Parent-Adolescent Relationship

Objectives of the Parent-Adolescent Relationship

• The sense of self-worth in the relationship is high.

• Communication is direct, specific, clear, and honest. Humor is used often.

• Rules are clear, explicit, and well defined; yet they are also flexible, humane, and appropriate.

• The parent-child linkage to society is open and hopeful.

• The parent-child group has a sense of being an integrated whole, the sum of which is greater than its individual parts.

• Parenting operates as an open system and interrelates with an extended family and the outside world while still maintaining the privacy of the nuclear bond.

• Both are capable of high levels of intimacy. There is appropriate expression of feelings, both positive and negative.

• Both enjoy playing together, and regularly engage in behavior that is playful, creative, or experimental.

• The partnership has a sense of time together, and there is an emphasis on the process of coming together and a focus on significant life cycles.

• Relationship patterns have stability, yet they are altered as life changes demand.

• Both can deal effectively with grief, loss, or pain without the use of alcohol or drugs.

• Each member is allowed to be an individual and different without rejection. Love and acceptance predominate.

• Individual members feel responsible for their feelings and behavior and do not try to blame others or shift responsibility to another.