A Study of the Home Life Of

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A Study of the Home Life of Well-Adjusted Children in Three Areas of the U.S.Author(s): Irving W. Stout and Grace LangdonSource: Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Oct., 1951), pp. 67-85Published by: American Sociological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2263650

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A STUDYOF THE HOMELIFEOF WELL-ADJUSTEDCHILDRENIN THREEAREASOF THE U.S.Irving W. Stout and Grace Langdon

The study herewith reported grew out of the thoughtthat an analysis of the causative factors in good adjust-ment might yield significant and useful suggestions for theinitial establishment and continued maintenance of suchadjustment just as the many useful studies of mal-adjust-ment have brought to light causative factors therefor andhave yielded suggestions for its correction and prevention.The study had its beginning in Milwaukee County, Wis-consin, in 1948-49. The findings based on interviews withthe parents of 158 children selected by their teachers asbeing well adjusted were reported in the April 1950 issueof this Journal.' Thereafter the study was continuedin theNew York metropolitan area and surrounding suburbsduring 1949-50 with the parents of an additional 103 well-adjustedchildrenbeing interviewedbringing the total num-ber to 261. The repliesof the parents of these 261 childrento the question, "What in the family life has helped yourchild to be well-adjusted?"is reportedin detail in the book,"These Well-Adjusted Children"2 together with tables,charts, and descriptive analysis of the statistical findingsof the study in the Milwaukee and New York areas. Thestudy was further continued during 1950-51 in a ruralfarming and mining area in Southern Illinois with the ad-dition of interviews with the parents of 153 well-adjustedchildrenbringing the total to 414.Herewith is reportedthe overall findings from the threeareas together with comparative analysis under the sameheadings as in the original report.Specifically the geographic areas from which childrenwere selectedwere: (1) MilwaukeeCounty, Wisconsin in-cluding the city of Milwaukeewith estimatedpopulationof

'Journal of Educational Sociology. Vol. 23. No. 8. April 1950.2These Well-Adjusted Children... The John Day Co. March 1951.67


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68 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY850,000 and its suburbs, (2) New York City with its va-rious boroughs, nearby Long Island, Westchester County,and nearby Connecticut and New Jersey, (3) SouthernIllinois within a radius of 85 miles from Carbondale n theextreme southwestern part of the state where the largestcommunity has a populationof not more than 30,000.The same Research Director conductedthe study in thethree areas and the plan initiated in the Milwaukee areahas been consistently followed throughout. The criteriaused to determine good adjustment in each instance are asfollows: 1. Does he play well with other children? 2. Doeshe appearto be a happy child? 3. Does he have reasonablecontrol over his emotions? 4. Can he be dependedupon?5. Is he achieving somewhere near his capacity? 6. Is heable to think for himself? 7. Is he kind and helpful toteachers and classmates? 8. Is he liked and respected byhis peers?The selection of children was made by school principalsand teachers largely from the public schools though somechildren came from private, including parochial, schools.Care was taken that good adjustmentshould be unquestion-ably assured and effort was made to include wide represen-tation of family pattern.

In each instance the interviewers worked under the imn-mediate guidance of the Research Director and were grad-uate students from a college or university in the area,namely, Milwaukee State Teachers College for the AMil-waukee area; New York University for the New YorkCity area; and Southern Illinois University for the south-ern Illinois area. A period of training precededthe takingof interviews and regular discussions with the ResearchDirector paralleled the interviewing to insure the mainte-nance of the interview technique. Since the purpose wvasosecure the parents' spontaneous and unbiased response tothe question, "What in the family life has helped your childto be well adjusted ?" it was agreed that the interviewshould be natural, friendly, and informal with a minimum


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 69of set questions. It was the conscious intent of the inter-viewers to LISTEN, questioning and commenting only asnecessary to keep the interview moving,.In recording the interview the only set form used was aface sheet giving the information on home set-up and pa-rental background. Such points were included as size ofhome, whether rented or owned, whether child had ownroom or shared,age of parents, their educationand occupa-tionI,the approximate family income both presently and atchild's birth, number and ages of children, and relativesliving in the home, if any. Other than this the interviewswere recorded in running descriptive style with as muchdirect quotation as possible, and with interviewer's com-ment, if any, indicated as such. Usually the interviewertook brief notes during the interview but when this seemedto interfere with the spontaneity of response only mentalnotes were made. In either case the interview was writtenup immediatelyso that as muchas possibleof what was saidcould be preserved.It seems significant that no parent of any of the 414children selectedrefused the interview and the evident freedom and ease of response from the parents, the unsolicitedexpressions of enjoyment of the interview from many, andthe wealth of information and comment secured suggestfactors in the interview technique of practical usefulnessfor teachers.*

