Key findings and implications

Previous research has established that the relationship parents have with each other can act as a positive or negative influence on their children’s later relationships. However, these findings may be subject to recall bias since a lot of the previous research has relied on children’s recall of the nature of their parents’ relationship. In this study, we add to the understanding of this issue by using longitudinal data from both parents and children.

In this study, most children (89%) had both biological parents living together when they were aged 4–9 years. At this stage of the children’s lives, most of the primary parents (usually the biological mother) reported being happy in their relationship with their partner and of having low levels of verbal conflict. However, this was not the case for all primary parents.

Our study shows that children whose primary parent is partnered and happy in the relationship tend to have better friendships in adolescence. They have:

• fewer problems getting along with their peers
• stronger, more trusting friendships with better communication.

In contrast, children whose primary parent is partnered and has a lot of conflict in the relationship tend to struggle more in their peer relationships in adolescence. They have:

• more problems getting along with their peers
• weaker, less trusting friendships with poorer communication.

These findings were true for both young males and young females. These findings highlight the need for early intervention and prevention efforts to:

• empower parents and caregivers with the skills, resources and capabilities they need to build healthy relationships
• support adolescents to build positive peer relationships, where they have been exposed to parent relationship unhappiness or conflict.

What do we already know?

Forming social relationships with peers is an important aspect of the transition from childhood to adolescence. In the early years, family influences are at the centre of young children’s lives. However, as young people enter adolescence, peer relationships become more important to young people’s social and emotional development as they begin to develop independence from their parents (Mitic et al., 2021; Somerville, 2013).

Positive peer relationships in adolescence are strongly associated with improved mental health outcomes (Truong & Joshi, 2024) and may protect the mental health of young people who have experienced bullying (van Harmelen et al., 2016) Young people who experience positive peer relationships in adolescence are less likely to experience loneliness in early adulthood (Chiao et al., 2022). Positive peer relationships in adolescence are also associated with motivation and engagement in learning (Shao et al., 2024) and academic achievement (Gallardo et al., 2016). Supportive relationships with peers can reduce the likelihood of experiencing emotional and sexual abuse within intimate partner relationships in older adolescence (O’Donnell et al., 2023) and, for young women, of experiencing sexual harassment (Swami et al., 2024).

Conversely, a lack of positive peer relationships in adolescence is associated with poor mental health outcomes and risk-taking behaviour such as smoking, drug use, alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviour (Abbott-Chapman et al., 2008; Mitic et al., 2021).

Childhood experiences related to parenting styles and the quality of the relationship between parents and children can influence the development of peer relationships in adolescence (Mitic et al., 2021; Pallini et al., 2014). Previous research has investigated ways that relationships between parents (interparental relationships) influence children’s social relationships. Adolescents who witness interparental violence and aggressive behaviour during childhood are more likely to be physically aggressive towards friends (Moretti et al., 2006; van Eldik et al., 2020). Young people who witness interparental verbal and physical aggression during adolescence are more likely to show verbal and physical aggression towards romantic partners in early adulthood (Cui et al., 2010).

On the other hand, children who experience higher levels of parental relationship happiness have better behavioural outcomes, including social skills (Huang et al., 2024). Some research has indicated that interparental relationships may have different effects for male and female children (Conica et al., 2023; Moretti et al., 2006).

However, there are gaps in the previous research. Much of it is based on data that relied on adolescents or young adults recalling the nature of their parents’ relationship when they were children, rather than using data reported by the parents. This approach can increase the likelihood of recall bias. Research using a longitudinal cohort study that includes data reported by parents and by young people is needed to understand how parental relationship dynamics affect young people’s social relationship formation.

How will this research build the evidence base?

Understanding the influence of interparental relationships in the formation of healthy peer relationships has implications for health and social policy, as healthy, respectful peer relationships may reduce the risk of gender-based violence (Gleeson et al., 2015) and have a positive, protective effect on health. Developing positive, equal and respectful relationships between people is a key prevention objective of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children (Department of Social Services, 2022).

