Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore, by means of semi-structured interviews, how families of adolescents perceive and describe their educational styles and the development of adolescent autonomy. Specifically, the results of two different studies will be discussed: the first was conducted with a group of 83 parents (fathers and mothers) of 15- to 18-year-old adolescents, male and female, from different cultural backgrounds (medium-low and medium-high). The second study involved both adolescents and their parents of three age-groups (10 families with 13-, 15- and 17-year-old adolescents, for a total of 90 interviews), half male and half female.
In the first study fathers and mothers were asked to describe the educational style they adopted in raising their children, its consistency across situations and similarities and differences with their partner’s style; moreover, parents’ beliefs about the process of separation/ /individuation of the adolescent were assessed. The second study focused on family members’ (father, mother, adolescent) perceptions and beliefs about the nature of autonomy and its development and on their degree of congruence or incongruence within the family; moreover, the inclusion of a group of younger subjects (13-year-olds) was intended to provide a picture of a larger age span.
Results of content analysis conducted on subjects’ answers showed the presence of different “models” or “styles” of education adopted by fathers and mothers, as well as different conceptions of “autonomy” and patterns of autonomy development, which appear to differ according to the sociodemographic variables considered.
Résumé
L’objet de cette recherche est d’explorer, à l’aide d’entretiens semi-structurés, de quelle façon les familles des adolescents perçoivent et décrivent leurs propres styles éducatifs ainsi que le développement de l’autonomie de leurs enfants adolescents. Plus précisément, les résultats de deux études différentes sont présentés; la première de ces études a été conduite auprès d’un groupe de 83 parents (pères et mères) d’adolescents âgés de 15 à 18 ans, garçons et filles, issus de milieux socio-culturels différents: moyen-inférieur et moyen-supérieur. La deuxième étude concernait des adolescents et leurs parents; les adolescents, garçons et filles étaient répartis en trois groupes d’âge (13, 15 & 17 ans). A raison de 10 familles par groupe d’âge, 90 entretiens ont été réalisés.
Dans la première recherche, les pères et les mères devaient décrire le style éducatif adopté pour élever leur enfant, la cohérence de ce style à travers les situations et les similitudes et différences avec les styles adoptés par l’autre parent; en outre, on a recueilli les croyances des parents à propos du processus de séparation/individuation de leur enfant. Dans la deuxième étude les différents partenaires (père, mère, adolescent) devaient exprimer leurs perceptions et croyances à propos du développement de l’autonomie, ainsi que leur évaluation du degré d’accord intrafamilial sur ces conceptions. Un groupe d’adolescents plus jeunes (13 ans) a été inclus pour élargir l’empan d’âge pris en considération;
Les résultats des analyses de contenu, révèlent l’existence de différences de “modèles” ou “styles” d’éducation entre les mères et les pères, ainsi que de variations dans les conceptions de l’autonomie et de son développement, liées à des facteurs socio-démographiques.
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Cicognani, E., Zani, B. Parents’ educational styles and adolescent autonomy. Eur J Psychol Educ 13, 485–502 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173100
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173100