Chapter 14: Family Formation and Diversity, Parent-Child Relationships, and Sibling and Peer Relationships Flashcards
What are the 2 parenting dimensions?
- responsive and emotionally supportive
- demanding and controlling
Describe the responsive and emotionally supportive parenting dimension.
- how well the parent responds to the child’s needs, cultivate their self-esteem, and help them feel good about themselves
- focuses on degree of love, affection, nurturance, warmth, and acceptance provided by the parent
Describe the demanding and controlling parenting dimension.
- parents need to control children when it comes to safety and socialization
- reflects demand for behaviour including positive socialization
- degree of control the parent exerts over their child’s behaviours determines how well socialized and safe the child is
What is one mode of socialization?
helping children develop empathy and sympathy for others
What do high levels of control in parenting lead to in chlidren?
- child who is very safe (especially if they are young)
- child understanding their role in society and the results of their behaviours
What is authoritative parenting?
high responsiveness and high demandingness
- best for children
- does expect unquestioning obedience
- open to negotiation
- rules are explained so children can learn cause and effect
What are the outcomes of authoritative parenting for children?
- high self-esteem, but tempered with humbleness and concern for others
- learn to monitor their own behaviour
- more likely to become leaders
- high academic achievement, reasoning abilities, empathy, and altruism
- cooperative with peers, siblings, and adults
- exhibit psychosocial maturity
- more likely to seek advice from parents than peers or internet
- likely to produce a responsible, respectful, and contributing member of society
What is authoritarian parenting?
low responsiveness and high demandingness
- dictator; expects obedience without question (“because I said so”, “my house my rules”)
- rarely explains rules
- not open to negotiation
- has unrealistically high expectations for maturity and compliance
What are the outcomes of authoritarian parenting for children?
- lower academic achievement
- lower psychosocial maturity
- are more dependent, passive, and conforming
- less self-assured
- lack opportunities to develop skills such as compromise and conflict resolution
- lower levels of self-esteem, feel less competent, and don’t feel accepted for who they are
- more likely to seek advice from peers or internet than parents
- likely to become followers than leaders because they lack confidence to make decisions on their own
What is permissive/indulgent parenting?
high responsiveness and low demandingness
- make no demands, and have no control over the children
- low expectations for maturity
- provide little routine for consistency
What are the outcomes of permissive/indulgent parenting for children?
- spoiled, they were not socialized
- never learn to monitor their own behaviour because parents never forced any rules or limits
- typically have trouble following rules when they are exposed to them (don’t care about the rules)
- little training in self-regulation and independence, and as a result, are likely to lack impulse control
- not likely to become leaders—over competence in abilities can be off putting to others, and they are unable to see the big picture because they are self-absorbed
- lower academic achievement
- less mature, self-reliant, and socially responsible
- more likely to consult their peers or the internet than parents
What is indifferent parenting?
low responsiveness and low demandingness
- rarely involved in child’s life
- wants to spend as little time as possible in parenting and child interaction
What are the outcomes of indifferent parenting for children?
- not socialized
low academic achievement, lack impulse control - experience peer rejection
- experience early sexual involvement and substance use
- more likely to become aggressive, delinquent, and antisocial
- may realize they have a social effect on others, but don’t care because no one cared about them
What are the two main contextual differences in parenting approaches?
cultural
social class
Describe Western parenting (individualist).
- emphasizes individualism and independence
- more likely to encourage competition and urge children to do what is best for themselves
Describe Eastern parenting (collectivist)
- emphasizes cooperativeness, selflessness, and contribution to the well-being of the family and larger culture
- parents are more likely to urge cooperation, and consider how their actions and decisions affect others
Describe Indigenous parenting.
emphasizes the role of the community (“it takes a village to raise a child” perspective —likely the result of their long history of colonialism and residential schools
How is social class determined?
determined collectively by looking at a person’s education, occupation, and income
What are social class differences?
the way parents parent reflects their value system, perception of their role in larger society, and desire to teach their children where they will fit in in larger society once they reach adulthood
What is the concerted cultivation parenting approach in middle and upper classes.
tend to be very child-centred, actively assess child’s skills and abilities, orchestrate leisure and extracurricular activities to enhance those skills and abilities
- extracurricular activities provide children with social capital/connections that can later further their education and work experiences
- more likely to use authoritative parenting style, include children in decision-making, talk more with their children and ask their children to talk more with them
What is the accomplishments of natural growth parenting approach in working and under classes (poverty)?
tend to be parent-centred because they have less time and resources to focus on cultivating talent
- children have more free-flowing time to create their own activities at their own pace
children have more contact - with extended family (perhaps as secondary caretakers) - more likely to use an authoritarian parenting style and expect their children to comply
- more likely to talk at children, not with them, to limit verbal interaction
What are the pros and cons of the concerted cultivation parenting approach?
pros: more likely to be successful educationally and in careers
cons:
- bored easily
- express themselves less creatively
- less close relationships with extended family
- more likely to have a sense of entitlement
What are the pros and cons of the accomplishments of natural growth parenting approach?
pros:
- more creative
- less bored
- closer relationships with extended family
cons:
- more likely to have a job rather than a career
- more sense of constraint and limitation
less access to social capital
Parenting After Divorce or Cohabitation Separation
What is parallel parenting?
each parent does their own thing
- different set of rules in each home (difficult in younger children to remember which set of rules exist in which home)
Parenting After Divorce or Cohabitation Separation
What is cooperative parenting?
