The Role of Supportive Adults in Promoting Positive Development in Middle Childhood

Abstract

The goal of this research was to examine the role of supportive adults to emotional well-being in a population of Grade 4 students attending public schools in Vancouver, Canada. Reflecting the ecology of middle childhood, we examined the extent to which perceived family, school, and neighborhood support relate to young people’s self-reported emotional well-being (N = 3,026; 48% female; M_age = 9.75). Furthermore, we investigated the hierarchy of importance among those support factors in predicting students’ well-being. As expected, adult support in all three ecological contexts was positively related to emotional well-being. School support emerged as the most important adult support factor, followed by home and neighborhood support. All three support factors emerged as stronger predictors than socioeconomic status (SES) in our study. We discuss our findings in relation to the empirical field of relationship research in middle childhood, and how our findings can inform educational practice.

Keywords

well-being adult support middle childhood population-based research

Emotional well-being, such as holding a positive view of oneself, having an optimistic outlook in life, and being satisfied with one’s life, is an important marker of positive development and growth during childhood and adolescence (Lerner, 2009; Lopez & McKnight, 2002). In revealing factors that contribute to emotional well-being, past theory and research have highlighted the importance of supportive adults in key ecological contexts in which young people develop (e.g., Bowers et al., 2012; Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Jose, Ryan, & Pryor, 2012). Specifically, feeling supported by adults in the family (Berns, 2012; Hillaker, Brophy-Herb, Villaruel, & Haas, 2008), at school (Battistich, 2005; Hughes, Luo, Kwok, & Loyd, 2008; Li, Lerner, & Lerner, 2010), and in the neighborhood (Benson, 2003; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Woolley, 2006) has previously been found to be positively related to healthy emotional development during early and middle adolescence.

Whereas the importance of adult support has been well-documented across the adolescent age span, less is known about its importance with respect to fostering positive development in middle childhood. Middle childhood has commonly been defined as the age period of 6 to 12 (Collins, 1984; Eccles, 1999). The middle childhood years are the gateway between childhood and early adolescence, and are considered a critical period in development marked by multiple biological, cognitive, and social changes (Eccles, 1999). Understanding and ultimately fostering positive development during this time is crucial because it can guide researchers and practitioners in promoting positive developmental trajectories as young people transition into adolescence (Guhn et al., 2012).

The present study had two goals. First, we examined whether the empirical findings that highlight the importance of adult support across multiple ecological contexts (i.e., family, school, neighborhood) in adolescent development replicate in a population of fourth graders (9-year-old children), representing the peak of middle childhood development. Second, because it is unclear whether some supportive relationships play a more salient role than others for positive development (see Geldhof, Bowers, & Learner, 2013; Jose et al., 2012), we investigated the relative importance adult support within the contexts of children’s family, school, and neighborhood.

The present study was embedded in the theoretical framework of Positive Youth Development (PYD; for example, Lerner, 2009; Lerner, Brentano, Dowling, & Anderson, 2002), relating individual and contextual assets (i.e., promotive factors) to positive developmental trajectories. The study was conducted in the population of Grade 4 students attending public schools in Vancouver, Canada. Population-based studies on emotional well-being are important because they provide insight into important developmental patterns in an entire population of young people (McCain, Mustard, & Shanker, 2007).

Emotional Development: Indicators of Thriving in Middle Childhood

Emotional well-being is a key indicator for positive development and mental health throughout the childhood and adolescent years (Fredericks & Simpkins, 2011; World Health Organization, 2003). Indicators of emotional well-being include optimism (e.g., Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008; Gillham & Reivich, 2004), satisfaction with life (e.g., Diener & Diener, 2009; Proctor, Linley, & Maltby, 2009), and holding a positive view of the self (e.g., Gilman & Huebner, 2003; McCullough, Huebner, & Laughlin, 2000). All three indicators have been identified as key assets that indicate a positive identity and a beginning pathway of PYD in middle childhood (e.g., Scales, Sesma, & Bolstrom, 2003; Valois, Zullig, Huebner, & Drane, 2009). For the present study, we therefore created a composite variable to reflect children’s overall emotional well-being.

