Many thanks to Charley Harrison at Manchester Metropolitan University for conducting the research and writing this fantastic article!
We conducted a short questionnaire to retrieve data about the quality and reasonings behind conflict or issues that may arise in a teenager and parent’s relationship.
This questionnaire received 30 responses. All were in line with typical research that has been found previously surrounding this topic.
Conflict
The data collected showed us that around 70% of people who participated in this questionnaire believed that their parents had made them feel self-critical and had damaged their view of their self-image.
This is something that can affect confidence and everyday life. This is why Parent999 is developing a system that can support individuals and increase their confidence.
We asked: “What do you think are the main issues that cause conflict in parent and teenager’s relationships?”. There were many answers that involved trust.
Many teenagers feel that they cannot trust their parents and that their parents do not trust them, this causing conflict as lying may arise and rebelling may take place.
Another common answer was that parents do not take the time to understand the pressures of everyday life as a teenager today, and how the hormonal changes teenagers go through affect their actions.
There were also mentions of verbal and physical conflict, some due to alcohol use and sometimes presented as a regular occurrence.
Support
The questionnaire found that around 65% of participants believed that they or their parents would not go to counselling sessions or believed they would not work.
However, when asked which services could help with these issues, counselling and therapy came up often!
The difficulty of direct intervention is that many parents or teens fear more conflict if counselling is introduced.
This is why Parent999 creates a space where anybody: parent, carer or teenager, can find support without the need for a direct intervention.
There are many issues that still arise. Parent999 has and will continue to create more ways to help teenagers and parents cope with everyday conflict in their relationships, big or small.
If you want to help Parent999 develop more support, please add your experience the questionnaire. Thanks!