Parent–Adolescent Relationship: A Circle of Care, Respect, and Faith

Abstract

Much writing, both scientific as well as popular, has highlighted the rather trying time that parents endure in dealing with their adolescent children. The burgeoning contextual changes are only expected to exacerbate this phenomenon. Concerns along these lines are expressed in contemporary Indian society, especially with regard to dissipating traditional cultural values and the challenge of reconciling traditional beliefs and practices with new realities. This chapter probes into the phenomena of parenting and parent–adolescent relationship from the perspectives of both adolescents and parents. The following questions are addressed: What kind of parenting is preferred in the present milieu of flux of social change? How is the changing context affecting the traditional hierarchical authority structure of parent–adolescent relationship? What are the defining features of the parent–adolescent relationship? The chapter begins with an overview of parents’ and adolescents’ descriptions of parenting adolescents. It then presents the nature of parental authority as revealed in the different conceptions of parents described by adolescents and parents. Subsequently, the guiding elements of the parent–adolescent relationship are discussed as evinced in the interpretation and resolution of interpersonal disagreements.