Changes in functions of three relations during adolescence.

Abstract

Three functions of interpersonal relations-attempt at behavior control, intimacy, and nurture-were assessed in friendship, mother-child, and father-child relations of 120 adolescents to examine age, relational, sex, and mother-father differences. Thirty students each from 4th, 7th, and 10th grades and undergraduate college programs rated eight statements that portrayed interpersonal interactions for each relationship to indicate how closely the statements described the subjects' actual interpersonal relations. The major findings are: Parents exert greater control than friends do across grades; intimacy in friendship is lower than in parent-child relations at 4th grade but it surpasses the parent level by 10th grade; nurture remains relatively consistent and high across grades for parents, whereas it increases with increasing age of adolescents in friendship (all significant at p< .01), Female friendship involves higher intimacy than male friendship (p < .01); males, but not females, perceive fathers to be more nurturant than mothers (p < .01). The results are interpreted in terms of their consistency with the Piagetian/relational framework of social development and their implications for research concerning parental and peer conformity in adolescent socialization.

Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Happiness

“…We expected the conceptualization of happiness as 'harmony/balance', (i.e., satisfaction and balance) to be more often mentioned by the eldest age group as previous literature has suggested that children have not yet developed the cognitive abilities to make life satisfaction assessments (Coffey, Warren, & Gottfried, 2014). Regarding the conceptualization of happiness as positive relationships, we expected that children would mainly define it on the basis of their relationships with their parents, and that adolescents would conceptualize happiness in terms of close relationships with peers and friends (e.g., Hunter & Youniss, 1982;Youniss, 1980;Youniss & Smollar, 1985). We did not propose any specific hypothesis about the content category 'opposite of happiness'.…”

“…From late childhood onwards, children describe their relationships with their peers and their friends as the closest, whereas from mid-adolescence, adolescents start to create intimate relationships with romantic partners. Indeed, much empirical research has confirmed that the parent-child relationship is the key social relationship in childhood, while close friendship becomes most important to adolescents (e.g., Hunter & Youniss, 1982;Youniss, 1980;Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Accordingly, we might expect that children mainly define happiness on the basis of their relationships with their parents, and that adolescents conceptualize happiness in terms of close relationships with peers and friends.…”

Parent and Peer Attachment in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

“…Adolescents may have built up a more consistent internal working model of parents as secure attachment figures, where parents may not be used as regularly as peers to fulfill needs. In this model, parents and peers serve complementary, as opposed to compensatory, functions (Hunter & Youniss, 1982;Paterson et al, 1994). …”

Le rôle des amitiés sur le développement et la santé mentale des adolescents

“…Les liens d'amitié deviennent plus profonds, ce qui implique confidence, révélation de soi et partage ; la crainte du rejet et de la trahison est particulièrement aiguë à cette période. Les relations d'amitié y prédomi-nent, que ce soit en terme de fréquence de rencontres ou en terme de conformité aux normes des pairs (Hunter et Youniss, 1982).…”