Whose Turn Is It? Co-operation, Leisure and the Quality of Family Relationships from Adolescents’ Perspective

• In Event: 3581 - Section on Sociology of Children and Youth Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Culture and Interaction

Abstract

Rapid and profound demographic shifts in contemporary family life have left the sources of family solidarity in flux. These changes require that the family is (re)examined in a new way, moving towards an understanding of family solidarity as it emerges from daily conversations, cooperation and leisure. We use time diaries from the 2007 Child Development Supplement of the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to measure interactions among family members from the perspective of adolescents. Adolescents who engage in more leisure activities and cooperative household tasks report closer relationships with their family members than others, especially those who do household tasks alone. However, the total configuration of interaction types must be taken into account to understand the most beneficial combination of leisure activities and co-operative tasks. The association between these configurations of family interactions and the quality of family relationships remain significant after controlling for the effect of different family structures.

Author

• Gertrude Robin Gauthier, University of Nebraska-Lincoln