The Family
Families are unusual
in the animal kingdom:
Tend to occur only
when males and females mate for life:
•
Allows
male to help in infant caregiving
For example,
•
Apes
have social systems – but not “families”
Thought
to be connected to pipedalism. Why?
Important to remember:
Family system is
extremely complex:
•
Influences
are bidirectional –
Socialization
within the family
Styles of child rearing
Baumrind: natural observation of parent/child
interaction
|
|
Responsive |
Unresponsive |
|
Demanding |
Authoritative parents |
Authoritarian parents |
|
Undemanding |
Permissive parents |
Uninvolved parents |
Authoritative Child Rearing
•
Reasonable
demands for maturity
•
Enforced
with set limits
•
Show
warmth and affection
•
Encourage
participation in family
Effects?
Leads to:
Authoritarian Child Rearing
•
High
demands for maturity
•
Unresponsive
to failure to obey: “because I say so”
•
Use
force and punishment
•
Clearly
biased toward parents’ needs
Effects?
Leads to:
Permissive Child Rearing
•
Nurturant and
accepting
•
But few
demands or controls on behavior
•
Early
decisions allowed
•
Parents:
some believe this is way to raise child – others lack confidence
Effects?
Leads to:
And:
Long term effects: poor
self-control - more drug use.
Uninvolved Child Rearing
•
Little
commitment to caregiving beyond minimum
•
Few
demands: not even for homework or social behavior
•
Will
respond to easy demands but not long term ones
•
At
extreme: Neglect – no emotional, social, or physical interaction
•
Has long
term effects on all areas of development
Effects?
Leads to:
Why is authoritative rearing effective?
But: interaction
between child characteristics and parent?
Parenting Styles and Ethnicity
l The effects of different parenting styles and practices vary somewhat as a function of ethnic or racial group
l Among African-American adolescents at all economic levels, an aspect of authoritarian control was associated with positive outcomes
l Why?
Factors Affecting Parenting Style: Children
l Among the strongest influences on parents’ parenting styles are the characteristics of their children
l Some of children’s influence on their parents is due to their degree of with children and infants eliciting positive responses from adults
Differences in children’s behavior with their parents also affect parenting, with a major reason for differences in behavior
Parenting in
middle childhood
• Time spent with parent declines: 5-12 years parents spend as much time as with preschoolers
Parents shift control to child – coregulation
Parents oversee child but permit child to make decisions – but 4th grades see parents as most important people in their lives
Parenting in
adolescence
Parents encourage autonomy
Children encouraged to be separate and self-governing
Child Care
•
Findings
§
Depends
on hours in child care and number of caregivers
v
Children
may bring other “home baggage” with them to child care
v
Overall
a secure mother-child attachment is not affected
v
Attachment
effects are related to income, maternal education, and maternal sensitivity
v
There
are small effects when a mother works long hours and has low maternal
sensitivity
Social class variation
Low SES parents: high value on obedience, neatness, cleanliness
Higher SES parents: high value on curiosity, happiness, self-control
Middle class parents:
• talk to and stimulate infants more
•
Low income parents:
• Limit rocking and cuddling – don’t want to spoil child
•
Why these differences?
Family Lifestyles
and transitions
From large to small families
Mid 1950s: mean number of children = 3.8
Mid 1970s: mean number of children = 1.8
Why?
Effects of small family
• Parents with less children are more patient, use less punishment
• Devote more time to each child’s needs
But: child anxiety higher in small families. Why?
But: confound with SES. Why?
Maltreatment by parents
Child maltreatment is intentional abuse or neglect that endangers the well-being of anyone under the age of 18 years.
Seventy-five percent of perpetrators are parents, usually
Child abuse is associated with
Half the substantiated cases in the
Developmental Effects
of Abuse and Neglect
Abused or neglected children tend to be
They are more at risk for developing psychopathology and deviant behavior.
They have difficulties in school.
Interventions must be long and intense and must be designed to meet the needs of both children and parents.
Economic Stress
Protracted economic stress predicts negative outcomes in parenting.
These negative outcomes are associated with children’s increased risk for depression, unregulated behavior, delinquency, and drug use.
About % of children under 18 live in poverty.
Social support can lessen the effects of economic stress on parenting.
Homelessness
One-fourth of the homeless in the
Homeless children are at risk for
Many homeless teens have run away (often because of abuse) or have been kicked out of their homes.
Family Lifestyles
and transitions
One child families
Is an only child disadvantaged?
The stereotype: YES (over-indulged, feel pressure)
But: sibling relationships have benefits but are not essential
Only children are:
•
•
•
Same in West and
Family Lifestyles and transitions
Gay and lesbian families
Several million
Family dynamic is generally similar: children are as well adjusted as children of heterosexual parents
But:
• Evidence that gay fathers are more responsive than heterosexual fathers
Family Lifestyles and transitions: Divorce
• ¼ of children in US live in single parent household (usually mom)
Divorce is not a “single event”: Often has a history – and leads to large changes
How do children respond to divorce?
Large variation in effect – depending mainly on five factors
• Most children show improvement 2 years after divorce
But: girls often exhibit problems with heterosexual behavior
|
Factor |
|
|
Custodial parents’ Psychological health |
Well adjusted parents handle stress: Protects child, engages in authoritative parenting |
|
Child Characteristics |
|
|
Age |
|
|
Temperament |
|
|
Sex |
|
|
Social Support |
|
Stepparents
• Stepfathers …
§ Are often less engaged with stepchildren
§ Have more conflicts with step vs. biological children
§ Provide more income
§ Provide emotional support to the custodial parent
§ Provide a male role model
§ Provide stepson supervision
§ The adjustment for adolescents is easier in simple stepfamilies, than in complex step families (1/2 siblings)
• Stepmothers …
§ Are less studied, because fathers are rarely the custodial parent
§ Are expected to monitor and discipline children, which can lead to resentment