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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

The relationship between family variables and family social problems during the COVID-19 pandemic

Contributed equally to this work with: Saeko Kamoshida, Naoto Nihonmatsu

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Graduate School of Education, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

Roles Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Graduate School of Education, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan

Roles Supervision

¶ ‡ These authors also contributed equally to this work

Affiliation Faculty of Comprehensive Welfare, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Japan

Affiliation Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

• Saeko Kamoshida, 
• Naoto Nihonmatsu, 
• Gen Takagi, 
• Koubun Wakashima

• Published: June 29, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210
• Reader Comments

This study examined the relationship between variables about family members co-residing during the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety about COVID-19, domestic violence from spouse, child abuse anxiety, internet addiction, and mental health as social problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 220 parents (70 male and 150 female, age; M = 41.6, SD = 34.4) were included in the analysis. Stepwise hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted with dependent variables of fear of COVID-19, spousal violence, anxiety regarding perpetrating child abuse, internet addiction, and mental health. The independent variables were basic variables related to family members such as family composition. The results demonstrated that parents with preschool children were anxious about the possibility that they might abuse their children ( β = .203, p < .01). Subjects who smoked were associated with anxiety about being the victim of domestic violence by their spouse ( β = .154, p < .05). Those whose income had decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those who were employed, and those with few rooms in their house were more likely to be dependent on the Internet (in order, β = .189, p < .01; β = .196, p < .01; β = -.140, p < .05). Finally, mental health was impaired among those whose income was reduced by the COVID-19 pandemic ( β = .134, p < .05) and among those who had conflicting opinions in their families regarding the pandemic ( β = .206, p < .01). These results indicate that family variables are associated with family social problems. Additionally, we assume these have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While further research is required to determine the causal relationships among the variables, the findings can be used as an indicator of support that should be provided to families.

Citation: Kamoshida S, Nihonmatsu N, Takagi G, Wakashima K (2022) The relationship between family variables and family social problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE 17(6): e0270210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210

Editor: Prabhat Mittal, Satyawati College (Eve.), University of Delhi, INDIA

Received: January 20, 2022; Accepted: June 4, 2022; Published: June 29, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Kamoshida et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting information files.

Funding: The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

The world is in the midst of a pandemic due to the spread of a new coronavirus (hereafter referred to as COVID-19). In addition to medical measures, the Japanese government has limited the flow of people in and out of cities, regions, and in some cases, countries, by locking down cities, introducing remote work systems such that only necessary employees can be physically present in the workplace, and closing schools. As a result, most people have faced some form of restriction of movement for over two years. As this has led people to spend more time with their families, family related problems have increased. Specifically, social trends include increases in child abuse, Internet addiction, problems related to nursing care [ 1 – 3 ], consultations regarding domestic violence and divorce [ 4 ], and suicide rates [ 5 ].

In Japan, there have not been many psychological studies focusing on social trends and the effects of COVID-19. However, if foreign studies are included, such as restrictions on going out and remote work due [ 6 – 8 ], anxiety and coping [ 9 – 11 ], and discrimination against infected people [ 12 ], fluctuation in intra-family communication and its association with preventive behavior [ 13 – 15 ], and children who spend more time looking at screens and less time exercising [ 16 – 18 ]. Several studies have shown that frequent intrafamily communication and parents telling their children about the risk of the virus may promote preventive behaviors within the family [ 14 , 15 ]. In one other study, parents of elementary school-aged children reported increases in irregular sleep, disordered eating habits, and use of games and smartphones among their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, Especially, disordered eating habits were related to stress responses such as psychosomatic symptom, depression and anxiety, anger, lacking energy [ 16 ].

Thus, COVID-19 social problems such as domestic violence, anxiety, and Internet addiction have not been examined. In the international literature focusing on these social trends, based on past experiences with SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, hurricanes, and water disasters, Usher et al. [ 19 ] argue incidentally that violence against women and children increases during disasters. According to Madanes and Madanes [ 20 ], problems such as economic deprivation, sexual problems, domestic violence, and abuse in the family are interrelated as deviations from the rules lead to other deviations, which can lead to a variety of problems. However, while previous studies have illustrated the impact of COVID-19 on families from various aspects, they have not examined the social trends of domestic violence, child abuse, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To address the limitations, we need to include not only macro variables such as housing and economic conditions, but also various micro variables within the family, such as number of household members, family composition, time spent together, and number of rooms in the house, and their impact on social issues. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between variables about family members co-residing during the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety about COVID-19, domestic violence and child abuse, Internet addiction, and mental health.

Materials and methods

This study was conducted in October 2021. In Japan, the average weekly number of patients infected with COVID-19 in early October 2021 was 1,810. The infection rate had decreased from the average weekly rate of 23,149 in August 2021, at the time of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Japan. The declaration of the state of emergency was subsequently lifted in October 2021 [ 21 ].

Of 234 parents with children (74 males and 160 females, age; M = 41.7, SD = 34.3), a total of 220 (70 males, 150 females; M = 41.6, SD = 34.4) were included in the analysis, after excluding two participants whose data were rated as of low quality according to Masuda’s operation check [ 22 ], which assesses whether participants read statements correctly.

The first author administered the questionnaire through a web-based survey company that targets for all Japanese people. Potential participants were informed that they were free to answer or not answer the questions as they wished, how personal information would be managed, and that referral to a consultation service was available for psychological problems arising from participation; participants who provided informed consent were recruited into the study.

Variables related to the study participants and their families, such as gender and age, were set as the key variables. These data consisted of sex; age; nationality; prefecture of residence; city, town or village of residence; smoking history; presence of respiratory disease currently being treated; disease other than respiratory disease currently being treated; mental disease currently being treated (anxiety disorder, depression, none, other); name of disease other than respiratory disease and mental disease currently being treated; occupation presence or lack thereof; and increase or decrease in income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family information collected included presence or absence of co-residence with family, number of family members, time spent with family members, number of rooms in the home, presence of older adults in the family, presence of pregnant women in the family, presence of preschool children in the family, presence of persons with respiratory diseases in the family, family members who were health care workers, presence of persons infected with COVID-19 including those previously infected, presence of unvaccinated persons, and presence of conflicting opinions about COVID-19 in the family.

Anxiety about COVID-19 was measured using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale—Japanese Version (FCV-19S-J) [ 9 ], which contains seven items, each of which is rated five-point scale. Frequency of domestic violence was measured using the Violence Against Women’s Screen [ 23 ], which consists of seven items presented in a three-part format, with a cutoff score of nine points denoting serious violence. Each item starts with “Your partner is” so that it can be used regardless of gender. Anxiety about perpetrating child abuse was measured using the Child Abuse Anxiety Scale [ 24 ], which comprises of 17 items and four methods regarding abuse anxiety, such as “I feel that I will eventually become very violent toward my children” and “I worry that others will think that I am also abusive.” The Japanese version of the Internet Addiction Test [ 25 ], which is based on a translation of Young’s (1996) Internet addiction test (IAT), was used to measure Internet addiction [ 26 ]. Mental health status was examined using the K6 [ 27 ], a 6-item, 5-point scale.

The first section of the survey stated its purpose. It also stated that participation was voluntary, the survey was anonymous, and personal information would not be disclosed to third parties. Only those who agreed to participate in the survey were able to complete the questionnaire. Additionally, The Tohoku University Graduate School of Education’s Ethics Committee granted ethical approval for this study (ID: 21-1-032).

