Psych final chapter 15

Two dimensions of parenting contribute to the concept of parenting style

1. Acceptance-responsiveness refers to the extent to which parents are supportive, sensitive to their children's needs, and willing to provide affection and praise when their children meet their expectations Includes affection, praise, encouragement Less accepting and responsive parents are often quick to criticize, belittle, punish, or ignore their children and rarely communicate to children that they are loved and valued 2. Demandingness-control (sometimes called permissiveness-restrictiveness) refers to how much control over decisions lies with the parent rather than with the child Controlling and demanding parents set rules, expect their children to follow them, and monitor their children closely to ensure that the rules are followed Less controlling and demanding parents (often called permissive parents) make fewer demands and allow their children a great deal of autonomy to explore, express opinions and emotions, and make decisions

How can parents foster autonomy?

Across cultures, adolescents are most likely to become autonomous, achievement oriented, and well adjusted if their parents Consistently enforce a reasonable set of rules Involve their teenagers in decision-making Recognize their need for greater autonomy Monitor their comings and goings Gradually loosen the reins Continue to be warm, supportive, and involved In some cultures and subcultures, a more authoritarian style or a more permissive style can also achieve good outcomes

The child effects model of family influence highlights the influences of children on their parents

As children develop, parenting shifts from (a) parent regulation of the child to (b) parent and child co-regulation of the child to (c) self-regulation by a more capable child Typically, parents become less restrictive as their children mature and gradually, with parental guidance, become capable of making their own decisions

Fathers contribute to their children's development by Providing financial support (whether they live together or not)

Being warm and effective parents Babies are likely to be more socially competent if they are securely attached to both parents than if they are securely attached to just one Children whose fathers are warm and involved with them are more likely than other children to become high achievers in school A father's tendency to challenge his young children during play may foster a secure attachment style and an eagerness to explore later in life Children generally have fewer psychological disorders and problems if their fathers are caring, involved, and effective parents than if they are not

Adjustment to a new sibling can be made easier

If the parents' marital relationship is good If the firstborn had secure relationships with both parents before the younger sibling arrived and continues to enjoy close relationships with them If the parents continue providing love and attention to their firstborn If the parents maintain the child's routines as much as possible If the father increases his involvement in parenting If parents encourage older children to become aware of the new baby's needs and feelings and to assist in her care

Macroenvironmental factors influence family violence

In our society, the use of physical punishment is common Parents who use physical punishment are more at risk than those who do not to become abusive if they are under stress Child abuse is less common in societies that discourage physical punishment and advocate nonviolent methods of resolving interpersonal conflicts

The parent-child relationship shows signs of change during adolescence

Parent and child spend less time together as adolescents become more involved with peers Adolescents may feel less involved with and supported by their parents A modest increase in parent-child conflict is also common in early adolescence, around the onset of puberty Young adolescents assert themselves, and they and their parents squabble more The bickering is mainly about relatively minor matters such as disobedience, homework, household chores, and access to privileges The frequency of conflicts decreases from early to late adolescence

Marital relationships (continued)

Research shows that we lead linked lives - that we influence and are influenced by our partners in close relationships Couples fare best when both partners can count on a good network of relatives and friends to support them By age 65 or older, about 73% of men are married and live with their wives, but only 42% of women are married and live with their husbands Wives may suffer poor physical and mental health and feel socially isolated when they must care for a dying husband

Several factors can help facilitate a positive adjustment to divorce and prevent lasting damage

-Adequate financial support Families fare better after a divorce if the noncustodial parent (usually the father) pays child support and the family has adequate finances Adjustment is likely to be more difficult for mother-headed families that fall into poverty and struggle to survive -Good parenting by the custodial parent If the custodial parent can manage to remain warm, authoritative, and consistent, children are far less likely to experience problems -Good parenting by the noncustodial parent Children may suffer when they lose contact with their noncustodial parent The quality of parenting provided by the noncustodial parent is critical -Minimal conflict between parents Children should not experience their parents' efforts to undermine each other and should be protected from continuing marital conflict after the divorce Children's adjustment tends to be better when parents can agree on joint custody Additional social support Divorcing adults are less depressed if they have close confidants than if they do not Children benefit from having close friends and from peer-support programs in which they can share their feelings and learn positive coping skills Minimal additional changes Generally families do best if additional changes (such as moving) are kept to a minimum Personal resources Personal resources such as intelligence, emotional stability, and good coping skills can facilitate a more positive trajectory after a divorce

