Parents' and adolescents' perceptions of a strong family.

Perceptions of family strengths of 40 parents and 20 adolescents were investigated by means of semistructured interviews and Likert-type ratings on commitment, appreciation, spending time together, communication patterns, religious values, and crisis management. Significant differences were found between the perceptions of parents and adolescents for the family characteristics of commitment, time spent together, and crisis management. Although family strength correlated positively with all six identified characteristics, time spent together and appreciation for each other had the highest correlation with family strength. This result supports the notion that sufficient quality time together may be a prerequisite for well-being in family relationships.