Maternal, Paternal, and Peer Relationships Differentially Predict Adolescent Behavioral Problems

The current study investigated how maternal, paternal, and peer social relationships predict adolescent behavioral problems using secondary data analyses of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). We aimed to examine differences between maternal and paternal relationships in predicting adolescent behavioral problems, and we hypothesized that parental relationships would more strongly predict adolescent behavioral problems than peer relationship in mid-adolescence. Participants were 929 adolescents at their 14-year-old visit. Hierarchical multiple regressions and multiple regression models revealed the following: Maternal relationship quality predicted fewer adolescent externalizing and total behavioral problems; paternal relationship quality predicted fewer internalizing problems; and peer popularity predicted fewer externalizing and total behavioral problems. In conclusion, mother-adolescent relationship may be more important for externalizing behavioral problems and father-adolescent relationship may be more important for internalizing behavioral problems. In middle adolescence, parental relationships are still more important than peer relationship in predicting adolescent behavioral problems. Study limitations and implications for research, policy, and practice were discussed.