IBM SPSS Statistics 28 was used for the statistical analysis. Ten basic dummy variables were created to classify participants as female, with a history of smoking, with diseases other than respiratory disease, with preschool children, a health care worker, infected or previously infected with coronavirus, employed, having lost income during the pandemic period, being vaccinated against COVID-19, and with presence of family conflict. The six variables with extremely skewed frequencies were excluded from the analysis, namely presence of respiratory disease, presence of mental illness, presence of older adult, presence of pregnant woman, presence of person, infected or previously infected with COVID-19, and presence of family member with respiratory disease. Composite scores were used in accordance with previous studies for the FCV-19S [ 9 ], the Violence Against Women Screen [ 23 ], the Child Abuse Anxiety Scale [ 24 ], and the Japanese version of the Internet Addiction Test [ 25 ], and the K6 [ 27 ]. Hierarchical stepwise multiple regression analysis was then conducted with each of five composite scores as the dependent variables in separate analyses with and the independent variables consisting of the basic variables. In Step 2, seven basic variables related to family members were introduced sequentially: number of people living together, shared time, number of rooms, presence or absence of preschool children, presence or absence of medical personnel, presence or absence of vaccinees, and presence or absence of family conflicts related to COVID-19.

The frequency distribution of the basic variables pertaining to the participants in this study is presented in Table 1 . Less than 10% of participants reported a positive response for six variables (presence of respiratory diseases, presence of psychiatric diseases, presence of older adults, presence of pregnant women, presence of persons currently or previously infected with COVID-19, and presence of family members with respiratory diseases). The descriptive statistics for each scale are illustrated in Table 2 .

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210.t001

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210.t002

A hierarchical multiple regression analysis did not identify a significantly predictive model for the FCV-19S J scores. However, the analysis of the violence against women screening scores led to significant R 2 value with a significant smoking ( R 2 = .019, β = .154,95CI = 0.12–1.57, p < .05). That is, being a smoker was associated with the perceived risk of being subjected to domestic violence. Among the 54 participants who reported smoking, 28 were male and 26 were female. Having a preschooler was also associated with anxiety that parents might abuse their children ( R 2 = .037, β = .203, 95CI = 1.34–6.20, p < .01).

For the Internet addiction test ( Table 3 ), the variance explained for step 3 was the highest; the R 2 value was significant, as was its increment from step 2 was also significant ( ⊿R 2 = .019, p < .05). Internet addiction was associated with decreased income following the pandemic ( β = .196, p < .01), being employed ( β = .189, p < .01), and living in a home with fewer rooms ( β = -.140, p < .05).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210.t003

These results indicate that persons whose income decreased versus before the pandemic and those who were employed were more likely to report Internet addiction, while those with more rooms in their house were less likely to report Internet addiction. Note that most of the unemployed persons were women.

Table 4 shows that the coefficient of determination of step 2 of the model for K6 scores was the highest; the R 2 value was significant, as was its the increment from step 1 ( ΔR 2 = .042, p < .01). Larger K6 scores were associated with decreased income following the pandemic ( β = .134, p < .05) and the presence of family conflict regarding COVID-19 ( β = .206, p < .01).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210.t004

This study, we examined the relationship between variables about family members co-residing during the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety about COVID-19, domestic violenceanxiety regarding perpetrating child abuse, Internet addiction, and mental health. First, Individual and family variables such as occupation and the family member living together did not affect anxiety regarding COVID-19. This may be because that the public has become accustomed to the lifestyle caused by the pandemic. A longitudinal study of infection anxiety [ 28 ] demonstrated that infection anxiety was highest in December 2020, when the number of newly infected people increased rapidly as part of the third wave in Japan, but decreased in March 2021, when the number of newly infected people decreased. In response to these results, it has been suggested that the weakening of infection anxiety may be due to habituation to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as habituation to infection prevention measures, along with a decrease in crisis awareness after the period of high infection spread. Therefore, it is possible that no difference in infection anxiety was not significantly associated with any study variables because the survey was conducted during a period of decreased infections in Japan.

Being a smoker was associated with the perceived risk of being subjected to domestic violence. Smoking has been associated with severe respiratory failure due to COVID 19 [ 29 ]. Many smokers are aware of the risk [ 30 ]. Furthermore, smoking has been criticized by the public because it often occurs in crowded situations, in enclosed spaces, with unmasked persons [ 31 ]. Thus the public may be more nervous about smoking than before the spread of COVID-19 for three reason: first, smokers are more likely to be in close contact with others when using smoking areas; second, they are more likely than non-smokers to bring COVID-19 into the home; and third, passive smoking increases the risk of serious illness if a family member is infected with COVID-19. That is, smoking can cause marital conflict, which may lead to verbal abuse and violence in some cases. The location of the respondents’ smoking areas was also not disclosed; thus, it is unclear whether smoking is actually a trigger for family conflicts.

Having a preschooler was also associated with anxiety that parents might abuse their children. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan has indicated summarized that 43.5% of abused children are under six years old [ 32 , 33 ]. Mothers with children between newborn and preschool age were also the highest percentage of respondents (62.3%) who stated that discipline was a factor in child-rearing anxiety. A survey of mothers of infants and toddlers [ 34 ] demonstrated that there are conflicts in child rearing, such as regarding what constitutes good and bad discipline. We speculate that these conflicts may become more pronounced during the preschool years when child rearing is difficult; for this reason, the rate of abuse directed toward preschoolers is relatively high. It is highly likely that this is a general tendency, not simply an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was suggested that Internet addiction may occur among those who are currently working, those who have a lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those with fewer rooms in their house. First, it has been indicated that there is a relationship between Internet addiction and the presence or absence of interference with social life [ 35 – 37 ]. However, the opposite results were found in the current study, as being employed was associated with higher Internet addiction scores. This may be because the social life of due to some people is not hindered by unemployment (e.g., homemakers and students). For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, being unemployed may reduce the risk of Internet addiction interfering with social life because issues with interpersonal relationships and activity may be alleviated by virtual contact (e.g., video chat).

It was also found that reduced income was associated with increased Internet addiction. However, it is necessary to consider indirect effects when interpreting the relationship between economic variables, such as income, and psychological variables. A survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan reported that the percentage of Internet users in households with an annual household income of 4 million yen or more exceeded 80% [ 38 ]. That is, a possible mechanism is that wealthier households simply own more smartphones and computers and have greater Internet access, which leads their addiction scores to appear higher. In contrast, during the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of problematic Internet use than are those of wealthier socioeconomic status [ 39 ]. Taking all of these factors into consideration, loss of income due to reduced work hours following the COVID-19 pandemic is a leading risk factor for Internet addiction or hikikomori.

Finally, it was demonstrated that having fewer rooms at home was associated with increased Internet addiction scores. With respect to this result, rather than considering the relationship between housing type and individual Internet addiction, it is necessary to consider attributes factors such as economic status as a third variable. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the percentage of persons who rent accommodations is greatest among in their 20s, and the percentage of persons in owner-occupied houses increases among those aged 30 years older [ 40 ]. That is, it is likely, if we assume that the number of rooms at home increases with age, income, and other social status, which is consistent with previous studies [ 41 , 42 ] that illustrate Internet addiction is serious among young people. Additionally, if the number of rooms is large, Internet use was controlled to some extent by their roommates’ lives. However, no association between age and IAT was found in the data of this study. The reason may be that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the increase in time spent at home and working from home. Therefore, we believe that this is because the rate of Internet use increased equally regardless of age.

Next, it was suggested that mental health may have been impaired among persons whose income had decreased following the COVID-19 pandemic and among whose family members had conflicting opinions regarding COVID-19. Decrease income typically reduces the standard of living and may increase the difficulty of maintaining adequate health. Bosako and Hoshi suggested that the amount of income may mediate the sense of happiness and life satisfaction and contribute to subjective health [ 43 ]. Thus, there is a clear relationship between living standards and health based on income. However, as the current data were not panel data, it is possible that the causal relationship may be reversed, such as a decrease in income due to poor mental health. Regarding conflicts among family members, there may be differences in awareness of the need for COVID-19 infection prevention among different age groups and educational levels, as well as differences in awareness of the need for vaccines. For example, study have shown that parents and their children are often divided on the pros and cons of vaccination [ 44 , 45 ]. Furthermore, Yigit et al. [ 45 ] reported differences according to gender and educational level. Therefore, we suggest that individual intentions are strongly reflected in vaccine decision-making, especially in the case of COVID-19. This may easily lead to conflicts within families, such as between couples, generations, and between generations of children. Such conflicts of opinion may increase tension within the family and affect the mental health of individuals.

