ABSTRACT
Most theories of adolescent development propose that the quality of inter actions between parents and their children changes during the transition from late childhood to early or middle adolescence. More specifically, several researchers proposed that conflict between the two generations systematically increases with the onset of puberty, peaks during early or midadolescence, then declines toward the end of the adolescent years (e.g., Montemayor, 1983). Laursen and Collins (1994), however, argued that this perspective rests more on theoretical than empirical grounds. Indeed, they suggested that the research evidence for this hypothesized developmental trend is rather weak and may not accurately reflect reality.
