Perceptions Of Family Environment Research Articles

Relationships among life stress, perceived family environment, and the psychological distress of spina bifida adolescents.

Fifty-three teen-agers with spina bifida participated in a mail survey and completed measures of recent life events, perceived family environment, and psychological distress. Low levels of perceived family conflict and control served as life stress buffers in the prediction of distress, whereas a high level of perceived independence served as a life stress exacerbator. These interaction effects differ from those obtained for a normal sample of adolescents in the lone previous study (Burt, Cohen, & Bjorck, 1988) that reported comparable analyses. The results suggest that the process by which family environments moderate stress adjustment differs for able-bodied vs. spina bifida adolescents.

FAMILY ISSUES IN PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGY

Contents: Preface. M.C. Roberts, J.L. Wallander, Family Issues in Pediatric Psychology: An Overview. Part I: Individual Disorders. A.E. Kazak, A.T. Meadows, Families of Young Adolescents Who Have Survived Cancer: Social-Emotional Adjustment, Adaptability, and Social Support. R.L. Murch, L.H. Cohen, Relationships Among Life Stress, Perceived Family Environment, and the Psychological Distress of Spina Bifida Adolescents. L.S. Walker, J.W. Greene, Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain and Their Parents: More Somatic Complaints, Anxiety, and Depression than Other Patient Families? D. Drotar, D. Eckerle, The Family Environment in Nonorganic Failure to Thrive: A Controlled Study. P.J. Mason, R.A. Olson, J.G. Myers, H.C. Huszti, M. Kenning, AIDS and Hemophilia: Implications for Interventions with Families. J.M. Chaney, L. Peterson, Family Variables and Disease Management in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Part II: Noncategorical Disorders. J.L. Wallander, J.W. Varni, L. Babani, H.T. Banis, K.T. Wilcox, Family Resources as Resistance Factors for Psychological Maladjustment in Chronically Ill and Handicapped Children. J.L. Wallander, J.W. Varni, L. Babani, C.B. DeHaan, K.T. Wilcox, H.T. Banis, The Social Environment and the Adaptation of Mothers of Physically Handicapped Children. L.L. Dyson, Adjustment of Siblings of Handicapped Children: A Comparison. L.S. Walker, J.A. Ortiz-Valdes, J.R. Newbrough, The Role of Maternal Employment and Depression in the Psychological Adjustment of Chronically Ill, Mentally Retarded, and Well Children. Part III: Intervention Programs and Issues. W. Satin, A.M. La Greca, M.Z. Zigo, J.S. Skyler, Diabetes in Adolescence: Effects of Multifamily Group Intervention and Parent Simulation of Diabetes. T.L. Patterson, J.F. Sallis, P.R. Nader, R.M. Kaplan, J.W. Rupp, C.J. Atkins, K.L. Senn, Familial Similarities of Changes in Cognitive, Behavioral, and Physiological Variables in a Cardiovascular Health Promotion Program. J.W. Hatcher, A.J. Richtsmeier, S. Westin, Anxiety in Parents Seeking Pediatric Care. Part IV: A Theoretical Perspective. B.H. Fiese, A.J. Sameroff, Family Context in Pediatric Psychology: A Transactional Perspective.

A comparison of family functioning when mothers have chronic pain

Multiple aspects of family functioning were assessed when mothers experienced either chronic pain, a chronic illness (diabetes), or no illness. Mothers' and fathers' self-report measures of depression, anxiety and family environment were collected. Children's self-report measures of depression and anxiety, as well as information about their overall adjustment, were collected. Family communication patterns were also assessed. Families with a mother who had chronic pain had poorer perceived family environments and higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to the other two groups of families. Children from chronic pain families also appeared to be adversely affected. The data suggest that level of disability appeared more salient than the type of chronic illness. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of the fact that mothers with chronic pain in the present sample reported relatively mild disability and were not actively seeking treatment for their condition.

Perceptions of family environments, educational and occupational outcomes: social-status differences.

Regression surface analysis was used to examine relations between various family environment measures and young adults' educational and occupational outcomes. Data were collected from 330 Australians as part of a 10-year longitudinal study. The regression models included terms to account for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear relationships. In general, the analysis suggests the proposition that parents' aspirations and adolescents' perceptions of parents' support for learning have differential linear and curvilinear associations with the educational and occupational outcomes of young adults from different social-status groups.

Perceived family environment as a moderator of young adolescents' life stress adjustment.

