The Associations Between Family Conflict and Adolescent Mental Health: A Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis

Family conflict plays a central role in adolescent mental health. However, little is known about how interparental conflict, father-child conflict, and mother-child conflict interact with and constitute the family context for adolescent mental health. The directionality in these longitudinal relations in the framework of family system theory is also not clear. To bridge these gaps, this study explored the distinct associations among interparental conflict, father-child conflict, and mother-child conflict, as well as the interplay of all three family conflict variables with adolescent mental health (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem, and life satisfaction). A sample of 2041 Chinese adolescents (48.41% males; M_age = 16.18 years) participated in this study at two time points spaced three months apart. Data were analyzed using longitudinal network analysis. The results revealed that there were reciprocal relations among family conflict variables. Interparental conflict played a central role in predicting adolescent mental health across all four domains. The effects of father-child conflict on adolescent life satisfaction were found to extend beyond those of mother-child conflict. Adolescent mental health and family conflict mutually predicted each other, demonstrating bidirectional effects. Particularly, adolescent self-esteem contributed to decreases in family conflict and increases in mental health over time. These results underscore the importance of adopting a holistic approach in family interventions and mental health programs, focusing on fostering positive family relationship quality and enhancing adolescents' self-esteem to promote overall family well-being.