Family Structure and Family Management Practices: Associations With Positive Aspects of Youth Well-Being

Abstract

Using data from a national sample of 15-year-olds (N = 681), we tested if four family management practices (parental knowledge, behavioral control, parental academic involvement, and unsupervised time with peers) differed between family structures (i.e., biological-parent, stepfather, or single-mother family). We then identified the family management practices associated with positive youth well-being (psychosocial maturity, positive friendship networks, and school bonding) within each family structure. Parental knowledge, academic involvement, and behavioral control were greater in biological-parent than single-mother families. Stepfather families only differed from biological-parent and single-mother families on parental academic involvement. Although family management practices were associated with youth well-being in all family structures, the specific family management practices associated with each aspect of youth well-being varied across structures. Results have implications for how family-based interventions might be adjusted to better account for the specific characteristics of biological-parent, stepfather, and single-mother families.