The Family How Children Develop (3rd ed.) Siegler, DeLoache & Eisenberg Chapter 12

Functions of Families 1. The most fundamental function is to ensure the survival of offspring by providing for their needs. 2. Families also serve an economic function by providing the means for children to acquire the skills and other resources they will need to be economically productive as adults. 3. In addition, families provide cultural training by teaching children the basic values of the culture.

The Influence of Parental Socialization A. Parenting Styles and Practices B. The Child as an Influence on Parenting C. Socioeconomic Influences on Parenting

The Influence of Parental Socialization Socialization is the process through which children acquire the values, standards, skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are regarded as appropriate to their present and future roles in their particular culture.

Socialization Parents can influence their children’s development through socialization in at least three different ways: 1. Direct instructors 2. Indirect socializers 3. Gatekeeper to and from opportunities

A. Parenting Styles and Practices Parenting styles are parenting behaviors and attitudes that set the emotional climate of parent- child interactions. Two particularly important dimensions of parenting style: The degree of parental warmth, support, and acceptance versus parental rejection and nonresponsiveness The degree of parental control and demandingness Diana Baumrind identified four styles of parenting related to these dimensions of support and control.

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Supportive Parent is accepting and child-centered Unsupportive Parent is rejecting and parent-centered Demanding Parent expects much of child Authoritative Parenting Relationship is reciprocal, responsive; high in bidirectional communication Authoritarian Parenting Relationship is controlling, power-assertive; high in unidirectional communication Undemanding Parent expects little of child Permissive Parenting Relationship is indulgent; low in control attempts Rejecting- Neglecting Parenting Relationship is rejecting or neglecting; uninvolved

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Style Typical Parent Characteristics Typical Child Characteristics Authoritative (High in demandingness and high in supportiveness) Set clear standards and limits for their children and are firm about enforcing them Allow their children considerable autonomy within those limits Are attentive and responsive to their children’s concerns and needs, and respect and consider their child’s perspective Competent Self-assured Popular Able to control their own behavior Low in antisocial behaviors in childhood In adolescence: high in social and academic competence and positive behavior, low in problem behavior

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Style Typical Parent Characteristics Typical Child Characteristics Authoritarian (High in demandingness and low in supportiveness) Nonresponsive to their children’s needs Enforce their demands through the exercise of parental power and the use of threats and punishment Are oriented toward obedience and authority Expect their children to comply without question or explanation Low in social and academic competence in childhood and adolescence As children, they tend to be unhappy and unfriendly, with boys affected more negatively than girls in early childhood

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Style Typical Parent Characteristics Typical Child Characteristics Permissive (Low in demandingness and high in supportiveness) Responsive to their children’s needs Do not require that their children regulate themselves or act in appropriate or mature ways As children, they tend to be impulsive, lacking in self-control, and low in school achievement As adolescents, they engage in more school misconduct and drug use than do those with authoritative parents

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Style Typical Parent Characteristics Typical Child Characteristics Rejecting- Neglecting (Low in demandingness and low in supportiveness) Do not set limits for or monitor their children’s behavior Are not supportive of them, and sometimes are rejecting or neglectful Tend to be focused on their own needs rather than their children’s Infants and toddlers tend to have attachment problems As children, they have poor peer relationships Adolescents tend to show antisocial behavior, poor self- regulation, internalizing problems, substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, and low academic and social competence

1. Ethnic and Cultural Influences on Parenting The effects of different parenting styles and practices vary somewhat as a function of ethnic or racial group. Among African-American adolescents at all economic levels, an aspect of authoritarian control was associated with positive outcomes. Might be because caring parents of African-American adolescents may feel a greater need than do other parents to use authoritarian control to protect their children from danger.

Parenting Styles and Ethnicity Particular parenting styles and practices may have different meanings and different effects in different cultures. For example, authoritarian child-rearing practices seem to be associated with less negative consequences in Chinese and first-generation Chinese-American families than in Euro-American families. Different patterns of harsh discipline and acceptance were found between English-speaking Mexican-American families and acculturated Spanish-speaking Mexican- American families.

B. The Child as an Influence on Parenting Among the strongest influences on parents’ parenting styles are the characteristics of their children.

