Attitudes Toward Parents and Institutional Authorities During Adolescence

Abstract

Summary Attitudes toward parents and institutional authorities during adolescence were studied to determine their interrelationship and age trends. School children aged 13–17 years (N = 157) completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward the police, teachers, the army, and the law, and concerning their own parents and parents in general. Moderate positive correlations were found between attitudes toward parents and toward authorities. However, correlations were not significant with the Own Mother and Own Father scales for the 16–17-year subgroup. Moreover, age trends differed: mean scores for 16–17-year-olds, compared with those for younger subgroups, indicated more favorable attitudes toward authorities, but less favorable attitudes toward their own parents. It was concluded that adolescents' feelings toward their own parents had a bearing upon their attitudes toward authorities only during early adolescence.