Family factors and development of creative thinking

Development of creative ability is influenced by multiple factors. This paper explores the role played by family's socioeconomic status (SES) and parents' involvement in their children's creative thinking development. Longitudinal data were collected four times in 5-month intervals from 75 primary school students and their parents. Latent growth curve model has demonstrated that although there was a significant linear increase in children's figural creative thinking, this level of change significantly varied across participants. Family's SES was related to the initial level of children's creative thinking but unrelated to its growth. Parents' involvement focused on performance orientation was negatively related to the level of change in creative thinking, while more intrinsic, mastery orientation was unrelated to observed changes in creative thinking. We discuss these findings in light of previous theories and research exploring the possibilities of supporting the development of creativity.