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Author: Costello, Darce M.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Costello, Darce M.
Family Matters: The Developmental Course of Adolescents' Relationships with Their Parents
Ed.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2004
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Ethnic Differences; Gender; Parent-Child Relationship/Closeness; Racial Differences

This thesis describes a longitudinal analysis of parent-adolescent relationship quality in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Using individual growth modeling and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLSY97) I explored the developmental course of parent-adolescent relationship quality, guided by these questions: (1) How does parent-adolescent relationship quality change between ages 12 to 18 years? (2) Does the developmental course of parent-adolescent relationship quality vary with respect to adolescent gender and race-ethnicity? (3) Are differences between adolescents in the level and rate of change in parent-adolescent relationship quality related to family processes, such as engagement in family activities and parental monitoring? When modeled only as a function of age, I found parent-adolescent relationship quality declines between ages 12 and 16, leveling off over the next two years for father-adolescent relationships, and improving slightly for mother-adolescent relationships. Across all ages, adolescents viewed their relationships with their mothers in more positive terms than with their fathers, but average assessments of relationship quality was fairly positive for both parents. When controlling for parent education and puberty status, I found the developmental course of mother-adolescent relationship quality did not vary with respect to adolescent gender and race-ethnicity, but father-adolescent relationship quality did. The cumulative effects of gender and race-ethnicity result in Black/Mixed Race daughters reporting the least positive and Latino and White sons reporting the most positive relationships with their fathers. Overall, I found that the level of parent-adolescent relationship quality is positively related to family processes and that this association manifests in complex ways. Parental monitoring moderates the association between parent-adolescent relationship quality and family activities, gender, race-ethnicity, and puberty status. At high levels of monitoring, the positive association between family activities and the negative associations between gender, race-ethnicity, puberty, and level of parent-adolescent relationship quality are less pronounced than at low levels of monitoring. Building on research linking close, supportive parent-adolescent relationships to several positive psychosocial outcomes, these results provide information useful to practitioners interested in strengthening families through education and intervention programs designed to foster the healthy development of supportive relationships between parents and adolescents.
Bibliography Citation
Costello, Darce M. Family Matters: The Developmental Course of Adolescents' Relationships with Their Parents. Ed.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2004.