Proximal family processes
vii. communicate richly and responsively with sounds, songs, gestures and
words.”
We recognise that many of these suggestions might equally well be thought of as
aspects of each of our two categories. For example, the first of the Rameys’
admonishments encompasses elements of both of our categories of interaction,
namely learning (“exploration”), as well as parenting quality in terms of discipline
(“safely”) and warmth (“joy”).
Thus, the classification of the elements of family process is difficult but is a necessary
stage in analysis if one is to attempt measurement and evaluation. A standard measure
of parenting quality is the HOME Scale (the Home Observation for Measurement of
the Environment, Caldwell & Bradley, 1984). This inventory assesses parental quality
in terms of emotional support, i.e. measures of warmth and discipline, as well as
cognitive stimulation, i.e. household resources, such as reading materials and the
physical appearance of the home. Therefore, it combines elements we are describing
here as proximal process with aspects considered as characteristics of the family
context. This is unfortunate for our attempt to assess the separate links in our overall
model.
Fathers
Societal changes over recent years have and continue to force adjustments in both
popular and scholarly conceptualisations of the family, especially in terms of the role
of the father. According to Pleck & Pleck (1997) we have seen the evolution of father
ideals from the distant breadwinner, to the modern involved dad, to the father as co-
parent. Changes in paternal role and its responsibilities have led to a renewed interest
in the research questions such as: How will changes in the roles and expectations of
fathers affect children’s development? What type of inter-generational legacy will be
left by the fathers and sons of today?
However, much of the literature on parenting has tended to focus on the role of
mothers and that is reflected in the discussion in this section.
2.1.2 Causality
The studies described in this section have mainly been undertaken with
methodological perspectives from fields of psychology in which the focus is often on
establishing that measures developed to assess a feature of parenting demonstrate
sufficient validity to predict outcomes. This indicates that the instrument is a good
one, not necessarily that parenting is a causal factor in policy terms. The foundation
for a hypothesis of underlying causality tends to come rather from theory, qualitative
or practitioner evidence. However, the implication is that care must be demonstrated
in interpreting the results in the current context.
A related, important distinction between these studies and those reported in section 5
on distal factors is that they tend to be drawn from small samples. In the methodology
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