Note. Due to a significant Levene’s Test, the df for the Mindful Parenting variable were adjusted.

, participants generally felt that they received relatively high support from their parents, and that their parents were moderately mindful in terms of their interactions with them. Participants endorsed moderately low levels of secrecy, and even lower levels of lying. Participants indicated that they engaged in moderate levels of disclosure to their parents. As also shown in Table 1, none of the t-tests examining gender differences emerged as significant.

3.2. Bivariate Correlations

Next, a series of bivariate correlations were computed to assess relations among study variables, including youth age due to the relatively large span of ages included in the current study. As depicted in

Table 2. Correlations for study variables.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6
Lying to Parents	-
2. Family Social Support	−0.32 **	-
3. Disclosure	−0.16 **	0.48 **	-
4. Secrecy	0.64 **	−0.38 **	−0.27 **	-
5. Mindful Parenting	−0.33 **	0.70 **	0.43 **	−0.35 **	-
6. Age	−0.17 **	0.07	−0.05	−0.13 *	0.07	-

* p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

, mindful parenting and family support were highly correlated (r = 0.70), indicating a strong association between the two variables. Another noteworthy correlation showed that lying and secrecy also were robustly correlated (r = 0.64). Disclosure was moderately but significantly correlated with the concealing aspects of information management (lying and secrecy); these associations indicated that as disclosure increased, lying and secrecy decreased. Mindful parenting and family support were significantly associated with the information management variables in the expected directions (positively with disclosure, and negatively with secrecy and lying). The only variables significantly associated with youth age were lying and secrecy, both of which were negatively associated with age. Lying and secrecy declined with increasing youth age.

3.3. Predicting Youth Information Management from Parental Mindfulness and Family Support

The final series of analyses involved predicting youth information management from the family variables of parental mindfulness and support. Three separate hierarchical regressions were computed, with age, gender, mindfulness, and support entered in step one and the interaction of mindfulness and support added in step two. One regression was computed for each information management variable: disclosure, lying, and secrecy. Each analysis is described separately below; results are depicted in

Table 3. Regression Coefficient for predicting Youth Disclosure.

Variable	B	SE	Β	t	p
Step 1
PM	0.326	0.113	0.225	−2.891	0.004 **
PSS	0.254	0.062	0.319	4.119	0.000 ***
Age	−0.037	0.029	−0.069	−1.270	0.205
Gender	0.304	0.134	0.124	2.277	0.024 *
Step 2
PM	0.262	0.111	0.181	2.366	0.019 *
PSS	0.377	0.068	0.473	5.574	0.000 ***
Age	−0.037	0.028	−0.070	−1.322	0.187
Gender	0.288	0.130	0.117	2.213	0.028 *
PM × PSS	0.232	0.059	0.243	3.924	0.000 ***

*p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. NOTE. PM = Parental Mindfulness, PSS = Parental Social Support. Gender: 0 = male; 1 = female.

(disclosure),

Table 4. Regression Coefficient for predicting youth lying.

Variable	B	SE	Β	t	p
Step 1
PM	−0.162	0.073	−0.182	−2.228	0.027 *
PSS	−0.092	0.039	−0.194	−2.393	0.017 *
Age	−0.047	0.019	−0.144	−0.2510	0.013 *
Gender	−0.028	0.086	−0.019	−0.325	0.745
Step 2
PM	−0.173	0.072	−0.194	−2.393	0.017 *
PSS	−0.054	0.042	−0.113	−1.266	0.207
Age	−0.046	0.019	−0.141	−2.474	0.014 *
Gender	−0.038	0.086	−0.025	−0.441	0.660
PM × PSS	0.076	0.036	0.142	2.148	0.033 *

*p < 0.05, NOTE. PM = Parental Mindfulness, PSS = Parental Social Support. Gender: 0 = male; 1 = female.

(lying) and

Table 5. Regression Coefficient for predicting Youth Secret Keeping from Parents.

Variable	B	SE	Β	t	p
Step 1
PM	−0.186	0.102	−0.147	−1.834	0.068
PSS	−0.204	0.055	−0.293	−3.681	0.000 ***
Age	−0.50	0.026	−0.106	−1.883	0.061
Gender	−0.263	0.121	−0.0123	−2.172	0.031 *
Step 2
PM	−0.201	0.103	−0.158	−1.952	0.052
PSS	−0.176	0.063	−0.253	−2.809	0.005 **
Age	−0.050	0.026	−0.106	−1.887	0.060
Gender	−0.266	0.121	−0.124	−2.197	0.029 *
PM × PSS	0.052	0.055	0.063	0.949	0.343

*p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. NOTE. PM = Parental Mindfulness, PSS = Parental Social Support. Gender: 0 = male; 1 = female.

