Variations in Adolescent Perception of Family Power Structure

Some studies of family structure have focused on the effects of the conjugal balance of power, while others have assessed the influence of parental power in the child-rearing relationship. Results obtained from these studies differ considerably, tending to create more confusion than clarity because researchers not infrequently fail to make explicit the relational referents of their concepts of family structure. This study examines the structure of marital, parental and parent-youth relations as perceived by a large sample of adolescents. Variations in the structure of each of these relationships are examined in relation to the adolescent's age, sex and social class, and structural models based on two or more of these relationships are constructed. The effects of the different family structural patterns on adolescent scholastic motivation and college plans and on parental affect are assessed.