Factors Associated With Perceptions of Family Belonging Among Adolescents
| Author | Valarie King,Lisa M. Boyd |
| Date | 01 August 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12322 |
| Published date | 01 August 2016 |
V K L M. B Pennsylvania State University
Factors Associated With Perceptions of Family
Belonging Among Adolescents
Adolescents’ perceptions of family belonging are
associated with several well-being indicators,
yet we know little about which factors inuence
these perceptions or how they differ by family
structure. The current study uses nationally rep-
resentative data from Add Health to examine
predictors of adolescents’ perceptions of fam-
ily belonging in two-biological-parent families
(n=9,686). The results arecompared to a recent
study using Add Health that examined family
belonging in married mother–stepfather fami-
lies. Findings suggest both similarities and dif-
ferences across family structure in the factors
associated with family belonging.
Adolescence is a critical point in the life
course for accomplishing key developmental
tasks. As children grow into adolescence, they
desire greater autonomy and spend increas-
ing amounts of time with peers (Furstenberg,
2000). Parent–child conict tends to increase
and engagement in shared activities declines
(Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, 2006).
When these relationships remain emotionally
close, however, parents continue to be valuable
resources for their children. In addition, a pos-
itive home environment and feelings of family
belonging can promote positive adolescent
Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University,
211 Oswald Tower,University Park, PA 16802
(vking@psu.edu).
Key Words: adolescence, biological parents, family
belonging, family relations, parent–adolescent relations,
stepfamilies.
development (Cavanagh, 2008; King, Boyd, &
Pragg, 2016). Adolescents still need their fami-
lies as foundations from which to move out into
the world and gain independence and autonomy
(Chubb & Fertman, 1992). Indeed, adolescents’
emotional separation from the family has been
found to be associated with negative outcomes,
including deviance and substance use (Baer &
Schmitz, 2007).
Family belonging encompasses feelings of
inclusion within one’s family, including feelings
of being understood, of having fun together, and
of being paid attention to (Goodenow, 1992;
Leake, 2007). Feelings of belonging are concep-
tually distinct from the quality of an individual’s
relationships with each family member (King,
Boyd, & Thorsen, 2015), although the quality of
these relationships likely inuences perceptions
of family belonging (e.g., Broderick, 1993).
Empirical evidence supports this distinction,
indicating that parent–child relationships and
the extent to which children and adolescents
feel they belong to their families are statis-
tically independent predictors of well-being
(e.g., Cavanagh, 2008). Despite evidence that
perceptions of family belonging contribute to
child well-being above and beyond the quality
of parent–child relationships, and, although
a large literature aims to identify predictors
of positive relationships between parents and
children, few studies have examined which
factors contribute to children’s perceptions of
belonging in families.
To address this gap in the literature, the
current study uses nationally representative
data from the National Longitudinal Study of
1114 Journal of Marriage and Family 78 (August 2016): 1114–1130
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12322
Adolescents’ Perceptions of Family Belonging 1115
Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
to examine the correlates of adoles-
cents’ perceptions of family belonging in
two-biological-parent families. Guided by fam-
ily systems theory, particular attention is paid
here to how perceptions of family belonging
are related to the quality of ties between family
members. We compare our results to a recent
study that examined the correlates of family
belonging in married mother–stepfather fami-
lies and also employed data from the Add Health
study (King et al., 2015), with an eye toward
identifying similarities and differences in the
correlates of family belonging across family
structures.
B
Individuals have a basic psychological need to
feel they belong to a social group (Baumeister &
Leary, 1995; Maslow, 1954/1970). Family mem-
bers, and parents in particular, can help meet this
need in children by providing love and affection.
A positive home environment in which children
feel understood and supported and where family
members share enjoyable experiences together
can also help children feel that they belong to the
larger family group. Several studies suggest that
family belonging is a protective factor against a
range of negative adolescent outcomes, includ-
ing emotional distress, delinquency, violence,
suicidal thoughts and behaviors, substance
use, early sexual debut, and negative academic
behaviors (Cavanagh, 2008; Crosnoe & Elder,
2004; King et al., 2016; Resnick et al., 1997).
Measurement of family belonging in the
extant literature varies somewhat across studies
and is sometimes referred to as family con-
nectedness (e.g., Brown & Manning, 2009;
Cavanagh, 2008) or positive familyenvironment
(e.g., Amato & Kane, 2011). Although often
sharing similar types of items, two different
approaches to measurement of this construct are
evident. One approach (e.g., Cavanagh, 2008;
King et al., 2015; Leake, 2007) is to measure
family belonging as a construct that is distinct
from parent–child relationship quality (the latter
often indicated by items capturing parent–child
closeness and/or parental involvement with
children). The second approach is to combine
these dimensions of family relationships into a
single scale (e.g., parent–family connectedness;
Borowsky, Ireland, & Resnick, 2001; Jacobson
& Rowe, 1999; Resnick et al., 1997). Both
approaches yield measures that demonstrate
adequate internal consistency reliability and
have been employed by researchers using Add
Health data. We take the rst approach in this
study, however, because it is consistent with
our theoretical framework, which distinguishes
family relationships from characteristics of the
family unit as a whole. Empirical support for
this approach is provided by studies indicating
that measuring family relationships and percep-
tions of family belonging as distinct constructs
is preferable to combining them (King et al.,
2015; Leake, 2005). Evidence also suggests that
feelings of family belonging and parent–child
relationship quality are independently associ-
ated with child well-being (Cavanagh, 2008;
Leake, 2005).
Despite this, little research has sought to
identify factors that predict adolescents’ percep-
tions of family belonging, and to our knowledge,
no existing studies have sought to identify pre-
dictors of perceived family belonging among
children or adolescents in two-biological-parent
families using a nationally representative sam-
ple. This group is important to examine as
it comprises almost 60% of children in the
United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013).
Because a strong sense of belonging to one’s
family appears to benet children, it is impor-
tant to understand where a sense of belonging
comes from and how its development can be
encouraged.
Two studies have examined factors related
to adolescents’ feelings of family belonging in
stepfamilies, one using a sample of 60 students
in a small Midwestern city (Leake, 2007), and
the other using data from Add Health (King
et al., 2015). Both studies found that the per-
ceived quality of the stepparent–adolescent rela-
tionship and, especially, the perceivedquality of
the mother–adolescent relationship were the fac-
tors most strongly associated with adolescents’
feelings of family belonging. The quality of the
mother and stepfather’s marital relationship was
not directly associated with adolescent percep-
tions of family belong (King et al., 2015).
Our approach to identifying predictors of
family belonging is informed by family sys-
tems theory (FST), a framework that views
families as comprising multiple interdepen-
dent subsystems that mutually inuence one
another and in turn determine family functioning
(e.g., Becvar & Becvar, 1999). FST treats the
family as a nonsummative system with
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