Family Relationships Flashcards
What is Family Systems Theory?
the family unit as a complex social system in which members interact to influence each other’s behavior
Data derived from exploring this theory suggest that relationships in families change most dramatically when…
- family circumstances are changing
- individual members
One study found that the peak time for dramatic changes in the relationships between children and their families was for…
- Boys: age 13 or 14
- Girls: age 11 or 12
True or False: Conflict between parents and children does not increases during early adolescence
False: they do
Struggles between adolescents and parents are generally over who has authority and they are focused on pretty basic stuff, what are examples?
- Curfews
- Leisure time activities
- Clothing
- Cleanliness of their rooms
Where does conflict stem from?
different perspectives on issues and violations of expectations
True or False: Contrary to stereotype, adolescents rarely rebel against their parents for the sake of rebelling?
True
What is a Midlife Crisis?
A psychological crisis over identity believed to occur between the ages of 35 and 45
What are parents experiencing increased concern of?
- their bodies, attractiveness, and sexual appeal even as adolescents are maturing and approaching a period of life labeled one of the most attractive
- Parents are beginning to feel that the possibilities for change are limited, while their children are looking toward the future
- The occupational plateau is the point at which adults can tell how successful they are likely to be
How does the mental health of parents affect the way they interact with their children?
- Parents’ mental health problems negatively affect the way they interact with children
- However, parents who have some strong interests outside the family or who are very happily married cope better with the changes of adolescence than do other parents
Why does the mental health of parents not worsen with an “empty nest”?
- Parents’ mental health is worse when their teenage children are living at home than it is once they have moved out
- When children leave home, it is fathers, not mothers, who typically feel the greatest sense of loss
Why does having an adolescent becomes more expensive than having a child?
- Cost of clothing
- Peer socialization related expenses
- Car/Car Insurance
- Large anticipated expenditures (e.g., college)
What is the “sandwich generation”?
Where parents are caring for their parents and caring for their offspring at the same time
True or False: Adolescents are increasing their time outside the family
True
How does Puberty transform family relationships?
- Biological and cognitive maturation at puberty throws the family system out of balance
- Diminished closeness is mostly due to increased teenager privacy and less physical affection than to serious loss of love or respect
How does Puberty affect the sharing of information in family relationships?
The adolescent can become secretive; they start to see some things as “personal”
How are parents not entirely honest either when compared to the adolescent?
Parents are more likely to lie about their own adolescent years when their teenagers are younger and about activities they don’t want their children to try such as having sex or smoking marijuana
What are the 10 basics of parenting?
- What you do matters
- You cannot be too loving
- Be involved in your child’s life
- Adapt your parenting to fit your child
- Establish Rules and Set Limits
- Help foster your child’s independence
- Be consistent
- Avoid harsh discipline
- Explain your rules and decisions
- Treat your child with respect
What are the 4 styles of parenting?
- Authoritative parents
- Authoritarian parents
- Indulgent parents
- Indifferent parents
What are Authoritative parents?
Use warmth, firm control, and rational, issue-oriented discipline, in which emphasis is placed on the development of self-direction
What are Authoritarian parents?
Use punitive, absolute, and forceful discipline, and place a premium on obedience and conformity
What are Indulgent parents?
Characterized by responsiveness but low demandingness, and who are mainly concerned with the child’s happiness
What are Indifferent parents?
Characterized by low levels of both responsiveness and demandingness
What is Parental responsiveness?
Degree to which the parent responds to the child’s needs in an accepting, supportive manner
What is Parental demandingness?
Degree to which parent expects and insists on mature, responsible behavior from the child
Why are siblings so different?
Unless they are identical twins, two siblings may have inherited different genes from their parents, at least with respect to some traits
How do siblings have different family experiences?
- Treated differently by parents
- Perceive similar experiences in different ways
- Grew up in the same household at different times in family’s life
How does Treatment affect siblings?
Unequal treatment often creates conflict among siblings and may lead to negative outcomes, BUT treating siblings differently may actually be good as long as they are each treated well
As children mature from childhood to early adolescence, sibling conflict increases, how does the quality of a sibling relationship affect this?
