Variations in Conflictual Family Issues by Adolescent Pubertal Status, Gender, and Family Member

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe domains of family conflict and to examine variations in these domains by adolescent pubertal status, gender, and status as a family member. Sixty-three intact family triads completed an instrument designed to assess pubertal status and the Issues Checklist. Principal Factor Analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in the retention of seven factors accounting for 78.52 percent of the variance. Separate Stepwise Regression analyses were conducted for each factor (using factor scores) with adolescent pubertal status, gender, and status as a family member as predictors. Persistent Concerns and Appearance Issues were more disruptive in families with daughters than sons. Room Care and School Issues varied among family members. Leisure and Time Management Issues varied by adolescent pubertal status. Only Household Issues were unrelated to any of the predictor variables. In summary, the affective climate of the family can be characterized by a variety of conflictual domains, the intensity of which are related to adolescent pubertal status, gender, the role as a family member.

Conflicts Between Young Adolescents With Type I Diabetes and Their Parents

“…The IC is a 44-item list of issues that may be areas of disagreement between parents and adolescents. Scores have been found internally consistent and validity has been supported in numerous studies (Prinz et al, 1979;Robin & Weiss, 1980;Robin, 1981;Foster, Prinz, & O'Leary, 1983;Robin, Koepke, & Nayer, 1986;Papini & Sebby, 1988;Robin & Foster, 1989;Grace, Kelley, & McCain, 1993). In particular, the scores that tap intensity of issues discriminate strongly between distressed and nondistressed mothers and adolescents (Robin & Weiss, 1980).…”

Gender, Body Image, and Depressive Symptoms among Low‐Income African American Adolescents

“…Whereas pubertal changes in males tend to be valued by society and by males, pubertal changes in girls (i.e., increased body fat) are often devalued by society and by girls themselves (Dorn, Crockett, & Petersen, 1988;Nolen-Hoeksema, & Girgus, 1994;McCarthy, 1990). Consistent with this, early-maturing boys have been found to have higher than average weight satisfaction, whereas girls show a reverse pattern, with early maturation associated with lower weight satisfaction (Alsaker, 1992;Dorn et al, 1988) and heightened risk for depression (Alsaker, 1992;Papini & Sebby, 1988;.…”

Parents' Perceptions of Changes in Mother-Child and Father-Child Relationships During Adolescence

“…In a short-term longitudinal study of firstborn adolescents, Steinberg (1988) found that ratings of puberty negatively predicted scores on measures of closeness that tapped cohesion and calm communication. Third, conflict between parents and adolescents seems to increase during early adolescence and then decreases by late adolescence (Paikoff & Brooks-Gunn, 1991;Papini & Sebby, 1988). Although increased conflict does not seem to have a deleterious effect on parents' and adolescents' reports of overall relationship quality (Hill & Holmbeck, 1987), such conflict may amount to what stress researchers call daily hassles and may contribute to parents' perceptions that adolescence is a difficult developmental period (Arnett, 1999).…”