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PARENT-ADOLESCENT COMMUNICATION 1

Running head: COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND ADOLESCENTS

The Effects of Early Adolescence on Parent-Adolescent Communication

Sarah Hayes

School of Communication Studies

James Madison University

[email protected]

In fulfillment of the requirements for SCOM 280

Dr. Michael Smilowitz

May 6, 2011
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Adolescence is a stage during child development in which childrens communication

with their parents experiences immense changes. The proposed research suggests there is

significance in understanding early adolescence and how early adolescence affects parent-

adolescent communication. The following will discuss the importance of parent-adolescent

communication, the research goal of studying early adolescence in relation to parent-adolescent

communication and an argument for the significance of the research. There will also be a review

of the relevant literature that was written on parent-adolescent communication and a proposed

method to conduct a study on parent-adolescent communication in relation to topic-avoidance.

Throughout the time of adolescence, communication between parents and children begins

to change for various reasons. As children increase in age, they want more independence from

their parents (Mazur & Ebesu Hubbard, 2004; Dailey, 2006). The communication between

parent and child begin to decrease as they enter this stage of their lives. When parent-adolescent

communication becomes less frequent, it is important to know why a child is withdrawing or

avoiding from communication. Previous studies have shown childrens desire forprivacy is a

significant reason for the decline in communication (Mazur & Ebesu Hubbard, 2004; Caughlin &

Malis, 2004). Although there is research that discusses what occurs during adolescence between

children and parents, studies regarding how children learn to avoid or withdraw from topics

during the early stages of adolescence would provide essential information for communication

among the family environment.

The goal of the proposed research is to identify how early adolescence in children affects

communication with their parents. Mazur and Ebesu Hubbard (2004) state that during late

adolescence, children begin to create their identity and avoid certain topics with their parents.

Previous studies have illustrated that during child development, a balance between autonomy and


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communication with parents is fundamental (Mazur & Esbesu Hubbard, 2004; Dailey, 2006). To

achieve this balance during adolescence, it is important to know when children learn to avoid

topics and conversations with their parents. Information regarding childrens communication

behavior during early adolescence would illustrate when children learn to avoid or withdraw

from conversations.

Existing research shows a relationship between avoidance and adolescence (Mazur &

Ebesu Hubbard, 2004; Caughlin & Malis, 2004). Studying the processes by which adolescents

reduce their interaction with their parents is important in providing more information on how

parents can know when a child is avoiding or withdrawing from conversations. Also, it can help

parents relate more to their children to better understand when they withdraw or avoid specific

topics. The proposed research is significant because it has an emphasis on early adolescence in

comparison to a different stage such as late adolescence. The research will improve the

understanding of the processes in which early adolescents communicate with their parents.


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Literature Review

The following reviews the relevant literature associated with early adolescence and topic

avoidance within parent-adolescent communication. Early adolescence is an important stage in

child development and communication between a parent and child is crucial during this phase.

The first section discusses an overview of early adolescence and how a child develops

throughout this period. The second section explains topic avoidance and how it effects

interaction between a parent and child. The third section analyzes confirmation in parent-

adolescent communication. The final section compares the influence that the father and mother

have on their child during topic avoidance and self-disclosure.

Ear ly Adolescence

The stage of early adolescence is important in understanding the communication changes

that occur between the children and parents. Early adolescence is characterized as children

between the ages of 11 and 17 in contrast to late adolescence, which takes place between 18 and

22 years of age (Mazur & Edesu Hubbard, 2004). The period of early adolescence is also named

the developmental stage because of the physical, emotional and cognitive changes that occur

(Mazur & Edesu Hubbard, 2004). Parent-adolescent relationships experience a great amount of

change in a short period of time during child development (Sillars, et al. 2005). One area of

change is a decrease in communication between parent and adolescent to move toward autonomy

and independence (Mazur & Edesu Hubbard, 2004). Autonomy is important to adolescents

because it establishes their freedom from their parents. Children experience a change in their

privacy rules as they create their own identity, separate from their family (Ledbetter, et al. 2010).

