Father-adolescent Relationship Quality Research Articles

Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being: The Unique Contribution of Fathers

Abstract Background Caregiver relationships are associated with adolescent subjective well-being. Yet, little is known about the contributions of father-adolescent relationship quality to well-being including perseverance, connectedness, and happiness or the specific contributions of father-adolescent relationship quality to these outcomes after accounting for covariates. Objective This study aimed to understand how father-adolescent relationships and school connectedness interact with one another when positive adolescent functioning are the outcomes. Methods Adolescents (N = 2,509; Mage = 15.5; 51.8% male; Black and African American (47.9%), Hispanic (24.8%), and white (17.7%) participating in the FFCWBS provided cross-sectional data. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine direct associations between father-adolescent relationship quality and each of the three adolescent subjective well-being outcomes (perseverance, connectedness, and happiness), and to evaluate the moderating role of adolescent biological sex in these associations. Covariates included race, household income, father’s residential status, the adolescent’s relationship with the mother and school connectedness. Results Regressions showed that father-adolescent relationship quality was significantly associated with each well-being outcome beyond the contributions of demographics, mother-adolescent relationships, and school connectedness, and had similar associations with the outcomes by sex. Conclusions Our conclusions highlight the priority of including and retaining fathers in research and interventions.

Relationship between Partner Phubbing and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality: A Family-Based Study.

A high-quality parent-child relationship is critical to the health and well-being of adolescents and, in the family system, the interaction pattern within couples is a decisive factor in parent-adolescent relationship quality. Using dyadic data from 441 Chinese couples, in this study, we examined the association between partner phubbing (a negative interaction behavior initiated by the spouse) and parent-adolescent relationship quality, and further explored the moderating effect of adolescent gender. Dyadic modeling showed that partner phubbing had both an intra-person effect and an inter-person effect on parent-adolescent relationship quality. For the intra-person effect, husbands' phubbing had an adverse effect on the mother-adolescent relationship quality, and this effect was stronger for girls than boys; wives' phubbing had a positive effect on the father-adolescent relationship quality, but this effect was only significant for boys. For the inter-person effect, the negative influence of husbands' phubbing on father-adolescent relationship quality was only significant for boys; wives' phubbing was uncorrelated with mother-adolescent relationship quality. These findings deepen our understanding of the links between the marital subsystem and the parent-adolescent subsystem in the family, underscore the importance of positive marital interactions for adolescent development, and have implications for personal smartphone use management in family contexts.

Associations between adolescents\u2019 internalizing problems and well-being: is there a buffering role of boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 relationships with their mothers and fathers?

BackgroundInternalizing mental health problems (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms) are known to be related negatively to adolescents’ well-being. However, whether this negative association manifests equally in boys and girls, and the potential buffering role of high-quality relationships with mothers and fathers, remain unknown. Thus, the present study was conducted to 1) investigate associations among adolescents’ internalizing problems and mother– and father–adolescent relationship quality, on the one hand, and adolescents’ well-being, on the other hand, 2) explore the buffering role of high-quality mother– and father–adolescent relationships in the association between adolescents’ internalizing problems and well-being, and 3) examine gender differences in these main and buffering effects.MethodsThe analysis sample consisted of 1064 adolescents (53.7% girls; aged 11–17 years) from three secondary schools in the Netherlands. Participants filled out an online questionnaire incorporating the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form to measure well-being, the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-25 to measure internalizing problems, and the Network of Relationships Inventory to measure mother– and father–adolescent relationship quality. The cross-sectional data were analyzed using path models in R, controlling for age, ethnocultural background, and education level. Multigroup analyses were performed to identify gender differences.ResultsAdolescents with fewer internalizing problems (β = − 0.40, p < 0.001) and adolescents with higher-quality relationships with their mothers and fathers reported higher concurrent levels of well-being (β = 0.10 to 0.18, all p < 0.01). The quality of mother-adolescent relationships had a significantly larger association with adolescents’ well-being than that of father-adolescent relationship quality. However, relationships with mothers and fathers did not significantly buffer the association between adolescents’ internalizing problems and well-being. Multigroup analyses revealed no difference between boys and girls.ConclusionsThe current study contributes to the understanding of internalizing problems as an important risk factor for adolescents’ well-being, regardless of the quality of relationships with mothers and fathers. The quality of adolescents’ relationships with their parents is associated positively with their well-being, even in the presence of internalizing problems. These findings underline the importance of mothers’ and fathers’ roles in adolescent boys’ and girls’ well-being.

