Adolescent self-esteem, parent-child relationships, and joint physical custody

Abstract

This study’s objective was to examine differences in self-esteem between adolescents living in joint physical custody (JPC) and sole physical custody (SPC) families and to test the mediating role of parent-child relationships. Based on data from the Family Models in Germany study we estimated OLS regression and structural equation models for 294 adolescents aged 11 to 14. Adolescents in JPC reported marginally higher self-esteem than their counterparts in SPC. When controlling for positive and negative indicators of the quality of parent-child relationships, mother-child and father-child closeness were positively related to adolescent self-esteem and fully mediated the relationship between physical custody arrangements and self-esteem. Thus, the quality of parent-child relationships was more important in explaining adolescent self-esteem than physical custody arrangements.