A Study in Family Health: (1) Health in Relation to Family Size

Abstract

The present study formed part of a larger one designed to compare the mental health of people living on a new housing estate in Croydon with that of people living in an older district of the town (Hare and Shaw, 1965). In the course of the study, information was obtained by interviewers and from general practitioner records on the health of nearly 500 families in which there was at least one parent living with one or more children (under 16 years). We were able to examine the health of the parents and their children in relation to various family factors, and it is the aim of the present paper to examine the association between health and family size.