Family processes and structure: Longitudinal influences on adolescent disruptive and internalizing behaviors

Shannon M Savell; Ravjot Saini; Mayra Ramos; Melvin N Wilson; Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant; Daniel S Shaw

doi:10.1111/fare.12728

Family processes and structure: Longitudinal influences on adolescent disruptive and internalizing behaviors

Fam Relat. 2023 Feb;72(1):361-382. doi: 10.1111/fare.12728. Epub 2022 Jul 6.

Authors

Shannon M Savell¹, Ravjot Saini¹, Mayra Ramos¹, Melvin N Wilson¹, Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant², Daniel S Shaw³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA.
² Department of Psychology Arizona State University Tempe AZ.
³ Department of Psychology University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA.

Abstract

Objective: The present study revisits the assumption in American culture, based in "family privilege," that children fare better in two-parent households by longitudinally examining associations between family structure, process, and adolescent behavior.

Background: Societal assumptions and cross-sectional research suggest that there is a difference in child adjustment across varying family structures. Relatedly, the family process literature emphasizes the importance of parent-child relationship quality in addition to family structure on child adjustment.

Method: We utilized a longitudinal, prospective design that assessed family structures on nine occasions covering a 12-year period beginning when the target child was 2 years of age for a large (N = 714), ethnically and racially diverse sample of low-income families. We examined the relation between self-reported, teacher-reported, and primary caregiver-reported adolescent disruptive and internalizing problem behavior across family structures and parent-child relationship quality.

Results: Across seven identified family structures, adolescent behavior did not differ after accounting for middle-childhood adjustment and relevant contextual factors. However, consistent with family process models of child adjustment, positive parent-child relationship quality predicted lower rates of adolescent maladaptive behavior.

Conclusion: These findings serve to combat stigma related to family structures that deviate from married parents raising their children and highlight the need for interventions designed to foster positive parent-child relationships.

Implications: Policy makers and practitioners should aim to support efforts to foster positive parent-child relationships across types of family structures and refrain from promoting or discouraging the formations of specific family structure types.

Keywords: adolescent disruptive behavior; adolescent internalizing problem behavior; family process; family structure; longitudinal prospective design.