Limitations

The primary limitation of this study is that it only examined effects at a single point in time; thus, it was not possible to determine causality, namely, whether the effects were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it is necessary to carefully examine whether socioeconomic and psychological variables are directly related to each other or indirectly related to each other, such as through mediating variables. Further, some items were excluded from the analysis, such as presence of respiratory disease and presence of mental illness, because they frequency distribution was less than 10% of the total. Additionally, analysis of a single respondent in a household, rather than paired data, does not fully capture the entire picture of the family situation. Finally, Correlations between independent variables were not examined in detail. Therefore, we have not been able to confirm whether the effects are direct or indirect.

Conclusions

This study family variables, such as family composition were found to be associated with family-related social problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, parents of preschool children were more likely to be anxious about the possibility of them abusing of their children. Furthermore, smokers were more likely to report perceiving a risk of being a victim of spousal abuse and domestic violence from spouse. Those whose income had also decreased following the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who were employed, and those with few rooms in their houses were more likely to report Internet dependency. Finally, mental health was impaired among those whose income was reduced following the COVID-19 pandemic and among members of families with conflicting opinions about COVID-19.

Although it is difficult to interpret these results as indicating direct causality, the results could help inform risk assessments for family support. For example, the presence of a preschooler or a smoker in the family is an indicator of the risk of violence in the family. Alternatively, assessment of reduced income and differences in attitudes toward COVID-19 in the family may provide options for intervening in cases of mental illness and family problems.

Supporting information

S1 data. anonymized data set..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270210.s001

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the members of our study team and the participants who took part in our study.

• 1. Asahi Shimbun Digital. Child abuse: Record 200,000 cases, up 5.8% from previous year 2021[cited 28 August 2021]. https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP8W2JPNP8TUTFL007.html .
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• 4. Cabinet Office. Cooperation between Domestic Violence Response and Child Abuse Response 2021[cited 1 December 2021]. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/202110-sokuhou.pdf .
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• A Research Guide
• Research Paper Topics

40 Family Issues Research Paper Topics

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40 Marriage and Family Research Topics for any Taste

• Parental neglect. Is it enough for a kid to have food, clothes, and shelter to grow up healthy?
• Divorce and its consequences for all the family members. Minimizing the negative impact of divorce
• Toxic and narcissistic parents. Overcoming the trauma of a dysfunctional family
• To live up to the family expectation: what to do if they are too high for a human being?
• Family violence: where is the point of no return?
• Sexual abuse in the family. The strategy of escaping and organizations that can help
• Toxic and abusive relationship. The psychologies issues of breaking up with toxic partner
• Substance abuse in the family. It is always possible to save yourself, but is it possible to save the rest?
• War Veterans and their families. Do Vets the only ones there who need help?
• Accepting the LGBTQ+ member of the family
• Getting out of the closet: what is like to be an LGBTQ+person in a conservative family?
• Loss of a family member: stages of grief of children and adults. How to cope together?
• Religious conflicts in families: what to do and how to solve?
• Teenage delinquency: when it turns to be more than natural seeking independence?
• Fostering a child: what problems can the parents face?
• Generation gap. The difference in morals and culture. Is it normal?
• Living with senile family members: how to cope and avoid emotional burnout?
• Mentally challenged family members: how to integrate them into society?
• The importance of family support for people with disabilities
• Pregnancy and the first year of having a baby: do tiredness and depression make people bad parents?
• The types of relationship in the family: are they healthy and just unusual or something is harmful to family members?
• Life after disasters: how to put life together again? The importance of family support
• The issue of an older sibling. How to make every kid feel equally loved?
• Gender discrimination in families. Gender roles and expectations
• Multicultural families: how do their values get along?
• Children from previous marriages: how to help them accept the new family?
• Childhood traumas of parents: helping them not to transfer them to the next generation
• Every family can meet a crisis: how to live it through in a civilized way?
• Family counseling: why it is so important?
• Accidentally learned the secrets of the family: how to cope with unpleasant truth?
• Adultery: why it happens and what to do to prevent it?
• Career choice: how to save the relationships with the family and not inherit the family business?
• The transition to adult life: the balance between family support and letting the young adult try living their own life
• Unwanted activities: shall the family take warning or it is just trendy now?
• Returning of a family member from prison: caution versus unconditional love
• A family member in distress: what can you do to actually help when someone close to you gets in serious troubles?
• The absence of love. What to do if you should love someone but can’t?
• Ageism in families. Are older people always right?
• Terminal diseases and palliative care. How to give your family member a good life?
• Where can seek help the members of the dysfunctional families?

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Sociology of Family Research Paper Topics

Sociology of family is the area devoted to the study of family as an institution central to social life. The basic assumptions of the area include the universality of family, the inevitable variation of family forms, and the necessity of family for integrating individuals into social worlds. Family sociology is generally concerned with the formation, maintenance, growth, and dissolution of kinship ties and is commonly expressed in research on courtship and marriage, childrearing, marital adjustment, and divorce. These areas of research expanded in the twentieth century to encompass an endless diversity of topics related to  gender , sexuality, intimacy, affection, and anything that can be considered to be family related.

70 Sociology of Family Research Paper Topics

• American families
• Child custody and child support
• Cohabitation
• Conjugal roles and social networks
• Couples living apart together
• Divisions of household labor
• Dual earner couples
• Earner-carer model
• Families and childhood disabilities
• Family and community
• Family and household structure
• Family and population
• Family and religion
• Family conflict
• Family demography
• Family diversity
• Family migration
• Family planning
• Family planning, abortion, and reproductive health
• Family policy in Western societies
• Family size
• Family structure
• Family structure and child outcomes
• Family theory
• Family therapy
• Family violence
• History of family
• Men’s involvement in family
• Filial responsibility
• Grandparenthood
• Immigrant families
• Inequalities in marriage
• Infidelity and marital affairs
• Intermarriage
• Intimate union formation and dissolution
• Kinship systems and family types
• Later life marriage
• Lesbian and gay families
• Life course and family
• Lone parent families
• Love and commitment
• Marital adjustment
• Marital power/resource theory
• Marital quality
• Marriage and divorce rates
• Marriage, sex, and childbirth
• Maternalism
• Money management in families
• Non-resident parents
• Parental roles
• Same sex marriage/civil unions
• Sibling relationships during old age
• Sibling ties
• Stepfamilies
• Stepfathering
• Stepmothering
• Youth/adolescence

A recognizable, modern sociology of family emerged from several different family studies efforts of the nineteenth century. Early anthropologists speculated that family was a necessary step from savagery to civilization in human evolution. Concentrating on marital regulation of sexual encounters, and debating matriarchy versus patriarchy as the first enduring family forms, these explanations framed family studies in terms of kinship and defined comprehensive categories of family relations. In consideration of endogamy, exogamy, polygamy, polyandry, and monogamy, these efforts also fostered discussion of the best or most evolved family forms, with most commentators settling on patriarchy and monogamy as the high points of family evolution.

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Nineteenth century sociologists such as Herbert Spencer and William Sumner adopted evolutionary views of family and made use of anthropological terms, but discussions of best family types gave way to considering the customs, conventions, and traditions of family life. The evolutionary view of family pushed sociology toward the pragmatic vision of the family as adaptable to surrounding social conditions. And sociology’s emphases on populations, societies, and the institutions embedded within them allowed the observation that American and European families were rapidly changing in response to the challenges of modern society.

Family and Household Structure

The family system of the United States is often characterized as consisting of nuclear-family households—that is, households consisting of no more than the parent(s) and dependent children, if any (Lee 1999). This is certainly true of the great majority of family households. In fact, there has never been a point in American history in which extended-family households predominated statistically (Ruggles 1994a; Seward 1978). In 1997 only about 4.1 percent of all families in the United States were ”related subfamilies”—a married couple or single parent with children living with a related householder (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998, Table 69). However, an analysis of census data from 1970 through 1990 by Glick and colleagues (1997) showed that the percentage of all households containing nonnuclear kin increased from 9.9 percent in 1980 to 12.2 percent in 1990, reversing a nearly century-long pattern of decline. In 1910 about 20 percent of the households of white families and 24 percent of those of black families contained nonnuclear kin (Ruggles 1994b). Apparently we have seen a long-term decline in the prevalence of extended-family households, very slightly counterbalanced by an increase in the 1980s; what happened in the 1990s is not yet known.

