Mother-adolescent agreement regarding decision-making autonomy: A longitudinal comparison of families of adolescents with and without spina bifida

Objective: Longitudinal comparison of mother and adolescent agreement regarding decision-making autonomy for adolescents with and without spina bifida (SB). Methods: Forty-two mother-adolescent dyads of adolescents with SB and 55 comparison dyads reported on who was responsible for decision-making across five waves of data collection, beginning at age 8 or 9 years through age 16 or 17 years. Results: The proportion of tasks that dyads agreed were decided by adolescents increased over time for both samples beginning at age 12 or 13 years, but appeared to be delayed by roughly two years for youth with SB and was lower for youth with SB from lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. Mothers and adolescents with low SES demonstrated higher proportions of tasks that dyads agreed were decided by mothers. Conclusions: SB and low SES are risk factors for lower levels of agreed-upon decision-making autonomy. Future studies should examine how parent-adolescent agreement regarding autonomy relates to psychosocial outcomes.