Variations in Adolescent Conflict and Social Interaction Associated with Maternal Employment and Family Structure

Abstract

Adolescents' relationships with parents, siblings, and friends were examined as a function of family structure and maternal employment. High school subjects responded to questionnaires indicating, for each relationship, rate and affective intensity of conflicts from the previous day, as well as amount of social interaction. There were no differences between adolescents with full-time, part-time, and nonemployed mothers in reports of conflict or social interaction. Conflict affective intensity was unrelated to household structure, as were levels of social interaction. Subjects in single mother households indicated more conflict with mothers than those in two-parent families, although levels of conflict with single mothers were equivalent to the total number of disagreements that adolescents in two-parent families experienced with both parents. Adolescents in single mother households also reported higher rates of conflict with siblings, but not friends. The results do not support views that adolescents with single or employed mothers have more contentious or distant relationships than their peers.