Optimism in children and youth is the general tendency for young people to expect the best and the belief that good things will happen to them (Gillham & Reivich, 2004; Snyder, 2000). Optimism in youth has been positively related to success in school, happiness, and being socially accepted (Froh et al., 2008; Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Thomson, 2010; Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Zumbo, 2011). Furthermore, research suggests that optimism can be a buffer against mental health problems in young people (Patton et al., 2011). Although the scientific study of optimism in middle childhood is still in a nascent stage, preliminary findings have identified optimism as a key indicator of emotional health (Gillham & Reivich, 2004).

Similarly, satisfaction with life—an indicator of subjective well-being—encompasses how individuals evaluate their own life, and thus provides critical insight into children’s emotional well-being (Diener & Diener, 2009). Although most research on satisfaction with life has been done with adult populations, the focus on children and adolescents has increased steadily in the past few years with promising findings for the study of positive development in adolescence (Gadermann, Schonert-Reichl, & Zumbo, 2010; Huebner, 2004; Oberle et al., 2011; Valois et al., 2009). For example, high levels of satisfaction with life have been found to be positively related to healthy social relationships, self-esteem, and engagement in activities in and out of schools (see Proctor et al., 2009, for a review). Higher life satisfaction also has been related to fewer mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and substance abuse (Donohue et al., 2003). Taken together, results indicate that satisfaction with life is an important construct for PYD, because it indicates healthy social, emotional, and mental functioning (Proctor et al., 2009).

Self-concept signals an individual’s perception of self (Ybrandt, 2008), and has been identified as another important marker of well-being during the middle childhood age period (Molloy, Ram, & Gest, 2011). Research assessing self-concept is important because it contributes to understanding how children perceive themselves and how such positive or negative views of the self relate to important aspects of development (Benjamin, 1993; Ybrandt, 2008). Whereas positive overall self-perceptions (e.g., “liking oneself, enjoying to be oneself”; Ybrandt, 2008, p. 2) indicate well-being and positive social functioning (McCullough et al., 2000; Steinhausen & Metzke, 2001), a negative view of the self is related to mental and behavioral health problems (Hay, 2000; Marsh, Parada, & Ayotte, 2004), jeopardizing positive development. Perceiving oneself in a positive light matters particularly in middle childhood because it is a time in the life course of formation and transition when young people embark on pathways that form a trajectory for the years to come (Stroud et al., 2009).

Overall, research on promotive factors matters particularly during middle childhood—a time during which social, behavioral, and mental health problems increase and can jeopardize positive development (Eccles, 1999). Because the beginning of the middle childhood years are characterized with an emerging shift away from the family, identifying the factors that relate to positive developmental outcomes within other core ecological contexts (e.g., school, neighborhood) in which young people develop is especially warranted (Wigfield, Byrnes, & Eccles, 2006).

Supportive Relationships in Multiple Ecological Contexts

Positive development in childhood and adolescence has its foundations in a continuous bidirectional person ←→ context process (Lerner, Lerner, Almerigi, & Theokas, 2005). In particular, adult support in core environmental contexts adds to young people’s “social capital” and hence promotes their well-being and buffers them from risks (Woolley & Bowen, 2007, p. 93). Given that children during the middle years immerse themselves in ever-widening circles of social interactions (Wigfield et al., 2006), three core developmental settings emerge: The family, the school, and the neighborhood (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Woolley & Bowen, 2007).

Decades of research indicate that supportive parents and other adults in the family are critical for healthy emotional development (see Boutelle, Eisenberg, Gregory, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2009). Having responsive parents who are engaged in their children’s lives and who foster their strengths and talents has been associated with children who are happier and healthier, and who exhibit more prosocial behaviors (Barnes, Mitic, Leadbeather, & Dhami, 2009; Suldo & Huebner, 2004). In addition to a supportive family context, research on the support from adults in the school context also has been shown to play a paramount role in promoting positive development in children and early adolescents (Hamre & Pianta, 2005; Ladd & Burgess, 2001; Murray & Greenberg, 2000). For instance, students who feel supported by teachers and who believe that an adult at school cares about their performance has been related to higher student engagement and achievement in school, motivation, and self-esteem, and lower levels of depression (Bond et al., 2007; McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010; Reddy, Rhodes, & Mulhall, 2003; Wentzel, 1998).