Privacy, identity and boundary management are changes that adolescents go through as

their communication with their parents develop. Sillars, et al. (2005) states that adolescents


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seem to share the core beliefs and values of their parents. These similar beliefs and values will

vary throughout the stage of adolescence. There is also an increase in conflict between parents

and children as they begin to age (Sillars, et al. 2005). Boundary maintenance can be

experienced in a parent-adolescent relationship when adolescents want their own privacy and it

is invaded by their parents (Mazur & Edesu Hubbard, 2004; Ledbetter, et al. 2010).

Early adolescence is the time when children are beginning to develop their own identity.

The literature on early adolescence shows a clear understanding of the developmental stage in a

childs life. Adolescents want more autonomy and independence and as adolescents continue to

move toward these goals, they also push away from their parents by creating privacy boundaries.

Parent-adolescent communication then becomes more sporadic during this time. This lack of

communication leads to relational dissatisfaction. Although there is research of the changes in

parent-adolescent relationships, there are little findings on how children learn to have a decrease

in communication with their parents. It is unclear on whether this is a reason children want to

become more independent from their parents by creating boundaries, privacy and topic

avoidance.

Topic Avoidance

Studies have shown that topic avoidance is becoming an important issue in

communication, especially in family environments (Afifi & Afifi, 2009; Mazur & Ebesu

Hubbard, 2004; Baxter & Akkoor, 2011). Topic avoidance occurs often as children enter

adolescence because they want to keep certain subjects private from their parents. Topic

avoidance is defined as when an individual decides not to share information on a specific topic

with another individual (Mazur & Ebesu Hubbard, 2004). Guerrero & Afifi (1995) discuss three

reasons for topic avoidance in family relationships. Topic avoidance is a main element in


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creating the scope and boundaries in relationships, helps restrict communication and individuals

maintain privacy. Adolescents primarily avoid certain topics such as relationship issues,

negative life experiences and friendships (Afifi & Afifi, 2009).

There is a strong correlation between topic avoidance and relationship dissatisfaction.

Caughlin & Afifi (2004) state that avoidance will be determined by the reasons that an individual

avoids certain topics and the topic avoidance creates a privacy boundary between individuals.

When an adolescent discloses too little in a conversation, it leaves parents disconnected and

dissatisfied and when this happens, new communication rules develop (Guerrero & Afifi, 1995).

Caughlin & Malis (2004) found that parent-demand/adolescent-withdraw are associated

inversely with satisfaction. Their study does not investigate how adolescents learn to withdraw

from conversation with their parents.

Parent and adolescents experience topic avoidance in their communication as their

relationship develops. Research states that adolescents want to protect themselves and the

relationship from a negative experience by avoidance during conversation. Deception is an

important response that adolescents tend to use when communicating with their parents to give

an illusion of openness about a topic. The use of deception throughout conversation will avoid a

negative experience. When parents and adolescents communicate there is a certain level of

dissatisfaction because they fear a negative outcome. Although topic avoidance is a technique

used to create boundaries and privacy, it is unknown from research how early adolescents learn

and acquire the skills to avoid certain topics in communication with their parents.

Conf irmation in Parent-Adolescent Relati onships

Confirmation between parents and adolescents during communication is important in

having a positive relationship. Confirmation theory proposes an individuals need to be accepted


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by others to achieve strong personal development (Dailey, 2006; Dailey, 2009; Dailey 2010).

Confirmation from parents allows for more openness within the relationship and adolescents

disclose more to accepting parents (Dailey, 2006). Dailey (2006) found that perceived parental

confirmation was strongly related to adolescent openness. In contrast, disconfirming responses

are negative in communication because it causes individuals not to value themselves (Dailey,

2008). Confirming responses from parents create a more positive environment for self-

disclosure and reduces topic avoidance. Both confirming responses and affectionate behaviors

are important to a childs social development (Schrodt, et al. 2007).

