Chapter 15 Marriage and Family

Societal Events that Affect Divorce Rates

-changes in divorce laws -women gaining economic independence -availability of contraceptives -recessions and economic downturns -increase in the number of people who cohabit -extent to which people are religious

Factors influencing involvement with the children

-child support -whether they were once married to the mother -moving away -attitude of the parents towards each other -remarriage or having a new romantic relationship

Benefits of Single-Parent Families

-closeness between the parent and child/children -children experience the positive result of accelerated growth and development (because they are forced to be more independent) -parenting and decision making do not need to be negotiated with another adult

Challenges for Couples in Stepfamilies

-complex stepfamily issues -stress of creating a stepfamily -different patterns of childrearing -money management -fear of another marital failure

Resources Single Parent families rely on

-family and friends -spiritual or religious resources -positive attitudes

Challenges of Single Parent Families

-financial struggle -stigmas -managing everything and making decisions alone

The impact of divorce on a child depends on:

-how well the parents deal with the divorce -personalities of children -parent's relationship with the child

Stigmas associated with single-parent families

-often feel a sense of failure -lots of negative emotions -a lot of it is projected onto you by society

How to build a successful stepfamily

-recognize the children's long-standing bonds with the biological parent (do not try to replace the former parent) -avoid favoritism -develop skills in dealing with complex financial realities in their new families

Stepfamilies in later life often face complex challenges pertaining to:

-relationship with adult step-children -care of elderly stepparents -inheritance issues

Types of Co-parenting

1. Conflicted 2. Parallel 3. Cooperative

The highest divorce rated occurred in ____ and _____, and finally began declining in

1979 and 1981 2005

Frequent conflict and poor communication -parent focused on themselves and not on their children's needs

Conflicted

plan together for children's lives -support each other in parenting roles -able to work things out -best option

Cooperative

Having major responsibility for children (physical custody_

Custodial parent

Often have less time with their children and typically are the noncustodial parent

Father

These 2 things were added as grounds for divorce

Incompatibility and irreconcilable differences

Both parents have equal importance in the child's life -binuclear

Joint Custody

Involvement and legal rights to the child or children

Legal Custody

Eliminated the need to place blame on the partner

No-Fault Divorce -created by california

decreased contact with children

Noncustodial parent -typically the father

Mom, dad, and children

Nuclear familiy

low conflict but limited communication regarding parenting issues -often use an attorney to communicate

Parallel

Where the child lives and spends time

Physical Custody

Children primarily live with one parent and the other parent has rights of visitation

Sole Custody

One parent has sole custody of one or more of the children and the other parent takes sole custody of the other child -binuclear

Split Custody

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

Stepfamily

The largest increase in single parent families is currently coming from

cohabiting couples who are having children, but are legally defined as single

The only way to get out of a marriage was

death (divorce really wasn't an option_

When in a recession, divorce rate goes ____

down (harder to be independent_

Impacts of Divorce on Children: higher rates of ____ and ___ problems

emotional and social -typically more severe when they are older (teen years)

Adequate ____ seem to make the most significant difference in how well a family does

financial resources

No fault divorce established equality between _____ as a norm

genders -previously, it was easier for men to divorce than for women

Presence of children is not considered a deterrent for divorce because

if it is a bad marriage, it is actually worse for the child

Divorce is now linked with the pursuit of

individual satisfaction

If one partner separates from the rest, the families continue to

interrelate

Research found that ____ custody has a better outcome than ___ custody

joint sole

Usually, if you have pysical custody, you also have ____ custody

legal

There is ____ social pressure to stay married

less

When the father has a close relationship with the _____, the child will typically be close to the father

mother

Noncustodial Fathers often rely on

others for support

Before the 1800s, people married for:

physical and economic survival

Shared _______ _____ supports the long term relationship with the child

physical placement