Lecture 9: Growing up in a Family Flashcards
discipline
the set of strategies parents use to teach their children how to behave appropriately
when is discipline effective?
if a child stops engaging in inappropriate behaviour and engages in appropriate behaviour instead
what does discipline ideally lead to?
internalization
internalization
the process by which children learn and accept the reasons for desired behaviour
example of internalization
a child abides by the parents’ rules/norms even when the parent isn’t present
how to foster internalization?
- Using reasoning that focuses on the effects of a behaviour on someone else
- Reasoning has to be combined with psychological pressure to foster internalization
benefit of reasoning that focuses on the effectiveness of a behaviour on someone else
It teaches empathy
too little psychological pressure
the child disobeys and ignores the message
too much psychological pressure
- The child is obedient but only because they feel forced to do it
- They will only comply if there is a risk of being caught
the right amount of psychological pressure
a slightly raised voice and a disapproving look are often enough
2 dimensions of parenting
- Discipline/ control
- Sensitivity/ support/ warmth
Discipline/ control
the extent to which parents monitor and manage their children’s behaviour through rules and consequences
Sensitivity/ support/ warmth
the extent to which parents mirror their children and are responsive to them
high control, high warmth
authoritative parent
high control, low warm
authoritarian parent
low control, high warmth
permissive parent
low control, low warmth
uninvovled parent
authoritative parents
- High in sensitivity/warmth and discipline
- Attentive and responsive to the child’s needs and concerns and respect the child’s perspective
- Set clear standards and limits for their children and are firm and consistent about enforcement, but allows autonomy within those limits
effect of authoritative parenting on kids
- Good self-confidence
- Socially skilled (tend to have many friends and are well-liked)
- Behave following adults’ expectations
- Do well academically
authoritarian parents
- High in discipline, but low in sensitivity
- Cold and unresponsive to a child’s needs
- Expect the child to comply with the parent’s desires without question
- Exercise power by using threats, punishments, and psychological control
effect of authoritarian parenting on kids
- Creates hostility in children and refusal to internalize parents’ message
- More likely to rebel against parents’ rules
- Lower self-confidence and generally higher levels of mental health problems
- Lower social competence
- More behavioural problems, like aggression and delinquency
permissive parenting
- High in sensitivity, but low in discipline
- Responsive to child’s needs and wishes but are overly lenient
- Do not require the child to regulate themselves or act in appropriate ways
effect of permissive parenting on kids
- Higher in impulsivity
- Low academic achievement
- More behavioural problems, like delinquency and aggression
uninvolved parenting
- Low in discipline and sensitivity
- Generally disengaged from parenting
- Sometimes rejecting and neglectful
- Focused on their own needs instead of the child’s needs
effect of uninvolved parenting on kids
- Struggle with self-worth and mental health problems
- Insecure attachment
- Low in social competence
- Low in academic achievement
- More behavioural problems
parenting of moms
- Spend on average, even those that work, 1.5 hours more with their children than dads
- More likely to provide physical care and emotional support to children
parenting of dads
More likely to play with children
importance of parenting of moms vs dads
- Parenting by moms and dads is equally important and affects children in similar ways
- Sensitivity from both is important for children’s mental health
parenting across cultures
there are many similarities, but some differences
similarities in parenting across cultures
All parents teach about good and bad behaviour very often and are least likely to use love withdrawal
differences in parenting across cultures
- Italian parents are more likely to yell or scold
- Kenyan parents are most likely to threaten or use punishment, but least likely to take away privileges
European-American vs. Chinese parenting shows
- Chinese/Chinese-American parents are more likely to use an authoritarian parenting style
- Authoritarian parenting has fewer negative consequences for Chinese/Chinese-American children
- There is a positive association between authoritative parenting and positive outcomes in children for both European Americans and Chinese children but this association is weaker for Chinese children
impact of authoritarian parenting across cultures
authoritative parenting is best across cultures but authoritarian parenting is less harmful in cultures where it is the norm
prevalence of spanking worldwide
- 60% of children worldwide experience regular physical punishment
- The rates are higher in countries where authoritarian parenting is the norm
meta-analysis of spanking
A meta-analysis of studies across 50 years shows that the more children are spanked, the:
1. Less they comply and the more aggressive they are
2. More problematic their relationships with their parents are
3. More mental health problems they have
4. Lower their self-esteem
negative impacts of spanking across cultures
These negative outcomes are found across cultural groups
what does research about spanking show?
