CHANGES IN ADOLESCENTS DAILY INTERACTIONS WITH THEIR FAMILIES FROM AGES 10 TO 18 - DISENGAGEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION

In a cross-sequential study spanning 5th-12th grade, 220 White working -and middle-class youth provided reports on their experience at 16,477 random moments in their lives. Amount of time spent with family was f ound to decrease from 35% to 14% of waking hours across this age perio d, indicating disengagement. However, transformation and continued con nection were evident in stability across age in time talking and alone with parents; an age increase in family conversation about interperso nal issues, particularly for girls; and with age, adolescents' more fr equent perception of themselves as leading interactions. After a decre ase in early adolescence, older teens reported more favorable affect i n themselves and others during family interactions. Last, the age decl ine in family time was found to be mediated not by internal family con flict but by opportunities and pulls an adolescent experiences from ou tside the family.