This study aims to achieve a better understanding of how interparental relationship qualities during childhood, such as happiness and verbal conflict, affect the formation of healthy friendships in adolescence. Specifically, this study examines whether the levels of parent relationship happiness and verbal conflict experienced in childhood is associated with levels of peer trust, communication and problems in adolescence. This will help to build an evidence base to inform policy and program development supporting positive peer relationship formation.

Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) has collected data on family and relationships throughout the course of the study, since 2004, from both the study child and the parents’ perspectives. This provides a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of the association between early interparental relationships and adolescents’ peer relationships, addressing the gaps, identified above, in previous research.

The ‘Data in focus’ section provides further details on the measures used in this study and the statistical methods used to analyse the data. Details on other measures are provided in the supplementary materials.

Data in focus

Study sample

This snapshot uses data from the LSAC Kinder (K) cohort and their parents or guardians at Waves 1–3 and 5–7. This snapshot uses data from the young people in Waves 5, 6 and 7 who reported on their experiences with peer relationships when they were aged 12–13 years in 2012, 14–15 years in 2014, and 16–17 years in 2016. This study also uses data gathered from primary parents who were living with a partner in Waves 1, 2 and 3, when the young people were aged 4–5 years in 2004, 6–7 years in 2006, and 8–9 years in 2008. Characteristics of the sample used in this study are provided in the supplementary materials Table S2.

Adolescent self-reported measures

This analysis uses 3 separate indicators of adolescent peer relationship quality: peer trust, peer communication and peer problems. These indicators were collected at Waves 5, 6 and 7, when the young people were aged 12–13, 14–15 and 16–17 years.

Peer trust and communication

Young people were asked about their relationships with their friends. They were presented with a series of statements about the level of mutual trust they experienced within their relationships with friends.

• My friends listen to what I say.
• I feel my friends are good friends.
• I trust my friends.
• My friends respect my feelings.

Young people were also presented with statements about the extent and quality of the communication within their relationships with friends.

• My friends sense when I’m upset about something.
• My friends encourage me to talk about my difficulties.
• I tell my friends about my problems and troubles.
• If my friends know something is bothering me, they ask me about it.

For each statement, there were 5 response options, coded as 1 = almost always true, 2 = often true, 3 = sometimes true, 4 = seldom true and 5 = almost never true.

The young people’s responses to the statements were reverse-coded. Scores for peer trust and peer communication were derived by averaging the responses to the 4 statements within each scale. Higher scores indicated higher levels of trust and communication within their relationships with friends.

Peer problems

Young people were also asked about problems they had with their friends and other young people. They were presented with a series of statements about relationships with peers and asked to consider how true these statements were for them over the last 6 months.

• I would rather be alone than with people of my own age.
• I have one good friend or more.
• Other people my own age generally like me.
• Other children or young people pick on me or bully me.
• I get on better with adults than people my age.

The response options included 1 = not true, 2 = somewhat true and 3 = certainly true.

Responses to statements ‘I have one good friend or more’ and ‘Other people my own age generally like me’ were reverse-coded. The score for peer problems was calculated by averaging the responses to the 5 statements. Higher scores indicated higher levels of problems within their peer relationships.

Parent self-reported measures

In addition to the outcome measures reported by young people, this study includes interparental relationship happiness and conflict reported by the primary parent when the young people were children, at ages 4–5 years, 6–7 years and 8–9 years (Waves 1, 2 and 3).

Questions about relationship quality were only asked of primary parents if they were currently cohabiting with a partner. Single, unpartnered parents, parents who had a partner they did not live with and parents who had separated from a partner and had not entered into another cohabiting partnership were not asked these questions.

Interparental relationship happiness

At each survey wave, primary parents who were currently living with a partner (irrespective of marital status) were asked about their relationships. They were asked ‘Which best describes the degree of happiness, all things considered, in your relationship?’ There were 7 response options, which were coded as 1 = extremely unhappy, 2 = fairly unhappy, 3 = a little unhappy, 4 = happy, 5 = very happy, 6 = extremely happy and 7 = perfectly happy.