that it is bad
United Nations on spanking
spanking is a form of violence against children that violates human rights to be protected from violence
parent-child interactions as cycles
- Parent-child interactions tend to be bidirectional
- Each influences and reinforces the other’s behaviour
- This can create both positive and negative cycles
parenting and shared genes
Parents and children’s behaviour can also be caused by the genes they share
implications of parenting practices
- A correlation between parenting and a child’s behaviour/outcomes could be due to parenting practices, children’s behaviour and/or shared genes
- This does not imply causation between parenting and children’s outcomes
- Parenting practices are not solely responsible for children’s outcomes
longitudinal research and parent-child relationships
The only way of definitively showing a bidirectional relationship between children’s behaviour and parenting practices
age of first-time moms over time
- The average age of first-time moms in Canada is increasing
- 1973: 24 years old
- 2016: 29 years old
Older first-time parents (vs. younger parents) tend to have:
- More education and higher income
- Fewer children
- Less likely to get divorced in the first 10 years
- More authoritative parenting
same-sex parents over time
- More same-sex couples are becoming parents in Canada:
- 2001: 8.6% of same-sex couples are raising children
- 2016: 12% of same-sex couples are raising children
children raised by same-sex parents vs. opposite-sec parents
- Children raised by same-sex parents are no different than children raised by different-sex parents:
- Similar mental health, social competence, sexual orientation, and academic achievement
- This shows that parenting style matters, not parents’ sexual orientation
divorce over time
- 35-42% of marriages end in divorce
- Divorces peaked in 1987 at 50%
initial impact of a divorce on children
- Initially, a divorce negatively impacts children’s well-being
- Kids show more depression, lower self-esteem, more behavioural problems, and do worse academically
Children’ age and divorce study question
Does a child’s age affect their adjustment to divorce?
Children’ age and divorce study method
followed families for 4 years to examine the effect of timing of divorce on children’s outcomes
Children’ age and divorce study conditions
Divorce:
1. No divorce
2. Early divorce: parents divorced when a child was in grades 1-5
3. Late divorce: parents divorced when a child was in grades 6-10
Children’s outcomes:
1. Internalizing symptoms: depression and anxiety
2. Externalizing symptoms: aggression, disobedience, impulsivity
3. Academic performance
Children’ age and divorce study findings
- Internalizing symptoms: younger kids whose parents divorced showed more internalizing symptoms (vs. older kids and no divorce kids)
- Externalizing symptoms: younger kids whose parents divorced showed more externalizing symptoms (vs. older kids and no divorce kids)
- Academic performance: older kids whose parents divorced had poorer academic performance (vs. younger kids and no divorce kids)
Children’ age and divorce study takeaways
- Age affects how children adjust to divorce
- This suggests which areas parents should target to help kids through a divorce
long-term effects of divorce
- The negative effects of divorce on children tend to not last long
- Differences in the well-being of adults whose parents divorced in childhood vs. adults whose parents stayed married are very small
Children have a harder time adjusting to divorce and do worse if:
- There are multiple changes
- There is an ongoing conflict between parents/stepparents
what happens when there is an ongoing conflict between parents/stepparents
- This puts the child in the middle and the role of mediator
- Children do better if parents and stepparents can be civil and communicate directly with each other
when do children have an easier time adjusting to divorce?
if parents show high levels of sensitivity/warmth
when is divorce a good thing?
if parents were engaged in a lot of conflict before getting divorced
impact of a “good divorce” on kids
Kids’ psychological well-being improves after divorce if the parents had a lot of conflict
siblings
- Can be friends and support each other
- Can be competition for resources like toys and parental attention
- Quality of sibling relationship matters
Negative sibling relationships predict:
- More depression
- More social withdrawal
- More problem behaviours
predictors of positive sibling relationships
- Siblings are treated equally by parents
- Parents get along with each other
what happens if parents favour one child
the least favoured child’s well-being suffers
Differential treatment is less detrimental if the least favoured child:
- Views it as justified
- Is the older sibling
- Is growing up in a collectivist culture
impact of parental relationships on sibling relationships
It models a positive relationship with a family member
the role of SES on childrens’ development
Low SES (vs. average SES) negatively affects children’s development
how does low SES (vs. average SES) negatively affect children’s development?
- Lower academic achievement
- More behavioural problems
- More depression and anxiety
why does low SES (vs. average SES) negatively affect children’s development?
- Material hardships
- The negative effect of low SES on parenting
- The amount of time parents can spend with their child
- Creates stress which can lead to poor parental mental health, harsh parenting, and marital conflict
Adolescents growing up in high SES (vs. average SES) families show elevated rates of:
- Increased drug and alcohol use
- More delinquent behaviour
- More depression and anxiety
why does high SES (vs. average SES) negatively affect children’s behaviour?
- Parents spend more time at work
- High pressure to achieve and excel
implications of SES on children
- Similarities in adjustment outcomes of low and high SES children
- Middle SES is the best in terms of child development
what do similarities in adjustment outcomes of low and high SES children suggest?
that there is more than one pathway to detrimental outcomes
American Psychiatric Association on the best kind of discipline
The best kind of discipline involves the parent clearly stating what the rules are, providing justification for why that’s a rule, and indicating what the clear consequences of breaking the rule are
American Psychiatric Association on deterring bad behaviour
Paying more attention and praising a child when they’re engaging in good behaviour can be a useful deterrent for bad behaviour
