“Doing authority”: Stories of parental authority across three generations

Objective

This article tracks changes in stories of parental authority in Norway from a youth perspective, comparing how three generations talked about their own relationships with their parents while growing up.

Background

Previous research has described contemporary youth–parent relationships as being characterized by both diminution of parental authority, due to a democratization of family life, and by more covert forms of parental control. In addition to shedding light on generational differences in youths' perspectives on parental authority, the analysis reveals important nuances with regard to the ambiguous dynamics of power in contemporary youth–parent relationships.

Method

Through a narrative analysis of the stories of 67 participants, the article maps out how the three generations talked about different ways of “doing authority,” connoting how parental authority was relationally constructed and normatively anchored in their stories.

Results

Although the successive democratization of the youth–parent relationship is visible across the three generations, this democratization does not entail a corresponding loss in parental authority.

Conclusion

The normative sources by which youth legitimize parental authority have changed to include ideals of the equal and close parent who is deserving of respect and hence retains an emotional authority.