Psychological features of perception of parent-child relationships in families raising young adolescents

This article describes the perceptions of parent-child relationships in families with young adolescents living in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It describes the key subjective images, characteristics, and psychological aspects of the participants’ perceptions of parent-child relationships. A total of 106 families participated in the study. The children were young adolescents, aged 11 to 14. The parents ranged in age from 32 to 61. The Animal Family projective method was used as a psychological tool. A context analysis was used for data processing and analysis, using the frequency of mention method. For statistical processing of data, the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test for K-independent samples and the descriptive method: contingency tables were used. The study results show that adolescents and their parents tend to maintain a traditional hierarchy in the structure of parent-child relationships, preserving traditional images of child and parent. Younger adolescents are characterized by ambivalence in their attitudes toward their parents. Duality is expressed in the persistence of the parent’s image as dominant in these relationships, while a desire for equality and child-centrism was observed in over 50% of young adolescents. Fathers and mothers are characterized by a traditional system of parent-child relationships. Mothers are more prone to a shift toward child-centrism than fathers. Mothers and young adolescents are more likely to display anxiety, worry, and internal conflict when assessing parent-child relationships. Fathers, on the other hand, are characterized by confidence and subjective satisfaction when assessing parent-child relationships.

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