This study investigates whether parental separation and living with a stepfather affects children's and adolescents' individuation in relation to their mothers differently in East and West Germany. Effects of family type are assumed to be mediated through financial hardship and impaired family dynamics. A comparison of path models for youth (ages 9 to 19) from East ( n = 220) and West Germany ( n = 273) evidences only a few differences between both regions. Impaired parenting and mothers' demands on the child to join a coalition against the father link family type to adolescents' individuation, mediating the negative impact of interparental conflict.
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