Divorce, family conflict, and adolescents' well-being

Abstract

The relative effects of family conflict and divorce on the well-being of adolescents were examined in a longitudinal study of a heterogeneous community sample. Higher levels of family conflict were associated with increases in adolescents' depressed mood, anxiety, and physical symptoms over time. In contrast, neither recent divorce nor earlier divorce was associated with longitudinal changes in any health outcomes. Also, adolescents living in intact families with high conflict had significantly poorer well-being than those living in families of divorce with low conflict. Finally, the longitudinal effects of divorce and family conflict did not differ by age and sex, but Hispanic adolescents experienced more negative effects of family conflict than non-Hispanic whites, and the well-being of Asian adolescents was influenced more strongly by recent divorce.