The connection of observed hostile family conflict to adolescents' developing autonomy and relatedness with parents

Abstract

This study examined the link between hostile conflict in families with adolescents and adolescents' efforts to establish autonomy and relatedness in interactions with parents in both normal and psychiatrically impaired groups. Longitudinal, observational data were obtained by coding family interaction tasks involving 53 adolescents and their two parents at age 14 and age 16 years. Measures were obtained for hostile adolescent-parent conflict, hostile marital conflict, and indices of adolescents' success or difficultly in establishing autonomy and relatedness in interactions with parents. Relative increases in adolescent-parent hostile conflict from age 14 to 16 years were predicted by adolescents' behaviors actively undermining autonomy in disagreements with parents at age 14 years. Hostile marital conflict observed by the adolescent at age 14 years predicted adolescent withdrawal from the hostile parent over time, a prediction that was not mediated by observed parenting behaviors. Difficulties in establishing autonomy and relatedness were linked to prior history of psychiatric difficulty. A developmental view of conflict as both reflecting and predicting difficulties in adolescents' establishing autonomy and relatedness in interactions with parents is proposed.

Attachment and the risk of mental health disorders during adolescence

“…In relation to mental health disorders expressed as externalising behaviours, it is suggested that insecure patterns of attachment may serve as predictors of anger and hostility towards one's parents, and thus decrease behavioural control, which is the main buffer of deviant behaviours among teenagers (Greenberg & Speltz, 1988;Patterson, DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989). A relationship has been shown between attachment and behaviour disorders (Rosenstein & Horowitz, 1996) and deviant behaviours (Allen et al, 1996(Allen et al, , 2007.…”

Apples and Oranges

“…As such, they may be differentially related to a number of different outcomes for teens, including functioning within their close relationships. Past research has suggested that autonomy inhibition is linked to a range of other components of the parent-adolescent relationship, such as less parent-teen involvement, poorer communication, less positive affective expression, and increased parent-adolescent conflict and hostility (Allen, Hauser, O'Connor, Bell, & Eickholt, 1996;Bulcroft, 1991;Collins, 1990;Smetana, 1995;Smetana & Berent, 1993). Although peer relationship outcomes have not been studied as extensively, similar patterns have been found: Autonomy promotion (on the part of either the parent or the adolescent) within the parent-adolescent relationship has been linked to increased interpersonal competence and more intimate friendships (Allen, Bell, & Boykin, 2000;Hall, 2002;McElhaney, 2000;McElhaney & Allen, 2001), whereas undermining of autonomy has been linked to decreased interpersonal competence, greater amounts of hostility in relationships with peers, and increasingly distant peer relationships (Allen et al, 2000;Allen & Hauser, 1993;Allen, Hauser, O'Connor, & Bell, 2002;McElhaney, 2000;Tencer, Meyer, & Hall, 2003).…”

Relation entre les comportements interpersonnels et la dépression chez des adolescents en fonction du genre /

“…Les adolescents présentant le même niveau d'autonomie émotionnelle alors qu'ils se 77 sentent proches ou attachés à leurs parents possèdent une meilleure santé psychologique que leurs pairs (Allen, Hauser, O'Connor, Bell & Eickholt, 1996;Chen & Dornbusch, 1998;Fuhrman & Holmbeck, 1995;Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993;Ryan & Lynch, 1989).…”