Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Household Disagreements: Implications for Black Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-being

• In Event: Home Instability, Structure & Interactions: Their Role in Predicting Adolescent Mental Health Problems

Abstract

Studies have indicated that adolescent-parent relationships have increased conflict during adolescence, with conflict higher in early and mid-adolescence (Allison, 2000). Investigations specific to Black adolescents have suggested that increased household disagreements and conflict are related to mental health and well-being (Hart et al., 2019). Though contributory, this literature has primarily relied on cross-sectional, single-reporter data. Considering this, there remains a need to examine how Black adolescents and parents perceive and make sense of household disagreements as well as potential implications for mental health and well-being. Leveraging multi-wave dyadic data, the current investigation examines consistency between adolescent and parent reports of household disagreements (stressfulness of disagreements). Additionally, this study investigates how adolescent and parental perceptions of household disagreements are associated with adolescent adjustment (depressive symptoms, family satisfaction, school engagement).

The data presented in this investigation are from a longitudinal investigation exploring parent-adolescent relationships in Black American families. All families resided in a mid-sized, urban city in the Southeastern region of the United States. One hundred twenty-six parent-adolescent dyads were included in the proposed investigation. Adolescents (M= 11.6=90; SD=1.20) ranged in age from 10-14 years. Forty-three percent of parents had a vocational or associate’s degree, 33% of mothers had a Bachelors degree or greater, 21% had a high school education or equivalent (GED), and 3% had less than high school education. Sixty-five percent of adolescents were female. Measures included both parent and adolescent perceptions of household disagreements about 1) household responsibilities, 2) adolescent time use, 3) sibling conflict, and 4) economic decisions (i.e., how money is spent). Adolescent mental health and well-being were assessed at the across three dimensions-1) depressive symptoms, 2) school engagement, and 3) satisfaction with family life.

Paired t-tests indicated that, on average, parents rated household disagreements (i.e., household responsibilities, time use, economic decisions, sibling conflict) as more stressful than adolescents (see Figure 1). Compared to other disagreement domains, stress from disagreements about household responsibilities and sibling conflict was higher. The stress associated with disagreements was relatively consistent across the four domains for adolescents. Additionally, hierarchical regression analyses (controlling for indicated that adolescent perceptions (vs parents’ perceptions) of household disagreements about sibling conflict (=.23, p< .05) and household responsibilities (=.35, p< .01) were positively associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms. However, parental perceptions of household disagreements about adolescent time use (=.24, p< .05) (i.e., cell phone use, computer use, amount of time spent with friends) were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Adolescent perceptions of disagreements about household responsibilities (= -.27, p< .05) were associated with decreased family satisfaction (1-year later). Findings highlight the importance of a dyadic perspective, which captures parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of household disagreements. Additionally, this investigation suggests that adolescent and parent perceptions may have differential impacts on adolescent mental health and well-being.

Authors

• Margarett McBride, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Shauna M. Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill