1. Dr Tessa Webb 0/21 HWB tmw3@le.ac.uk

2. Introduction to adolescence (2) – Lecture plan 3. Families and conflict 3.1. The ‘generation gap’ 3.2. Parents as role models 3.3. Authority and decision making in families 4. Peers 4.1. Increasing salience 4.2. Conformity 5. Parents versus peers

3. 3. Families and conflict Degree of conflict mediated by several factors (See Allison & Schultz, 2004, for further info.) Adolescent changes Expanded logical reasoning powers Movements towards autonomy Puberty Earlier peak (15 years) for girls than boys. Early onset of puberty linked to more conflict than late/on time maturation (Collins & Steinberg, 2006). Parental changes Marital satisfaction Economic burdens Career re-evaluation

4. 3. Families and conflict 3.1. The generation gap Do adolescents share their parents’ views and values? Yes Smetana & Gaines (1999); Minor conflict over minor issues (e.g. make up, music) Little difference over major issues (e.g. morality, drugs) Brett (2005) In single parent families, adolescents have same total number of disagreements with mothers as 2-biological-parent families.

5. 3. Families and conflict 3.1. The generation gap Fogelman (1976) found the same with parents’ reports Generation gap issues: Music, fashion, sexual behaviour (Noller & Callan, 1990) Both parents and adolescents misjudge their degree of influence in the relationship

6. 3. Families and conflict 3.2. Parents as role models Lack of generation gap means parents must be role models Well-adjusted boys result from fathers who are masculine but also caring For females the mother can be a ‘housewife’ or liberal But mothers must be loving and have no identity problem Parental absence Boys from father-absent homes encounter several problems like lower IQ, problems at school, and in socialising (Conger and Peterson, 1984) Girls from mother-absent homes also have problems (‘seeking out male company’ - Hetherington, 1972)

7. 3. Families and conflict 3.3 Authority and decision-making Baumrind’s (1967) 3 types of parental control Authoritarian, Authoritative, permissive Level of control relates to adolescents allowing others to make decisions for them Explaining reasons leads to optimal development Steinberg (2001) Authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, neglectful. Coleman and Coleman (1984) At home they prefer democratic solutions At school they prefer autocratic solutions The subject of the conflict is important too

8. 4. Peers 4.1. Increasing salience Peers and peer-related activities become more important e.g. identification with peer group Palmonari et al (1989) 98.5% see themselves as part of a group Is membership of peer group a bad thing? Buhrmester (1992) - close relationships with peers make you less prone to anxiety and depression Laird et al. (2005) – lack of a peer group is linked with delinquent behaviour

9. 4. Peers 4.2. Conformity to peer groups Costanzo and Shaw (1966) Conformity peaks at 11-13 years Coleman (1974) Young adolescents had negative opinions of people not in groups 15+ year olds admire people who don’t ‘act like sheep’ Berndt (1979) Conformity for anti-social behaviour peaks at 14-15 years Conformity for pro-social behaviours peaks at 11-12 years Peak conformity varies with the behaviour

10. 4. Peers 4.2. Conformity to peer groups BUT … Members of several, potentially conflicting, groups They don’t report feeling under great pressure to conform (duBois-Reymond and Ravesloot, 1994) More pressure to conform only over minor things (Brown et al, 1986)

11. 5. Parents versus peers Not a case of ‘either / or’ Those committed to family also identified with peers (Kirchler et al, 1991) Parenting style influences choice of peer group (Brown et al, 1993) Core family members are rated most significant Greater conformity to peer pressure if family life is high in conflict and low in support for individual growth (Shulman et al., 1995)