Influences upon new parents' adjustments include the following

-Characteristics of the baby A difficult baby creates more stress and anxiety than a baby who is quiet, sociable, and easy to love Adoption can mean parenthood with only a few days notice -Characteristics of the parents Parents who have good problem-solving and communication skills can more easily adapt to accommodate a new baby Parents who are realistic about the impact of an infant tend to adjust more easily Parents who remember their own parents as warm and accepting are likely to experience a smoother transition to new parenthood than couples who recall their parents as cold or rejecting -Social support The most important form of social support is partner support Social support from friends and relatives can help new parents cope

Family relationships develop and change with time

-Marital relationships Marital satisfaction dips somewhat after the honeymoon period is over, dips still lower in the new-parenthood phase, continues to drop as new children are added to the family, and recovers only when the children leave the nest, especially for women Frequency of sexual intercourse decreases -Marital relationships (continued) Psychological intimacy often increases The love relationship often changes to one that is companionate Elderly couples are often even more affectionate than middle-aged couples, have fewer conflicts, and are able to resolve their conflicts without as much venting of negative emotions -Marital relationships (continued) Happily married people are more emotionally stable and vent negative feelings less often than unhappily married people In happy marriages, the personalities of marriage partners are similar, and are likely to remain similar or even become more similar over the years, as each partner reinforces in the other the traits that brought them together

In a national survey of grandparents of teenagers, Cherlin and Furstenberg (1986) identified three styles of grandparenting

-Remote (29% of the sample) Remote grandparents were symbolic figures seen only occasionally by their grandchildren Primarily because they were geographically distant, they were emotionally distant as well -Companionate (55% of the sample) Companionate grandparents saw their grandchildren frequently and enjoyed sharing activities with them They only rarely played a parental role -Involved grandparents took on a parentlike role They often helped with childcare, gave advice, and played other practical roles in their grandchildren's lives Some involved grandparents lived with and served as substitute parents for their grandchildren because their daughters or sons could not care for the children themselves More grandparents today, especially in African-American and Hispanic families, have custody of their grandchildren and are the primary parent figures

Four basic patterns of child rearing emerge from crossing the acceptance and the demandingness dimensions

1. Authoritarian parenting This restrictive parenting style combines high demandingness-control and low acceptance-responsiveness Parents impose many rules, expect strict obedience, rarely explain why the child should comply with rules, and often rely on power tactics such as physical punishment to gain compliance 2. Authoritative parenting Authoritative parents are more flexible; they are demanding and exert control, but they are also accepting and responsive They set clear rules and consistently enforce them, but they also explain the rationales for their rules and restrictions, are responsive to their children's needs and points of view, and involve their children in family decision-making They are reasonable and democratic in their approach, but they are in charge They communicate respect for their children 3. Permissive parenting This style is high in acceptance-responsiveness but low in demandingness-control Permissive parents are indulgent with few rules and few demands They encourage children to express their feelings and impulses and rarely exert control over their behavior 4. Neglectful parenting Parents who combine low demandingness-control and low acceptance-responsiveness are relatively uninvolved in their children's upbringing They seem not to care much about their children and may even reject them Or, neglectful parents may be so overwhelmed by their own problems that they cannot devote sufficient energy to expressing love and setting and enforcing rules

The Child - Sibling Relationships

A family system is affected when a new infant arrives Researchers found that mothers typically pay less attention to their firstborns after the new baby arrives than before The child may resent losing her parents' attention and demonstrate difficult behaviors The child may become more demanding or more dependent and clingy and may develop problems with sleeping, eating, and toileting routines Secure attachments can become insecure, especially if firstborns are 2 years old or older

