Abstract
Family connectedness is key for the development of self-control in early and middle childhood. But is family connectedness still important during the transitional phase of adolescence, when adolescents demand more independence from their parents and rely more on their peers? The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control, and whether it still holds in adolescence using a genetically sensitive design. Data were used from a large sample of twins aged 14 (N = 11,260) and aged 16 (N = 8175), all enrolled in the Netherlands Twin Register. We applied bivariate twin models and monozygotic twin difference models to investigate the association between family connectedness and self-control and to unravel to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain this association. The results showed that more family connectedness is significantly related to better self-control in adolescence, albeit with a small effect size. Twin analyses revealed that this association was mainly explained by common genetic factors and that the effects of environmental factors were small. The current findings confirm the role of family connectedness in adolescent self-control. Importantly, however, the results demonstrate that phenomena we see within families seem the product of parent and children sharing the same genes rather than being exclusively attributable to environmental processes.
Highlights
Connectedness encompasses the feeling of trust, understanding, and support within the family, and is robustly associated with healthy child development [13, 25]
We applied bivariate twin analyses to investigate to what extent genetic and environmental factors contribute to family connectedness and self-control in adolescence
The present study investigated the association between family connectedness and self-control, examining whether the association still holds in adolescence as well as the nature of this association
Summary
Connectedness encompasses the feeling of trust, understanding, and support within the family, and is robustly associated with healthy child development [13, 25]. Does the influence of the family on the development of the child [57]. This development is especially pronounced during adolescence, as adolescents increasingly become active agents in their own development, demand more independence from their parents, and rely more on connectedness with peers than on connectedness with the family [10]. The developmental transition from being dependent on parents to independence yields an important question: is family connectedness still related to person characteristics in adolescence and, if so, what is the nature of this association?
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