| Parent-adolescent relationship has been a long-standing and centralconcern to both theoreticians and empiricists interested in psychosocialdeveIopmeflt durng the adolescence. Much of the empirical investigations haveindicated that the increased conflict and decreased cohesion are resulted fromthe change of adolescents' beliefs about parental authority a-nd behavioralautonomy. This view accowts reasonably fOr the transfOrmation ofpareflt-adolescefit relationship, bllt not for the differences in the nature ofparent-adolescent relationship between individual families f Why in somefaIniIies adolescents maintain a positive close bond, While in others deleteriousconflicts keep occdring. Inspired by the principles of the interactive model ofparents-adolescent relationship, parening style, in addition to adolescent beliefSabout parental auhority and personal auonomy, was introduced iflto the presentstudy as an imPoftan influencing vedable to explore, the cause of transfOrmingofpareflt-adolesceflt relationship from a more systematic perspective.The presen srudy has examined' (l) adolescents' beliefS about parentalauthority and behavioral auonomy, (2) the chaxacteristic of parent-adolescentrelationship, (3) the effect of parental style and adolescents' beliefs on theparent-adolescellt relationship.Data were collected via a queStiormaire battery adIninistered to a sampIe of640 adolescellts from grade 7, 8 and 9. The questionnaire ballery containedparenting style, adolescenis' beliefs about parental athority, behavioralauonomy and parent-adolescent re1ationship.The main findings from the present stUdy axe as foIlowst(l) In general, ado1escents' beliefs about parental aUthority a-nd behavioralautonomy were at moderate level. At the same time, the endorsement ofparental amhority decreased and the expectation of behavioral autonomyVIincreased with age. Male adolescents had higher eXPectation about behavioralauonomy than female adolescents. Mothers' authority were endorsed more tha-nfathers'.(2) Most adolescents had a lower level of conflicts and a higher level ofcohesion with their parents, but a small number of adolescents had the strainedrelationship with their parents. The frequency and intensity ofmother-adolescent conflicts increased Wth age, but the father-adolescentconflict and pareni-adolescent cohesion were relatively stable. Adolescellts hadgreater cohesion and more confiicts with their mothers than with their fathers.Fema1e ado1escents had more cohesive relationship with their mothers thanmale adolescellts, but no significan gender differences were found in terms ofthe cohesion with fathers a-nd the intensity of conflicts with their mothers andfathers.(3) The more adolescents endorse parental auhority, the more cohesivetheir relationships with parents were, the greater expectation adolescents haveabout behavioral autonomy, the tenser their conflicts with parellts were.(4) Parenting style had both direct and indirect influence on theparent-adolescent relationship. On the one hand, parenting style had significanteffect on the adolescents' beliefS about parental aUthrity and behavioralautonomy. In the athoritative families, adolesceflts had the highestendorsement of parental auhority and the lowest expeCtation about behaviora1auonomy, in the indifferent families adolescents had the lowest endorsement ofparental authority, and in the authorittrian and indulgent families adolescentshad moderate level of endorsemellt of parental a'Uthority, but no significandifferences were found in the expectation of behavioral atonomy among theauthoritarian, indulgent and indifferellt families. On the other hand, parefltingstyle affects directly the parent-adolescent cohesion. The adolescents from thea-Uthoritative and indulgent families had the greatest and those from theVIIindiffeent families had the lowest cohesion with their parents, and those fromthe authoritarian... |
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