A Model of Family Relational Transformations During the Transition to Adolescence: Parent–Adolescent Conflict and Adaptation

Abstract

The relative dearth of published research on family relations during adolescence prior to 1980 stands in sharp contrast to the dramatic increase in both the quantity and quality of research on parent-adolescent relationships during the 1980s and early 1990s. Contrary to the beliefs of the general public and reports in the media, little empirical support exists for the contention that extreme levels of conflictive engagement characterize parent–adolescent relationships. In fact, in those rare instances where high levels of conflict in the parent–adolescent relationship are found, they are predictive of less desirable early adolescent adjustment outcomes. Despite the lack of serious relationship trauma during early adolescence, a period of increased emotional distance or temporary perturbations in parent–adolescent relationships appears to follow shortly after the onset of pubertal development in boys and girls and especially in mother–daughter dyads.