Security in the family system as a mediating process

The paper ‘Prospective relations between family conflict and Adolescent maladjustment: Security in the family system as a mediating process’ effectively discusses the relationship between family conflict and children’s risk for developing adjustment problems. The author posits that previous research has focused on conflicts within specific family systems, such as between parents or between parents and children, rather than considering conflict within the family as a whole.

And this compartmentalization has limited the understanding of family conflict as a risk factor and has led to isolated areas of study. However, conflict in the family is not limited to one specific relationship and may involve multiple family members. Previous research has also primarily looked at broad indicators of adjustment problems rather than specific symptoms or issues. The paper suggests that focusing on specific symptoms or problems can be more useful in child clinical psychology theory and practice.

The paper bases its analysis through the lens of the Emotional Security Theory (EST) which postulates that children’s adjustment is influenced by the extent to which they feel secure in the family system. EST also provides well-articulated conceptual models and theory-based approaches to assessment concerning children’s regulatory processes and patterns in the face of threats to their security.

The key hypothesis of this paper is that emotional insecurity in the family system, will mediate relations between family conflict and youth’s symptoms of multiple specific disorders and problems, including depression, anxiety, and conduct and peer problems.

A noteworthy point discussed in this paper is social functioning in the peer domain as another dimension of adjustment in adolescence linked with inter-parental conflict. Notably, differences are evident in the causes, correlates and consequences of peer problems compared to conduct problems, aggression and other externalizing problems. In a series of community samples, peer rejection and unpopularity are linked with externalizing problems whereas lack of peer acceptance, social isolation, and perceptions of social incompetence are associated with internalizing problems.

I found these factors very relevant with regards to the discussions we’ve had with Armina, where she has mentioned students facing challenges such as

· Family pressures/tensions (including lack of family support for the kids’ education)

· Lack of individuality in the society

· Withdrawn behaviors observed in students

· On the other extreme, other students exhibit hyperactive behaviours

According to Nikstat, Internalizing and Externalizing are two broad categories of behavioral problems: Whereas internalizing problem behavior (INT) is focused on the own self (e.g., withdrawal, anxiety, depression, emotional problems), externalizing problem behavior (EXT) particularly occurs in interaction with the social environment (e.g., aggression, impulsivity, deviance, hyperactivity).[1]

Going by these descriptions, we can see that the students at Jaago are exhibiting a mix of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. According to the paper, there are relations between early attachment security and the quality of later peer relations, especially in middle childhood and adolescence. This is relatable to poor communities in which parents are unavailable or overstretched in trying to secure resources thereby affecting early attachment security in their young children.

The hypothesis in this paper highlights that family conflict during early adolescence can have negative effects on teenagers’ mental health. The researchers examined emotional security within the family system and found that it plays a significant role in mediating the relationship between family conflict and specific mental health symptoms. The study employed formal tests to confirm the importance of these indirect effects. Previous research on emotional security and attachment theory also supports the idea of emotional security as both a higher-order construct and specific patterns of emotional security/insecurity.

In summary, the key argument here is that the level of family conflict experienced by adolescents can influence their overall adjustment and well-being, and this relationship can be explained, at least in part, by the sense of security or insecurity they feel within their family environment. As in the case of Jaago, some of the students are exposed to a lot of family pressure and expectations, which negates the ideal function of the family as a support system for the adolescent. It may lead to a hostile environment within the family, if the child refuses to conform, which in turn can disrupt the development of a strong sense of attachment, trust, and emotional support, which are important for healthy adolescent development.

On the other hand, the paper may suggest that security within the family system acts as a mediating process. This means that if adolescents perceive their family environment as secure, characterized by open communication, conflict resolution, warmth, and support, it may buffer the negative effects of family conflict on their adjustment. In other words, a secure family system may promote resilience and mitigate the adverse consequences of family conflict on adolescent well-being.

1) [1] Amelie Nikstat: Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany, McMaster University, CANADA (https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0230626)