Parent-Child Relationships During Adolescence

Journal of Adolescence, 1999

Family is a never-ending story. This is true in several senses. In life experiences, relationships with members of one's own family typically last longer than bonds with any other relationship partner. In terms of public interest, many doubts have been voiced about whether the family will survive as an institution and continue to be an important agent in the socialization of the young generation. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, however, the family continues to enjoy considerable public attention. In terms of research, scholarly interest in the family has not only remained intact, but has even increased. During the last two decades, in particular, an impressive number of empirical studies have been accumulating that heed call for a contextualization of development, at least with regard to the family as an arena for personal growth. The search continues, however, for a better understanding of the workings of the family and its effects on the individual.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2008

This 4-wave longitudinal study examines developmental changes in adolescents' perceptions of parent-adolescent relationships by assessing parental support, conflict with parents, and parental power. A total of 951 early adolescents (50.4% boys) and 390 middle adolescents (43.3% boys) participated. Univariate and multivariate growth curve analyses showed that support declined from early to middle adolescence for boys and girls and increased from middle to late adolescence for girls, while stabilizing for boys. Conflict was found to temporarily increase during middle adolescence. Parental power (relative power and dominance of parents) decreased from early to late adolescence. Results indicated that: (1) parent-adolescent relationships become more egalitarian during adolescence, (2) parents perceived by adolescents as powerful are viewed as supportive, especially in early adolescence, and (3) perceived conflict with parents is related to but not an impetus for changes in parent-adolescent relationships towards more equality.

Sociological Inquiry, 1999

After a decade and a half of relative decline, the number of adolescents compared to other societal age groups has come roaring back proportionately in the general population. Having reached their demographic peak in the 1970s and subsequent decline in the following years, the adolescent population experienced a revival in the latter half of the 1990s as a numerical, social, and economic force in American society. Indicators of this trend include such social phenomena as high schools that are bursting at the seams, increased public concern over the level of gang violence, growing anxiety about upward trends in teenagers' use of drugs and cigarettes, and a booming teenage economy designed, in part, to encourage the purchase of youthful fashions, movies, pizzas, CDs, concert tickets, and complexion medications (Palladino 1996). The importance of teenagers for our collective future cannot be denied, a conclusion that emphasizes the need to understand how this segment of the population is being prepared for membership in our society. During a time of political and cultural reluctance on the part of local, state, and federal governments to provide assistance to public institutions and families, the socialization roles of parents and families may have even greater significance than in past times for the social lives of the young. As a result, it becomes increasingly important for us to understand the socialization processes that occur within parent-adolescent relationships, the topic of the present collection of articles prepared for this and the subsequent issue of Sociological Inquiry. The classic interpretation of parent-adolescent relationships had its basis in conceptions of conflict and disturbance between parents and adolescents as being virtually inevitable, even to the point of having biological roots (Blos

PsycEXTRA Dataset

O verview Everyone recognizes that babies and young children need and love their parents. But what about teens? Even an adolescent's own parents can despair and wonder how their loving child has apparently become so rejecting. But "apparently" is a crucial word. Research indicates that not only does parenting continue to be important for adolescents, but also that most adolescents themselves continue to report positive relationships and interactions with their parents. This Research Brief brings together recent results of a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens about the nature of their relationships with their parents and findings from rigorous research studies on the parent-adolescent bond. The evidence presented shows that while the proportion of teens reporting positive relationships with their parents does dip somewhat during the early teen years and while this proportion is lower for parents who live apart from their children, adolescents, in general, respect, admire, and like their parents and enjoy spending time with them. These results from interviews with teens dovetail with research showing the link between the quality of parent-child relationships and a wide range of positive outcomes for teens. Moreover, this research is reinforced by similar findings in industrialized countries elsewhere in the world, which we also report on in this brief.

