chapter 4: families Flashcards
Is Conflict Between Adolescents and Parents Inevitable?
no usually get along Well
how much emotional distance between parents and adol
Very little emotional distance between parents and adolescents (unlike stereotypes).
what are most adol relationships with their parents like
- feel close to parents.
- respect parents’ judgment. - feel loved by parents.
- respect parents as individuals.
how does the Perceived Conflict of adol act s a self fluffing prof
Popular advice for parents of
adolescents emphasizes non-normative, stereotypes of strained relationships but those who believe you have strained relationship act this way= more conflict
where do parents and adol youth differ and where do they see eye to eye
parents and youth have similar beliefs about core values (religion, work, education). However, differences in opinions for matters of personal taste
What Do Adolescents and Parents Usually Fight About?
Disagreements stem from different perspectives on issues and violations of expectations.
Parent jurisdiction vs. personal choice= e.g. cleanliness of room parents authority or their personal space
adolescents rebel against their parents for the sake of rebelling.
f rarely
adol will abide by parents moral, safety and personal views
f less agreement on personal like cellphone
Parent Psychological Control: the belief of Over-controlling or tough love by teenager has what effect ?
more likely to be defiant and more willing to lie to parents
Manipulation of adolescents’ thoughts and feelings and restriction of their autonomy and independence through love withdrawal, ignoring, shaming, or guilt induction.:T
psychological control= harms adol similar to emotional bullying
Manipulation of adolescents’ thoughts and feelings and restriction of their autonomy and independence through ..3
love withdrawal, ignoring, shaming, or guilt induction.
chronic parental psychological control can have what kind of effect
Cascading effects: enduring effects on other aspects of functioning on top of impact on their relationship (more likely to by victimized, and enact aggression, interpersonal relations, relational victimization & aggression)
why does parental psychological control create problems with peers and relationships for the teem?
tolerance for and use of aggression in your relationships to deal with conflicts and acts like modelling
Parental Monitoring: is it a good thing?
Parent knowledge: parents’ awareness of their children’s activities Limit affiliation with deviant peers
T: Parents’ efforts at tracking their children’s activities and whereabouts, including setting rules about where children go, and with whom.
parental monitoring
The protective effects of parental monitoring are well
documented among … samples
high-risk (must be balanced with autonomy and trust)
parental monitoring Interact with youth …4
willingness to share, provision of warm and autonomy.
parental monitoring influence what personal and contextual variables
sensation seeking (personal) deviant peers delinquency
sensation seeking more likely to participate in delinquency and deviant peers: how does parental monitoring influence
make less likely even if they affiliate with deviant peers (supervise their activities) if they don’t affiliate with delinquent peers parental monitoring doesn’t matter
Adolescence is a period of … in family relationships.
change and reorganization
T: Relationships in families change most dramatically during times when individual family members of the family’s circumstances are changing, because it is during these times that the family’s equilibrium often is upset.
family systems theory
what is family systems theory
assumes family moves through family cycle: whole family adjusts to compensate
what is the hardest time for the family cycle
adol
most parents of ado are in 40s - why is this relevant
(midlife crisis)- lot of introspection, thinking of themselves, self esteem questions
during their midlife crisis Increased concern about …3
bodies, physical attractiveness, and sexual appeal
how does adol kid heighten the midlife crisis
Beginning to feel that the possibilities for change are limited e..g Occupational plateau vs kids beginning jobs
Nearly… of mothers and fathers describe adolescence as the
most difficult stage of parenting.
2/3
Coping with changes during adolescence can depend on how well parents are …
functioning during this stage in life as well.
the family Changes in the family as a whole unit during adol- what is biggest
Changes in economic circumstances
Large anticipated expenditures (e.g., post-secondary)= financial strain
parents feel financially responsible for their youth and their aging parents :T
Parents belong to “sandwich generation.”
what are the Changes in family’s relationship to other social institutions during adol
Increasing importance of peers
what are the Changes in family functions during adol
Family’s role during adolescence less clear than infancy or childhood. (not as simple as keeping them alive, how can I contribute to their life as a parent?)
