The Family and Socialization: Families as Systems

Question 1

How can the relationship between siblings range?

Answer 1

From close and supportive to distant and hostile (sibling rivalry)

Question 2

What factors can influence the quality of sibling relationships?

Answer 2

• Child temperament
• Parental Influence

Question 3

How can siblings be a positive influence in development?

Answer 3

• Theory of mind: Siblings can understand that minds differ from their own
• Gender-role development

Question 4

What role do grandparents play?

Answer 4

• Grandparents roles range from occasional companion to primary caregiver

Question 5

What are some cultural considerations with regards to granparents?

Answer 5

• provide social and financial support to members of the younger generation
• to facilitate the transmission of cultural history and values
• to reduce the probability of negative developmental outcomes

Question 6

what are legal considerations with regards to grandparents?

Answer 6

• If the parents are claimed to be unfit, they may place the responsibility on the grandparent

Question 7

What is the role of extended family?

Answer 7

• Associated with positive developmental outcomes when extended family is the cultural norm
• ‘chosen family’

Question 8

How does divorce impact development?

Answer 8

• Divorce is generally associated with negative developmental outcomes, both immediate and long term
• Effects vary by the age and the gender of the child

Question 9

What are the determinants of the effects of divorce?

Answer 9

• Negative outcomes are often evident prior to parental divorce
• child’s experiences following the divorce
• change of family economic status
• commitment and effectiveness of the custodial and the non-custodial parent
• remarriage of one or both parents

Question 10

What is The Children’s Bill of Rights in Divorce? Every child whose parents divorce has:

Answer 10

• The right to love and be loved by both parents without feeling guilt or disapproval
• The right to be protected from your parents’ anger with each other
• The right to be kept out of the middle of your parents’ conflict, including the right not to pick sides, carry messages, or hear complaints about the other parent
• The right not to have to choose one of your parents over the other
• The right not to have to be responsible for the burden of either of your parents’ emotional problems

Question 11

What is part 2 of The Children’s Bill of Rights in Divorce?

Answer 11

• The right to know well in advance about important changes that will affect your life… when a parent is going to move, or get remarried
• The right to reasonable financial support during your childhood and through your college years
• The right to have feelings, to express your feelings, and to have both parents listen to how you feel
• The right to have a life that is as close as possible to what it would have been if your parents stayed together
• The right to be a kid

Question 12

How does the age of a child in divorce affect development?

Answer 12

• Very young children are less likely to be affected long term by divorce if they receive good parenting

Question 13

How does affect boys and girls differently?

Answer 13

• Girls tend to adapt better than boys, but not necessarily to their mother’s remarriage

Question 14

What “type” of family has been studied the most?

Answer 14

• Most research on development in children has been conducted using the “traditional” family structures (Two parents, Two children, One job)

Question 15

What are children now most likely to experience with family composition?

Answer 15

• Single parent homes
• Adoption
• Gay and lesbian parents
• Mothers who work outside the home
• Older parents
• Blended families via divorce
• Fewer siblings