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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
07:56
Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
More problems and less support: early adolescent adjustment forecasts changes in perceived support from parents
Christopher A Hafen1, Brett Laursen
1Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL 33314, USA. chafen@fau.edu
Summary
Declining parental support is linked to worsening adolescent problems like externalizing behaviors. Adolescent externalizing symptoms also predict future decreases in perceived parental support during middle school.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Health
- Family Studies
Background:
- Parental support is crucial for adolescent adjustment.
- Understanding longitudinal dynamics is key to intervention.
- Middle school is a critical period for both adjustment and support perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine longitudinal associations between adolescent adjustment and perceived parental support.
- To investigate bidirectional effects between adolescent symptoms and parental support.
- To explore changes in support and adjustment from ages 11 to 13.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design.
- Growth curve modeling.
- Diverse sample of 197 girls and 116 boys (ages 11-13).
Main Results:
- Declining perceived parental support correlated with increasing internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
- Adolescent externalizing symptoms predicted subsequent declines in perceived parental support.
- Declines in support were steeper with higher initial externalizing symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent externalizing behaviors influence perceived parental support.
- Parental support changes do not predict adolescent adjustment changes.
- Findings highlight the impact of adolescent behavior on the parent-child relationship.
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