functions of families: survival of offspring economic function cultural training
TRANSCRIPT
Functions of Families:
• Survival of offspring
• Economic Function
• Cultural Training
• Socialization: Process through which children acquire values, knowledge, skills, and behaviors appropriate for their culture
Methods of Socialization
Parents are:
• Direct Instructors: Teaching, advising
• Indirect Socializers: Modeling
• Providers/managers of opportunities: Control exposure to experiences (e.g., toys, other children, activities)
– Particularly prominent when children are younger
Age-Related Changes in Socialization
• As infants become mobile, parents typically increase their attempts to control infants’ behavior
• Between 12-18 months, children show an increasing ability to comply with parental requests/directions
– “Don’t touch!”– “Come here”
• As children get older, parents gradually increase their expectations for mature behavior
• Parental behavior varies along at least two dimensions
– Responsiveness/Acceptance
– Control (“Demandingness”)
Authoritarian
• High control
• Low acceptance/responsiveness
• Power-assertive discipline
• Ex: “Do it because I say so”• More likely to use physical punishment
Authoritative
• High acceptance/responsiveness
• Moderate control– Set clear standards and consistently enforce
rules– Responsive to children’s needs and point of
view
• Discipline based on reasoning/explanation– “It’s not ok to hit people because it hurts
them.”
Permissive
• High acceptance/responsiveness
• Low control– Make few demands for mature behavior
Neglecting/Disengaged
• Low acceptance/responsiveness
• Low control
• Parents often overwhelmed by stress; have little time/energy for children
Authoritarian
Childhood:
• Anxious
• Unhappy
• Dependent/Easily Frustrated (esp. girls)
• Hostile/Aggressive (esp. boys)
Authoritative
Childhood:
– High self-esteem
– High self-control
– Generally positive mood
Permissive
Childhood:
• Low self-control
• Overly demanding and dependent on adults
Neglecting/Disengaged
• Childhood:
– Low self-control
– Low self-esteem
– Disturbed attachment relationships (disorganized)
Bidirectional Influences
• How do children’s characteristics and behavior affect parenting style?
• Infants and children with difficult temperaments are more likely to receive less optimal parenting
• Less optimal parenting increases children’s problem behaviors
• Negative cycle of interaction can be established
Correlation vs. Causation
• Most research on parenting styles is correlational– Can’t randomly assign kids to different kinds
of parents– Therefore, can’t infer cause-and-effect
relationships• Can’t say that parenting style CAUSES children’s
behavior (positive or negative)
• However, some research has examined experimental parenting interventions
– Interventions: Designed to improve parenting behavior
• Use random assignment—some families receive the intervention and others do not
• Can infer cause-and-effect relationships
• Experimental parenting interventions have shown improvements in parenting behavior and improvements in children’s adjustment
• Parenting styles (and their “effects”) may not generalize to all ethnic groups
– Chinese parents more likely to be classified as authoritarian (high control)
– Authoritative parenting does not have more positive effects than authoritarian parenting for 1st generation Chinese-American children
Marital Conflict and Children’s Adjustment
• Marital conflict can include both verbal and/or physical aggression between partners
• Consistent exposure to marital conflict is related to children’s– Aggression with siblings and peers – Symptoms of anxiety and depression– Insecure attachment relationships
Why?
• Direct Effects Model
• Indirect Effects Model
Short-term Consequences of Divorce
Financial:
• Mother-custody households typically experience a sharp drop in income after a divorce
– On average, these households have 50-75% of their pre-divorce income
Psychological:
• Compared to mothers in intact families, divorced mothers report more
– Stress– Anxiety– Depression
Parenting Behavior:
Compared to intact families, in divorced families
– Family routines (e.g., meals, bedtimes, chores) are likely to be disrupted
– Custodial mothers are less responsive/warm, more likely to use power-assertive discipline, and less likely to supervise children
– Non-custodial fathers are likely to be more permissive than mothers
Children’s Behavior:
• Compared to children in intact families, children in divorced families are
– More non-compliant/disobedient– More aggressive and hostile/defiant– More impulsive – More demanding/dependent
Long-term Consequences
• Within two years after divorce:
– Parenting quality improves for mothers and fathers
– Most children show improved adjustment
• As a group, children of divorced families are slightly more likely to have lasting adjustment problems than children of intact families
– Exs: lower self-esteem; lower social competence; lower academic achievement
• But the majority of children from divorced families do not show lasting adjustment problems
Individual Differences in Adjustment
• Parent/Family Factors:
– Exposure to conflict between parents prior to, during, and after a divorce
• Less exposure to conflict is related to better child adjustment
• Parent/Family Factors (con’t):
– Authoritative parenting by the custodial parent (typically the mother) is associated with better child adjustment
– The quality of contact with non-custodial fathers is more strongly related to children’s adjustment than the quantity (frequency) of contact
• Authoritative parenting by non-custodial fathers and support for the mother in her parenting role are associated with better child adjustment
• Parent/Family Factors (con’t):
– Adequate financial support is related to better child adjustment
• Likely to reduce stress of custodial parent and promote more positive parenting
– Social support is also related to better adjustment in parents and children
• Child Factors:
– Age of Child
• Children’s reactions to divorce differ by age
• But not clear evidence that younger children show more problems in long-term adjustment than older children
• More difficult for younger children to understand the reasons for divorce
– Preschool/early school age children are more likely than older children to
» Blame themselves
» Fear abandonment
– Sex of Child:
• Some research indicates that boys are more likely to show persistent problems in adjustment after a divorce (in mother-custody households)
But:
» Some recent evidence that boys in father-custody families show better adjustment
» Girls may show adjustment problems that are more subtle (e.g., depression, anxiety) and may experience more problems beginning in adolescence (e.g., early sexual activity, difficulties with intimate relationships)