L8 - Child - Families Flashcards
What are the 3 primary functions of families?
Survival of offspring: Make sure children survive until adulthood
Economic function: Provide children the means to aquire skills to become economically productive in adulthood
Cultural function: Teach children basic values of culture
Do families function in isolation?
No, families function in society which have reciprocal, systematic influences
See Bronfenbrenners child development model
What are the 3 main modifications that occur within the family that has a lot of predictive power for pro-social behaviour?
Deaths, births and marriages.
How these are managed predicts future social development in children.
- If these are negotiated ‘well’ then family functioning is maximised.*
- ‘well’ meaning family is still being generally cohesive during that period of time*
What are the 4 types of parenting styles?
Authoritative
Permissive/indulgent
Authoritarian
Rejecting-neglecting
Parenting styles is based off what two ‘elements’ regarding parents interactions with their children?
(x,y axis of the parenting styles graph)
Demandingness
Responsiveness
High responsiveness and high demandingness is what type of parenting style?
Authoritative parenting
High responsiveness and low demandingness is what type of parenting style?
Permissive parenting
Low responsiveness and high demandingness is what type of parenting style?
Authoritarian parenting
Low responsiveness and low demandingness is what type of parenting style?
Rejecting-neglecting parenting
Which is the best type of parenting style for optimal child development?
Authoritative parenting
Explain the Authoritarian parenting style
A restrictive punitive style.
Parents make their child follow their directions and to respect ‘work and effort’.
They place firm limits and controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange.
What behavioural outcomes do children of authoritarian parents typically show?
Often anxious about social comparison (high levels of anxiety)
Fail to initiate activity (low levels of initiative, haven’t had chance to practice)
Have poor communication skills
Explain the authoritative parenting style
Encourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions.
Extensive verbal give and take is allowed
Parents are warm and nurturing towards the child.
What are the typical social outcomes of children whos parents use the authoritative parenting style?
Socially competent
Self-reliant
Socially responsible
Explain the neglectful parenting style
The parent is uninvolved in the child’s life
No expectation from the child
Leaves the child feeling that other aspects of the parents lives are more important than they are
What are the typical social outcomes of children with neglectful parents?
Socially incompetent
Have poor self control
Do not handle independence well
Explain the indulgent (permissive) parenting style.
Parents are highly involved with their children but place few demends or controls on them.
Parents let their children do what they want to which leads children to expect to get their own way.
What are the typical social outcomes for children whos parents use the indulgent/permissive parenting style?
Rarely learn respect for others
Have difficulty controlling their behaviour.
What 3 family “types” did the longitudinal study of Australia’s children (LSAC) find?
Cohesive
Disengaged
Enmeshed
Explain the cohesive family type described by the LSAC.
The largest group of families
Above-average levels of parental warmth and parent-child shared activities
Below-average levels of hostile parenting and parental relationship conflict
Explain the disengaged family type described by the LSAC.
Smaller group of families
Below-average levels of parental warmth and parent-child shared activities
Above-average levels of hostile parenting and parental relationship conflict
Explain the enmeshed family type described by the LSAC.
Relatively small group
Average levels of parental warmth
Higher than average levels of conflict in the relationship between parents
Which LSAC parenting type had the most rigid boundaries?
Disengaged
Which LSAC parenting type has the most diffuse boundaries
Enmeshed
What did the longitudinal study of Australia’s children (LSAC) find about the relationship between family ‘types’ and development?
Strong relationship with social and emotional wellbeing
Families indicating disengagement had significantly lower levels of prosocial behaviour, higher levels of problem behaviour.
Families indicating enmeshment had significantly lower levels of prosocial behaviour, higher levels of problem behaviour
What did the LSAC find regarding relationships between family types and physical health?
Very few significant relationships between family types and physical health
LSAC family types are focused on social and emotional wellbeing
What did the LSAC find regarding relationships between family types and cognitive development?
Few significant relationships
Family type related to social and emotional wellbeing, not so much cognitive and physical health.
In the LSAC, when family type changes across data collection points, change to cohesive family types led to more 1)_____ ________ _____ _______ outcomes. Changes away led to less 2)______ ______ ___ ______ outcomes.
1) positive social and emotional
2) positive social and emotional
The results of the LSAC conclude that….
Family type can be seen as particularly important for social and emotional development
What are 5 other parenting variables other than family types and parenting styles that might influence childhood social and emotional development?
Experience of own parenting and family life (your parents style might influence how you parent)
‘Transmission’ of psychological distress and happen intergenerationally
Effects on attachment can impact into adulthood (attachment issues)
Health and Mental Health Issues
Drug and addiction issues
How might culture influence the way parenting practices are interpreted?
Beliefs around control and obedience are culturally defined
Individual vs. collectivist cultures will lead to different expectations
Can you make assumptions about other cultures parenting styles baed upon results from our culture?
Problematic as there are different constructs, measures are tricky.
What are the 4 types of maltreatment that children can endure?
Emotional Abuse
Neglect
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
What is the emotional abuse type of maltreatment?
Any act by a person having care of the child that results in the child suffering any kind of significant emotional deprivation or trauma.
Includes children affected by exposure to family violence.
What is the neglect type of maltreatment?
Any serious act or omission by a person having the care of a child that, within the bounds of cultural tradition, constitutes a failure to provide conditions that are essential for the healthy physical and emotional development of the child.
What is the physical abuse of maltreatment?
Any non-accidental physical act inflicted upon a child by a person having the care of the child.
What is the sexual abuse type of maltreatment?
Any act by a person having the care of a child that exposes the child to or involves the child in sexual processes beyond his or her understanding or contrary to accepted community standards.
What type of maltreatment is most prevalent in Australia?
Emotional Maltreatment
What are the 6 parental characteristics that can lead to them subjecting their child to maltreatment?
What are the 4 characteristics of a child that may lead to them to being maltreated by their parents?
List some of the factors that maltreatment can have on a childs social development
What impact can maritcal conflict have on a childs social development? (3 things)
Emotional Unavailability: Parents might become emotional unavailable - conflict means parents caught up in their relationship, less available for child
Witnessing conflict or violence: Accidental teaching/modelling (aggression or psychological distress)
Disruption to attachment relationships
When might divorce impact a childs emotional development?
If the parents become emotionally unavaiable to the child, rather than the divorce itself.
Siblings are the longest single relationship in a persons life.
What social learning can occur through safe relationships with siblings?
Co-operation
Conflict Resolution
Reciprocity
What are the 6 critical roles family play in childhood social development?
Dynamics
Parentic Style
Culture
Maltreatment
Marital Conflict
Sibling Relationships
