An ecological study on family and home : A new way to analyze the relation between family members by measuring of personal space

Many studies about the interaction of family members have centered around the parent-child relations. In other words, they look at how a child's character is effected by the parents' attitude. Three important aspects were found as a result of a review of recent studies. First, the parent-child relations must be analyzed in socio-economic and cultural context. Second, the researcher must consider that parent-child relations constitute only one sub-system. A family is an organized and whole system. Third, parents feelings and attitudes vary as children develop into adolescents. This paper aims to examine one effective method of measuring family cohesion using an ecological approach. People who are familiar with one another interact at a closer distance. On the other hand, when people initiate an interaction with a superior, they stand farther apart. Increased attraction is associated with closer physical distance. Personal space is the concept to these spatial behavior. It is defined as the area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person's body into which intruders may not come. Personal space changes with age. The older the child, the greater the preferred interpersonal distance. Adolescents gradually gain autonomy. In the process, they may regulate spatial distances between themselves and their parents as a reflection of their gradually increasing interpersonal distance. Just as the interpersonal distancde between parents and children indicate the stage of the family life cycle, the feelings and attitudes among family members may be measured by how they distance themselves physically from one another. That is, the greater the social adjustment and positive affect in the family, the less physical distance between family members. Personal space may be just one of several ways family members express their emotional closeness. Further research is needed to examine the validity of this analytical method. A good place to start would be to measure the interpersonal distance among actual family members on a case by case basis.departmental bulletin pape