Summary and Review
As childhood comes to and end and adolescence emerges, young teenagers become more interested in friends and activities away from the family. Many theories suggest that during adolescence there is a higher want for independence and individualization. This leads to a decrease in closeness and an increase in conflict. In result, the adolescents' power in the relationship grows while the parent's power is decreased. For example, if a teen and a parent conflict differences, the parent will withdrawal from the argument. This brings equilibrium in power.
Many studies on parent-adolescent relationships are based on cross-sectional data, which means participants of ...view middle of the document...
It seemed to become less intense from middle to late. The increased conflict between younger adolescents and their parents are suggestively linked with puberty because changes are occurring in the body both mentally and physically. Cross-sectional studies suggest that power in adolescents is gained and even though no factual evidence is there, the power of parents decline. Results of some studies suggest that gender differences are important, therefore, the researchers will include this in their study.
In the study, there were 1,341 participants. There were two age groups: the early adolescent group consisted of 479 boys and 472 girls ages 12 to 15 and the middle adolescent group consisted of 169 boys and 221 girls ages 16 to 19. Participants answered questions on a five-point Likert scale. The scales measure the amount of support, conflict and power in relationships with their parents according to the perceptions of adolescents for the relationships with their mothers and fathers separately.
The support scale asked questions such as: “Does your mother like or approve of the things you do?†and “How much does your mother really care about you?†Questions for conflict were: “Do you and...