代溝（generation gap）是否存在？是個長期以來橫亙在親子之間的熱門討論議題。快速的社會變遷又是否真的會造成親子之間明顯的「代溝」，並影響親子間的互動關係？而隨著現代化的腳步，臺灣人父母親養育子女的年紀也愈漸往後拖延，父母與子女之間也可能因此有著較大的年齡差距。而親子之間的年齡差距，又是否可能成為「代溝」的一項潛在根源？較晚生育子女的父母親，又是否真如過去文獻所指那樣，有充足的能力與優勢來加以克服？針對這項議題，在臺灣國內較少有此類討論，因此本文嘗試利用「臺灣教育長期追蹤資料庫」（TEPS）的第一波（2001年）學生與父母資訊來回答這問題。
本次研究採用符號互動觀點，分析子女所回報（child-reported）的家庭內部資訊，重新審視代溝可能帶去的影響效果。研究結果發現，在父母親的教養行為上，若父母親與子女相處的時間較長，雖然能夠維持的正面的互動參與關係，但並不能有效減少親子衝突；而父親或母親若是採用「獨裁專斷」的教養風格，則可能會引起較多的親子衝突，且子女評價的互動參與關係也較差。而不同父母生育年齡（與子女年齡落差）在親子互動關係上，年齡差距大的「晚生育」的父/母親在互動參與（involvement）上的確較容易得到子女較為負面的評價，也可能引起較多的親子衝突。值得注意的是，年齡差距小的「早生育」母親在親子衝突關係上也少於適齡生育年齡的母親。除此，本次研究亦發現，父母生育年齡（與子女年齡落差）對於親子互動關係的影響效果其實並非出自於教養風格或父母與子女相處時間的影響，親子年齡差距本身具備獨立於教養行為之外的作用效果。

Is there any “Generation gap” between parent and child? This is a popular issue discussed by scholars and experts for a long time. In the contexts of social transitions and economic growth, the average age of parenthood has been delayed in Taiwan, and it may make a larger age spacing between parent and child in Taiwanese family. Especially in the stage of children’s puberty, whether the age spacing would be a source of “Generation gap” and make more conflicts or alienation between parents and adolescent? Do parents have enough abilities or advantages to overcome this “age gap”? In this study, we rely on symbolic interactionism perspectives as foundation, and use the data from Taiwan Education Panel Survey（TEPS）in 2001 to explore the relationship between parent-adolescent interaction and age spacing by child-reported information.
The final results indicate that if parents spend more time accompanying children, the children would report that parents involve more active in their daily life. But parents’ time spent on accompanying children cannot reduce conflicts between parent and child. Furthermore, on child’s reported information, authoritarian parenting also make more conflicts and lead to less involvements between parent and child. Generally, the advanced parents（larger age spacing with child）get “more conflicts” or “less involvements” evaluation from their child’s report. But only younger mother（less age spacing with child）even keep “less conflicts” relationship with their child. Finally, it is worthy to note, there is a independent effect on age spacing, which is different from the consequences of parents’ time spent on accompanying child or parenting style in parent-adolescent interaction.