Relationship Between Perceived Family Climate and Adolescent Adjustment

Determined, for each subscale of the Family Environment Scale (FES), whether cutoff scores exist that are related to adolescent distress. TWO epidemiological measures, the Langner Symptom Survey and the General Health Questionnaire, assessed adjustment. We employed a conservative definition of adolescent distress. Analyses revealed that three FES subscales (Cohesion, Conflict, and Active-Recreational Orientation) were related to adolescent distress, regardless of age and sex, and that one FES subscale (Expressiveness) was related to distress in male adolescents but not in female adolescents. We established cutoff scores for each FES subscale found to be related to adolescent distress.