A study from Penn State researchers published in the journal Child Development tracked nearly 200 families over a seven year period. Not surprisingly, the study found that kids generally spend increasing amounts of one-on-one time with their parents in the early years of adolescence. But time with mom and dad starts to drop when the teenager hits about the age of 15.

However, the longitudinal study also found at least one surprising result: teens still need time with dad. One of the researchers put it this way:

The stereotype that teenagers spend all their time holed up in their rooms or hanging out with friends is … just a stereotype. Our research shows that well into the adolescent years, teens continue to spend time with their parents and that this shared time, especially shared time with fathers has important implications for adolescents' … adjustment.

More specifically, the study noted that, generally speaking, the more time teens spend with their dads, the higher their self-esteem. Also, the more time teens spend with their dads in a group setting, the better their social skills.

Ann Crouter, Dean of Health and Human Development at Penn State, says that teens with involved fathers "may develop higher general self-worth because their fathers go beyond social expectations to devote undivided attention to them."