Developmental Changes in Adolescents’ Perceptions of Relationships with Their Parents

Abstract

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.

Impact of parental emotional support and coercive control on adolescents' self‐esteem and psychological distress: Results of a four‐year longitudinal study

“…Previous studies have found that younger adolescent boys and girls perceive more support from both their mother and their father than older adolescents do (Bellerose et al, 2001;De Goede, Branje, & Meeus, 2009;Meeus, Iedema, Maassen, & Engels, 2005;Rey, Bird, KopecSchrader, & Richards, 1993). Nonetheless, from middle adolescence to late adolescence, perceived emotional support may stabilize, although De Goede et al (2009) report that it appears to increase slightly among girls in their study.…”

“…Overall, results of previous studies suggest that adolescents' perceptions of their parents' coercive control and emotional support change over time. More studies are thus needed to better understand these changes in various relationship characteristics (De Goede et al, 2009). …”

Reasons for Quitting Among Emerging Adults and Adolescents in Substance-Use-Disorder Treatment

“…Relationship dynamics change between parents and children during their transition out of adolescence, with parent-child relationships becoming more egalitarian and less conflicted (De Goede et al, 2009;Furman and Buhrmester, 1992). It is unclear whether this general trend toward a more hands-off parenting approach will translate into less family conflict among families with emerging adults who are using substances and present for treatment.…”

Intraindividual Variability in Adolescents’ Perceived Relationship Satisfaction: The Role of Daily Conflict

“…Indeed, adolescents report that they have more conflicts with their parents than with their friends (Adams and Laursen 2001;Furman and Buhrmester 1992;Jensen-Campbell and Graziano 2000). Also, whereas conflict with friends has been found to decline during adolescence (Collins and Laursen 1992), conflict with parents temporarily increases during early adolescence (for a review, see Collins and Steinberg 2006;De Goede et al 2008;McGue et al 2005), even though most parent-adolescent relationships remain close (Holmbeck 1996;Smetana et al 2006). In line with the social relational model, a meta-analysis on conflict management with close peers (defined as friends and romantic partners) and parents (Laursen 1993a) showed that adolescents used more negotiation with close peers than either disengagement (characterized by withdrawal or stand-off) and power assertion (defined as demanding behavior until the other person submits).…”