The model was tested on a sample of 61 families, each including a seventh grader, from a rural midwestern county. Data were collected from the families over two evenings. The first night, each family member completed a set of questionnaires focusing upon issues such as parenting, psychological adjustment, self concept, health, social support, deviant behavior, and economic distress. The second night focused upon videotaping family interactions during a discussion of various daily aspects of living. The findings strongly support the hypothesis of the model. Adolescents who are subjected to inept parenting practices of battering, authoritarianism, and minimal explanations tend to develop a coercive interpersonal style; youngsters who do not identify with their parents often fail to develop prosocial value commitments. These two socialization outcomes put the youth at risk for problems with school work, teachers, and conventional peers at school. The generalizations of the results are limited by the fact that the study sample consisted of rural and small town families. 1 table, 2 figures, and 53 references (Author abstract modified)