Grandparents can make important contributions to their grandchildren's development

A grandmother who mentors a teen mother and coparents with her can help her gain competence as a parent A close grandparent-grandchild relationship can protect the child of a depressed mother from becoming depressed In terms of developmental outcome, teenagers who are raised by a single mother and at least one grandparent resemble children raised by two parents

Diverse Family Experiences - Childless Married Couples

A growing number of adults voluntarily decide to delay having children or not have them at all Especially highly educated adults with high-status, stable careers Marital satisfaction of childless couples tends to be higher than that of couples with children during the childrearing years Middle-aged and elderly childless couples report being no less satisfied with their lives than parents whose children have left the nest In some studies, middle-aged and elderly childless couples have lower levels of depression than parents

Families typically begin to pull themselves back together about 2 years after the divorce, and by the 6-year mark most differences between children of divorce and children of intact families have disappeared

As adolescents, children of divorce are less likely than other youth to perceive their relationships with their parents, especially their fathers, as close and caring Adults whose parents divorced are less likely than adults from intact families to marry and more likely to experience marital conflict and divorce if they do

Characteristics of parents who abuse their children

Child abusers tend to have been abused as children 30% of those who were maltreated abuse their own children This is an example of a broader phenomenon, the intergenerational transmission of parenting, or the passing down from generation to generation of parenting styles Abusive parents often have unrealistic expectations about what children can do at different ages and do not understand the normal behavior of infants and young children Abusive mothers are often battered by their partners Abusive mothers may have learned through their experiences both as children and as wives that violence is the way to solve problems, or they may take out some of their frustrations about being abused on their children Abusers are often insecure individuals with low self-esteem They may have developed negative internal working models of themselves and others These adults often see themselves as victims, feel powerless as parents, and find the normal challenges of parenting stressful and threatening

In the transactional model of family influence, parent and child influence one another reciprocally

Child problems develop when the relationship between parent and child goes bad as the two interact over time Optimal child development results when parent-child transactions evolve in more positive directions

Family violence takes many forms

Children and adolescents batter (occasionally kill) their parents Siblings (especially brothers) abuse one another, especially if there is violence elsewhere in the family Spousal or partner abuse appears to be the most common form of family violence worldwide Internationally about one-third of women are beaten, coerced into sex, or experience emotional abuse In the U.S., 16% of experience some form of marital violence each year Estimates are that 5% of elderly adults are neglected or experience abuse

Researchers have identified characteristics of children who appear to be more at risk than others for abuse

Children who have medical problems or who have difficult temperaments are more likely to be abused than quiet, healthy, and responsive infants who are easier to care for There is evidence that the combination of a high-risk parent and a high-risk child portends abuse For example, a mother who feels powerless to deal with children, and who must raise a child who has a disability or illness or is otherwise difficult, is prone to overreact emotionally and to use harsh discipline when the child cannot be controlled

Divorcing Families

Children's behavioral problems make effective parenting difficult, and deterioration in parenting style aggravates children's behavioral problems Hetherington and colleagues (1982, 2002) found that stressed custodial mothers become less accepting and responsive, less authoritative, and less consistent in their discipline They may use authoritarian style of parenting, but more often they fail to carry through in enforcing rules and make few demands that their children behave maturely Noncustodial fathers are likely to be overly permissive, indulging their children during visitations As a result of the divorce-associated breakdown in family functioning, children are likely to display not only behavioral problems at home but also strained relations with peers, low self-esteem, academic problems, and adjustment difficulties at school

Researchers have found that social class influences family socialization goals, values, and parenting styles

Compared with middle-class and upper-class parents, lower-class and working-class parents tend to stress obedience and respect for authority more They are often more restrictive and authoritarian, reason with their children less frequently, and show less warmth and affection

