Developmental changes in parent–child communication throughout adolescence

“Hence, developmental growth and maturation take place when parents release control and trust their children to make wise decisions on their own (Keijsers and Poulin 2013).”

“Early adolescence is a key period for emotion regulation development (Wang et al., 2021), and the transition in which communication and trust with parents decreases while communication and trust with friends increase (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Park et al., 2023).”

“…the fact that although females are more rationally oriented, have positive relations with teachers [41, 42], and build better relations with their peers [58], parents [59] and other important figures, supportive teacher relationships might mean more to male students than their female counterparts.”

“…with research in broader developmental literature indicating that adolescent disclosure decreases across early adolescence in particular, and that adolescents actively push the balance towards less frequent communication to meet their growing privacy and autonomy needs (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013).”

“While striving to gain more independence, they reduce the frequency and intensity of communication with their parents (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“This finding is consistent with a documented linear decrease in parental control at later ages (i.e., 14–19) and not at earlier ages (i.e., 12–14; Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“For instance, it has been demonstrated that, over the course of adolescence, children experience a decline in parental control and perceive their parents as becoming less emotionally supportive (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013; Loeber et al., 2000).”

“Although the strength of communication between adolescents and their parents is reduced to meet early adolescents ’ increasing needs for autonomy (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013), parent ‒ child communication still has a protective effect on adolescents ’ depressive symptoms.”

“In this period, the size and diversity of adolescents’ peer groups gradually increase, and they tend to spend less time at home and communicate with their parents less frequently (Keijsers, & Poulin, 2013).”

“These results may be related to differences in age and parental involvement between elementary and junior high school students (28, 29).”

“…children age, with increasing similarity between parents’ and adolescents’ views during the course of adolescence (De Goede, I, Branje, & Meeus, 2009; Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; McGue, Elkins, Walden, & Iacono, 2005; Shanahan, McHale, Crouter, & Osgood, 2007; J.; Smetana, Crean, & Campione-Barr,…”

“Maintaining developmentally appropriate types of open communication with parents plays a critical role in promoting individuation during adolescence (Barnes & Olson, 1985; Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“In early adolescence, there is a sharp decline in adolescents seeking open communication with their parents, becoming more secretive about what is going on in their lives, and seeking increasing autonomy from their parents (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“Prior research has showed that adolescent disclosure is an important construct for their development outcomes (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Kerr et al., 2010).”

“In addition, consistent with previous studies [72,73], this finding shows that age is negatively and significantly correlated to the open expression of parent–child communication.”

“Fortunately, Keijsers and Poulin (2013) concluded that, after a conflictual stage in early adolescence, in late adolescence, parentchild communication becomes more efficient because adolescents and parents strive together for better relationships.”

“Between the ages of 12 and 14, adolescent girls report a greater desire for autonomy and independence, which is characterized by a reduction in the frequency and quality of communication with their mothers (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…of the data presented in this manuscript were presented in 2017 during the 38th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Diego, CA. uthor M anuscript A uthor M anuscript A uthor M anuscript school or in extracurricular activities (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…research has also indicated that parents have more knowledge of their adolescent daughters’ behaviors and engage in stricter parenting behaviors with their adolescent daughters compared to sons (Keijsers, Branje, Frijns, Finkenauer, & Meeus, 2010; Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Racz & McMahon, 2011).”

“Further, as youth become older, they may share less information with their parents (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…among studies evaluating the effectiveness of restrictive mediation efforts is weak parent–adolescent communication, for example when adolescents withhold information, parents impose rules without context, or there is little open discussion of problems and concerns (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013).”

“…communication and specific communication content given that previous research suggests that there are differences in communication patterns that emerge during adolescence between parents and sons and parents and daughters (e.g., boys are less open when communicating with parents than girls [51]).”

“One possible explanation is that adolescent girls typically engage in more communication with parents than boys (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013), suggesting that the higher frequency of parent–child discussions among girls may also spill over into STEM-related discussions.”

“The second possibility is that as entering adolescence, the impact of the family environment and parental influence on adolescents may “naturally” diminish (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“While parents may not be ready yet to relinquish control at an earlier age, they may increasingly do so as their adolescents get older (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013), leading them to adopt a more positive attitude towards negotiation with increasing age.”

“Tension between parents and adolescents can arise as adolescents increasingly assert boundaries and make attempts to separate from parental authority while parents continue their wish to protect and discipline their adolescent children (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…generally showing declines across the adolescent years (e.g., Laird et al., 2013; Padilla-Walker et al., 2018) with a few caveats (e.g., Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; declines across adolescence except for middle adolescent females; Keijsers et al., 2009; decreases based on adolescent…”

“Rather than spending most of their time under the supervision of adults, teenagers seek more privacy (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013) and develop a strong need to affiliate with peers (Ragelienė, 2016).”

“Indeed, parental reports of the use of social control typically decline as adolescents age (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“Given the age differences, the study of Keijsers and Poulin (12) showed that changes in parent-child communication took place throughout adolescence.”

