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The Impact of Two‐ and Three‐Generational Black Family Structure on Perceived Family Climate
Author(s) -
Tolson Timothy F. J.,
Wilson Melvin N.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1990.tb02788.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , perception , family relationship , neuroscience
This study examined the effect of black family structure on the perceived social climate as measured by the Family Environment Scale. The 64 black families were selected to fill the four cells of a 2 × 2 factorial design of 1‐ versus 2‐parent black families by grandmother residing in the home of the family versus living 10 or more miles away. The family climate was significantly different among the four family structures and between this sample and the normative sample of Moos and his associates. No significant differences were found among the family structures on their Family Incongruence scores. The subscale scores of this black sample were similar to the scores of other black and partly black samples. These results suggest that black families are not a homogeneous group, but rather different black family structures are associated with different family climates. Further research is needed to understand the impact family climate has on child‐rearing practices and child outcomes within these diverse family structures.