L'orientamento al futuro degli adolescenti e la relazione genitori-figli

The aim of this study is to examine the relation between the adolescents' future orientation and the quality of their relation with parents measured by the Parent Adolescent Communication scale. We considered two future orientation's components: the cognitive component (hopes and fears) and the behavioural (exploration and commitment). Analyses of data collected from 281 Italian adolescents (female 59.5%) indicated that: a) in the cognitive component females think more than males about their future family (p < .001) and education (p < .05) and males think more about self (p < .005) and work and career (p < .05); b) females anticipate the realization of their future projects (p < .05); c) for the behavioural component females in general are more explorative and more committed than males in their future life; d) a problematic communication with the mother is related, for the females, with a higher level of commitment in the future family domain. These findings support the thesis that males and females differ in thinking about their future and they apply different behaviours to realize their projects. In addition, the communication with parents plays an important role in defining the strategies chosen by adolescents in order to face the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)