Parent-Adolescent Communication and Adolescent Decision-Making*

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of parent-adolescent communication and its role in the process of adolescent decision-making. Barnes and Olson’s (1985) Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS) and Moos and Moos’ (1976) Family Environment Scale (FES) were administered to measure the quality of communication within 76 family systems. Sources of influence in adolescent decision-making were also explored using a dyadic-system approach. Differences in generational perceptions of patterns of family communication were found. Adolescent-mother dyads who perceived their communication as “open” and “problem-free” were more likely to agree on the source of influence in decision-making than adolescent-mother dyads who perceived their communication as less open and problem-free. The complex dynamics of parent-adolescent communication suggest that mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of and influence on family processes are distinctive and disparate.