[Significance of parent-child relations for development of moral reasoning in adolescence: a study of psychiatrically disordered adolescents].

In accordance with structural-developmental theory in the tradition of Piaget and Kohlberg, moderate amounts of conflict between adolescents and their parents should influence the sociomoral development of the adolescents in an optimal way. The same hypothesis is compatible with a social-constructivistic approach (Youniss, Keller, Haan, Miller), which emphasizes the role of communicative processes in the development and validation of moral rules. The results of our empirical study with 43 severely mentally disturbed adolescents aged 14 to 19 years indirectly confirm this hypothesis. Adolescents with moderate amounts of family conflict reached a higher stage in moral reasoning than those with either very severe problems or only minor problems with their parents. In an additional analysis we investigated the relation between the severity of the conflicts and the emotional attachment of the adolescent to his or her parents. Our data indicate that moderate problems in the interaction between child and parents are associated with a family atmosphere that seems to facilitate the development of an integrated personality and identity. A balanced coexistence of separateness and connectedness offers the young person the best chance to develop and clearly communicate his or her own point of view and to solve interpersonal problems by reaching a consensus that takes into account the needs and interests of the other family members.