The effect of family structure and gender on adolescent well-being in East Asia

Background: Following the dramatic increase in divorce rate in the past decade there has been an equally dramatic increase in non-traditional family structures e.g. single parent families, stepparent families and children living with relatives. This study aimed to investigate the effect of family structures on well-being, specifically on aggression, across multiple family structures and whether there is a gender difference within each family structure. Method: Fourteen thousand, eight hundred and seventy-four adolescents (aged 10 to 19) were given a questionnaire containing socio-demographic factors and standardized scales for assessing adolescent well-being (inclusive of aggressive behaviour, delinquency, anxiety-depression, proactive aggression and reactive aggression). Result: There were significant differences across family structures, where children from stepmother families were more likely to have lower well-being. Males in general had lower well-being than females. A significant interaction between gender and family structure was observed, where the well-being of males was significantly different across family structures whilst no such effect was observed in females. Conclusion: Results of this study challenged the common belief that children from mono-parental families are lowest in well-being. The distinction between proactive and reactive aggression are further confirmed in this study.