THE FINDINGSThe findings of the study are reported herewith in twoparts-Part I. Background factual information, and Part

II. Account of what the parents said.In this report,as in the first one, that for the Milwaukeearea, the only claim made is that the findings are true forthis group of children.*The interview technique will be discussed in detail in a forthcomingbulletin.


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70 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONALSOCIOLOGYPart 1. BackgroundInformation

The Children. The 414 children of the study rangedfrom 5 to 22 years. The Milwaukee group of 158 had aconcentration of 57.5%o n the ten to fourteen year ages.The modal age was thirteen years with 21.5% of the chil-dren in this group. The New York group of 103 were, ingeneral, younger and more evenly distributed. Their dis-tribution is bi-modal with seven and nine year groups in-cluding 13.67o of the total. The southern Illinois group of153 more nearly resembled the New York than the Mil-waukee group. The modal age is seven including 14.4%.For the entire number (414) four age groups predominat-ed, the seven year olds with 10.9%o;he nine year olds with10.17%; he twelve year olds with 10.4%o;and the thirteenyear olds with 11.4%. A total of 69% (286) fall withinthe age range seven through fourteen. In the range fromten to fourteen, the age most likely to include delinquents,there were 50.7%o 210) of the children.The sex division was nearly equal in each of the threeareas with a total of 204 (49.3%) boys and 210 (50.7%)girls.The child's position in the family was as follows: 108(26.1%) the only child; 110 (26.5%) the youngest; 69(16.7%) the in-betweenchild; and 127 (30.7%) the oldest.The number of children in the family follows fairlyclosely to the national averages with 26.1 % of the f familiesof the study having one child; 37.2% two children; 23.9%three children; 7.0%1oour children; and 5.8% more thanfour. The largest family had twelve children the child ofthe study being the youngest.School grade placementranged from thirteen (3.2%) inkindergarten to eight (1.9%) in college with 146 (35.4%o)in grades one through four; 177 (42.6%) in grades fivethrough eight; and seventy (16.9%o) in high school.GeneralEnvironment. In the matter of home ownershipthe areas studied varied considerably. The urban areas of


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 71Milwaukee and New York showed 45% of. the familiesrenting and 55% owning while in the rural and small townarea of southern Illinois 32.7% rented and 67.3% owned.The numberof rooms in these homes varied widely withfour families each living in two rooms and six families intwelve rooms or more, the largest home having fourteenrooms. Of the total numberof homes 55.3% had five roomsor six. The number of rooms and the number of personsin the family were by no means proportionatefor in manycases large families lived in small homes and small familiesin large homes.Relatives lived in 26.6% of the homes of the 158 Mil-waukee children; in 22.3% of the New York homes; andin 19.0% of the southern Illinois ones. Relatives were us-ually grandparentsbut sometimes uncle or aunt.Of the 414 children203 (49.0%) shared a room with abrother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent or parent, while211 (51.0%) had their own rooms.In each of the three areas the neighborhoodenvironmentwas describedvariously ranging from "so poor we wish wecould move" to "all anyone could ask." Description ofneighbors varied similarly from "peopleyou want to stayaway from" to "neighbors who understand and likechildren."Parental background. The ages of parentsat the birth ofthe child were as follows: 15.9% of the mothers and 5.5%of the fathers were 16-21 years; 41.3% of the mothers and30.7% of the fathers were 22-27 years; 28.7% of themothersand 35.4% of the fathers were 28-33 years; 11.7%of the mothers and 19.2% of the fathers were 34-39 years;2.1% of the mothers and 6.3% of the fathers were 40-45years; and .3% of the mothers and 2.9 of the fathers wereover 45 years.Nationality background varied so widely as to precludeany significant grouping. In the Milwaukee group 10.1%of the parents were foreign born; in the New York group14.8%; and in southern Illinois only .4% were born out-


