Family contexts and adolescents’ emotional status

Children’s living arrangements have become increasingly diverse and complex in recent decades: a significant proportion of children reside in stepfamilies or in separated one-parent families, even in countries such as Italy, which only recently is undergoing a transition from traditional to less traditional family behaviours. The present study explores whether – given the still relatively traditional family context – adolescents experiencing parental separation/repartnering have substantial lower levels of psychological well-being than those living in more traditional families. Analyses with data from a national representative survey conducted in Italy in 2004–2005 suggest that adolescents living in non-traditional families are not necessarily at higher risks of emotional suffering than others. Only adolescents who live in stepfamilies show a lower level of emotional well-being than those living in two-biological-parent families, and this effect is not mediated by family resources. Thus, the relatively high social and economic costs of divorce associated to a traditional family context do not necessarily imply negative consequences for children’s emotional status. This suggests further research to better account for distinctive features of national context.