My master’s thesis delved into the association between family adversities and adolescent mental health in Korea. Using a panel modeling with nationally representative longitudinal data (KCYPS 2010), I analyzed family structure as a time-variant variable.
While writing my thesis, I was heavily influenced on life-course approach, and applied fundamental principles of it: Do the effects of family instability and household income volatility display the same pattern regardless of timing experiencing them on children depression? If not, when is the critical period? Do the effects vary by population subgroups?
The main results of my study are:
- The results aligned with the Instability Hypothesis, suggesting that an unstable family environment contributes to poor mental health outcome for children.
- Contrary to conventional wisdom, the study revealed no significant differences in the mental health outcomes of children raised in stable single-parent homes and stable two-parent family homes.
- Among Korean populations, middle-adolescent adversity appeared to be more detrimental than late-childhood adversity.
- Socioeconomic status moderated the association between family adversity and youth depression.
Garam Yang 