NCJ Number
212159
Date Published
December 2003
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study incorporates information from previous research to identify indicators of family well-being.
Abstract
An analysis of 36 current reports and research studies on families identified 4 domains addressed: A specific interest in family life (53 percent of the documents); public family surveys (25 percent of the documents); research and evaluation related to family life (14 percent of the documents); and comprehensive reviews of surveys and private polling data on families (8 percent of the documents). Themes and indicators represented across these domains were categorized into three tiers. Tier I contains indicators with 100 percent consensus support across domains as attributes of strong and successful families. Tier II indicators were identified in 75 percent of the domains; and Tier III indicators identified areas in which there is still debate, as they were identified across only 50 percent of the domains. Indicators of family well-being are presented for each of the three tiers. Sixteen indicators of family well-being were identified across all domains (Tier I). These indicators are grouped under the following categories: family life, community supports, early childhood, education, and health. Regarding family life, indicators of family well-being are time together; discipline, structure, and monitoring of children; positive communication; commitment to family; religious beliefs; social support; and family dinners. In the area of community supports, family well-being involves living in a safe community, having neighbors who are known and willing to help, and having community supports for youth. For early childhood, access to quality early childhood care is important for family well-being, and in the area of education, parental involvement in their children's education is important. In the area of health, family well-being depends on access to health care, exercise, and substance abuse prevention and treatment.