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Parental involvement in adolescent romantic relationships: patterns and correlates

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Abstract

This study examined dimensions of mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in adolescents’ romantic relationships when offspring were age 17. Using cluster analysis, parents from 105 White, working and middle class families were classified as positively involved, negatively involved, or autonomy-oriented with respect to their adolescents’ romantic relationships. Patterns of parental involvement were generally not associated with parent–offspring relationship quality at about adolescent age 13, but earlier parent–offspring relationship quality moderated the associations between parental involvement and adolescent romantic experiences at about age 18. Positive parent–offspring relationship quality buffered the effects of negative parental involvement, whereas poorer parent–offspring relationship quality was a more adaptive context for adolescents of autonomy-oriented parents. Discussion focuses on the importance of parenting practices in adolescent romantic relationships and the emotional climate of parent–offspring relationships as a developmental context for those practices.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the families who participated in this study. We thank Matthew Bumpus, Melissa Fortner, Kelly Davis, Aryn Dotterer, Heather Helms, Julia Jackson-Newsom, Ji-Yeon Kim, Mary Klute, Carolyn Ransford, Cindy Shearer, Corinna Jenkins Tucker, Shawn Whiteman, and Kim Updegraff for their assistance in conducting this study. This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RO1-HD32336), Ann C. Crouter and Susan M. McHale, co-principal investigators. Portions of this paper were presented at the biennial meetings of the International Association for Relationship Research, July 2006, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, S-113 Henderson Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Marni L. Kan, Susan M. McHale & Ann C. Crouter

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  1. Marni L. Kan
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  2. Susan M. McHale
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  3. Ann C. Crouter
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Correspondence to Marni L. Kan.

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Kan, M.L., McHale, S.M. & Crouter, A.C. Parental involvement in adolescent romantic relationships: patterns and correlates. J Youth Adolescence 37, 168–179 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9185-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9185-3

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