Career adaptivity mediates longitudinal links between parent-adolescent relationships and young adult occupational attainment.

This study aimed to illuminate the implications of adolescents' relationships with mothers and fathers for their career development processes and, in turn, their occupational attainment in young adulthood across a 10-12-year period. Grounded in the career construction theory, which highlights adolescence as a significant period of preparation for career attainment and families' role in this process (Savickas, 2013), we tested the mediating effect of adolescent career adaptivity, a fundamental component of career adaptation, in the longitudinal links between mother- and father-adolescent relationship quality and young adult occupational prestige. We also compared mothers' and fathers' roles in these links and tested youth gender moderation. Data came from mothers, fathers, and 236 youth (122 firstborns and 114 secondborns; 53% female) from 147 European American working- to middle-class families. Structural equation modeling tested whether effects of relationships with mothers and fathers at Time 1 (adolescents' Mage = 15.17, SD = .96) were mediated by Time 2 (1 year later) adolescent career adaptivity, represented by academic performance, sense of control, and self-worth, in relation to occupational prestige at about age 26. Results showed that career adaptivity fully mediated the link between mother-adolescent relationship quality and young adult occupational prestige, but the effects of father-adolescent relationship quality were nonsignificant, though model comparison did not reveal a significant difference between mother and father effects. There were no differences by youth gender. Findings contribute to understanding of families' role in youth career development and future attainment and add to the literature on career construction theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Romantic Relationship Quality of Youth with Two Biological Parents and Stepfathers

This study uses data from a sample of 7,404 respondents from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine how the quality of relationships between parents (mother–father) and relationships between parents and children during adolescence (mother–adolescent and resident father–adolescent) influence children’s romantic relationship quality in young adulthood. This study also examined whether these family of origin factors operate similarly or differently for children raised with biological fathers and married stepfathers. Results indicate that mother–(step)father, mother–adolescent, and resident (step)father–adolescent relationship quality are all positively associated with adult children’s romantic relationship quality. However, the association between mother–(step)father relationship quality and young adult children’s romantic relationship quality was stronger for those who resided in stepfamilies.

The effect of parent–adolescent relationship quality on deviant peer affiliation: The mediating role of self-control and friendship quality

Previous research demonstrated the association between parent–adolescent relationship quality and deviant peer affiliation, but it is unclear whether this relation is mediated by other psychological and interpersonal variables, whether father– and mother–adolescent relationship quality have different pathways in predicting deviant peer affiliation, and whether gender moderates these associations. A sample of 543 students from grades 10 to 12 (42.7% male; age M = 16.2 years, SD = 1.0) was selected from a Chinese high school in Shenzhen, China. They provided demographic variables and completed self-report measures of father– and mother–adolescent relationship quality, self-control, friendship quality, and deviant peer affiliation. The results showed that lower father–adolescent relationship quality was associated with lower self-control, which in turn was associated with higher deviant peer affiliation. Mother–adolescent relationship quality did not have direct or indirect association with deviant peer affiliation. In addition, male and female adolescents had no significant difference in the associations between father– and mother–adolescent relationship quality, self-control, friendship quality, and deviant peer affiliation. Implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.

Self-perception and relationship quality as mediators of father's school-specific involvement and adolescent's academic achievement

Despite a growing body of research suggesting fathers play an integral role in the lives of their children, less is known about father's involvement in their early adolescent's schooling. Even less is known about the mechanisms through which father's involvement influences early adolescent's academic success. The current study explores two characteristically different mechanisms as mediators of the association between father's involvement and adolescent's academic achievement: self-perception, and father-adolescent relationship quality. Results from structural equation modeling suggested differential mediating effects for each model, supporting both partial and full mediation. Findings suggested that how adolescents feel about themselves and their own abilities, as well as the quality of the relationship that fathers maintain with them has meaningful implications relating to how well they perform academically. Such findings further highlight the need for an exploration of differentiated conceptualizations of the processes underlying the association between father's school-specific involvement and adolescent's academic achievement.

Community Disadvantage and Adolescent’s Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Father Influence

Among adolescents, positive parenting behavior has been found to lessen the negative effects associated with living in an impoverished community. Few studies however, have focused on the association between macro-level community influences and adolescent outcomes, and the possible parenting mechanisms through which this relationship exists. Further, less empirical attention has been directed towards the unique role played by fathers in mediating contextual influences on adolescent outcomes. To address this gap in the literature, using a nationally representative subsample of adolescents, the current study explores the mediating role of father’s school-related involvement and father–adolescent relationship quality on the association between community-level disadvantage and adolescent’s academic achievement. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling revealed a significant relationship between community disadvantage and adolescent’s academic achievement, which was further mediated by aspects of father’s influence. Among other things, findings lend support for a model outlining father’s influence as a mediator of the relationship between contextual factors and adolescent’s academic success.

