Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion

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This finding looks at the relationship between family structure and adolescent behavior and well-being.

Compared with adolescents in intact families, youths who lived with a divorced parent, whether single or remarried, were more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse, carrying a weapon, fighting, and sexual activities. This family structure effect remained even after controlling for demographic, parenting style, and community factors.

Sample or Data Description
Data came from a community-collaborative research project, which interviewed 2,144 adolescents in grades seven, nine and eleven from a city in the southeastern United States. The final analytic sub-sample consists of 2,011 adolescents. The study did not report the year in which the survey was conducted.

Source
"Risk and Resiliency Factors Among Adolescents Who Experience Marital Transitions"
Rodgers, Kathleen B.
Rose, Hillary A.
Journal of Marriage and the Family Vol. 64, Number 4. , 2002. Page(s) 1024-1037.

FindingID: 5214