With increasing age, the neighborhood evolves as a further ecological niche in which children spend time; just like the school setting, the community context is particularly significant because it can influence all young people (Anthony & Stone, 2010; Hawkins et al., 2007; Pretty, 2002). One of the few studies on the importance of neighborhoods on child development revealed that young people who experienced non-related adults in the neighborhood as caring and supportive scored higher on indicators of thriving, such as high expectations for achievement and a positive view of the self (Theokas et al., 2005). This finding aligns with theoretical considerations posited by Baumeister and Leary (1995), stating that connectedness and belonging to the community is an important component of well-being, health, and positive development. Although the role of communities and neighborhood support in middle childhood has been understudied at this point (Farrell, Aubry, & Coulombe, 2004), theory and research in this field indicate the potential of supportive adults in the neighborhood for fostering thriving in emerging youth (Benson, 2003; Putnam, 2000; Scales et al., 2001; Wolkow & Ferguson, 2001).

Taken together, the scientific literature on PYD lends both theoretical and empirical support for investigating positive development during middle childhood in relation to adult support in different important contexts in which children grow up (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Jose et al., 2012; McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010; Theokas et al., 2005, Theokas & Lerner, 2006). Although the family remains a critical context during the middle years (Roth et al., 2009), middle childhood is a time in development in which there is an increasing expansion beyond adults in the family toward adults in other contexts, in particular the school and the neighborhood (Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2000).

Summary and Hypotheses

Middle childhood is a time of social transitions, and increasingly, support can be gained from significant relationships both inside and outside of the family (e.g., Boutelle et al., 2009; Jose et al., 2012; Wigfield et al., 2006). Healthy connections with adults in the school and neighborhood can contribute in positive and significant ways to emotional well-being during this time (Elias & Haynes, 2008; McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010). Some of the limitations in the current literature involve little research on the importance of adult support across different ecological contexts in middle childhood in particular, and the absence of population-based research on positive development in middle childhood (Eccles, 1999; McCain et al., 2007).

Based on previous research, the following hypotheses and explorative research questions were formed:

Research Question 1: We expected that family, school, and neighborhood support would be positively and significantly related to emotional well-being in the population of Grade 4 students attending public schools in Vancouver, a large urban Canadian city.

Research Question 2: Considering the relative impact of the different supportive relationships for positive development, we explored the hierarchy of importance for family, school, and neighborhood support from adults for emotional well-being in middle childhood.

Method

Participants

Participants included 3,026 fourth-grade students (48% girls) with a mean age of 9.75 years (SD = .25). Participants were from 201 classrooms in 72 public elementary schools in a diverse, large urban public school district (with a student population of over 50,000) in Vancouver, Canada. Private and independent schools were not included in the present study. Forty percent of children reported that English was the first language they had learned. The remaining 37% reported Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Korean, or other languages as their first language learned. A total of 33% indicated both English and one other language as their first languages. Regarding family composition, 77% of the participants reported living with both parents, 21% with one parent or part-time with each parent, and the remaining participants reported family compositions such as living with an aunt and uncle, grandparents, or with foster parents.

A “passive consent” procedure was used to obtain tacit approval from the parents/guardians of fourth-grade students in participating classrooms. That is, primary guardians were informed via letters about the research project 4 weeks prior to the survey administration, and they were given the opportunity to withhold their child from participating. In addition, students were asked to give verbal assent for participation. In the 72 participating elementary schools (of a total of 81 elementary schools in the district), the student participation rate was 93%, representing 80% of the public school district’s Grade 4 student population. All students whose parents/guardians had not withheld their participation also gave student assent.

Procedure

Data collection using the survey named Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI)¹ took place in January 2010. The aim of the MDI research project was to conduct a population-based administration of the survey in all Grade 4 classrooms in the Vancouver School District. All administrators of the 81 elementary schools in the School District were contacted, informed about the purpose and procedure of the MDI project, and invited to participate. Nine schools opted out of the project due to scheduling conflicts and competing projects at the time. The MDI survey was administered by classroom teachers and/or the school principal or vice principal based on a detailed information package and an implementation guide. Teachers were instructed to read each item in the survey out loud, so that students could mark their responses accordingly.