Not all of the of the households that do not contain extended families consist of the stereotypical nuclear family of two parents and their dependent children, however. There is great diversity among American families and households, and this diversity is increasing. Even over the relatively brief period from 1960 to 1998, substantial changes are apparent. The average size of both households and families decreased dramatically from 1960 to 1990, although they have both been stable in the 1990s. Many fewer households contain families and married couples in the late 1990s than in 1960, while the proportion of nonfamily households has more than doubled and the proportion of single-person households has nearly doubled. Female householders have increased substantially as a proportion of both all households and all families.

There are many factors responsible for these changes. To understand them, changes in marriage rates and age at marriage, divorce and remarriage rates, rates of nonmarital cohabitation, the departure of children from their parents’ homes, and the predilection of unmarried persons to live alone will be briefly examined. Each of these factors has affected family and household structure.

Marriage rates have declined considerably since 1960. This is not readily apparent from the ”crude” marriage rate (the number of marriages per 1,000 population) because this rate does not take the marital status or age distributions of the population into account. The crude marriage rate was artificially low in 1960 because, as a result of the postwar baby boom, a large proportion of the population consisted of children too young to marry. The rates per 1,000 unmarried women (for both ages 15 and over and ages 15 to 44) show the frequency of occurrence of marriage for persons exposed to the risk of marriage, and here there is clear evidence of decline. Some of this, however, is attributable to increases in the median age at first marriage, which declined throughout the twentieth century until about 1960, but has been increasing rapidly since 1970. As age at marriage increases, more and more people temporarily remain unmarried each year, thus driving the marriage rate down. The best evidence (Oppenheimer et al. 1997) indicates that a major cause of delayed marriage is the deteriorating economic circumstances of young men since the 1970s. Perhaps the improving economy of the later 1990s will eventually produce some change in this trend.

The rising divorce rate has also contributed greatly to the declining proportion of married-couple households and the increases in female householders and single-person households. The crude divorce rate rose from 2.2 per 1,000 in 1960 to 5.2 in 1980 (reaching peaks of 5.3 in both 1979 and 1981) but has declined modestly since then to 4.3 in 1996. The rate of divorce per 1,000 married women 15 and older followed a similar pattern, reaching a high of 22.6 in 1980 and declining to 19.5 in 1996. Some of this decline is illusory, because the large baby boom cohorts are aging out of the most divorce-prone years (Martin and Bumpass 1989). However, although the divorce rate remains high, it has not been increasing since 1980.

Sweeney (1997) notes that, for recent cohorts, about half of all marriages have involved at least one previously married partner. However, rates of remarriage after divorce have been declining steadily. Annual remarriage rates were 204.5 per 1,000 divorced men and 123.3 per 1,000 divorced women in 1970; by 1990 they had decreased to 105.9 for men and 76.2 for women (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998).

Decreasing marriage and remarriage rates and increasing divorce rates have combined to produce increases in single-person and single-parent households. This trend is mitigated, however, by the increasing prevalence of nonmarital heterosexual cohabitation. Evidence from the National Survey of Families and Households (Bumpass 1994; Waite 1995) shows that, in the early 1990s, nearly one-quarter of all unmarried adults aged 25 to 29 were cohabiting. This percentage declines with age, but still exceeded 20 percent for those in their late thirties. The National Survey of Family Growth found that, in 1995, more than 41 percent of all women aged 15 to 44 had cohabited or were currently cohabiting (National Center for Health Statistics 1997). Of course many of the women who had not cohabited at the time of the survey will do so in the future. The best estimates suggest that more than half of all couples who marry now cohabit prior to marriage; further, about 60 percent of all cohabiting unions eventuate in marriage (Bumpass 1994; Bumpass et al. 1991).

To a considerable extent the increase in cohabitation has offset the decline in marriage. This is particularly the case among blacks, for whom the decrease in marriage rates over the past several decades has been much more precipitous than it has been for whites (Raley 1996; Waite 1995). Although cohabiting unions are less stable than marriages, ignoring cohabitation results in substantial underestimates of the prevalence of heterosexual unions in the United States.

In spite of the increase in cohabitation, changes in marriage and divorce behavior have had substantial effects on household and family structure in the United States over the past four decades. Fewer people are marrying, those who marry are doing so at later ages, more married people are divorcing, and fewer divorced people are remarrying. This means that Americans are living in smaller households than they did in 1960, but there are more of them. The rate of growth in the number of households has substantially exceeded the rate of growth in the number of families. From 1960 to 1998 the number of households increased by more than 94 percent, while the increase in the number of families was only about 57 percent. Over the same time period, the total population of the United States increased by just under 50 percent (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998). Our population, therefore, is distributed in a larger number of smaller households than was the case in 1960.

One cause of the decline in household size is decreased fertility. The fertility rate (number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44) was 118.0 in 1960; by 1997 it had decreased to 65.0, although most of the decrease occurred prior to 1980 (National Center for Health Statistics 1999). The trend toward smaller households and families is reflective to some extent of decreases in the number of children per family.

A larger cause of the decrease in household size, however, is the proliferation of single-person households. Single-person households consist of three types of persons: the never-married, who are primarily young adults; the divorced and separated without coresident children, who are primarily young and middle-aged; and the widowed who live alone, who are primarily elderly. Each of these types has increased, but for somewhat different reasons. Each must therefore be examined separately.

Average ages at marriage have risen markedly since 1960, and the percentage of young adults who have never married has increased proportionately (Waite 1995). This has been accompanied by a long-term decline (since prior to World War II) in the average age of leaving the parental home (Goldscheider 1997). Prior to 1970 most of this decline was driven by decreasing ages at marriage, but since then it has reflected an increasing gap between leaving the family of orientation and beginning the family of procreation. More young adults are living independently of both parents and spouses. Some of them are cohabiting, of course, but increasing numbers are residing in either single-person or other nonfamily households (Goldscheider 1997; White 1994).

Since about 1970 there has been some increase in the proportion of young adults who live with their parents. This marks the reversal of a long-term decline in age at leaving home (White 1994). This is, in part, a by-product of increasing age at marriage. However, decreases in exits from parental homes to marriage have been largely offset by increases in exits to independent living, so this recent increase in young adults living with parents is actually very small (Goldscheider 1997). On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that the process of launching children has become much more complex than in previous years. Goldscheider (1997) also shows that the proportion of young adults who return to their parents’ homes after an initial exit has more than doubled from the 1930s to the 1990s; increases have been particularly striking since the early 1960s. This is a response, in part, to the rising divorce rate, but also an indication that it has gotten increasingly difficult for young adults, particularly young men, to make a living (Oppenheimer et al. 1997). Nonetheless, the proportion of young adults living independently of both parents and spouses continues to increase, contributing to the prevalence of nonfamily households.

The increase in divorce and decrease in remarriage have contributed to the rise in single-person households, as formerly married persons establish their own residences and, increasingly, maintain them for longer periods of time. They have also contributed to the rise in family households that do not contain married couples. Families headed by females (without husband present) increased from 10 percent of all families in 1960 to nearly 18 percent in 1998. Families headed by males (without wife present) also increased, from 2.8 percent of all families in 1960 to 5.5 percent in 1998. Among families with children under 18 in 1998, 20 percent were headed by women without spouses and 5 percent by men without spouses (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998, Table 70).

As a consequence of these changes plus the rise in nonmarital childbearing, the proportion of children under 18 living with both parents decreased from 88 percent in 1960 to 68 percent in 1997 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998, Table 84). In addition, there is a large race difference in the living arrangements of children. Only 35 percent of black children lived with both parents in 1997, compared to 75 percent of white children. More than half (52 percent) of all black children lived with their mothers only, as did 18 percent of white children. Further, 8 percent of black children and 3 percent of white children lived with neither parent. Some of these children are living with, and being cared for by, their grandparents (Pebley and Rudkin 1999). This raises the issue of the living arrangements of older persons.

