Adolescence is marked by profound physical, emotional, psychological, and interpersonal changes that have long-lasting implications for mental health. During its early stages, the family system is viewed as a key contextual factor that can either support or hinder the psychological well-being of young adolescents. In this study, we examined whether the effectiveness of family functioning and its aspects predict young adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. A total of 181 upper elementary school students participated in the study. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the impact of family functioning on young adolescents’ behavioral problems can be attributed to two main variables: dysfunctions in problem solving predicted more internalizing symptoms while ineffective family communication predicted more externalizing symptoms. These findings not only justify the use of family-intervention models for young adolescents’ behavioral problems but also highlight the importance of tailoring interventions according to the specific type of problem.
Dovijanić et al. (2025) studied this question.