Abstract
In order to uncover the reason why adolescents generally experience less positive emotional experience in the presence of parents, we compared the association of perceived opportunities for autonomy and support to adolescents’ positive emotional states when they were with their parents vs. in other interpersonal contexts. Thirty-one white, lower socioeconomic status, ninth grade students evaluated the fulfillment of their autonomy and support needs and their emotional experiences at multiple time points within a variety of interpersonal contexts over a one-week period. Hierarchical linear modeling of 1268 surveys showed that, compared to when they were with only their parents, these adolescents experienced relatively more frequent positive emotions when they were with peers, or with other adults in addition to or in the absence of their parents. Moreover, perceived opportunities for autonomy and support were associated with positive emotional experiences at a given time point. Perceived autonomy and support operated differently depending on the interpersonal context; the effects of these opportunities were smaller in the context of parent-only interactions than those involving interactions with other people. This study contributes to the literature on adolescent affect by showing that the moment-by-moment, intra-individual psychological affordances of autonomy and support are differentially associated with emotional experiences depending on the interpersonal context. Furthermore, these findings suggest that individuation-relatedness theory appears to be applicable to a relatively understudied population, namely white adolescents from low-SES families.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmed, W., Minnaert, A., van der Werf, G., & Kuyper, H. (2010). Perceived social support and early adolescents’ achievement: The mediational roles of motivational beliefs and emotions. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9367-7.
Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54, 317–326. http://search.proquest.com.ssl.access.yonsei.ac.kr:8080/docview/614340192?accountid=15179.
Bao, X. H., & Lam, S. F. (2008). Who makes the choice? Rethinking the role of autonomy and relatedness in Chinese children’s motivation. Child Development, 79, 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01125.x.
Beyers, W., Goossens, L., Vansant, I., & Moors, E. (2003). A structural model of autonomy in middle and late adolescence: Connectedness, separation, detachment, and agency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024922031510.
Boles, S. A. (1999). A model of parental representations, second individuation, and psychological adjustment in late adolescence. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 497–512. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199904)55:43.0.CO;2-I.
Buhl, H. M. (2008). Significance of individuation in adult child–parent relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 262–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X07304272.
Cauffman, E., & Steinberg, L. (2000). (Im) maturity of judgment in adolescence: Why adolescents may be less culpable than adults. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 18, 741–760.
Collins, W. A., & Laursen, B. (2004). Changing relationships, changing youth: Interpersonal contexts of adolescent development. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 24, 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431603260882.
Collins, W. A., & Steinberg, L. (2006). Adolescent development in interpersonal context. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Child and adolescent development: An advanced course (pp. 551–590). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526–541. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01644.x.
Connell, J. P., & Wellborn, J. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M. R. Gunnar & L. A. Sroufe (Eds.), The Minnesota symposia on child psychology, Vol. 23. Self processes and development (pp. 43–77). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
De Goede, I. H. A., Branje, S. J. T., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2009). Developmental changes in adolescents’ perceptions of relationships with their parents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9286-7.
De Los Reyes, A., Ohannessian, C. M., & Laird, R. D. (2016). Developmental changes in discrepancies between adolescents’ and their mothers’ views of family communication. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 790–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0275-7.
Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26, 325–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1991.9653137.
Deković, M., Noom, M. J., & Meeus, W. (1997). Expectations regarding development during adolescence: Parental and adolescent perceptions. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26, 253–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-0001-7.
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Socialization mediators of the relation between socioeconomic status and child conduct problems. Child Development, 65, 649–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00774.x.
Erickson, K. G., Crosnoe, R., & Dornbusch, S. M. (2000). A social process model of adolescent deviance: Combining social control and differential association perspectives. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 395–425. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005163724952.
Fuligni, A. J., Tseng, V., & Lam, M. (1999). Attitudes toward family obligations among American adolescents with Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 70, 1030–1044. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00075.
Furrer, C., & Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of relatedness as a factor in children’s academic engagement and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 148–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.148.
Gilbert, K. E. (2012). The neglected role of positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 467–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.05.005.
Grolnick, W. S., Weiss, L., McKenzie, L., & Wrightman, J. (1996). Contextual, cognitive, and adolescent factors associated with parenting in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25, 33–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537379.
Grotevant, H. D., & Cooper, C. R. (1986). Individuation in family relationships. Human Development, 29, 82–100. https://doi.org/10.1159/000273025.
Gurland, S. T., & Grolnick, W. S. (2005). Perceived threat, controlling parenting, and children’s achievement orientations. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-005-7956-2.
Hanson, M. D., & Chen, E. (2007). Socioeconomic status and health behaviors in adolescence: a review of the literature. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30, 263–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-007-9098-3.
Heck, R., & Thomas, S. (2009). An introduction to multilevel modeling techniques (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: a meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45, 740–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362.
Holmbeck, G. N., & Leake, C. (1999). Separation-individuation and psychological adjustment in late adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 28, 563–581. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021654626328.
Kins, E., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2012). Parental psychological control and dysfunctional separation–individuation: A tale of two different dynamics. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1099–1109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.02.017.
Koepke, S., & Denissen, J. J. (2012). Dynamics of identity development and separation–individuation in parent–child relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood—A conceptual integration. Developmental Review, 32, 67–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.01.001.
