Learning Goals

A. Reciprocal Socialization, Synchrony, and the Family As A System

1.1 What is reciprocal socialization, and how does it affect adolescent development?

1.2 What is meant by parent-adolescent synchrony?

1.3 What defines a family's social system?

B. Developmental Construction of Relationships

1.4 What is the developmental construction of relationships?

1.5 Why are close relationships with parents important for adolescent's development?

1.6 What are the main variations of the developmental construction views?

1.7 What is the difference between the continuity view and the discontinuity view?

1.8 What research evidence exists in support of each view?

C. Maturation of the Adolescent and Maturation of Parents

1.9 What parental and adolescent maturation processes affect parent-adolescent interaction?

1.10 What are the major changes in adolescence that influence parent-adolescent relationships?

1.11 What dimensions of the adolescent's social world contribute to parent-adolescent relationships?

1.12 What parental changes contribute to parent-adolescent relationships?

1.13 How does the timing of parenthood affect parent-adolescent interaction?

D. Sociocultural and Historical Changes

1.14 What sociocultural and historical changes affect family processes?

1.15 What sociocultural changes have made families different than they were 50 years ago?

E. The Roles of Cognition and Emotion in Family Relationships

1.16 What roles do cognition and emotions play in family socialization?

1.17 What parental cognitive factors affect their children's social development?

1.18 What processes help us understand family relationships?

A. Parents as Managers

2.1 What do we mean when we say that parents should manage their adolescent's lives?

B. Parenting Techniques

2.2 What are the four main parenting categories according to Baumrind, and which one is most closely associated with socially competent behavior?

2.3 What is the nature of authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and indulgent parenting styles?

2.4 Which is the most effective parenting style?

C. Parent-Adolescent Conflict

2.5 What is the nature and extent of parent-adolescent conflict?

2.6 At what point in adolescence does conflict peak?

2.7 What is the subject of most parental-adolescent conflict?

2.8 What beneficial effects may conflict have on adolescents?

2.9 What is the generation gap?

2.10 How much empirical support is there for the existence of a generation gap?

2.11 What percentage of families is parent-adolescent conflict high?

2.12 What problems are associated with intense, prolonged conflict?

D. Autonomy and Attachment

2.13 How important are autonomy and attachment in an adolescent's successful adaptation to adulthood?

2.14 What is the difference between autonomy and emotional autonomy?

2.15 What is the appropriate time for adolescents to achieve autonomy from their parents?

2.16 What problems do parents have with their adolescent's achieving autonomy?

2.17 Are there gender differences seen with regards to adolescent autonomy?

2.18 What developmental transition signals autonomy?

2.19 Explain the four distinct patterns (dimensions) of adolescent autonomy.

2.20 Why do some adolescents run away from home, and what problems might they be susceptible to as a result?

2.21 What is the best advice to give a parent about their adolescent's need for autonomy?

2.22 Why is it important that adolescents be both autonomous and attached to their parents?

2.23 What is the difference between secure attachment and insecure attachment?

2.24 Why is secure attachment related social competence and successful adaptation to the world?

2.25 What is the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)?

2.26 What is the difference between dismissing/avoidant attachment, preoccupied/ambivalent attachment, and unresolved/disorganized attachment?

A. Sibling Roles

3.1 What is the nature and extent of conflict in many sibling relationships?

3.2 How much does conflict characterize adolescent relationships?

B. Developmental Changes

3.3 How do sibling relationships change over time?

C. Birth Order

3.4 How does birth order affect sibling and parent relationships?

3.5 Is an only child likely to be a "spoiled brat"?

3.6 What is the most reasonable conclusion to be gained from research about the effects of birth order on adolescent behavior and achievement?

A. Divorce

4.1 How do adolescents adjust to divorce in their families?

4.2 Should parents stay together for the sake of the children?

4.3 Should parents stay together for the sake of their children and adolescents?

4.4 How much do parenting skills matter in divorced families?

4.5 How much do post-divorce family processes affect adolescent adjustment to divorce?

4.6 What factors contribute to adolescent risk and vulnerability to divorce?

4.7 What role does socioeconomic status play in the lives of adolescents in divorced families?

B. Stepfamilies

4.8 What adjustment problems are associated with adolescents who live in stepfamilies?

4.9 What is the most difficult time for adolescents to experience their parents' remarriage?

4.10 What is boundary ambiguity?

4.11 How do you compare adolescent's relationships with their biological and stepparents?

4.12 What is the difference between complex and simple stepfamilies and in which do adolescents have more problems?

C. Working Parents

4.13 What is the effect of parental work on the development of children and adolescents?

4.14 What effect do working mothers have on adolescent development?

4.15 What are the special adjustment problems of latchkey adolescents?

4.16 What is the effect of relocation on adolescent development?

4.17 How does parental unemployment affect adolescents?

A. Culture and Ethnicity

5.1 What roles do culture and ethnicity play in families?

5.2 What is the effect of culture on parental roles and discipline styles and family support systems?

5.3 In what ways do ethnic minority families differ from White American families?

5.4 What are the main differences between White-American families and African-American and Latino families?

B. Gender and Parenting

5.5 How do gender and gender roles affect families?

5.6 What is the mother's role in the family today?

5.7 What is the father's role in today's family?

5.8 How can mothers and fathers become cooperative and effective parenting partners?

6.1 What are the recommendations of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development regarding social policies for families with adolescents?