A longitudinal design was employed to test the main and stress-moderating effects of young adolescents' perceived family environment (Family Environment Scales; FES; Moos & Moos, 1981) on their depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. This study was part of a larger longitudinal project (L. Cohen, Burt, & Bjorck, 1987) that demonstrated the significant cross-sectional effects of the young adolescents' controllable and uncontrollable negative events, and the significant longitudinal effects of the former. The present cross-sectional analyses demonstrated the hypothesized main effects of the FES scores; families perceived as cohesive, organized, and expressive were related to positive psychological functioning, whereas families perceived as conflict-ridden and controlling were related to negative functioning. However, in general these effects were nonsignificant in the longitudinal analyses. Although there were a number of significant Negative Events x FES interactions, in no instance did the pattern support the hypothesized stress-buffering role of positive family climate.

Coping strategies, self-perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children.

Coping strategies, self-perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children.

Coping strategies, self-perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children.

Coping strategies, self-perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children.

Sibling and environmental correlates of adolescents' perceptions of family environments: ethnic group differences.

Abstract Hierarchical regression analyses and response surfaces were used in an investigation of relationships between sibling variables and adolescents’ perceptions of their family environments, after the impact on the perceptions of earlier family measures was taken into account. The analyses involved Australian adolescents and included 260 Anglo‐Australian, 120 Greek, and 90 Southern Italian families. Regression models included terms to test for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear associations between the sibling and family environment variables. The analysis suggested the propositions that: (a) parents from different ethnic groups create different learning environments for their children and that there are ethnic‐group variations in how children perceive their family environments, (b) there are ethnic‐group variations in relationships between sibling variables and adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ support for learning, and (c) within ethnic groups the relationships between sibling v...

Family environment as perceived by children with a chronically ill parent

Thirty-three index children, aged 12–18 years, with a non-hospitalized multiple sclerotic patient and 33 control subjects were administered the Family Environment Scale [1], a scale that measures perception of family environment on the dimensions of family relationships, personal growth, and system maintenance. Subjects in the index group were each matched with a control subject on the basis of sex, age, number of siblings in the family, and socioeconomic status. Results indicated that in comparison with control group families, index group families were higher on the conflict subscale and lower on cohesion, intellectual-cultural orientation, moral-religious emphasis, and organization subscales. These findings are explained using a family systems analysis. The potential assets of utilizing a family systems orientation to explain these findings and the heuristic values of this framework are highlighted.

A communication program for enhancing interaction in families with a hearing-impaired child.

A communication program for families with a hearing-impaired child (FWHIC) was developed and used with four families. A matched comparison group participated in loosely structured discussions. The program activities integrated positive communicative dimensions with issues related to this population. Findings indicate that the FWHIC program did have beneficial effects for parents and/or children. Some major findings include improved awareness skills, the ability to label feelings and skills, increased perceptions of family cohesiveness, and decreased perceptions of family conflict. The compared families participating in loosely structured discussions actually perceived some deterioration in their perceptions of family environment and a decrease in their awareness and social interaction skills. A follow-up analysis, 3 to 4 weeks following the program, indicated several long-term effects, although the majority of children and families perceived no changes.

Perceived Marital and Family Environment of Opiate Addicts

Addicts have described their family environment as providing inadequate modeling of social and role skills, while having high expectations for achievement. These self-reports have not been compared to either the reports of other family members or observer ratings of addict families. Observer ratings are important because addicts have also described their families as having significantly less conflict than normative families. We administered the Moos Family Environment Scale (FES) to 73 addicts and found that our addicts' scores supported the previous descriptions of addicts' perceived family environment. Addicts' perceived family environment differed from normative samples. They perceived their family as providing little preparation for social roles, while expecting high achievement. When addicts' wives or mothers completed the FES (n = 27), they disagreed with the addicts' perceptions of having high expectations for achievement in the marriage or family. Relative to their mothers and wives, the addicts seemed to be insensitive to the lack of effective organization and limit setting in either their family of origin or marriage. However, the mothers and wives agreed with the addicts in reporting low levels of conflict, but behavioral ratings of the married addicts and their wives (n = 16) showed a poor correlation between the observed behavior and the couples' perceptions. Furthermore, the level of conflict appeared to be above rather than below normative samples. Thus, addicts' perceptions of their family environment demonstrated significant discrepancies from the perceptions of their wives and mothers and from ratings of their marital behavior.

