Young Adolescents' Perceptions of the Family Environment

Abstract

The physical, cognitive, and social changes associated with early adolescence may have implications for the nature of family relationships. However, little information is available regarding the family context of early adolescent development. The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary descriptive data on the family environment during early adolescence. A sample of 335 youngsters from middle to upper-middle class families were interviewed twice a year during the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Responses to selected questions were used to examine four domains of family relationships: family affect and closeness, satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the family, family time and activities, and conflict and discipline. Results indicate that overall, as perceived by young adolescents, the family environment is characterized more by harmony than by discord. Boys and girls consistently reported good to excellent relationships with their parents, with mothers emerging as particularly important sources of understanding. Boys were more likely than girls to report closeness to their fathers. Conflict between the young adolescents and their parents most often centered on issues of freedom and responsibility, although the discipline used by parents in resolving such conflicts was perceived by most of the youngsters in our sample as very fair and relatively lenient. When drawing conclusions from these data, the unique features of the sample should be kept in mind.