Effects of mobility and family environment on high-risk behaviors of early adolescents

Some evidence suggests that family mobility affects the social-emotional development and academic adjustment of children. For children in mobile families, their own unique family environment may provide a constant which serves to mitigate or exaggerate the inevitable changes which occur with moving. The effects of mobility on children are seen in their adjustment to the social and academic demands of school. When this adjustment is such that the child appears in danger of negative future events, he or she is considered to be "at-risk.".;This study hypothesized that family environment would be a significant factor in children's adjustment to mobility and that the effects of mobility and family environment would be seen in school-based indicators of high risk. A sample of 154 sixth grade students in overseas schools run by the U. S. military were surveyed using Moos' Family Environment Scale to ascertain their perceptions of their family's cohesion and organization, two major determinants of family environment. The degree of "at-riskness" was determined by considering the variables of school attendance, school achievement, and attitude.;Results showed significant negative relationships to exist both between mobility and school achievement and between the family environment factor of organization and school attendance. No other significant relationships were found among mobility, family environment, and high risk indicators. This lack of relationship among the variables used in this study suggests that other variables, e. g., father absence, maternal adjustment, socioeconomic level, may be necessary to explain the impact of mobility on high risk. In addition, it suggested that longitudinal and observational studies be used for further research into the relationship between mobility and family environment.