(secrecy).

3.3.1. Associations among Disclosure, Mindfulness, and Support

As noted in Table 3, female gender, parental mindfulness, and family social support all significantly predicted greater youth disclosure. That said, the effects of mindfulness and social support were qualified by a significant interaction. As depicted in Figure 1, youth who reported high levels of both parental mindfulness and family social support engaged in the highest levels of disclosure to their parents. In turn, the impact of parental mindfulness on disclosure was reduced among youth who reported the lowest levels (−1 SD from the group mean) of family support. Disclosure was relatively low in this group regardless of the extent to which they perceived their parents as being mindful in their interactions.

3.3.2. Associations among Lying, Mindfulness, and Support

As indicated in Table 4, youth age, parental mindfulness, and family social support all significantly predicted youth lying. Younger youth, those with less mindful parents, and those that perceived decreased levels of parental support were most likely to engage in lying behavior to their parents. However, the effects of mindfulness and support were qualified by a significant interaction. As portrayed in Figure 2, youth who perceived both low family support and low parental mindfulness reported that they engaged in the highest amount of lying behavior. Nonetheless, at high levels of family social support, lying behavior remained relatively low regardless of the extent to which youth perceived their parents as being mindful.

3.3.3. Associations among Secrecy, Mindfulness, and Support

As depicted in Table 5, males and youth who perceived lower levels of family social support engaged in increased secrecy behaviors. No other effects or significant interactions emerged.

4. Discussion

The current study investigated how youths’ perceptions of parent–child relationships were associated with ways in which they shared information with their parents. Specifically, family support and parental mindfulness were explored in terms of their relations with three specific ways in which youth manage parental knowledge about their behavior: disclosure, secrecy, and lying. These issues were examined among a sample of college-attending emerging adults, which typically is a time of increasing youth autonomy and more independent behavioral choices [37,42]. Overall, youth whose parents engaged in increased mindfulness and who provided high levels of support were more likely to share (and less likely to conceal) information about their daily lives with their parents.

Despite this general trend, however, when mindful parenting and family support were considered simultaneously, noteworthy interactions emerged. With regard to youth disclosure and lying, family support moderated the impact of parental mindfulness. In terms of youth disclosure, youth who perceived that family support was relatively low were unlikely to disclose information about their daily lives to their parents, regardless of the level of parental mindfulness. Similarly, with regard to lying, youth who perceived high social support were still relatively unlikely to lie to their parents, even if parental mindfulness was low. This said, youth with parents who were the highest in terms of mindfulness and support engaged in the most disclosure. The results for lying are consistent with this pattern; those youth who perceived the lowest support and the least parental mindfulness also reported lying to their parents the most.

Interestingly, with regard to secrecy behavior, family support emerged as the only significant predictor in the regression analysis. Although parental mindfulness and secrecy were associated bivariately, once other variables were considered, parental mindfulness was no longer a significant predictor of youth secrecy. It is not clear based on the present data why this pattern of findings emerged. Perhaps another component of the parent-youth relationship predicts secrecy better, such as daily communication patterns or the amount of time parents and their emerging adult children spend together. It will be interesting for future research to explore this in more detail.

The current findings are consistent with previous research showing that warm, supportive, and non-judgmental parent–child relationships are associated with enhanced family communication and relational success. Previous research has primarily focused on these associations during adolescence. Adolescents who perceive their relationships with their parents as supportive and close are more likely to engage in open and honest discussions about their daily lives and about their internal experiences including thoughts and feelings [2,23,53]. The current paper extends these findings to the developmental period of emerging adulthood, a time period when youth have ever increasing social responsibilities and increasingly complex social challenges [37,42]. Although most youth do not need or want increased parental control or jurisdiction during these years, most would still arguably benefit from continued parental wisdom and perspective as they navigate this critical developmental transition to adulthood. Moreover, if youth happen to be facing a challenging time in their lives such as school difficulties, relationship, or health related concerns, it is beneficial to have open, healthy lines of parental communication available (e.g., see Buchholz et al., 2015 [54], for a discussion of youth disclosure of mental health challenges). As another illustration, one critically important part of “coming out” for sexual minority youth is disclosing their identity to their parents [55]. Youth benefit when they perceive and experience supportive, accepting parents during this disclosive process [56,57].

