Positive family relationships: Longitudinal network of relations.

Abstract

The construct of positive family relationships (PFR), defined as family members getting along well and supporting each other, was investigated in a long-term prospective study. A newly constructed scale of positive family relationships developed using the nominal response model of item-response theory, was subject to a longitudinal network of relations analysis. The conceptualization for this research was founded on a positive psychology framework. Data derived from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study and spanned 20 years from middle childhood (age 9 years) to early adulthood (age 29 years). Evidence indicated both stability and change in PFR across time. Moderate to high stability of individual differences among families across 9 annual assessments was found from ages 9-17 years. Concomitantly across these years, there was a progressive decline in PFR. PFR proved to be independent of socioeconomic status. Specific conceptually based directional hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Multiple sources of information included intra- and cross-informant, as well as objective and ecologically valid data. The network of relations involved concurrent and predictive criterion-related variables. PFR had a pervasive relation to a variety of psychological domains across time. As predicted, PFR related (a) positively to family cohesion and inversely to family conflict, (b) positively to parental social support, (c) positively to children's self-concept, (d) positively to children's academic performance and educational attainment, and (e) inversely to children's behavior problems. The theoretical importance of the findings and the applicability of the PFR Scale for both researchers and practitioners in the field of family psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Simultaneous Linking of Cross-Informant and Longitudinal Data Involving Positive Family Relationships

“…Concomitantly, longitudinal us for C-PFR were significantly correlated, with magnitudes ranging from .52 to .74 with adjacent years indicating cross-time stability (Table 6). These magnitudes and patterns with children are comparable to the cross-time correlations of mothers (.59-.80; see Preston et al, 2016). In both children's and mothers' matrices, the strongest correlations were between adjacent years with a primarily autoregressive decrease as the interval between ages increased.…”

“…We note that, although utilizing a larger number or proportion of anchor items could potentially lead to more stability in the linking, there are no consistent rules on the number or proportion of items in the item pool required for linking calibration (Chen et al, 2009;Lambert et al, 2016). In previous research, utilizing this longitudinal linking procedure with only one anchor item proved successful in that the scale related significantly to theoretically relevant variables in predicted directions (Preston et al, 2015;Preston et al, 2016).…”

“…Third, having nine waves over 8 years of mothers' and children's PFR assessments permits the unique opportunity to conduct transactional analyses to determine whether each of their perspectives has an effect on the other. Fourth, multilevel structural equation modeling could be conducted to determine the extent to which mothers' and children's PFR perspectives share the same longitudinal network of relations to theoretically relevant variables (Preston et al, 2016). Such an analysis sheds light on the meaning of the PFR construct from dual perspectives, indicating construct equivalence.…”

Family Processes and Children's and Adolescents' Well‐Being

“…In a large sample of urban families, support from extended family protected warm parenting from unstable relationships and inadequate resources in the neighborhood, particularly for families of color (Riina, Lippert, & Brooks‐Gunn, ). Significant contributions were made this decade by studies that highlighted the importance of care networks that include multiple family members as well as additional caring adults who provide children and adolescents facing multiple stressors with valued support (King & Boyd, ; Margolis et al, ; Preston et al, ).…”

The Association between Living Status Transitions, Behavior Changes and Family Relationship Improvement among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Participants in Guangdong, China

“…Empirical studies have provided compelling evidence linking a lower quality of family relationships with worse mental health, worse outcomes of chronic disease, and lower utilization of health services [7][8][9][10][11]. The family also serves as the earliest context for individual development, so a strong family relationship is an important guarantee of family functions to support individual physical and mental growth [12][13][14]. Therefore, family relationships are often involved in health promotion.…”