Il ruolo orientativo delle famiglie: cambiamenti, criticità e nuove sfide

Abstract

Abstract – The role that families can play in the guidance processes of adolescents is widely explored in the scientific literature and there are many studies that have demonstrated the influence that parental practices can have on the guidance behaviors of their children. The article analyzes the main indicators that have marked the transformation of the parent-child educational relationship in postmodernity and presents an exploratory study involving 200 adolescents, aimed at investigating the perception they have of the role played by parents in the processes of choice, of the various sources of guidance (family, school, peers) and of the influences. The results of the study highlight that families are considered a decisive source of guidance, especially when compared to schools which, instead, are assigned a secondary guidance role. The family educational model that underlies the choice processes of the adolescents involved appears to be focused on support, relational horizontality and the valorization of adolescents. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that families represent a source from which to draw for guidance, but that essentially they act as a framework for the "autonomous" choices of their children.