Parenting+Adolescents

**__Parental Influences on Adolescent Self-Esteem__**

Adolescent self-esteem can be altered due to many factors that come with the different parenting styles we have discussed in class. According to our book by Phyllis Heath (Heath 198-199), "Another advantage for adolescents whose parents are authoritative is that they are more optimistic and have better self-regulation than adolescents whose parents are not authoritative." When these adolescents are going through this time in their lives they need a lot of positive feedback from their parents, and more importantly, good role models to demonstrate wise decision making skills, values, and morals. The adolescents who have parents that give them the love and encouragement that they need tend to have higher levels of self-esteem because of the consistent support that their parents give them. Having this consistency with rules and regulations but also the positive interactions makes the adolescent feel better about themselves as an individual as well as a member of the family.

This topic is very important for parents to understand because they are the only ones who can turn this self-esteem issue around when it is directly relating to the parenting style. If they are an inconsistent parent or an authoritarian parent the adolescent will not have as good of a self-esteem outcome due to the inconsistency in the parenting and also the overpowering 'I'm right, you're wrong, that's the end of that!" parenting style. Adolescents work better with positive scaffolding, so when parents are demonstrating their family values and morals the adolescents are more likely to cater to those rather than being told what to do without putting a reason behind it, or always punishing their adolescent children without telling them the correct ways to do things. Having a great understanding relationship with an adolescent child is key for parents because they are more willing to open up and let the parent know what's going on in their lives, and eventually that'll give them a better sense of self worth because they are able to go to their parents for help and know that they aren't alone in situation where they need guidance from a trustworthy source. I also think that this is very important for professionals to know because they need to be well educated on what impacts adolescent self-esteem and what parents or professionals can do to help encourage positivity in the parent-child relationships. Sometimes parents need to be able to look to professionals for support in how to raise their children, so it is very significant to have the professionals well aware of different types of parenting styles and to know how to give parents good advice to help their children out.


 * __Parent-Adolescent Conflict__** Early studies have been done, like those in 1904 by Stanley Hall and in 1946 by Anna Freud that have shown that parent-adolescent conflict is “universal and inevitable and that all adolescents and their parents experience intense conflict over many years due to adolescent rebellion,” according to our book by Phyllis Health (Health 212). We then learn that this is not the case of this being universal and it is just because of the American cultural norms. Conflict between their parents is often due to stress and most of these arguments are minor issues arising from indirect communication due to curfew, trust, etc… Parent-adolescent conflict is said to be highest during the earlier part of adolescent and slowly diminish when the child gets older. Part of this conflict is due to the developmental stages that adolescents go through which include biological, cognitive and social changes.

Professionals can use this information when working with families to help them use different skills to overcome this parent-adolescent conflict like using different communication skills. It is very important for professionals to know what is going on in both the mind of the adolescent and also the adult to help these families overcome this issue. Professionals can teach the parents what is going on with the adolescent developmentally and then reverse the process and teach the adolescent what the parent is hoping for in terms of expectations. Showing the adolescent what kind of authority the parent still has is also very important in helping to overcome these conflicts. With parents knowing what is going on developmentally with their child, they can maybe be more positive towards the decisions that they make and help the communication between the parent and child better.

Heath, Phyllis. 2009. //Parent-Child Relations: Context, Research, and Application.// New Jersey: Pearson Education.

__The Role of Parents in Adolescent Depression__

According to Hull "Early adolescence is a stage of transition from childhood into the increasingly complex tiem of adolescence wherein significant developmental changes are occuring." He goes on to mention that most adloescents are suffering from different moods and unfamillar feelings. He brings up the study done by Camarena in 2002 which says" that most adolescents don't show an increase in depressed moods and that depressed moods are typically followed by a decrease in depression sympotoms." Hull then goes on to describe how families are brought in to this topic. If a child has a good bond with thier parents then they are less llikely to show feelings of depression, but if the family is going though a marital seperation or the parents are showing signs of depression themselves, then the adolescent is much more likely to take on these feelings as their own.

Parents need to seek help if they are having feelings of depression, they need to be sure not to involve thier child in to much of their own personal problems. If a family is going though some kind of an issue then things need to be explained to the adolescent and the communication lines need to be open at all times, that child needs to know it is okay to ask questions and it is okay to feel the way they do. Professionals need to know about this because they need to be able to help the adolescent get through their depression and move on they also need to be awear of what may be causing this and be able to help the parents figure out their own personal problems.

Heath, Phyllis. (2009). //Parent-Child Relations Context, Research, and Application.// Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Edcuation Inc.

The concept of scaffolding, based on Lev Vygotsky’s work, emphasizes the importance of parental support as a child or young adult is introduced to a new task or concept. Similar to scaffolding that occurs during childhood, during young adulthood, proper scaffolding challenges the young adult with the task at hand but also provides guidance and assistance in solving the problem. Scaffolding is most effective when it occurs within the zone of proximal development, which is based on how much assistance an individual needs when learning a task compared to how much they can do on their own. During young adulthood, scaffolding comes in a variety of forms, including financial, academic, and decision making, but the most important scaffolding that parents provide is emotional support. Once young adults begin to have children of their own, another important form of scaffolding takes place between the new young adult parents and their own parents.
 * __Scaffolding Young Adults__**

Scaffolding, when used properly, not only assists the young adult with the task at hand but also enables the individual to make similar decisions in the future. While parents often provide emotional scaffolding, other individuals are also excellent sources of scaffolding for young adults. In academic settings, teachers and counselors may provide scaffolding by providing a student with a more difficult assignment, whereas in job settings managers might provide scaffolding to the young adult by promoting them or giving them a challenging task. Once the young adult has children, scaffolding is equally important and should be continued. Parents who live in close proximity to their adult children often provide child care assistance which is mutually beneficial for the young adult parents and the grandparents. The ability of grandparents to provide child care is not only a tremendous help for the young adult parent, but also fosters the relationship between the grandparent and their grandchild.

Heath, Phyllis. (2009). // Parent-Child Relations Context, Research, and Application. // Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Edcuation Inc.