Developmental Changes in Adolescents' Perceptions of Relationships with Their Parents

• NCJ Number: 225919
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 75-88
• Author(s): Irene H.A. De Goede; Susan J.T. Branje; Wim H.J. Meeus
• Date Published: January 2009
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This four-wave longitudinal study examined developmental changes in adolescents’ perceptions of parent-adolescent relationships by assessing parental support, conflict with parents, and parental power.

Abstract

The study reached three conclusions. First, parent-adolescent relationships became more egalitarian during adolescence. Second, parents perceived by adolescents as powerful were viewed as supportive, and parents viewed as weak were considered less supportive, especially in early adolescence. Third, perceived conflict with parents was related to but not an impetus for changes in parent-adolescent relationships toward more equality. Adolescents who perceived many conflicts with their parents viewed them consistently as nonsupportive power figures, and this did not change throughout adolescence. There was support for the separation-individuation perspective with respect to the decrease in parental support, reflecting separation from parents. Although changes in conflict tended to accompany changes in power, these changes were not stimulated by conflict with parents. Future research should include other indicators that might explain catalysts for change in parent-adolescent relationships toward more equality. Study data were collected as part of a longitudinal research project on Conflict and Management of Relationships (Meeus et al., 2004). Four waves were used with a 1-year interval between each of the waves for all participants. The sample consisted of 1,341 participants (48.3 percent boys). Adolescents age 12-15 and 16-19 years old were recruited from various secondary schools in the Province of Utrecht, The Netherlands. One scale measured the amount of support from parents as perceived by adolescents for the relationship with their mothers and fathers separately. The conflict scale assessed the intensity of conflict in relationships with their parents as perceived by adolescents for their mothers and fathers separately. The power scale measured the amount of power the adolescents attributed to their parents, for the relationships with their mothers and fathers separately. 2 tables, 10 figures, and 49 references