family development

Question 1

can the father be maternal?

Answer 1

Lamb (1987) - in a psychological sense, fathers can fulfil a parenting role just as much as mothers, but frequently do not
Lewis (1986) - fathers attend birth but burden of child care still falls on women
Fathers parenting activities (Lewis, 1986):
Often changes nappies 28%
Bathtime 29%
Putting to bed 48%
Getting up at night 87%
Helps in period after birth 77%

for both boys and girls mothers do more tasks that participate in childs needs whilst fathers role is play: “play rough and tumble games”

Question 2

Outline relationships between parent and siblin

Answer 2

regardless of gender, higher at 10, dips at 16 raises again at 25
at 10, mother daughter and motherson relationhip highest then father-daughter then father-son
at 16 mother-daughter and daughter-father relationship highest then mother-son then father-son
at 25
same pattern seen but higher
Rossi and Rossi (1991)

Question 3

What are the types of family?

Answer 3

Nuclear family – 2 parents together, co parenting children
Extended family – everyone outside the house e.g. grandparents
Reconstituted family- divorced and remarried
Lone parents- single parents
Adoptive parents

Question 4

Outline Belskys model of parenting?

Answer 4

Belsky (1984) Three main influences on quality of parental functioning:
◦ personal psychological resources of parent
◦ contextual source of support
◦ characteristics of child

They’re all reciprocal and all influence child development.

look at picture document

Question 5

outline parental influences on child development

Answer 5

Reinforcement
Modelling e.g. arguing and learning behaviours themselves.
Environment
Parenting style

Question 6

Is parenting important?

Answer 6

Scarr (1992) parental input on child behaviour and development is primarily at genetic level

Studies of MZ twins reared apart indicate that environmental effects are minimal, and may only apply in extreme cases (e.g. of neglect)

Question 7

Outline how parenting style effects children

Answer 7

Dekovic and Janssens (1992) ◦ children of authoritative parents are generally more prosocial and popular

children of authoritarian parents tend to be more
rejected on sociometric measures
Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch and Darling (1992)
◦ authoritative parenting related to better school performance
◦ even when authoritarian parents get involved, less effect… maybe too critical?

Question 8

Outline the influence of grandparents

Answer 8

Average age of becoming a grandparent in West, 50 years
Average life expectancy, 75-80
Most can expect to be grandparents for a quarter of their life
Tinsley and Parke (1984)
Grandparents can have an effect on child development in two broad ways:
◦ indirect - parental attitudes influenced by way parent has been brought up
◦ direct - looking after child/surrogate parent

Johnson (1983)
Support and contact drops significantly with age of grandparent.
Role and potential importance of grandparents is increasingly changing – reflecting changes in societal structure and roles.

Question 9

Outline how siblings influence us

Answer 9

Siblings allow children to experience positive and negative behaviours (Katz et al., 1992).
Dunn, Brown and Beardsall (1991) ways in which parents talk about siblings might impact upon future relationship
Birth order effects
can be a good source of support

Question 10

outline marrage and divorce rates

Answer 10

marriage: decreasing in both same-sex and opposite sex couples

divorce rates (opposite sex couples): 
1958= 24
1945=15.6k (WW2 end) 
1971= 74.4k (divorce reform act) 
1993=165k
2017=101.7k 
divorce same sex: 
2015 = 22 
2016 = 112 
2017 = 338

In 2012 & 2013, 48% of couples divorcing had at least one child under 16 years

Question 11

Outline the effects of divorce and step-parenting on children

Answer 11

Hetherington, Cox and Cox (1982)
compare mother-custody divorced families with non-divorced families
average age of child(ren) at separation, 4 years

◦ 1 year: children and parents experience behaviour problems associated with dysfunction in family

◦ 2 years: much improved - problems with boys a little more persistent
◦ 6 years: children of divorced parents “grew up faster”, mother-son relationships problematic

Question 12

how does divorce affect attachment?

Answer 12

Individuals whose parents were divorced were less secure in their attachment styles (Brennan & Shaver, 1998; Lewis, Feiring, & Rosenthal, 2000)

How long the parents were divorced was not related to attachment styles
How does divorce disrupt attachment?

Multiple separations from attachment figures (E.g. extended family).

Question 13

outline how divorce causes acute distress syndrome

Answer 13

upset (protest) -> apathy or depresion -> Loss of interest (detachment)

Question 14

what should be considered when thinking about delaying divorce?

Answer 14

In addition to the child’s psychological well-being there are other factors that must be considered when examining if divorce should be delayed or not:

1. Economic security
2. Academic achievement
3. Physical well-being
4. Behavioural problems
5. Will parental conflict rise and possibly focus more on the child?

Question 15

Should parents even consider delaying divorce?

Answer 15

Emery (1999) reported that many studies find that children’s problems after divorce were present prior to separation, but other studies have not found this.

Children from divorced homes have more psychological problems than children from homes where there was a death in the family.

Research has suggested that the reason for this difference may lie in the amount of interparental conflict that existed.

Question 16

outline how children differ in behaviour with high-conflict and low conflict divorces

Answer 16

high conflict:
more behaviour issues
more adjustment difficulties
similar outcomes

low conflict: 
fewer behaviour issues 
fewer adjustment difficulties 
more varied, less predictable outcomes 
(Emery, 1982; Kelly, 2000)

Question 17

outline other-mediating factors family have on childrens behavior in divorce

Answer 17

Age of the child
◦ Preschool age children have the most dramatic reactions to divorce (e.g. separation anxiety, aggression)
◦ Children (5-12) have similar psychological reactions as the preschool children, but tend to be less openly expressive.
◦ Adolescents have more resources (e.g. can understand the situation better and have more interests outside the home) than the younger children.