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72 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYside the United States. Two of the children in the southernIllinois group were foreign born, the father dead andmother married to a G. I. Only 5.1% of the Milwaukeeparents were from families who had lived in United Statessix generations or more as compared to 15.0% of the NewYork group and 57.1%of the southern Illinois group.Formal education of the parents offers little clue as towhat caused the good adjustment of their children for itvaries greatly. As one might expect, the terminalpoints ofour educationalsystem were the peaks of the highest g-radein school finished by the total 782 parents, with 14.6%EGOfinishing eighth grade; 36.4% the twelfth grade; and11.1%o our years of college. Six of the parents (2.8%jh)failed to go beyondthe thirdgrade while twenty-six (3.3%)had eighteen years or more of formal education.Occupations of the fathers were classified as follows:unskilled9.6%; semi-skilled 10.1%; skilled 28.3%o;super-visory and management 8.9%; administrative 3.9%; sales6.8%; owners of own business 10.6% ,; nd the professions21.8%. Milwaukee showed a l)reponderence n the skilledgroup which is not surprising considering that this type ofindustry predominates there. New York and southernIllinois groups were about equally divided between skilledoccupations and the professions.Of the mothers eighty-two (19.8%) were employed out-side of the homewith the following breakdownfor the threeareas-Milwaukee 19.1% (29); New York 20.4% (21);southern Illinois 20.9% (32).Yearly income at the birth of the child varied with nine-teen reporting less than $500 and twelve over $8000. Theincome bracket$2000 to $3000 yearly contained the great-est number with 27.0% ( 102) of the total. Yearly incomeat the time of the study had risen considerably with onlyfour reportingless than $1500 and sixty-one reporting over$8000. Incomes of $3000 to $4000 were reported by ninety-six (25.5%7o).


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 73It is evident that the environmentalfactors here reportedare so widely varied as to offer little help in revealing the

causative factors of good adjustment. This was the casewhen the first report was made on the Milwaukee groupand the addition first of the New York group and now ofthe southern Illinois makes no change.Part II. ParentAccounts

Here, as in the first report,parentstatements are treatedin descriptive rather than statistical form lest some varia-tion in point of view or individuality of expression be lostin the generalityof figures. Since the statementsof parentsin the Milwaukeeand New York areas are reported in de-tail in the book, "These Well-Adjusted Children" majorattention is given here to the statements of the parents ofthe southern Illinois area with comparative reference tothose preceding.Type of Honme gldChild. The statementsof the parentsfrom the southern Illinois area contain fewer referencesthan either of the more urban groups to limited outdoorplay space though crowded living conditions are frequentlymentionedhereas in the other areas. Here, too, were trailerhomes, homes owned and homes rented, homes in apart-ments and in houses. Therewerebrokenhomes,step parents,foster parents, homes with one parent and homes wherechildrenwere in the care of grandparentsor other relatives.In the southern Illinois group of 153 children, four wereadopted; eight had a step father; two had a step another;two were being reared by grandparents with one parentcoming and going. Of these latter the mother of one wasin a mental institution, the motherof the other was unmar-ried and the father unknown. In addition to these therewere eight living with one parent only, three because ofdivorce, five because of death.Totaling the figures for the 414 children, one finds sevenwho were adopted,seventeenwhere a step-parenthad takenthe place of an own parent (fourteen step fathers and


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74 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYthree step mothers) and fifteen living with one parent onlybecause of separation or death.

Apparently the homes were happy places. Parents spokeagain and again of the importanceto the child's good ad-justment of their being so, "a place where the children feelthey belong just as much as we do," where "Childrengettheir ideas about life and how to live it," a place, as onemothersaid, "wherewe are all happierthan anywhereelse."These homes, like those in the other areas had their prob-lems. In one the motherwas in a mental institution and thefour children were being cared for by the paternal grand-parents with such help as the father "who seemed to havelost his courage"couldgive. In anotherthere was watchfulcare for a younger child becauseof injuries from a fall but,said the mother, "we keep things happy and never let thechildrenknow we are anxious." In some homes there wasfinancialstrain. In one of these the father said, "He has anallowancewhen we have the money but when we don't, heknows it and understands."As one reads the parents' descriptions of their childrenit sounds as if the southern Illinois children are much likethose in the Milwaukee and New York City groups-"thehappiest child imaginable," "sees the fun in everything,""enthusiasticabout anything he does," "never at a loss forsomething to do," "always trying to make a joke aboutsomething," and, said one father about his son, "He is astrong character,so strong that sometimeshe has beenhardto handle." That last comment was typical of those madeby some of the other parents, for these were no namby-pamby, goody-goody children. Such comments as the fol-lowing were frequently made "Always has had to have afirmhand but is a good kid," "usedto have pouty spells buthas learned it doesn't pay," "has his ups and downs butmeans all right," "gets on the bossy side too often but islearning better,"-and so on.Some parentsspokeof their surpriseat having their childselectedas being well adjusted. One said, "We knew it but


