If you think that the lives of adolescents at home and at school are quite separate, think again as a study has discovered that conflicts at home spill over to school and vice versa.
Negative mood and psychological symptoms are important factors in the process, found the study by researchers at the University of Southern California in the US.
The problems that spill over from home and school include arguments between teens and their parents, faring poorly in a quiz or test, missing classes, having difficulty understanding course work.
"Spillover processes have been recognized but are not well understood," said Adela C. Timmons, professor of psychology at the University of Southern California.
"Evidence of spillover for as long as two days suggests that some teens get caught in a reverberating cycle of negative events," added Adela.
For the study, over hundred 13- to 17-year-olds and their parents were provided with questionnaires at the end of each day for a fortnight.
All three family members reported on family conflict during the day, and teenagers also reported on their mood and their school experiences on the same day.
Teenagers' negative mood might be a medium through which problems are transmitted across areas like failing a test, that could account for rise in irritability, which in turn could lead to conflict with parents, noted the study.
The findings of this study can inform interventions to help teens better handle their negative moods and to improve teens' relationships with family as well as how they do academically, concluded the study.
The study appears in the journal Child Development.
