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Behavioral Sciences
Special Issues
Effects of Family Functioning on Adolescent Mental Health
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Effects of Family Functioning on Adolescent Mental Health

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Child and Adolescent Psychiatry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 4217

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Øyfrid Larsen Moen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7034 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: adolescent; family; family functioning; family centered care; mental health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The period of adolescence is considered a difficult stage in the transition process to adulthood and is characterized by significant changes mentally and physically. In addition, individual, social, and contextual transitions also occur. Mental health problems among adolescents have increased worldwide (World Health Organization, 2022). In the Western world, approximately 10–20% of the adolescent population experience mental health problems. Adolescents describe the importance of having a good friend, having parents to feel secure with, and having someone to talk to. This highlights the parental role and family functioning with a focus on strengths and resources in the family. Family functioning is essential in managing everyday life and can be described as a dimension that influences the family in relation to problem-solving, communication, roles, behavioral control, affective responsiveness, and involvement. This calls us to pay attention to family functioning and family support in families living with an adolescent who has mental health problems.

This Special Issue aims to identify the effect of family functioning on adolescents’ mental health and to identify interventions that enhance family functioning and psychological well-being to prevent them from developing more serious mental illnesses. We are searching for articles and reviews that will enrich our understanding of the importance of family support both within the family and to support the family. Moreover, we are interested in exploring how these interventions are effectively incorporated into both policy and real-world applications within various healthcare systems and in voluntary practices.

Dr. Øyfrid Larsen Moen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adolescents
  • family function
  • family support
  • intervention
  • mental health
  • resources

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 373 KiB  
Article
The Protective Role of Caring Parenting Styles in Adolescent Bullying Victimization: The Effects of Family Function and Constructive Conflict Resolution
by Haoliang Zhu, Haojie Fu, Haiyan Liu, Bin Wang and Xiao Zhong
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 982; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15070982 - 19 Jul 2025
Viewed by 204
Abstract
Based on attachment theory and the McMaster family functioning model, this study explores the protective role and mechanisms of a caring parenting style in protecting adolescents from bullying, from the perspective of the family environment. Study 1, conducted in Southwest China with middle [...] Read more.
Based on attachment theory and the McMaster family functioning model, this study explores the protective role and mechanisms of a caring parenting style in protecting adolescents from bullying, from the perspective of the family environment. Study 1, conducted in Southwest China with middle school students (n = 4582), investigates the relationship between a caring parenting style and adolescent bullying victimization through a large-scale cross-sectional survey. The results show that both parents’ caring parenting styles are significantly negatively correlated with adolescent bullying victimization. Study 2, a two-wave study (n = 302), explores the protective mechanisms of a caring parenting style in adolescent bullying victimization. We not only observed again that a caring parenting style significantly negatively predicts bullying victimization but also found that family functioning and constructive conflict resolution play a chain-mediating role in this relationship. This finding not only supports the core hypothesis of attachment theory regarding the role of a secure base but also expands the theoretical model of bullying protection from a family ecological perspective by revealing a three-level transmission mechanism of parenting style–family system–individual capability, providing a theoretical anchor for the construction of a “family–school” collaborative intervention framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Family Functioning on Adolescent Mental Health)
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13 pages, 441 KiB  
Article
Development of the Parent–Child Communication Quality Scale from the Perspective of Children’s Psychological Needs
by Wenhui Lyu, Xiaohui Shi, Zhiheng Xiong and Yujie Mu
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100933 - 11 Oct 2024
Viewed by 3383
Abstract
Parent–child communication plays a crucial role in children’s healthy growth. Nevertheless, there is currently a paucity of instruments designed to measure the quality of parent–child communication from a psychological perspective. Accordingly, based on the self psychology theory, this study has developed the Parent–Child [...] Read more.
Parent–child communication plays a crucial role in children’s healthy growth. Nevertheless, there is currently a paucity of instruments designed to measure the quality of parent–child communication from a psychological perspective. Accordingly, based on the self psychology theory, this study has developed the Parent–Child Communication Quality Scale (PCCQS) to assess the quality of parent–child communication in terms of the extent to which children’s psychological needs are met. A total of 1095 urban children (50.9% girls, M = 9.92, SD = 1.15) aged 8 to 12 years in eastern China were surveyed in this study. The measurement structure of the PCCQS was examined using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the CFA supported the second-order, four-factor structure of the PCCQS, with the 15-item PCCQS consisting of four factors (i.e., mirroring, idealization, empathy, and appropriate response). In conclusion, the PCCQS has good construct and criterion validity, as well as high internal consistency and split-half reliability. The scale is therefore a valuable tool for assessing the quality of parent–child communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Family Functioning on Adolescent Mental Health)
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