Young children’s perceptions of their relationships with family members: Links with family setting, friendships, and adjustment

Abstract

A total of 258 children aged 4-7 years, from 192 families of diverse structure (stepfather, single parent, stepmother/complex stepfamilies, and nonstep families), participated in this study of young children’s perceptions of their family relationships. Children completed a Four Field Map, in which they placed their family members and friends in a series of concentric circles representing the closeness of the relationship. Biological relatedness and family type affected the placement of fathers, but not mothers or siblings; children in stepfather families were more likely to place their stepfathers as “not close”. Links were found between the quality of child-mother and child-sibling relationships and the closeness of children’s friendships. Children’s externalising problems were related to their perceptions of their relationships with fathers and their prosocial behaviour to their closeness with both fathers and mothers.