THE FAMILY Chapter 11

Chapter 7 Outline What is a family? Parenting Style Classification System Causes and Outcomes Siblings The Good Side The Bad Side Birth Order Sibling Classifications

What is a family? A social unit in which adult spouses or partners and their children share economic, social, and emotional rights and responsibilities and a sense of commitment and identification Genetically or legally related Involuntary and permanent Social and legal obligations

Parenting style Emotional Involvement Warm and loving vs. cold and rejecting Level of Control/Demandingness Permissive and undemanding vs. demanding and restrictive

Authoritative Reasonable demands, consistently enforced, sensitive to and accepting of child Authoritarian Many rules/demands; few explanations for rules; little sensitivity to child’s needs/views Permissive Few rules/demands; children have much freedom; indulge child Uninvolved Few rules/demands; parents uninvolved and insensitive to child’s needs warm, responsive rejecting, unresponsive restrictive, demanding permissive, undemanding EMOTIONALITY CONTROL

Parenting Style Activity 1. It is bedtime and the children do not want to go to bed. 2. Your child broke a favorite toy. 3. Your child's room is a mess. 4. It is time for your child to come home, but he/she is in the middle of a project and wants to finish it first. 5. Your son came in later than he was supposed to with a worried look on his face. 6. Your daughter came home from the store with a candy bar that was not hers.

What causes parenting style?

Causes of Parenting Styles Genetics Identical twin mothers were more similar in degrees of warmth toward children than fraternal twin mothers Personality Authoritative – Extraverted, Agreeable, and Neurotic No relationship – Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience Quality of couple relationship Insecure relationships pose a risk factor for poor parenting. Risk is highest when both parents are insecure Avoidance and anxiety romantic attachment are less responsiveness toward partner and child Culture East Asian cultures – authoritative works best Western cultures – authoritarian works best Children’s Behavior Child’s behavior may elicit the parenting strategy

Bidirectional: Parenting Style and Child Behavior Does parenting style cause children’s behavior? Does children’s behavior cause parenting style?

Bidirectional: Which parenting style results in each preschool child? Child #1: Cheerful, socially responsible, self-reliant, achievement-oriented, cooperative, more socially competent than other children ENERGETIC-FRIENDLY CHILD Child #2: Mood, unhappy, easily annoyed, unfriendly, aimless (not achievement-oriented) CONFLICTED-IRRITABLE CHILD Child #3: Impulsive, aggressive, bossy, self-centered, low independence, low orientation uncontrolled, noncompliant IMPULSIVE-AGGRESSIVE CHILD Child #4: Aggressive, rebellious, externalizing behaviors, poor academic performance, impulsive, aggressive, noncompliant, and moody IMPULSIVE-AGGRESSIVE-NONCOMPLIANT-MOODY CHILD

Bidirectional: Patterson’s (1986) Model of Antisocial Development Defiant and Coercive behaviors Harsher parenting

Bidirectional: Parenting Style and Middle Childhood Prosocial Behavior Coded parental interactions for mother and father sensitivity 54-months old, 3 rd graders, and 5 th graders Child’s autonomy, Supportive Presence Parents and teachers reported on child’s prosocial behavior with peers 3rd, 5th, and 6 th grades

Maternal Sensitivity Child’s prosocial behavior Paternal Sensitivity Child’s prosocial behavior

Bidirectional: Parenting Style and Adolescence Adjustment Adolescent’s Adjustment Parental Style Changes School maladjustment, LSE, low disclosure, and changed parental style to neglected High disclosure moved parents from neglected to authoritative style **Parental Style did not lead to changes in child adjustment problems over time (Kerr, Stattin, & Ozdemir, 2012)

Dissimilarity in parenting styles Older Findings: Mothers and Fathers had similar styles Mothers’ self-reported parenting style and partner-reported More authoritative compared to father No differences in 3 other styles Fathers’ self-reported parenting style and partner-reported Less authoritative and permissive than mother More authoritarian than mothers (Winsler et al., 2005)

Dissimilarity in parenting styles  Children assessed mother and father’s parenting styles  Parents assessed E/I problems Parenting Style and Externalizing / Internalizing Problems All parenting styles positively correlated with E problems Rejection and overprotection positively correlated with I problems Dissimilarity in Parenting Styles Dissimilarity is positively correlated with presence of I and E problems Dissimilarity in parental emotional warmth → I problems Dissimilarity in overprotection → I and E problems (Berkien et al., 2012)

Name The Parenting Style! Video #1 Video #2 Video #3 Video #4

Siblings Children spend more free time with siblings than anyone else Time spent with sibling decreases as children age What are some favorable outcomes of having a sibling? What are some unfavorable outcomes of having a sibling?

