It is well known that children with smooth. loving families are less likely to experience depression (抑郁) or anxiety. But little research has looked at cheerful influence.
Robert Whitaker and his colleagues analyzed (分析) data from a survey of over 37,000 children aged 11 to 13 living in 26 countries. They asked about their happiness and family relationships. Then they found close family relationship lead to kids' growing both physically and mentally.
To value family connections, the children were asked to rate on a five-point degree. How much they agreed with expressions like "There are people in my family who care about me" and "My parent (s) listen to me and think about what I say". Their level of flourishing (健康幸福) was measured by looking at the extent (程度) to which the children agreed, on a scale of 0 to 10 with expressions such as "I like being the way I am", and "I feel confident about my future". Then the researchers used the answers to give each child a "family connection strength" score and a "flourishing" score. They found that the two scores were connected, and children with the strongest family connections were 49 percent more likely to flourish than those with the weakest.
Children with good family relationships are probably more likely to flourish because they have "an inner sense of safety" says Whitaker. This sense of safety is what allows children to "understand who they are and accept who they are", and to "grow and learn, have hopeful relationships and develop a sense of self-control", he says.
To develop healthy family relationships, Whitaker says the best thing that parents and other caregivers can do is to spend quality time with children. "This can include simple activities like eating meals, going for walks or doing chores together," he says. "Being present, open, interested and focused at these times is the basis of family connection."
