Family life-styles and child behaviors: A study of direction of effects.

Examined the direction of effects between slow-learning children and their families in 3 family types: learning-oriented (LO), high residential quality; achievement-oriented (AO), low residential quality; and outer-directed (OD), with little achievement orientation. Child variables examined were measures of adjustment and adaptive behavior. Family variables (assessed on measures including the Family Environment Scale) included levels of community and recreational participation, expressiveness, achievement orientation, provision of learning materials, harmony, quality of the residential environment, and openness with the interviewer. There were 56 LO children (mean age 12.6 yrs [mean IQ 69.6]), 37 AO children (mean age 12.2 yrs [mean IQ 68.5]), and 32 OD children (mean age 12.7 yrs [mean IQ 69.5]). Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed different directions of effect in the 3 family types. In LO families, the child influenced the family for all variables except for expressiveness; in AO families, parents influenced the child; and in OD families, there were bidirectional effects whereby the child's self-help skills influenced parents, but parents influenced the child in higher-level skills such as social adjustment, motivation, and competency in community living. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)