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24 February 2012

Teens Calling Mom And Dad… Recipe For Harmony?

Keywords: mobile, parents, teens, North America, family communication, family conflict, mobile phone, self-esteem, survey,

Teens with closer relationships to their parents are more likely to call them according to a Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking study. They are more willing to share information over the phone and feel a greater sense of independence. If parents are more often the ones doing the checking up on the phone, it is usually a sign the relationship has a lot of conflict.

Take aways

  • Teens are more likely to call their parents via their mobile phone to share experiences and to seek for guidance if they feel harmony and autonomy in the relationship with their parents.
  • To decrease conflict in family relationships, parents should avoid frequently calling teens on their mobile to check on them (e.g., where they are, if they finished their schoolwork) and when angry or upset about something.

Study information

  • The question?

    How do parents and teens communicate with one another via mobile phone and how does this relate to the quality of their relationship?

  • Who?

    196 13- to 19 year olds and their parents (primarily Euro Americans)

  • Where?

    California, United States

  • How?

    All teens and their parents filled out an electronic questionnaire with multiple choice questions about mobile phones and their family relationships.

Facts and findings

  • Teens who said they were on friendly terms with their parents called them more often on their mobile phones:
    • to share good and bad news,
    • to ask for advice,
    • and to tell them where they are, who they are with and how late they will be home.
  • Parents who said their teens were on friendly terms with them were more likely to get calls from their children on the phone for the same reasons. 
  • Parents who felt conflict with their teenagers were more likely to call them on their mobile phones:
    • to ask them where they are, who they are with and how late they will be home,
    • to ask about their school work (e.g., test results, home work),
    • when they were angry or upset.
  • Teens who felt conflict with their parents were more likely to get calls from them on their mobile phones for those reasons.
  • Teens felt worse about themselves if they got lots of angry phone calls from their parents. 
  • Parents who didn’t approve of their kids’ friends called their teens more often.
  • Of the parent-child relations studied, 46% were mother-daughter, 30% mother-son, 13% father-son, and 11% father-daughter relationships. 
  • Critical note: The study only showed that some types of phone communication were associated with certain family relationships, not whether one caused the other.