Relationships Among Involvement, Attachment, and Behavioral Problems in Adolescence: Examining Father’s Influence

Abstract

This study explores the nature of the parent-child relationship during early adolescence. Differences between the mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships and possible behavioral correlates of parental involvement and attachment are examined. A multimodal data collection procedure was used to gather information from adolescents (N = 116), their parents, and their teachers. Findings indicate that consistent with previous reports, fathers are less involved in parenting their adolescent children than are mothers, and teenagers report being more securely attached to their mothers. Nonresidential fathers were found to be significantly less involved in parenting than fathers who live at home. In addition, adolescents not living with their fathers reported feeling less secure paternal attachment than adolescents who lived with their fathers. Finally, father-adolescent involvement and attachment were found to explain a unique proportion of the variance seen in adolescents’ teacher-reported externalizing and total behavioral problems at school. Implications of these findings are discussed.