the family Flashcards
The Family as a System
-Family is made up of network of relationships that influence each member directly & indirectly
-Direct influences: dyadic relationships
Parental discipline related to child behavior
-Indirect influences: influence of one dyadic relationship upon another
Hostile marriage related to punitive parenting
-Family systems are dynamic
All members go through developmental change
-Impacted by wider social context
“It takes a village to raise a child”
Poor families esp. in need of community resources
Transition to Parenthood
-Multiple stresses accompany birth
Disrupted sleep
New caregiving & household tasks
Less time for couple’s relationship
Increased financial burden
Gender roles become more traditional even in egalitarian couples
-Birth accompanied by drop in marital satisfaction, but quality of pre-birth marriage related post-birth satisfaction
Larger difference in parents caregiving, the larger the increase in marital conflict and dissatisfaction & decline in mom’s mental health
Shared caregiving predicts sensitivity to baby in both parents
- Transition easier for parents in late 20s & 30s
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Styles defined by extent of:
Responsiveness, acceptance, & involvement: promote emotional connection
Control (standards)/demandingness: promote mature behavior
Autonomy granting: encourage self-reliance
-authoritative parenting: high responsiveness and high demandingness
authoritarian parenting: low responsiveness and low demandingness
permissive parenting: low demandingness, high responsiveness
rejecting-neglecting parenting- low demandingness, low responsiveness
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles continued
- Authoritative: warm & firm, maturity demands & autonomy adapted to readiness, reason w/ child
- Authoritarian: rejecting & coercive, little autonomy
- Permissive: warm but lack of firmness & guidance, autonomy before ready
- Uninvolved: emotionally detached, lack of firmness & guidance, indifferent to child’s autonomy
Child Outcomes Related to Parenting Styles
Authoritative
positive mood, self-control, task-persistence; high self-esteem, social and moral maturity, achievement motivation, & academic performance.
Child Outcomes Related to Parenting Styles
Authoritarian
Authoritarian: negative mood, dependence, lack of exploration, little task-persistence. Boys: aggression, defiance. Relative to permissive & uninvolved better school performance & less antisocial.
Child Outcomes Related to Parenting Styles
Permissive
impulsive, disobedient, rebellious, overly demanding of adults, poor task-persistence, antisocial behavior, low achievement (esp. for boys).
Child Outcomes Related to Parenting Styles-Uninvolved
early deficits in attachment, cognition, and play. Poor emotional self-regulation, low academic self-esteem and school performance, antisocial behavior.
Why Is Authoritative Parenting Effective?
Perceived as fair, promotes internalization
Models & reinforces caring, self-controlled behavior
Developmentally appropriate autonomy granting fosters a sense of self-efficacy and -esteem
Positive relationship promotes identification and receptivity to teaching & acts as buffer in times of stress
Direction of effect: is authoritative parenting a result of child characteristics?
It is more difficult to be authoritative w/ child w/ difficult temperament, but it can reduce child’s negative behavior, whereas coercion increases it
Adapting Parenting to Child’s Development
Gradual lessening of direct control & increase in autonomy granting throughout middle childhood & adolescence
Middle childhood
Coregulation: parents have general oversight, child manages moment-to-moment decisions
Cooperative relationship
Protection while allowing for increasing autonomy
Adolescence
-Autonomy: self as separate, self-governing individual
Emotional component: less need for support & guidance
Behavioral component: independent decision making
-Accompanied by continued monitoring
-Adolescence often corresponds to parents 40s
Child’s desire for independence may conflict with parent’s desire for quality time before adolescent leaves the home
-Decline in positive parent-child interaction in early adolescence followed by increased quality in later adolescence
Disagreements about issues of personal choice, privileges & responsibilities
Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting:The Relation Between Parents’ Childhood Experiences & Their ParentingInterview with Jay Belsky
In this clip, Jay Belsky talks about the degree to which parenting styles are learned from one’s own parents. He emphasizes both continuity across generations in parenting and the importance of parents’ relationships with their own parents, as well as factors that seem to contribute to change in parenting behaviors across generations
Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting:The Relation Between Parents’ Childhood Experiences & Their ParentingInterview with Jay Belsky
continued….
Parenting styles often related to parents’ experiences as children
e.g., child abuse
However, good parenting not always passed on
Problematic parenting not always passed on
Emotionally therapeutic experiences appear to support intergenerational improvement in parenting:
Supportive marriage, friendships
Therapy
Efficacious experiences at school (speculative)
