Parenting by lying and children's lying to parents: The moderating role of children's beliefs.

How are children socialized about lying? One way is parental modeling of lying given that parents tell various lies to their children for parenting purposes, which is a practice known as parenting by lying. Importantly, how children perceive and interpret the lying behavior around them may be crucial to how they then learn to lie. Yet, we do not know how children's perceptions of different types of parental lies drive this socialization. In a comprehensive birth cohort of parent-child dyads (N = 564; children aged 11 and 12 years) in Singapore, we collected multi-informant reports of instrumental lies (parental lies told for child compliance) and white lies (parental lies told to instill positive emotions), children's belief in parental lies, and children's lying to parents. We found greater consistency in parent and child reports of instrumental lies than of white lies and that children reported greater belief in instrumental lies than in white lies. Children's reported exposure to instrumental lies was associated with greater lying to parents. However, for white lies this relationship was evident only when children had moderate to low beliefs in parental lies. Examining the interplay between parental lies and children's beliefs in those lies, the current study illuminates the potential pathways to children's lying behaviors.

Effects of Parenting by Lying in Childhood on Adult Lying, Internalizing Behaviors, and Relationship Quality.

Parenting by lying is a phenomenon in which parents lie to their children, usually for a positive goal, and has been the subject of new parenting research. This study tested the associations between parenting by lying in childhood, lying to parents in young adulthood, and parent-child relationship quality. Secondly, we examined the mechanisms through which these constructs were all related to internalizing behaviors in young adulthood, specifically-stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Young adult participants between the ages of 18 and 24 (N = 206) responded to questions about parenting strategies experienced in childhood, their current adult functioning, lying to parents, and parent-child relationship quality. Results indicate that parenting by lying in childhood was significantly associated with lower quality relationships with parents during young adulthood. Additionally, we found that double mediation models (lying to parents and quality of parent-child relationships) were best fitting the data in explaining the exploratory mechanisms (indirect pathways) through which parenting by lying was associated with internalizing behaviors (stress responses, anxiety, and depressive symptoms) in young adulthood. Based on all the findings, a review of parenting by lying in childhood as a common parenting strategy, and further research is highly encouraged. Other implications are discussed.

Parenting by Lying.

Parenting by lying is a practice in which parents lie to their children to influence their emotions or behavior. Recently, researchers have tried to document the nature of this phenomenon and to understand its causes and consequences. The present research provides an overview of the research in the emerging field, describes some key theoretical and methodological challenges in studying this topic, and proposes a theoretical framework for understanding parenting by lying and for guiding future research to advance our knowledge about this understudied parenting practice.

We can't afford the candy! The influence of parenting by lying about money on mobile phone addiction and the roles of anxiety and socioeconomic status among Chinese adolescents.

Background: Extant research has indicated that parenting practice, such as harsh parenting, rejection, and neglect increases the risk of mobile phone addiction. However, no research to date has examined the association between parenting by lying about money and adolescent mobile phone addiction. Objective: The current study used a survey to test whether parenting by lying about money may be associated with adolescent mobile phone addiction. The mediation of anxiety and moderation of socioeconomic status were also examined. Materials and methods: We recruited 971 adolescents from five secondary schools in a city in central China. Of the participants, 448 (46.14%) were boys and 523 (53.86%) were girls (M age = 13.63, SD age = 1.01). Results: The results of mediation analysis indicated that parenting by lying about money positively predicted mobile phone addiction (B = 0.144, p < 0.01); parenting by lying about money positively predicted anxiety (B = 0.126, p < 0.01) and mobile phone addiction (B = 0.107, p < 0.01). Anxiety positively predicted mobile phone addiction (B = 0.293, p < 0.01). Moreover, the bias-corrected bootstrapping mediation test indicated that the process by which parenting by lying about money predicted mobile phone addiction through anxiety was significant (indirect effect = 0.037, SE = 0.011, 95% CI = [0.017, 0.059]). Conclusion: The current study suggests that parenting by lying about money may lead to mobile phone addiction through the mediation of anxiety. However, the effect was stronger for adolescents with higher level of socioeconomic status than their counterparts.

Dramaturgical perspective mediates the association between parenting by lying in childhood and adolescent depression and the protective role of parent-child attachment.

BACKGROUND: Recent findings reveal that individuals who experience parenting by lying in childhood may exhibit depression through adulthood. Questions remain regarding the cognitive mechanism underlying this association and whether depression manifests as early as adolescence. OBJECTIVE: Our current study used a survey to test the associations among parenting by lying in childhood, adolescent depression, dramaturgical perspective, and parent-child attachment. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Adolescents (n = 964, Mage = 13.62, SDage = 1.04) were recruited from five secondary schools in a city in central China. A total of 446 (46.3 %) boys and 518 (53.7 %) girls participated in the survey. METHODS: We used questionnaires to measure parenting by lying, dramaturgical perspective, parent-child attachment and depression. RESULTS: A bias-corrected bootstrapping mediation test indicated that the process by which parenting by lying predicted depression through a dramaturgical perspective was significant,ab = .06, SE = .01, 95 % CI = [.027, .089]. Moderation analysis indicated that the interaction between parenting by lying and parent-child attachment was associated with depression (B = - .05, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Parenting by lying in childhood was found to be positively associated with adolescent depression. The association was mediated by the child's use of a dramaturgical perspective and moderated by parent-child attachment. This study highlights an intriguing but under-researched parenting practice and extends our understanding of its association with adolescent depression. In practice, strengthening parent-child attachment can weaken the association between parenting by lying and depression.

Corrigendum: Exposure to Parenting by Lying in Childhood: Associations with Negative Outcomes in Adulthood.

[This corrects the article on p. 1240 in vol. 8, PMID: 28824477.].

Exposure to Parenting by Lying in Childhood: Associations with Negative Outcomes in Adulthood.

Parents around the world engage in the practice of parenting by lying, which entails lying to manipulate children's emotional states and behavior. The current study is the first to examine whether exposure to parenting by lying in childhood is associated with later dishonesty and psychosocial maladjustment in adulthood. Female undergraduate adults retrospectively reported their experiences of parenting by lying during childhood, the current frequency at which they lie to their parents, and their current psychosocial functioning. We found that adults who recalled relatively high levels of parenting by lying during childhood both lie to their parents more often and experience greater psychosocial adjustments problems in adulthood than adults who recalled relatively low levels of parenting by lying during childhood. This study is the first to suggest that parenting by lying during childhood may be associated with negative moral and social outcomes later in life.