Developmental Review, 1991

Bases for a developmental approach to the nature and functions of mother-child and father-child relationships are considered in connection with research findings from studies of middle-childhood and adolescent subjects and their parents. The framework for the review was derived from two sources: (I) recent conceptualizations of close relationships and (2) implications in general theories of socialization regarding different contributions of mothers and fathers to development during middle childhood and adolescence. Relationships between offspring and their mothers were found to contrast with father-offspring relationships in both middle childhood and adolescence, and differences appear to become more pronounced in some areas as a function of maturational changes associated with the transition to adolescence. The analysis points to the inadvisability of considering relationships with parents to be monolithic and a-developmental. In addition, it makes clear the need for a developmental theory of relationships to serve as a guide to further research on the linkages between ontogenetic change in individuals and the relationships of which they are a part. XC 1991 Academic Press. Inc. This review is concerned with mother-child and father-child relationships during middle childhood and adolescence. It addresses two related questions: (1) What is known about the nature of these relationships in each of the two age periods? (2) What is known, and what additional information is needed, about continuity and change from middle childhood to adolescence, its nature, sources, and outcomes? These questions are motivated by three largely distinct, but potentially convergent, lines of theory and research. One is the growing recognition

Journal of Family Issues, 2013

This longitudinal follow-up studies a group of 90 girls and boys from initial adolescence into emerging adulthood. The relationships between these young people and their parents are analyzed over a 10-year period, while considering possible gender differences. The results indicate that the levels of communication and affection perceived by these young people diminish during emerging adulthood; however, their perceived adaptability remains and cohesion increases as the frequency of conflicts decreases. In terms of gender differences, boys and girls show similar developmental pathways. On the other hand, the results indicated a high relative stability for the scores of the subjects. This work underlines the importance of further studies about family relationships during emerging adulthood, especially from a longitudinal perspective.

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2014

The topic of this chapter is ambitious because it purports to unravel the intricate intersection of adolescent, family, and culture in terms of autonomy and relatedness. We endeavor to make an attempt at this challenging task by providing an overview of theory and research focusing on family relations as they impact the development of autonomy and relatedness. Some theoretical perspectives that have helped to situate the adolescent and the family in context are considered. In particular, the senior author's theoretical perspective on family change and the self is addressed in depth because its contextual outlook promises to provide a general framework for global systematic variations in family, as well as for the self developing in the family, with a particular focus on autonomy and relatedness (Kağitçibaşi, 1990; 2005; 2007). Subsequent discussions will benefit from other theories, in particular, stage-environment fit, positive youth development (PYD), and intentional self-regulation perspectives, which have emerged mainly from social developmental thinking and research on adolescence. Environmental transformations, as seen in urbanization and immigration, will be considered specifically as they impact the family. Thus, this chapter aims to provide an overview of some of the important work in the field. However, given space constraints, a selective approach is used. Family is a key topic of study in several human sciences, such as sociology, anthropology, and social history. However, this chapter is limited to psychological research and theory on the subject. Therefore, such topics as family structures (e.g., extended families, stem families, etc.

1993

This study investigated the degree of agreement between adolescents' and parents' perceptions of the adolescent-parent relationship, and the links between these perceptions and adolescents' school achievement and personal autonomy. Questionnaires were completed by 353 adolescents attending an all-male, inner city, Catholic high school, and by their parents. The questionnaires assessed the parents' and adolescents' percepti,As of the closeness and amount of communication in their relationship, parents' knowledge of their son's activities, and the distribution of decision making in the family. Outcome measures were individuation, or parents' and sons' connectedness or separateness in their relationship; deviance, or the degree to which the sons had gotten into trouble at school; and sons' scholastic achievement. Results concerning individuation indicated that the more the sons perceived their relationship to their parents as constructive, the more autonomous ',Ile sons were; and sons' and parents' perceptions of their closeness were related to the parents' individuation. Results relating to deviance showed that sons who did not feel close to their parents and who believed their parents knew little about their activities had more discipline problems in school than other adolescents. Results concerning achievement indicated that sons who perceived a closeness to their parents and who perceived themselves to be in control of decision making exhibited greater school achievement than other adolescents. (ME)

Journal of Research …, 2008

2000

The primary focus of this project was to examine developmental changes in parent-child relationships, and their associations with child adjustment between late childhood and midadolescence. These questions were addressed using data from two large, nationally representative samples of Canadian children and adolescents. Recommendations for healthy parenting practices and government initiatives are summarized.