Developmental Psychology Chapter 12: Family

Advantages of having children at an older age

1. More likely to be educated; income increases. 2. Plan births and have fewer children overall. 3. Less likely to get divorced 4. More positive in parenting/more positive about parenting role in general.

Contexts of childcare

2011: 35% of children with working mothers in center-based childcare; 18% cared for by a nonrelative. High-income parents: 66% of children in childcare centers/preschools. Low-income parents: children cared for by family members other than parents.

Divorce statistics

2015: 4.8 million children live only with divorced mom; 1.3 million only with divorced dad. 40% of remarriages involving children end in divorce within 10 years.

Family structure affects family income

41% of children living with single parents live below the federal poverty line; only 14% of children living with two married parents do.

Average family in the U.S.

46% of children in the U.S. live with parents in their first marriage 26% live with a single parent 7% live with cohabitating, non-married parents.

Who lives with single parents?

54% of black children, 29% of Latino children live with a single parent. Vs. 19% White children and 13% Asian children. Children of parents with college degrees are much less likely to live with a single parent compared with children whose parents only went to high school (12% vs. 41%)

Trends in marriage longevity

A couple in their first marriages have a 69% chance of staying together for 10 years; 54% chance of staying together for 20 years. Overall: 50% of marriages end in divorce. Divorce is a major change in family structure, with nearly 20% of children experiencing it. More structural transitions can lead to more problem behaviors in the future.

Pastorelli study (2016)

Above study; overall result was that while there are cultural differences in which parents preferred certain behaviors, there is strong evidence that for any given parenting behavior, strong cross-cultural similarities exist in the implications of those behaviors for children's development.

Who spanks?

African American parents spank their children more often than European American, Latino American, or Asian American parents do; twice as likely to say they spank their children regularly.

Who lives with grandparents?

Almost 10% of all children in the United States live with a grandparent, either with or without their own parents 14% black, 14% asian, 12% latino, 7% white Percentage of children with grandparents as primary caregivers has doubled since 1970!

Stepparents

Almost 5% of all children currently live with a stepparent

Attitude of noncustodial parent

Attitude of the noncustodial parent toward the stepparent is also very important. If the noncustodial parent is hostile, the child is likely to feel caught in the middle, increasing adjustment problems.

Trend in number of births to unmarried women

Began to increase in the 1980s; still increasing

Contact with noncustodial parent

Big factor in how kids adjust; kids better adjusted if there is better contact. HOWEVER, contact with nonresidential fathers with antisocial traits predicts an increase in children's noncompliance.

Boys vs. girls: authoritarian parenting

Boys seem to suffer more from authoritarian parenting

Family-leave policies

Caring for a new baby takes time; women in the workforce have less time. - Many women cannot afford to take this time off. U.S. ONLY industrialized country that does not provide paid family leave for new parents. Nonparental childcare is an increasing trend from 1970; not shown to undermine early mother-child relationship.

Coercive cycles

Child whines, parent backs down, child views whining as an effective strategy. In adolescence: coercive cycles are dictated more by the child than the parent. Antisocial youth evoke harsh parenting more than harsh parenting leads to these externalizing problems (bidirectionality as they reinforce each other!)

Same-sex couples: family dynamics

Children better adjusted when parents are not stressed and when parents share chores evenly. Son's happiness is related to inclusion of father's partner in family activities, as gay fathers with less positive gay identity have poorer relationships with their children.

Children of divorce as adults

Children from divorce families are at a greater risk for their own divorces than peers from intact families. Women also at risk for poorer-quality intimate relationships and lower self-esteem. Often earn lower incomes due to being less likely to have completed high school/college.

Risks of high-income families

Children living in high-income families can also be at risk of developing problems, as their parents might be away often or put extra pressure on them.

Risks for children of divorce

Children of divorce are at a greater risk for both short-term and long-term problems; more likely to experience sadness and depression, have lower self-esteem, and be less socially responsible and competent. These problems might contribute to the drop in academic achievement that children of divorce often exhibit.

Changes brought by divorce

Children often live with a single parent who is more tired, less emotionally available, etc. Child might move to a new neighborhood/school; difficult transitions. Might affect child's mental health by undermining positive parenting.