T: An orientation toward life in which the needs of the family take precedence over the needs of the individual.
familism
how can familism contribute to conflict
they should shoulder family tasks (common in immigrant families e.g. translating for them= stress and conflict)
Stress and conflict depends on extent of … the difference between views of parent and adol
generational dissonance
what is generational dissonance
Divergence of views between adolescents and parents that is common in families of immigrant parents.
early adol marks shift for them to want what role in the family
equal role= early adol more conflict
what is the change in balance of power during adol
Shift from an asymmetrical relationship toward a more equal
relationship with parents.
what role does puberty play in family system
biological/cognitive maturation at puberty throws the family system out of balance.
during puberty there is a dip in …. with parents then levels out and increases
affection (could just be getting better at being equal and conflict management)
Conflict may stem from violations in expectations what is the main one
Freedom vs. more control
adol thinks adol means you can do what you want parent thinks this is when they really have to exert control
As adolescents mature into young adulthood, what happens to their identification with their family
their identification with their family grows stronger.
why decline in cohesion and family affection
seeking times with friends and autonomy
what is the Protective Role of Family Cohesion during Transition to Young Adulthood
Can buffer against maladjustment during challenging transitions. particularly for girls
Despite increase in conflict, … is more salient (desire to maintain nurturing relationship).
cohesion
increases in … symptoms occur with lower family cohesion
depressive symptoms
how do some and daughters differ in closeness, types of rules, patterns of activities
Minimal differences between sons and daughters in family relations.
how does the gender of the parent influence relationship with adol
most influential in relationship (closer to mothers)
…may be a more important influence than sex of the youth.
Sex of the parent
how is relationship with mother different than father for some and daughters
Youth tend to be closer to, spend more time alone with, feel more comfortable talking to, and fight more often with their mothers.
Fathers rely on mothers for …,
information about adolescent
how are fathers perceived
perceived as distant authority figures.
how does closeness of mother have negative effects
more conflict
Fathers may be sought for …. but rarely sought for …
objective information (homework help)
support or guidance (help with boyfriend problems).
time spent with mothers is more predictive of adolescents’ social competence and feelings of self-worth.
f fathers
what is the Moderating role of fathers?
unique role of their support buffers against peer victimization (less depressive symptoms more for those with low support from dad)
Parent–adolescent relationships differ from family to family.
t
Socialization is a two-way street how does this play out for parents and adol
just as parents affect their adolescents’ behavior, adolescents affect how their parents behave.
Harsh discipline leads to … in adolescent behavior problems which leads to …
increases
more punitive and detached parenting.
Adolescents who differ in … are affected in different ways by the same parenting.
temperament (parents adjust parental style with temperament)
Hostile parenting = … or …
antisocial beh. (for impulsive youth) or anx, dep (for introv youth).
why do Dif parenting styles influence kids differently
temperament
Diana Baumrind suggests two critical aspects (dimensions) of
parenting…
parental responsiveness and parental demandingness
Degree to which parent responds to child’s needs in an accepting, supportive manner.:T
parental responsiveness
T: Degree to which parent expects/demands mature, responsible behavior from the child.
Parental demandingness
4 types of parental styles from the 2 dimensions ? and where do they fall on the dimensions
Authoritative (HR/HD)
Authoritarian (LR/HD)
Indulgent (HR/LD)
Indifferent (LR/LD)
T: warm but firm and fair
Authoritative (HR/HD)
T: place a high value on obedience and conformity
Authoritarian (LR/HD)
which parenting style best
Authoritative (HR/HD)
behave in an accepting, benign, and somewhat more passive way
Indulgent (HR/LD)
minimize the time and energy they devote to interacting with their child, few demands, just want to keep them happy
Indifferent (LR/LD)
which parenting style has most strict punishment
authoritarian
which parenting style often neglectful
indifferent
A typological conceptualization of parenting styles based on the dimensions of …2
responsiveness and demandingness.
how does authoritative parenting fare across ethnicities
works cross culturally
Effective ways to parent?
3
- Balance between restrictiveness and autonomy (authoritative)
- Engage in verbal give-and-take
- Warm parent–child relationship
what does it mean for parents to engage teens in verbal give and take
share your point of view and they share theirs= I respect your opinion
leads to more perspective taking and maturity!
why children of authoritative parents more open and responsive to parents
they respect them and feel close to them
what are Ethnic Differences in Parenting Styles
the prevalence of parenting styles are different but same effectiveness of the styles
how prevalent is authoritative parenting in minority families
less than in white families
what parenting style do minority parents take
Demanding and controlling parenting strategies are more prevalent among ethnic minority than among White families (even when SES is taken into account).
authoritarian parenting has more Adverse effects for … youth
White adolescents than for ethnic minorities
how much autonomy is healthy
more autonomy granted while being emotionally attached= best outcomes
Adolescents who are permitted to assert their own opinions within a family context that is secure and loving develop:
…2
n higher self-esteem.
n more mature coping abilities.
