Constellations of family closeness and adolescent friendship quality

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: Mengya Xia,Gregory M. Fosco,Bethany C. Bray,John H. Grych
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12606

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Constellations of family closeness and adolescent

friendship quality

Mengya Xia

1

|Gregory M. Fosco

2,3

|Bethany C. Bray

4

|

John H. Grych

5

1

Department of Psychology, The University of

Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

2

Human Development and Family Studies,

The Pennsylvania State University, University

Park, Pennsylvania, USA

3

The Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research

Center, The Pennsylvania State University,

University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

4

Center for Dissemination and Implementation

Science, The University of Illinois at Chicago,

Chicago, Illinois, USA

5

Department of Psychology, Marquette

University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Correspondence

Mengya Xia, Department of Psychology,

169 Gordon Palmer Hall, Box 870348,

Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

Email: mxia3@ua.edu

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the association

between family relationship constellations and adolescent

friendship quality in a more holistic way and disentangle

gender differences on their associations.

Background: Family relationships are important for ado-

lescent friendship, but little is known about how mother–

adolescent and father–adolescent relationships work in the

context of each other.

Method: Latent profile analysis was conducted in a sample

of 326 ethnically diverse high schoolers (ages: 14–19 years;

60.4% female) to identify different combinations of

mother–and father–adolescent closeness and their associa-

tions with friendships for adolescent boys and girls.

Results: Findings revealed five family relationship pat-

terns: Cohesive (22%; high closeness with both parents),

Alliance With Mother (9%; high mother–adolescent close-

ness only), Alliance With Father (10%; high father–

adolescent closeness only), Disengaged (22%; low closeness

with both parents), and Average (36%; average closeness

with both parents) profiles. Adolescents in Cohesive fami-

lies had high conflict resolution, and adolescents in alliance

families had high companionship, whereas adolescents in

Disengaged and Average families had the worst friendships.

Adolescent boys in Disengaged families had the poorest

friendships in all four domains when compared to adoles-

cent girls in Disengaged families and adolescent boys in

other family types; mother–adolescent closeness was impor-

tant for adolescent boys’validation and intimate exchange.

Adolescent girls’friendship quality generally was highest in

Cohesive families.

Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of simulta-

neously accounting for relationships with both parents

from the family systems perspective.

Received: 11 December 2020Revised: 13 August 2021Accepted: 23 August 2021

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12606

© 2021 National Council on Family Relations.

644 Family Relations. 2022;71:644–659.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

Implications: Being close to at least one parent is critical

for adolescent social–emotional and friendship develop-

ment, and this is especially important for adolescent boys’

friendship quality.

KEYWORDS

Family relationship pattern, father–child closeness, friendship, gender

difference, mother–child closeness

INTRODUCTION

High-quality friendships during adolescence have immediate and long-term benefits for individ-

ual social–emotional and academic adjustment (e.g., Demir & Urberg, 2004; Demir &

Weitekamp, 2007; Swenson et al., 2008). During adolescence, friendships play an important

role in satisfying fundamental social needs for support, companionship, and intimacy (Berndt &

Perry, 1986; Buhrmester & Furman, 1987). Therefore, friendship quality is usually assessed by

how well the relationship meets these social needs (e.g., Bukowski et al., 1994; Parker &

Asher, 1993). Moreover, having the ability to resolve conflict is critical for friendship mainte-

nance (Gao et al., 2017). These important qualities map onto four key domains: validation,

companionship, intimate exchange, and conflict resolution. Validation, as an important indica-

tor of friend support, describes the degree to which the friendship satisfies individuals’emo-

tional needs and validates their self-worth. Companionship, as a dominant theme of adolescent

social motivation, describes how often friends spend time together in an enjoyable way. Inti-

mate exchange is characterized by the degree of self-disclosure of personal information and feel-

ings between friends. Conflict resolution, the ability to resolve conflict and maintain friendships,

reflects how effectively and fairly friends resolve their disagreements (Parker & Asher, 1993).

Family relationships and adolescent friendships

Family relationships are the earliest and most enduring context for socializing interpersonal

skills and lay the foundation for developing and maintaining high-quality interpersonal rela-

tionships (e.g., Engels et al., 2002; Xia et al., 2018). Prior work has demonstrated a strong and

long-lasting effect of family relations on adolescent friendships (e.g., Coleman, 2003; Engels

et al., 2002; Shaffer et al., 2009). Close parent–adolescent relationships provide opportunities to

observe and experience positive interpersonal interactions in the family (Laible et al., 2015),

supporting adolescents’social–emotional and relational competence development (Boling

et al., 2011; Engels et al., 2001) and facilitating their intimate and mutually responsive relation-

ships with friends (Coleman, 2003; Schneider et al., 2001). For example, adolescents with close

parent–child relationships develop greater empathy so that they are more prosocial toward

friends and better able to manage friendship conflict and intimacy (Chow et al., 2013;

Miklikowska et al., 2011; Padilla-Walker & Christensen, 2010). They also have greater positive

emotional engagement and constructive emotional coping to facilitate positive friendship inter-

actions (Abraham & Kerns, 2013; Smith, 2015).

Moreover, the mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships may offer comple-

mentary and synergistic potential for adolescent friendships (Coleman, 2003). Having a close

relationship with mothers strengthens individuals’general self-concept, empathic concern, and

constructive emotion coping. In turn, these strengths are associated with high-quality friend-

ships characterized by more validation, caring, and intimacy (Abraham & Kerns, 2013; Boling

et al., 2011; Coleman, 2003; Miklikowska et al., 2011). Being close with fathers fosters

FAMILY CLOSENESS CONSTELLATION AND FRIENDSHIP645