Measures

MDI

The MDI survey is a self-report measure of student social and emotional development and assets. The MDI is rooted in empirical research and theory in the field of PYD (e.g., Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; Scales, Benson, & Mannes, 2006). It was developed over the course of 4 years, and tested in three pilot studies (see Schonert-Reichl et al., 2013). The final version of the MDI survey contains demographic questions and 72 items that assess five domains of children’s development and well-being—that is, (a) social and emotional development; (b) connectedness with parents, schools, peers, and neighborhoods; (c) school experiences; (d) physical health and well-being; and (e) constructive use of after-school time. The current study is based on the MDI subscales assessing emotional development (Domain 1) and connectedness with parents, schools, peers, and neighborhoods (Domain 2). Almost all of the MDI subscales are adapted from original scales. They were derived from factor analytical procedures of data from previous studies on large-scale samples including Grade 4 students. Item selection and scale adaptation was based on stable psychometric properties (e.g., satisfactory reliability), focus groups with students, and focus groups with teachers. The final confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the scale structure, and convergent and discriminant validity among the MDI scales were in line with previous empirical research and theoretical frameworks (for detailed description, see Schonert-Reichl et al., 2013). In addition to the MDI data, Stats Canada data on income at the postal code level were linked to the MDI data to assess relationships between MDI variables and indicators of socioeconomic status (SES). Means, standard deviations, and ranges for all variables used in this study are presented in Table 1.²

Table 1.

Pearson Product–Moment Correlations Between All Variables.

	M (SD)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Age	9.75 (0.25)	—
2. Gender^a	—	.022	—
3. ESL^b	—	−.002	.016	—
4. Emotional well-being	43.19 (7.90)	.035	−.097*	.106**	—
5. Family support	3.48 (0.65)	.037	−.050*	.104**	.447**	—
6. School support	16.84 (3.23)	.009	−.072*	.030	.493**	.326**	—
7. Neighborhood support	2.71 (0.96)	.028	−.063*	.144**	.308**	.312**	.246**	—
8. SES	26,757.12 (10,949.58)	.036	.035	.171**	.108**	.119**	.028	.114**

Note. ESL = English as a Second Language; SES = socioeconomic status.

1 = female; 2 = male.

0 = ESL; 1 = English first language.

p < .01. **p < .001.

Demographics

A demographic questionnaire was administered to each student to gather information about his or her gender, birth date, first language learned, and family composition.

Emotional well-being

The variables optimism, self-concept, and satisfaction with life were aggregated to form the composite emotional well-being. All three variables were positively and significantly correlated with each other—ranging from r = .56 to r = .64 (ps < .001). The Cronbach’s alpha of the composite indicated satisfactory reliability (α = .87).

Optimism

Optimism was assessed with the Optimism subscale from the Resiliency Inventory (RI; Noam & Goldstein, 1998; Song, 2003). The adapted version of this scale consisted of three items (sample item: “More good things than bad things will happen to me”). Students were asked to rate each item on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Not at all like me, 2 = A little bit like me, 3 = Kind of like me, 4 = A lot like me, 5 = Always like me. For the present research study, Cronbach’s alpha for the Optimism subscale was acceptable (α = .65).

Self-concept

General self-concept was assessed with an adapted version of the Marsh Self Description Questionnaire (Marsh, 1988). The adapted version of the scale used in this study consisted of three items, such as “In general, I like being the way I am,” and “Overall, I have a lot to be proud of.” Items were rated on a scale ranging from 1 = Never, 2 = Hardly ever, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often, 5 = Always. Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was satisfactory (α = .70).

Satisfaction with life

Satisfaction with life was assessed using the Satisfaction With Life Scale for Children (SWLS-C; Gadermann et al., 2010), an adaptation of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), which is a five-item instrument that assesses global life satisfaction in adults. A validation study of the SWLS-C indicated that the instrument was psychometrically sound and showed construct validity in a sample of fourth to seventh graders (Gadermann, Guhn, & Zumbo, 2011; Gadermann et al., 2010). Students were asked to rate the five items on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Disagree a lot to 5 = Agree a lot. Sample item is, “So far, I have gotten the important things I want in life.” Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was satisfactory (α = .83).

