1 General introduction 19 (e.g., parents and parent-child relationship) and timing of events (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Sameroff, 2010). Additionally, there are varying theoretical perspectives on the extent to which the nature of dynamic parenting processes differs across families. On the one hand, scholars may hold a view of “universality without uniformity”. Such a view means that certain parenting practices are expected to be universally beneficial (e.g., warmth and autonomy support) or detrimental (e.g., overcontrol or psychological control) to adolescents’ functioning, although they are not uniform, given that individual differences can exist in the strength of the parenting effect (Soenens et al., 2015). To illustrate this, universality without uniformity is assumed in environmental sensitivity models, as some individuals are expected to be more strongly influenced by the same environment than others (Pluess, 2015). On the other hand, scholars may hold a more relativistic perspective, assuming that the effectiveness of parenting practices may depend on each adolescent due to many moderators (Grusec, 2008). In other words, the same parenting practice might have beneficial effects for one adolescent, but harmful consequences for another adolescent. Relativistic accounts of parenting are evident in bio(psychosocial) ecological models, postulating that children develop and interact with their parents in unique ways because of the complex dynamic interplay between time-varying contexts and the developing individual (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Sameroff, 2010). Moreover, according to a dynamic systems perspective, each system (here a family) is viewed as having its own unique characteristics and processes, which also change over time (Granic et al., 2008; Smith & Thelen, 2003). Thus, although heterogeneity is widely acknowledged theoretically, whether the nature of the dynamic processes between parents and adolescents is universal (without uniformity) across families or unique to each family has been a topic of debate. 1.6.2 Characteristics which might contribute to heterogeneity In addition to the quantity of the expected heterogeneity, theories also propose different characteristics that might explain why the dynamic processes between parenting and adolescent functioning differ from one family to the next. Here, I distinguish between individual characteristics (i.e., characteristics of the adolescent, parent, and their relationship) and contextual characteristics (i.e., characteristics of the immediate and remote environments). An individual characteristic that has received considerable attention is the adolescent’s personality. Personality may play a role in how adolescents differentially perceive,
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