A somewhat longer perspective is necessary to observe changes in the living arrangements of older persons. Ruggles (1994a) has shown that, in 1880, nearly 65 percent of all elderly whites and more than 57 percent of all elderly nonwhites lived with a child. Since about 18 percent of all older persons had no living children, Ruggles estimates that about 78 percent of whites and 70 percent of nonwhites who had children lived with a child. By 1980 the percentages living with children had decreased to 16 for whites and 29 for nonwhites. There is little evidence of major changes in the proportion living with children since 1980. Further, Ruggles (1996) found that only 6 percent of all elderly women and 3 percent of elderly men lived alone in 1880. By 1997 the percentages living alone had increased to 41 for women and 17 for men (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998, Table 50). The growth of single-person households among older people has been particularly rapid since about 1940.

Two sets of factors appear to be primarily responsible for the ”migration” of older people from typically sharing households with their children in the late nineteenth century to living alone (or with their spouses only) in the late twentieth century. First, the family life cycle was quite different in 1900 than today. People married a bit later (and markedly later than in the 1960s and early 1970s), had more children, and had children later in life. Consequently, a significant proportion of people in their sixties had unmarried children who simply had not yet left the parental home. Ruggles (1994a) shows that, in 1880, about 32 percent of all unmarried elders and 57 percent of the married resided with a never-married child. Of course many of these children may have remained home precisely in order to care for their aging parents. Unmarried elders were more likely to live with married children.

Second, economic factors played a major role. Social Security did not exist until 1940. In 1900, 85 percent of all men between the ages of 65 and 69 were in the labor force, as were 49 percent of all men 85 and over (Smith 1979). However, this option was much less available to women; the comparable proportions in the labor force were 12 and 6 percent. Many older persons, particularly women, had no means of support other than their children. Rates of coresidence of aging parents with their adult children have decreased as the prosperity of the elderly has increased; more can now afford to live independently.

However, Ruggles (1994a) found that wealthier older people were more likely to share a household with children than were poorer elders in the nineteenth century, and the majority of multigenerational families lived in households headed by the elderly parent(s). These facts suggest that adult children benefited economically from coresidence and that the possibility of inheriting a farm or business from aging parents may have motivated many adults to coreside with parents. Today coresidence is more common among poorer than wealthier people (Ruggles 1994a, 1996).

As of March 1998, 41 percent of all women aged 65 and older lived alone, as did 17 percent of all older men. These percentages increase to 53 percent and 22 percent for women and men, respectively, for those age 75 and over (U.S. Bureau of the Census Web site). The reason for this large gender difference, of course, is the difference in marital status between men and women. Among men 75 and over, nearly two-thirds are married and less than one-quarter are widowed; among women these figures are almost exactly reversed. According to 1980 census data, the proportion of all elderly persons living alone increases from 22 percent among those 65 to 69 to more than 41 percent in the 85-89 age category, then drops to 33 percent for those 90 and over (Coward et al. 1989), after which the modal category becomes living with children. Older persons who have lost their spouses through death are clearly exhibiting a tendency to live alone as long as possible, which for many of them extends into the latest years of life.

Older persons now constitute nearly 13 percent of the total population of the United States, compared to about 4 percent in 1900. With so many of them maintaining their own residences, either with their spouses or alone following widowhood, their contribution to the proliferation of small and single-person households is substantial.

If so many older persons lived with their children in the late nineteenth century, why were there so few extended-family households? Ruggles (1994a) shows that just under 20 percent of the households of whites contained extended families in both 1880 and 1900; this compares to less than 7 percent in 1980, but it was still very much a minority statistical pattern. There were three primary reasons. First, because of more limited life expectancies and relatively high fertility rates, there were proportionally few older people in the population, so where they lived made less difference to the nation’s household structure. Second, as noted above, many older persons lived with an unmarried child; unless other relatives are present, this arrangement constitutes a nuclear-family household regardless of the age of the parent. Third, while these cohorts of older persons typically had many children (an average of 5.4 per woman in 1880), these children did not live together as adults, so older persons could live with only one; their remaining children lived in nuclear families. Ruggles (1994a) estimates that more than 70 percent of all elders who could have lived with a child actually did so in 1880; the comparable percentage in 1980 was 16. In comparison to the last century, older persons today are much less likely to live with children and much more likely to live alone, contributing to the proliferation of small and single-person households.

To this point, factors that have contributed to long-term decreases in household and family size, and consequent increases in the numbers of households and families, have been elucidated. There is evidence of changes in these directions in all age segments of the population. These trends do not mean, however, that more complex family households are not part of the contemporary American experience.

As noted at the beginning of this entry, the United States has never been characterized by a statistical predominance of extended-family households, although it appears that the preference was for intergenerational coresidence in the form of stem families (families containing an older parent or parents and one of their married children) until the early years of the twentieth century. But extended family households do occur today. At any single point in time, they constitute less than 10 percent of all households (Glick et al. 1997; Ruggles 1994a). However, a dynamic perspective presents a somewhat different picture.

Beck and Beck (1989) analyzed the household compositions of a large sample of middle-aged women who were followed from 1969 to 1984. The presence of nonnuclear kin in their households was noted for specific years and was also calculated for the entire fifteen-year period. In 1984, when these women were between the ages of 47 and 61, only 8 percent of white married women and 20 percent of white unmarried women lived in households containing their parents, grandchildren, or other nonnuclear kin. The proportions were higher for comparable black women: 27 percent of the married and 34 percent of the unmarried. However, over the fifteen years covered by the survey, about one-third of all white women and fully two-thirds of the black women lived in a household containing extended kin at some point.

These and other data (Ruggles 1994a, 1994b) show that today blacks are more likely than whites to live in extended-family households. This was not the case until about 1940. What has happened is that the decrease in intergenerational coresidence since the late nineteenth century has been much steeper for whites than for blacks. This is probably connected to much lower rates of marriage among blacks; living in multigenerational households is much more common for unmarried than for married persons. It may also reflect the shift in the distribution of extended families from the wealthier to the poorer segments of the economic structure. Rather than serving as a means of ensuring inheritance and keeping wealth in the family, extended family living today is more likely to be motivated by a need to share and conserve resources.

The family and household structure of the United States has changed dramatically over the past century, in spite of the fact that our family system has remained nuclear in at least the statistical sense. More and more Americans are living in single-person households before, between, and after marriages. More are living in single-parent households. Collectively Americans are spending smaller proportions of their lives in families of any description than they did in the past (Watkins et al. 1987). However, they are more likely than ever before to live in nonmarital heterosexual unions, and many of them live in households that contain nonnuclear kin at some point in their lives. In fact, there is evidence (Glick et al. 1997) that the proportion of extended-family households increased between 1980 and 1990.

The growth of small and single-person households is in many ways indicative of the fact that more Americans can now afford to remain unmarried, leave unhappy marriages, and maintain their own residences in later life. The proliferation of households represents the proliferation of choices. The consequences of these choices remain to be seen.