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 75we didn't know other people thought so, too." To some theselectioncame not only as a great satisfaction but as a wel-come encouragement.One mother said, "My in-laws neverhave approvedof the way we have brought up our children.Maybe this will convince them-I hope." The agreementthat the childrenwere well adjusted did not mean, however,that they were without faults, nor that the parents wereoblivious to them. There were numerous accounts of tem-per tantrums "that are disappearing," of "a spell of un-truthfuluness"hat the mothersaid "seemsto be imaginationworking overtime and we are getting it straightened out,"and there was the story of one boy who did such a good jobof collecting for the March of Dimes that he appropriatedpart of the funds to purchasea knife which he was prompt-ly made to return.Discipline. The statements of the southern Illinois par-ents made it clearly evident that the good adjustment ofthese childrenwas not left to chance-the parentsdid some-thing about it just as in the Milwaukee and New Yorkgroups. They spokeof discipline,of their ideas about whatit should accoml)lishand of the methods they used. Hlow-ever, anyone hoping for a formula, a pattern, or one an-swer as to what to do is doomedto disappointment or therewere as many ways of doing as there were families repre-sented and more, for even within a family the parents didnot always agree. There were those who believedin "spank-ing and doing it thoroughly." Others maintained that"Spankingnever did anyoneany good." One said, "Spank-ing hurts me worse than it does him so we don't do it," andanother, "We are the only ones who get any good out ofthe spanking so we quit." Some told of their belief thatmost punishmentcould be preventedand bespoketheir con-fidencein their children'sacceptanceof what had to be doneonce it was understood and said one, "It certainly takeseternal explaining but it pays." Over and again in theseaccounts, as in those from the Milwaukee and New Yorkareas, parents presented a point of view of discipline as


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76 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYsomething much more significant and far-reaching thanmerely the external application of means designed to deterchildren from wrong doing.3Responsibilities and Routine. These were mentioned bymany of the parentsas being significant factors in the goodadjustment of their children but there was little similarityor agreement in the routine pictured or the responsibilitiesdescribed. Some childrenwere given regular responsibilitywhich "had to be done before there can be any playing."Others had, as one mother said, "... enough to do withschool and glee club and teen age club and practicing,"andanother, "She can wait until what she does will really besome help." Between the extremes of regularly assigned"imustbe done" duties and none at all lay a1great varietyof practices, the significant point being that well-adjustedchildren resulted from them all.

Closely related is the matter of money responsibilityandagain there was little agreement either in practice or pointof view. Just as in the Milwaukee and New York Cityareas some parentsbelieved in allowancesand some did not,so some children had them and some did not. Some parentswho believed in them told of being unable financially toprovide them, and one said, "When we have, he has, andwhen we don't, he doesn't-we take it together either thehave or the have not." Some from well-to-do homes had.... ample allowances, for they must learn to handlemoney,"and others had, ". . the same as their friends andplaymates, for money is not the important thing." Somechildren were paid for doing home chores because parentsbelieved "They should work for what they get." Otherswere not because parents believed, "It is all part of thefamily responsibility."Equally as wide variation is shown in the family routineof the southernIllinois group as in the Milwaukee and New

3A complete recounting of the parents' statements relative to discipliuc willbe found in the forthcoming hook "The Discipline of Well AdjustedChildren" to he published by the John Day Company, Spring 1932.


