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Development and Lability in the Parent–Child Relationship During Adolescence: Associations With Pubertal Timing and Tempo
Author(s) -
Marceau Kristine,
Ram Nilam,
Susman Elizabeth J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12139
Subject(s) - lability , closeness , psychology , developmental psychology , longitudinal study , longitudinal data , demography , medicine , biology , mathematical analysis , biochemistry , mathematics , pathology , sociology
Adolescents' and parents' reactions to pubertal development are hypothesized to contribute to changes in family dynamics. Using 7‐year longitudinal data from the NICHD ‐ SECCYD (488 boys, 475 girls), we examined relations between pubertal development (timing, tempo) and trajectories (developmental change and year‐to‐year lability) of parent–child conflict and closeness from age 8.5 to 15.5 years. Changes were mostly characterized by year‐to‐year fluctuations— lability . Parent–child conflict increased and closeness decreased some with age. Pubertal timing and tempo were more consistently associated with lability in parent–child relationships than with long‐term trends, although faster tempo was associated with steeper decreases in parent–child closeness. Findings provide a platform for examining how puberty contributes to both long‐term and transient changes in adolescents' relationships and adjustment.