marriage ch 15

building stepfamily strengths

-avoid tendency to try to hard -do not try to replace the former parent -stepparents must avoid favoritism -stepparents need to develop skills in dealing with complex financial realities in their new families

benefits of single parent families

-closeness -positive experience and accelerated growth and development "get to do hard things" -parenting and decision making do not need to be negotiated with another

what resources do single parent families rely on?

-family and friends -spiritual and religious -positive attitude -sense of humor

role of fathers in lives of noncustodial children

-fathers rely on others for support -shared physical placement supports the father child relationship long term -close relationships with mother are related to close relationships with noncustodial father -relationships with children have positive effects on fathers well being

challenges of being single parent families

-financially, single parent families struggle -stigma of single parent families -having to juggle everything alone and making decisions alone

divorce rates can change as a result of societal events

-laws -women entering the workforce and earning salaries that allowed for economic dependence -contraception options -recessions -number of people who cohabit -the extent to which people are religious

fathers' involvement with their biological children is influenced by many factors,

-they are paying child support -if they were married to children's mother -hostility over divorce

the highest divorce rates in history occurred in _____ with the rates beginning to decline in 2005

1979 and 1981

a step family is

a family in which one or both partners in a relationship have a child or children from a previous relationship

________ was the first state to devise a system of no fault divorce laws

california

stepfamililes in later life

can have complications with step siblings, who cares for aging parents, inheritance and finances

the largest increase in single parent families is currently coming from

cohabitating couples who have children and who are legally defined as single parent families

types of co-parenting relationships

conflicted- 1/4 of parents, frequent conflicts and focus more on own needs paralle- low conflict but have limited communication regarding parenting issues cooperative- planning together for their children's lives and supporting each other in their parenting roles

stepfamilies expect difficulty

dealing with complex stepfamily issues (88%) -creating a step family puts more strain on their relationship (85%) -different patterns of childrearing 82 -expect step family adjustment to be difficult 78 -money management 73 -unpaid bills, debts or settlements 66 -fear of another marital failure 63

basing of financial decisions on _____, ______,________ rather than on fault or gender-basesd role assignments

equity, equality, and economic need

impact of divorce on children

higher rate of emotional and social problems how well the parents deal with divorce personalities of children parents relationship with child

______ were added as grounds for divorce

incompatibility and irreconcilable differences

now divorce is linked with the pursuit of

individual satisfaction and there is less social pressure to stay married

divorce culture

is the notion that divorce has now become so accepted that it is almost the expected outcome of marriage

impact of divorce on adults

major responsibility for children, decreased contact with children, reduced income, decreased social support, continued conflict with ex-spouse 70% positive from divorce 30% negative from divorce

even the presence of children is

not a deterrent to getting divorced as it was in the past

before the mid-1800s, people married for

physical and economic survival

binuclear families

physical custody legal custody sole custody joint custody split custody

__________ established equality between the genders as a norm

redefinition of the traditional duties of husband and wives

a child of divorced parents who both remarry will have

two step parents, biological siblings, step siblings, half siblings, up to 8 grandparents, numerous extended relatives