Which of the following statements about working parents and adolescents is true?

• A. Parental employment guarantees that adolescents will develop independence earlier than their peers.
• B. Adolescents with working parents are always less emotionally stable than those with non-working parents.
• C. Adolescents with working parents consistently perform worse academically than those with stay-at-home parents.
• D. The quality of parent-adolescent relationships is more important for adolescent adjustment than whether parents work outside the home.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the context of the problem, which focuses on the relationship between parental employment and adolescent development, particularly emotional stability, independence, academic performance, and overall adjustment.
2. Step 2: Analyze each statement critically by considering psychological research findings on working parents and adolescent outcomes, noting that parental employment alone does not guarantee specific adolescent traits like earlier independence or emotional instability.
3. Step 3: Recognize that academic performance and emotional stability in adolescents are influenced by multiple factors, including the quality of parent-adolescent relationships, rather than solely by whether parents work outside the home.
4. Step 4: Identify that the most supported and accurate statement emphasizes the importance of the quality of parent-adolescent relationships over parental employment status in predicting adolescent adjustment.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the correct understanding is that the quality of the relationship between parents and adolescents plays a more crucial role in adolescent development than whether parents are employed outside the home.