A program of laboratory and observational studies is proposed to examine normal changes in expectancies, perceptions, and attributions associated with parent-child interaction as a function of developmental changes from middle childhood to adolescence. Research to date has demonstrated the differentiated expectancies typically held by parents for behavior by preadolescents and early adolescents and those held by preadolescents and adolescents regarding the behavior of parents. The association between perceptions of family functioning and both parents' and children's perceptions of each other have also been documented. In addition, the role of physical maturity and age in eliciting particular behavioral expectancies and the implications of age-related concepts of parent-child relationships for children's assessments of parental influence strategies have been assessed. In the proposed continuation period, interpersonal implications of changing expectations will be examined. Cross-sequential observational studies will be conducted to trace changes in expectancies, attributions, and family functioning in families with oldest children between the ages of 9 and 16. Methods include in situ and structured laboratory interaction tasks, interviews and structured assessments of cognitions about family relationships, and standardized measures of personality and family functioning will be included. Comparison of two-parent and single-parent families will be undertaken. Other social-structural variables (e.g., social class, ethnic background, age of parents) will be restricted by the sampling methods in the first phase of the re- search in order to focus on basic psychological and interpersonal processes, but these variables will be examined in subsequent work. In order to clarify and test the cross-situational validity of findings, these studies will be conducted in oscillation with experimental studies of basic social-cognitive and interpersonal processes. The results of these studies should provide a basis for identifying potential ways in which parents and mental-health and other professionals may help adolescents and families cope adaptively with stresses that occur during the transition to adolescence.
| Collins, W A; Gunnar, M R (1990) Social and personality development. Annu Rev Psychol 41:387-416 |