The present study highlights the importance of positive parent–child relationships during emerging adulthood. It is important to acknowledge that parental behavior during emerging adulthood does not occur in a vacuum; rather, it is associated with parenting at earlier stages of development [58]. Thus, it is beneficial for parents to demonstrate mindful parenting also in the earlier stages of child rearing. This ability can further establish positive parent–child relationships and aid processes that accompany the transition to adulthood. Mindfulness in general, and as part of the parental role in particular, benefits both the parent and the child. Thus, in light of the findings of this study, parents are encouraged to develop and demonstrate more mindfulness practices which include increased warmth in parent–child interactions, more open communication between parent and child, and being present during quality time [59]. For example, using mindfulness interventions has been shown to be an effective way for parents to increase closeness and bonding with their adolescent children, and to perform more positive parenting, by decreasing parents’ over-reactivity [12,60].

Based on the current findings, parents should also be encouraged to maintain supportive relationships with their emerging adult children. Youth may not seem concretely receptive to gestures of support in the moment as they move through the college years, but the current data show that continued family support is instrumental for keeping the parent-youth line of communication open and honest. When this line of communication is kept open, parents remain available to support their emerging adult children as they navigate their increasingly complex worlds. Future parenting programs might benefit from including information about mindfulness and support, emphasizing the continued importance of these interactive behaviors throughout the transition to adulthood. For example, universities could include a discussion of the benefits of continued mindfulness and support in their new parent welcome programming/activities.

It is also important for any efforts aimed at supporting parents to take into account the diversity of parenting situations and contexts. As discussed by the authors in the edited book by Sparrman and colleagues [61], parents and caregivers come into their roles from a variety of experiences, perspectives, and cultures. These aspects of the parenting context have to be acknowledged and considered when working with families.

Limitations and Future Directions

Although the current study offers new insight to the implications of parental mindfulness and family support on youth information management during emerging adulthood, several limitations should be noted when interpreting the current findings. First, it is important to note that the current data are self-report and retrospective. Although we use youth report of parental mindfulness and family support, it is important for future research to also examine parents’ perspectives about their own parenting behavior. Examining the concordance between youth and parent reports of parenting variables can be an important tool in understanding the implications of family dynamics [62]. For example, as reported by Lippold and colleagues [63,64], when parents believe that they have more knowledge about their adolescents’ thoughts, feelings, and activities then their adolescents report that they actually do, adolescents are at an increased risk for substance use. Second, the current sample consists of college-attending emerging adults who have all graduated from high school and who are all over the age of 18. The sample is also contextualized within a mid-sized, public university in the northeastern United States. Therefore, the present results may not generalize to younger adolescents or to emerging adults who are not attending college. The findings may also not generalize to youth and families from other cultures or regions. Specifically, it will be important for future research to explore predictors of youth information management in other cultural settings, for example, in cultures where youth behavior is viewed in the context of more restrictive norms.

Given the age-related findings in the current study (such that younger youth were more likely to engage in concealing/secret-keeping behaviors), adolescent age in particular may be an important variable to examine further in terms of its impact on youth information management. Relatedly, the current data were cross-sectional; it would be interesting and important to examine how information management changes over time as a result of shifts in parenting behavior. It will also be useful for future research to explore how these factors might be apparent among different parental figures. the current assessments were phrased to reflect parent-youth relationships in general and were not specific to youth relationships with mothers, fathers, or other parental figures. Finally, parental mindfulness and family support are not the only important parenting variables to consider when trying to better understand youth information management. Future research should explore other aspects of parenting that may be associated with adolescents’ comfort in confiding in their parents such as (but not limited to) psychological control or parental discipline practices.

Despite these limitations, the current study provides initial support to the idea that parental mindfulness is an important factor to consider when conceptualizing parent-youth relationships during emerging adulthood. Further, the results indicate that mindfulness should be considered in tandem with other relational variables such as social support. Youth with mindful parents who provided high level of social support were more likely to disclose aspects of their daily life to their parents. Similarly, youth whose parents were perceived as being the least supportive and least mindful were the most likely to lie to their parents. During the emerging adult years, the nest may be empty, but parenting still matters in terms of predicting behaviors that promote youth wellbeing.