Parent-Adolescent Conflict: Comparison and Prediction of the Perceptions of Mothers, Fathers, and Daughters

Abstract

Adolescence has been portrayed as a time of storm and stress, and parent-adolescent conflict has been identified as a primary contribution to this state. At the present time there have been few studies addressing the issue of conflict between parents and adolescents. The purposes of the present study were to examine the perceptions of conflict among nonclinic mothers, fathers, and their early adolescent daughters, and to predict perceptions of parent-adolescent conflict. Thirty-six parents and their adolescent daughters served as subjects. Parents and adolescents completed ratings of conflict in an objective situation, within the general family environment, and within particular family dyads (mother-father, mother-daughter, and father-daughter). In addition, measures of marital and personal distress were completed. The results indicated that, with few exceptions, family members had similar perceptions of conflict. Adolescents did report more conflict with mothers than fathers and mothers evaluated daughters more negatively than did fathers. Marital discord emerged as a predictor of perceived parent-adolescent conflict for mothers while both marital discord and depression were predictors for adolescents. Neither variable was related to fathers' perceptions of parent-adolescent conflict. Social desirability appeared to be an important factor in both the daughters' and the fathers' responses. The similarities and discrepancies among family members' perceptions of conflict and the predictors of those perceptions are discussed.