The Effects of Parent-Adolescent Communication and Friendship Quality on Adolescent Happiness

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the direct effects of parent-adolescent communication and its indirect effects through adolescent friendship quality on happiness among both middle and high school students. Methods: Participants in this study were 1,126 adolescents (667 middle school students and 459 high school students) in Seoul and Gyoung-gi Do. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires for adolescents, which included measures of parent-adolescent communication, friendship quality and happiness. Data were analyzed by t-tests, correlations, and SEM using SPSS 22.0 and Mplus 6.0. Results: For middle school students, father-adolescent communication had direct and indirect effects on happiness. However, mother-adolescent communication did not directly or indirectly affect adolescent happiness. Specifically, only father-adolescent communication had an significant indirect effect through friendship quality on adolescent happiness. For high school students, father-adolescent communication had direct effects on happiness, while mother-adolescent communication had significant indirect effects on adolescent happiness via friendship quality. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of parent-adolescent communication and friendship quality in predicting adolescent happiness with differences in direct and indirect paths between middle and high school students. These findings emphasize the role of parent-adolescent communication and friendship quality in developing programs to improve the happiness of adolescents.