Abstract
Adolescents described several approaches parents used to help them to learn to manage tasks, which may provide direction for occupational therapy clinicians working with youth who are transitioning to adulthood.
Throughout childhood, youth learn the skills they need to carry out daily life tasks, such as following a weekly schedule and managing money (Kao et al., 2015; Salusky et al., 2014). There is increased focus on this process in adolescence, as youth prepare to begin their young adult lives. The ability to organize and manage daily tasks is essential to meet employment and postsecondary educational expectations. For example, a person will not be able to maintain employment if they consistently arrive late to work, regardless of their level of expertise or skill on the job.
Despite the importance of these daily tasks, research has largely overlooked the process through which youth learn to manage them. One theory that may provide a useful framework for this process is guided participation, in which skilled experts guide novices in learning skills in a new domain through mutual participation in their cultural context (Rogoff, 2003). In contrast to formal learning situations, responsibility for daily life tasks naturally and gradually shifts from experts (e.g., parents, caregivers) to the adolescent until the adolescent is able to manage the tasks independently (Kao et al., 2021). This everyday phenomenon is observed in most youth regardless of whether they have disabilities or not. Thus, understanding this process has universal importance but may be particularly useful for youth with disabilities, who often experience challenges with the transition to adulthood (Anderson & Butt, 2018; Kao et al., 2015).
This qualitative pilot study was designed as a first step to understand youth perspectives on how they learn to manage daily responsibilities. We specifically explored the role of parents, because parental support plays a significant role in youths’ transition to adulthood (Lamb & Lewis, 2011). The research question addressed was “From the adolescents’ perspective, what approaches do parents use to support their children to learn to manage daily life tasks?” We sought to understand whether there was thematic consistency across youths’ reports of their experiences learning to manage these tasks.
Method
Participants
Adolescents were recruited to participate in individual interviews via their parents through flyers, online postings, and word of mouth. Criteria for participation included being ages 12 to 19 yr and having no diagnosed intellectual disability, per parent report. We used a purposive sampling approach with the intention of recruiting a sample of youth who represented diversity in gender, age, and disability status to obtain a range of youth perspectives on developing the skills needed to self-manage daily life tasks. The sample consisted of eight adolescents (Table 1).
Participant Demographics
Note. Dash indicates no diagnosis. ADD/ADHD = attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ASD = autism spectrum disorder; F = female; LD = learning disability; M = male.
This participant identified as Latino/Hispanic; all other participants identified as not Latino/Hispanic
Procedure
The institutional review board at Boston University approved the study protocol. Elizabeth G. S. Munsell, a pediatric occupational therapist and researcher, conducted individual semistructured interviews with adolescents.
Each adolescent participated in one in-person interview that lasted 45 to 60 min and consisted of an initial scripted overview of the concept of taking responsibility for daily life tasks, followed by a semistructured discussion of the youth’s experience with managing specific tasks. To structure the discussion, we selected 10 developmentally appropriate tasks (Kao et al., 2021) from among the items of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory–Computer Adaptive Test’s Responsibility domain (Haley et al., 2012; Table 2). Participants selected three to four of the tasks to talk about in relation to their own lives. Youth were asked to describe which parts of the task they carry out themselves, how their parents support them to complete the task, and how they learned to take responsibility for the task. To elicit a deeper understanding of participants’ experiences, the interviewer asked probing follow-up questions, such as “Tell me more about how you learned to do that?” “What did the help look like?” and “Can you give an example?” The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim using NVivo software (Version 12). The research team checked the transcriptions for accuracy.
Items Adapted From the PEDI–CAT Responsibility Domain
Note. PEDI–CAT = Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory–Computer Adaptive Test.
Age ranges from when youth begin taking responsibility for task to when they assume full responsibility (Kao et al., 2021).
Data Analysis
All eight transcripts were analyzed using a recursive and conventional approach to content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). Table 3 outlines the analytic procedure. Although it is difficult to truly identify data saturation in qualitative research (O’Reilly & Parker, 2012), the eight interviews provided variable and robust examples for each identified category.