The family is a system embedded in a world that is ever changing

During the second half of the 20th century, several dramatic social changes altered the makeup of the typical family and the quality of family experience More single adults More adults are living as singles today than in the past Often they are living with a partner or a partner and children but are unmarried More postponed marriages By 2009, the average age of first was 26 for women and 28 for men More unmarried parents In 2007, 40% of births were to unmarried women Fewer children By 1998, 19% of women ages 40 to 44 were childless More working mothers By 2005, 60% of married women with children younger than 6 years of age worked outside the home More divorce More than 4 in 10 newly married couples can expect to divorce, and up to half of children can expect to experience a divorce at some point in their development

Many maltreated children have positive outcome

Factors associated with resilience include Genes that are protective against the negative psychological effects of abuse and possibly other negative life events Environmental conditions such as a close relationship with at least one nonabusive adult

How mothers and fathers interact with their children and contribute to children's development (continued)

Fathers and mothers differ in both the quantity and the style of the parenting they provide Mothers spend more time with children than fathers do This gender difference is common across cultures When mothers interact with their babies, a large proportion of their time is devoted to caregiving such as offering food, changing diapers, wiping noses, and so on Fathers spend much of their time with children in playful interaction such as tickling, poking, bouncing, and surprising infants Mothers hold, talk to, and play quietly with infants Fathers are able to adopt a "motherlike" caregiver role if they have primary responsibility for their children

The family is a three-person system functioning in a social context (continued)

Fathers indirectly influence the mother-infant relationship through the quality of the marital relationship Mothers who have close, supportive relationships with their husbands tend to interact more patiently and sensitively with their babies than do mothers who are experiencing marital tension and who feel that they are raising their children largely without help Mothers indirectly affect the father-infant relationship through the quality of the marital relationship Fathers who have just had pleasant conversations with their wives are more supportive and engaged when they interact with their children than fathers who have just had arguments with their wives Infant development is facilitated when parents get along well and truly coparent, or work as a team

The Adult - Establishing a Marriage

In the U.S., almost 90% of adults choose to marry at some point in their lives Huston and his colleagues found that perceptions of the marital relationship became less favorable and marital satisfaction declined during the first year of marriage Huston and his colleagues (2001) found that couples who remained married but were unhappy had experienced relatively poor relationships all along This finding disputes the escalating conflict view that marriages crumble when negative feelings build up and conflicts escalate

The Adolescent - Ripples in the Parent-Child Relationship

In the achievement of autonomy, adolescents assume more control of their lives, parents, give up some of their power, and the parent-child relationship becomes more equal It is usually best for their development if adolescents maintain close attachments with their parents even as they are gaining autonomy Gaining some separation from parents is healthy; becoming detached from them is not

Child abuse has many negative implications for development

Intellectual deficits and academic difficulties are common among mistreated children Social, emotional, and behavioral problems are also common among physically abused and other maltreated children Some children become explosively aggressive youngsters who are rejected by their peers Even as adults, individuals who were abused as children also tend to have higher-than-average rates of depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems Scholars Main and George (1985) observed that one of the most disturbing consequences of physical abuse is a lack of normal empathy in response to the distress of others

Most parent-adolescent relationships are close, and most retain whatever quality they had in childhood

It is rare for a parent-child relationship to suddenly turn bad at adolescence A troubled parent-adolescent relationship typically reflects a troubled parent-child relationship and has been shaped by both the parent's parenting and the child's personality

What explains the influence of socioeconomic factors upon parenting styles and child outcomes?

Low family socioeconomic status may be associated with poor developmental outcomes because of Economic stresses that result in authoritarian, nonnurturant, and inconsistent parenting Limited investment of resources, financial and otherwise, in children's development An orientation toward preparing children to obey a boss rather than be the boss

In recent years, the nest has not emptied or it has emptied and then filled again

Many adult children remain in their parents' home Many adult children leave the nest and then return in a boomerang effect Children who stay or who return are often unemployed, have limited finances, have divorced or separated, or have other difficulties getting their adult lives on track Compared to adults who leave the nest on time, those who stay or who leave and then return are less likely to have experienced a secure parent-child attachment that allowed them room to develop autonomy

New parents' increased stress and sharper gender-role differentiation have consequences

