Strong Families Around the World Development

1. Strong Families Around the World Development John DeFrain, Ph.D. Extension Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Development Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies College of Education and Human Sciences University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA E-mail: jddefrain@yahoo.com

2. Studying Strong Families Around the World I have been working with an international team of researchers around the world for more than 30 years to study family strengths – what makes a family work well together – from a global perspective. Approximately 150 researchers have been involved in a series of more than 60 studies over the years. More than 28,000 family members in 39 countries have participated in these research projects.

3. Defining Strong Families We interview and collect questionnaire data from couples and families who believe that they are happy together, that they live a satisfying life together, that they love each other, and that they have a strong family. We ask these family members to talk about the strengths of their families.

4. Similarities and Differences Around the World Our research team uncovers patterns of family strengths that are remarkably similar from culture to culture, in every major geocultural area of the world. Family structures can be very different, of course. Large, extended families, small nuclear families, and countless other ways of organizing a family from a structural viewpoint. And, the environments in which families live are very diverse from country to country: cities, towns, villages, rural areas; living along the sea coast, on the plains of a continent, in mountainous regions, and so forth; cold climates, hot climates, moderate climates.

5. The International Family Strengths Model But among families who love and care for each other – strong families – the qualities that make them strong are amazingly similar from culture to culture. Our International Family Strengths Model has six major qualities: • Appreciation and affection for each other • Positive communication • Commitment to the family • Enjoyable time together • A sense of spiritual well-being and shared values • The ability to manage stress and crisis effectively

6. 1. Appreciation and affection for each other • Caring for each other • Friendship • Respect for individuality • Playfulness • Humor

7. 2. Positive communication • Giving compliments • Sharing feelings • Avoiding blame • Being able to compromise • Agreeing to disagree

8. 3. Commitment to the family • Trust • Honesty • Dependability • Faithfulness • Sharing

9. 4. Enjoyable time together • Quality time in great quantity • Good things take time • Enjoying each other’s company • Simple good times • Sharing fun times

10. 5. Spiritual well-being and shared values • Hope • Faith • Compassion • Shared ethical values • Oneness with humankind

11. 6. The ability to manage stress and crisis effectively • Adaptability • Seeing a crisis as both a challenge and an opportunity • Growing through crisis together • Openness to change • Resilience

12. If you want to learn more about family strengths research around the world… The most comprehensive book: John DeFrain and Sylvia Asay (Eds.) (2007). Strong Families Around the World: Strengths-Based Research and Perspectives. New York and London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Family strengths and challenges in 18 countries around the world, including China.