Parent-adolescent joint projects involving leisure time and activities during the transition to high school

Leisure research to date has generally overlooked planning and organizing of leisure time and activities between parents and adolescents. This investigation examined how a sample of Canadian adolescents and their parents jointly constructed and acted on goals related to adolescents' leisure time during the move from elementary to high school. Using the Qualitative Action-Project Method, data were collected over an 8-10 month period from 26 parent-adolescent dyads located in two urban sites, through video-taped conversations about leisure time, video recall interviews, and telephone monitoring interviews. Analysis of the data revealed that the joint projects of the 26 dyads could be grouped into three clusters: a) governance transfer or attempts to shift, from parent to adolescent, responsibility over academic demands, organizing leisure time, and safety with peers, b) balancing extra-curricular activities with family life, academics, and social activities, and c) relationship adjustment or maintenance.

Maternal navigational strategies: examining mother-daughter dyads in adolescent families of color

Mother-daughter relationships are critical to the health and well-being of adolescent girls. Understanding mothers' and daughters' perspectives on the relationship can inform health promotion strategies that may benefit both. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with mothers (N = 12) and their adolescent daughters (N = 16). Narrative profiles were constructed to identify participants' perceptions of each other and the relationship. Profiles were condensed into analytic poems that were compared and contrasted across roles and within and across dyads. Maternal navigational strategies of protection and preparation, and subthemes of maternal self-protection and daughter reverse protection emerged. The fabric of maternal strategies changed by girls' developmental stage, with mothers of older daughters describing an interweaving of protection and preparation. Suggestions for future family nursing and health promotion research and campaigns are provided.