Variation in adolescent helpfulness toward parents in a family context

Adolescent voluntary helpfulness toward mothers and fathers was examined as a function of gender, age and pubertal status, and parental behavior. A random sample of 85 adolescents (44 males, 41 females) and their mothers and fathers participated. Parents completed the Parent Report of Helping Behavior, a new instrument designed for this study. Adolescents completed the Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory and were interviewed about their pubertal status using Tanner's stage classification. Results generally showed that parents received more help from daughters than from sons and that mothers, in comparison to fathers, received more help. Between late childhood and middle adolescence, parents reported less helpfulness, and adolescents perceived less parental acceptance. Different combinations of age and pubertal status in different dyads predicted these developmental changes. Parental acceptance was positively related to adolescent helpfulness. Results are discussed in terms of gender role socialization and the parent-adolescent distancing hypothesis.