Adolescent Development Analyzing Adolescent Relationships

Adolescent Development

Analyzing Adolescent Relationships with Parents: An Interview-Based Case Study and Assessment

Adolescence is a time of great individuation in personality and role identification, both within families and within society at large, and experiences in the family can greatly influence the trajectory of personal and psychological development during this time (Grotevant & Cooper 1986; Grotevant & Cooper 1985). Familial relationships often undergo a major transformation during this period, with more shared influence apparent in parent-child relationships that often leads to greater conflict between parent and child, and especially between mothers and their adolescent children (Allison 2000). Through interviews and a brief overview of literature on the subject, a fairly clear picture of typical adolescent relationships with their parents and the changes these relationships undergo can be described.

Amanda C.

This subject is a white (Caucasian) female, thirteen years old and the younger of two siblings. Her brother, five years older than she, left home several months ago to attend college, changing the family dynamic significantly from what Amanda had grown up with. The family is upper-middle class with the father working as an attorney and the mother working in the research department at a pharmaceutical company; both hold advanced degrees, and expectations for the two children's academic and future financial success has always been high. The parenting style in this family is very hands on, possibly even domineering.

The subject described her relationship with her parents as one that is largely goal-oriented, with most interactions taking the place of progress reports on various activities engaged in. Family meals occur at least once a week, and now consist solely of the two parents and the daughter; these meals end up becoming question and answer sessions in which Amanda is the one being questioned. She describes this event as essentially typifying her relationship with her parents, which the subject does not consider to be either very emotionally supportive or self-empowering. The relatively low degree of conflict in the relationship reported by the subject appears to be somewhat at odds with predictions made in research on the subject, but this could also have to do with the lessened degree of individuation that appears to be occurring for the subject at this time compared to others (Allison 2000). In general, the relationship is typified as rather business-like and highly formal.

Tyler N.

Tyler, a twelve-year-old male subject, is the son of French immigrants, both of whom work as performance artists and teach university-level theory and practice classes on the subject. This provides a solid middle-class income for the family, in which Tyler is the only child. His parents are significantly older than is typical for adolescents of Tyler's age, as both parents are already in their upper fifties, and the lack of siblings and this age difference -- and the income stability it provides -- have led to a great deal of freedom for Tyler as well as a great deal of attention paid towards him and his attempts at individuation.

Research has shown that identity exploration is generally correlated with self-assertion and separateness in adolescents, and the relationship this subject describes with his parents is definitely one that promotes these characteristics (Grotevant & Cooper 1985). The largely hands-off and encouraging yet far-from-controlling parenting atmosphere that exists between Tyler and his parents can definitely make for a high degree of independence and separateness. At the same time, the subject does not appear to feel disconnected form his parents, and it is likely that his relationship with them will continue to grow closer as he reached adulthood and the three individuals begin to negotiate roles and boundaries with more fixed and equal footing, though it is very possible that greater frequencies and extremities of conflict will ensue in the interim (Grotevant & Cooper 1986).

Valerie

A sixteen-year-old Hispanic female, this subject is the oldest of five children currently being raised by their mother. The youngest of these children is eight years old, and the father has been absent for almost six years; the family is on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum and currently receives several forms of government assistance, in addition to the mother's long work schedule that goes into supporting the family. There is an extended family network of grandparents, aunts, and uncles that provides additional figures to serve as role models for the subject, but she remains especially close to her mother and is above all cognizant of and concerned with the needs and expectations of her family as a whole.

The divorce of the subject's parents during her early adolescence necessarily had an effect on the relationship she developed with her mother, and the personality development of the subject herself. Research has shown that the impact of a positive parent-adolescent relationship can mitigate the negative impacts of divorce, and lead to many other changes to the parent-adolescent relationship following the divorce, as well (Hines 1997). The relationship that Valerie has with her mother is very close, and one of shared responsibility and decision-making. It is likely that this relationship will develop in quite different ways following Valerie's eventual departure form her home, and as her siblings are less rleaint on her. The shared responsibilities of the family are a major factor in the current relationship that exists between Valerie and her mother, and diminishing or even eliminating these responsibilities -- as is the natural result of time -- will have a huge impact on this relationship.

Devon T.

A Caucasian seventeen-year-old male from a middle income family, Devon is the middle child of three total children, with a brother seven years older than he and another brother three years his junior. The family's father holds a management position in a medium-sized accounting firm, and the mother works part time as a kindergarten aide, a position she has held for over a decade. All three siblings in this family have been encouraged in their individual endeavors and kept under fairly tight supervision, especially by the mother who was at home and more available during the day; the parenting style is one of controlled independence.