The research project "Parenting adolescents" examines what it´s like to be a parent to adolescents in Denmark and Norway in the present day from 2017-2020.
Background
A lot of the focus on youth revolves around worries and concerns for their future, but the focal point of this research project is the present everyday life in families with adolescent teenagers. While there´s a lot of talk and research about what it´s like to be a parent to young children, it´s very rare that we hear about what it´s like to be a parent to older children and adolescent teenagers. In the field of parenthood research this period has also received very little attention. This research project examines what it´s like to be parents to teenage adolescents in present day; what life with young people looks like and what the parents themselves think of this. In this research project parents of adolescent teenagers living at home and attending 9th grade in an ordinary public school or equivalent private school will be interviewed.
The project is carried out as a collaboration between researchers from the Department of Psychology, The University of Southern Denmark and the Department of Psychology, The University of Oslo. In Denmark, the research project is managed by associate professor Anja Hvidtfeldt Stanek. In Norway, the project is managed by professor Agnes Andenæs.
Method
The project applies lifeform interviewing, which is a method developed by the Norwegian researcher and professor Hanne Haavind. The interview method has previously been used in interviews with both parents and children. The interview guide applied in this project has been developed by the Norwegian researchers who have also initiated the project.
The informants are chosen by criteria which will provide an insight into different variations of the ordinary and everyday life. Parents are interviewed separately, and the researchers aim to interview both parents of the young person, if possible. Parents are understood as grown ups who contribute to the task of parenting and can therefore be both biological fathers and mothers, adoptive parents and different versions of bonus parents.
Goal
The research project aims to develop new knowledge of the ordinary family life i.e. the ordinary everyday grind; the routines of the family, the different challenges that family life with teenage adolescents can offer and the different versions of good and not so good solutions to those challenges that the young adults and their parents negotiate.
The research project will contribute with knowledge of what everyday life with adolescent teenagers looks like in the present day from 2017-2020. Such a knowledge base can form a basis for policy making, general information and guidance and the development of new measures which can support parents as well as young adults, who are fighting to create a life for themselves which they and their surroundings can perceive as “good enough”.
The project is carried out under CH:LD Reaearch Group.