Analytic Procedure: How Do Parents Approach Providing Support to Their Children?
Results
Nine categories of parent approaches fit into three overarching themes.
Parents Teach Their Adolescents How to Carry Out and Manage Responsibilities
Directly Teaching Tasks
Parents directly taught youth skills for managing life tasks. This included teaching discrete skills, such as how to use a washing machine, and more complex skills related to managing tasks, such as setting and following a weekly schedule for doing their laundry. This theme also incorporated scaffolding techniques, in which parents would gradually fade their support and allow the youth to take more responsibility for the task over time. Norah, age 17 yr, recalled learning to do her own laundry: “I think we did it together a couple times, and then I just kind of asked her if I had questions but, like, it’s pretty easy.” This quote illustrates how Norah’s mother changed her level of support as Norah learned how to do her laundry independently.
Modeling Tasks
Parents acted as a model for how to take responsibility for tasks. For example, when reflecting on how he learned to manage aspects of his personal finances, Lucas, age 15 yr, explained, “I’ve gone to the bank with my parents when I was younger, so, I mean, I’ve seen them, like, ya know, put money in, take money out, so that—that was kind of second nature to me.” Youth reported learning how to complete daily life tasks through observing their parents’ actions.
Establishing Routines
Parents helped youth establish routines to initiate and complete their tasks. For example, Jonathan, age 14 yr, explained his routine for doing homework at the kitchen table after school: I think it kind of evolved from how [my parents and I] did [homework] on a day to day basis. . . . They helped me with my homework at the kitchen table [and] now, where it’s more independent for me, I still do it at the kitchen table ’cuz that’s where they would help me with it when I was younger.
Communicating Expectations
Parents’ opinions or suggestions guided the way youth approached tasks. Although parents did not explicitly direct how youth managed tasks, their opinion had an indirect influence on youths’ actions. Theo, age 15 yr, shared his mom’s influence on keeping his room tidy: [I don’t fold my clothes], but mom thinks I should. . . . Most of the time, I just shove them in my drawer, but mom says I should fold them. But when I’m really desperate for space, I fold them to make more space.
Parents Monitor Their Adolescents as They Become More Responsible for Daily Life Tasks
Providing Reminders
Parents provided verbal or physical reminders to initiate or follow through with tasks. Lucas, age 15 yr, explained that his mother’s prompting helps keep him on schedule after school: I end up going to bed at, like, midnight because I put it off [homework] for too long, so my mom will sometimes remind me when I get home, “Oh, have you finished your homework?” . . . It doesn’t happen a lot but sometimes. . . I go on my phone, and it ends up being a couple hours [laughs].
Providing a Safety Net
Parents continually monitored their child and would act as a safety net if youth failed or were unable to complete a task on their own. Malik, age 13 yr, explained his parents’ continued role as he works on becoming responsible for getting ready on time in the morning: I have been trying, the last month or so, to really wake up on my own because, high school, I’m gonna have to wake up earlier, and I might not have as much help from my parents. Usually, though, one of my parents will come in, shake me awake. . . . I have a tendency to oversleep alarms, like, all of my alarms.
Supporting Problem Solving
In instances when something unexpected happened and youth required help adjusting their usual approach to carrying out their daily responsibilities, their parents may have assisted by problem solving with their child. Genevieve, age 17 yr, explained her mother’s role in helping her pack for a new experience: I can manage [packing] pretty well on my own . . . but recently I went on a trip, and I’m not very familiar with the weather . . . so I need[ed] some help from my mom knowing what kind of clothes do I need. How much do I need of different things? . . . I did all the packing on my own, though, she just helped talk through what I would need.
Parents Provide Their Adolescents With Varied Opportunities for Independence
Providing Opportunities for Autonomy
Youth described instances in which their parents gave them full autonomy for a specific task, giving them the opportunity to practice making independent decisions and having full control over one aspect of their daily life responsibilities. Jonathan explained, Yeah, my room doesn’t matter to my parents, I mean, if it was absolutely horrible, I guess they would say something, but they don’t really focus on that ’cuz they kind of have the mentality, like, that’s my space, I can do whatever I really please with it as long as it doesn’t cause any real damage.
