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Article
Family fun: a vital ingredient of early adolescents having a good life
Journal of Family Studies (2018)
  • Petra Lietz, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
  • Katherine L Dix, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
  • Liudmila Tarabashkina, University of Western Australia
  • Elizabeth O'Grady, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
  • Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
Abstract
Comprehension of the factors which promote young people’s well-being is important, particularly during adolescence. This article investigates how family and school factors affect life satisfaction as an indicator of well-being. It examines a representative sample of 5440 Australian students in Years 4, 6, and 8, who completed a child-centred survey as part of the Australian Child Wellbeing Project. Classification tree analyses are used to show that high life satisfaction is associated with family cohesion (families have fun together), and with schools, if they are places that are free from bullying, where students like to go, and where teachers believe in their success. These findings will interest policy makers and practitioners aimed at improving the well-being of adolescents by promoting the importance of family cohesion, and by supporting schools to implement anti-bullying policies which use a variety of instructional methods based on high expectations.
Keywords
  • Well being,
  • Subjectivity,
  • Self concept,
  • Family involvement,
  • Bullying,
  • Teacher expectations of students,
  • Middle years,
  • Life satisfaction
Publication Date
January 4, 2018
DOI
10.1080/13229400.2017.1418410
Citation Information
Petra Lietz, Katherine L Dix, Liudmila Tarabashkina, Elizabeth O'Grady, et al.. "Family fun: a vital ingredient of early adolescents having a good life" Journal of Family Studies (2018) p. 1 - 18 ISSN: 1839-3543 (Online)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/katherine_dix/46/