Marital satisfaction typically declines somewhat in the first year after a baby is born This decline is often steeper for women than for men, primarily because childcare responsibilities typically fall more heavily on mothers and they may resent what they regard as an unfair division of labor

The family system has subsystems

Marital, parent-child, sibling, and co-parenting subsystems Co-parenting refers to the ways in which two parents coordinate their parenting and function as a team in relation to their children

Family relationships develop and change with time 2

Middle-aged adults who must foster their children's development while tending to their own development and caring for aging parents may experience caregiver burden Psychological distress associated with the demands of providing care for someone with physical or cognitive impairments

The most visible form of family violence is child abuse

Mistreating or harming a child physically, emotionally, or sexually Official U.S. statistics indicated in 2007 that 11 of every 1,000 children under age 18 experienced child maltreatment Abuse and neglect of children's basic needs 71% were neglected 16% physically abused 9% sexually abused 7% emotionally or psychologically abused 8% experienced other types of maltreatment

Family violence occurs within an ecological context

More likely to occur when the parent is under stress and has little social support Changes such as loss of a job or a move can disrupt family functioning Neighborhoods characterized by poverty, transient population, social isolation, and absence of community services and social support

more social changes

More multigenerational families Over the 20th century, three- and even four-generation families became more common More children today than in the past know their grandparents and even their great-grandparents Parent-child and grandparent-child relationships are lasting longer The different generations of a family typically do not live together However, economic necessity has forced an increasing number of Americans to live in multi-generational households Fewer caregivers for aging adults More aging adults have fewer children to provide care as a result of Smaller families with fewer children Increases in the numbers of adults living alone Increased longevity Increased geographic mobility The large Baby Boom generation now entering old age

Understanding the Family - The Family as a Changing System

More recently, family researchers expanded on the traditional family life cycle concept to describe a wider variety of family life cycles Elder and his colleagues (Elder & Johnson, 2003; Elder & Shanahan, 2006) proposed that we lead linked lives - that our development as individuals is intertwined with that of other family members Family researchers have embraced the concept that families function as systems and that they, like the individuals in them, develop and change over the lifespan

Social changes (continued)

More single-parent families Because of more births to unmarried women and more divorce, more children live in single-parent families In 2008, 70% of children younger than 18 years lived with two parents, 23% lived with their mothers only, and over 3% lived with their fathers only More children living in poverty The higher number of single-parent families has affected the proportion of children living in poverty About 18% of children in the United States live in poverty today 35% of African-American children are poor 29% of Hispanic-American children are poor 43% of children in female-headed families are poor More remarriages With more divorce has come more remarriages Remarriages often result in reconstituted families - also called blended families - that consist of at least a parent, a stepparent, and a child Sometimes reconstituted families include multiple children from two families into a new family Because modern couples are compressing their childbearing into a shorter timespan, because some divorced adults do not remarry, and mainly because people are living longer, adults today spend more of their later years as couples without children in their homes Men 65 and over are more likely than women 65 and over to live with spouses (73% vs. 42%) Older women are more likely than older men to live alone (39% vs. 19%)

Child abusers come from all races, ethnic groups, and social classes, but researchers have identified certain characteristics

Most often, the abuser is a young mother who tends to have many children, to live in poverty, to be unemployed, and to have no partner to share her load. Only 1 child abuser in 10 appears to have a severe psychological disorder

The caregivers most likely to experience psychological distress are those who

Must care for parents or spouses with behavioral problems Do not want to help or help out of duty rather than love Lack personal resources such as good coping skills Lack social and cultural support for caregiving

When a woman works outside the home, family life and child development can be influenced by the spillover effect

Negative and positive ways in which events at work affect home life and events at home carry over into the workplace Stress at work can be associated by withdrawal from family members and by irritation and anger if provoked A rewarding, stimulating job can have positive effects on a woman's interactions within her family

New parenthood is best described as a stressful life transition that involves both positive and negative changes

New parents find that it is challenging to juggle work and family responsibilities and the new role of mother or father New parents lose sleep, worry, find they have less personal time, and sometimes have financial problems Even egalitarian couples often follow more traditional gender-role patterns and divide their labors along traditional lines of the "feminine" caregiver/housekeeper and the "masculine" provider/worker