Night shifts

Children whose mothers worked a night shift tended to exhibit more aggressive behavior, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Mothers spent less time with their adolescents. Results not seen if night shift ended later; mother could know more about their child's whereabouts.

Children's behavior vs. parenting style

Children's behavior also shapes parenting style! Relationship is bidirectional. Problem children predicted a decline in authoritative parenting over the course of 2 years.

Socioeconomic context of child development

Children's development affected by a variety of contexts; family is embedded in larger contexts. Ex: man loses job, becomes irritable, wife works more, becomes tired, 8-year-old daughter works more, daughter hostile, family tension. Interconnected cascade of events.

Who is less at risk?

College students are less reactive to parents' divorce; have more maturity and relative independence from the family.

Parenting style

Constellation of parenting behaviors and attitudes that set the emotional climate of parent-child interactions. Some parents are strict; others give more leeway.

Two important dimensions of parenting style

Degree of parental warmth and responsiveness as well as degree of parental control and demandingness are most important; form an axis differentiating among 4 different parenting styles.

Punishments

Discipline techniques that apply too much psychological or even physical pressure on child. Not effective at promoting internalization. "Negative stimulus that follows a behavior to reduce the likelihood that the behavior will occur again"

Potential positive outcomes of divorce

Divorce can result in positive outcomes if the parents were engaged in high levels of conflict while married. Children raised in high-conflict divorced families were better adjusted than those in high-conflict families that stuck together.

Cultural differences in fatherhood

Do exist; fathers in Sweden, Malaysia, and India do not report much play with children.

Parenting styles by culture

European American families have authoritative parenting associated with a close parent-child relationship and positive outcomes. Somewhat similar relation was found in China, though it was weaker. Parenting that is considered more traditionally appropriate is more similar to authoritarian parenting. Has few negative effects for Chinese children.

Effect of culture on punishment

Extent to which a disciplinary technique predicted negative or positive outcomes in children depends on how normative it is in their wider culture.

Trends in family size

Families smaller than they used to be; percent of women with 4+ children has dropped from 40% in 1976 to 14% 2014. Also means fewer children have siblings.

Mothers vs. fasters

Fathers now more involved in childcare, but mothers still spend an average of 1.5 hours more with their children each day than fathers. Mothers are more likely to give physical care and emotional support, tending to be warmer and more responsive. Fathers spend a greater proportion of time playing with children.

Gusii infants, Kenya

Fathers seldom within 5 feet of their infants. Mothers spent 60% less time playing wiht infants.

Childcare for low-income families

For low-income/high-risk families, greater time in childcare was found to be positively related to the better adjustment of such children!

NICHD study

Found that more hours in childcare predicted lower social competence; exhibited more problem behaviors at 4.5 years. Not significant by 6th grade. Norwegian study says the opposite!

Six country study

Found that mothers teach children about good and behavior often; used love withdrawal least out of any punishment. Middle 4 punishments were much more and varied culturally.

Same-sex parents: overcoming practical barriers

Gay men might seek out surrogate mothers to carry the baby or donate eggs; lesbian women often turn to artificial insemination.

Stepmothers

Generally have a more difficult time with stepchildren than stepfathers; at risk for depressive symptoms.

Are children of same-sex parents different?

Growing body of research shows they are not different from children of heterosexual parents. Similar in sexual orientation and degree to which behavior is gender-typed. Report low levels of stigmization and teasing.

Average age at which women have their first child

Has increased significantly over time! First child at 21 in 1970; 26 in 2014. Women are now delaying when they have children and teen birth rate is decreasing.

Authoritative parenting

High control, high warmth Simultaneously demanding and responsive, setting clear standards and enforcing limits. Give children autonomy within these limits. Want children to be socially responsible, assertive, and self-controlled.

Authoritarian parenting

High control, low warmth. Tend to be cold and unresponsive to children's needs while expecting their children to comply without question. Tend to enforce demands through exercises of power. Might threaten to withdraw love and attention; bully their child.

Importance of quality childcare

High-quality childcare is generally related to fewer externalizing problems in early years. Number of hours in childcare is less relevant than quality. High-quality childcare can have a modest, positive effect on various aspects of children's functioning. For children in high-quality care, low income less likely to predict underachievement at 4.5-11 years of age; children in both Sweden and U.S. showed increases in quantitative skills.