Larson, R. W. & Richards, M. H. (1994).Divergent realities. The emotional life of mothers, fathers and adolescents. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Larson, R. W., Moneta, G., Richards, M. H., & Wilson, S. (2002). Continuity, stability, and change in daily emotional experience across adolescence. Child Development, 73, 1151–1165. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00464.
Larson, R. W., Richards, M. H., Moneta, G., Holmbeck, G., & Duckett, E. (1996). Changes in adolescents’ daily interactions with their families from ages 10 to 18: Disengagement and transformation. Developmental Psychology, 32, 744–754. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.32.4.744.
Lekes, N., Gingras, I., Philippe, F. L., Koestner, R., & Fang, J. (2010). Parental autonomy-support, intrinsic life goals, and well-being among adolescents in China and North America. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 858–869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9451-7.
Luster, T., Rhoades, K., & Haas, B. (1989). The relation between parental values and parenting behavior: A test of the Kohn hypothesis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 139–147. https://doi.org/10.2307/352375.
Martin, A. J., & Dowson, M. (2009). Interpersonal relationships, motivation, engagement, and achievement: Yields for theory, current issues, and educational practice. Review of Educational Research, 79, 327–365. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325583.
McClanahan, G., & Holmbeck, G. N. (1992). Separation-individuation, family functioning, and psychological adjustment in college students: A construct validity study of the separation-individuation test of adolescence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 468–485. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5903_4.
McGue, M., Elkins, I., Walden, B., & Lacono, W. G. (2005). Perceptions of the parent-adolescent relationship: a longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 41, 971–984. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.971.
Noack, P., & Buhl, H. M. (2004). Child-parent relationships. In F. R. Lang & K. L. Fingerman (Eds.), Growing together: Personal relationships across the lifespan (pp. 45–75). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Noom, M. J., Deković, M., & Meeus, W. (1999). Autonomy, attachment and psychosocial adjustment during adolescence: A double-edged sword? Journal of Adolescence, 22, 771–783. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1999.0269.
Noom, M. J., Deković, M., & Meeus, W. (2001). Conceptual analysis and measurement of adolescent autonomy. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 577–595. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010400721676.
Oliphant, A. E., & Kuczynski, L. (2011). Mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of mutuality in middle childhood: The domain of intimacy. Journal of Family Issues, 32, 1104–1124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X11402946.
Park, S., Holloway, S. D., Arendtsz, A., Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2012). What makes students engaged in learning? A time use study of within and between individual predictors of emotional engagement in low performing high schools. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 390–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9738-3.
Ponappa, S., Bartle-Haring, S., & Day, R. (2014). Connection to parents and healthy separation during adolescence: A longitudinal perspective. Journal of Adolescence, 37, 555–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.04.005.
Rabe-Hesketh, S., & Skrondal, A. (2008). Multilevel and longitudinal modeling using Stata (2nd ed.). College Station, TX: A Stata Press Publication.
Ramsey, M. A., & Gentzler, A. L. (2015). An upward spiral: Bidirectional associations between positive affect and positive aspects of close relationships across the life span. Developmental Review, 36, 58–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2015.01.003.
Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 419–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167200266002.
Roeser, R. W., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. J. (2000). School as a context of early adolescents’ academic and social-emotional development: A summary of research findings. The Elementary School Journal, 100, 443–471. https://doi.org/10.1086/499650.
Roth, G., Assor, A., Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). The emotional and academic consequences of parental conditional regard: comparing conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support as parenting practices. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1119–1142. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015272.
Schmidt, J. A., Shernoff, D. J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2007). Individual and situational factors related to the experience of flow in adolescence. In A. Ong & M. H. Van Dulmen (Eds.), Oxford handbook of methods in positive psychology (pp. 542–558). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Schneiders, J., Drukker, M., van der Ende, J., Verhulst, F. C., van Os, J., & Nicolson, N. A. (2003). Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and behavioral problems from late childhood into early adolescence. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 699–703. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.57.9.699.
Smollar, J., & Youniss, J. (1989). Transformations in adolescents’ perceptions of parents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 12, 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502548901200104.
Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., Beyers, W., & Ryan, R. M. (2007). Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning. Developmental Psychology, 43, 633–646. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.3.633.
Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent–adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00001.
Wills, T. A. (1991). Social support and interpersonal relationships. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Review of Personality and social psychology, Vol. 12. Prosocial behavior (pp. 265–289). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Youniss, J., & Smollar, J. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers, and friends.. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Collins, W. A. (2003). Autonomy development during adolescence. In G. R. Adams & M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 175–204). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Author Contributions
S.K. conceptualized the paper, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. S.H. collaborated in designing and executing the study; collaborated in writing and editing the final manuscript. J.B. conceptualized, designed, and executed the study as principal investigator. J.L. collaborated in designing and executing the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of University of California, Berkeley research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, S., Holloway, S.D., Bempechat, J. et al. Explaining Adolescents’ Affect: A Time-Use Study of Opportunities for Support and Autonomy across Interpersonal Contexts. J Child Fam Stud 27, 2384–2393 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1092-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1092-6