Family Obligation and Assistance During Adolescence: Contextual Variations and Developmental Implications

In comparison to the emotional attachment of adolescents to theirparents, adolescent assistance and obligation to the family hasreceived considerably less attention in developmental research.This volume explores what contextual factors, broadly conceived,give rise to variations in family assistance and obligation duringadolescence and what the implications are of family assistance andobligation for other aspects of adolescents' development. Authorsprovide a conceptual and research framework that can be applied toany type of work contribution to the family. Household chores, acommon example of adolescent work contribution , are discussedincluding an in-depth look at the effect of maternal employment onthe gender distribution of these chores. The influence of theeducational system on adolescent roles in the family is closelyexamined, focusing on the spread of universal secondary schoolingin the early to mid-twentieth century and its impact on traditionalimmigrant family roles as well as how academic motivation in modernAmerican society impacts immigrant and minority groups. Each ofthese topics is discussed in terms of the role that youths'obligations play in the overall adaptive strategies of families.This volume will offer some basic working principles to guide thestudy of family assistance and obligation more generally. This is the 94th issue of the Jossey-Bass series New Directions forChild and Adolescent Development.