The Role of Discourse in the Transformation of Parent–Adolescent Relationships

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511616341.018

16 - The Role of Discourse in the Transformation of Parent–Adolescent Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 January 2010

Manfred Hofer

Edited by

Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont ,

Clotilde Pontecorvo ,

Lauren B. Resnick ,

Tania Zittoun and

Barbara Burge

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Manfred Hofer: Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont: Affiliation:
Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Clotilde Pontecorvo: Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy
Lauren B. Resnick: Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Tania Zittoun: Affiliation:
Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Barbara Burge: Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh

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Summary

The importance of verbal interaction is increasingly being recognized, particularly by social constructivists. However, the quantitative analysis of verbal exchange is not yet an established research paradigm. Research on discourse with older children, adolescents, and their parents has proved fruitful and has provided an impetus for the quantitative analysis of discourse. The research presented in this chapter draws on an approach that views discourse as a special kind of behavioral interaction. This chapter discusses why it is so important to examine discourse data in a quantitative way and then examines both conflict and planning discourse between parents and adolescents with several different coding systems. The use of multiple systems allows the examination of four specific questions. First, do patterns of parent–adolescent discourse differ from discourse patterns found in other relationships? Second, are the specific patterns of interaction that occur in discussions between parents and adolescents stable over different types of discourse? Third, can discourse help us to view the process by which individuation progresses within family relationships? Finally, are observed interaction patterns consistent with participants' subjective accounts of the interaction and relationship? The answers to these questions provide objective, generalizable evidence on the process by which adolescents and parents deal with the individuation process through everyday interactions.

The Individuation Theory Framework

The adolescent–parent relationship can be regarded as a prototypical situation for the study of discourse within a social-constructivist, individuation theory framework.

Type: Chapter
Information: Joining Society
Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth
, pp. 241 - 251

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511616341.018 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

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