Although self-reports from individual family members regarding their relationship patterns have been used to assess dysfunctional family processes, researchers often rely upon one family member as the source of such information. A study was undertaken to examine the relationship between mothers', fathers', adolescents', and observers' ratings of…

The relationship of juvenile delinquency and father absence to family problem-solving communication was investigated using an observational method. In the results, delinquency was associated with lower rates of maternal problem solving, and father absence was associated with higher rates of maternal and adolescent problem solving. (KH)