References:

• Beck, Rubye W., and Scott H. Beck 1989 ‘‘The Incidence of Extended Households Among Middle-Aged Black and White Women: Estimates from a 15-Year Panel Study.’’ Journal of Family Issues 10:147–168.
• Bumpass, Larry L. 1994. ‘‘The Declining Significance of Marriage: Changing Family Life in the United States.’’ Paper presented at the Potsdam International Conference, ‘‘Changing Families and Childhood.’’
• Bumpass, Larry L., James A. Sweet, and Andrew J. Cherlin 1991 ‘‘The Role of Cohabitation in Declining Rates of Marriage.’’ Journal of Marriage and the Family 53:913–927.
• Coward, Raymond T., Stephen Cutler, and Frederick Schmidt 1989 ‘‘Differences in the Household Composition of Elders by Age, Gender, and Area of Residence.’’ The Gerontologist 29:814–821.
• Glick, Jennifer E., Frank D. Bean, and Jennifer V. W. Van Hook 1997 ‘‘Immigration and Changing Patterns of Extended Family Household Structure in the United States: 1970–1990.’’ Journal of Marriage and the Family 59:177–191.
• Goldscheider, Frances 1997 ‘‘Recent Changes in U.S. Young Adult Living Arrangements in Comparative Perspective.’’ Journal of Family Issues 18:708–724.
• Lee, Gary R. 1999 ‘‘Comparative Perspectives.’’ In Marvin B. Sussman, Suzanne K. Steinmetz, and Gary W. Peterson, eds., Handbook of Marriage and the Family, 2nd ed. New York: Plenum.
• Martin, Teresa Castro, and Larry L. Bumpass 1989 ‘‘Recent Trends in Marital Disruption.’’ Demography 26:37–51.
• National Center for Health Statistics 1997 ‘‘Fertility, Family Planning, and Women’s Health: New Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth.’’ Vital and Health Statistics, Series 23, No. 19. Hyattsville, Md.: Public Health Service.
• National Center for Health Statistics 1999 ‘‘Births: Final Data for 1997.’’ National Vital Statistics Reports, series 47, no. 18. Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics.
• Oppenheimer, Valerie K., Matthijs Kalmijn, and Nelson Lim 1997 ‘‘Men’s Career Development and Marriage Timing During a Period of Rising Inequality.’’ Demography 34:311–330.
• Pebley, Anne R., and Laura L. Rudkin 1999 ‘‘Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren: What Do We Know?’’ Journal of Family Issues 20:218–242.
• Raley, R. Kelly 1996 ‘‘A Shortage of Marriageable Men? A Note on the Role of Cohabitation in Black–White Differences in Marriage Rates.’’ American Sociological Review 61:973–983.
• Ruggles, Steven 1994a ‘‘The Transformation of American Family Structure.’’ American Historical Review 99:103–128.
• Ruggles, Steven 1994b ‘‘The Origins of African American Family Structure.’’ American Sociological Review 59:136–151.
• Ruggles, Steven 1996 ‘‘Living Arrangements of the Elderly in the United States.’’ In Tamara K. Hareven, ed., Aging and Intergenerational Relations: Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter.
• Seward, Rudy R. 1978 The American Family: A Demographic History. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
• Smith, Daniel Scott 1979 ‘‘Life Course, Norms, and the Family System of Older Americans in 1900.’’ Journal of Family History 4:285–298.
• Sweeney, Megan M. 1997 ‘‘Remarriage of Women and Men After Divorce.’’ Journal of Family Issues 18:479–502.
• S. Bureau of the Census 1998 Statistical Abstract of the United States, 118th ed. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• S. Bureau of the Census 1998 ‘‘Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1998.’’ https://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/p20-514.pdf
• Waite, Linda J. 1995 ‘‘Does Marriage Matter?’’ Demography 32:483–507.
• Watkins, Susan Cotts, Jane A. Menken, and Jon Bongaarts 1987 ‘‘Demographic Foundations of Family Change.’’ American Sociological Review 52:346–358.
• White, Lynn 1994 ‘‘Coresidence and Leaving Home: Young Adults and Their Parents.’’ Annual Review of Sociology 20:81–102.

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79 Family Problems Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best family problems topic ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting family problems topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy family problems essay titles, ❓ research questions about family problems.

• Family and Culture: Major Problems Facing Families Around the World Many of these family changes have come because of the result of globalization, which has occurred mainly due to the sophisticated technology available in the current world.
• Vulnerable Families: Problems With Access to Healthcare Families with complex needs or vulnerable families are terms used to describe the families with particular disadvantages in access to healthcare.
• The American Family: Current Problems It seems that the American families are under strain because there is a lack of a normative structure that would provide the parents with the necessary tools to orient their families.
• Marriage and Family Problems as Social Issues Sociology as a discipline has an extremely wide range of interests and it is next to impossible even to enumerate them, however the issue that has always been of the utmost importance for the sociological […]
• Family Assessment in a Problem Oriented Record According to the available information the power relations in the family is on his side and the bulk of family responsibilities are reserved for Naomi.
• Problem-Solving: Adolescent and Family However, it is possible to conclude that the reason for Brandon’s stress is his biased attitude towards his father and his father’s girlfriend, not only in his being abused by his father.
• The Problem of Work-Family Imbalance in Society The absence of the mother in the family probably contributes to the work-family imbalance problem that Chris is facing in raising his son.
• Problems in Marriage – The Weakening of Families The nuclear family begins from the father followed by the mother and then the children while the extended family begins from the grandfather down to the youngest grandchild in the family.
• Relation of Family Problems to Patterns of Delinquent Involvement Among Urban Youth
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• The Association of Alcohol and Family Problems in a Remote Indigenous Australian Community
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• Work Status, Financial Stress, Family Problems, and Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Depression in Chile
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• Preventing Family Problems: Troubling Trends and Promising Opportunities
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• An Evaluation of the Psychosocial Problems of the Homebound Cancer Patient: Patient Adjustment and Family Problems
• Female Gender, Marital and Family Problems, and Feelings of Guilt Are Related to Self-Immolation Suicide Attempts
• Prisoner Re-Entry, Family Problems and State Coercion in the Era of Neoliberalism
• Gender Differences in an Exploratory Model of Family Problems and Stress-Related Experiences Among Justice-Involved Youth
• Baccalaureate Student Perceptions of Challenging Family Problems: Building Bridges to Acceptance
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The Impact of Family Problems in the Academic Performance of HUMSS Grade 12 Students in Bestlink College of the Philippines

• Lyca S. Brian
• Nicole Ann M. Genavia
• John Estefano G. Gososo
• Norman M. Rosales Jr.
• Jessalyn L. Tapon
• Aarol Michael C. Valenzuela

Family as the basic unit of society plays a big role in the educational aspect of their family members. Although problems are inevitable inability to manage it may affect the behavior and the academic performance of the students. This study aimed to determine the effects of Family Problems to the academic performance of Grade 12 HUMSS Students in Bestlink College of the Philippines. This study will really help student to overcome their Family Problems and can identified what issues that they are facing right now. The researchers used Qualitative method and Descriptive Research Resign to obtain general overview of the topic that pertain to the impact of family problems in the academic performance of Grade 12 students. Survey Questionnaire was used to gather information needed to discuss the topic. Cluster sampling technique has been conducted in choosing the respondents. The study found out that family problems seriously affect the performance of the students in particular to their attendance and performance. Family problems that involve financial difficulties, relationship and bad habits are the contributing factors in the performance of the students. Lack of financial support impacts the student’s attendance and compliance with the school projects and activities. Students choose not to attend the class than to stay hunger one day in school. Family relationship on the other hand, impacts the student’s emotional level. It impacts to their focus in class. Wrong culture of the family brings out bad behavior and habit to the students. Family problems are inevitable and creates a big impact to the academic performances of the students. This awareness may help the teachers and parents to help the students who are encountering serious family problems to pursue their students despite those family issues and challenges. They have to develop a positive spirit and positive response in life.

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Among employed U.S. adults who are ages 25 to 64 and married, husbands spend about 28 hours per week on leisure. Wives spend about 26 hours on it.

How people around the world view same-sex marriage

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How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time

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Most East Asian adults say men and women should share financial and caregiving duties

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How family economic insecurity can hurt child mental health

Study examines cascading effects of covid-19 money issues.

Economic difficulty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a cascade of connected problems for some parents -- resulting in mental health problems for their children, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that economic insecurity was linked to higher levels of depressive symptoms for parents, which was then associated with poorer relationship quality for the couples. That was linked with more harsh parenting and then to increased internalizing behaviors for their children.

"Pandemic-induced economic hardship had this downstream spillover effect that was ultimately linked negatively with their children's mental health," said Joyce Lee, lead author of the study and assistant professor of social work at The Ohio State University.

"Our findings parallel with other descriptive research showing that children's mental health plummeted during the pandemic."

