The number of adolescents growing up with a chronically ill family member is increasing, putting them at risk of developing psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral problems. This study examines the...Show moreThe number of adolescents growing up with a chronically ill family member is increasing, putting them at risk of developing psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral problems. This study examines the relation of having a chronically ill family member with adolescent resilience, and explores whether this relation is affected by the type of illness suffered by a family member (somatic, mental, or addiction). Additionally, this study investigates whether adolescent resilience moderates the relationship between the type of illness suffered by a family member and the risk that an adolescent will develop problems in the future. Adolescents (n = 12,348) aged 12 to 18 years (M = 14.22, SD = 1.24), in their second or fourth year of high school in the Netherlands, completed a self-report questionnaire. Of 12,348 adolescents 51.7% were female, 52.2% did pre-vocational secondary education, and 80.7% lived with both their parents. The results indicate that adolescents with a chronically ill family member (n = 3,059) were less resilient than adolescents with healthy family members (n = 9,289). Further, adolescents with mentally ill family members (n = 601) were less resilient than adolescents with somatically ill (n = 2,213) and addicted family members (n = 245). Resilience moderated the relationship between the type of illness suffered by a family member and the risk of future problems. These findings may be explained by the exposure to different home environments and (related) challenges that adolescents face. Resilience may help adolescents cope with future challenges, reducing the risk of future problems. More research is needed to understand how to strengthen resilience and reduce future problems in adolescents with chronically ill family members.Show less
Approximately 25% of adolescents have a chronically ill family member which can impact adolescent substance abuse. It is imperative to examine what the relationship is between having a chronically...Show moreApproximately 25% of adolescents have a chronically ill family member which can impact adolescent substance abuse. It is imperative to examine what the relationship is between having a chronically ill family member and adolescent drug use, since substance abuse may result in negative long-term consequences like physical disease, crime, or interpersonal violence. This study utilized a cross-sectional design with a sample of 14,729 Dutch students (50.0% female, mean age = 14.2) attending high-school classes two (n = 7396) or four (n = 7333) and compared three chronic family illnesses. Adolescents with somatic family illness (n = 2446, 51.7% female, mean age = 14.2), mental family illness (n = 1287, 60.1% female, mean age = 14.4), and familial addiction (n = 860, 48.6% female, mean age = 14.5), were compared to controls (n = 10136, 50.3% female, mean age = 14.2). Familial addiction was linked to more soft drug use compared to a somatic or mental family illness or controls. Mental family illness was not associated with more soft drug use compared to somatic family illness or controls. Lastly, the relation between familial addiction and soft drug use was partially mediated by adolescent stress, so adolescents with elevated stress displayed more soft drug use. The findings of this study suggest a need for interventions for adolescents with a chronically ill family member to enhance their knowledge concerning how to deal with the burden of having a chronically ill family member.Show less
This study aims to examine whether having a family member with mental illness is associated with stress, alcohol use, drug use and substance use in adolescents. Additionally, we aim to investigate...Show moreThis study aims to examine whether having a family member with mental illness is associated with stress, alcohol use, drug use and substance use in adolescents. Additionally, we aim to investigate whether stress mediates the relationship between having a mentally ill family member and adolescent substance use. A health monitor (N = 14,878) was conducted by Public Health Services North and East Gelderland (GGD NEG) from October 2019 until December 2019 among 2nd and 4th year high school students. The target group, adolescents with a mentally ill family member (n = 1,683), was compared to the control group, adolescents without a mentally ill family member (n = 12,842). The target group had a mean (± SD) age of 14.5 (1.3) years, 59% was female, 42.6% was highly educated and 33.5% was religious. The control group had a mean (± SD) age of 14.2 (1.2), 51% was female, 46.7% was highly educated and 32% was religious. Stress, alcohol use, drug use and substance use were measured by means of a self-report questionnaire. An ANCOVA, controlling for age, gender and educational level and a mediation analysis were performed. The results showed that the target group scored higher on stress, alcohol use, drug use and substance use than the control group. In addition, stress mediated the relation between adolescents having a family member with mental illness and substance use. However, effect sizes were small. We recommend further research on this topic considering stress and substance use could have adverse effect on overall health and well-being.Show less
The present study examined three different groups of adolescents (no divorce, divorce, and peri-divorce) in a cross-sectional study of Dutch adolescents (N = 14,197). Adolescents aged 12- 18...Show moreThe present study examined three different groups of adolescents (no divorce, divorce, and peri-divorce) in a cross-sectional study of Dutch adolescents (N = 14,197). Adolescents aged 12- 18 completed self-report questionnaires on divorce, adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, adolescent stress, and quality of relationship with parents. We examined whether the relationship between divorce and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems were strengthened through factors of adolescent stress and quality of relationship with parents. Multiple mediation analyses with PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2015) controlled for age and sex. Our findings revealed that adolescent stress and relationship quality with parents fully mediated the relationship between divorce and internalizing problems. However, it partially mediated the relationship between divorce and externalizing problems. The results highlighted the importance of addressing adolescent stress on developing internalizing problems among adolescents who experienced divorce. Facilitating high quality of relationship with parents and decreasing adolescent stress may act as a buffer against developing internalizing and externalizing problems. Longitudinal research should consider the complexity of the composition of divorced families.Show less
Adolescent stress can yield both precipitating and perpetuating factors for internalizing and externalizing disorders. This cross-sectional Dutch study examined possible risk and protective factors...Show moreAdolescent stress can yield both precipitating and perpetuating factors for internalizing and externalizing disorders. This cross-sectional Dutch study examined possible risk and protective factors to find a predictive model for adolescent stress. We hypothesized that mental and/or physical illness in the family, incomplete family composition and financial problems were possible risk factors for adolescent stress. Further, we expected that being religious, having a positive parental relationship and being part of a social group were possible protective factors for adolescent stress. This study included 13,411 participants (52% female, mean age 14.2) completing the Health Monitor Youth 2019 of the Community Health Service North and East Gelderland. Linear regression analyses indicated that having a family member with a mental and/or physical illness, incomplete family composition and having financial problems negatively correlated with adolescent stress. Also, having a good parental relationship positively correlated with adolescent stress. No significant relationship was found between being part of a social group or degree of religious beliefs and adolescent stress. In comparison with males, females reported higher amounts of adolescent stress. With respect to interaction effects, familial illness appeared to affect females more than males. Lower education level and higher age were related to higher amounts of adolescent stress. The results suggest that health care professionals and teachers that come in contact with adolescents should pay special attention to the abovementioned risk and protective factors, so possible interventions can be implemented promptly.Show less