Siblings have important functions in children's development

Older siblings often provide caregiving services for younger siblings In a study of 186 societies, older children were the principal caregivers for infants and toddlers in 57% of the cultures studied Older siblings also serve as teachers Siblings provide social experience In their interactions with siblings, especially in skirmishes, children learn how to take others' perspectives, read others' minds, express their feelings, negotiate, and resolve conflicts

The family is a three-person system functioning in a social context

Parents have indirect effects on the children through their ability to influence the behavior of their spouses Indirect effects within the family are instances in which the relationship or interaction between two individuals is modified by the behavior or attitudes of a third family member

The influence of socioeconomic factors upon parenting styles and child outcomes (continued)

Parents living in poverty tend to be restrictive, punitive, and inconsistent, sometimes to the point of being abusive and neglectful In high-crime poverty areas, parents may also feel the need to be more authoritarian and controlling to protect their children from danger Both parenting and child development may suffer due to the stresses of coping with a physical environment characterized by pollution, noise, and crowded, unsafe living conditions and a social environment characterized by family instability and violence Another explanation is that low SES parents have fewer resources to invest in their children's development, compared to high SES parents Wealthier parents can invest in a good education, books, computers and other learning materials, and cultural opportunities for their children A third explanation is that high and low SES parents have different socialization goals in preparing their children for the world of work because they have had different work experiences Kohn (1969) observed that parents from lower socioeconomic groups tend to be authoritarian and emphasize obedience to authority figures because that is what is required in jobs like their own Middle-class and upper-class parents may reason with their children and foster initiative and creativity more because these are the attributes that count for business executives, professionals, and other white-collar workers

What explains the influence of socioeconomic factors upon parenting styles and child outcomes?

Researchers describe a relationship among family economic stress, patterns of parenting, and adolescent adjustment Financial stresses have negative on parents Parents experiencing financial problems (economic pressure) tend to become depressed, which increases conflict between them Marital conflict, in turn, disrupts each partner's ability to be a supportive, involved, and effective parent This breakdown in parenting then contributes to negative child outcomes such as low self-esteem, poor school performance, poor peer relations, and adjustment problems such as depression and aggression

Researchers have considered how mothers and fathers interact with their children and contribute to children's development

Researchers find that fathers and mothers are more similar than different in the ways they interact with infants and young children Fathers are no less able than mothers to feed their babies effectively Both fathers and mothers provide sensitive parenting, become objects of attachment, and serve as secure bases for their infants' explorations No basis exists for thinking that mothers are uniquely qualified to parent or that men are hopelessly inept around babies

Gay and Lesbian Families

Researchers found that children who lived with two parents of the same sex were better off in terms of developmental outcomes than children living with a single mother Researchers found that children who lived with two parents of the same sex were no different than children living with two heterosexual parents These studies suggest that gay and lesbian adults who raise children are as likely as heterosexual parents to produce competent and well-adjusted children Researchers found that children who lived with two parents of the same sex were no more likely than the children of heterosexual parents to develop a homosexual or bisexual orientation

Diverse Family Experiences - Divorcing Families

Scholars have identified characteristics of couples at highest risk for divorce Young adults, in their 20s and 30s Married for an average of 7 years Often with young children Married as teenagers Had a short courtship Conceived a child before marrying Low in socioeconomic status These factors that might suggest an unreadiness for marriage and the high financial and psychological stress that accompanies new parenthood Personality problems and problem behaviors such as alcohol or drug abuse Couples typically divorce because they feel their marriages lack communication, emotional fulfillment, or compatibility Wives tend to have longer lists of complaints than their husbands do and often have more to do with initiating the breakup

Sibling rivalry

Sibling rivalry - the spirit of competition, jealousy, and resentment between brothers and sisters - is normal Siblings may be motivated to compete with each other for their parents' time and resources Sibling conflict is most often about possessions Siblings conflict may occur because they live in close proximity but lack mature social skills and because they feel they are treated differently by their parents Levels of conflict typically decrease when adolescents begin to spend more time away from the family

