Parents' involvement in adolescents' peer relationships: A comparison of mothers' and fathers' roles

Kimberly Updegraff, Susan M. McHale, Ann C. Crouter, Kristina Kupanoff

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

103 Scopus citations

Abstract

The goals of this study were to compare mothers' and fathers' direct involvement in adolescent girls' versus boys' peer relationships and to examine the links between parents' involvement and the qualities of adolescents' friendship and peer experiences. Participants were mothers, fathers, and firstborn adolescents (mean age = 15 years) in 187 working-and middle-class families. Data were collected during home visits and a series of seven nightly telephone interviews. Parents' direct involvement was measured by parents' reports of their peer-oriented activities, parents' knowledge about adolescents' peer experiences, and parents' time spent with adolescents and their peers. Findings revealed that mothers were more knowledgeable about adolescents' peer relationships than were fathers, that mothers with daughters reported the most peer-oriented activities, and that both mothers and fathers spent more time with same-sex adolescents and their peers. Parents' direct involvement was differentially related to girls' versus boys' peer experiences. Discussion highlights the role of parents' and adolescents' gender in shaping this dimension of family life in adolescence.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)655-668
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Marriage and Family
Volume63
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2001

Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Family-peer linkages
  • Parents' involvement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anthropology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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