“As youth progress into adolescence, they may refrain from sharing experiences, emotions, and thoughts with their caregivers (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Padilla-Walker, Son, & Nelson, 2018).”

“…it is plausible to suggest that substantial discrepancies between mothers ’ and adolescents ’ ratings are associated with maladaptive adjustments, whereas minor discrepancies may re fl ect normative processes in the context of individuation (e.g., Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Smetana & Rote, 2019).”

“Parent–child communication and parental control may be an important approach to goal selection, goal optimization, and goal compensation strategies for adolescents (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Liu & Chang, 2016).”

“Perceived parental monitoring was assessed through scales created by Stattin and Kerr (2000), translated into French by Keijsers and Poulin (2013).”

“Youth spend an increasing amount of time outside of direct parental supervision during adolescence (Lam, McHale, & Crouter, 2012), accompanied by declining adolescent disclosure and parental knowledge about youth behaviors (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…domains such as outdoor physical activities (e.g. Carver, Timperio, Hesketh, & Crawford, 2010, adolescent driving regulations (e.g. Keating & Halpern-Felsher, 2008), and adolescent peer relations and activities outside the home (e.g. Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Marshall, Young, & Tilton-Weaver, 2008).”

“In general, older adolescents freely disclose less information and engage in more secretive information management strategies than early adolescents (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“This finding is consistent with most of the few existing longitudinal studies (e.g., Keijsers & Poulin, 2013) and is typically attributed to gradually increasing emotional and behavioral autonomy for adolescents.”

“Although disclosure to parents declines in frequency across early adolescence (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013), it may be especially important during late adolescence (Main et al., 2015), as this may be the primary vehicle through which parents gain knowledge about their adolescents’ diabetes, given their…”

“As their autonomy, reflexivity, and self-concept develop, adolescents interpret parental actions in more complex and diverse ways (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013).”

“(Keijsers and Poulin, 2013); what are the developmental trajectories for adolescents’ empathic concern associated with pubertal status?”

“Additionally, previous studies have demonstrated that high levels of PPC are significantly correlated with depression and anxiety in adolescents (Keijsers and Poulin, 2013; Rogers et al., 2020; Soenens and Vansteenkiste, 2010), which are often associated with poor sleep quality.”

“The normative developmental shifts in parent-child relationships during adolescence are characterized by decreased communication, reduced closeness, and increased conflict [79, 80].”

“This process was confirmed in two prospective studies among Dutch and Canadian adolescents where parental knowledge, parental control, child disclosure, and parental solicitation declined across the period from early to late adolescence (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Keijsers et al., 2009).”

“Engagement of parents with young workers may require a level of vigilance and active involvement on the part of parents as adolescents often actively seek to increase their privacy and autonomy and in which parent-child communication may prove more challenging [18].”

“…& Séguin, 2016), confrontation with problem behaviours (Dieleman et al., 2018), parent-child relationships (Doh, Kim, Shin, Park, & Choi, 2013; Keijsers & Poulin, 2013), parenting efficiency (Choe, 2006; Gross et al., 2009; Song et al., 2014), congruence in parenting (Doh et al., 2013),…”

“While most youth experience varying levels of parental independence during the middle and high school years [7, 8], the most significant shift in independence happens as they transition out of high school and into the spheres of higher education and/or work [9].”

“For example, one study has examined how parent – child communication regarding adolescent unsupervised activities develops over the course of adolescence from age 12 to 19 years (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“This individuation process typically results in reduced disclosure to parents and increased secrecy (Finkenauer et al. 2002; Keijsers and Poulin 2013).”

“These findings suggest that gender-sensitive communication strategies could be particularly beneficial in addressing the unique vulnerabilities faced by boys [74].”

“…research suggests that quality parent–child communication is associated with positive academic outcomes, reducing health risk behaviours (e.g., alcohol and drug use), and with favourable mental health outcomes (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Riesch et al., 2006; Zapf et al., 2024; Zhang, 2020).”

“This period is characterized by a decrease in parental control, detachment, and the intensity of con fl ict between parents and children (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Smetana & Rote, 2019), which support the adolescents ’ need for independence and autonomy as the main age-related task (Koepke &…”

“Yet during late adolescence and emerging adulthood, individuals and parents are similar in their desires to maintain the positive and supportive relationships that characterize the connectedness aspect of autonomy (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“…with their daughters, possibly reflecting conscientiousness around raising different-sex children (Berkowitz & Ryan, 2011), or because girls are more open to engaging in conversation about puberty and sexuality than boys, as some work indicates (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013; Schouten et al., 2007).”

“…and their parents is diminished as they acquire greater autonomy (Finkenauer, Engels & Meeus, 2002), which translates into the decision of how much information they want to share or hide from their parents, for example, their daily activities or friendships (e.g. Keijsers & Poulin, 2013).”

“With age, adolescents increasingly regulate parental access to information through selective disclosure, secrecy, and partial communication (Tilton‐Weaver 2014), altering the balance between parental monitoring efforts and adolescents’ growing autonomy (Keijsers and Poulin 2013).”