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The Parental Bond and the Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Adults

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Abstract

In this work, changes in the parental bond and the well-being of adolescents and young adults in the Netherlands are investigated. It concerns a longitudinal study among youngsters in the age of 12 to 24 (their ages varying between 15 and 27 when assessed for the second time 3 years later). In total, 1688 adolescents/young adults (730 boys and 958 girls) participated. We found a curvilinear development pattern in the bond between daugthers and their parents. Only the bond between sons and their parents became somewhat less positive in the transition from early to middle adolescence. Our general conclusion, however, is that adolescents and young adults maintain a rather good and reasonably stable relationship with their parents. Parents also prove to be of lasting importance for the psychological well-being of their upgrowing children, daughters in particular.

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van Wel, F., Linssen, H. & Abma, R. The Parental Bond and the Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29, 307–318 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005195624757

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