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Parentification

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

Many adolescents will engage in adult-like roles and responsibilities as they transition into emerging and young adulthood (Arnett 2004). In fact, most family and developmental theorists contend that these behaviors are needed, indicated, and in the adolescent’s best interest (Boszormenyi-Nagy and Spark 1973; Jurkovic 1997; McMahon and Luthar 2007; Minuchin 1974). Moreover, from a developmental perspective, most theorists concur that a moderated, supervised amount of caregiving behaviors is part of normal development and is related to positive long-term effects, such as character building, responsibility, and competency (Longest and Shanahan 2007; McMahon and Luthar 2007; Telzer and Fuligni 2009). However, some adolescents take on adult- and parent-like roles and responsibilities that are not normally entrusted to children and not consistent with their developmental stage and level of psychological maturity. The assumption of such developmentally inappropriate caregiving...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, The University of Alabama, 315-B Graves Hall, 870231, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Lisa M. Hooper

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  1. Lisa M. Hooper
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Correspondence to Lisa M. Hooper .

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  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Hooper, L.M. (2011). Parentification. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_169

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_169

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