FAMILY INFLUENCES ON CREATIVITY

This chapter starts with a presentation of two competing theories regarding familial influences on creativity, followed by a discussion of more specific variables within the home environment that may contribute to or impede one’s creativity in later life. The first variable, parenting style, has been studied for decades, with evidence overwhelmingly showing that warm, democratic, and less controlled parenting has a substantially positive effect on one’s creative potential, activities, and accomplishments. A second variable is sibling constellation, including birth order and family size, which exhibits complex relationships with creativity. Then, gender issues are discussed in the context of family influences, depicting the importance of parents’ values in facilitating girls’ creative achievements. Next, a sociocultural perspective is employed in understanding the influences of family socioeconomic status as well as cultural values on creativity development.