Siblings – The Good Side Sibling warmth and support linked to Peer acceptance, social competences Academic engagement, educational attainment Intimate relationships in adolescence and young adulthood Develops Relationship skills for future friend and romantic relationships Language and reading skills (older siblings) Intimacy decreases I problems (e.g., depression) Sister-sister pairs – highest intimacy (Cole & Kearns, 2001) Dyads with 1 brother – more conflict (Cole & Kearns, 2001) One of the strongest predictors of mental health in old age (Waldinger et al, 2007)

Siblings – The Bad Side Sibling interactions create challenges for parenting style Most frequent source of parent-adolescent disagreement is how well siblings are getting along Sibling conflict occurs up to 8 times per hour Linked to increase in I problems Sibling aggression 70% of families report physical violence between siblings Over 1 year period, 40% children were kicked, bitten, punched by their siblings Sibling violence linked to substance abuse, delinquency, aggression Over time, older siblings E problems led to younger siblings E problems (Shortt et al., 2010) E problems in one child associated with greater depression in other child (Branje et al., 2004)

Siblings and Parenting Styles Harsh and authoritarian parenting associated with more sibling conflict Parental Differential Treatment (PDT) Children evaluate themselves through comparisons with siblings Parents treat children differently based on sibling comparison **Based on siblings’ perception of differential treatment PDT Outcomes Less positive sibling relationships from early childhood through adolescence Disfavored sibling = higher depression, antisocial/delinquent behavior, substance use More unfavorable for girls and younger children May be negated if child perceives his/her siblings needs the extra attention

Siblings: Birth Order Modern Family What is your birth order? First, middle, last, only child Compare your birth order personality to your siblings (or cousin). Similarities in Big Five? Differences in Big Five? How does your birth order explain these personality differences?

With an X, indicate the sibling who scores the highest on the following 5 personality traits. Birth OrderName Openness to experience ConscientiousExtraversionAgreeablenessNeuroticism First-born Michelle I I I I I Second-born Michael I I I I I Third-born Steven I I I Fourth-born Julie I I I I I

Siblings and Birth Order First, Adler. Then, Sulloway Competition for parental investment causes sibling rivalry Birth order provides a strategy for children to compete for parental love, resources, etc. To increase survival of their genes Unique Environmental Effect

Siblings: Sulloway’s Birth Order Theory Firstborns – Arrive first and secure position by identifying with parents’ personality More C (responsible, achieving)- seek parents’ favor by acting as a surrogate parent More Extraversion b/c defend their status quo with dominance, assertiveness More Neurotic – anxious about maintaining their status Laterborns – find older, dominant sibling is favored by parents, so look for other ways to improve standing Laterborns high in OE b/c more accepting of revolutionary ideas High in A b/c adopt traits opposite of firstborn – sociable, empathetic, altruistic

Siblings: Sulloway’s Birth Order Theory Middle Children – lack advantages of being first or last Parent will invest in firstborns (closest to reproductive age) and lastborns (most vulnerable to disease) More independent of family, more peer-oriented Only Children – no sibling rivalry High C b/c conform to parental authority Not More Neurotic or Less Extraverted than other children

Siblings and Birth Order: Research Says! Nomination Procedure (Paulhus et al., 1999) First-born: highest in C; Later-born: highest in A **Limitations to nomination procedure 9 adopted sibship pairs (Beer & Horn, 2000) All biologically first born, but raised in different rearing orders Compared first-reared to later-reared Firstborns more Conscientious (Beer & Horn, 2000; Healey & Ellis, 2006) Laterborns more OE (Healey & Ellis, 2006) But other research….Firstborns more OE (Michalski & Shackelford, 2001) Any relationship b/w birth order and personality is weak

Sibling Classifications African American Families: Fathers, mothers, and 2 siblings Home interviews and later surveys Sibling Assessment – 3 dimensions to classify siblings Positive – “I go to my sister/brother for advice and support” Negative- “My sister/brother gets mad or angry at me.” Control – “In our relationship, I am the boss” (McHale et al., 2007)

Sibling Classifications Positive High Positivity, Moderate Conflict, Moderate Control Negative Low Positivity, High Conflict, High Control Distant Low Positivity, Moderate Conflict, Moderate Control (McHale et al., 2007)

Sibling Classifications IN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE GROUPS Older siblings reported more conflict (green) and control (black) than younger siblings IN DISTANT GROUPS Younger siblings reported more conflict (pink) and control (red) than older siblings (McHale et al., 2007)

Sibling Classifications: Causes Parents’ Education Level Distant Children – father more educated than mother Positive Children – no difference in educational level Negative children – mother more educated than father Maternal and Paternal Warmth (listed by decreasing warmth) Warmth toward older-positive, older-distant, vs. older-negative siblings Parental Differential Treatment (PDT) Positive and distant children perceived parents as more fair than negative children Some other factors Mothers w/ negative children – highest levels of discrimination Parents in positive group reported greatest levels of spirituality (McHale et al., 2007)

Sibling Classifications: Outcomes Positive children More favorable ethnic identity Positive and distant children Fewer depressive symptoms Negative children Highest levels of risky behaviors