25 February 2010
How can we help youngsters with hardships in their lives to have a better childhood? Research commissioned by the Department for Children Schools and Families shows that good relationships with mum and dad can protect children who have tough challenges in their lives from going off the rails as they reach adolescence.
Researchers from the Institute of Education also found that supportive friendships and feeling happy at school boosted the wellbeing of children whose circumstances placed them at risk of becoming disaffected and unhappy.
Risk factors included low family income, maternal depression and suffering an exceptionally stressful event. "Child-parent relationships are particularly important to sustaining and improving wellbeing," says the report, Change in Wellbeing from Childhood to Adolescence: risk and resilience.
Children's wellbeing is currently of major public and political interest. The Government has placed it at the heart of its agenda through its flagship Every Child Matters policies and families are the focus of much pre-election debate. The findings suggest that early intervention and support can make a big difference.
The academics point to the value of programmes such as SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) in primary schools, which could have lasting benefits in terms of improved wellbeing later. "In particular, the finding that for children at high risk, enjoying school at a younger age is predictive of higher wellbeing later implies that these kinds of programmes might be particularly beneficial for such children," say the academics.
The research also highlights the importance of family intervention schemes that provide support early in children's lives. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), an ongoing study of children born in 1991 and 1992, the researchers sought to find out what factors drive change in children's wellbeing during late primary and early secondary school.
The report highlights some differences between boys and girls. For example, boys whose mothers suffer from alcoholism tend to experience greater declines in wellbeing as they get into their teenage years, whereas girls do not.
Dr Leslie Gutman, research director at the IOE's Centre for the Wider Benefits of Learning, and her colleagues, comment that the findings "underline the importance of continuing to find effective, easily accessible, attractive and non-stigmatising ways of supporting parents in their role." These might be as simple as promoting the message to parents that taking an active interest in their children's schooling might help them enjoy school more.
Meanwhile, it is valuable for people who work with parents of children at high risk to learn that a warm parent-child relationship particularly protects daughters, while having supportive friendships is protective for high-risk boys.
While it is a truism that children who do well in school feel better about themselves, the finding that success in school promotes the wellbeing of all children "highlights the need to consider the case of children who are not achieving so well and the need to avoid a downward spiral of low achievement and poor wellbeing," says the report.
Ends
Editors' notes
1) Change in Wellbeing from Childhood to Adolescence: risk and resilience by Leslie Morrison Gutman, John Brown, Rodie Akerman and Polina Obolenskaya looked at four aspects of children's psychosocial wellbeing, examining in particular what drives changes in children's outcomes. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) on some 6,000 children, they looked at trajectories and drivers of change, both positive and negative, across two time periods: 7.5 years to 10.5 years and 10.5 years to 13.8 years. They also looked at children with a large number if risks to wellbeing in their lives, identifying factors which may help protect wellbeing.
The report can be found at http://www.learningbenefits.net/Publications/ResReps/ResRep34.pdf
2) Risk factors to wellbeing used by the researchers are: a. Child has suffered an exceptionally stressful event b. Household income lowest 25% c. Mother had depression when child was aged 10-12 d. Mother was alcoholic when child was aged 10-12 e. Any special educational needs.
3) SEAL is a comprehensive approach to promoting the social and emotional skills that underpin effective learning, positive behaviour, regular attendance, staff effectiveness and the emotional health and well-being of all who learn and work in schools.
4) On support for families, the report says: "The realm of the family is one area where the findings suggest attention might usefully be focused – both in terms of promoting positive relationships between family members, and in addressing specific problems such as depression and alcohol abuse."
"In the case of these problems, it seems that intervening when children are younger might have the most benefit. "Bearing in mind that younger children may be less able than teenagers to identify when their parents are experiencing such problems or to ask for help, staff in schools and other services that have contact with children and families have a vital role in spotting where families might be facing serious problems and taking appropriate action, as well as in providing an environment in which children feel able to share any worries that they might have."
5) Contacts at the IOE press office Diane Hofkins, interim press officer, 020 7911 5423, d.hofkins@ioe.ac.uk James Russell, press assistant, 020 7911 5556, j.russell@ioe.ac.uk
6) The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. Last year's Research Assessment Exercise judged almost two-thirds of the work submitted by the IOE was internationally significant, and 35 per cent was regarded as "world leading". The IOE is a member of the 1994 group.
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