The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship of problem behaviors with family conflict and social support perceived by adolescents, and to analyze the relative significance of variables influencing on adolescents' problem behaviors....
The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship of problem behaviors with family conflict and social support perceived by adolescents, and to analyze the relative significance of variables influencing on adolescents' problem behaviors. This study also investigated the differences in the levels of family conflict, social support, and problem behaviors according to the general characteristic of adolescents. Family conflict was consisted of two factors: parent-child conflict and conflict between parents. Social support was consisted of four sources of support such as parents, friends, teachers and siblings. Adolescents' problem behaviors included delinquent behaviors, school maladjustment, and emotional maladjustment. Data of this study were collected from 476 junior and high school students residing in Chollabuk-Do province by using self- administered questionnaire method
The major results of this study were as follows. First, there were significant differences in the degrees of total problem behaviors and social support between female and male students. It was also found that high school students experienced higher degree of problem behaviors than junior students. Students who reported higher grade point average showed relatively lower levels of family conflict and of problem behaviors, and higher level of social support, compared to students who reported lower grade point average.
Second, parent-child conflict and parents' marital conflict were positively correlated with school maladjustment and emotional maladjustment, and delinquent behaviors were positively correlated with parents marital conflict perceived by adolescent children. This result indicated that the greater the conflict between family members, the greater the degree of problem behaviors adolescents experienced. Emotional maladjustment was negatively correlated with all sources of social support, while mother support and sibling support were negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors. It was also found that parent-child conflict and parents' marital conflict were negatively correlated with the levels of all sources of social support.
Finally, multiple regression analyses results showed that students' sex, grade point average, and living standard perceived by adolescents were the significant variables influencing on the a31 areas of Problem behaviors. This indicated that male students who reported lower GPA and lower living standard experienced higher level of problem behavior than female students who reported higher GPA and higher living standard subjectively perceived. Parent-child conflict positively influenced the emotional maladjustment, while parents' marital conflict positively influenced delinquent behaviors, emotional maladjustment and school maladjustment. This result means that the greater the marital conflict perceived by adolescent, the higher the Problem behavior. Among all related variables, parents' marital conflict was the most powerful variable influencing the problem behavior.