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 77York City accounts. Here, too, there were children whohad to "go to bed on the stroke of eight no matter what,"and others -who"go at a regular time unless there is some-thing going on," and still others who "go when it seemsconvenient-we never pay much attention to just when itis." Many of the parents told of the children'sjust accept-ing the family routineas a matterof coursebecause"That'sthe way we like to live and that's that!" With so great avariation in practiceand in point of view one can only con-clude that the determining factor in good adjustment lieselsewhere than in outward pattern of routine or responsi-bility.Religion played a vital part in the rearing of many ofthe children in the southern Illinois group just as in theMilwaukee and New York City groups. And as in thosegroups, here, too, were parents representedby the fatherwho said, "We take no stock in religion,"and a motherwhosaid, "We don't go ourselves but we send the children toSunday School becausea little religion is good for anyone."For the most part the southern Illinois group were church-going families, representing a variety of religious beliefs,though not so wide a range as in either of the other areas.Those mentioned most frequently were Baptist, Catholic,Christian, Church of God, Methodist, and Presbyterian.Here, too, there were mixed Protestant-Catholicmarriagesthough a muchlower percentagethan in either of the otherareas. Some parents spoke of their belief that childrenshould make their own choice of church to attend andothers told of religious observance being a family affair inwhich all participated. One mother said, "Our religionmeans a lot to us. I don't know how we could have raisedthem without it," and another said, "Religion is somethingto live by," and still another, "Every child has a right tospiritual values and that comes from your religion." Thequestion has frequently been raised in relation to the Mil-waukee and New York City groups and may be similarlyraised with relation to the southern Illinois group as to


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78 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYwhat those who spoke thus variously meant by the -word"religion." No authoritative answer can be given but byimplicationit appears that the word has for the parents avariety of connotationsranging from ". . .going to churchand getting it done with," as one put it to, ".. . a deep andabiding belief in God as Love which colors everything wedo," as another worded it. Throughout the accounts therewere many comments relating to deep spiritual values andto high moral and ethical standards which the speakersdidnot designate as religion though many may feel that suchcomments rightfully fall into that category. For purposesof reporting, only those comments named by the speakersas religion were so classified.Recreation and family doings together. These played abig part in the lives of the well-adjustedchildren in south-ern Illinois just as in the lives of those in the Milwaukeeand New York City groups. There was mention of timespent in reading together, in enjoyment of radio and tele-vision, of picnics and fishing, of time spent with relativesand friends, of enjoymentof schoolaffairs. In the southernIllinois area frequent mention was made of family "tripsto the city" for shopping,for shows, for the zoo, the nearestcity being St. Louis, a hundredodd miles away. Apparent-ly the distancewas little obstacle, for trips there were spok-en of casually and seemed to be of commonoccurrence.In each of the areas parents told of the family enjoymentof sports, baseball, basketball, football, and the like, ofattendanceat concerts, visits to museums and art galleries,of going to movies together - all with varying emphasison what the family most enjoyed. More significant thanwhat they did seems the fact that in the southern Illinoisgroup, just as in the Milwaukee and New York groups,they wanted to do things together - they thotugyhtt impor-tant that they shoulddo things together - and they enjoyedthe doing. One said, "We have lots of fun together as afamily - we dance and play cards and sing and sometimeswe cook a big mealof everything we all especiallylike,"and


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 79another, "We like to do things together - we listen to theradio programs and discuss them, and we go on picnics andfishing and do we ever have fun together." Still anothersaid, "We have fun together if it's only popping corn andlaughing at our own jokes and we read a lot," and another,"We go to the movies on Saturday afternoon with the boysbecause we like cowboy pictures ourselves and anyway wewant to watch the type of movies they are seeing." Therewere vacations together, too, "Because," said one mother,"we all have more fun together than we do separately," andanother said, "We plan our vacation from one year to thenext and I don't know which is more fun, the vacation orthe planning." One motherrevealed very clearly her feelingabout the family doings together when she said, "We doa lot of driving around because we love scenery and everysummer we go camping. I don't like to camp much but therest do and I can put up with whatever keeps us together."Many parents spoke of wanting to do things together butstill of giving the children plenty of opportunity to be ontheir own. Even while there were homes where familydoings together were fewer than in others it seems signifi-cant that in one way or another, every account made somemention of belief in the importance of parents and chil-dren . . . "feeling they belong together," . . . "acting as afamily unit," . . . "hanging together for fun and trouble,"."beingthe family we are," as various ones worded it.Family relationships and attitude toward the child havebeen revealedin part in commentsalready quoted.Parent descriptions of their relationships to each othershow, "complete agreement on all essential matters," "nodifferences so far as she knows," "sometimeswe just don'tsee eye to eye," "plenty of arguments about how to raisehinmbut nothing else," "just enough fussing not to be toomonotonous," and so on. The picture one gets from theaccounts is of harmoniousliving even though parents spokeof differences of opinion. Obviously they found ways ofresolving these differences or of so living with them that


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80 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYthey did not interfere with the good adjustment of thechildren.

