Bien-être psychologique de l’adolescent et qualité de la relation conjugale des parents au Togo

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the association between the teenager's psychological well-being and the quality of their parents’ marital relationship. To do this, 160 father-mother-adolescent triads responded to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Partnership Questionnaire in self-reported mode. The results show that the psychological well-being of the teenagers, whether measured by their parents or by the teenagers themselves, is associated with the quality of their parents’ marital relationship. In fact, the results show that 18.2% of the quality of the marital relationship as perceived by mothers (F = 12.82; p ≤ .001) and 31.9% of the quality of the marital relationship as perceived by fathers (F = 25.85; p ≤ .001) are predicted by the teenager's externalized symptoms and prosocial behaviors as assessed by the teenagers themselves. On the one hand, the externalized symptoms, internalized symptoms and prosocial behaviors of teenagers, as assessed by mothers, predict 31.9% of the quality of the marital relationship as assessed by mothers (F = 25.83; p ≤ .005); and on the other hand, teenagers’ externalized symptoms, internalized symptoms and prosocial behaviors, as assessed by fathers, predict 41.3% of the quality of the marital relationship as assessed by fathers (F = 38.30; p ≤ .001). The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the importance of prosocial behavior in teenagers as a protective factor in therapeutic interventions.