- The quality of sibling relationships is affected by the quality of parent–child relationships
- The quality of sibling relationships affects adolescent’s relationships with peers and vice versa
How do sibling relationships change over the course of adolescence
- Become more equal
- Become more distant
- Become less emotionally intense
How is the structure of what makes a “family” been changing?
- Single Parenthood
- Divorce
- Remarriage
- Poverty
- Same-sex marriage
What is the percentage of all children that are born outside of marriage?
60%
What is the percentage of children that grow up in single parent households?
15%
What is the percentage of single parent households that are run by mothers?
85%
True or False: The U.S. divorce rate began increasing during the 1960s, peaked during the 1980s, and has been declining since
True
True or False: Approximately one third of people who married in the 2000s will be divorced within 10 years
False: 20 years
True or False: Adolescents are more likely than children to actually experience their parents’ divorce at the time it is occurring
False: Less likely
True or False: In the context of a divorce, the adverse consequences ARE NOT specifically due to having a single parent
True
What matters the most during a divorce when concerning adolescents?
The process is what matters, Exposure to marital conflict and disorganized parenting in the context of divorce is what causes problems not the resulting family structure
In divorce, immediate problems are relatively more common among who?
- Boys
- Younger children
- Children with a difficult temperament
- Children who do not have supportive relationships with adults outside the immediate family
- Children whose parents divorce during the transition into adolescence
When are children more adversely affected by marital conflict?
they are aware of it than when it is hidden from them
Children are more negatively affected when the marital conflict leads to feelings of what?
insecurity or self-blame
Marital conflict more adversely affects the adolescent when the conflict disrupts what quality?
the parent–child relationship
What are Sleeper Effects?
It refer to those effects of divorce that may not be apparent until much later in development
What are some examples of sleeper effects?
- The behaviors demonstrating adjustment difficulties, such as drug use, may not surface until adolescence
- Certain developmental challenges related to relationships will not be apparent until the adolescent has a romantic relationship
After a divorce, the nature of the relationship between the adolescent’s divorced parents, and not which one they live with, is the key factor, how does this effect the adolescent?
- Children may fare better in the custody of the same-sex parent in the short term, but these effects decrease over time
- Children who have regular contact with their fathers have fewer problems
- Financial support from fathers is associated with less problem behavior and higher academic achievement
What are some facts about remarriage?
- 2/3 of divorced men and half of divorced women will remarry!!
- Most children of separated parents will also live in a stepfamily
- Most children whose parents remarry will live through a second divorce…
- Frequent changes in living arrangements adversely affect adolescents
True or False: Adolescents growing up in stepfamilies often have more problems than their peers
True
How do the short term effects of remarriage effect children?
- Girls have more difficulty than boys
- Older children have more difficulty than younger children
How is Remarriage stressful for an adolescent AND the stepparent?
- Many adolescents have trouble adjusting to a new authority figure, who may have different ideas about discipline and rules
- Stepparent has difficulty adjusting to existing parent-child relationship
An adolescents relationship with noncustodial parent is impacted by what during adjustment to step families?
- Post divorce conflict
What are some statistics when it comes to poverty?
- Approximately 20% of all adolescents in the United States grow up in abject poverty
- An additional 20% grow up in low-income families
Who are more likely to be affected by poverty and for what reason?
- Poverty is much more likely to affect the lives of non-white adolescents
- One reason for disparities between white and non-white children is the racial disparity of single parenthood
What are some increases in adolescent difficulties?
- diminished sense of mastery
- increased emotional distress
- academic problems
- interpersonal problems
- delinquency
True or False: Numerous studies have found that there is no evidence that children or adolescents with lesbian or gay parents are psychologically different than those with straight parents
True
What have the parenting practices shown to predict adolescent adjustment in general have revealed?
similar beneficial effects in families in which adolescents had been adopted by gay or lesbian parents
Adolescents who feel that their parents or guardians are there for them—caring, involved, and accepting, are more what?
are healthier, happier, and more competent than their peers
True or False: Adolescent relationships with their families are as turbulent as the common stereotypes
False: are not as turbulent
What Characteristics of the parents play a major role?
- Parental Mental Health
- Parenting style
- Family structure