1. Attractiveness Children’s physical appearance influences the way their parents respond to them. Unattractive infants may experience somewhat different parenting than attractive infants, and this pattern continues across development. It is not clear why attractive children receive preferential treatment, but parental- investment theory (Ch. 9) might provide one explanation.

2. Children’s Behaviors and Temperaments Differences in children’s behavior with their parents also affect parenting, and can be due to a number of reasons: Genetic factors related to temperament Children can learn to be noncompliant through interactions with their parents that reinforce their negative behavior.

Bidirectionality of Parent-Child Interactions Children not only elicit positive and negative behaviors from parents but also filter and react to parental behaviors based on their own views of these behaviors. Bidirectionality of parent-child interactions is the idea that parents affect children’s characteristics, and vice versa. Over time, this effect reinforces and perpetuates each party’s behavior.

C. Socioeconomic Influences on Parenting Parents with low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely than higher-SES parents to use an authoritarian and punitive child- rearing style. Higher-SES mothers are more likely to use a style that is accepting and democratic and they use more language with their children.

Factors Affecting Parenting Style: SES Some SES differences in parenting are related to differences in parental beliefs and values. Lower-SES parents often value conformity in their children, whereas higher-SES parents are more likely to want their children to become self- directed and autonomous. Education may also be an important aspect of SES associated with differences in parental values.

Factors Affecting Parenting Style: SES SES differences in parenting styles and practices may partly reflect differences in the environments in which families live. An authoritarian style may be adaptive in some cases to protect children in unsafe living conditions.

Factors Affecting Parenting Style: SES Economic stress is a strong negative predictor of quality of parenting, family interactions, and children’s adjustments. About 18% of children under 18 in the United States live in poverty. Supportive relationships with others can moderate the potential impact of economic stress of parenting.

Mothers, Fathers, and Siblings A. Differences in Mothers’ and Fathers’ Interactions with Their Children B. Sibling Relationships

A. Differences in Mothers’ and Fathers’ Interactions with Their Children Fathers tend to participate less than mothers in child care and to interact with their children differently. In industrialized Western cultures, fathers spend more time playing with their children and choose more physically active games than mothers do.

Fathers vs. Mothers Although these patterns prevail in many cultures, parents in some countries report little play with their children. The degree of maternal and paternal involvement in parenting and the nature of parents’ interactions with children are affected by culture and factors such as employment patterns.

Self-Reported Frequencies of Interactions of Mothers and Fathers with Their Boys and Girls Parental participation in tasks related to the child’s needs were rated on a 5-point scale from “never” (1) to “always” (5). Parent-child interactions were rated on a 5-point scale from “never” (1) to “almost everyday” (5). Categories with asterisks (*) differed significantly across parents.

B. Sibling Relationships Siblings have both positive and negative effects on development and on family functioning. Sibling relationships usually get off to a rocky start, with most children showing negative reactions to the birth of a sibling, especially if there is limited parental assistance to the older child in accepting the new sibling. In early and middle childhood, siblings get along better if they are temperamentally similar, unless both have difficult temperaments.

Sibling Relationships The support and treatment they receive from their parents also affects their sibling relationships in childhood. Although inequitable treatment leads to difficulties during childhood, by early adolescence children often view differential treatment as justified, which leads to more positive relationships with siblings. Siblings also get along better if their parents have good relationships with each other. Rivalry and conflict between siblings tend to be higher in divorced and remarried families than in nondivorced families, even between biological siblings.

Family Changes The median age for first marriages has increased. Both parents are now employed outside the home in most families. The average age at which women have their first children has increased. The divorce rate doubled between 1960 and 1980, with one of every two marriages now ending in divorce.

Family Changes The number of out-of-wedlock births increased dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2007, roughly 26% of children under 18 lived with only one parent. Because most divorced people remarry, the number of families including children from one or both parents’ prior marriage has increased substantially.

Divorce About 20% of first marriages in the U.S. end in divorce or separation within 5 years and one-third end within 10 years. Thus, the effects of divorce and remarriage on children are of great concern.

The Potential Impact of Divorce Children of divorce are at greater risk for a variety of short- and long-term psychological, behavior, academic, and relationship problems than are those who live with both biological parents. Nonetheless, most children whose parents divorce do not suffer significant, enduring problems as a consequence.

