Abstract

The influence of individual family and parental factors on the development of adolescent emotional and behavioral problems has been studied previously; however, the impact of these factors as a whole on adolescent problems has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the association between family functioning and parental competencies groups from parents’ perspective and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. A sample of 229 adolescents was obtained. FACES-20-ESP, FCS and E2P questionnaires were applied to parents, and DASS-21 and CACSA to adolescents. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify groups of family functioning and parental competencies, and negative binomial regression to associate the groups with adolescent problems. Three family functioning groups were identified: high, moderate and low risk. Adolescents in the low risk group showed a significant reduction in stress symptoms (IRR = 0.785; 95 % CI = 0.63-0.99), antisocial behavior and drug abuse (IRR = 0.484; 95 % CI = 0.31-0.76), violent antisocial behavior (IRR = 0.369; 95 % CI = 0.22-0.61) and abusive behavior with people (IRR = 0.602; 95 % CI = 0.41-0.89) compared to the moderate risk group. No associations were observed between family functioning groups and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents. The LPA made it possible to collect common configurations of family functioning characteristics to identify those adolescents at increased risk and, on that basis, intervene in the family context with the adolescents and their parents. © 2025, Centro Interamericano de Investigaciones Psicologicas y Ciencias Afines. All rights reserved.