Parent–Adolescent Closeness, Family Belonging, and Adolescent Well-Being Across Family Structures

Abstract

Adolescents in stepfamilies and single-parent families tend to report lower levels of well-being than adolescents who live with two biological parents. Using data from Add Health ( n = 16,684), the present study builds on this literature by examining family-level predictors of adolescent depressive symptoms, delinquency, failing a class, heavy alcohol use, tobacco use, and marijuana use. We focus on feelings of family belonging as a predictor of adolescent well-being and find that this measure is significantly associated with well-being in all family types, and particularly in two-biological-parent families. In addition, results indicate that family belonging mediates associations between parent–adolescent closeness and well-being for most outcomes.