Family Functioning and Adolescent Behavior Problems: A Moderated Mediation Model of Caregiver Depression and Neighborhood Collective Efficacy

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of early adolescents’ ecological systems on their behavior problems later in middle adolescence. Specifically, this study tested: (1) whether caregiver depression mediated the relationship between family functioning and behavior problems (internalizing problems or externalizing problems) and (2) how those mediating effects vary depending on levels of neighborhood collective efficacy. The sample was drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, consisting of 450 participants for which complete data were available at ages 12, 14, and 16. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS Macro 3.4. with the regression bootstrapping method. The results showed that caregiver depression significantly mediated the relationship between family functioning and adolescents’ behavioral problems for both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, in the two moderated mediation models, the indirect effect of family functioning on internalizing problems through caregiver depression was significantly different based on levels of neighborhood collective efficacy, but it was not significantly different for externalizing problems. Specifically, the indirect effect of family functioning on internalizing problems was greater for adolescents living in neighborhoods with lower levels of collective efficacy than those in neighborhoods with moderate and high levels of collective efficacy. The findings on ecological system risk and protective factors provide important implications for early interventions to mitigate behavioral problems among adolescents.