Synchrony in adolescence

Abstract

When the social environment does not change to meet an adolescent's needs for independence, self-determination, and participation in decision making, a developmental mismatch may occur. The interactive model of synchrony studied extensively in early parent-child relationships has suggested that a mutual and responsive interaction between the child and the caretaker is essential to the child's development of secure attachment, sense of autonomy, and social competence. A life-span view of development allows the concept of synchrony to be extended to the stage of adolescence, providing clues to how developmental mismatches occur between adolescents, teachers, and parents as well as useful guidelines for the prevention and remediation of such mismatches.