AUTHOR=Shek Daniel T. L. , Xie Qiuzhi , Lin Li 

TITLE=The Impact of Family Intactness on Family Functioning, Parental Control, and Parent–Child Relational Qualities in a Chinese Context

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=Volume 2 - 2014

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2014.00149

DOI=10.3389/fped.2014.00149

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=The current study investigated the differences between intact and non-intact families in family processes, including systematic family functioning, parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities. The participants were 3,328 Secondary One students, with a mean age of 12.59 years, recruited from 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Four validated scales were used to assess family processes. Results showed that adolescents in non-intact families perceived relatively poorer family functioning, lower level of paternal and maternal behavioral control, lower level of paternal psychological control and poorer parent-child relational qualities than did adolescents in intact families. This generally indicated that family processes were poorer in non-intact families, compared with those in intact families. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.