Characteristics of Preadolescents

1
Characteristics of Preadolescents

• awkwardness
• restlessness
• laziness
• excessive criticism
• unpredictability
• rebellion
• lack of cooperation in the house

2
Survival Kit for Parents

• Warmth
• Affection
• A sense of fairness
• Sense of humor

3
Adolescents

• Historical Perspective

Prior to 1970 storm stress parent
adolescent conflict was expected
focus parent survival
4
Adolescents

• Period 1966 1972 empirical
• studies challenged previous views
• 75 of teenagers reported having
• pleasant relationships with their parents.
• detachment, identity seem not to take a
• toll on the family
• 25 of families had histories of family
• difficulty prior to adolescence.

5
Professional working with parents of teens

• Should we program for parents as if adolescence
  is a difficult time, or assume that what parents
  need is reassurance and not assistance?

6
What does research tell us about conflict in the
family at adolescence?
7
Parents and adolescents have different sets of
expectations and ideas about the social
conventions that regulate family life

• Code of right and wrong
• Personal choice

8
In a study about parent/adolescent transition 40
of the parents studies experienced two or more of
the following

• lower self-esteem
• diminished life satisfaction
• increased anxiety and depression
• self-analysis about middle age

9

• Lack of Parent Support relates to
• deficient cognitive development
• delinquency
• lack of moral guidance
• external locus of control
• delinquency
• unhealthy self- esteem
• low academic achievement )Second, the combination

• Parent Support relates to
• cognitive development
• conformity to adult standards
• moral behavior
• internal locus of control
• social acceptance
• healthy self-esteem
• academic achievement

10
Parental Support relates to

• ?Cognitive development
• ?Conformity to adult standards
• ?Moral behavior
• ?Internal locus of control
• ?Social competence
• ?Self esteem
• ?Academic achievement

11
Authoritative Parenting During Adolescence

• Authoritative parenting works because it does
  three things
• )First, the nurturance and parental involvement
  make the child more receptive to parental
  influence, enabling more effective and efficient
  socialization.
• )Second, the combination of support and structure
  facilitates the development of self-regulatory
  skills, which enable the child to function as a
  responsible, competent individual, even when
  parents are not around.

12
Authoritative Parenting During Adolescence

• ) Third, the verbal give and take characteristic
  of parent-child exchanges in authoritative
  families engages the child in a process that
  fosters cognitive and social competence, thereby
  enhancing the childs functioning outside the
  family.
• (Steinberg, Laurence, Temple University)

13
Eriksons Psychosocial StagesIdentity Versus
Identity Diffusion
14
Four Basic Functions ofFamilies with Adolescents

• Meeting Basic Needs
• Protecting Adolescents
• Guiding and Supporting Behaviors
• Advocacy

15
Three Messages For Parents

• 1.Parents make a difference what you do
  matters.
• 2.Parents continue to make a difference when
  their
  children are teenagers its never too late to
  become a good parent and never time to stop being
  one.
• 3.Teenagers fare better when their parents are
  authoritative responsive and demanding.
• (Steinberg, Laurence, Temple University)

16
Factors Influencing A Sense Of Personal Identity

• Cultural Expectations
• Positive Family Relationships
• Social Conditions
• Future Orientation

17
Keys to Prevention and Resolution of
Parent-Adolescent Conflict

• Tolerance for contemporary styles of dress and
  music
• Joint decision making
• Respect for teens opinion

18
Keys to Prevention and Resolution of
Parent-Adolescent Conflict

• Low degree of parental power and authority
• Warmth, acceptance, nurturance and letting go
• Parental interest and involvement in the
  adolescents activities
• Knowing names of friends
• Showing appropriate interest in the specifics of
  activities
• Participating in appropriate athletic and social
  events

19
Tips For Parents of Adolescents

• Maintain positive and open communication with
  teen
• Let the teenager know that she matters to you
• Use inductive, authoritative discipline that
  combines the right amount of support and
  noncoercive control
• Maintain an atmosphere of warmth, acceptance, and
  understanding
• Be alert to warning signs of gang activity and
  substance abuse

20
Tips For Parents of Adolescents

• Recognize that the adolescents quest for
  identity may manifest itself in cliques, fads,
  and experimentation with diverse ideologies
• Provide the adolescent with appropriate
  information and honest feelings about sexual
  activity. Be alert to warning signs of early
  sex.
• Provide appropriate supervision and monitoring of
  teens activities while respecting his right to
  certain amount of privacy
• Obtain information on preventing substance use,
  gang activity, and early sexual activity