"My Family and Friends": Six- to Twelve-Year-Old Children's Perceptions of Social Support

• Published in: Child development Vol. 60; no. 4; pp. 896 - 910
• Main Authors: Reid, Molly, Landesman, Sharon, Treder, Robert, Jaccard, James
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, MA University of Chicago Press 01.08.1989; Blackwell; University of Chicago Press for the Society for Research in Child Development, etc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Audiovisual Aids; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Child psychology; Children; Companionship; Developmental psychology; Emotional support; Families & family life; Family; Family Characteristics; Female; Friendship; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Literary dialogue; Male; Mothers; Parents; Psychology, Child; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; School age children; Social Environment; Social interaction; Social networking; Social networks; Social Perception; Social Support; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Impression formation; Test validation; Evaluation; My Family and Friends; Social perception; Peer relation; Social interaction; Family environment; Psychometrics; Social support
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.2307/1131031

A psychometrically sound instrument is essential for the study of children's subjective impressions about social support. To evaluate such an instrument, 249 children, 6-12 years old, from a population-based sample of black and white families (50% single mothers, 50% two parents) were studied. The newly developed instrument, "My Family and Friends," consists of 12 dialogues, based on Vygotskian principles, and yields information about (a) children's perceptions of the availability of individuals in their networks to provide different types of social support and (b) their satisfaction with the help they receive. Children collaborate in interactive dialogues and manipulate personalized props. Collectively, the data indicate that subjective impressions about social support can be measured in a reliable and valid manner from early childhood through adolescence, and that children understand and care about the quality and the differentiation of support (i. e., emotional, informational, instrumental, and companionship) within their social support networks. Further, children report significant variations in social support when undergoing major family upheaval.