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Preliminary Models of Risk and Protective Factors for Childhood Homesickness: Review and Empirical Synthesis
Author(s) -
Thurber Christopher A.,
Sigman Marian D.
Publication year - 1998
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.1467-8624.1998.tb06151.x
Subject(s) - psychology , interpersonal communication , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , variance (accounting) , perceived control , interpersonal relationship , empirical research , clinical psychology , social psychology , paleontology , philosophy , accounting , epistemology , business , biology
Empirical research and conventional wisdom have suggested numerous risk and protective factors for the development of homesickness. Yet no study has integrated predictors and sequelae of homesickness into a testable statistical model. As a first step in developing a pathogenic model of homesickness in children, this study measured, factor analyzed, and modeled 14 predictors and 8 sequelae of homesickness. Using a sample of 293 boys, ages 8–16, spending 2 weeks at an overnight summer camp, this study tested 2 alternate models, focusing on the roles of boys' interpersonal attitudes, perceived control, and separation expectations in the subsequent development of homesickness. Results indicated that interpersonal attitudes and perceived control may predict boys' preseparation beliefs about whether they will become homesick. This “homesick disposition” combines with little prior separation experience to account for 69% of the variance in self‐reported homesickness. Homesickness was not a powerful predictor of negative emotion, whereas interpersonal attitudes and perceived control predicted 70% of the variance in negative emotion. Results are discussed in the context of contemporary theories of homesickness.