Family Conflict and Adolescent Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Emotional Security
Keywords:
Adolescent anxiety, Family conflict, Emotional securityAbstract
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between family conflict and adolescent anxiety, with a specific focus on the mediating role of emotional security among adolescents in Turkey. A descriptive correlational design was employed involving a sample of 350 adolescents aged 13–18, selected through stratified random sampling based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Standardized instruments were used to measure the variables: the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) for family conflict, the Security in the Interparental Subsystem (SIS) scale for emotional security, and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) for anxiety. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation in SPSS-27 and structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS-21 to evaluate direct, indirect, and total path effects and to test model fit. Pearson correlation results indicated significant relationships among all three variables: family conflict was positively correlated with adolescent anxiety (r = .47, p < .001) and negatively with emotional security (r = –.52, p < .001), while emotional security was negatively correlated with anxiety (r = –.49, p < .001). The SEM model showed good fit indices (χ² = 132.68, df = 68, χ²/df = 1.95, RMSEA = 0.049, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95). Emotional security significantly mediated the relationship between family conflict and adolescent anxiety (β_indirect = .22, p < .001), indicating partial mediation. The total standardized effect of family conflict on anxiety was β = .51 (p < .001). The findings suggest that emotional security serves as a key psychological mechanism linking family conflict to anxiety in adolescents. Strengthening emotional security through family-based interventions may be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms and buffering the negative effects of conflict in family systems.
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