A Positive Family Upbringing Leads To Better Marriages
Teenagers who have experienced positive interpersonal relationships are more likely to experience quality married life when they become adults, psychologists found.
It is a known fact that our childhood experiences do have a huge impact on what we become as adults. Previous research suggests that children who were raised well tend to grow as happy and healthy adults while those who were abused, neglected and have suffered from traumatic experiences are more likely to engage in violence, substance abuse and other negative behaviours later in life.
Meanwhile, many studies have focused on the impact of divorce and marital issues in the wellbeing of children but the effects of positive family climate have received little attention. In a new research though, psychologists from the University of Texas examined how positive interpersonal relationships in families affect children’s behaviour when they reach adulthood and enter the married life.
The researchers examined data from individuals who participated in the Iowa Youth and Families Project. For the study, family interactions of the participants were assessed in 7th grade and were measured based on listener responsiveness, assertiveness, pro-social behaviour, and warmth-support – the five indicators of positive engagement.
Their findings, which were published in the journal Psychological Science, reveal that participants who showed positive engagement in their families also showed positive engagements in their marriages 17 years later. These people expressed less hostility to their spouses.
What is more surprising was that the spouses of the participants also showed high positive engagement. According to the researchers, it is possible that spouses of individuals who experienced positive family upbringing tend to copy or learn a supportive style of interacting from their spouses. It could also be that people who were raised in a positive home environment tend to look for partners who also had the same experience. Both of these mechanisms could be at work, the researchers note.
Dear Readers,
Do you support the findings of this study? What do you think can be done to promote positive interpersonal relationships in families, especially in the modern times?
Share your ideas by posting a comment below.
Source of this article:
A Positive Family Climate in Adolescence Is Linked to Marriage Quality in Adulthood