| This study examined ratings of parent-adolescent communication by parents and their biological and adopted, including transracially adopted, adolescent children. Its purpose was to investigate the relationship between adoption status, gender, intellectual ability, and age and the perceptions of parent-adolescent communication of both parents and adolescents.;The data were from the Minnesota Transracial Adoption Project: Follow-up at Adolescence, a study of 93 white, middle to upper-middle class families who adopted African-American and interracial children conducted from 1984 to 1986 and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF/BNS 8312605). Subjects for this study were 82 fathers and 89 mothers along with 128 adopted and 88 biological adolescents aged 14-24 years, all of whom completed the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale and either WISC-R or WAIS-R.;Parent-adolescent communication in the adopted and biological children in this sample was basically positive. There was low to moderate agreement between parents and adolescents and moderate to strong agreement between mothers and fathers in ratings of communication. With regard to mother-adolescent communication, no significant differences were attributable to adoption status or intellectual ability. Significant differences were attributable to age and gender. Sons rated communication to be better, with more openness and fewer problems in communication, than daughters did and mothers experienced better, more open and problem-free communication with older than younger adolescents. An interaction was found between adoption status and gender for mothers' perceptions of communication problems. With regard to father-adolescent communication, no significant differences were attributable to gender but were to adoption status, intellectual ability, and age. Fathers experienced better and more open communication with biological adolescents. Adolescents with higher IQ scores experienced better and more problem-free communication with fathers. Fathers and adolescents both agreed that older adolescents experienced better and more open communication.;Possible explanations for these results were discussed and the limitations of the data due to the sample, the measure, and the lack of causal data were mentioned. Suggestions for future research included investigating the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and behavioral adjustment, especially focusing on father-adolescent communication and longitudinal designs, as well as further elucidation of the role of intellectual ability in communication between parents and adolescents. |
