Imaginary audience behavior and perceptions of parents among delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents

Imaginary audience behavior and perceptions of parents among a group of male delinquents and nondelinquent male and female adolescents were assessed. Each subject was administered the Imaginary Audience Scale and an author-designed inventory which measured perceived parental support. The results showed that the delinquents, compared to the nondelinquent males, expressed greater concern about the imaginary audience and had more negative perceptions of their fathers. Stronger concerns about the imaginary audience were positively correlated and negatively correlated with perceptions of low parental support among the delinquents and the male nondelinquents, respectively. The male nondelinquents also expressed greater concern than the female nondelinquents for the imaginary audience. Implications relating imaginary audience behavior and family relations to adolescent development are discussed.Presented as a paper at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, April 1981.Received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Current interests are adolescent-oriented family therapy, developmental correlates of juvenile delinquency, and adult development.