Keijsers, L., & Poulin, F. (2013, March 11). Developmental changes in parent -- child communication throughout adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 49(12), 2301-2308. doi:10.1037/a0032217The science of Developmental Psychology purposes and endeavors to elucidate the change that comes about in both children and adults in the course of time. I have decided to focus and lay emphasis on this topic as the most change takes place in the course of a person's lifespan during this particular period (Mcleod, 2012). Further, the topic "Developmental changes in parent-child communication throughout adolescence," lays emphasis on the individual changes and variations in the patterns of change between the association that exists between the child and the parent in the course of adolescence. Particularly important is the fact that any individual during its infancy is largely attached to the parent and therefore communicates a lot. However, according to this topic, it is delineated that the attachment and level of communication decreases during the phase of adolescence (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013). In addition, this particular topic encompasses not only psychological but also social influences experienced by teenagers in this developmental phase and their changing relationship with their parents (Tilton-Weaver, 2014).
The main role in the article that has been that of a professional development psychologist. The professional studies human development of an individual, which encompasses the mental, social and physiological development that comes about at every stage of life. The professional developmental psychologist has studied the genetic effects experienced by the adolescent in such a phase, in addition to different environmental aspects like parental methods, which fashion how such adolescents evolve. The article does not refer to the interaction between psychology professional and professionals in other fields. Instead, the article explores the phenomenon of adolescent behavior in this phase in terms of hiding information from their parents and the need of intervention of a professional behavioral analyst, who tries to analyze such behavior through this significant life development phase.
One of the theoretical perspectives addressed in the article is that of autonomy relatedness. This perspective asserts that healthy independent development can be realized only by repositioning the prevailing relationship between the parent and the child while remaining attached to parents. This topic is of particular interest as it delves into the psychological and mental aspects that delineate the behavior of adolescents in that particular period of development (Racz and Mcmahon, 2011). From this particular perspective, disengagement...
However, a key aspect that is understood is that in the prospective readjustment of the relationship, it is still imperative to attain a way of communication with each other that enables and eases recognizing the needs of the adolescent to be independent but at the same time improve the connection and affiliation between them (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013).
Hypotheses Presented
The study presents the hypothesis that parental knowledge and attempts at monitoring would decline in the course of adolescence. Another hypothesis made in the study is that, from middle adolescence straight on, disclosure would yet again be on the rise, and secrecy would decline. An additional projection of the study is that girls would report greater exposure levels, parental understanding, and parental solicitation and control and lesser general levels of secrecy than boys and that the girls would report a lesser noticeable variation in their sincerity to their parents in middle adolescence (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).
Samples Presented
The selected participants of the study encompassed 390 students, all in the sixth grade, studying in eight elementary schools situated in a largely French-speaking school district in Canada. Written consent was obtained from the parents of the participants in order to be included in the study. From this population, roughly three-quarters of them took part in the study. In addition, 90% of these participating students were European Canadians. 72% of them came from a household where they lived with both biological parents. The sample of the participants was predominantly middle class and had an average income ranging between 45,000 and $55,000 Canadian dollars. Eight years subsequent to the study, 320 participants were still taking part in the study, representing 81% of the sample. 1.7% of the students aged 17 years, 5.2% aged 18 years and lastly 9.9% aged 19 years lived on their own. However, most of them lived with either one or two parents in the course of the study (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).
Where Study Was Conducted
The study was conducted in the school setting and particularly eight elementary schools situated in a huge French-speaking school district in Canada.
Ethical Concerns
A key ethical concern is whether the students' data and information provided is kept confidential and not disclosed to the parents, to respect their privacy.
Summary of Results
The overall purpose of this research study was to observe…