A key developmental task of adolescence the achievement of autonomy

The capacity to make decisions independently and manage life tasks without being overly dependent on other people A blend of autonomy and attachment, or independence and interdependence, is most desirable

Within 3 to 5 years of a divorce, about 75% of single parents remarry

The children acquire a step-parent and possibly new siblings About 60% of remarried couples divorce, and an increasing number of adults and children experience recurring cycles of singlehood, cohabitation or marriage, conflict, and separation or divorce The difficulties are likely to be worse if both parents bring children to the family than if only one parent does

Diverse Family Experiences - Gay and Lesbian Families

The family experiences of gay men and lesbian women are diverse Parenthood through previous heterosexual relationships, adoption, or artificial insemination Raise children as single parents Raise children in families that have two mothers or two fathers Gay men and lesbian women may live as singles or as couples without children or within a group of friends that constitute family Gay and lesbian family relationships are usually egalitarian Partners tend to share responsibilities equally Partners work out a division of labor based on who has ability or tolerance for doing the tasks Gay and lesbian families face diverse challenges. Absence of recognition of marriage or of family Discrimination Absence of full legal rights or legal status

Proponents of family systems theory view the family as a system

The family is a whole consisting of interrelated parts, each of which affects and is affected by every other part, and each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole The family is a dynamic system - a self-organizing system that adapts itself to changes in its members and to changes in its environment

Many families live within an extended family household in which parents and their children live with other kin (grandparents, siblings, etc.)

The family is also a system within other systems The family is a system that is embedded in and interacts with larger social systems such as a neighborhood, a community, a subculture, and a broader culture

Diverse Family Experiences - Singles

The majority of adults aged 18 to 29 are unmarried Cohabitation - living with a romantic partner without being married - is on the increase Cohabitation can provide Convenience and an affordable living arrangement Trial marriage Alternative to marriage Couples who live together and then marry tend to be more dissatisfied with their marriages and more likely to divorce overall than couples who do not live together before marrying Probably because they are less conventional in their family attitudes and less committed to marriage as an institution Marital problems are especially likely if partners have had multiple cohabitation experiences before they marry, live together before they make a commitment to each other by getting engaged, or have a child before they marry

Factors that influence the involvement of fathers of babies born to unmarried mothers

The quality of the relationship between the mother and the father Whether the father lives in the same household as the mother and the child Involvement in a constructive lifestyle that include job training and religious participation Involvement in the life of the child before the child is born

Sibling relationships

The sibling relationship typically is the longest-lasting relationship we have Share genes and experiences Relationships often improve when siblings no longer live in the same home and once their age differences do not matter as much as they did in childhood Most adult siblings are in frequent contact and have positive feelings toward one another

As children mature, the family "launches" them into the world to work and start their own families

The term empty nest has been used to describe the family after the departure of the last child Most parents react positively to the emptying of the nest The departure of the last child appears to be associated with increased marital satisfaction

Caring for aging parents

The terms middle generation squeeze and sandwich generation have been used to describe middle-aged adults who are pressured by demands from both the younger and the older generations simultaneously About one-third of women ages 55-69 report helping members of both the older and younger generations Typically spouses are first to care for frail elders Most other caregivers of ailing elders are daughters or daughters-in-law in their 40s, 50s, and 60s Daughters spend more time than sons providing emotional support to aging parents and in-laws Sons are about as involved as daughters in providing help with practical tasks and financial assistance

Most families experience divorce as a period of disruption that lasts 1 to 2 years

The wife, who usually ends up as the primary caregiver for any children, is likely to be distressed, such as angry or depressed, but she also may be relieved The husband is also likely to be distressed, particularly if he did not want the divorce and feels shut off from his children Both individuals may feel isolated from former friends and unsure of themselves as they try out new romantic relationships Children who experience their parents' divorce are often angry, fearful, depressed, and guilty, especially if they fear that they were somehow responsible for their parents' fighting or for the divorce They are also likely to be whiny, dependent, disobedient, and disrespectful Divorced women with children are likely to face reduced income In one study, the standard of living of custodial mothers declined by about a third on average, whereas the financial situation of their former husbands Because of all the stressors they experience, divorced adults are at higher risk than married adults for depression and other forms of psychological distress, physical health problems, and even death

