Lecture notes:
Adolescent Development
Content
Lecture 7 – Family relations and Autonomy
Literature week 5
Ch4 / Ch9 (236-243)
Lecture 8 – Peers
Lecture 9 – Romantic relations and Sexuality
Literature week 6
Ch5 / Kaufman et al., 2017
Ch10 / Ch11
Lecture 10– Schools and Achievement
Lecture 11 – Media use
Literature week 7
Ch6 / Ch12
Ch7 / Valkenburg & Piotrowski, 2017 / Cingel et al., 2022
, Lecture 7 – Family
a) Family Systems Theory
What is a family
= mother + father + children
= extended relatives
View of families is time and culture-dependent
Family fulfills similar functions across societies
Socialization
Enduring source of support -> practical / economical /
emotional / social
Social embedding -> continuity of relationships
Family systems theory = organized whole, consisting of interrelated
parts that influence each other
- System -> set of elements interrelated among themselves and with
the environment -> bidirectional/reciprocal/transactional effects
- Changing and self-organizing
- Adapting to its members and environment -> system but strives for
stability
- Cohesive emotional unit -> emotional bond
Key principles
Holism
To understand family, it’s not enough to look at members
separately
Roles within family
> Growing up with a depressed mother > taking over being
caretaker
Hierarchy
Organized into subsystems by gender or generation
Dyadic: marital relationship, parent-child relationships, sibling
relationships
Triadic: combination of dyadic
Holism: family as a whole
Boundaries
At every level permeability of boundaries varies
Boundaries withing system vs outside system
> Spillover – bad relation influences other relation
> Compensation – bad relation compensated by other good
relation
>>> Interparental conflict led to parent-child conflict in same
day -
>>> Negative affect as mediator -
, >>> Marital quality spilled over to parent-adolescent
relationship quality +
>>> Parent-adolescent quality could compensate for marital
quality +
Adolescence according to theory
= Disruption of homeostasis of system
New balance needs to be found
Process of family adaptation
Accompanied by other changes in system
Parental midlife (crisis) or divorce
Influence on the adolescent > overlap with influence on parents
1. Genotype
2. Shared environment
3. Unshared environment
b) Relating parenting styles to adolescent development
Spectrum of parenting styles:
Stability over time
Specific behaviors change in
adolescence
Authoritative
- Engage adolescent in decision making
- Encourage autonomy
- Monitoring
- Open communication and trust
Authoritarian
- Strict rules and expectations
- Discourage autonomy -> obedience
- Punishment-heavy
- Low open communication and trust
Indulgent
- Very responsive to needs
- Little parental guidance
Adolescent Development
Content
Lecture 7 – Family relations and Autonomy
Literature week 5
Ch4 / Ch9 (236-243)
Lecture 8 – Peers
Lecture 9 – Romantic relations and Sexuality
Literature week 6
Ch5 / Kaufman et al., 2017
Ch10 / Ch11
Lecture 10– Schools and Achievement
Lecture 11 – Media use
Literature week 7
Ch6 / Ch12
Ch7 / Valkenburg & Piotrowski, 2017 / Cingel et al., 2022
, Lecture 7 – Family
a) Family Systems Theory
What is a family
= mother + father + children
= extended relatives
View of families is time and culture-dependent
Family fulfills similar functions across societies
Socialization
Enduring source of support -> practical / economical /
emotional / social
Social embedding -> continuity of relationships
Family systems theory = organized whole, consisting of interrelated
parts that influence each other
- System -> set of elements interrelated among themselves and with
the environment -> bidirectional/reciprocal/transactional effects
- Changing and self-organizing
- Adapting to its members and environment -> system but strives for
stability
- Cohesive emotional unit -> emotional bond
Key principles
Holism
To understand family, it’s not enough to look at members
separately
Roles within family
> Growing up with a depressed mother > taking over being
caretaker
Hierarchy
Organized into subsystems by gender or generation
Dyadic: marital relationship, parent-child relationships, sibling
relationships
Triadic: combination of dyadic
Holism: family as a whole
Boundaries
At every level permeability of boundaries varies
Boundaries withing system vs outside system
> Spillover – bad relation influences other relation
> Compensation – bad relation compensated by other good
relation
>>> Interparental conflict led to parent-child conflict in same
day -
>>> Negative affect as mediator -
, >>> Marital quality spilled over to parent-adolescent
relationship quality +
>>> Parent-adolescent quality could compensate for marital
quality +
Adolescence according to theory
= Disruption of homeostasis of system
New balance needs to be found
Process of family adaptation
Accompanied by other changes in system
Parental midlife (crisis) or divorce
Influence on the adolescent > overlap with influence on parents
1. Genotype
2. Shared environment
3. Unshared environment
b) Relating parenting styles to adolescent development
Spectrum of parenting styles:
Stability over time
Specific behaviors change in
adolescence
Authoritative
- Engage adolescent in decision making
- Encourage autonomy
- Monitoring
- Open communication and trust
Authoritarian
- Strict rules and expectations
- Discourage autonomy -> obedience
- Punishment-heavy
- Low open communication and trust
Indulgent
- Very responsive to needs
- Little parental guidance