Basic relationshipsbetween child and one parent or theother are typified by such statements as "When his fatheris home he is just his shadow," "She and her father go forlong walks and he tells her everything she asks about,""Heloves to help me with the shopping and I make him think Icouldn'tdo it without him," "She is crazy about both of usbut in different ways," "He and his dad are pals, he and Ilove each other but are not the pals he and his dad are."One mother said, "We all understandeach other and makeallowances for our not being perfect." Another said,"Childrenfill a need in the family and ours know they doand it helps us understand each other when things gowrong." Apparently they sometimes did go wrong forparents told of family emergencies, of times when thechildren as one said, "Don't think because wve ove themthey still don't get into our hair for they do and plenty,too."All of the parent accounts show forth the basic relation-ships and the attitudes toward the children which theseparents pointed to as being, in their opinion, the basic fac-tors in the children's good adjustment. They put it vari-ously in such comments as these, "Love is the biggestthing you can give a child," "We feel you have to appreciatethem and believe in them, and we do," "When-you give outthe right kind of love you get the children's love in returnand you are all the better for it," "They were planned,wvewanted them, and they know it," "You have to trust chil-dren if you want them to amount to anything," "Ourchildrenare taught to respect us but we respect them, too."One mother said, "To sum the whole thing up, we thinklove, security, and good home life can be countedon to pro-duce well-adjusted children." Another said, "We have alot of fun with the boys; we love them beyond words, andif I couldchoose one thing beyond all else for them it wouldbe that they marry and be as happy in their home life aswe are and I think that's why they are well-adjusted."Still


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 81another said, "Childrenneed a lot of love and attention andthen other things work out."

In one accountafter another, the parents in this southernIllinois group named the underlying feelings toward a childand the basic family relationships resulting therefrom asbeing, in their opinion, the determinants of good adjust-ment. They made it amply clear that they did not rely onthese feelings and attitudes alone to produce the goodadjustment they did things about it - actively, vigor-ously, purposefully,but what they did and the way they didit varied so widely as to give added significance to theirstatements that they believed the underlying feelings to bethe causative factor rather than either the procedures orthe methods.In this they were in full agreementwith both the Milwau-kee and New York groups whose viewpoint it may berecalled was summed up in the words of the father whosaid, "But most importantof all is loving them and lettingthemknow it, thinking of them as people and treating themso, appreciatingwhat they do and trusting them and tellingthem so, and above all letting them know they are wanted."

SummaryThe findings of this study lend themselves to manydifferent interpretationswith resultantvariations in conclu-sions and generalizations. It has, therefore, seemed advis-able to present the material in reportorial form and leavethe interpretation thereof together with the drawing ofconclusions and the statement of generalizations to indi-vidual readers, each of whom will read and interpret in

light of his individual experience and thinking.To some, the diversity of family pattern will be thesignificant feature bringing deepened awareness of similardiversities among other groups. To others, the parentsconstant holding the good in their children Up to view mayseem of importance suggesting anew the far reachingpossibilities of recognizing and building on strength. To


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82 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYothers, the family solidarity and close knit family unityportrayed may bring reassurance. Some may see theparents' active "bringing up" of their children as verysignificant. Some may find the parents' enjoymentof theirchildren and their satisfaction in being parents not onlyreassuring but heartening and refreshing. To some, theemphasis of the parents on the importance of underlyingfeelings of love and trust and appreciation considered inconjunction with the divergent practices all resulting inwell-adjustedchildrenmay be the high spot in the findings.To some parents presently engaged in bringing up theirchildrenthere may be reassurance,comfort, and encourage-ment in finding that so many different ways of doing allresulted in good adjustment, while to others, the fact thatthere seemed to be no one answer, may be disappointing.In any event, there is impetus for discussion in all thevariations of external conditions under which the familieslived, in the diversity of the family living patterns, in theagreement on underlying feelings as of major importance,in the statements of basic philosophy and varying pointsof view.

