ABSTRACT
The previous chapters revealed how information from different selections of two or three of the five family domains that we believe affect children (individual, marital, parenting, three-generational, outside-the-family) combined to predict substantial amounts of variance in children’s early adaptation to school. In each chapter, preschool measures of family functioning from one to three family domains accounted for from 12% to 57% of the variance in children’s kindergarten and first-grade outcomes, depending on the sample size (full sample or boys and girls separately), the specific independent variables in the regressions or path models, which outcomes we examined (e.g., problem behaviors or achievement), and which family members we assessed (mothers, fathers, sons, or daughters). Parenting style, an important ingredient in children’s functioning, represents only one of many factors that contribute to children’s earliest adjustment to school.
