Is it better to maintain a tense and troublesome marriage to help your teenage children develop a decent adolescence? A new study says no.

The study published as a report from the California Center for Population Research at the University of California-Los Angeles reveals that teenagers living with both biological parents tend to do better from their peers living with one parent only if they enjoy a stable and conflict-free environment.

According to the study parental conflicts have some serious side effects on teenagers and may drive them to the brink of dropping out of school, having poor grades, smoking, and binge drinking, using marijuana, having a child at early adolescence or breaking up a relationship very quickly.

Binge drinking among youth in high conflict families is three times more than single-mother families.

The study, looking at 1,963 households with married high-conflict parents and one-parent families, did not consider income and parenting styles as important factors. However the timing and sequence of such young adult transitions were important indicators for success in later life.

Findings also reveal that half of these outcomes are indistinguishable among the two studied groups.