Type, number and timing of family structure transitions and their association with internalizing and externalizing problems in early adolescence: evidence from the French EDEN cohort.

Purpose

Family structure transitions affect adolescents' mental health, yet uncertainty remains about their type, frequency, and timing effects. This longitudinal study examines these transitions and their association with early adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems.

Method

Using data from the French EDEN cohort, a Sequence Analysis was performed to cluster participating mothers (n = 1,915) according to changes in family structure over time, defined as transitions between living with the child's biological father, alone, with a new partner or with other adults. Among adolescents with available outcomes at age 11, assessed using the CBCL and SDQ (n = 538), associations of resulting sequence clusters, transition number, and timing of the first transition, with CBCL/SDQ scores were examined by multivariate regression analyses adjusted for relevant child, maternal, and family characteristics at baseline.

Results

Three clusters were identified: Largely stable cohabitation (86.2%), Early cohabitation followed by separation and other transitions (6.4%), and Diverse/evolving family structures (7.4%). Adolescents exposed to the diverse/evolving family structures cluster showed lower CBCL internalizing scores (aMD - 5.76 [-10.76, -0.76]) and lower SDQ emotional problems (aMD - 1.09 [-2.17, -0.02]) compared to those from the largely stable cohabitation cluster. Externalizing scores and total difficulties were comparable across clusters. Neither transition number nor timing was associated with subsequent adolescent mental health.

Conclusions

While the largely stable cohabitation cluster was the most common family structure over time, a minority of children experienced early or multiple family transitions. The analyses revealed limited evidence for consistent associations of family transitions with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems.