Health and Well-Being of Adolescents in Different Family Structures in Germany and the Importance of Family Climate

Max Herke, Anja Knöchelmann and Matthias Richter
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Max Herke: Institute of Medical Sociology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Anja Knöchelmann: Institute of Medical Sociology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Matthias Richter: Institute of Medical Sociology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-12

Abstract: The family is of exceptional and lifelong importance to the health of adolescents. Family structure has been linked to children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being; a nuclear family has been shown to be indicative of better health outcomes as compared with a single-parent family or a step-family. Family climate is rarely included in studies on children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, albeit findings have indicated it is importance. Using data from n = 6838 students aged 12–13 years from the German National Educational Panel Study, this study shows that stronger familial cohesion and better a parent-child relationship are associated with better self-rated health, higher life satisfaction, more prosocial behavior, and less problematic conduct, and that these associations are stronger than those for family structure. Surveys on young people’s health are encouraged to include family climate above and beyond family structure alone.

Keywords: subjective health; well-being; family structure; family climate; children; adolescents; National Educational Panel Study; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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