Effects of homelessness

Homelessness produces an adverse childhood experience, as it lacks a regular routine. Children may move regularly or even not attend school at all. Score lower on math and reading tests than their peers; experience more internalizing problems like depression, social withdrawal, and low self-esteem. Children with good relationships with their parents, good temperaments, and high early reading ability are more resistant to these issues!

What do parents want to socialize in their children?

Honest and ethical (71%), caring and compassionate (65%), and hardworking (62%)

Family dynamics

How family members interact through various relationships

Child influencing parenting style

Individual differences in children contribute to the parenting they receive. Children's behavior depends on many factors; both temperaments and genetics.

'Sweet spot' of psychological pressure

Internalization occurs best with a medium amount of psychological pressure; neither too lax nor too strict.

Permissive parenting

Low control, high warmth. Parents are responsive, but often overly lenient. Don't make kids regulate themselves.

Uninvolved parenting

Low control, low warmth. Parents generally disengaged, not limiting or monitoring children. Often neglectful altogether.

Low-income fears

Low-income parents are twice as likely as high-income parents to be afraid their child will get shot or will get in trouble with the law. All parents worry about bullying and drug/alcohol problems, but low-income parents are also more likely to be afraid that their child will be physically assaulted.

Differences in spending per child

Lowest one-third of incomes: $10,000/year. Highest one-third of incomes: $25,000+/year.

Preadolescent girls vs. stepfathers

MOST likely to have problems with their stepfathers, as their presence often disrupts a close relationship between divorced mothers and daughters.

Spanking

Majority of parents still spank their children at some point! However, we know spanking to be extremely harmful. Spanking does not improve children's behavior - either immediately or in the long term. Spanking increases risk for negative outcomes; more a child is spanked, more mental health problems they tend to have. Spanking is linked with negative outcomes equally across cultural groups.

Formation of stepfamilies

Majority of stepfamilies formed through divorce and remarriage rather than death of a parent.

Ineffective punishments

Many! Spanking, yelling, time-outs, taking away privileges, and love withdrawal are all ineffective and linked with negative outcomes for children.

Factors increasing likelihood of adolescent males being fathers

More likely to be fathers if they are poor, prone to substance abuse, involved with deviant peers, and have a police record.

Negative effects of teen pregnancy

Mother: curtails opportunities for education; often have poor parenting skills and low levels of verbal stimulation. Children: more likely to exhibit disorganized/disoriented attachment status, low impulse control, problem behaviors, and delays in cognitive development in preschool years. More likely to have academic failure, delinquency, incarceration, and early sexual atcivity as adolescents.

Effect of economic/educational factors on parenting

Mothers in countries with higher levels of education/higher GDP were more likely to engage in caregiving activities that are cognitively stimulating like reading, counting, and naming objects.

General quality ranking

Nonprofit centers without religious affiliation > nonprofit religious affiliation > for-profit

Same-sex parents

Number of gay/lesbian parents has risen dramatically recently. 59% of children in same-sex parent households are biologically related to one parent; most born from a heterosexual relationship.

Who is most at risk?

Older children and adolescents are particularly at risk for problems with adjustment, including poor academic achievement and negative relationships with their parents. Adolescents in bad neighborhoods at even greater risk due to being less supervised. Young adolescents likely more negatively affected due to struggles with autonomy and sexuality.

Children in poverty

One in five children in the U.S. live in poverty. Children make up one-third of the world's population; constitute half of the people living in extreme poverty.

Who is homeless?

One-third of homeless population in U.S. are families with children. More than 1.3 million homeless children enrolled in public schools.

Cultural context of child development

Parents' beliefs about what constitutes optimal child development as well as their decisions about how to behave with and discipline their children have a strong basis in their culture.

Internalization

Permanent change in a child's behavior because they have learned and accepted the desired behavior.

Importance of father

Presence and support of father can be beneficial to both child and mother. Adolescent mothers feel more competent as a parent and less depressed when they are satisfied with the level of the father's involvement. Children fare better in their own adolescence if they have a good relationship with their biological.

Pros/cons of remarriage

Pro: financial incentive, can bond with stepparent. Con: generally less frequent contact with noncustodial parent afterward, can be stressful.

Socialization

Process through which children acquire the values, standards, skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are regarded as appropriate for their present and future rules in their particular culture.

