Influence of Family Structure on Children's Self-Concept Development

Abstract

This research explored the relationships between students' multidimensional selfconcepts as a function of students' family structure. Participants were 815 adolescent and preadolescent children, ages 9 to 19, selected from 17 sites across the four major regions of the United States. Students were classified into five family types (i.e., intact, reconstituted mother-headed, reconstituted father-headed, single parent mother-headed, single parent father-headed). Results indicated that the total self-concepts of students from single-parent families were significantly lower than the global scores of students from intact families. Family self-concepts of students from reconstituted families were significantly lower than students from intact families. This finding highlights the sensitivity of domain-specific selfconcepts.