Adolescents whose autonomy is squelched have what effect
are at risk for developing feelings of depression and low self-
esteem.
how do Adolescents with autonomy who do not feel connected fare
are more likely than their peers to develop behavior problems.
how do adol rate relationship with siblings
similar to parents but more like a friend
As children mature from childhood to early adolescence sibling …increases.
conflict
Over the course of adolescence, sibling relationships become…3
1 more equal but more distant.
2 less emotionally intense.
3 Improves into adulthood.
Quality of sibling relationships may be affected by …
quality of parent–child relationship.
how stable are the quality of sibling relationships
quite stable
Quality of adolescent–sibling relationship affects adolescent’s relationships with peers.
t
2 examples of Siblings having very different family experiences.
1 Treated differently by parents
2 Perceive similar experiences in different ways
sibling are often treated the same way
t
Unequal treatment often creates .. among siblings, but most treatment is not differential.
conflict
If all siblings are treated well, research shows that differential
treatment can actually be a good thing. why
they feel unique !
Leads to siblings getting along better and less sibling rivalry.
what happens when siblings are treated to similarly
Trying to distinguish self from sibling can also diminish feelings of competition.
T: Trying to distinguish self from sibling can also diminish feelings of competition.
Sibling deidentification
Different ways to study interaction between genes and environment? 3
- twins
- adopted
- stepfamilies
T: asks to what extent a given trait is genetically vs. environmentally determined.
Behavioral genetics
2 types of enviro influences differentiated in behavioural genetics?
n Shared environmental influences (i.e., factors in the environment that
siblings have in common)
n Nonshared environmental influences (i.e., what makes siblings different?)
While emotional and behavioural problems are influenced by genetic factors, whether or not problems actualized often depends on …
the environment
Person× environment interactions on adolescent delinquency: Sensation seeking, peer deviance and parental monitoring: what does this study tell us about gene enviro interaction
if your high in sensation seeking only results in delinquent acts only comes out with low parental monitoring and time spent highly delinquent peers= even with genetic predisposition need enviro conditions
is there Differential Susceptibility to the Environment
yes through vulnerability to problems
T: vulnerability to problems(more likely to develop despite same circumstances)
diathesis
many diathesis are … based
genetically
diathesis= disorder
f Must be triggered by environment
what model is often used to explain depression
Diathesis-stress model (need predisposition and enviro to create disorder)
according to Differential susceptibility theory diathesis that hold negative potentials can also create positive contexts
t can be protective as well
The Adolescent’s Family in a Changing Society- has this harmed adol generally
up for debate
how has divorce changed since 1960s
Dramatic increase in the divorce rate between 1960 and 1980; leveled off since then.
why might divorce rates levelled off
cohabiting breakup not considered divorce
More than 40% of American children will experience their parents’ divorce. is this the same for Canada?
yes 38-41%
how has single parenthood changed
Increase in the number of single-parent
families with children (StatsCan)
are the single parent families only female led
in last 10 years rise in fathers
adol from divorced homes have more difficulties
t
what causes difficulties of divorced adol
Direct effect of divorce is small
Direct effect of divorce is small – may be due more to indirect effect on: 3
1 quality of relationships with the important adults in a youth’s life matters most, not the number of parents present in the house.
2 exposure to marital conflict and disorganized parenting linked to adverse outcomes
3 adaptation to divorce linked to adjustment
how does the Adaptation to divorce linked to adjustment
Individual differences e.g., early adolescence, temperament, emotional support
would early vs late adol be more vulnerable to negative effects of divorce
vulnerable period due to social cognitive changes
what is the long term effect of divorce
sleeper effect: change their view of relationships
Impact of marital conflict is Linked to … and … problems (worse if drawn
into …).
emotional and behavioural
conflict
children of stepfamilies show no effects on adol mental health
f Adolescents growing up in stepfamilies often have more problems than their peers. (worse outcomes anytime there is family distruption)
do girls or boys and older or younger fare worse when trans to stepfamily
Girls have more difficulty than boys.
older worse
Like the short-term effects of divorce, the short-term effects of remarriage vary among children.
t
what predicts the outcomes of remarriage and stepfamilies
The nature of the relationship between children and their
noncustodial parent predicts outcomes.= when close to both biological and step parent
Difficult to generalize about the effects of divorce, single parenthood, and remarriage why if we see difficulties
fewer direct effects can often be explained by indirect effects
how many kids in Canada live in poverty
1 in 5
what increases likelihood of poverty
marginalized communities
…% of Indigenous children in Canada live in poverty, and …% of Indigenous
children on reserves live in poverty
40%
60%
…% of single mothers in Canada raise their children while living in poverty (…% of single fathers raise their children in poverty)
21
7
Effects of living in poverty almost always negative.
t
what is the main way poverty influences children
through how it impacts their parents
Parents under financial stress are harsher, more inconsistent, less involved.
