Our family, whose perspective? An investigation of children's family life and health

Abstract

Most quantitative studies of family life and family members' well-being rely on single informants in relation to both. This raises two issues; first, the validity of an individual's perceptions of family life, second, that part of any obtained association may arise because the same person provided information on both. This study addresses these methodological points, plus the substantive issue of whether family structure is related to child health/adjustment independently of family process. It employs reports of family life from 11-year-olds and their parents, and of child health/adjustment obtained via self-report as well as from parents and teachers. Variance in child health/adjustment explained by family structure alone is extremely small. The strongest relationships between family process and child health/adjustment occur in respect of reports from the same informant, although some cross-informant relationships exist. Caution when interpreting studies of family life and well-being which rely on single informants is suggested, and the need for increased understanding of the reasons behind any obtained associations highlighted.