Adolescents’ Psychological Well-Being in Contemporary Contexts: The Role of the Parental Characteristics and Relationships

Dear Colleagues,

During adolescence, a multi-system transitional process develops involving progression from the immaturity and social dependency of childhood into adult life. The culmination of this process is the fulfillment of developmental potential, personal agency, and social accountability, as well as the integration of self-identity and self-development. It is a challenging transition period of rapid and considerable developmental changes, involving significant transformations in almost every domain of functioning. Significant alterations occur in biological and sexual development, in neurological structure and function, and in cognitive development, with an increasing capacity for abstract thinking and problem solving, as well as in metacognitive and representational capacity.

Alongside these rapid changes, adolescents enter a new social–psychological phase of life, with an increasing reliance on peers for intimacy and support, along with a growing investment in relationships, becoming more autonomous and independent from family. Adolescence is associated with the onset or exacerbation of a number of health-related problems, including depression, eating disorders, substance dependence, risky sexual behavior and sexual abuse, antisocial and delinquent activity, and dropping out of school.

Thus, adolescence represents a transitional phase, characterized by profound changes and key developmental tasks. Many of the stated issues remain subject to qualitative and quantitative research. However, we cannot forget how contemporary contexts and debates can specifically influence these “classical” key developmental tasks. New issues, e.g., identity (homosexuality, sexual minority), life events (COVID-19), migration background, and the use and misuse of media (solitude, hikkomori syndrome, etc.), need to be investigated in terms of establishing their different nuances.

Moreover, psychological studies have demonstrated that the context in which an individual develops is of great importance in understanding and conceptualizing child developmental constructs. Among the numerous factors which may contribute to adolescents’ mental health problems are family contextual factors in adolescent relationships, such as parenting styles, parenting practices, and parenting relationships. Positive, engaged, and sensitive parenting has been uniquely associated with better adolescent emotional regulation, fewer conduct problems, and lower emotional distress. For this reason, parents remain a fundamental source of emotional support for adolescent children. Moreover, adolescents’ modulation of their relationship with their parents represents a profound change and a key developmental task “from the other side”.

Thus, research has highlighted that parental support and high-quality family relationships can provide a supportive environment for offspring maturation and psychosocial well-being during adolescence.

However, different developmental trajectories can be influenced by family transitions and life events, such as migration background, pandemics, and socio-economic disadvantages. At the same time, new family forms (e.g., same-sex families, families formed through assisted reproductive technologies and third-party reproduction, adoptive families, and being part of a sexual minority) represent new contemporary developmental contexts for adolescents that need further investigation.

This Special Issue of Healthcare (MDPI) aims to collect scientific and multidisciplinary contributions about contemporary psychological well-being and the developmental processes faced by adolescents in their relationships with parents or caregivers in modern families. Contributions from a variety of areas, including original qualitative and quantitative articles, reviews, and meta-analyses focusing on the parents–adolescent relationship and correlated constructs and variables in different developmental contexts are encouraged. We also encourage authors to submit contributions focusing on preventive and intervention models in order to promote well-being and mental health for adolescents and their parents.

This Special Issue will focus on the current state of knowledge in terms of the links (a) between attachment and other family factors, and (b) between attachment, risk, and well-being in adolescence. New research papers, reviews, and methodological papers are welcome.

Prof. Adriana Lis
Guest Editor

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• adolescence
• adolescents and media
• adolescents self-identity
• parent–child relationship
• psychological well-being
• family processes
• new family forms
• migration background
• sexual minorities