This study aimed to investigate the relationship between family-related adversities and physical fighting in adolescents, and to determine whether hopelessness serves as a mediating factor. The research sample included 3,712 Slovak adolescents (mean age = 13.9 years, 50.7% female). Participants completed questionnaires regarding their experiences of family-related adversities, involvement in physical fights over the past 12 months, and the Hopelessness Questionnaire. First, associations between overall family adversity and fighting, as well as associations for each specific type of family-related adversity, were analyzed using linear regression models. Second, mediation effects were examined through the a*b product method with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals. Adolescents reporting at least one family adversity engaged in physical fighting more frequently. Likewise, each specific adversity (parental death, parental substance abuse, parental conflicts/physical fights, divorce) was linked to higher fighting frequency. Hopelessness was found to mediate the relationship between all types of family-related adversity and fighting. These findings highlight the importance of interventions for adolescents facing family adversities, with particular focus on coping strategies to reduce hopelessness.
