Adolescent–parent relationships and youth well-being in Turkey

Abstract

In this article, I review research on adolescent–parent relationships and youth well-being in Turkey. Turkey is a country that has changed rapidly due to urbanization and globalization, and that is characterized by cultural heterogeneity in values, all of which have implications for parent–child relationships. I focus first on parenting styles, and then discuss two dimensions of parenting—warmth and parental control—that are considered more universal and culturally variable, respectively, in terms of their associations with well-being. Overall, research from Turkey is consistent with findings across cultures, showing a positive link between higher warmth and youth well-being. But recent research has challenged the cultural normativity hypothesis, which claims that psychological control may not harm the well-being of children in collectivist cultures because it is perceived as a norm in its sociocultural context. Research from collectivist cultures, including Turkey, suggests that the perception of normativity does not preclude its adversity.