| Abstract: | It is hypothesized that recollections of an individual's parental behaviour towards them is associated with their view of their current family functioning. This hypothesis was tested for using data provided by 213 men and 270 women drawn at age 50 from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Relationships between retrospective reports of parental behaviour during childhood and perceptions of current family functioning at age 50 were investigated using a univariate regression analysis in order to explore the relationship between scores on the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD). Where a significant association was observed the relationship between subscale scores was further examined using a multivariate regression analysis including gender and self‐reported psychological well‐being (as measured by the General Health Questionnaire‐ GHQ) as covariates. Several statistically significant associations between PBI and FAD subscale scores were observed. Four of these remained statistically significant once gender and self‐reported psychological well‐being were adjusted for. In this population sample, aspects of recalled parental behaviour were associated with the health of current family functioning in several domains as reported by the FAD. These associations appear to be partly mediated by current psychological well‐being. |
