This application seeks support for a longitudinal study of parenting change and stability across the transition to early adolescence. Although there has been theorizing about parenting adaptation during adolescence and the effects of different patterns of parental adaptation on adolescent mental health and behavioral adjustment, there have been no empirical studies of these processes. The proposed study will obtain longitudinal data on a sample of mothers and early adolescents from nondivorced, two-parent households. The proposed study is part of a planned 5-year project that will assess the dyads annually as the adolescents progress from 4th to 8th grade. This application seeks support for the 4th and 5th waves of data collection, scheduled to begin April 2002. Multiple methods will be used to assess parenting, including maternal self reports, adolescent reports, and observer ratings. Dimensions of parenting to be assessed include mutually/flexibility, involvement/guidance, and warmth. A combination of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures will be used to address questions about the nature of change and stability in parenting practices across early adolescence. HLM and ANOVA procedures will also be used to examine predictors of different patterns of parenting change and stability, and the effects of different parenting trajectories on adolescent emotional and behavioral well-being. This research will test the hypotheses that optimal parenting during early adolescence will be characterized by increases in parenting practices reflecting mutuality/flexibility, and stable high levels of parenting practices reflecting involvement/ guidance and warmth. This research will also examine the roles that selected determinants of parenting play in influencing parenting adaptation, including maternal mental health, mothers' marital adjustment and social support, and the child's maturational level.
