siegler chapter 12: the family - cmurakison/pocdclass20.pdf · the family how children develop...
TRANSCRIPT
11/12/2014
1
The Family
How Children Develop
Chapter 12
Families are unusual in the animal kingdom: Tend to occur only when males and females mate for life: • Allows male to help in infant caregiving
For example, swans • Apes have social systems – but not “families”
11/12/2014
2
Functions of Families
in Child Rearing
1. The most fundamental function is to ensure the by providing for their needs
2. Families also serve an by
providing the means for children to acquire the skills and other resources they will need to be economically productive as
adults
3. In addition, families provide by teaching children the basic values of the culture
How do parents socialize their children?
1. Direct instructors
2. Indirect socializers (models)
3. Provider and controllers of opportunities
Parenting styles are determined by:
1.Parental warmth and responsiveness
2.Parental control and demandingness
Parental Socialization
and Parental Styles
11/12/2014
3
Socialization within the family Styles of child rearing • Baumrind: natural observation of parent/child
interaction
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Supportive Parent is accepting and
child-centered
Unsupportive Parent is rejecting and
parent-centered
Demanding Parent expects much of child
Authoritative
Parenting Relationship is reciprocal,
responsive;
high in bidirectional
communication
Authoritarian
Parenting Relationship is controlling,
power-assertive;
high in unidirectional
communication
Undemanding Parent expects
little of child
Permissive
Parenting Relationship is indulgent; low in
control attempts
Disengaged
Parenting Relationship is rejecting or
neglecting; uninvolved
11/12/2014
4
Authoritative Child Rearing • Reasonable demands for maturity • Enforced with set limits • Show warmth and affection • Encourage participation in family Effects? Leads to happy, self-confident, self-controlled preschoolers Also less traditional gender-role behavior • Effect continues through childhood into adulthood
Authoritarian Child Rearing • High demands for maturity • Unresponsive to failure to obey: “because I say so” • Use force and punishment • Clearly biased toward parents’ needs Effects? Leads to Often react with hostility, boys high in anger, girls are
dependent • Effect continues through childhood into adulthood: but
child does better than the two following styles
11/12/2014
5
Permissive Child Rearing • Nurturant and accepting • But few demands or controls on behavior • Early decisions allowed
• Parents: some believe this is way to raise child – others lack
confidence
Effects? Leads to Overly demanding, show little persistence Long term effects: poor self-control - more drug use.
Uninvolved Child Rearing • Little commitment to caregiving beyond minimum • Few demands: not even for homework or social behavior • Will respond to easy demands but not long term ones
• At extreme: Neglect – no emotional, social, or physical
interaction
• Has long term effects on all areas of development
Effects? Leads to high demands, non-compliance,
low tolerance or emotional control, lack of long term goals, delinquent acts
11/12/2014
6
Why is authoritative rearing effective? 1. – might be internalized
2. Parents act as concerned, confident,
assertive models
3. Reinforcement taken better from caring parent
4. But: interaction between child characteristics
and parent?
Parenting Styles and Ethnicity
The effects of different parenting styles and
practices vary somewhat
as a function of ethnic or
racial group
Among African-American
adolescents at all
economic levels, an aspect of authoritarian control was associated with positive
outcomes
Why?
11/12/2014
7
Factors Affecting
Parenting Style: Children
Among the strongest influences on parents’ parenting styles are the characteristics of their children
Some of children’s influence on their parents is due to their
degree of physical attractiveness, with attractive children and
infants eliciting positive responses from adults
Differences in
children’s behavior with their parents also
affect parenting, with temperament a major
reason for differences
in behavior
11/12/2014
8
Parenting in middle childhood • Time spent with parent declines: 5-12 years parents spend ½ as
much time as with preschoolers Parents shift control to child – coregulation Parents oversee child but permit child to make decisions – but 4th
graders see parents as most important people in their lives
Parenting in adolescence Parents encourage autonomy Children encouraged to be separate and self-governing
11/12/2014
9
•Findings
Depends on hours in child care and number of caregivers
Cognitive Stimulation is found at high quality centers
Children may learn social skills or negative behaviors
Children may bring other “home baggage” with them to child care
Attachment Overall a secure mother-child attachment is not affected
Attachment effects are related to income, maternal education, and maternal sensitivity
There are small effects when a mother works long hours
and has low maternal sensitivity
Child Care
11/12/2014
10
Social class variation
Low SES parents: high value on obedience, neatness, cleanliness Higher SES parents: high value on curiosity, happiness, self-control Middle class parents: • talk to and stimulate infants more • Use more warmth, explanations, verbal praise Low income parents: • Limit rocking and cuddling – don’t want to spoil child • More harsh comments: “I told you so” Why these differences?