Factors Affecting the Impact of Divorce Level of parental conflict prior to, during, and after a divorce. Parental conflict is more likely to have negative effects on children if they feel caught in the middle of it. Stress experienced by the custodial parent and children in the new family arrangement. As a result of multiple stressors, the quality of parenting among newly divorced mothers often tends to decline. Noncustodial fathers are often permissive and indulgent.

Factors Affecting the Impact of Divorce Age of the child Younger children may have trouble understanding the causes of the divorce and may tend to blame themselves. With regard to remarriage, young adolescents appear to be more negatively affected than younger children are. Contact with noncustodial parent The quality, rather than the frequency, of contact predicts child adjustment. Long-standing characteristics of child Children with difficult personalities and limited coping capacities may also react more adversely to the negative events associated with divorce.

Custody of Children After Divorce Children in joint legal or physical custody generally are better adjusted than are children in sole custody. The effects of joint custody depend in part on the degree of cooperation between ex-spouses. Unfortunately, mutually helpful parenting is not the norm.

An Alternative to Divorce: Ongoing Marital Conflict Sometimes the argument is advanced that divorce should be harder to obtain because of the negative effects it has on children. It is important to note, however, that sustained conflict between parents who are not separated also has negative effects on children’s social and psychological behaviors.

Stepparenting Roughly 6% of U.S. children live in a household with a stepparent. The entry of a stepparent into the family is often a very threatening event for children.

Factors Affecting Children’s Adjustment in Stepfamilies Very young children tend to accept stepfathers more easily than older children and adolescents. Conflict between stepfathers and stepchildren tends to be greater than that between fathers and biological offspring. Children with stepfathers tend to have higher rates of depression, withdrawal, and disruptive behaviors than do children in intact families.

Stepparenting Stepmothers generally have more difficulty with their step-children than do stepfathers. Adolescents’ adjustment differs little from that of intact families if the stepfather has been part of the family for many years and if the family contains only one parent’s children. In complex stepfamilies, which contain stepsiblings or half siblings, adolescents exhibit more acting-out behaviors.

Lesbian and Gay Parents It is likely that between 1 and 5 million children have lesbian or gay parents. Children of gay parents are very similar in their development to children of heterosexual parents in terms of adjustment, personality, and relationships with peers. They are also similar with regard to their gender- typed behavior and sexual orientation. Children of lesbian parents do not appear to be teased more than other children.

The Effects of Child Care Child care provided in centers has increased sharply in recent years. In 2005, 20% of infants under the age of 2 and 57% of 4- to 6-year-olds were in child care on a regular basis. The effects of nonparental child care have been hotly debated.

Attachment and the Parent- Child Relationship Some early evidence suggested that nonparental child care interfered with attachment to the parents. A variety of subsequent studies, however, reported no overall evidence that children in child care are less securely attached to their mothers than other children.

Attachment and the Parent- Child Relationship The NICHD study found that child outcomes are more strongly related to characteristics of the family than to the nature of child care itself. When children were 2- to 3-years-old, the quality of the mother-child interaction was, to a slight degree, predicted by the number of hours in child care.

Adjustment and Social Behavior Findings regarding the effects of child care on children’s self-control, compliance, and social behavior are mixed. Although many children in child care never develop significant behavior problems, children who spend longer amounts of time in child care have more problem behaviors and more internalizing problems than do those who spend less time in day care. This pattern was still apparent when children had entered elementary school. Significantly, the finding that time in child care is related to problems with adjustment appears not to apply for children from very low income families.

Cognitive and Language Development The NICHD study found that, overall, the number of hours in child care did not correlate with cognitive or language development when demographic variables (e.g., family income) were taken into account. Child care may have positive effects on cognition, and that these effects are larger for higher-quality centers.

Quality of Child Care The National Association for the Education of Young Children has set standards for good child-care programs that include caring, sensitive, available, and cooperative staff members; age-appropriate activities and equipment; and good staff relations with the community. Minimal standards for child care include a low and age-appropriate child-to-caregiver ratio; a maximum group size of six for infants and toddlers, eight for 2- year-olds, and fourteen for 3-year-olds; and formal training for caregivers.