The study was published online last week in the journal Child & Family Social Work .

The study involved 259 parents raising one or more children ages 12 years or younger who said they experienced at least one pandemic-related economic hardship. The longitudinal survey, which included participants from across the country, focused on two different points during the early weeks of the pandemic.

One of the strengths of this research is that it didn't just include middle-income families -- in 31% of the families studied, the parents' income was below $30,000.

Parents were asked about their depressive symptoms, relationship quality and harsh parenting practices. They were also asked about their children's internalizing behaviors such as complaining of loneliness, crying a lot, and being fearful or anxious.

The researchers found a clear connection between these issues, Lee said.

It started with the pandemic-induced economic insecurity. Those parents who reported higher levels of economic insecurity at the time of the first survey also had higher levels of depressive symptoms at the same time. And that was linked to a more negative relationship with their partner at the time of the second survey.

"They were reporting more disagreements and arguments and fights among themselves during the pandemic," Lee said.

That in turn was linked to reports of using more harsh parenting with their children. This included yelling, screaming and shouting at their child; and physical punishment such as spanking.

And finally, harsh parenting was linked to children who had internalizing behaviors such as frequent crying and loneliness. (Data from the study did not include externalizing behaviors, such as physical aggression and tantrums.)

"There are these cascading effects that begin with pandemic-initiated economic difficulties that all trickle down to children's mental health," Lee said.

While other studies have found that depressive symptoms in parents can be related to harsh parenting, one strength of this study is that it also included partner relationship quality, she said.

"Relationship quality is an important part of this. If you're not doing well with your partner, that speaks to a wider family dynamic that can spill over to how you deal with your children," Lee explained.

Findings also showed that there was not a significant gender difference in how mothers and fathers reacted when faced with economic problems during the pandemic. That was somewhat of a surprise since some reports said mothers took a larger hit to their careers because of COVID-19 and were more likely to take care of children at home when schools closed. That suggested mothers might do worse than fathers, but it wasn't found in this study.

Lee noted that this was a relatively small sample, so more research is needed to confirm gender differences in reactions to the pandemic.

While this study was done during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee said that the findings could be relevant to other disasters or issues that lead to economic downturns.

One implication is the need for interventions that could help mothers and fathers who are struggling economically to stop the cascade of problems leading to child mental health issues, she said.

But it goes beyond that.

"We need a better social safety net to catch these parents early on before the economic pressures lead to these negative consequences," she said.

Co-authors on the study were Sehun Oh, Amy Xu and Angelise Radney of Ohio State; Shawna J. Lee of the University of Michigan; and Christina M. Rodriguez of Old Dominion University.

• Children's Health
• Child Psychology
• Child Development
• Poverty and Learning
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• Lead poisoning
• Adult attention-deficit disorder
• Social inequality
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Story Source:

Materials provided by Ohio State University . Original written by Jeff Grabmeier. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Joyce Y. Lee, Shawna J. Lee, Sehun Oh, Amy Xu, Angelise Radney, Christina M. Rodriguez. Family Stress Processes Underlying COVID‐19–Related Economic Insecurity for Mothers and Fathers and Children's Internalizing Behaviour Problems . Child & Family Social Work , 2024; DOI: 10.1111/cfs.13188

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Family planning: Get the facts about pregnancy spacing

Pregnancy spacing is an essential part of family planning. Understand the importance of pregnancy spacing and what factors to consider before you conceive again.

Considering having another child? Pregnancy spacing is an essential part of family planning. It can affect more than how close your children are in age. Here's what you need to know.

Why is family planning important?

Knowing whether you do or don't want to have children in the next few years can help you and your partner prepare for conception or choose appropriate contraception.

If you're already parents, family planning takes on new meaning. Having another child will change your family's lives. Are you and your partner ready to take care of a newborn again? How will your other child or children react to sharing your attention with a new baby?

The timing of your pregnancies is important, too. While you and your partner might have preferences about how close in age you'd like your children to be, some research shows that how you space your pregnancies can affect mother and baby.

What are the risks of spacing pregnancies too close together?

Research suggests that beginning a pregnancy within six months of a live birth is associated with an increased risk of:

• Premature birth
• The placenta partially or completely peeling away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery (placental abruption)
• Low birth weight
• Congenital disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Maternal anemia

In addition, recent research suggests that closely spaced pregnancies might be associated with an increased risk of autism in second-born children. The risk is highest for pregnancies spaced less than 12 months apart.

Closely spaced pregnancies might not give a mother enough time to recover from pregnancy before moving on to the next. For example, pregnancy and breastfeeding can deplete your stores of nutrients, particularly folate. If you become pregnant before replacing those stores, it could affect your health or your baby's health. Inflammation of the genital tract that develops during pregnancy and doesn't completely heal before the next pregnancy could also play a role.

Are there risks associated with spacing pregnancies too far apart?

Some research also suggests that long intervals between pregnancies pose concerns for mothers and babies, such as an increased risk of preeclampsia in people with no history of the condition.

It's not clear why long pregnancy intervals might cause health problems. It's possible that pregnancy improves uterine capacity to promote fetal growth and support, but that over time these beneficial physiological changes disappear.

What's the best interval between pregnancies?

To reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and other health problems, research suggests waiting 18 to 24 months but less than five years after a live birth before attempting your next pregnancy. Balancing concerns about infertility, people older than 35 might consider waiting 12 months before becoming pregnant again.

The risks and recommendations don't apply to couples who have had a miscarriage. If you're healthy and feel ready, there's no need to wait to conceive after a miscarriage.

Choosing when to have another baby is a personal decision. When planning your next pregnancy, you and your partner might consider various factors in addition to the health risks and benefits. Until you make a decision about when to have another child, use a reliable method of birth control.

What else do I need to know about pregnancy spacing?

There's no perfect time to have another baby. Even with careful planning, you can't always control when conception happens. However, discussing reliable birth control options until you are ready to conceive and understanding the possible risks associated with the timing of your pregnancies can help you make an informed decision about when to grow your family.

• Schummers L, et al. Association of short interpregnancy interval with pregnancy outcomes according to maternal age. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2018: doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.4696.
• Zerbo O, et al. Interpregnancy interval and risk of autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics. 2015; doi:10.1542/peds.2015-1099.
• Shachar BZ, et al. Interpregnancy interval and obstetrical complications. https://www.uptodate.com/content/search. Accessed Sept. 24, 2019.
• DeFranco EA, et al. Influence of interpregnancy interval on neonatal morbidity. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2015; doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2014.11.017.

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Study of family factors in association with behavior problems amongst children of 6-18 years age group

Sandip s jogdand.

Department of Community Medicine, Rural Medical College, Loni, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India

1 Department of P.S.M., Government Medical College, Miraj, Maharashtra, India

Background:

The ‘behaviour problems’ are having major impact on child's bodily and social development. The family provides emotional support to an individual as well as plays a major role in the formation of one's personality. The quality and nature of the parental nurturance that the child receives will profoundly influence his future development. The knowledge of these family factors associated with behaviour problems may be helpful to identify at risk children.

Aims and Objective:

To study the family factors associated with behaviour problems amongst children of 6-18 Yrs age group.

an adopted urban slum area of Govt. Medical College, Miraj Dist-Sangli.

Cross sectional study.

Materials and Methods:

the sample size was calculated based upon 40% prevalence obtained in pilot study. Total 600 Children in the age group of 6-18 years residing in the urban slum area and their parents were interviewed with the help of predesigned, pretested proforma. Analysis: chi-square test and risk estimate with Odd's ratio.

Our study result reveals significant association between prevalence of behaviour problems with absence of either or both real parents and alcoholism in the parent or care taker.

Conclusion:

The behaviour problems have good prognosis if they are recognized earlier. Family has great role in prevention of behaviour problems in children, so parental counseling may be helpful.

I NTRODUCTION

The behavior of a child is variable and depends on biological, social and environmental factors.[ 1 ] In learning to adjust to the world in which child is growing up, he develops certain kinds of behavior which are annoying or embarrassing to adults with whom he comes in contact. Adults frequently label such behaviors as problem behaviors.