Child Maltreatment by Parents Child maltreatment is intentional abuse or neglect that endangers the
well-being of anyone under the age of 18 years. Seventy-five percent of perpetrators are parents, usually mothers. Child abuse is associated with: 1. Poverty, 2. Parental stress, 3. Unemployment, inadequate housing, 4. Lack of social support, 5. Community violence. Half the substantiated cases in the United States (1999) stemmed from
neglect (inadequate physical care).
11/12/2014
12
Developmental Effects of Abuse
and Neglect
Abused or neglected children tend to be aggressive, prone to negative emotions, and low in self-esteem.
They are more at risk for developing psychopathology and deviant
behavior.
They have difficulties in school.
Interventions must be long and intense and must be designed to meet the needs of both children and parents.
Economic Stress and Parenting Protracted economic stress predicts negative outcomes in
parenting.
These negative outcomes are associated with children’s increased
risk for depression, unregulated behavior, delinquency, and drug use.
About 17% of children under 18 live in poverty.
Social support can lessen the effects of economic stress on parenting.
11/12/2014
13
Child Poverty Rate in the United States
Child Poverty Rates in Western
Industrialized Countries
11/12/2014
14
Homelessness One-fourth of the homeless in the United States are children.
Homeless children are at risk for depression, social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and serious behavioral, cognitive, and academic problems.
Many homeless teens have run away (often because of abuse) or have been kicked out of their homes.
Family Lifestyles and transitions
From large to small families Mid 1950s: mean number of children = 3.8 Mid 1970s: mean number of children = 1.8 Why? Effects of small family • Parents with less children are more patient, use less punishment • Devote more time to each child’s needs But: child anxiety higher in small families. Why? But: confound with SES. Why?
11/12/2014
15
Family Lifestyles and transitions
One child families Is an only child disadvantaged? The stereotype: YES (over-indulged, feel pressure) But: sibling relationships have benefits but are not essential Only children are: • As socially competent as children with siblings • Advantaged in self-esteem and achievement motivation
• Same in West and China (though larger and healthier)
Family Lifestyles and transitions
Gay and lesbian families Several million US gay men and lesbians are parents Family dynamic is generally similar: children are as well adjusted
as children of heterosexual parents But: • Evidence that gay fathers are more responsive than heterosexual
fathers
11/12/2014
16
Family Lifestyles and transitions: Divorce
US divorce rate is highest in the world: one in two • ¼ of children in US live in single parent household (usually
mom) Divorce is not a “single event”: Often has a history – and leads to
large changes
Pe
r 1
00
0 o
f p
op
ula
tio
n
60
50
40
30
20
10
Divorce Rate, 1900-1993
19
00
19
20
19
30
19
10
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
0
19
90
1
99
3
From Seifert/Hoffnung, Child and Adolescent Development, 5/e, Figure 13.2, p. 404. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.
11/12/2014
17
Family Lifestyles and transitions: Divorce
US divorce rate is highest in the world: one in two • ¼ of children in US live in single parent household (usually
mom) Divorce is not a “single event”: Often has a history – and leads to
large changes How do children respond to divorce? Large variation in effect – depending mainly on five factors • Most children show improvement 2 years after divorce But: girls often exhibit problems with heterosexual behavior
Factor
Custodial parents’
Psychological
health
Well adjusted parents handle stress:
Protects child, engages in authoritative parenting
Child
Characteristics
Age Preschoolers: blame selves, show separation anxiety
Older children: may be disruptive and antisocial or
may be unusually mature and responsible
Temperament
Sex
Social Support
11/12/2014
18
Predictors of Children’s Adjustment
Following Parents’ Divorce and
Remarriage
•Stepfathers … Are often less engaged with stepchildren
Have more conflicts with step vs. biological children
Provide more income
Provide emotional support to the custodial parent
Provide a male role model
Provide stepson supervision
The adjustment for adolescents is easier in simple
stepfamilies, than in complex step families (1/2 siblings)
•Stepmothers … Are less studied, because fathers are rarely the custodial
parent
Are expected to monitor and discipline children, which
can lead to resentment
Stepparents