A healthy parent-adolescent relationship, including respectful communication, is crucial to an adolescent’s well-being. However, these findings have been based mainly on observations or self-report...Show moreA healthy parent-adolescent relationship, including respectful communication, is crucial to an adolescent’s well-being. However, these findings have been based mainly on observations or self-report questionnaires and little is known about how adolescents perceive the communication with their parents in daily life. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how Dutch adolescents perceive certain aspects of daily communication with their parents and whether there is an association between the perceived positivity of this communication and adolescents’ positive and negative affect during the day. Data was collected using an experience sampling method from 80 healthy Dutch adolescents (51 girls, 29 boys) with a mean age of 15.9. Descriptive statistics revealed that in general adolescents talked more frequently to their mothers than to their fathers, with the primary form of communication being face-to-face. Adolescents perceived their parents as actively listening and understanding, and they, in turn, saw their parents as less dominant and critical. However, differences were found in the adolescents’ perceptions of the parenting behaviour demonstrated by their fathers and mothers. Mothers were perceived as better at listening and understanding, whereas fathers were viewed as more dominant and critical. Lastly, results of a multilevel regression analysis indicated that the more the parent-adolescent relationship was perceived as positive, the more positive and the less negative adolescents’ affect was during the day. This study provides the groundwork for understanding how adolescents perceive the communication with their parents in daily life and the influence this has on their daily affect.Show less
