Filipino children's concepts of family

The study provided a qualitative analysis of Filipino children's family concepts based on their ages, genders and family structures. Participants were 4, 7 and 12 year old boys and girls from single and dual-parent families in Manila, Makati, Quezon City and Bacoor, Cavite. Data from three different sources (participant-interviews, family drawings and information sheets) were triangulated and showed consistent results.Developmental trends on children's family concepts were observed from the study. Four year olds focused more on physically observable facets of a family such as its composition, co-residence and tasks of family members. Seven year olds more frequently referred to and even emphasized on the permanence of abstract dimensions such as biological and conjugal relationships. Older children also pertained to those abstract dimensions but showed more flexibility than the younger participants in their judgments. Such age-based differences were attributed to children's cognitive characteristics, their gradual accumulation of knowledge and their social interactions with other family members.Data showed some gender-based differences among children's family concepts. Girls were found to have more tendency discussing emotional factors and nurturance roles than the boys. These were attributed to certain socialization experiences of children.Children from single and dual-parent families were found to have more similarities than differences in their understanding of family. However, those coming from single-parent families tend to discuss nurturance roles of family members than those from dual-parent families. This may have something to do with the very quality of relationships they have with their family members.