Perceived family support

Perceived family support was assessed with the Parental Support subscale of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS; WestEd, 2005). The adapted scale in this study consisted of four items. On a scale from 1 = Not at all true to 4 = Very much true, children were asked to rate statements concerning their parent/caregiver in the family, for example “In my home, there is a parent/caregiver or another adult who talks with me about my problems.” Cronbach’s alpha in this study was .75.

Perceived neighborhood support

The Neighborhood Support subscale of the CHKS (WestEd, 2005) was used to assess the existence of non-related supportive adults that children perceived in their community/neighborhood. The adapted version used in this study consisted of three items. On a scale from 1 = Not at all true to 4 = Very much true, students were asked to rate each of the three items as to the degree to which in their neighborhood or community (NOT in their school or family), they had a supportive relationship with a non-related adult (e.g., “ . . . there is an adult who listens to me when I have something to say.”). Cronbach’s alpha was .85.

Perceived school support

It was composed of the variables school support and school connectedness. The variables were positively and significantly correlated (r = .49; p < .001). Cronbach’s alpha of the composite was .75.

School support

Students’ perception of supportive adults in school was assessed via a subscale of the School Support subscale of the CHKS (WestEd, 2005). The adapted scale consisted of three items. Ranging from 1 = Not at all true to 4 = Very much true, children were asked to rate each of the three items as to the degree to which they perceived that they had a supportive relationship with a teacher or other adult in their school (e.g., “ . . . there is a teacher/adult who really cares about me”). For the present study, Cronbach’s alpha was .70.

School connectedness

Sense of school connectedness was assessed via the school belonging subscale of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey developed by Roeser, Midgley, and Urdan (1996). Rated on a 5-point-scale ranging from 1 = Disagree a lot to 5 = Agree a lot, students were asked how much they agreed with the statements such as “I feel like I am important in this school.” Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was satisfactory (α = .73).

Socioeconomic status

SES data were obtained from 2006 tax filer data through Stats Canada. Specifically, the variable median equalized disposable income at census enumeration area (i.e., six-digit postal code level) was used as an indicator of approximate family SES. The variable represents the equalized disposable income per person within a given enumeration area (Ebert, 1999). In the present study, median equalized disposable income ranged from 3,400 to 77,500 with a mean of 26,757 (SD = 10,949).

As described by Guhn, Gadermann, Hertzman, and Zumbo (2010), median equalized disposable income is equalized according to (a) family size because the living costs of a household do not linearly increase with increasing family size, and (b) the age of the family members because children and teenagers have lower living costs than adults on average. Even though the variable is calculated based on individual census family income, Stats Canada provided data only at an aggregated enumeration area code level (e.g., postal code). Enumeration areas can range from block size in densely populated areas to larger areas in sparsely populated areas, and coincide with the area captured by the six-digit postal code (Guhn et al., 2010).

Because data in this study were obtained from a population of Grade 4 students attending elementary schools in Vancouver—a large Canadian city—it can be assumed that the enumeration areas in which the participants resided are all fairly densely populated and have geographical resemblance to block areas (Guhn et al., 2010). Representative studies conducted in the Canadian context have shown that census income data aggregated at the postal code/block level serve as a reasonable proxy for family-level income in large-scale analyses (e.g., Mustard, Derksen, Berthelot, & Wolfson, 1999). Based on these findings previous population-level studies have employed the same methodology and used income at the level of enumeration area as an indicator for individual family income (Guhn et al., 2010; Oliver, Dunn, Kohen, & Hertzman, 2007).

