The Influence of Family Stability on Self-Control and Adjustment

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychology Vol. 69; no. 7; pp. 661 - 670
• Main Authors: Malatras, Jennifer Weil, Israel, Allen C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, NJ Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2013; Wiley; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aggression - psychology; anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical psychology; Depression; Depression - psychology; Expressed Emotion; externalizing problems; Families & family life; Family Characteristics; Family Relations; family stability; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Multivariate Analysis; New England; Nuclear Family - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Regression Analysis; Self control; Social Adjustment; Social Control, Informal; Young Adult; New England; Social environment; Mood disorder; Human; Affect affectivity; externalizing problems; family stability; Family environment; self-control; Self control; Depression; Anxiety; Behavioral disorder
• ISSN: 0021-9762; 1097-4679
• DOI: 10.1002/jclp.21935

Objectives The aim of the present study was to replicate previous evidence for a model in which self‐control mediates the relationship between family stability and internalizing symptoms, and to evaluate a similar model with regard to externalizing problems. Method Participants were 155 female and 134 male undergraduates—mean age of 19.03 years. Participants completed measures of stability in the family of origin (Stability of Activities in the Family Environment), self‐control (Self‐Control scale), current externalizing (Adult Self‐Report), and internalizing problems (Beck Depression Inventory II and Beck Anxiety Inventory). Results Multiple regression analyses largely support the proposed model for both the externalizing and internalizing domains. Conclusions Family stability may foster the development of self‐control and, in turn, lead to positive adjustment.