Diverse Family Experiences - Dual-Career Families

There is no evidence that a mother's working, in itself, damages children's development Children, especially girls, can benefit from the positive role model that a working mother provides Living in a dual-career family is likely to be good for children when It means an increase in family income Mothers are happy with the choice they have made and remain good parents Fathers become more involved Children receive high-quality daycare or after-school care

The parent effects model of family influence has guided most of the study of human development

This model assumes that influences occur in one direction, from parent to child (and particularly from mother to child)

Why are parents generally not upset by the empty nest?

This phase of the family life cycle has fewer roles and responsibilities and less stress Couples may have more time to focus on the marital relationship and more money to spend on themselves The empty nest can confer a sense of generativity The parent-child relationship does not end Most parents and children continue to have a great deal of contact after the nest empties

Parent-child relationships

Usually the quality of a particular parent-child relationship stays much the same as adolescents become adults A more mutual, friendlike relationship is especially likely to develop if parents were supportive, authoritative parents earlier in the child's life

The Child - Parenting Styles

Warm, responsive parenting is associated with secure attachments to parents, academic competence, high self-esteem, good social skills, peer acceptance, and a strong sense of morality Lack of parental acceptance and affection contributes to depression and other psychological problems Diana Baumrind (1967, 1977, 1991) found that children raised by authoritative parents were the best adjusted - cheerful, socially responsible, self-reliant, achievement oriented, and cooperative with adults and peers Children of authoritarian parents tended to be moody and seemingly unhappy, easily annoyed, relatively aimless, and unpleasant to be around Children of permissive parents were often impulsive, aggressive, self-centered, rebellious, aimless, and low in independence and achievement Subsequent research has shown that the worst developmental outcomes are associated with the neglectful, uninvolved style of parenting Children of neglectful parents display behavioral problems such as aggression and frequent temper tantrums as early as age 3 They tend to become hostile and antisocial adolescents who abuse alcohol and drugs and get in trouble The link between authoritative parenting and positive developmental outcomes is evident in most ethnic groups and socioeconomic groups studied to date in the United States and in a variety of other cultures

Parent-child relationships (continued)

When children are middle-aged and their parents are elderly, the two generations typically continue to care about, socialize with, and help each other Aging mothers enjoy closer relations and more contact with their children, especially their daughters, than aging fathers do Hispanic American, African American, and other minority group elders often enjoy more supportive relationships with their families than European Americans typically do Most elderly people in our society prefer to live close to but not with their children; they enjoy their independence and do not want to burden their children when their health fails Only when parents reach advanced ages and begin to develop serious physical or mental problems does the parent-child relationship undergo a "role reversal" in which the parent becomes the needy, dependent one and the child becomes the caregiver

Serving as an involved grandparent can take a toll on a grandparent

When grandchildren move in and grandparents become the primary parents, the older adults may experience stress, depression, and deteriorating health In Ross and Aday's (2006) study of African-American grandparents raising grandchildren, 94% reported significant levels of stress Grandparents' own development and well-being can suffer if they become overwhelmed by their responsibilities

The arrival of another child or other children to the family means a heavier workload and additional stress

When the firstborn child in the family reaches puberty, marital love and satisfaction often decline Due to more frequent parent-child conflict and due to parents' conflicts with each other regarding how to manage adolescent children Maturation of adolescents can cause parents to engage in questioning about what they have done with their lives and what comes next Parents can be affected by how well-adjusted their children are and how successfully the children are transitioning to adulthood

Family life cycle theory

outlined the eight-stage sequence of changes in family composition, roles, and relationships from the time people marry until they die Each stage has a particular set of family members who play distinctive roles

The nuclear family

typically consists of father, mother, and at least one child Every individual and every relationship within the family affects every other individual and relationship through reciprocal influence