Negotiation of the Autonomy–Connectedness Dialectic in Adolescent Television Dramas: An Up-Close Look at Everwood, Seventh Heaven, and Veronica Mars

Abstract

This study examines the relational maintenance strategies used to negotiate autonomy and connectedness in father–child relationships portrayed in adolescent television dramas. Episodes of 3 programs—Everwood, Seventh Heaven, and Veronica Mars—were coded for relational maintenance behaviors. Sharing information about activities, manipulating physical distance, and sharing emotions were among the most frequently occurring behaviors. Because television can have a socializing effect on viewers, studying the maintenance strategies used in popular adolescent television dramas can increase understanding of 1 element of adolescent viewer socialization.

Keywords:

• Family Communication
• Parent–Child Relationships
• Television

Acknowledgments

This article is derived from an undergraduate honors thesis completed by Katherine P. Fields under the direction of Danette Ifert Johnson.

Notes

The 11 programs identified as meeting these criteria were Big Love, Commander-in-Chief, Dawson's Creek, Everwood, Friday Night Lights, Joan of Arcadia, The O.C., One Tree Hill, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Seventh Heaven, and Veronica Mars..

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katherine P. Fields

Katherine P. Fields (BA, Ithaca College, 2010) is employed by Fordham University.

Danette Ifert Johnson

Danette Ifert Johnson (Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1994) is Director of the Core Curriculum and Professor of Communication Studies at Ithaca College.