Chapter 7: Dynamic Relations Between Perceived Parental Responsiveness, Experiences Of Ambivalence, And Selfesteeem Development In Adolescence

The concept of ambivalences refers to conflicting thoughts, feelings, and behavioral tendencies experienced in a relationship, which in turn inform a subject’s sense of self (cf. Lüscher, 2012). One of the major sources of ambivalences in intergenerational relationships is the tension between longing for independence and still desiring close reliance to another person (Lüscher &Pillemer, 1998). Mid-adolescence seems particularly prone to ambivalences in family ties (cf. Michels, Albert, &Ferring, 2011). It is probably the first time in life that the tension between the aims to become autonomous and stay intimately affiliated calls for the fundamental restructuring of the parent-child relationship. Interestingly enough, recent findings of a longitudinal study by Kiecolt, Blieszner, and Savla (2011) show that even parents experience rather high levels of ambivalences in the relationship with mid-adolescent children and decreasing levels when the children get older. Because adolescence is marked by major psychological and self-concept development, a corresponding consideration of the offspring’s perspective is overdue.