How Can Parents Contribute to Healthy Adolescent Development?
What Parents Need to Know If adolescents don’t need parents to be physically present and protective in the same way as younger children, what do they need? • Although time with family decreases during this period, adolescents continue to spend as much time alone with their mothers and fathers as they did in late childhood and they spend more time discussing interpersonal issues. • Adolescents need to feel that their parents are accessible and supportive of them. Adolescents who feel confident in the availability of their parents’ emotional support develop more effective coping skills. • Adolescents particularly benefit from parental support in the development of their autonomy. Parental autonomy support (e.g., supporting their adolescent in expressing and discussing reasons for disagreements; attending to their adolescent’s statements; validation of their adolescent’s position and feelings) during mid-adolescence (age 14) has been shown to predict secure attachment and healthy adjustme