Parents are more likely to confirm with their children because they want to have an open

relationship. Dailey (2008) observed that parents confirmation levels are higher than

adolescents. Parental confirmation behaviors included acknowledging the childs feelings,

asking for the childs opinion, and attentively listening when the child was speaking (Schrodt, et

al. 2007). Adolescents also use more disconfirmation to show their independence by creating

their own identity (Dailey, 2008). Parents who are more open with their emotions and

communication tend to serve as models for their children to be more open and there will be

successful confirmation responses (Gentzler, et al. 2005). Confirmation from parents makes

adolescents want to be more open with certain topics and provides a solution for topic avoidance

during adolescence.

The proposed study expands on explanation for children entering early adolescence

understand how to avoid certain topics. Confirming responses seems to create open

communication between parents and adolescents when parents listen to their child when he or

she is speaking and they acknowledge their childs opinions. An acceptance from parents is

significant in creating better conversation and development of the adolescent. Although


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confirmation is important between parents and adolescent, research does not show how early

adolescents develop a topic avoidance outlook when interacting with their parents. Further

research would create a better understanding for the first stages of adolescence and the

communication that takes place with parents.

I nf luence of Father versus Mother

Children have different relationships with both their mother and their father. The

influences of each parent have an impact on their sense of self and the interactions they have as a

parent-adolescent dyad. Guerrero & Afifi (1995) state that relationship type affects avoidance

and disclosure norms. During adolescence, daughters tend to have high self disclosure with their

mothers and share common experiences that create an open communication environment

(Bishop, 1992). Sons feel similar that they can talk to their mothers about personal issues rather

than their fathers (Guerrero & Afifi, 1995). Guilamo-Ramos, et al. (2006) found that if a mother

is seen as being trustworthy, she is also seen has having expertise. This expertise helps the

relationship that mothers have with their children because children will want to disclose

information to their mothers. Also, mothers tend to verbally stimulate their sons more than their

daughters (Weizman, et al. 1985).

Fathers relationships with their children have different characteristics depending on the

childs gender. In father-son relationships, the more actively involved a father is in his sons life,

the more open his son will be (Morman & Floyd, 2002). In contrast, daughters appear to be

withdrawn and uncomfortable self-disclosing to their fathers because of fear of unresponsiveness

(Guerrero & Afifi, 1995; Punyanunt-Carter, 2008). Punyanunt-Carter (2008) found that there is a

relationship between dissatisfaction and family communication patterns in fathers and daughters.

Morman & Floyd (1990) found that there is a relationship between communication closeness and


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supportiveness. Fathers who are more supportive of their sons have more interaction with their

son. There is a variety of research on associations between child and their parent, specifically

the differences between the mother and father. Further research on when children first begin to

associate with either their mother or father in relation to self-disclosure and topic avoidance

would provide understanding for how children learn to avoid topics with the other parent.

The relevant literature on childrens interaction with their mother and father shows how

much children are willing to share and tell each parent. There are vast differences between

mothers and fathers when comparing their relationships with their children. The understanding

of how children interact with their different parents is important for knowing how children learn

to avoid certain conversations. Children are more willing to share information with their parents

if they are open and supportive. Sons and daughters are both more likely to disclose personal

information to their mothers than their fathers. The literature fails to discuss how adolescents

learn to avoid certain topics with their mother or father. Research does not look into what

specific age adolescents begin to withdraw from communication with each parent.

The literature shows that topic avoidance, confirmation and parent influence have a

significant impact on adolescence. As children enter the adolescent stage, they experience many

changes that affect their relationships with their parents and how they communicate. They want

to have more independence and privacy as they grow into their own identity. The subject of

topic avoidance tends to play a major role in this shift from childhood to adulthood. Adolescents

do not want to discuss certain subjects with their parents for various reasons because it may

cause a negative effect on the relationship. Confirmation from parents help make a parent-

adolescent dyad more open because the children receive acceptance and they feel more prone to

share personal information. The willingness to self-disclosure seems to depend on the mother or


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the father and how comfortable the child feels with each parent. The proposed study seeks to

investigate how a child learns to avoid and withdraw from certain topics during early

adolescence. There is little research on early adolescence and the development of parent-

adolescent communication during this stage. Given that the literature does not illustrate how a

child learns to establish topic avoidance and withdrawal from communication, the following

research question is proposed:

RQ1: How does an early adolescent learn to avoid and withdraw from topics duringcommunication with their parents?

