Journal of Lifestyle

Journal of Lifestyle

A Qualitative Exploration of the Determinants Shaping Parental Supervision in Managing the Generational Gap with their Adolescents

Document Type : Scientific research

Authors
1 Mansoureh Zarean, Department of Social Sciences and Population Studies, Women’s Research Institute, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author) m.zarean@alzahra.ac.ir
2 Seyed Ali Ahrari, Research Institute for Women and Family Studies, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran. seyedaliahrari@urd.ac.ir
Abstract
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators influencing parental supervision in managing the generational gap with adolescents in Tehran. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and employing thematic analysis, data were derived from semi-structured interviews with 12 parents of adolescents experiencing psychological and behavioral problems. Overall, five main themes, twelve subthemes, and thirty-four basic themes were identified across four ecological levels: macrosystem, exosystem, microsystem, mesosystem, and individual.
The findings revealed that parental supervision is profoundly affected by changes in modern lifestyles, including technological transformations, the weakening of traditional family interactions, and increasing economic and psychological pressures. Major barriers included restrictive cultural and economic structures, weak educational and support institutions, family conflicts, intergenerational value discrepancies, and parents’ psychological difficulties. In contrast, social support, skills-based education, intergenerational dialogue, and adaptation to new lifestyle patterns emerged as key facilitators across all levels.
These findings underscore that parental supervision over adolescents is a multilayered and complex phenomenon, shaped within the context of rapid lifestyle transformations and dynamic interactions between structural and individual factors. Accordingly, the design of effective interventions requires a systematic, culturally responsive, and multi-level approach aimed at strengthening parent–adolescent relationships and reducing generational gaps in a society undergoing continuous lifestyle change.
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Subjects


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Volume 11, Issue 1 - Serial Number 20
September 2025
Pages 53-88

  • Receive Date 08 March 2025
  • Revise Date 22 April 2025
  • Accept Date 11 September 2025