Parent-adolescent relationship data from the Australian Temperament Project (ATP)
A number of papers released during 2008 present findings from an investigation into relationships between young people and their parents drawn from recent data collection waves of the Australian Temperament Project (ATP). The ATP, which is led and managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), 'focuses on the developing child, investigating the contribution of personal, family and broader environmental factors to adjustment and wellbeing', aiming to provide 'a valuable lens through which to view the pathways taken by Australian children from infancy to adulthood' (Smart & Vassallo 2008, p.54). The project, now in its 25th year, began in 1983 with a cohort of 2,443 infants and their families.
The paper 'How do parents and teenagers get along together: Views of young people and their parents', written by Diana Smart, Ann Sanson and John Toumbourou (published in the AIFS journal Family Matters n.78, 2008, pp.18-27), gives an overview of findings on parent-adolescent relationship quality drawn from the ATP when cohort members were aged 13 to 18 years. As well as investigating the quality of parent-adolescent relationships, researchers investigated the association between these relationships, other measures of adolescent wellbeing (including temperament style, social skills, behaviour problems, peer relationships and school progress), and family structure.
Results indicated that over 70% of young people and their parents reported positive relationships, although only half of the parents and adolescents surveyed reported that they spoke together often about 'problems or difficulties the adolescents were experiencing' (Smart & Vassallo 2008, p.57). Strong associations were identified between parent-adolescent relationship quality and adolescent wellbeing, family relationships and effective parenting practices.
Preliminary findings from the analysis of parent-adolescent relationship data drawn from the ATP's most recent wave of data collection (conducted when cohort members were 23 to 24 years of age) were published in a paper presented at the 10th AIFS conference, held in Melbourne in July 2008 (Vassallo 2008). The analysis draws on data from close to 1000 young adults (61% female) and parents (89% mothers) involved in the ATP.
The analysis investigated differences between young adults living away from home and those still living at home as well as between males and females, using measures including frequency of communication, conflict and perceived levels of support.
- More than one-third (39%) of young adults lived with their parents.
- Most parents and young adults (94%) communicated at least once a week.
- Less than 10% of young adults and parents argued weekly or more often than weekly.
- On a scale of one to 10, over 75% of parents and young adults gave their relationships a rating of at least eight.
- 'Young adults tended to perceive higher levels of social support and more depth to their relationships than their parents.'
- Male young adults were less likely than females to communicate often with parents and to report a deep parent-young adult relationship.
- Young adults and parents who lived together tended to communicate more often, reported more conflict, argued more often and rated their relationship less positively than those who lived elsewhere, however young adults who lived with their parents also reported deeper young adult-parent relationships than those who lived elsewhere.
- Most parents are involved in their young adult children's lives, but tend to underestimate the value their children place on this involvement.
- Parenting roles adapt as children enter young adulthood, changing from primarily providing material support to primarily providing advice and guidance.
http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/afrc10/abstracts-iz.html#vassallo2