A Study on Family Image of Elementary School Students

Abstract

Purpose

　　Family problems greatly influence today's children, causing maladjustment and behavior problems. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the family image held by elementary school students in order to understand their behavior in terms of their family relationships .In this study, we tried to clarify the family image held by elementary school students using the family image method.

Subject and method

　　The family image method was used to study 139 (64 boys and 75 girls) fourth to sixth graders in X elementary school in A prefecture. The group method was used for the survey.

Results

　　(1) In terms of power image, children considered their fathers the most powerful, followed by their mothers and themselves . Boys tended to be more conscious of their own power than girls.

　　(2) Placement image

　　Regarding placement image, many elementary school students placed their parents higher than themselves.

　　(3) Relationship

　　The greatest number of students saw the relationship between their parents, as well as the relationship between the parents and children, as strong. Children from 10 to 12 years old tended to be more conscious of their parents' relationships than nine- year olds . Children in a nuclear family tended to have a stronger image of their parents' close relationships than those in an extended family.

　　(4) Psychological distance

　　There was no extreme difference in the psychological distance among father, mother and child. For example, by placing each one of them at the apexes of a triangle with each side representing the psychological distance among them, it formed a nearly regular triangle .