In this study, we investigated the relations between features of parent-child conversations (neutral talk, positive and negative in-dyad and out-dyad talk) and children’s social and physical aggression from ages 9–18. Participants were 297 youth (52% girls) of about 9 years old at Time 1 and their parent. Fifty-two percent of this United States sample identified as White, 20% Black, 20% Hispanic, 8% other races/ethnicities. One hundred eighty-seven parents participated in the parent-child observation task. Ninety four percent of parent participants were mothers. Parent-child conversations were observed in the laboratory during preadolescence, and teachers reported child’s aggression. Using multinomial logit analyses, we found that coded observations of communication features predicted membership in linear trajectories of social and physical aggression across nine years of adolescence; trajectories were derived via mixture modeling. Parent and child communication characteristics were related to trajectories of aggression that spanned preadolescence and adolescence; however, not all predicted associations were significant. Children’s talk about neutral topics predicted being on a lower social aggression trajectory. Positive out-dyad talk from children was related to being on a lower physical aggression trajectory, as was parent in-dyad positive talk. After controlling for other factors, neither parent nor child in- or out-dyad negative talk was associated with social or physical aggression. These findings highlight the importance of positive communication by youth and toward youth in association with long-term social adjustment.

在这项研究中，我们调查了亲子对话的特征（中立的谈话，积极和消极的内向和外向谈话）与9-18岁儿童的社交和身体攻击之间的关系。参加者是时间1的297名约9岁的青年（占女孩的52％）和他们的父母。在美国这个样本中，有52％的人是白人，20％的黑人，20％的西班牙裔和8％的其他种族/族裔。一百八十七名父母参加了亲子观察任务。百分之九十四的父母参加者是母亲。青春期前在实验室中进行了亲子交谈，老师报告了孩子的侵略行为。使用多项式logit分析，我们发现，对通讯功能的编码观察可以预测在九年的青春期中，社交和身体攻击的线性轨迹中的成员身份；轨迹是通过混合建模得出的。父母和孩子的沟通特征与侵略轨迹有关，跨越了青春期和青春期。但是，并非所有预测的关联都是显着的。儿童对中性话题的谈论预计将处于较低的社会侵略轨道上。与父母的双胞胎内阳性反应一样，儿童对双胞胎阳性的正面谈话与较低的身体攻击轨迹有关。在控制了其他因素之后，父母或孩子的双性或非双性阴性谈话都与社交或身体攻击无关。