Latent profile analysis of parent-child triangulation: unveiling the behavioral nexus in adolescents’ internalized and externalized problem behaviors
Abstract
Parent-child triangulation is a pattern of negative parent-child relationships in which children are passively or actively involved in family conflict, which may lead to behavioral problems in adolescents. Latent profile analysis was used to explore the relationship between potential categories of parent-child triangulation and internalized and externalized problem behaviors in a sample of 1361 middle school students. The results showed that: (1) parent-child triangulation can be divided into four potential types according to the extent to which adolescents perceive it: low-profile equilibrium (26.89%), high parentification profile (28.07%), medium-profile difference (30.64%), and high-profile difference (14.40%); (2) adolescents with a low-profile equilibrium and high parentification profile have the lowest level of internalized problem behaviors, but the externalized problem behaviors of the high parentification profile were significantly higher than those of the low profile; the adolescents with a medium profile had a high level of both internalized and externalized problem behaviors, and the adolescents with a high profile had the highest level of both internalized and externalized problem behaviors; (3) the younger the age and the younger the adolescents living in towns, the less likely they were to perceive parent-child triangulation, and the highest level of parentification was found among boarding school students. Moreover, this research extends its scope by considering the biomechanical aspects. This holistic approach may provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms and potentially inform more effective intervention strategies.
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