Results

Data Analytic Procedure

First, preliminary analyses were conducted to test whether the assumptions for linear regression analysis were met, and to explore correlations among all variables. Second, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate SES and the assets family, school, and neighborhood support as predictors for emotional well-being after controlling for age, gender, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Because of the large sample size, the significance level for considering an effect statistically significant was set to p < .01. The PRATT-index (see Thomas, Hughes, & Zumbo, 1998) was used as an indicator for the relative importance of variables in the model, calculating the proportion of overall variance each variable explained in the regression model. A predictor variable’s PRATT-index is computed based on the variable’s β-weight, its correlation with the outcome variable, and the total R² in the regression model, d = (β × r_xy) / R² (see Thomas et al., 1998). The PRATT-index indicates what percentage of the total R² is explained by each variable in the model. It hence allows interpreting which of the predictor variables are most important in predicting the explained variability of the model’s outcome. The PRATT-index of a given variable in a regression model can range between 0 and 1. The sum of all PRATT-indices within a regression model is 1, indicating that all variables together explain 100% of the R² in the regression model. As an operating principle, a predictor is relatively unimportant in the model if d < 1 / (2 × p) with p indicating the total number of predictors in the model (Thomas, 1992).

Preliminary Analyses

Analyses confirmed that assumptions for regression were met. Correlations among the variables (see Table 1) indicated that several of the demographic variables (age, gender, ESL) were significantly correlated with emotional well-being, providing rationale for including those variables as control variables in subsequent analyses. Furthermore, positive and significant correlations were found for emotional well-being and the three asset variables family, school, and neighborhood support. The magnitude of the correlations (ranging from r = .31 to r = .45) was moderate to strong.

Predicting Emotional Well-Being

A hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate whether perceived family, school, and neighborhood support, SES, and two-way interactions between SES and each of the support variables significantly predicted emotional well-being in middle childhood, controlling for age, gender, and ESL. The control variables were entered in Block 1, and the support variables and SES were entered in Block 2. Overall, Model 1 including the control variables age, gender, and ESL was statistically significant, explaining 2.2% of the variance in students’ emotional well-being; adjusted R² = .02, F(3, 2887) = 21.78, p < .001. Gender was a significant predictor in the model, with females reporting higher emotional well-being than males on average. Also, ESL was a significant predictor, with higher average scores for students whose first language was English compared with those with ESL.

Entering perceived family, school, and neighborhood support, and SES in the next step, Model 2 explained 35.2% of the variance in emotional well-being; adjusted R² = .35, F(7, 2883) = 223.9, p < .001. The change in explained variance between Models 1 and 2 was statistically significant; R² change = .33, Fchange(4, 2883) = 367.2, p < .001. Table 2 shows that all support variables as well as SES significantly and positively predicted emotional well-being in Model 2. The predictive pattern of the control variables remained similar to that of Model 1.

Table 2.

Regression Analysis Predicting Emotional Well-Being.

	Model 1				Model 2
Variable	B	SE	β	t value	B	SE	β	t value	PRATT (d)
Age	0.958	.484	.036	5.704	0.439	.394	.017	1.113	<.01
Gender^a	−1.531	.289	−.097	3.885**	−0.781	.237	−.050	−3.294*	.01
ESL^b	1.806	.306	.109	2.093**	0.721	.256	.043	2.819*	.01
SES					0.332	.120	.042	2.767*	.01
Family support					2.246	.130	.285	17.289**	.36
School support					2.822	.127	.359	22.302**	.50
Neighborhood support					0.888	.127	.113	6.997**	.10

Note. ESL = English as a Second Language; SES = socioeconomic status.

1 = female; 2 = male.

0 = ESL; 1 = English first language.

p < .01. **p < .001.

PRATT-index

Next, we calculated the PRATT-index as an indicator for relative importance of each predictor variable in the full model of the hierarchical linear regression (Block 2). Following recommendations by Thomas (1992), predictors with a PRATT-index smaller than 0.06, d < 1 / (2 × 8), could be considered relatively unimportant in explaining variance in the present study, explaining less than 6% of the R² in the model. Table 2 shows that the three support variables emerged as most important indicators for predicting emotional well-being according to their PRATT-index. Specifically, school support emerged as the most important variable with the highest PRATT-index (d = .50), explaining 50% of the total variance in well-being in the present study. Family support emerged as the second most important predictor, explaining 36% of the total variance in well-being (d = .36), and neighborhood support was ranked third in relative importance, explaining 10% of the model’s R² (d = .10). The remaining indicators’ contribution was below 6%.

