In Which Situations Do Adolescents Seek Parental Support and What Do They Need?

Abstract

Throughout development, the conditions that elicit children's support seeking behaviour change hand in hand with maturation and changing developmental tasks. Little is known about the situations in which adolescents need support or about which parental behaviours elicit adolescents' sense of being supported. In the current study, adolescents living in the Netherlands (N = 98, M age = 15.5, SD = 1.16, range = 14-18 years) filled in online questionnaires in which they were asked to recall autobiographical support-related memories (ASMs) separately for both parents. Support from both parents was most frequently needed in case of concerns about competence. Loss or illness of close others or pets elicited primarily a need for maternal support whereas family conflicts and practical problems most frequently elicited a need for paternal support. Additionally, parent behaviour reported in times of distress was most frequently related to comforting and facilitating support seeking. These behaivours were rated as satisfying and sufficiently supportive for the reported distress. These results confirm the importance of parental support in adolescence. Clinical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Parents or peers? (In)congruence effect of adolescents’ attachment to parents and peers on self-esteem

“…Thus, close attachment to parents can be the most influential predictor of the likelihood of adolescents developing their self-esteem. Further, these findings are consistent with those of prior research (e.g., de Jonge et al, 2022;Gorrese & Ruggieri, 2013;Mattanah et al, 2011), suggesting that parents play a more important role than peers in developing adolescents' self-esteem.…”

“…However, the emotional bond with parents plays a more crucial role in an individual’s psychological development. Support from the parents is needed when adolescents experience personal issues, fear, loneliness, loss or illness of close others, and for their long-term plans ( de Jonge et al, 2022 ; Freeman & Brown, 2001 ). Especially adolescents’ attachment to parents is more significant in times of distress.…”

Parenting adolescents: Parent-Teen communication training

“…The imbalance in the development of the affective ventral system and prefrontal cortex in adolescents leads to slower selfregulation development compared to their drive for autonomy (Crone et al, 2016). Therefore, adolescents still require guidance, support, and attention from parents (Abidin et al, 2021;De Jonge et al, 2022). During this period, parents continue to be a significant source of support for adolescents.…”

“…During this period, parents continue to be a significant source of support for adolescents. Adolescents need parental support when they have concerns about their competence, whether it's in academics, work, sports, or interpersonal relationships (De Jonge et al, 2022;Olsson et al, 2016). The needed support from parents includes comfort and problem-solving facilitation.…”

“…Efi Fitriana, Syipa Husni Fadillah, Fitri Ariyanti Abidin complex individuals (Abidin et al, 2021;De Jonge et al, 2022). Therefore, parents need to understand the changes adolescents are going through and how to support them during these changes.…”