FAMILY SYSTEMS AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT - SHARED AND NONSHARED RISKAND PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN NONDIVORCED AND REMARRIED FAMILIES

The primary goal of this research is to increase the goodness-of-fit b etween the theoretical tenets of family systems theory and quantitativ e methods used to test systems hypotheses. A family systems perspectiv e is applied to two specific research questions concerning family infl uences on adolescent development: To what extent are familial risk and protective factors for psychopathology and competence shared or not s hared by siblings and are different family relationship patterns assoc iated with optimal adolescent adjustment in nondivorced and remarried families? Multirater and multimethod data from a national sample of 51 6 nondivorced and remarried families from the Nonshared Environment an d Adolescent Development (NEAD) project were examined using a combinat ion of cluster, factor, and regression analyses. Results indicated tha t the effects of an individual relationship on adolescent adjustment i s moderated by the larger network of relationships in which it is embe dded. Evidence for nonshared familial processes in predicting adolesce nt psychopathology was also found bur only in a subset of families, an d the mechanisms of influence were neither main effects nor linear, as has been assumed by research to date. Results are discussed in light of family systems models of relationship influences on development. Th ese results illustrate how family systems theory provides a specific e xample of contextualism as regards the development of psychopathology in adolescence.