Parental relationship happiness scores during childhood (ages 4–9 years) were only calculated for primary parents who responded to the happiness question in at least 2 of these 3 survey time points. The happiness score was calculated by averaging the responses across the 2 or 3 survey time points. Higher scores indicated a higher level of relationship happiness.

Interparental relationship conflict

At each survey wave, parents were also asked about verbal conflict with their romantic partners, with the following 4 questions:

• How often do you and your partner disagree about basic child-rearing issues?
• How often is your conversation awkward or stressful?
• How often do you argue?
• How often is there anger or hostility between you?

There were 5 response options, which were coded as 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often and 5 = always. To get a measurement of how much conflict was in the relationship, the responses to the 4 questions were averaged.

Parental relationship conflict scores during childhood (age 4–9 years) were only calculated for primary parents who responded to the 4 questions in at least 2 of the 3 survey time points. The average amount of conflict in childhood was calculated by averaging the conflict measure across the 2 or 3 survey time points. Higher scores indicated a higher level of relationship conflict.

Analysis

We used mean and standard deviation to describe the level of peer trust, peer communication and peer problems experienced by young people and the level of parent relationship happiness and conflict.

The average scores for each measurement scale were standardised by subtracting the overall average scores from the individual respondent scores and dividing by the standard deviation. The standardised scores were used for the regression analysis. We used multilevel linear regression to investigate the association between the quality of peer relationships that young people developed in adolescence (as the dependent variable) and the quality of parents’ relationships when the young people were aged 4–9 years (as an independent variable) over 3 time points (as an independent variable), adjusting for confounding factors (socio-economic position, remoteness, sibling status, family structure and sex of the young person). We analysed each of the dependent variables (peer trust, communication and problems) separately for each of the main independent variables (parent relationship happiness and conflict). We also analysed the data separately by gender of the young person. We then used the predicted model to estimate marginal effects. Descriptions of all the variables included in the model are provided in the supplementary materials.

Friendships in adolescence

Across adolescence, most young people reported having at least one good friend. At ages 12–13 and 14–15 years, 9 in 10 young people reported having at least one good friend, though this decreased to 8 in 10 young people at age 16–17 years.

The nature of friendships was similar across the adolescent years, at 12–13, 14–15 and 16–17 years (see supplementary materials Table S3). Across adolescence, close to 8 in 10 young people had more trusting friendships with friends, with an average peer trust score of 4 or greater. Young women (79%) were slightly more likely than young men (74%) to have more trusting relationships.

In contrast, only around half of young people had high levels of communication with friends, with an average peer communication score of 4 or greater. Young women (60%) were more likely than young men (33%) to have better communication.

Across adolescence, 19 in 20 young people had an average peer problem score of less than 2, indicating few problems with friends and peers. Proportions were similar for young men and young women.

The parents’ relationship during childhood

In the analytical sample used here, the same person was the primary parent at all 3 survey waves for the majority (95%) of the sample. At each of Waves 1, 2 and 3, more than 99% of primary parents were the biological parent of the young person and at least 96% of primary parents were female.

Most primary parents reported being happy in their relationship when the young person was a child. Across childhood (at ages 4–5, 6–7 and 8–9 years), around 9 in 10 (91%) primary parents had an average relationship happiness score of 4 or greater, indicating that they were at least happy in their relationship.

Similarly, across childhood, around 9 in 10 primary parents (92%) had an average relationship verbal conflict score of 3 or less, indicating that they sometimes, rarely or never experienced relationship conflict.

Adolescents whose parents were happier in their relationship had better relationships with friends

Young people whose primary parent was happier in their relationship when they were children had better relationships with their friends when they were adolescents. Specifically, as parental relationship happiness levels increased, young people were more likely to have higher levels of trust (adjusted coefficient 0.063, 95% CI 0.028–0.098) and communication (adjusted coefficient 0.060, 95% CI 0.025–0.094) within their friendships across adolescence. These results were similar for young men and young women (see supplementary materials Tables S4 and S5).