(more effective) parents work together to enact consistent discipline strategies
- discipline strategies may not be the most positive, but they are on the same page and the child knows the consequences of their behaviour
What can be set if cooperative parenting does not work?
there can be a court-ordered long-term mediator appointed who helps the couple reach agreed upon rules for raising their children
What are the two ways inconsistent discipline can rise?
- can come from from one parent
- when comparing parents
Describe inconsistent discipline from one parent.
with different punishments for the same thing, the child will never learn the consequences of their behaviour because the consequences keep changing
Describe inconsistent discipline when comparing parents.
- using different parenting styles
- early on, kids learn which parent is the push-over, and always go to that parent for permission
What is the most common form of physical discipline?
spanking
Describe the parents who are most likely to use physical discipline.
- more likely to be young and single
- typically under financial stress, experiencing daily frustration with their children, and have fewer supports to deal with those issues
- more often it is the mother doing the spanking (due to them spending more time with the children than fathers)
- 93% of parents who spank justify its use, but 85% do not want to do it (they admit that they were angry, and wish there were alternatives—”tools”)
Describe the children who are most likely to use physical discipline.
- younger children (preschoolers) are more likely to be spanked than older children
- boys are more likely to be spanked than girls
- children with difficult temperament, or non-compliant (ie. with ADHD, ADD) are more likely to be spanked
What are the significant long-term effects of physical discipline?
- compromises parent-child relationship
- children fear their parent instead of loving and respecting them
- more likely to lie about their behaviour to avoid spanking, which adds another discipline issue
- children have a tendency to avoid their parents (particularly if parent uses inconsistent discipline) because they never know when a spanking is coming
- higher level of antisocial and other behavioural problems
- lower levels of moral reasoning
- less empathetic
- parent has taught them that power and physical force is the way to resolve disagreements with others
How does sibling closeness vary by age?
- younger siblings aren’t as close as older siblings
- the less developmental differences there are between siblings, the closer they are (ie. siblings who are closer in age are closer)
- siblings become closer as they reach adolescence
- siblings become even closer as they reach adulthood, mostly due to the fact they are no longer living together
How does sibling closeness vary by sex?
same-sex sibling pairs are closer (ie. sisters are close, brothers are close)
Describe positive parental contributions to closer siblings.
- are good role models for close relationships
- facilitate cooperativeness and conflict resolution
get older children to resolve conflicts on their own
Describe negative parental contributions to sibling closeness.
- parents who fight with each other and their own siblings
- parents that use punitive parenting (authoritarian)
- parents that forms insecure attachment
- parents express favouritism (unless justified, ie. due to age)
Sibling conflict is inevitable. How does this help the children?
conflict helps develop conflict resolution skills, which are really helpful in adulthood and all aspects of life
Describe sibling rivalry.
- 10-15% of relationships
- usually the result of parents favouring one child over the other
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What are friendships characterized by?
characterized by interests, play preferences, and demographics (race, sex and age)
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What are the two types of childhood play?
- rough-and-tumble play
- sociodramatic play
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What is rough-and-tumble play?
running, climbing, chasing, jumping, and play fighting
- when kids are toddlers, parents are more likely to participate in rough-and-tumble play with boys than girls
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What is sociodramatic play?
taking on roles and acting out stories and themes
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What are the physical and socioemotional benefits of play?
- helps get exercise, promote gross and fine motor skills, helps with muscle strength and control
- create rules = learning how to explain their ideas and emotions, help develop prosocial skills (= more likely to participate in school, and have higher academic achievement)
Peer Relationships in Childhood
How does childhood play vary by culture?
- Western (individualist) cultures tend to play competitive games
- Eastern (collectivist) cultures tend to emphasize cooperation and group goals
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What is peer acceptance?
degree to which a child is viewed as a worthy social partner by peers
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What are popular children?
children who are valued by their peers
- variety of positive characteristics such as helpfulness, trustworthiness, prosocial skills, emotion regulation, social information processing
- kids raised with authoritative parenting are more likely to better adapt these skills
Peer Relationships in Childhood
What is peer rejection?
children who are disliked and shunned by peers
- likely caused by authoritarian, permissive/indulgent, and indifferent parenting styles
Peer Relationships in Childhood
Describe aggressive rejected children.
confrontational, hostile, impulse, hyperactive
Peer Relationships in Childhood
Describe withdrawn rejected children.
passive, timid, socially awkward
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
What are friendships characterized by?
characterized by intimacy, self-disclosure, trust, loyalty
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
Describe friendships in terms of sexes.
boys tend to get together for activities
girls tend to prefer one-on-one interactions and spend time talking
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
When does pressure to conform to peer norms peak and decline?
peak at 14-15 years old and slowly declines until 19-20 years old
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
Describe negative peer pressure.
risky behavior tends to be correlated with risky behaviours from peers
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
Describe positive peer pressure.
encouragement for prosocial behavior (ie. do well in school, participate in extracurriculars, prevent form substance use)
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
What are cliques?
close-knit, friendship-based groups
Peer Relationships in Adolescence
What are crowds?
larger and looser groups based on shared characteristics, interests, and reputation
- based on adolescents’ image and reputation from peers
- ie. jocks, nerds, party-ers
What is dating?
establishing romantic relationships
What is the purpose of dating, then vs. now?
before: to find a marital partner (date early, married by early 20s)
now: date just to date (date through their early and mid-20s, married later)
- helps figure out what they want in a partner
- develop interpersonal skills
What are the positive outcomes of dating?
- more positive self-concept
- more realistic expectations for success in relationships
- fewer feelings of alienation
What are the negative outcomes of dating?
(mostly linked with dating earlier than peers)
- alcohol and substance use
- smoking
- delinquency
- depression
