Parent-Adolescent Interaction in Iranian Adolescents Born Since 2001: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: The parent-adolescent communication is an essential element in transitioning the adolescent to adulthood. This study aimed to illustrate a new ongoing parent-adolescent structure that is happening in Iran, and examines changes in family patterns. Method: A qualitative thematic analysis was performed on data collected from 24 interviews with adolescents, and their parents in 2021. The samples were recruited through purposeful sampling. This study was conducted within nine months. The interviewees were four boys and eight girls (M=17) and one of their parents, whether their mother or father. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The method of data analysis was the Colaizzi descriptive method. Results: Thematic analysis revealed a new interaction pattern that did not exist in the previous generation. There were four main themes in parental patterns namely; adaptive pattern, influenced-pattern, democratic pattern, expertise-centric pattern, and also nine sub-themes. In adolescence, the only pattern was the democratic pattern with four sub-themes, which leads to new expectations from adolescents, like having an equal power hierarchy. Conclusion: Conversely, to what has been thought, parents have a significant and distinct role in parent-adolescent interaction changes. A large part of this was due to their bad memories or deprivation of good parenting when they were a child. These results can be used for planning macro-political, and socio-economic policies concerning future parent-adolescent interaction trends.