Connections Between Marital Conflict and Adolescent Girls’ Disordered Eating: Parent–Adolescent Relationship Quality as a Mediator

The family system has frequently been suggested to play an important role in adolescents’ health. Particularly, conflict within the marital dyad has been associated with maladjustment among adolescents, although studies have rarely focused on disordered eating as a possible negative outcome. In this study, we examined the direct association between marital conflict and disordered eating among 123 adolescent girls in middle school and high school. We also tested the mediating role of adolescents’ positive relationship quality with their mothers and fathers (e.g., high warmth and low control) in this relation. For our hypothesized direct effects and mediation models, we formed latent constructs with cross-sectional data collected from girls’ self-report questionnaires and applied bootstrapping procedures. We found that marital conflict was both directly and indirectly, via poor mother– and father–adolescent relationship quality, associated with girls’ disordered eating. This suggests that the mother–father, mother–adolescent, and father–adolescent family subsystems can play a part in influencing girls’ eating patterns. Clearly, family subsystems have significant roles in promoting the health of young, female adolescents. Future research and treatment efforts for girls exhibiting disordered eating should aim to include family members and address the roles of different family subsystems.

Perceived father's care protects adolescents from transitions to tobacco use at a highly vulnerable age: a short-term longitudinal study

Early experimentation with tobacco is predictive of nicotine dependence and long-term physical harm. The mean age of tobacco initiation is 15 years, signalling the need to examine key protective influences operating at this particularly vulnerable age. This study examined the unique prospective relationship between perceived father's care and smoking behaviour among mid-teens. High school students (n = 112) at this critical age were assessed at two time points (6 months apart). At Time 1, measures of recent smoking (last month – present/absent), mother and father's care, sensation seeking, heavy episodic alcohol use (past month), and academic performance were administered. The Time 2 measures were recent smoking and heavy alcohol use (last month). The results were analysed using binary logistic regression of recent smoking at Time 2 (present/absent). The key finding of the study was that fathers’ care uniquely predicted recent smoking at Time 2 independent of recent smoking at Time 1 and other independent predictors. The results suggest that fathers have a significant role to play in protecting teenagers from tobacco use at a developmental stage where the risk of smoking uptake is high. The results point to the potential utility of tobacco and other drug prevention strategies that focus on building father–adolescent relationship quality before and during high-risk developmental stages.

Toward a Transactional Model of Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment

The present study includes externalizing problems, internalizing problems, mother-adolescent relationship quality, and father-adolescent relationship quality in the same structural equation model and tests the longitudinal reciprocal association among all four variables over a 1-year period. A transactional model in which adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems are negatively related to the quality of adolescents' relationships with their parents and relationship quality is related to internalizing and externalizing problems is hypothesized. Moderation by gender, ethnicity, and parental marital status is also investigated. The sample consists of 246 boys and 253 girls from the sixth and seventh grades of a large public middle school. The study's final model suggests a longitudinal, reciprocal association between the quality of adolescents' relationships with their mothers and internalizing problems. Results suggest longitudinal unidirectional effects from externalizing problems to the quality of adolescents' relationships with their fathers and from the quality of adolescents' relationships with their mothers to externalizing problems.

Post-Divorce Maternal Disclosure and the Father–Adolescent Relationship: Adolescent Emotional Autonomy and Inter-Reactivity as Moderators

Utilizing longitudinal data from a project that examined the post-divorce lives of mothers and adolescents, we addressed two questions: (a) Does exposure to negative maternal disclosure about the ex-husband/father impact adolescents’ perceptions of the father-adolescent relationship? and (b) Are adolescents with low emotional autonomy and high emotional inter-reactivity especially vulnerable? Participants were 154 adolescents, who ranged in age from 12 to 18 years at wave two. Although there was no significant bivariate association between maternal negative disclosure about the father and father-adolescent relationship quality, boys’ level of emotional autonomy and emotional inter-reactivity moderated the association between maternal negative disclosure and the father–adolescent relationship. As hypothesized, boys with lower levels of emotional autonomy and higher levels of emotional inter-reactivity vis-a-vis their mothers perceived a lower quality of relationship with their father when their mother frequently disclosed negatively about the ex-husband/father. Research and applied implications are discussed.