A recent survey of parents of teenagers in northern Queensland and Melbourne showed more than 50 percent of parents ranked teenagers talking back and fighting with siblings as main concerns.
The survey was conducted by Associate Professor Alan Ralph at The University of Queensland’s School of Psychology. Its aim was to identify the concerns parents of teenagers had so these could be addressed by the newly developed Teen Triple P program.
Teen Triple P is an extension of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) that has proven so successful with parents of younger children. Triple P was developed by Professor Matthew Sanders and colleagues at the School’s Parenting and Family Support Centre.
Also high on parents’ lists of concerns about their teenager’s behaviour were moodiness and irritability (44 percent). Being overly influenced by friends, angry arguments, and sulking also featured in parents’ top 10 list of concerns. One in eight parents of both boys and girls reported them as being rebellious and showing deliberate disobedience, with one in nine parents being concerned about emotional distress or using abusive or offensive language.
When asked about behaviour they liked, between 50 and 85 percent of parents indicated that their teenagers helped with household tasks, generally communicated well with adults, and showed appropriate respect and appreciation of others. Larger numbers of parents with teenage girls tended to report these desirable behaviours compared with parents of teenage boys.
When asked what desirable behaviours parents wanted help with, one in 14 parents indicated that they wanted to know how to get their teenagers to negotiate their wants with reasonable patience; manage emotions such as anxiety, fear, and anger; and not to take their bad moods out on others.
On the positive side, most parents reported their teenager rarely went out without saying where they were going, or spent time after school with friends in unsupervised situations.
Teen Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) offers parents ways to avoid or reduce some of the negative aspects of parenting described above and to make parenting teenagers a more positive experience.
The program is currently available in a number of ways through some general practitioners, some schools, and at the Parenting and Family Support Centre at The University of Queensland.
Parents who may have difficulty in getting to Triple P venues can receive a videotape depicting common problems and solutions, together with a self-paced workbook taking them through all aspects of the program. Most parents work through the program over an eight-week period, with an enhanced telephone-assisted version featuring weekly contact with a trained Teen Triple P practitioner.
There is no cost for parents joining this trial.
Anyone wishing to find out more should telephone Helen Stallman on (07) 3365 8870.
Media: For further information, contact Associate Professor Alan Ralph (mobile 0404 091 424, email: a.ralph@psy.uq.edu.au) or Professor Matthew R. Sanders (telephone 07 3365 7290, email: m.sanders@psy.uq.edu.au).
For further information on Triple P and Teen Triple P is available by visiting the website at: http://www.pfsc.uq.edu.au
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