| Sumario: | Introduction: Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterized by increasing needs for autonomy and identity exploration. However, limited research has examined how adolescents perceived parental discouragement of exploration over time. Methods: This study examined the stability and change in adolescents' perceptions of parental discouragement of exploration, how these trajectories are shaped by parental metaemotion, and the bidirectional interplay between perceived discouragement and adolescents' sense of agency. A sample of 148 Portuguese adolescents (Mage = 15.47, SD = 0.63) and their parents participated across three assessment waves over 18 months. Adolescents (72.3% female, 27.7% male) reported on maternal and paternal discouragement of exploration and on their sense of agency, while parents provided baseline reports of metaemotion. Results: Latent growth curve analyses revealed that adolescents' perceptions of both maternal and paternal discouragement increased over time, with significant variability between individuals. Higher parental metaemotion was associated with slower growth in perceived discouragement, highlighting its protective role in maintaining supportive parent–adolescent relationships. Adolescents with a stronger baseline agency perceived less parental discouragement, and increases in discouragement over time predicted lower agency at follow‐up, indicating a reciprocal dynamic. These findings suggest that adolescents' interpretations of parental behaviors are shaped jointly by parents' emotional attunement and adolescents' own sense of personal agency. Conclusion: The study offers novel insights into the dynamic and reciprocal processes through which family relationships and adolescent self‐development co‐evolve. The findings underscore the importance of family‐focused interventions that consider the mutual influence between parent–child relationship processes and the development of adolescent agency.
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