Puerto Rican adolescents’ disclosure and lying to parents about peer and risky activities: Associations with teens’ perceptions of Latino values

Disclosure and lying to mothers and fathers about different activities, as defined within social domain theory, were examined as a function of Latino family values in 109 Puerto Rican lower socioeconomic status middle adolescents (M = 15.58 years, SD = 1.18) living in the United States. Questionnaires revealed that teens sometimes disclosed to parents about their risky prudential (unhealthy or unsafe) and peer activities. Lying was infrequent, although greater for risky than for peer issues. In general, path analyses demonstrated that teens’ greater adherence to Latino family values and trust in parents were associated with more disclosure and less lying to mothers. However, these findings were moderated by the type of issue considered and perceptions of parents’ Latino family values.