Effects of chronic poverty are especially damaging to …
development.
Adolescents living in poverty have greater risk of 2
1 psychological difficulties.
2 problem behaviors.
how does adoption influence adol ?
Mixed findings; adopted individuals show relatively higher rates of delinquency, substance use, psychological difficulties, and poorer school performance
the higher rates of delinquency, substance use, psychological difficulties, and poorer school performance in adopted adol is a large difference
f Magnitudes of differences are very small.
No evidence that children or adolescents with lesbian or gay parents are psychologically different than those with straight parents
t
Adolescents who have spent extensive time in foster care are at an increased risk for … and … problems.
emotional and behavioral
why worse outcomes for foster kids 3
- The abuse or neglect that necessitated their placement in foster
care - Instability in home environment
- or placement itself
what is the most protective factor in adol
connectedness: Adolescents who feel that their parents or guardians are “there” for them—caring, involved, and accepting—are healthier, happier, and more competent than their peers.
peers can provide the connectedness adol need
f Despite growing importance of peers, adolescents still need love and support from adults who care about them.
books for parents on teens focus on problems- why is this bad?
First, the stereotype presented in these writings isn’t true. And second, the more parents believe in the stereotype of adolescents as difficult, the more they expect their own child to conform to it, and the worse their relationship with their teenager becomes
T: The idea that individuals’ behavior is influenced by others’ expectations for them.
self fulfilling prophecy
Family problems are no more likely to occur during adolescence than at other times in the life span
t
how does adol compare to other times for families
no different- families who were close stay close and those who were distant continue to have problems
adolescents and adults hold different values and attitudes
f differ in taste (develop quicker and change more often than values)
when it comes to basic, core values—concerning religion, work, education, and so on—diversity within the adolescent population is much more striking than are differences between the generations- why
Because adolescents and their parents share a common socioeconomic, regional, and cultural background, and these are the main factors that shape our central beliefs.
the size of the generation gap in tastes will fluctuate from one historical epoch to the next. why
shaped by forces outside of the family
European adolescents from 16 nations found that the percentage of adolescents who perceive communication with their parents as difficult increased during the mid 1990s and declined between the late 1990s and the mid 2000s only in the US
f across countries studied
what are the most common sources of conflict
daily things like curfews, leisure time activities, clothing, and the cleanliness of bedrooms.
although conflict between adolescents and parents over these mundane matters is generally less frequent in ethnic minority than in White families and the topics of disagreement are different q
f , the topics of disagreement are similar across ethnic groups and cultures
Why do parents and teenagers argue over such mundane things?
teenagers and their parents define the issues of contention very differently
e.g. moral sense vs personal choice
adolescents rarely rebel against their parents just for the sake of rebelling- when will they accept parents rules as legitimate
moral, safety
what issues do teens not accept their parents authority on
when they view the issue as personal
adolescents who see parents as having more … have fewer behavior problems
legitimate authority
adolescents who see parents as having more … have fewer behavior problems
legitimate authority
when does conflict between parents and kids usually arise
early adol
why more problems in early adol
legitimate authority bubble burst they see as personal choice and this exists all over the world
the same parents can ask the same amount of kids and get very different results based on what 3
1 if kid feels they are being controlling has a negative impact on adolescents’ mental health, are very different from the effects of feeling that their parents simply want to know where they go and what they do, which has a positive impact
- how parent gets info
- close monitoring without warm bond
In other words, teenagers and their parents often clash more over … than over the specific details
the definition of the issue
Adolescents’ expectations for … are much greater than parents’
secrecy
what did the S. A. Perkins & Turiel, 2007 study of adol lying find
about half of the younger adolescents (12- to 14-year-olds) said it was acceptable to lie, whereas more than 80% of the older adolescents (15- to 17-year-olds) did.
As they develop, adolescents spend increasingly less time in family activities, especially in activities with the family as a group how does this influence the family
changes the equilibrium
when does the peak family change in equilibrium happen for girls and boys
boys age 13 or 14
because some of this transformation may be driven by puberty this “disequilibrium” is more likely to occur earlier, around age 11 or 12
T: A perspective on family functioning that emphasizes interconnections among different family relationships (such as marital, parent–child, sibling).
family systems theory
the developmental concerns of parents and adolescents are complementary
t
T: the point at which they can tell how successful they are likely to be
occupational plateau
The adolescent’s desire for … appears to be especially stressful for parents
independence
how does being an older parent fare
hasn’t been studied