The Relationship of Adolescents' Perceptions of Family Environments to Earlier Measures of Environmental Characteristics and Academic Achievement

The study was a follow-up investigation of research previously reported in this journal. Data were collected from 16-year-old Australians (266 females, 250 males) to examine relationships between their perceptions of family learning environments and measures of social status, parental perception of family environment, and academic achievement, that had been assessed five years earlier. Regression surfaces were constructed from hierarchical models that examined possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear relationships among the variables. The findings indicated that the perceived family learning environments had negligible to moderate associations with the predictor measures. By constructing response surfaces, however, the study suggested the possible complexity of relationships of adolescents' perceptions of environments to earlier environmental and cognitive variables. Implications for the potential validity of self-report measures of student perception of parent support for learning relative to a criterion of academic attainment are discussed briefly.

Perceptions of family environment among psychiatric patients and their wives.

This study compared the perceived family environments of former psychiatric inpatients with thought, affective, and substance abuse disorders to those of normative comparison couples using the Family Environment Scale. Family environment was assessed among patients and wives separately at hospital discharge and at three- and twelve-month follow-ups. Patients and their wives were consistently more incongruent in their perceptions of their shared environment than normative couples. In addition, low-functioning patient couples reported less family cohesion, expressiveness, and recreational emphasis than their higher functioning counterparts; the high-functioning patient couples more closely resembled the norm. The paper discusses possible relationships between positive family contact and better patient functioning.

A Biometrical Analysis of Perceptions of Family Environment: A Study of Twin and Singleton Sibling Kinships

A Biometrical Analysis of Perceptions of Family Environment: A Study of Twin and Singleton Sibling Kinships

A Biometrical Analysis of Perceptions of Family Environment: A Study of Twin and Singleton Sibling Kinships

Biometrical genetic analysis was applied to sibling and twin kinship data on 2 dimensions of perceived home environment. Correlations on 1 dimension, Restrictiveness-Permissiveness, were equal and significant for all kinships: MZ twins, DZ twins, same-sex siblings, and opposite-sex siblings significant for all 4 kinships: MZ twins, DZ twins, same-sex siblings, and opposite-sex siblings (r greater than .40). An E2-E1 biometrical model fitted Restrictiveness-Permissiveness, implying that treatments common to siblings create agreement about perceived environment. As intrapair differences were the same for all 4 kinships under this model, the equal environments assumption of the twin method was supported. In contrast, the Acceptance-Rejection dimension fitted a G-E1 model that makes the assumption that sibling similarity is the result of genetic factors and postulates an absence of shared environmental influences. This finding suggests that this aspect of home environment may depend as much on the child's inherited traits as on actual treatments and is in accord with the genetic analysis of individual traits in that developmentally effective environmental factors do not appear to be common to siblings.

Perceived family environments among ethnic groups of compulsive heroin users.

Predictions that both personality and environmental factors are implicated in heroin addiction were explored with personality measures operationalized by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and by family social climate measures operationalized by the Family Environment Scales (Moos et al. , 1974). Hypotheses were supported. Heroin addicts differed appreciably in personality from normative data (Psychopathic deviate, the highest clinical scale; Family Problems, the highest content scale). Heroin users deviated significantly from normative samples in retrospective views of both their past and present family environments (significantly higher Achievement Orientation, Moral-Religious Emphasis, and Organization, contrasted by significantly lower Intellectual-Cultural and Active Recreational Orientations). White heroin users ( n = 39) evidenced greater deviance in both personality and family environment than black heroin users ( n = 63). Comparisons with Mexican-American heroin users, white polydrug users, and nondrug-abusing comparison groups indicated that, for many addicts, compulsive heroin use is associated with social nonconformity in personality that may be a reaction against family demands for achievement without sufficient modeling of instrumental role skills.

Relationships among Maternal Attitudes, Perceived Family Environments, and Preschoolers' Behavior

The relationship between parental attitudes and behavioral adjustment in children continues to be explored in current research. In the present study this research was extended. Some measures not used previously were included. A general attitude measure (Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control for Adults), a specific child-rearing attitude measure (Parental Attitude Research Instrument), a new measure on perceived family environments (Family Environment Scale), and the Devereaux Child Behavior Rating Scale were completed by mothers of 25 nursery school children. Responses to measures were significantly intercorrelated, indicating that general attitudes or beliefs interact with specific attitudes on child-rearing. Maternal attitudes and perceptions were also related to their ratings of behavioral adjustment in their children. Results were interpreted as supporting the use of the new Family Environment Scale in future research.