Fluctuating together over time: Within‐dyad life satisfaction dynamics in parent–adolescent dyads

Abstract

Empirical research has consistently documented positive associations between parents' and adolescents' life satisfaction. However, most evidence is based on between‐family designs, leaving within‐dyad dynamic processes poorly understood. Using six annual waves of data from 2243 parent–adolescent dyads participating in the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (ages 14–19), this study examined whether parents' and adolescents' life satisfaction fluctuates together and predicts subsequent changes in one another over time. A random intercept cross‐lagged panel model was used to disentangle stable between‐dyad differences from dynamic within‐dyad associations. Results revealed positive between‐dyad associations, indicating that parents and adolescents with higher average life satisfaction tended to belong to the same dyads. At the within‐dyad level, parents' and adolescents' life satisfaction co‐fluctuated positively across adolescence. In addition, small but reliable bidirectional cross‐lagged effects emerged, such that higher‐than‐usual life satisfaction in one family member predicted modest subsequent increases in the other family member's life satisfaction. These findings suggest that parent–adolescent well‐being reflects not only stable between‐dyad associations but also modest reciprocal influences that unfold over time within families. The study highlights the importance of distinguishing between‐dyad and within‐dyad processes when examining intergenerational well‐being across adolescence.