Youth well-being within the family context : Belief and behavior patterns of Swedish fathers, mothers, and youths

Sammanfattning: Youth well-being is multifaceted, complex, and embedded in sociocultural contexts. In this dissertation, youth well-being is explored within the family context from a developmental niche theoretical perspective. Belief and behavior patterns of Swedish fathers, mothers, and youths are analyzed separately based on self-reported surveys in three empirical studies. All participants are from the national research project KUPOL.In Study 1, fathers’ dominant belief patterns about youth well-being are explored. By studying 201 fathers’ descriptions, four broad and frequent themes were identified. They were cognitive, emotional/psychological, physical, and social well-being. While some sub-themes confirm earlier research findings, other sub-themes that have not received much theoretical attention were also identified. In light of these findings, youth well-being is discussed as a concept that is multidimensional and sociocultural. The study is one of the first of its kind to highlight specifically fathers’ belief patterns concerning youth well-being.In Study 2, Swedish mothers’ belief patterns of youth well-being are analyzed qualitatively, and potential links with gender and education characteristics are studied quantitatively. Based on descriptions from 1074 mothers, five dominant themes were identified, namely academic/cognitive, emotional/psychological, physical, recreational, and social well-being. Theme combinations were also identified from individual reports, with an emphasis on cognitive, emotional, and social well-being domains. The themes were not found to be linked with youths’ gender. However, mothers with higher formal education reported a greater range of belief patterns than mothers with less formal education. These findings support the sparse but existing research on mothers’ views of youth well-being. Considering that some belief patterns were more evident than others, future research should consider to what extent this might be linked with ideas and norms in the cultural and socioeconomic contexts.In Study 3, youth reports of the parent-youth relationship are studied in relation to self-evaluations of well-being. By analyzing information from 1883 youths, it was found that democratic parenting, maternal warmth, and paternal warmth were concurrently linked with youth disclosure in seventh grade, and youth disclosure was in turn associated with academic, emotional, and social well-being in eighth grade. Paternal warmth was also linked to emotional well-being a year later. Gender moderation was identified between youth disclosure and emotional well-being. The study highlights the importance of studying the family context characterized by democracy, warmth, and routine disclosure in relation to youth well-being.Beyond the findings in the three studies, the dissertation contributes to contemporary but limited knowledge on youth well-being. In conclusion, the dissertation shows how youth well-being is conceptualized by parents, what sociodemographic characteristics may be linked with these conceptual beliefs, and how mutuality between parents and youths may facilitate understanding about the complexities of youth well-being within the family context. Theoretical argumentations are proposed for the embeddedness of youth well-being in sociocultural contexts. Based on findings and theoretical underpinnings, the dissertation concludes with a discussion, practical implications, and future directions for theory and research.