Studies on the prevalence of behavior problems in children shown alarming results and yet strikingly varying from one study to another. Studies conducted in rural and urban areas of different parts of India suggest prevalence range ranging from approximately 1.16% (Dube, 1970)[ 2 ] to 43.1% (Vardhini).[ 3 ]

The “behavior problems” are having a major impact on the child's bodily and social development. It is the major concern of frustration to parents. Parent-child relationship gets disrupted and creates family conflicts and disharmony.

The family provides emotional support to an individual as well as plays a major role in the formation of one's personality. The quality and nature of the parental nurturance that the child receives will profoundly influence his future development. But only few homes provide the right type of environment to the growing child. Numerous studies have shown that children with various kinds of psychiatric and behavioral problems tend to come from homes or schools that are disadvantaged in some respect.[ 4 ]

Hence, the present study is planned to study certain family factors in association with behavior problems in adopted urban slum area of Government Medical College (GMC), Miraj.

M ATERIALS AND M ETHODS

Present cross sectional study was planned at an adopted urban slum area of GMC and Hospital Miraj. Parents of children in the study group and in some context children themselves interviewed with the help of predesigned, pretested proforma. The proforma was prepared after review of child behavior check list and achenbach system of empirically based assessment behavior problem check list used by different authors in their studies.[ 5 , 6 , 7 ] Also clinical psychologist who run own child guidance clinic at Miraj was consulted to finalize the proforma. The study populations enrolled for the study were permanent resident of the same area for last 5 years or more. Prior to data collection written consent was obtained and data was collected by the corresponding author with the help of fieldworkers of Urban Health Training Center.

The non-respondents or having any chronic illness and neurological disorders were excluded for the present study. The prevalence rate of 40% obtained in a pilot study was used to calculate sample size for the present study. A total 600 children in the age group of 6-18 years were enrolled for study from adopted urban slum area. The children were selected by simple random sampling method from the list of family survey registers of field workers. Their socio-demographic data and information regarding behavior was recorded. Socio-demographic data pertaining to socioeconomic classification, type of family, parent educational status, parent habits and addictions etc., was collected.

The behavior problems which were categorized as externalizing and internalizing in previous literature[ 8 , 9 , 10 ] were further sub classified as antisocial problems, habit problems, psychosomatic problems, personality problems, scholastic difficulties and eating problems etc.

Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet and contingency tables were prepared and χ 2 was calculated to find out association between the factors and further strength of association was estimated by odd's ratio.

Observations

In our study, majority of children with behavior problems were coming from nuclear families. The observed difference of behavior problems with type of family was not found statistically significant [ Table 1 ].

Association between type of family and prevalence of behaviour problems

In the present study out of 600 children, there were 71 (11.83%) children with either one or both real parents absent (death of a parent). In the present study group the absence of either parent was only because of death of either parent (other causes separation or divorce were not found). Out of these children 56 (78.87%) children exhibited one or more than one behavior problem. The observed difference was found statistically significant, showing that there is an association between behavior problems and absence of parents [ Table 2 ].

Association between parental loss (absence of parent) and behaviour problems

Furthermore the strength of association estimated with odd's ratio show that the absence of either one or both parents increases the risk of behavior problems four times when compared to children having both biological parents present.

In the present study, out of 600 children, 238 (39.67%) children were from families having a history of alcoholism in parents or caretakers. Amongst these children, 134 (56.30%) children exhibited one or more than one behavior problems [ Table 3 ].

Association between alcoholism in parents and prevalence of behavior problems

Statistically there is a significant association between alcoholism in parents and prevalence of behavior problems in children. The risk of behavior problems increases almost 1.5 times among the children having alcoholic parent/care taker.

D ISCUSSION

In this study we observed no significant association between type of family and prevalence of behavior problems in children. Deivasigamani[ 11 ] (1989) and Gupta et al .[ 12 ] (2001) also had shown same result.

Although Bhalla et al .[ 13 ] (1986) and Singhal et al .[ 14 ] (1988) found the majority of the children from nuclear families attending pediatric out-patient department for their psychological and psychiatric problems and shown significant relationship with type of family.

These findings were inconsistent with the present study results.

The present study revealed a significant association between loss of parents and prevalence rate of behavior problems. Most of the research studies related to mental illness and psychological disturbances have shown a significant correlation between loss of parent and psychopathology in children.

Srinivasan and Raman[ 15 ] in their study estimated 9.32 times increased risk for psychopathology in children with long term parental separation Dayal et al .[ 16 ] (1986) studied social, cultural and educational background of 100 male delinquent children at Agra found most of the children from families with the absence of a father.

Deivasigamani (1989) found absent father in most of children with psychiatric morbidity.

Gregory[ 17 ] (1962) shown parental loss as a predisposing factor in delinquent behavior in children. Furthermore, Prat[ 18 ] (2003) stated that parental loss is associated with significant psychosocial and mental health problems in adolescents.

All these studies support the result of the present study showing significance of presence of parents in the life of children and adolescents.

Alcoholism in a parent or care taker of children was found significantly associated with prevalence of behavior problems in children.

Shenoy and Kapur[ 19 ] (1996) studied socio-demographic factors in children with scholastic backwardness; shown alcoholism in the parent as a significant factor. Srinath et al .[ 20 ] (2004) conducted a study at Bangalore among children aged 4-16 year found a significant association between alcoholism in parent and psychiatric morbidity in children.

Few of the western studies have also shown alcoholism in parents as a predisposing factor for psychological and mental problems in children and adolescents. Prat[ 21 ] (1999) stated that in US, India or South East Asia, adolescents who live in households where alcohol is abused are at risk being victims of family violence leading to behavior problems.

C ONCLUSION

The present study shows that family structure is changing more in favor of nuclear setup. Probably, may be because the majority of families are migrated from rural places to urban areas in search of work or for educational purposes. Hence the older persons in family remain at their homes in villages. All these factors contribute to the majority of nuclear families in slum areas. Probably other vulnerable factors present in these children in the present study may be masking the effect of type of family.

Parents are first guide and teacher in the life of children. They fulfill their physical and emotional needs and also provide social and psychological support to their child. The presence of parents increases the secured awareness in the child which prevents them from being exposed to peer group pressure or influence of the outer world.

Alcoholism is now a days increasing in India. In slum areas, most of the population is migrated and doing labor work. The increased economic pressure and indulged in heavy working makes this population involved in alcoholism. The alcoholism in parents is responsible for disharmony in home environments; there is poor interaction between family members, which hampers the psychosocial development of children.

Parents need to be helped to understand that ‘it is not enough to do things to their children; they must do things with them’. Family based interventions which focus on improving communication within the family had some success in treating behavior problems. In family therapy, the primary goal is to change dysfunctional family systems, clarify family roles and promote honest and open communication among family members. Good quality day care can have positive psychosocial benefits, particularly in case of children from poor or disordered homes.

Limitations of the study

There is need further exploratory study with the same topic. Due to time constraint the study has to rely upon the responses of parents and/child only. As the study was conducted in the community setting because of cultural barriers we could not include the questions pertaining to sexual behavior of children.

A CKNOWLEDGMENT

We appreciate the valuable help by Dr. Sandip S. Mangrule (Rehabilitation Psychologist) and Mrs. M.S. Mangrule (clinical psychologist) in preparation of questionnaire for the project and thank them for their contribution.

Source of Support: Nil.

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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Title: hypergraph laplacian eigenmaps and face recognition problems.

Abstract: Face recognition is a very important topic in data science and biometric security research areas. It has multiple applications in military, finance, and retail, to name a few. In this paper, the novel hypergraph Laplacian Eigenmaps will be proposed and combine with the k nearest-neighbor method and/or with the kernel ridge regression method to solve the face recognition problem. Experimental results illustrate that the accuracy of the combination of the novel hypergraph Laplacian Eigenmaps and one specific classification system is similar to the accuracy of the combination of the old symmetric normalized hypergraph Laplacian Eigenmaps method and one specific classification system.

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