Single-parent Adolescents’ Resilience and Psychological Well-being: The Role of Social Competence and Emotion Regulation

Background: Previous studies have shown that children and adolescents living with single parents are prone to behavioral and psychological difficulties and experience a poor sense of well-being. Also, the period of adolescence is critical for the development of an individual in multiple aspects; it is important to focus on their well-being and associated factors for a better transition into adulthood. Aim: This study aims to find the mediating role of social competence and emotion regulation on the relationship between resilience and psychological well-being among single-parent adolescents. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The study sample was 385 adolescents residing in Kerala (179 boys and 206 girls, mean age = 15.03, SD = 1.45). A total of 185 participants (48.1%) were from families that lost either of their parents to death, and the other 200 participants (51.9%) were from divorced or separated families. Self-reported measures for resilience, social competence, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being were used for data collection. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS and AMOS version 24. Results: The results showed that resilience, the prosocial behavior dimension of social competence, and the cognitive reappraisal dimension of emotion regulation indicate significant positive associations with the psychological well-being of adolescents living in single-parent families. The expressive suppression dimension of emotion regulation and the antisocial behavior dimension of social competence have a substantial negative connection with the psychological well-being of adolescents raised by single parents. The findings suggest that resilience directly predicts psychological well-being; prosocial behavior and cognitive reappraisal partially mediate the association of resilience and psychological well-being. Conclusion: According to our findings in this study, developing social competence skills and adaptive emotion regulation strategies can improve the psychological well-being of adolescents living with single parents. The results have multiple clinical, educational, and community implications.