Effects of developmental relationships on the well‐being of youth in high‐stress families

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Peter C. Scales,Eugene C. Roehlkepartain,Benjamin J. Houltberg
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12822

RESEARCH

Effects of developmental relationships on the

well-being of youth in high-stress families

Peter C. Scales

1

|Eugene C. Roehlkepartain

2

|Benjamin J. Houltberg

2

1

Search Institute, Manchester, Missouri

2

Search Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Correspondence

Peter C. Scales, 940 Chestnut Ridge Road,

Manchester, MO 63021, USA.

Email: scalespc@search-institute.org

Abstract

Objective: In this research, we investigate the effects of

parent-youth developmental relationships on 15 psycholog-

ical and social-emotional outcomes for 633 matched pairs

of adolescents and parents (50% low-income), including

176 who met the criteria for being high-stress families.

Background: Family stress and childhood adversity have a

significant negative impact on youth development, but

positive family relationships can ameliorate those effects.

Previous research has primarily focused on the affective

and discipline domains, with a reliance on retrospective

recall of childhood adversity and family stress.

Method: This paper engaged adolescents and parents in

paper-and-pen and online surveys. Analyses are completed

using logistic regression.

Results: Youth from high-stress families who had strong

developmental relationships with parents were 7 to 33 times

more likely to report positive developmental outcomes in

comparison to youth from high-stress families with weaker

developmental relationships with parents. By including a

wide range of 15 psychological and social–emotional posi-

tive youth development outcomes, our current study illumi-

nates a breadth of positive development that is promoted

when families are able to construct strong developmental

relationships, despite experiencing significant life stresses.

Conclusion: Parent–child developmental relationships can

ameliorate potential negative effects of childhood adver-

sity and family stress on positive youth development.

Implications: Program and resource supports for strength-

ening parent–child developmental relationships are a nec-

essary and critical part of the needed comprehensive

response to adverse childhood experiences and family

stress.

Author note: We thank our colleague Chen-Yu Wu for assistance with the statistical analysis.

Received: 9 September 2021Revised: 26 October 2022Accepted: 13 November 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12822

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

2800 Family Relations. 2023;72:2800–2819.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

KEYWORDS

childhood adversity, developmental relationships, family stress, Parent–

child relationships, positive youth development

Families are made up of complex interaction patterns that regulate the day-to-day life of mem-

bers at multiple family system levels (Cowan & Cowan, 2006; Whitchurch &

Constantine, 1993). Significant stress and hardships experienced by any one member of the fam-

ily can disrupt family dynamics, leaving family members vulnerable to maladaptive outcomes

(Anda et al., 2006; Dube et al., 2003; Patterson, 2002; Rutter, 2012). However, family interac-

tions can also provide protection in the face of adversity in ways that lead to positive rather

than negative outcomes for family members (Henry et al., 2015). For example, youth who expe-

rience their parents as supportive and having clear boundaries that keep them safe demonstrate

positive social and emotional outcomes despite high levels of exposure to violence in their

neighborhoods (Morris, et al., 2017).

Even though there has been a significant amount of research on the importance of parent–

youth relationships for promoting resilience (e.g., Brown & Shillington, 2017; Corcoran &

McNulty, 2018; Craig et al., 2016; Masten et al., 2009; Otten et al., 2019), most of these studies

have focused on only a few aspects of the relationship (e.g., warmth, supervision) from a single

perspective and examined resilience as the absence of negative outcomes or baseline competent

functioning. In this study, we examine the statistical impact of multiple dimensions of the

nature of relationships between parents and their youth on indicators of competent functioning

and youth thriving. This allows us to examine how youth–parent developmental relationships

function as a protective factor in the context of high family stress.

The current research draws on extensive reviews of multiple relationship literatures

(e.g., parent–child, student–teacher, mentor–mentee), focus groups, interviews, and surveys

of students, teachers, youth workers, and parents to use a framework of developmental

parent–child relationships that adds comprehensiveness to this literature both conceptually

and operationally (Pekel et al., 2018). The framework of developmental relationships is

rooted in the tenets of self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000)—specifically, its iden-

tification of fundamental human motivational needs for autonomy, relatedness or belong-

ing, and competence and their association with adaptive functioning. In this

conceptualization, relationships that are caring or generally positive but that do not satisfy

those basic motivational needs are not as likely to have meaningful influences on well-being

as are those that do contribute more substantially to autonomy, belonging, and competence.

Thus, we define developmental relationships as close connections through which young

people satisfy those needs for autonomy, belonging, and competence by helping them dis-

cover who they are (their identity), cultivate abilities to shape their own lives (agency), and

engage with and contribute to the world around them (contributions and connections to

community).

To operationalize these concepts, five relational strategies are measured: Express Care,

Challenge Growth, Provide Support, Share Power, and Expand Possibilities. The authors’

previous studies have shown that measures of this conceptualization of developmental rela-

tionships is significantly linked, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, with multiple

positive youth development (PYD) outcomes across academic, behavioral, psychological, and

social–emotional domains (Pekel et al., 2018;Scalesetal.,2019,2020; Sethi & Scales, 2020;

Sullivan & Syvertsen, 2018). Much of the previous literature has focused on expression of care

and control systems that lead to resilience of young people, with few studies examining factors

that influence more indicators of thriving in the face of adversity. The addition of four other

RELATIONSHIPS IN HIGH-STRESS FAMILIES2801