Family Structure and Patterns of Independence Giving to Adolescents

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between family structure and control attempts of parents with regard to their adolescent children. Differences in control attempts for lifelong intact families, single-parent households, cohabiting households, and stepparent households were analyzed using the National Survey of Families and Households. The nature of the control attempts focused on parental behaviors such as leaving the child home alone, variations in curfew, and application of household rules. The relationship between child's age, gender, and family structure was of particular interest. The findings reveal little difference between parental control attempts in lifelong intact families versus single-parent and stepparent families. Cohabiting parents demonstrated the greatest variation in adolescent control attempts for both sons and daughters. In general, the research suggests that parents in nontraditional families attempt to exercise control at about the same levels as parents in long-term two-parent families