Family Integration and Children's Self Esteem

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Family Integration and Children's Self Esteem The study of Family Integration and Children’s Self-Esteem that I examined was conducted by Yabiku, Axinn, and Thornton (1999). The term “family integration” is used to describe the extent to which individual lives are characterized by a high degree of family organization. This article examines the theory of family integration and the way in which the family social organization affects individuals. Discussion: It is hypothesized that when both parents are integrated in the family, it benefits their children’s development of self. Using panel data, they test three mechanisms of parental family integration – activities within the home, family social networks, and family support networks. The results show that parental family integration early in a child’s life has positive effects on the child’s self-esteem in early adulthood, as a 23-year-old young adult. These findings provide important new understanding into both the social courses affecting self-esteem, and the long-term results of the numerous dimensions of family integration. They established three theories: (1) To draw on the modes of social organization approach to derive a theoretical model arguing that family integration develops when family organization of activities are high; (2) Empirical tests of this hypothesis investigate the long-term impact of family integration in early childhood on young adulthood self-esteem; (3) The nature of family integration is multidimensional, giving both theoretical consideration and empirical attention to its multiple dimensions. Sample: The data came from a 23-year intergenerational, seven-wave panel study of mothers and their children. The mothers were selected... ... middle of paper ... ...e dysfunctional families we are all familiar with -- the overcrowded, meddling, abusive, alcoholic, substance controlled individuals that can make family life miserable and destroy the self esteem of the children they control. These families become encapsulated unable to function within the norm of the general population. Their children face the same trouble dealing with peers and finding their place in the world – because they haven’t been given the tools with which to work out their problems within their own family much less the rest of the world. In essence, it does take a village to raise a child – but it also helps if all of the tribe members have the child’s best interest at heart. Bibliography: Scott T Yabiku, William G. Axiinn, and Arland Thornton, 1999. “Family Integration and Children’s Self-Esteem” American Journal Of Sociology 105:1494-1524

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