Discussion

The goal of the present study was to better understand the role supportive adults play in fostering positive development during middle childhood. Taking an ecological contexts perspective (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 2005) and building on the theoretical framework of PYD (e.g., Lerner, 2009), we investigated adult support in the family, school, and neighborhood in relation to students’ emotional well-being. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between each support factor to well-being after controlling for SES, and the relative importance of SES, family, school, and neighborhood support to identify which of these resources relate the strongest to positive development in the present study. In the following paragraphs, the findings are discussed in light with the literature on PYD. Last, strengths and limitations of the current study, and future considerations for the study of PYD in middle childhood are discussed.

The importance of supportive relationships with adults has previously been established in research with early and mid adolescent samples, whereas data on the role of adult support across multiple ecological contexts in middle childhood is still sparse. To our knowledge, this is the first of its kind population-based study investigating PYD in middle childhood. As hypothesized, and in alignment with research conducted with older samples (e.g., Battistich, 2005; Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Geldhof et al., 2013; Haddad, Chen, & Greenberger, 2011; Jose et al., 2012; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010; Theokas et al., 2005), adult support in the family, at school, and in the neighborhood each were positively and significantly related to well-being in the population of Grade 4 students attending public elementary schools in Vancouver, BC in Canada in the present study. Considering the relative importance each of the support factors, we found that school support was the strongest predictor, explaining 50% of the overall variance in emotional well-being, followed by family support which explained 36%, and neighborhood support which explained 10%. In accord with previous research, SES was also a significant predictor of well-being (e.g., Mcleod & Owens, 2004), however, it only explained 1% of variance in well-being, contributing relatively little to explaining emotional well-being in this study.

These findings have both theoretical and practical implications regarding the importance of family support, and out-of-home support in particular. First, all adult support factors were more strongly related to emotional well-being in the population of fourth graders in Vancouver than was family SES. This finding is important because it highlights the potential of positive relationships with adults in child well-being over and above financial and material resources available to children (Bowers et al., 2012). Second, in accord with previous research, adults in the family remained an important source of support in middle childhood in the present study. In fact, having responsive parents who are engaged and interested in their children’s life has been identified as an important predictor for health, life satisfaction, and prosocial development in early adolescence (Barnes et al., 2009; Suldo & Huebner, 2004). Moreover, support in the school was perceived as most important—even more important than family support—in the present study. Theoretically, it could be explained by the notion of a shifting social focus away from the family toward relationships in important contexts outside the family in the beginning of adolescence (e.g., Eccles & Roeser, 2009; Wigfield et al., 2006). It is possible that Grade 4 students in the present study were more oriented toward relationships in the school context because this is where they spend a large amount of time during their day. The school context is a critical developmental context in middle childhood because it can be an important source of connectedness and belonging emerging from positive and supportive relationships with teachers, staff members, and peers (McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010; Scales et al., 2003). Nonetheless, it is also possible that completing the questionnaire in the school setting contributed to an implicit bias toward weighing the importance of school support (e.g., Schwarz, 1999), and that using a composite of school connectedness and support provided a stronger variable in predicting of well-being.

The practical relevance for revealing the school and the community as key contexts in explaining well-being in the present study is critical. First, it raises awareness among educators and community members about their potential role in fostering positive development (see Eccles, 1999; McLaughlin & Clarke, 2010; Woolley & Bowen, 2007). Second, it informs the design of intervention and prevention initiatives in the school and community setting, and provides a case for defining schools and neighborhood groups as key resources in middle childhood to be considered when planning community development and funding (Greenberg et al., 2003; McNeely, Nonnemaker, & Blum, 2002). In fact, school- and classroom-based interventions targeted at improving social and emotional learning (SEL) have been identified as a fundamental and effective way to cultivate social and emotional skills, well-being, and ultimately to improve academic achievement in childhood and adolescence (see Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011).

