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