Adolescents' and Parents' Conceptions of Parental Authority and Personal Autonomy

Abstract

Conceptions of parental authority and ratings of adolescent-parent conflict were assessed in 68 sixth, eighth, and tenth graders and their parents. Boundaries of adolescent personal jurisdiction and conflict over these boundaries were examined. Participants judged the legitimacy of parental authority and rated the frequency and intensity of conflict regarding 24 hypothetical moral, conventional, personal, multifaceted (e.g., containing conventional and personal components), prudential, and friendship issues. Adolescents and parents agreed that parents should retain authority regarding moral and conventional issues. Parents treated multifaceted, friendship, prudential, and personal issues as more contingent on parental authority than did adolescents, based on conventional, prudential, and psychological reasons, whereas adolescents treated these issues as under personal jurisdiction, based on personal concerns. Personal reasoning and judgments increased with age. Multifaceted issues were discussed more than all other issues, but moral and conventional conflicts were more intense than all other conflicts. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research on parental authority and adolescent-parent conflict during adolescence.

Mother–adolescent monitoring dynamics and the legitimacy of parental authority

“…Given the apparent importance of legitimacy beliefs for understanding whether or not adolescents facilitate parental monitoring efforts, an expansion of current work (e.g., Darling, Cumsille, & Martínez, 2008;Kuhn & Laird, 2011;Smetana & Asquith, 1994) is needed to understand the origins of these individual differences in adolescents' legitimacy beliefs.…”

Parent Influences on Adolescent Peer Orientation and Substance Use: The Interface of Parenting Practices and Values

“…We find parents' decisions about whether to "buzz off" or "butt in" compelling (Brown, 1996), especially given the developmental overlay of adolescents' desire for more connection to peers and less dependence on parents. Parents who are too heavy-handed may infringe on what adolescents perceive as their legitimate purview (Smetana & Asquith, 1994), whereas parents who are minimally involved may increase susceptibility to negative peer influence (Steinberg, 1990).…”

Leaders and followers in adolescent close friendships: Susceptibility to peer influence as a predictor of risky behavior, friendship instability, and depression

“…Given the normative increase in deviant behavior during this age period, virtually all early adolescents are exposed to significant levels of problematic behavior within their broader peer groups (Moffitt, 1993), even though most teens acknowledge and respect the values their parents hold regarding such behavior (Smetana & Asquith, 1994). Research has now shown that among youth who have been identified as at risk for delinquent behavior, peers can strongly support the development of each other's deviance in part by entraining one another in deviant behavior patterns (Dishion, Poulin, & Burraston, 2001;Dishion, Spracklen, Andrews, & Patterson, 1996).…”