De rol van conflicten in het verband tussen scheiding en internaliserende problemen van adolescenten

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental conflict and internalizing problems of adolescents in intact and divorced families. To answer this key question, the following four subquestions were answered: (1) Is there a difference between adolescents from intact families and adolescents from divorced families in mean level of internalizing problems?, (2) What is the relationship between parental conflict and internalizing problems of adolescents?, (3) Is there a difference between mean level of parental conflict in intact families and divorced families?, (4) Do conflicts show a different relationship with internalizing problems of adolescents in intact and divorced families? The sample consisted of 518 Dutch students from the first three classes of secondary education (M = 13.36 years old, SD = 1.02, 46.6% girls and 53.4% boys). 75.7% of the adolescents came from intact families and 24.3% from divorced families. Data on family structure, parental conflict and adolescent internalizing behavior were collected with self-report questionnaires, which were administered in the classroom. Results showed that adolescents from intact families reported significantly less internalizing problems than adolescents from divorced families. Conflicts between parents were also positively related to internalizing problems of adolescents. It was found that adolescents from divorced families reported significantly higher levels of conflict between parents than adolescents from intact families. It can be concluded that parental conflict is significantly and positively correlated with internalizing problems of adolescents in both intact and divorced families, although this correlation is higher in adolescents from intact families than in adolescents from divorced families. However, this difference was not significant. Given these results, it can be concluded that parental conflicts are related to internalizing behavior of both adolescents from divorced and adolescents from intact families. These findings should guide the development of more effective interventions targeting parental conflict and should make parents aware of the harm their conflicts can do to their adolescents.