Understanding youth well-being in the family context: the role of democracy, warmth, and disclosure

Abstract

This study applies a nonexperimental quantitative design to investigate youth well-being within the family context. Structural equation model analyses of information from 1883 seventh grade youths revealed: Democratic parenting (β = 0.43, p < .001), maternal warmth (β = 0.23, p < .001), and paternal warmth (β = 0.43, p < .05) were positively associated with youth disclosure, which in turn was associated with academic (β = 0.44, p < .001), emotional (β = 0.13, p < .05), and social (β = 0.43, p < .001) well-being the following year; paternal warmth and emotional well-being were directly linked (β = 0.16, p < .01); and youth disclosure and emotional well-being were associated stronger for girls (β = 0.33, p < .001) compared to boys (β = 0.11, p > .05). Future well-being research should consider parent–youth relationships, and youths could be involved in family policy-making and fostering supportive family environments.