Family structure, family affluence and adolescents’ subjective well-being: the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction

Introduction Adolescents’ subjective well-being has been widely studied across different family structures. However, little is known about the role of basic psychological needs in the subjective well-being of adolescents living in different family structures or in residential care. The present study addresses this gap. Methods The sample comprised 5,295 adolescents aged 10 -16 years ( M age =13.20, SD=1.50) living in intact families (65%), single-parent families (21%), stepparent families (12%), or residential care (2%). Participants completed self-report measures of basic psychological need satisfaction at home, subjective well-being (affective and cognitive components), and perceived family affluence. Results Structural equation modeling showed significant indirect associations between family structure and adolescents’ subjective well-being through basic psychological need satisfaction at home, including a sequential indirect association through perceived family affluence and basic psychological need satisfaction. Living in residential care was also indirectly associated with adolescents’ subjective well-being through basic psychological need satisfaction at home, whereas the direct association was not statistically significant. The results show that adolescents living in intact families reported the highest level of basic psychological need satisfaction at home, followed by those in single-parent and stepparent families, while adolescents in residential care reported the lowest level. Discussion The findings provide evidence that the association between family and care contexts and adolescents’ subjective well-being is statistically mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction at home. The results are discussed in light of the value of parental and caregiver support for adolescents’ basic psychological needs in different family types and care.