Lora Jean Bennion and Dr. Brian Hill, Recreation Management and Youth Leadership
When the word ‘family’ is mentioned, it brings to mind a different picture to each and every person. What is a family? How do families stay together? How can strong bonds be built between parents and children? The family unit has been a subject of research for many years, but little research has been done in the field of Family Recreation and the effects it has on the family. The study of Family Recreation is important because it is often through this medium that family cohesiveness is developed and maintained.
The Recreation Management and Youth Leadership department of Brigham Young University sponsors the Family Leisure Research Team. It is made up of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students dedicated to the study of the effects family recreation activities have on family cohesiveness. This particular study was conducted to answer the following question: Do families that include children’s peers in family recreation activities have stronger family cohesion as a result?
Kelly McKoy, Professor of Family, Home, and Social Sciences at Brigham Young University, has studied the involvement of parents in their children’s peer relationships. In a paper presented at the Biennial Conference of the Society for Research in Child Development, McCoy stated that, “The extent to which adolescents’ parent and peer relationships are influenced by one another is, to a large extent, defined by the amount and type of involvement that parents have in their adolescents’ peer relationships,” (McCoy, 1999).
The Family Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems was developed by David Olsen and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota to identify key characteristics of relationships in terms of cohesion and adaptability. They developed and tested for validity an interval level survey entitled FACES II, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, to determine levels of cohesiveness and adaptability in families (FACES II by Olsen, Bell, and Portner, University of Minnesota Family Social Science, St. Paul Minnesota).
This survey and the following questions were distributed to parents in the Utah County area to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between peer inclusion in family recreation activities and family cohesion:
1. How often do you associate with your children’s friends?
2. How often do you allow your children to include peers in specific family recreation activities?
3. Do you enjoy being with you children’s friends?
4. Do your children get along with their siblings close friends and peers?
5. Does having friends participate in family recreation activities add to family togetherness during the experience?
A statistically significant correlation between family cohesion and peer inclusion in family recreation was not found in this study. However, the correlation between peer inclusion and family cohesion was significant enough that the researcher feels the results would be significant if a larger sample encompassing a more diverse population were obtained.
A significant correlation was found between the first peer related question (listed above) and the other four peer related questions. The amount of time that parents spend with peers affects how often peers are included in specific family recreation activities. Relationships between parents and children and relationships between siblings are enhanced when parents spend time with their children’s friends. Parents feel that time spent with their children’s friends adds family togetherness.
The Family Leisure Research Team is interested in the implementation and evaluation of family recreation programs that build family cohesion. The implication this research has for professionals sponsoring these family programs is to possibly try encouraging the inclusion of peers in the programs they offer. This would give researches a pool of people to collect research from in the future. The implication for families is to try and spend more time in family recreation and leisure activities and to try a variety of methods to build better family cohesion. Peer inclusion could be one of these methods.
References
- McCoy, Kelly J., Corey, Allison. & Owen, C. Leilani. (1999). Early Adolescents’ Relationship Patterns with Parents and Peers and Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s Friendships. Paper Presented as par of a symposium titled, ‘So, These are Your Friends? Parental Management of Adolescent’ Peer Relationships.’ Biennial Conference of the Society for Research in Child Development. (pp. 1-12). Provo, UT: Brigham Young University.
- Olson, David H., Bell, Richard., & Portner, Joyce. (1991). FACES II. (pp. 1-20) Saint Paul, MN: Family Social Science, University of Minnesota.