Sex of the child
Time since separation
Post-divorce arrangements
Relationships and support

Question 18

outline family interventions in divorce cases

Answer 18

Child-focused interventions (Interventions that are aimed at improving children’s adjustment)
 ◦ Working with parents 
Support parent-child relationships 
Reducing ongoing parental conflict 
Contact issues
 Practical assistance 

◦ Working with children
Family work
Group work
Individual work

Question 19

Outline teen preganancy

Answer 19

increased when contraception became more widly availbe in 70’s
been on slow decline to1980
increased then 1987
decreased 1990-1995
increased 1995-2000
2000- teenage pregnancy launched by govrnment been on a drastic decline from 4.5%-2.75%

Question 20

give some teen preggo stats

Answer 20

Every year 90 000 teens become pregnant
◦ 7000 under age of 16.

◦ Many adolescent pregnancies occur in the first three months after sexual activity has begun.  Researchers show that teen pregnancy is highest in the US  
There are ethnic differences:  
◦ US 50 pregnancies per 1000 teens  
◦ Israel 17 pregnancies per 1000 teens  
◦ Japan 4 pregnancies per 1000 teens

Question 21

give the relationships children have with their teenage parents

Answer 21

Relationships with the father… ◦ Again ethnic differences in % marrying baby’s father:
5% of African Americans
26% of Hispanics
41% of Whites
◦ Overall, 17% of teen mothers maintain a romantic relationship with the baby’s father after the first few months following birth

Question 22

Outline teen parents behaviour

Answer 22

Teen Parents
(Miller et al., 2006)
Compared to women having children 20 onwards, teen mothers are:
◦ Less likely to marry the father of their first child
◦ More likely to become divorced
◦ Twice as much time spent as a single parent prior to age 30
◦ More likely to drop out of school
◦ Less likely to earn a high school diploma by age 30
◦ Work more hours at a lower rate of pay

Compared to men having children 20 onwards, teen fathers are:
◦ Less likely to earn a high school diploma
◦ More likely to work in a blue-collar occupation
◦ More likely to experience lower income levels
◦ More likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behaviours

Question 23

explain why economic factors influence teen parent behaviour

Answer 23

Adolescent parents are less likely to complete school, go to college, or find stable employment
Poverty increases the likelihood of living in a high crime, high violence areas and moving frequently

3 factors predict economic success:
◦ Educational attainment
◦ Family size
◦ Marital status

Pirog et al. (2018) show that teen parents born in 1997 are earning ~10k more than teen parents born in 1979…

Question 24

explain depression in teen parents

Answer 24

Adolescent mothers show more identity diffusion, less autonomy, more difficulties with trust and lower self-esteem (Zeanah, 1993)

Adolescent mothers are generally more depressed than adult mothers (Leadbeater et al., 1996)

Question 25

what is teen parents knowledge of child development?

Answer 25

Adolescents often have limited knowledge of children’s development
Understanding the development and social-emotional maturity of children is associated with healthy parenting attitudes (Buchholz and Korn-Bursztyn, 1993).
◦ tend to underestimate the rate of mental development in children, and therefore assume that they only have physical needs (Brody and Sigel, 1990)

Question 26

Outline teen parents and attachment

Answer 26

Adolescent parents and their children have more dysregulated patterns of interaction.
◦ E.g. mother yells when child cries
◦ E.g. mother laughs when child is angry

Adolescents are generally more impatient and intolerant with their young children
Infants show more avoidant behaviour patterns
More likely to be labelled as avoidantly attached, and leading to insecure attachment

Question 27

outline teen parents assessment of risk

Answer 27

McClure-Martinez and Cohn (1996) examined adolescent parents’ and adult parents’ perception of risk
Adolescents mothers were less likely to intervene than the adult mothers (most often in 4 situations):
1. a child unrestrained in a car seat;
2. an infant unrestrained in a car seat;
3. an infant ignored in a bath;
4. an infant left in a crib with the crib railing down.

Question 28

teen parents and resilience

Answer 28

Weed et al. (2000) conducted a 5 year longitudinal study with 103 adolescent parents

◦ 83% of the parents with high resiliency graduated high school, had good self-esteem, low anxiety, and showed no signs of depression.

◦ Vulnerable mothers had not been able to complete their education or maintain stable employment.
Many experienced anxiety, low selfesteem, and moderate to severe depression.

Question 29

teen parents and protective factors

Answer 29

Social support is one of the most important buffers ◦ 85% of adolescent mothers do receive help from family members (Cervera, 1994)
◦ Improves mother-child interactions, child cognitive development (Furey, 2004)

 Children’s developmental outcome is increased when there is another person in the home providing alternative supportive care
◦ beneficial for the attachment between adolescent mother and her infant (Haskett et al., 1994)

Question 30

teen paretns and support from the father?

Answer 30

Many males try to financially support their partners and children
Generally 30% of teen pregnancies are the fathers also a teen (Weinstein & Rosen, 1994)
Overall partner support is positively related with maternal psychological well-being (Roye and Balk, 1996)
Child outcomes: 22 to 34 years after birth to a teen parent Lipman et al. (2011)

Question 31

Outline a study looking into childhood risk factors from teen pregnancy

Answer 31

Lipman et al. (2011
2355 Four -16 year olds (1983) assessed again 18 years later (2001; n=1472, with 150 teen mums)

Explored if child was born to a mum who was a teen (≤20), who first gave birth as a teen but is now older (≥ 21), or to a mum who first gave birth after 20 years

Summary: significant predictors of 2001 outcomes
◦ Being born to a teen mum was associated with poorer educational attainment, life satisfaction, and personal income.

BUT, while education level was lower for teen mums (even if child born when mum was ≥ 21, life satisfaction and personal income was only lower for children whose mum was a teen mum at their time of conception.