Chapter 9: Relationships of Young Adults, Their Parents, and Their Children Flashcards
Role of Parents in Young Adults’ Lives
What is one of the most significant changes in the lives of young people in Western societies in the last several decades?
progressive delay of transition into adult roles – living independently, having steady full-time work, being married and parents
Role of Parents in Young Adults’ Lives
What is emerging adulthood?
period from the late teens through the twenties – age of identity exploration
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
What factors are aligned with the pattern of leaving home in the United States?
- gender
- parents’ marital status
- perceived availability of material and non-material resources
- geographical region
- ethnicity
- unmarried parenthood
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
What factors are related to leaving home early?
- college
- gender – women leave home at younger age than men
- parental divorce and remarriage
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
Why do women leave home at a younger age than men?
- complete college earlier
- form cohabiting unions earlier
- marry two years earlier than men
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
What are factors related to delayed home leaving?
- higher costs of housing
- higher rates of college attendance
- later entry into full-time employment
- family ethnicity
- greater emphasis on family closeness and interdependence, coupled with placing less value on independence
Non-marital Motherhood
- delayed departure from home
- young mothers often turn to their parents for economic and social support
- young mothers and their children tend to fare better if they remain in the parents’ home during the first 1-2 years of child’s life, BUT fare worse if they fail to move out thereafter
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
Why do young people move back home?
- after college
- can’t support their own household
- period of military service
- early divorce
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
Describe the relationship quality of young adults and parents who live together.
get along better when young adults are studying, working, or looking for work than when they are having serious difficulties moving toward independence
Leaving Home, Delaying Leaving, and Returning Home
Do emerging adults experience greater closeness with parents when they move out or when they stay?
regardless of the reasons for or the timing of the move, most emerging adults experience greater closeness to, and fewer negative feelings about, their parents after moving out
explanation might be that it is easier to have a positive view of parents when you no longer live with them, and after moving out, young people have more control over the frequency and timing of their interactions with their parents
Adjusting to New Members (and Becoming Grandparents)
What does successful assimilation of new persons into an existing family system require?
requires all members receive encouragement to openly discuss their feelings and expectations
Bonding and Independence Between Young Adult and Their Parents
What is the lasting importance of positive relationships with parents?
- important for well-being of their adult children
- parental bond ranks in importance alongside having a partner or best friend
Bonding and Independence Between Young Adult and Their Parents – Economic
Describe most of the world vs. industrialized societies (USA, Canada) when it comes to younger adults supporting their parents.
- most of the world: working to help support the family is expected of young adults
- industrialized societies: most young adults are not expected to assist in the financial support of their parents – financial aid typically is given from the parent to the child (cash, tuition, medical care, food, and other material support)
Bonding and Independence Between Young Adult and Their Parents – Economic
When are the goals of parents and their young adult children aligned?
when parents provide the necessary resources and information that allow young adults to make informed choices about college
- financial support – children enjoy higher living standards
Bonding and Independence Between Young Adult and Their Parents – Economic
Do young adults who do not go to college have financial support from parents?
usually, yes
- because few entry-level jobs pay enough for true independence, many parents underwrite their young adult children’s independent living
- most young adults are given substantial gifts of time, such as help with laundry, moving, household repairs, and free child care for young adults who become parents
Bonding and Independence Between Young Adult and Their Parents – Economic
How might American and Latino families help compensate for lack of ability to provide financial support?
coresidence – many young adults live with their parents and/or grandparents who take care of household expenses and provide meals
Attachment and Individuation
What does participation in parent-child relationships as adult children contribute to?
- ongoing attachment to parents
- achievement of intimacy with others
- achievement of sense of generativity
Attachment and Individuation
What contributes to achievement of sense of generativity?
participation in simultaneous relationships with their parents and their own children
Attachment and Individuation
There is a positive association between security of attachment and…
- freedom from guilty
- freedom from anxiety
- freedom from resentment toward parents
Attachment and Individuation – Gender
Fluctuations in the quality of the parental bond have more repercussions for the emotional stability of…
young women (than for young men)
Attachment and Individuation – Gender
What does attachment to both mothers and fathers predict?
greater competence in relationships and better emotional adjustment
Attachment and Individuation – Gender
What does mother vs. father attachment predict?
- attachment to mothers predicts better conflict resolution behaviour
- attachment to fathers is predictive of better social skills
Attachment and Individuation
Why has it been suggested that attachment is related to the process of individuation?
since individuation tends to occur without altering the quality of attachment that young people have with their parents
attachment and individuation should be considered as dual and equally important pathways to young adult development
therefore, a differentiated sense of self (individuation) can be achieved during young adulthood without severing emotional ties (connectedness) with parents
Attachment and Individuation
Young adults benefit from relationships with their parents in which…
both their separateness and individuality are supported
Attachment and Individuation – Regular Communication
What does more amount of time spent communicating with a parent per day predict?
- consume more fruits and vegetables (ie. might be reminded by parents)
- more likely to engage in moderate to vigorous exercise
- consume fewer drinks
- less likely to engage in heavy drinking
Cognitive Development – Piaget
Young adults are capable of dialectical reasoning. What does this do?
allows them to come up with more effective solutions to the problems they encounter
high problem-solving capabilities help them discern the problems that need their attention
Cognitive Development – Piaget
What is dialectical reasoning involve?
recognition and tolerance of ambiguities and contradictions in many life dilemmas
because parents can do this, they are typically able to come up with satisfactory solutions
Cognitive Development – Piaget
What type of complex life circumstances associated with adulthood provide opportunities for young parents to develop their cognitive abilities of problem finding and dialectical reasoning?
- pursuing an advanced degree (critical thinking)
- critical thinking process engaged in college classrooms influences parenting decisions of young adults