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Family Ritual and Routine: Comparison of Clinical and Non-Clinical Families

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Abstract

Research demonstrates that the constructive use of family rituals is reliably linked to family health and to psychosocial adjustment. This study explores the relationship between family rituals and child well-being. Two samples participated: 21 families whose adolescent was receiving psychiatric treatment and 21 families in which the adolescent was a public school student. A parent and the adolescent were individually interviewed regarding family rituals and completed standardized measures of adolescent and family functioning. Analyses demonstrated that, in addition to significant sample differences in the expected direction on measures of functioning, the non-clinical families scored significantly higher on the index of family rituality than did the treatment families; this is additional evidence that family rituals are a correlate of child well-being. Further analysis of the data pointed to “people resources” as a robust dimension in its association to adolescent functioning. The role family ritual and routine plays in defining family relationships, both within the nuclear family and with other important adults, was significantly related to clinical status. This work may point to an important, yet overlooked, dimension of family ritual life, the relational qualities of rituals and routines.

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Correspondence to Laurel J. Kiser Ph.D., MBA.

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Kiser, L.J., Bennett, L., Heston, J. et al. Family Ritual and Routine: Comparison of Clinical and Non-Clinical Families. J Child Fam Stud 14, 357–372 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-005-6848-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-005-6848-0

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