Previous research on SEL programming suggests that evidence-based interventions administered in the school setting are particularly important because all students in the classroom can be reached, maximizing the exposure of programs to children who benefit most from SEL interventions (Greenberg et al., 2003). Overall, in a meta-analysis evaluating the effectiveness of SEL programs, promoting social and emotional skills in the classroom was related to increases in learning motivation, cooperative behavior, decreases in disruptive behaviors in the classroom, and a boost in academic outcomes by 11 percentiles (Durlak et al., 2011). Examples for empirically supported intervention programs that promote prosocial behaviors, prosocial attitudes, well-being, and resilience in Canadian and American elementary school students include MindUp (see Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010), the Roots of Empathy program (see Schonert-Reichl, Smith, Zaidman-Zait, & Hertzman, 2012), and Second Step (e.g., Cooke et al., 2007; Smith & Low, 2013). However, as argued by Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg (2007), implementing a specific intervention at one point in time is not sufficient for promoting SEL in the school context. The authors reason that successful SEL programming involves multiple components implemented with a long-term perspective: planned, theory-based programming; teaching skills applicable in everyday life; addressing affective as well as social dimensions of learning; integrating programming in the formal and informal school curriculum; involving family and community partnerships; incorporating outcome evaluation in future program planning.

In addition to interventions targeted toward children in the classroom, Jennings and Greenberg (2009) have emphasized the significance of teachers’ own professional development in the field of social and emotional understanding and learning. The authors point out that professional development in SEL is essential for teachers to acquire and advance the knowledge and skills needed for developing and maintaining caring student–teacher relationships, a supportive classroom climate, and fostering students’ well-being as well as their academic achievement.

Taken together, finding significant relationships between neighborhood and school support to children’s well-being, and demonstrating that these relationships are stronger than predicting well-being from SES, is important because it puts “relationships” in the forefront when understanding emotional well-being in middle childhood. This finding is in line with previous research and theoretical considerations that consider positive relationships across developmental settings, and the emotionally and physically safe spaces that emerge from those supportive connections, to be key in forming positive developmental trajectories (Scales et al., 2003). Especially during the middle years in development, when part of the responsibility begins to shift to schools and the community in promoting health and well-being, the creation of multiple supportive contexts can open doors and provide opportunities for all children, and especially to those who lack support in other areas of their life (Woolley & Bowen, 2007).

Limitations and Future Considerations

The present study on positive development in middle childhood was conducted as population-based research, revealing the role of support factors for Grade 4 students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in a large Canadian city. It is necessary for future research to extend population-based research across larger geographic areas, and to include both urban and rural populations and children who attend independent schools. Furthermore, because a cross-sectional design was used, causal conclusions cannot be drawn about the relationship between adult support and positive outcomes. For instance, it may be that children who have higher well-being are better at identifying the positive sources of support in their lives. It is necessary to conduct longitudinal research to investigate whether previous adult support enhances positive developmental outcomes.

Future research also needs to include further indicators of risk factors in addition to SES. Concerning SES, different indicators of socioeconomic background also need to be explored in future research. Even though block-level median equalized disposable income has been identified as a reliable indicator for family-level income (Mustard et al., 1999), it is possible that some participants from families with low income in the present study resided in affluent neighborhoods (e.g., renting an inexpensive basement apartment), and were therefore falsely associated with high SES. Finally, future research needs to be conducted with multiple measures, including children’s perceptions about support, teachers’ perceptions about student–teacher relationships, and more objective indicators such as the existence of SEL programs in schools and resources accessible in the community.

Conclusion

Overall, the current study contributes to the study of emotional well-being, and PYD in the larger sense. It is furthermore in line with the request for more research revealing positive and supportive processes instead of problem behaviors in adolescent development (Benson, 2006; Larson, 2000). The findings of the present study support the contention that middle childhood development needs to be studied from a systemic point of view, considering the multiple ecological contexts in which young people live, learn, and grow (Benson, 2006). Based on the present study, we can conclude that adult support is crucial for emotional well-being in particular.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The project was funded by United Way of the Lower Mainland (UWLA). The first author received funding by SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council). Dr. Guhn was funded by the Lawson foundation, Ontario, Canada.

Notes

Author Biographies

Eva Oberle, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), and at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, PhD, is a professor in human development, learning, and culture in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education at University of British Columbia (UBC).

Martin Guhn, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Human Early Learning Partnership and the School of Population and Public Health at UBC

Bruno D. Zumbo, PhD, is a professor in measurement and research methods in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education at UBC.

Clyde Hertzman*, PhD, was a professor in the School of Population and Public Health, and the Founding Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership at UBC.

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