Mother–Adolescent Discrepancies in Psychological Adjustment Using Latent Profile Analysis: Longitudinal Predictors of Reporter-Specific Relationship Quality

Mother–adolescent discrepancies in reports of adolescent psychological adjustment are meaningful and heterogeneous. Recognizing this heterogeneity advances the multi-informant theory by facilitating the interpretation of discrepancy patterns. Despite growing research on discrepancy magnitude and direction, their heterogeneity across adaptive and maladaptive adjustment and family-based predictors remain unclear. Guided by the Operations Triad Model, the present study identified discrepancy profiles that integrate discrepancy direction and problem predominance across internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial domains. It also examined the longitudinal predictions of mother- and adolescent-reported relationship quality on the profile membership. Using longitudinal dyadic data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, the sample comprised 6,056 mother–adolescent dyads (51.9% girls, M_{age−adolescent} = 16.67 years and M_age−mother = 46.64 years at Wave 7). Latent profile analysis identified four profiles. In three profiles, adolescents reported more problems than mothers (adolescent > mother) alongside differing problem predominance. The remain profile reflected mother-higher problem reporting (mother > adolescent) alongside elevated internalizing and externalizing problems. Hierarchical multinomial logistic regression revealed that higher closeness and lower conflict reported by both parties were most strongly associated with the profile involving adolescent-higher problem reporting (adolescent > mother) alongside overall low problems. When reporter effects were modeled simultaneously, mother-reported lower closeness and higher conflict, relative to adolescents’ reports, showed stronger associations with the profile involving mother-higher problem reporting (mother > adolescent) alongside overall severe problems This finding suggests that predictive effects of relationship quality are report-specific, with maternal negative perceptions playing a more influential role in predicting mother-higher problem reports and great overall problems. The current findings highlight the heterogeneity of mother–adolescent discrepancies across adjustment contexts and the importance of accounting for reporter-specific effects in their links with relationship quality.