The problem with punishments

Punishments like time-outs or taking away privileges show that the parents do not approve, but do not show the child how to behave in the future. Parent's slightly raised voice or disapproving look are often all the pressure that is needed to get a child to comply.

Economic contexts of child development

Raising children expensive; $14,000/year average. Lower-income parents have a harder time paying for basic necessities like food, clothing, medicine, and shelter. Low-income children experience a range of material hardships. Income also influences how much time parents spend with their children!

Other-oriented induction

Reasoning focused on the effects of a behavior on other people. Particularly effective at promoting internalization! Example: emphasize that hitting another child hurts them.

Discipline

Set of strategies and behaviors parents use to teach children how to behave appropriately. Discipline is effective when a child stops engaging in an undesirable misbehavior and ideally engages in a preferred behavior.

Effect of parents on sibling relationships

Siblings relationships tend to be less hostile/more supportive when their parents are warm and accepting of them; also closer if parents treat them similarly. If children view differential treatment as justified, it is less harmful than if they feel that differential parental treatment is unfair. Siblings get along better if parents get along with each other, as they model good behavior.

Sibling influence on development

Siblings serve as playmate; can be sources of support, instruction, security, assistance, and caregiving; can be reciprocal or more like parent-child relationships with a power differential. Siblings can also be rivals; might contribute to behaviors like disobedience. Siblings help children learn constructive methods of conflict resolution!

Reading

Single parents are much less likely to read to their children than married parents.

Spanking as a coercive cycle

Spanking at age 1 -> greater child aggression at age 3 -> more spanking at age 5.

Complex/blended stepfamilies

Stepfamilies add both a new stepparent and stepsiblings

Stepfather/child relation

Stepfathers are generally less controlling than fathers. Can provide a helpful male role model for stepsons; adolescent's likelihood of delinquent activity reduced if parent remarries. However, children with stepfathers tend to have higher rates of depression, withdrawal, and disruptive problem behaviors.

Simple stepfamilies

Stepparent joins another parent and their children

Children of authoritative parents

Tend to be competent, self-assured, and popular with peers. Behave according to adult expectations; low in antisocial behavior. High in coping skills, self-reliance, and academic competence.

Children of permissive parents

Tend to be impulsive, low in self-regulation, high in externalizing problems, low in school achievement. Engage in more school misconduct than their other peers.

Children of authoritarian parents

Tend to be relatively low in social and academic competence, unhappy and unfriendly, and low in self-confidence. Boys more negatively affected than girls in early childhood.

Children of uninvolved parents

Tend to have disturbed attachment relationships and problems with peer relationships as older children. Tend to exhibit a wide range of problems in adolescence, from antisocial behavior and low academic competence to internalizing problems. Negative effects appear to accumulate and worsen over the course of adolescence.

Effects of poverty on children

Tend to have lower academic achievement, more mental health problems, more behavioral problems, and more health problems.

Divorce for MOST children

The majority of children do not suffer enduring problems as a result of parental divorce. The problems that do emerge often reflect an extension of pre-existing differences from when the parents were still together.

Family structure

The number of and relationships among the people living in a household. Changes like births, deaths, and divorce can influence children's emotional well-being. Shifts tend to be gradual/continuous, but can be abrupt.

Income of grandparent-headed families

These families tend to be poorer than households not headed by grandparents. Grandparents need to pay to take care of children on a retirement income; also have not been parents for a long time.

Factors affecting teen pregnancy

Two factors reducing risk: living with biological parents, being involved with activities/religion Two factors increasing risk: being raised in poverty by a single mother, low school achievement.

United Nations and spanking

UN has declared that spanking and physical punishments are forms of violence against children that violate their human rights.

Familism

Viewpoint emphasizing interdependence, mutual support, and loyalty among family members. Commonly held by Mexican American families. If familism is stressed, older siblings are not put at risk by parent's preferential treatment of younger siblings.

Effects of parent's work

Work can cause stress that parents might bring home. More work-family conflict related to problem behavior. Study found that work-family conflict was linked with more parent irritability and less parental warmth.

Worldwide homeless population

Worldwide, there are between 10 and 15 million homeless children.

Are positive discipline and warm parenting universal?

Yes! Positive discipline and warm parenting seem to be universally favored.