There were other instances, however, in which parents continued to take full responsibility for a task. For example, Victor, age 18 yr, shared that his parents are fully in control of managing his money and spending: “I get money for my birthdays and stuff, but none of my money is truly mine, really. . . . My parents are always, like, ‘That’s not really your money.’. . . I mean, like, I can spend it, but they really process all transactions.”
Having the Final Say
Parents also reviewed their child’s plan for carrying out a task and gave permission for them to proceed. Malik explained his parents’ role in making financial decisions, So usually if [what I want to purchase] seems pretty straightforward, I’ll plan out what I want to buy, find the money, bring it down, and then I’ll show my parents and they’ll say, ‘Yeah, you can have this,’ and I’ll give them the money, or they’ll say, ‘No, you can’t.’
Discussion
This is the first study to investigate youths’ perspectives of how they learn to manage daily life tasks. Our findings contribute to the development of a more detailed conceptual understanding of the process of transfer of responsibility. The nine approaches that youth described are consistent with the complex process of guided participation (Rogoff, 2003). During mutual participation in tasks that are embedded in daily roles and routines, parents use teaching approaches (i.e., establishing routines, direct teaching, modeling, providing implicit guidance) to teach their child necessary skills. As the adolescent becomes more experienced with the task, parents may adjust their approach by monitoring their child’s ability to manage and carry out tasks by providing reminders, acting as a safety net, and supporting problem solving. The shift of responsibility from parent to youth is flexible and does not happen consistently across life tasks. Parents may intentionally provide their child with opportunities for autonomy in some domains, such as keeping their room clean, while continuing to take full responsibility or requiring final approval in other areas, such as making financial decisions or decisions involving their child’s safety.
Approaches used by parents highlighted the importance of decision making in the transfer of responsibility for daily life tasks (Wray-Lake et al., 2010). According to self-determination theory, independent decision making affects youth’s autonomy, agency, and identity development (Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2017). Indeed, the type of support provided by parents has been shown to help or inhibit self-determination (Grolnick et al., 2014), which may ultimately affect the development of responsibility. The findings from this study provide insight into the range of approaches parents use toward that end.
Further investigation of the transfer of responsibility for daily life tasks is necessary to continue to validate and build an understanding of this complex process. Qualitative studies of youth with greater demographic diversity may provide insight into sociocultural variations in this process (Ochs & Izquierdo, 2009; Rogoff, 2003). Studies exploring youths’ perceptions of the effectiveness of approaches would provide insights that could guide intervention development. Studies comparing youth with and without disabilities may provide further information about what is needed to support youth who are having challenges in taking over responsibility for daily life tasks as they prepare for adulthood.
We also note methodological considerations for future inquiry on this topic. During our interviews, youth spontaneously shared only 18% to 50% of examples of parent support, yet they recalled many more examples with additional prompting. The level of prompting needed to help youth retrieve relevant details about their daily task management emphasizes the implicit nature of this process. In future studies, important aspects of the process may not be revealed without specific efforts by the researcher to help youth retrieve relevant details from their experiences.
Implications for Occupational Therapy Practice
Occupational therapy practitioners should consider transfer of responsibility for managing daily life tasks as an area for evaluation and intervention for individuals experiencing difficulty transitioning to traditional adulthood contexts such as employment or postsecondary education. Clinicians may find it valuable to provide prompts and probing questions when discussing this topic with parents and youth to make the process of transferring responsibility more explicit and to help identify well-defined goals. Furthermore, strategies described by youth in this study may serve as potential intervention approaches, ideally using a single-subject design to collect data on their efficacy.
Conclusion
Learning to organize and manage the responsibilities of adulthood is a key feature of a successful transition to adulthood; however, the process through which youth learn to do so has largely been overlooked in research. Adolescents in this study described several approaches parents used to help them to learn to manage tasks that are consistent with the complex process of guided participation (Rogoff, 2003). These approaches may provide direction for clinicians working with youth who face challenges during the transition to adulthood.