Comparison of psychological well-being and behavioral problems of adolescents in three types of restructured, disturbed, and normal families

The objective of the current study was to conduct a comparative analysis of behavioral problems and psychological well-being among adolescents from restructured, dysfunctional, and normal families.

This research employed a descriptive and causal-comparative design. The target population comprised male and female adolescents attending secondary education in Tehran during the academic years 2021-2022.With the research objective in mind, a total of 70 adolescents were selected from each of the three family types using convenience sampling.The Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale (1989) and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report of Behavioral Problems (2001) were employed to gather data. The collected data were analyzed using one-way and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), as well as multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), conducted through the SPSS 27 software.

The data analysis revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean scores of psychological well-being and behavioral problems among the groups. Adolescents from restructured families demonstrated lower levels of psychological well-being compared to both dysfunctional and normal families (p < 0.05), while the average behavioral problems in adolescents from restructured and dysfunctional families were significantly higher than those in normal families(p < 0.05).

The findings suggest that changes in family structure significantly impact the psychological well-being of adolescents, particularly boys. Furthermore, adolescents from dysfunctional and restructured families exhibit higher levels of behavioral problems, especially delinquent behavior, compared to those from normal families.Therefore, it is crucial for schools to identify adolescents from non-traditional family backgrounds and take necessary steps to address their psychological well-being.