INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY FACTORS AND ADOLESCENT WELL-BEING: A MULTI-LEVEL ANALYSIS

What are the effects of positive and negative experiences in both the vocational and relationship careers of youngsters and their parents on adolescent well-being. Data from the Dutch national panel study USAD (Utrecht Study of Adolescent Development) were used; this is a study of developmental processes as they occur in the life course of young people during the 1990s. A quarter of the total variance of the variable adolescent well-being is found at family level. Individual vocational and relationship factors appear to have significant long-term effects on adolescent well-being. The same holds true for relationship problems in the family, especially for girls. Vocational family factors and parents' personal characteristics are not important as predictors of adolescent well-being.