Family matters: The impact of modern family dynamics on children and their character building

Athmaja S  Lakshmy; S. Meenakshi

doi:10.31893/multirev.2025392

Keywords:

Abstract

Family, as a social institution, started changing from its core idea in the modern world. Modern family and family dynamics are complicated in various forms, and children are affected by these modern dynamics. The family and character building of children are largely interrelated because, in their physical and mental development, they are mostly acquainted with the family. This is where they started learning values and behaviors. If the family atmosphere is not pleasant enough to capture children, this will affect them in many ways, starting from basic values and morals to crime rates in adolescents. This study employs a qualitative research methodology by analyzing various primary data created by scholars from various databases and attempts to analyze the existing field of knowledge regarding the influence of family on children’s character formation to fill this research gap. This overview examines how modern family concepts influence children’s mental health, investigating how the traditional system of family types and concepts helps children with character formation and intellectual development, the relationship between family dynamics and how they impact a child’s life, and the relationship between family type and the juvenile crime rate.
References
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28. Ryan, L., & La Vigne, N. (n.d.). Trends in youth arrests for violent crimes. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Accessed on January 23, 2025, in https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/library/publications/trends-youth-arrests-violent-crimes
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31. Scroope, C., & Evason, N. (2017). Chinese—Family. Cultural Atlas. Accessed on November 21, 2024, in https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/chinese-culture/chinese-culture-family
32. Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive culture: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, language, art, and custom. John Murray.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Lakshmy, A. S., & Meenakshi, S. (2025). Family matters: The impact of modern family dynamics on children and their character building. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 8(12), 2025392. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2025392

[1] Benefits of Storytelling For Kids. (n.d.). Carepointe Academy. Accessed on October 10, 2024, in https://carepointeacademy.com/blog/posts/benefits-of-storytelling-for-kids

[2] Balasundaram, P., & Avulakunta, I. D. (2023). Human growth and development. StatPearls Publishing.

[3] Burgess, E. W., & Locke, H. J. (1960). The family: From traditional to companionship. American Book Company.

[4] Cavanagh, S. E., Stritzel, H., Smith, C., & Crosnoe, R. (2018). Family instability and exposure to violence in the early life course. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 28(2), 456–472. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12347

[5] Chadda, R. K., & Deb, K. S. (2013). Indian family systems, collectivistic society and psychotherapy. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(Suppl 2), S299–S309. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105555

[6] Childs, K., Viglione, J., Chapman, J. E., Drazdowski, T. K., McCart, M. R., & Sheidow, A. J. (2023). Delinquency, substance use, and risky sexual behaviors among youth who are involved in the justice system and predominantly reside in rural communities: Patterns and associated risk factors. Journal of Crime and Justice, 46(2), 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648x.2022.2103014

[7] Coall, D. A., & Hertwig, R. (2010). Grandparental investment: Past, present, and future. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X09991105

[8] Coontz, S. (1992). The way we never were: American families and the nostalgia trap. Basic Books.

[9] Cunningham, M., & Thornton, A. (2006). The influence of parents’ marital quality on adult children’s attitudes toward marriage and its alternatives: Main and moderating effects. Demography, 43(4), 659–672.

[10] Elliott, M. A., & Merrill, F. E. (1961). Social disorganization. Harper.

[11] Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton.

[12] Fagan, P. F., & Talkington, S. (1997). A consolidation of Mapping Americas: Family structure, live and let live? (Mapping America- 137). Marriage and Religion Research Institute. Accessed on January 23, 2025, in https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF15A11.pdf

[13] Geismar, L. L., & Wood, K. (1986). Family and delinquency: Resocializing the young offender. Human Sciences Press.

[14] Germo, G., Chang, E., Keller, M., & Goldberg, W. (2007). Child sleep arrangements and family life: Perspectives from mothers and fathers. Infant and Child Development, 16(4), 433–456. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.521

[15] Grüning Parache, L., Vogel, M., Meigen, C., Kiess, W., & Poulain, T. (2024). Family structure, socioeconomic status, and mental health in childhood. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(7), 2377–2386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02329-y

[16] Jabbari, B., Schoo, C., & Rouster, A. S. (2023). Family dynamics. StatPearls Publishing.

[17] Johnson, A. C. (1995). Resiliency mechanisms in culturally diverse families. The Family Journal, 3(4), 316–324. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480795034005

[18] Kapadia, K. M. (1958). Marriage and family in India. Indian Branch, Oxford University Press.

[19] Lerner, R. E., Camerota, M., Tully, K. P., & Propper, C. (2020). Associations between mother-infant bed-sharing practices and infant affect and behavior during the still-face paradigm. Infant Behavior and Development, 60(3), 101464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101464

[20] Lück, D., & Castrén, A.-M. (2018). Personal understandings and cultural conceptions of family in European societies. European Societies, 20(5), 699–714. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2018.1487989

[21] Marah, K., Fute, A., & Kangwa, D. (2025). Beyond the classroom: Examining the varied impact of family dynamics on students’ academic success. Acta Psychologica, 255(4), 104895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104895

[22] Marici, M., Clipa, O., Runcan, R., & Pîrghie, L. (2023). Is rejection, parental abandonment or neglect a trigger for higher perceived shame and guilt in adolescents? Healthcare, 11(12), 1724. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11121724

[23] Oesterdiekhoff, G. (2024). Family patterns in the Western and the Eastern world. Qeios. https://doi.org/10.32388/9E8XH1

[24] Ogburn, W. F., & Nimkoff, M. F. (1964). A handbook of sociology. Routledge & K. Paul. Accessed on August 27, 2024, in https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/A_Handbook_of_Sociology/aeQhAAAAMAAJ?hl=en

[25] Patten, E. (2015). How American parents balance work and family life when both work. Pew Research Center. Recuperado em 1 de janeiro de 2025, de https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/11/04/how-american-parents-balance-work-and-family-life-when-both-work

[26] Raising kids and running a household: How working parents share the load. (2015). Pew Research Center. Accessed on December 23, 2024, in https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load

[27] Rutkowski, C. (2018). Early family experience affects later romantic relationships. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Accessed on April 26, 2025, in https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/early-family-experience-affects-later-romantic-relationships

[28] Ryan, L., & La Vigne, N. (n.d.). Trends in youth arrests for violent crimes. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Accessed on January 23, 2025, in https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/library/publications/trends-youth-arrests-violent-crimes

[29] Scott, J. (2015). A dictionary of sociology. Oxford University Press.

[30] Scroope, C. (2021). Japanese—Family. Cultural Atlas. Accessed on November 21, 2024, in https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/japanese-culture/japanese-culture-family

[31] Scroope, C., & Evason, N. (2017). Chinese—Family. Cultural Atlas. Accessed on November 21, 2024, in https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/chinese-culture/chinese-culture-family

[32] Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive culture: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, language, art, and custom. John Murray.

[33] Working parents with young children in the EU. (2020). Eurostat. Accessed on December 2023, 2024, in https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20200501-1

[34] Yabe, M., Oshima, S., Eifuku, S., Taira, M., Kobayashi, K., Yabe, H., & Niwa, S. (2018). Effects of storytelling on the childhood brain: Near-infrared spectroscopic comparison with the effects of picture-book reading. Fukushima Journal of Medical Science, 64(3), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.5387/fms.2018-11

Abstract

References

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