FAMILY WELL-BEING: WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE?

FAMILY WELL-BEING: WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE? Study Based on a Representative Sample of Irish Families, 2003 Presented to ISPA Conference, 17 September 2004 Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Key Research Questions • What factors influence the physical, psychological and relational well-being of parents and children? • What is the relative importance of the following factors in shaping the overall well-being of families: • family processes such ways of resolving conflict, separation of grandparents, attitudes to parenting roles? • personality traits such as positive and negative emotionality, psychological independence and interdependence? • family circumstances such as life events, education, income, coping financially, support networks? • family type such as married, cohabiting, separated, single? Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Methodology • Data was collected in two stages: • First stage involved a sample of 1,500 households with any child up to 18 years to determine the distribution of each family type • Second stage involved a self-completion survey of parents and a child aged 11-16 years to determine physical, psychological and relational well-being in the following family types: • 100 two-parent married families • 50 two-parent cohabiting families • 50 one-parent single families (mothers only) • 50 one-parent separated families (mothers only) Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Family Types in Ireland Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Characteristics of Family Types • A quarter of all children (24%) do not live in a household containing both their biological parents which underlines the difference between a family and a household • The proportion of family types is broadly similar in different parts of Ireland with the exception of one-parent single families which are more concentrated in urban areas, especially Dublin • Some families seem to move from one family type to another over a life time. This is suggested by the fact that parents in two-parent married and one-parent separated families tend to be older – and tend to have more children - than parents in two-parent cohabiting and one-parent single families Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Economic Influences on Family Types • One-parent families, both single and separated, are more concentrated in lower socio-economic occupations and have lower levels of completed education suggesting that: • social class has a strong influence on family type • the prospects of marrying and staying married are strongly related to economic prospects • family type may be less a matter of lifestyle choice than of adaptation to economic realities • for those in the weakest economic position family life is more likely to involve mothers parenting alone, fathers being excluded from family life and children living with only one parent and in poverty Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Physical & Psychological Well-Being of Parents • We measured physical well-being through self-reported symptoms such as headaches, upset stomach, aspects of eating, sleeping, etc. • We measured psychological well-being using self-reports on items covering self-acceptance, autonomy, purpose in life, personal growth, relations with others, etc Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Well-Being of Mothers & Fathers (1) • Family type has virtually no influence on physical or psychological well-being. Single mothers have slightly reduced psychological well-being. • The largest single influence on physical and psychological well-being is negative emotionality. This, in turn, is related to the person’s support networks, the couple relationship of one’s parent’s,and social class. • Positive emotionality and psychological independence improve psychological well-being. Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Well-Being of Mothers & Fathers (2) • Styles of conflict resolution influence physical and psychological well-being: • ‘withdrawing’, ‘compliant’ and ‘engaging’ styles have a negative impact on well-being • ‘problem-solving’ styles improve well-being • Negative life events reduces physical well-being • The couple relationship improves psychological well-being for mothers (through intimacy) and fathers (through fulfilment) • Education has a slight positive influence on physical well-being (for mothers) and psychological (for fathers) well-being Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Differences Between Mothers & Fathers • The mother-child relationship improves her physical and psychological well-being; the father-child relationship has no effect on his well-being • Feeling financially secure improves the mother’s psychological well-being, not the father’s • The well-being of fathers tends to be influenced by the characteristics of mothers but not vice versa. He is influenced by: • her negative emotionality • her feeling financially secure • her experience of the couple relationship • her aggression Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Quality of Couple Relationship (1) • We measured the couple relationship for both married and cohabiting couples using two scales which measure: • fulfilment in the relationship • intimacy in the relationship • We found no statistically significant differences in the quality of relationship between men and women in married and cohabiting families • The quality of the couple relationship is determined by two key factors: • relationship skills (notably ability to resolve arguments) • personality traits (notably women’s positive emotionality and men’s interdependence) Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Quality of Couple Relationship (2) • The key relationship skill is ability to resolve arguments which is also related to the strength of one’s support network • The key personality traits which have a positive influence on couple relationships are women’s positive emotionality and men’s psychological interdependence which probably contribute to the ‘atmosphere’ of the relationship • Women’s influence on the couple relationship, as on physical and psychological well-being, tends to be more pervasive than men’s in the sense that their characteristics tend to influence not only their own experience of the relationship but their partner’s as well Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Well-Being of Children (1) • We measured the well-being of children through ‘positive’ self-reported experiencesof family, friends, home and school (life satisfaction) and through ‘negative’ symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, disruptive behaviour and physical symptoms (psychological disturbance) • The key influences on the well-being of children are: • unresolved conflicts between child and parents • characteristics of mothers including her: • physical and psychological well-being • supportiveness to the child • satisfaction with being a parent • compliant and withdrawing conflict styles • negative emotionality • father’s supportiveness • separation of grandparents • family income Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Well-Being of Children (2) • The overall well-being of children does not vary by family type • Children’s well-being is indirectly influenced by the family’s social class and by the mother’s support network and her age • Mothers are a pervasive influence on the well-being of children and more influential than fathers, even in two parent families, partly because they spend more time with them – but only partly! Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Quality of Parent-Child Relationship (1) • We measured the quality of the parent-child relationship in terms of: • satisfaction with parenting • involvement with children • communication with children • setting limits for children • independence and children • We found no statistically significant variation in parent-child relationships in the different family types Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Quality of Parent-Child Relationship (2) • The key factors which influence the parent-child relationship are: • The psychological well-being of both parents, including mother’s physical well-being • The couple relationship and styles of resolving conflicts within it; problem-solving approaches to conflict improve the parent-child relationship while conflict-engaging styles reduce it • Mother’s positive emotionality • Father’s with non-traditional, ‘egalitarian’ attitudes to parenting roles have better father-child relationships Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Influences on Family Well-Being Family Processes Parent’s Support Networks Personality Traits Grandparents’ Couple Relationship Socio-economic Context Social Class, Education, Job Satisfaction Indirect Influences Direct Influences Family Well-Being Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Conclusions (1) • Well-being is shaped primarily and directly by the personality traits of parents and by family processes, notably the ability to resolve conflicts and arguments • Family structure such as living in a one-or two-parent family or being married, cohabiting, single or separated, has virtually no influence on the well-being of adults or children • What makes a person feel well – physically, psychologically and relationally – is more bound up with their personality and their experiences in the family than with any other set of variables Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Conclusions (2) • Beyond the immediate family, well-being is indirectly influenced by the parent’s support networks, by the marital relationship of their own parents, and by economic circumstances, including job satisfaction • Family policy and family services need to be based on an inclusive concept of the family defined by the set of relationships which link parents to each other and to their children and which includes fathers and grandparents who may not be resident in the household Presentation by Kieran McKeown

Conclusions (3) • A full national study would be needed to establish thresholds and benchmarks of family well-being which would facilitate a much clearer understanding of family need, particularly among ‘clinical’ groups of families and children who are already using services • The effectiveness of interventions to support families could be improved if based on a clearer understanding of family needs and family dynamics as well as an evaluation of whether specific interventions work and how Presentation by Kieran McKeown

the end …… …… or just a beginning Presentation by Kieran McKeown

FAMILY WELL-BEING: WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE?