Chapter 15 Flashcards
Discuss the concept of the family as a changing system using the concepts of family systems theory and the family life cycle.
Family systems theory - conceptualize 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. Each part contributes to the functioning of the whole.
Family life cycle - A sequence of changes in family composition, roles, relationships, and developmental tasks from the time people marry until they die.
Changes occur within the family life cycle that affect the family system.
Describe the major changes in the family since the 1950s.
More single adults More postponed marriages More unmarried parents Fewer children More working mothers More divorce More single parent families More remarriages More years without children More multigenerational families Fewer caregivers for aging adults
Describe the authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and neglectful parenting styles in terms of where they fall on the acceptance-responsiveness and demandingness-control dimensions of parenting.
Authoritarian parenting - A restrictive style of parenting combining high demandingness–control and low acceptance–responsiveness in which adults impose many rules, expect strict obedience, and often rely on power tactics rather than explanations to elicit compliance
Authoritative - A flexible style of parenting combining high demandingness–control and high acceptance–responsiveness in which adults lay down clear rules but also take their children’s views into account and explain the rationale for their restrictions.
Permissive - A lax style of parenting combining low demandingness–control and high acceptance–responsiveness in which adults love their children but make few demands on them and rarely attempt to control their behavior
Neglectful - A parenting style low in demandingness–control and low in acceptance–responsiveness; uninvolved parenting.
Give 3 explanations for why high and low SES parents use different parenting styles.
For low SES parents, there are many stresses including finances, environment, family drama, punishment tends to be more harsh, punitive and inconsistent. For high SES parents - they can invest more time and money into their children. They have better access to medical care and nutrition.
Define and illustrate with examples the parent effects, child effects, interactional and transactional models of family influence.
Parent effects - A model of family influence in which parents are believed to influence their children rather than vice versa
Child effects - A model of family influence in which children are believed to influence their parents rather than vice versa
Interactional model - A model of family influence in which it is the combination of a particular kind of child with a particular kind of parent that determines developmental outcomes.
Transactional model - A model of family influence in which parent and child are believed to influence each other reciprocally over time, and development is influenced by how their relationship evolves
What parenting style is most likely to foster autonomy?
Authoritative parenting is best for children developing autonomy. Gradual loosening of rules allow the adolescence more responsibility while still having a supportive environment.
Briefly describe the major effects on couples of the first year of marriage, new parenthood, raising 2 or more children, entering the empty nest phase and grandparenting.
marital satisfaction dips somewhat after the honeymoon period is over, dips still lower in the new-parenthood phase, continues to drop during the child-rearing years, and may recover only when the children leave the nest, especially for women. This U-shaped curve in marital satisfaction over the phases of the family life cycle does not affect all but does suggest that parenthood takes something away from a couple’s relationship.
The character of marital relationships also changes over the years.
What are the three factors that can make new parenthood a stressful transition?
They not only have a lot of new work to do as caregivers, but they also lose sleep, worry about their baby, find that they have less time to themselves, and sometimes face financial difficulties.
Describe the three main grandparental styles. Which role do grandparents prefer and what does it involve?
Remote. Remote grandparents (29% of the sample) were symbolic figures seen only occasionally by their grandchildren. Primarily because they were geographically distant, they were emotionally distant as well.
Companionate. This was the most common style of grandparenting (55% of the sample). Companionate grandparents saw their grandchildren frequently and enjoyed doing things with them. They only rarely played a parental role and liked it that way. As one companionate grandparent put it, “I’m happy to see them when they come and I’m happy to see them go” (Bates & Taylor, 2013, p. 59). Involved. Finally, 16% of the grandparents took on a parent-like role. Like companionate grandparents, they saw their grandchildren frequently and were playful with them, but unlike companionate grandparents, they often helped with child care, gave advice, and played other practical roles in their grandchildren’s lives. Indeed, 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 and more grandparents today, especially in African American and Hispanic families, are the primary parent figures for their grandchildren (Hayslip, 2009).
You can see, then, that grandparenting takes many forms but that most grandparents see at least some of their grandchildren frequently and prefer a companionate role that is high in enjoyment and affection but low in responsibility.
Coparenting
The extent and manner in which the two parents coordinate their parenting and function as a team in relation to their children
Family life cycle
The sequence of changes in family composition, roles, and relationships that occurs from the time people marry until they die.
Reconstituted families
A new family that forms after the remarriage of a single parent, sometimes involving the blending of two families into a new one
Role reversal
Phenomenon in which the aging parent becomes the child and the child becomes the caregiver, not typical of most aging parent–child relationships.
Intergenerational transmission of parenting
The passing down from generation to generation of parenting styles, abusive or otherwise
