How important is the early family environment in which you grew up? Specifically, can your early experiences in childhood and adolescence affect you as an adult, in both good and bad ways? The results of a series of long-term research studies, which follow people from the age of 1 to middle-aged, suggest that, yes, the quality of early family relationships can affect you long into adulthood.
The Fullerton Longitudinal Study (FLS) began in Southern California studying children as young as one year old, as well as their parents as well.
Assessments were made annually, with measurements continuing until adulthood. In addition to the measures taken by the child and parents, a number of assessments have been made of the quality of the family environment. Such a measure praised the "positive family relationships" (PFR) which were characterized by good companionship of family members and support for each other. Higher PFR families had supportive parents and low levels of conflict, and the child tended to have a more positive self-concept and perform better academically, as might be expected. Importantly, the quality of the family environment was independent of the socio-economic status of the family (Preston et al., 2016).
A recent study looked at how this variable of positive family relationships affected children 30 years later, in adulthood. The results suggest that children who grew up in more positive family settings reported being happier and healthier physically and mentally than children who grew up in families that were much less cohesive and supportive (Ramos, et al., 2022). .
Another ongoing study is examining how the early family environment influences people’s attitudes at work, and early results suggest that working adults who grew up in more positive families are more optimistic about their careers and that they are more resilient and "immune" to high levels of work stress.
Po fëmijët që u rritën në familje që ishin më pak mbështetëse dhe kishin nivele të larta konflikti? Në një studim tjetër që shqyrtoi mënyrën se si njerëzit i shihnin liderët, u zbulua se fëmijët nga këto familje me konflikte të larta prireshin të besonin se udhëheqësit më të mirë kishin tipart e "burrave të fortë" që ishin dominues, manipulues, të etur për pushtet dhe egoist (ëalker, et al., 2020).
But why would anyone support this type of leader? One suggestion is that these children who grew up in high-conflict families watched their parents use these types of tactics to keep the conflict under control - they may have shouted or used physical violence. So seeing a “tyrannical” parent controlling a chaotic family environment may have led these individuals to believe that strong people leadership tactics work well.
Burimi: Psychology Today, Hindustan Times
