Relationships and Development: Family Adaptation to Individual Change.

N

55

National Inst. of Mental Health (DHHS), Rockville, MD.

Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Age Differences; Attitude Change; Behavior Change; Behavior Theories; Expectation; Family Problems; Parent Attitudes; Parent Child Relationship; Research Needs; Sex Differences

This paper addresses the effects of developmental changes that occur in the transition from childhood to adolescence on parent-child relationships. The first section considers four theoretical approaches to changes in relationships during the transition to adolescence. Noted especially are perspectives regarding the impetus for changes in relationships, the elements of relationships that are most likely to be affected, the course of change, and the significance of changes in relationships for the subsequent development of each person involved. The second section outlines an integrative perspective on the nature of changes in parent-adolescent relations. According to this perspective, physical, social, and cognitive changes in offspring give rise to difficulties between parents and children during the transition to adolescence because the changes violate expectancies that mediate interactions in parent-child relationships. The third section provides an overview of initial findings from research guided by this perspective, including studies of: (1) the role of age in parents' and offsprings' patterns of perceptions of behavior; (2) discrepancies between perceptions of behavior and expectancies regarding typical or ideal behavior; and (3) the linkage of adolescents' and parents' perceptions and expectancies to other aspects of their relationships. The final section covers several issues concerning conceptual and empirical advances in the understanding of adaptation to ontogenetic change in parent-adolescent relationships. A reference list of 92 items is provided. (AC)

1993

ED351102