Figure 1: Association between interparental happiness during childhood and peer trust in adolescence

Figure 2: Association between interparental happiness during childhood and peer communication in adolescence

Young people whose primary parent was happier in their relationship when they were children were also less likely to have problems within their peer relationships as adolescents. Specifically, as parental happiness levels increased, young people were less likely to experience problems in their relationships with friends and others their own age (adjusted coefficient -0.105, 95% CI -0.140 – -0.070). These results were similar for young men and young women (see supplementary materials Table S6).

Figure 3: Association between interparental happiness during childhood and peer problems in adolescence

Adolescents whose parents had less relationship conflict had better relationships with friends

Young people whose primary parent had less conflict in their relationship when they were children had better relationships with their friends in adolescence. However, as levels of conflict increased, young people were more likely to have lower levels of trust (adjusted coefficient -0.049, 95% CI -0.084 – -0.014) and communication (adjusted coefficient -0.034, 95% CI -0.069 – -0.001) within their friendships. These results were similar for young men and young women (see supplementary materials Tables S7 and S8).

Figure 4: Association between interparental conflict during childhood and peer trust in adolescence

Figure 5: Association between interparental conflict during childhood and peer communication in adolescence

Young people whose primary parent had more conflict in their relationship when they were children were more likely to have problems within their peer relationships as adolescents. Specifically, as parental conflict levels increased, young people were more likely to experience problems in their relationships with friends and others their own age (adjusted coefficient 0.080, 95% CI 0.045–0.115). These results were similar for young men and young women (see supplementary materials Table S9).

Figure 6: Association between interparental conflict during childhood and peer problems in adolescence

Relevance for policy and practice

Positive friendships and other peer relationships in adolescence are associated with a range of positive outcomes, including better mental health, higher academic achievement, less loneliness and a lower likelihood of experiencing some types of abuse within intimate partner relationships.

This study found that adolescents whose primary parent was happier and had less conflict in their couple relationship during childhood had better relationships with their friends and other people their age. This highlights a need for early intervention to empower parents and caregivers with the skills, resources and capabilities they need to build healthy relationships.

This study’s finding that factors in the family environment influence young people’s social development is consistent with previous research. However, factors other than those in the family environment also influence the development of peer relationships in adolescence, including factors in the community, school and peer environment as well as individual characteristics (Mitic et al., 2021). Considering the importance of peer relationships and their impact on multiple outcomes, prevention efforts should be made to support children and adolescents who have been exposed to parent relationship unhappiness or conflict to build positive relationships.

Potential of Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)

This study explored the association between parent relationships and the peer relationships of their children. The research presented here focused on the experiences of families where the primary parent was cohabiting with a partner while their child was aged 4–9 years. More research is needed to understand how separation and subsequent co-parenting relationships influence the peer relationships that young people develop in adolescence.

Many related and important questions could be investigated with current and future waves of LSAC, including:

• Among young people who have experienced parental separation, does the quality of the co-parenting relationship influence peer relationship development in adolescence?
• Is the quality of the primary parent’s couple relationship in childhood or adolescence associated with young people’s romantic relationship formation in early adulthood?
• Are healthy peer relationships in adolescence associated with healthy romantic relationships in early adulthood?

About Growing Up in Australia

Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) is an ongoing, nationally representative study that follows the lives of children and their families from all over Australia. In 2004, around 5,000 0–1 year olds (B cohort) and 5,000 4–5 year olds (K cohort) and their families were recruited and have been surveyed every 2 years since. With extensive information on children’s physical, socio-emotional, cognitive and behavioural, development and linked biomarkers, education, health and welfare data, the study has been a unique resource providing evidence for policy makers to identify opportunities for early intervention and prevention strategies.

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Further details

For technical details of this research, including descriptions of measures, detailed results and bibliography. see the supplementary materials.