Examining the Quality of Adolescent-Parent Relationships Among Chilean Families

The purpose of this study was to examine if adolescents' reports of warm and harsh parenting practices by their mothers and fathers varied as a function of demographic, youth and their mothers or mother figures' individual and family characteristics. Data are from 707 community-dwelling adolescents (mean age = 14, SD = 1. 4) and their mothers or mother figures in Santiago, Chile. Having a warmer relationship with both parents was inversely associated with the adolescents' age and positively associated with adolescents' family involvement and parental monitoring. Both mothers' and fathers' harsh parenting were positively associated with adolescent externalizing behaviors and being male and inversely associated with youth autonomy and family involvement. These findings suggest that net of adolescent developmental emancipation and adolescent behavioral problems, positive relationships with parents, especially fathers, may be nurtured through parental monitoring and creation of an interactive family environment, and can help to foster positive developmental outcomes. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.