Some Questions AnsweredWith a study such as this it is to be expected that manyquestionswould arise. Those most often askedare answeredbelow:

1. Are these well-adjusted children typical of a large seg-ment of the child population?We cannotsay. We can only say that they were typicalenough of the childrenin the schools from which theywere selectedthat the teachers and principalssaid theycould easily have given the names of many more.2. Can this be considered a sufficient sampling to justifythe conclusion that parents of other well-adjusted chil-dren would agree with these parents on the causativefactors of good adjustment at least in principle?


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 83Again we cannot say. The only claim is that what theparents of these 414 children said has been accuratelyreported. It is to be hoped that other persons wvillundertake similar studies with groups in other areas.

3. Are the parents of these children well adjustedthemselves?There was no attempt to gather data on this point.Some may take it as evidenceof some measure of goodadjustment that they spoke so often of the enjoymentof their children, that they told of their satisfactionin family living, that they told of taking family prob-lems in stride, etc. At any rate, whatever difficultiesthey may have had themselves they were rearing chil-dren alleged to be well-adjusted.

4. What kind of childhooddid these parents have?This question was not asked but information was oftengiven. Some spoke of happy joyous childhood daysand others of a childhood so unhappy that they de-termined their own children would be brought updifferently.5. Were all of the children in the family equally welladjusted?For the most part it appears that they were. Severalparents insisted on giving information about all ofthe children because they said all were equally welladjusted and they did not wish to single out one forspecial attention. Some, however, said that one oranother of the others was not so well adjusted.

6. Have these well-adjusted children always been so?Apparently a large majority have been but not all. Afew parents told of earlier periods of poor adjustmentwhich had had to be worked out of.

W.Were these children really well adjusted or were theyperhaps covering up inner conflict with outward goodadjustment?One can only say that in the opinion of their teachers


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84 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGYwho selected them in light of the eight-point criteriathey were well adjusted and this opinion was confirmedby the parentswith enough supporting evidence givenin the interviews that there was no question in theminds of the writers except about one and that casewas thrown out. The children did have their disturb-ances, their disappointments, their ups and downs.

8. Where did these parents get their ideas about bringingtip children?No inquiry was made on this point but some spoke ofhaving had a High School course in Child Care or acollege course in Psychology; some spoke of readingbooks on child rearing, of going to meetings, of seek-ing help from those more experiencedthan they. Someprofessed as one put it to "taking no stock at all inchild psychology" and some said that they relied on"old-fashioned common sense." A majority made nomention of the source of their ideas.

9. Do the diversifiedpatterns of family living all resultingin well-adjusted children mean that it does not reallymatter how children are brought up, that one way ofdoing is as good as another?It may be pointedout that while the patterns of livingwere diversifiedthese childrenwv,re not being broughtup in any hit and miss fashion. The parentsaccordingto their accounts were doing what they did thoughlt-fully and purposefully and as it seemed good to them.May the diversity not mean that each had taken outof all they saw, read, heard, that which best fitted theirown thinking and experience and so wove the fabricof their own family pattern?

10. Does the success of these parents, arrived at in suchdifferent ways yet all successful, mean that all theparent education going on over the years has been fu-tile-that instead one may safely rely on the feelings


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HOME LIFE OF WELL ADJUSTED CHILDREN 85of love and trust and appreciation and wanting thechildrento carry the day for good adjustment?

May it not be, on the contrary, that the disseminationof knowledge during the last quarter century aboutwhat is good for children,that the continuedemphasison children's need for being wanted and loved andunderstood,that the practicalsuggestions for rearingset forth in more and more of the current literaturethrough the years, has taken root, taken such deeproot, indeed,as to be lookedupon as "commonsense "And one final question-will these children still be well-adjusted in five years, in ten? The writers wonder too.Plans are being considered for the follow-up necessary toanswer that question. Meanwhile it seems safe to assumethat the good adjustmentto date has alreadyserveda usefulpurposeand that inevitably it will make its contributionto

the living in the years to follow.Dr. Irving W. Stout is Professor of Education at Southern Illinois Uni-versity, Carbondale,Illinois.Dr. Grace Langdon is a consultant in child development. She is author ofHromeGuidance For Young Children and together with Professor Stout isauthor of These Well-Adjusted Children.

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