ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses dysfunctional adolescent behaviors and cognitions stemming from family problems under three overlapping categories of family-related adolescent disorders. The three categories are: disorders related to dysfunctional parenting styles, disorders related to parent-adolescent conflict, and disorders related to chronic family stress stemming from marital conflict and divorce, parental alcohol abuse, and parental violence and child abuse. Categories of dysfunctional parenting styles and corresponding maladaptive adolescent response patterns provide a useful guide for identifying target behaviors for therapy intervention. Seven categories of dysfunctional parenting styles are: punitive parent, rejecting parent, over-coercive parent, over-indulgent parent, over-submissive parent, neglectful parent, and perfectionistic parent. Brief case examples are given to illustrate each category of dysfunctional parenting, as well as typical adolescent and parent behaviors and cognitions characteristic of each category. The chapter also presents an illustration of the way in which the therapist might go about identifying parent and adolescent behaviors as targets for therapy, with corresponding recommendations for intervention strategies.
