Mental Health

Family Arguments Linked to Poor Grades

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Oct 23, 2014 06:23 PM EDT

Family problems can seriously hinder education, according to a new study on adolescents.

Researchers found that the opposite was also true- that problems at school increase the likelihood of problems at home.

Researchers found that family problems and school problems can have a influence up to two days later.  The study revealed that the kinds of problems that spill over from home and school arguments between teens and their parents, doing poorly on a quiz or test, cutting class, having difficulty understanding coursework, and not finishing schoolwork.

"Spillover processes have been recognized but are not well understood," researchers Adela C. Timmons, a doctoral student, and Gayla Margolin, professor of psychology, both at the University of Southern California, said in a new release. "Evidence of spillover for as long as two days suggests that some teens get caught in a reverberating cycle of negative events."

The findings also revealed teens' negative mood might be a way that problems spill over to other life areas. The study also revealed that teens with mental health problems were significantly more likely to be affected by negative moods.

The latest study involved more than 100 teens between the ages of 13 and 17. Parents were asked to complete questionnaires at the end of each day for two weeks. Researchers noted that participants represented a range of races, ethnicities and income levels.

The findings are published in the journal Child Development.

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