This Families Commission report analysed public submissions about what makes families strong, the challenges they face, the choices they make to improve family life, and what would make things better for their families.
The report identified the following key factors which enhance or challenge family wellbeing:
- time
- money and living standards
- relationships and parenting
- family support networks
- health and environment
- education
- values, morals and beliefs.
Purpose
The key objective of this project was to improve the understanding of successful outcomes for families with dependent children by exploring the characteristics of family wellbeing as defined by families themselves. The project also examined the factors which contributed to or acted as barriers to family wellbeing and the trade-offs that families had to make to achieve wellbeing. The project comprised research (a literature review and focus groups) as well as a nationwide consultation.
Methodology
In order to achieve these research objectives, the Families with Dependent Children Successful Outcomes project was designed in three key stages: a literature review, qualitative research and consultation.
In the first stage, a literature review of the factors of success and wellbeing for families with dependent children was completed. The key questions addressed by the literature
review were:
- What does the literature describe as successful outcomes for families?
- What are the characteristics of family wellbeing, as designed by the family?
- What are the factors that contribute to enhance family wellbeing?
- What are the barriers to family wellbeing?
- What trade-offs do families make to achieve wellbeing?
This resulted in a literature review, available on the Families Commission’s website.
In the second stage, the qualitative research, 43 focus and mini-groups were conducted involving family members from a range of family structures. This resulted in a report (produced by UMR Research 2005a), which is available on the Families Commission’s website. Fuller discussion of the method followed by the literature review and focus groups study is available in Focus on Families (Families Commission 2005), which synthesises the findings from the literature review and focus groups research.
In the third and final stage of the project, a nationwide consultation was conducted, referred to as the What Makes Your Family Tick? consultation. This stage complemented the earlier two stages of the project by providing an in-principle opportunity for any New Zealand family to be heard through participation in a nationwide public consultation that would have its findings published. Analysis of consultation submissions was conducted and a summary of submissions prepared (by UMR Research, available on the Families Commission website). Analysis of the consultation results in relation to the first two stages of the Families with Dependent Children – Successful Outcomes project was conducted by the Families Commission, culminating in this report.
Key Results
In common with earlier research participants (see Focus on Families), consultation respondents frequently mentioned the importance of good family relationships, including parenting of children, as the core of what makes family life good. They emphasised the importance of good communication and parenting skills as effective contributors to family relationships.
Not surprisingly, many respondents described difficulties in attaining ideal family relationships. Some families experienced difficulty with selfish, dictatorial or violent behaviour by one of their family members. Other respondents talked about the difficulties of relationships within blended families or between members of separated families. Parenting brings its own pressures. Some respondents felt unprepared for their first child, and for the associated lifestyle changes. Problems in dealing with teenagers were mentioned by a number of respondents, as were relationship difficulties between parents caused by disagreements over parenting.
Underlying some of these issues may be a lack of knowledge or skill in managing family relationships (including a lack of parenting skills) and isolation from family support networks (discussed more in Chapter 6: Family and community support).
The most common suggestion from respondents for ways of improving family life in regard to relationships and parenting was for families themselves to work on aspects of family functioning, such as communication and respectful behaviour. In order to be able to do so, however, often external support may be required (for which families need to be willing to access). Some respondents suggested that there should be wider availability of external support through good quality and accessible courses on parenting, relationships, life-skills (budgeting, cooking, childcare) and stress management. These suggestions were also made, somewhat more emphatically, by earlier focus group research participants (Stevens et al 2005). This finding is reinforced by the Families Commission’s recent Review of Parenting Programmes which concluded that “an overall strategy for supporting all parents in their parenting role needs to be developed” (Kerslake- Hendricks & Balakrishnan 2005:iv).
Further analysis of the relationship support and services currently available to families is required in order to make specific recommendations on how improvements can be made.