Method

The goal of the proposed research is to understand how early adolescents learn to avoid

topics during communication with their parents. Research will look at the different ways

teenagers in the stage of early adolescence acquire behaviors to avoid certain subjects with their

parents. The methods used will be a qualitative and quantitative data analysis of adolescents and

their responses. The use of an ANOVA test will provide results of two age groups in relation to

topic-avoidance.

Subjects

One hundred adolescents will be randomly selected from address books and chosen from

the elementary, middle and high school in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area. These three types of

schools will be public schools and will be randomly selected. The age of the participants will be

ranging from 11 to 17 years old to have the various ages of adolescents represented for the study.

The participants will complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be emailed to the students

or their parents emails if they do not have one. The questions will measure topic avoidance in

parent-adolescent communication. Prior to the distribution of the survey, both the parent and


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participant will receive a letter explaining the reasons for the study, how the study will be

administered and what will be accomplished during the study.

Design

Once the participants are selected, they will be randomly assigned in two groups. The

first group will be an age range of 11-14 years old and the second group will be from ages 15-17.

The use of the two groups will allow for a comparison between the beginning stages of

adolescence with the end of adolescence. A questionnaire consisting of both open-ended and

closed-ended questions will be administered to the participants through email. The questions on

the survey will provide a greater understanding of how adolescents avoid and withdraw from

topics during communication with their parents. The questions will also be clear and

straightforward to avoid any issues that might arise during the study. The closed-ended

questions will be put first on the survey followed by the open-ended questions. To assess the

two sample groups for comparison with topic avoidance, an ANOVA test will be used.

Measuring Instruments

There will be two sample groups used in the study who will fill out the same

questionnaire and separating the two groups by age ranges, the questionnaire should prove

different results. These results will help with understanding the differences between being in the

stages of early and late adolescence. The questionnaire that is administered will provide

information about how adolescents learn to avoid topics in communication with their parents.

Types of questions asked on the survey will read as follows:

1. How old are you?2. Are you a male or female?3. Do you avoid certain topics with your parents?


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a. Yes or no4. Do you remember the first time you avoided a topic while talking to your parents?

a. Yes or no5. What is the topic you avoided?6. Why did you avoid this topic with your parents?7. Do you have a better relationship with your father or mother?8. What topics do you tend to avoid when communicating with your parents?

Data Analysis

To compare the two sample groups of early and late adolescence, a t-test will be used for

the closed-ended questions. The question that asks: Do you avoid certain topics with your

parents? will help determine whether the results will be problematic. An answer of no to this

question will shift the results of the procedure. The t-test statistic uses only two sample groups

and is appropriate for this study because of the sample age group of 11-14 years old and the other

sample group of 15-17 years old. According to the t-test, we assume the two samples are related

and create a correlation while calculating results. The open-ended questions on the questionnaire

will provide a qualitative analysis of the difference between early and late adolescence to

determine how adolescents learn to avoid certain topics. The correlation of the two age groups

will offer information to see when and how adolescents learn to have topic-avoidance during

communication with their parents.


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References

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parents' relationship: Applying the theory of motivated information management. Journal of

Social & Personal Relationships, 26(4), 488-511.

Baxter, L. A., & Akkoor, C. (2011). Topic expansiveness and family communication patterns.

Journal of Family Communication, 11(1), 1-20.

Bishop, C. (1992). Self-disclosure in mother daughter dyads: The forgotten areas of study in

interpersonal communication. Journal of the Northwest Communication Association, 20(1),

57-75.

Caughlin, J. P., & Afifi, T. D. (2004). When is topic avoidance unsatisfying? examining

moderators of the association between avoidance and dissatisfaction. Human

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Caughlin, J. P., & Malis, R. S. (2004). Demand/Withdraw communication between parents and

adolescents as a correlate of relational satisfaction. Communication Reports, 17(2), 59-71.

Dailey, R. M. (2009). Confirmation from family members: Parent and sibling contributions to

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Dailey, R. M. (2006). Confirmation in ParentAdolescent relationships and adolescent openness:

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Dailey, R. M. (2008). Assessing the contribution of nonverbal behaviors in displays of

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