Authors

• Pulkkinen, Lea (University of Jyväskylä. Department of Psychology)

Keywords

academic achievement, adolescents, aggressiveness, alcoholism, child day care, educational sociology, families, family life, health, hobbies, housing, interpersonal relations, leisure time, occupational life, parent-child relationship, parents, schools, smoking, social behaviour

Abstract

The data are part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS), in which the same individuals have been followed over 30 years. At this research stage, 14-year-olds' social behaviour and living circumstances were explored. The research stage also includes peer nominations, teacher ratings, interviews of 14-year-olds, and interviews of their parents. This data include the interviews of the parents. The themes included family and its common activities, as well as the schooling and leisure of the 14-year-old. No predetermined response categories were used. The recorded interviews were classified only afterwards, when it was possible to observe the whole range of responses. The interviews of 14-year-olds and their parents were structured and conducted similarly.

First, the parents were asked about housing and the size, condition, and ownership of their place of residence. They were also asked whether the family liked their home, and whether there was enough room for the children's activities. Opinions on the living environment, alternative leisure activities, and services were charted. The interviewees were asked whether their family went out together to the theatre, library, sports events, etc. The parents' own hobbies, as well as their attitudes to their child's hobbies and friends were queried. The interviewees were also asked whether they restricted their child's leisure activities, whether they had visitors often, and whether their child was allowed to bring his/her friends home.

In relation to work, the respondents were asked whether both parents worked, what kind of working hours they had, whether they liked their job, and how they had organised their housework. They were also asked whether their working hours had affected their family, whether all family members participated in housework, and how child day care was organised in the family.

The health of the family members and the effects of potential diseases or accidents on the life of the family's 14-year-old child were surveyed. The divorced respondents were asked how often their child saw the absent parent, and how they related to their stepfather/stepmother. Views on the 14-year-old's character, self-esteem, adolescence, violence, drug and alcohol use, schooling, school success, and truancy were discussed. The interviewees also told about their parenting methods and communication with their child's teachers.

The background variables included the 14-year-old's gender.