Abstract
Current research and theory suggest that the healthy path of autonomy development involves gradual negotiation of adolescents’ independence within a context of continued family connection. This theory-generating study examined the role that adolescents’ participation in youth programs plays in these adolescent-parent negotiations. Qualitative data from high-school-aged youth in 12 programs and from a sub-sample of parents were analyzed employing methods of grounded theory. These analyses suggest that program participation provides a pathway of opportunities for youth to exercise individual choice and develop qualities of self-reliance with parental approval. In turn, parents’ observation of self-reliance in the program and youth's demonstration of these qualities in family interactions can lead to changes in adolescent-parent relationships that provide youth greater family autonomy with connection.
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Notes
The names of the programs, youth, and adults have been altered to preserve anonymity.
It should be noted that, although our theoretical focus was on “negotiations” between adolescents and parents, for a majority of families we only had data from one member's accounts of these transactions (most often the youth's) and the parent data came from only one point in time, thus limiting our ability to fully capture ongoing give and take between parties.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded with generous support from the William T. Grant Foundation. We also thank the youth, leaders, and parents who participated in the research and thank Kate Walker, Jane Brown, Vikki Rompala, David Hansen, Natasha Watkins, Dustin Wood, Chidori Harris, and other TYDE staff members for their contributions to the work.
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Reed W. Larson is the Pampered Chef Endowed Chair in Family Resiliency and is a professor in the Departments of Human and Community Development, Psychology, and Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and spent five years working under Daniel Offer, as Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Adolescence at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center. His research focuses on the daily developmental experience of adolescents, particularly in the context of youth development programs and families.
Nickki Pearce is a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include understanding the factors that influence youth engagement in school- and community-based after-school programs.
Patrick J. Sullivan is a graduate student at the University of Illinois. His major research interests include the study of positive adolescent development focusing on how youth become autonomous people while maintaining or building connections to family and community members.
Robin L. Jarrett is a professor in the Department of Human and Community Development and the African American Studies Research Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jarrett received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Her major research interests include African American family life, child and youth development within inner-city neighborhoods, and extracurricular youth programs.
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Larson, R.W., Pearce, N., Sullivan, P.J. et al. Participation in Youth Programs as a Catalyst for Negotiation of Family Autonomy with Connection. J Youth Adolescence 36, 31–45 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9133-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9133-7