ABSTRACT
Family-level conflict and cohesion are well-established predictors of adolescent mental health. However, traditional approaches focusing on between-family differences in cohesion and conflict may overlook daily intrafamily variability that might provide important new information. We used data from a 21-day daily diary protocol in a sample of 151 caregivers (95.3% female) and their adolescent child (61.5% female) in two-caregiver families to test whether daily changes in family functioning are associated with daily changes in adolescent well-being and whether adolescent well-being depends on average levels of family functioning. We examined family cohesion and conflict in relation to adolescent angry, depressed, and anxious mood, as well as happiness, life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose in life in multilevel models. Both cohesion and conflict exhibited meaningful daily variation. Adolescent-reported cohesion and conflict had unique within-family associations with all six adolescent outcomes. Models using parent reports of family functioning yielded fewer associations than models with adolescent reports; however, several findings remained. Cross-level interactions indicated that within-family variations in cohesion were only associated with adolescent depression in families with lower average levels of cohesion across days. In sum, this study provides compelling evidence that families exhibit meaningful variability from day to day and that daily variation has important implications for adolescent well-being.
El conflicto y la cohesión a nivel familiar son predictores bien establecidos de la salud mental adolescente. Sin embargo, los enfoques tradicionales que se centran en diferencias interfamiliares en la cohesión y el conflicto pueden pasar por alto la variabilidad intrafamiliar diaria que podría proporcionar información importante y nueva. Utilizamos datos de un protocolo de registro diario de 21 días en una muestra de 151 cuidadores (el 95.3 % de sexo femenino) y su hijo adolescente (el 61.5% de sexo femenino) en familias de dos cuidadores para evaluar si los cambios diarios en el funcionamiento familiar están asociados con los cambios diarios en el bienestar de los adolescentes, y si el bienestar de los adolescentes depende de los niveles promedio de funcionamiento familiar. Analizamos la cohesión y el conflicto familiar en relación con los estados de ánimo de enojo, depresión y ansiedad así como de felicidad, satisfacción con la vida, y significado y propósito en la vida en modelos multinivel. Tanto la cohesión como el conflicto demostraron una variación diaria significativa. La cohesión y el conflicto informados por los adolescentes tuvieron asociaciones únicas dentro de las familias con los seis resultados de los adolescentes. Los modelos que utilizaron informes de los padres del funcionamiento familiar indicaron menos asociaciones que los modelos con informes de los adolescentes, sin embargo, quedaron varios hallazgos. Las interacciones a nivel transversal indicaron que las variaciones en la cohesión intrafamiliar estuvieron solamente asociadas con la depresión de los adolescentes en las familias con niveles promedio más bajos de cohesión a lo largo de los días. En resumen, este estudio ofrece pruebas convincentes de que las familias demuestran una variabilidad significativa día a día y de que la variación diaria tiene importantes implicancias para el bienestar de los adolescentes.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Affect , Family Conflict/psychology , Family Relations/psychology , Mental Health , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Multilevel AnalysisABSTRACT
Using longitudinal data across eight years, this study examined how parents' familism values in early adolescence predicted youths' depressive symptoms in young adulthood via youths' familism values and family time. We examined these processes among 246 Mexican-origin families using interview and phone-diary data. Findings revealed that fathers' familism values predicted male and female youths' familism values in middle adolescence. For female youth only, fathers' familism values also predicted youths' family time in late adolescence. The link between family time and young adults' depressive symptoms depended on parental acceptance and adolescent gender: Among female and male youth, family time predicted fewer depressive symptoms, but only when paternal acceptance was high. For female adolescents only, family time predicted fewer depressive symptoms when maternal acceptance was high but more depressive symptoms when maternal acceptance was low. Findings highlight family dynamics as the mechanisms through which familism values have implications for youths' adjustment.