This research investigated the management of interaction with parents and friends as described by thirty-two high school juniors in open-ended interviews. An interpretive analysis of the respondents' remarks identified two dialectical principles informing their decisions to talk with parents and/or friends. The dialectic of historical perspective and contemporary experience regards opposing temporal orientations by parents and friends towards adolescent activities. The dialectic of judgement and acceptance involves polar evaluative tendencies demonstrated by parents and friends that were mediated by perceptions of caring. A qualitative ordering of hypotheses concerning the interplay of these principles is presented and implications are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, G.R. & Gullotta, T. (1983) Adolescent Life Experiences. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
2.
Albrecht, T.L. & Adelman, M.B. (1984) `Social Support and Life Stress: New Directions for Communication Research', Human Communication Research11: 3-32.
3.
Berelson, B. (1971) Content Analysis in Communication Research. New York: Hafner.
4.
Bloom, M.V. (1980) Adolescent-Parental Separation. New York: Gardner Press.
5.
Bochner, A.P. (1981) `Forming Warm Ideas', in C. Wilder-Mott & J.H. Weakland (eds), Rigor and Imagination: Essays from the Legacy of Gregory Bateson. New York: Praeger.
6.
Brain, R. (1976) Friends and Lovers. New York: Basic Books.
7.
Brenner. M. (1978) `Interviewing: The Social Phenomenology of a Research Instrument', in M. Brenner, P. Marsh & M. Brenner (eds), The Social Contexts of Method. New York: St Martin's Press.
Brittain, C.V. (1968) `An Exploration of the Bases of Peer-Compliance and Parent-Compliance in Adolescence', Adolescence2: 445-458.
10.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) `Contexts of Child Rearing: Problems and Prospects', American Psychologist34: 844-850.
11.
Coleman, J.C. (1978) `Current Contradictions in Adolescent Theory', Journal of Youth and Adolescence7: 1-11.
12.
Coleman, J.C. (1980) `Friendship and the Peer Group in Adolescence', in J. Adelson (ed.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
13.
Douvan, E. & Adelson, J. (1966) The Adolescent Experience. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
14.
Duck, S.W. (1986) Human Relationships. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
15.
Floyd, H.H. & South, D.R. (1972) `Dilemma of Youth: The Choice of Parents or Peers as a Frame of Reference for Behavior', Journal of Marriage and the Family34: 627-634.
16.
Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
17.
Hartup, W.W. (1979) `The Social Worlds of Childhood', American Psychologist34: 944-950.
18.
Kandel, D.B. & Lesser, G.S. (1969) `Parental and Peer Influences on Educational Plans of Adolescents', American Sociological Review34: 213-223.
19.
Kon, I.S. & Losenkov, V.A. (1978) `Friendship in Adolescence: Values and Behavior', Journal of Marriage and the Family40: 143-155.
20.
La Gaipa, J.J. (1979) `A Developmental Study of the Meaning of Friendship in Adolescence', Journal of Adolescence2: 201-213.
21.
Laing, R.D. (1971) Self and Others. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
22.
Larson, R.W. (1983) `Adolescents' Daily Experience with Family and Friends: Contrasting Opportunity Systems', Journal of Marriage and the Family45: 739-750.
23.
Lofland, J. (1976) Doing Social Life. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
24.
Marcia, J.E. (1980) `Identity in Adolescence', in J. Adelson (ed.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
25.
Masheter, C. & Harris, L.M. (1986) `From Divorce to Friendship: A Study of Dialectic Relationship Development', Journal of Social and Personal Relationships3: 177-189.
26.
Mathiot, M. (1978) `Toward a Frame of Reference for the Analysis of Face-to-Face Interaction', Semiotica24: 199-220.
27.
Parke, R.D. (1979) `Emerging Themes for Social-Emotional Development', American Psychologist34: 930-931.
28.
Parks, M.R. & Adelman, M.B. (1983) `Communication Networks and the Development of Romantic Relationships: An Expansion of Uncertainty Reduction Theory', Human Communication Research10: 55-79.
29.
Peevers, B.H. & Secord, P.F. (1973) `Developmental Changes in Attribution of Descriptive Concepts to Persons', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology27: 120-128.
30.
Rawlins, W.K. (1983) `Negotiating Close Friendship: The Dialectic of Conjunctive Freedoms', Human Communication Research9: 255-266.
31.
Selman, R.L. (1981) `"he Child as a Friendship Philosopher', in S.R. Asher & J.M. Gottman (eds), The Development of Children's Friendships. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
32.
Sullivan, K. & Sullivan, A. (1980) `Adolescent-Parent Separation', Developmental Psychology16: 93-99.
33.
Villard, K. L. & Whipple, L.J. (1976) Beginnings in Relational Communication. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
34.
Wiseman, J.P. (1986) `Friendship: Bonds and Binds in a Voluntary Relationship', Journal of Social and Personal Relationships3: 191-211.
