Functions of Families:

• Survival of offspring

• Economic Function

• Cultural Training

• Socialization: Process through which children acquire values, knowledge, skills, and behaviors appropriate for their culture

Methods of Socialization

Parents are:

• Direct Instructors: Teaching, advising

• Indirect Socializers: Modeling

• Providers/managers of opportunities: Control exposure to experiences (e.g., toys, other children, activities)

– Particularly prominent when children are younger

Age-Related Changes in Socialization

• As infants become mobile, parents typically increase their attempts to control infants’ behavior

• Between 12-18 months, children show an increasing ability to comply with parental requests/directions

– “Don’t touch!”– “Come here”

• As children get older, parents gradually increase their expectations for mature behavior

• Parental behavior varies along at least two dimensions

– Responsiveness/Acceptance

– Control (“Demandingness”)

Authoritarian

• High control

• Low acceptance/responsiveness

• Power-assertive discipline

• Ex: “Do it because I say so”• More likely to use physical punishment

Authoritative

• High acceptance/responsiveness

• Moderate control– Set clear standards and consistently enforce

rules– Responsive to children’s needs and point of

view

• Discipline based on reasoning/explanation– “It’s not ok to hit people because it hurts

them.”

Permissive

• High acceptance/responsiveness

• Low control– Make few demands for mature behavior

Neglecting/Disengaged

• Low acceptance/responsiveness

• Low control

• Parents often overwhelmed by stress; have little time/energy for children

Authoritarian

Childhood:

• Anxious

• Unhappy

• Dependent/Easily Frustrated (esp. girls)

• Hostile/Aggressive (esp. boys)

Authoritative

Childhood:

– High self-esteem

– High self-control

– Generally positive mood

Permissive

Childhood:

• Low self-control

• Overly demanding and dependent on adults

Neglecting/Disengaged

• Childhood:

– Low self-control

– Low self-esteem

– Disturbed attachment relationships (disorganized)

Bidirectional Influences

• How do children’s characteristics and behavior affect parenting style?

• Infants and children with difficult temperaments are more likely to receive less optimal parenting

• Less optimal parenting increases children’s problem behaviors

• Negative cycle of interaction can be established

Correlation vs. Causation

• Most research on parenting styles is correlational– Can’t randomly assign kids to different kinds

of parents– Therefore, can’t infer cause-and-effect

relationships• Can’t say that parenting style CAUSES children’s

behavior (positive or negative)

• However, some research has examined experimental parenting interventions

– Interventions: Designed to improve parenting behavior

• Use random assignment—some families receive the intervention and others do not

• Can infer cause-and-effect relationships

• Experimental parenting interventions have shown improvements in parenting behavior and improvements in children’s adjustment

• Parenting styles (and their “effects”) may not generalize to all ethnic groups

– Chinese parents more likely to be classified as authoritarian (high control)

– Authoritative parenting does not have more positive effects than authoritarian parenting for 1st generation Chinese-American children

Marital Conflict and Children’s Adjustment

• Marital conflict can include both verbal and/or physical aggression between partners

• Consistent exposure to marital conflict is related to children’s– Aggression with siblings and peers – Symptoms of anxiety and depression– Insecure attachment relationships

Why?

• Direct Effects Model

• Indirect Effects Model

Short-term Consequences of Divorce

Financial:

• Mother-custody households typically experience a sharp drop in income after a divorce

– On average, these households have 50-75% of their pre-divorce income

Psychological:

• Compared to mothers in intact families, divorced mothers report more

– Stress– Anxiety– Depression

Parenting Behavior:

Compared to intact families, in divorced families

– Family routines (e.g., meals, bedtimes, chores) are likely to be disrupted

– Custodial mothers are less responsive/warm, more likely to use power-assertive discipline, and less likely to supervise children

– Non-custodial fathers are likely to be more permissive than mothers

Children’s Behavior:

• Compared to children in intact families, children in divorced families are

– More non-compliant/disobedient– More aggressive and hostile/defiant– More impulsive – More demanding/dependent

Long-term Consequences

• Within two years after divorce:

– Parenting quality improves for mothers and fathers

– Most children show improved adjustment

• As a group, children of divorced families are slightly more likely to have lasting adjustment problems than children of intact families

– Exs: lower self-esteem; lower social competence; lower academic achievement

• But the majority of children from divorced families do not show lasting adjustment problems

Individual Differences in Adjustment

• Parent/Family Factors:

– Exposure to conflict between parents prior to, during, and after a divorce

• Less exposure to conflict is related to better child adjustment

• Parent/Family Factors (con’t):

– Authoritative parenting by the custodial parent (typically the mother) is associated with better child adjustment

– The quality of contact with non-custodial fathers is more strongly related to children’s adjustment than the quantity (frequency) of contact

• Authoritative parenting by non-custodial fathers and support for the mother in her parenting role are associated with better child adjustment

• Parent/Family Factors (con’t):

– Adequate financial support is related to better child adjustment

• Likely to reduce stress of custodial parent and promote more positive parenting

– Social support is also related to better adjustment in parents and children

• Child Factors:

– Age of Child

• Children’s reactions to divorce differ by age

• But not clear evidence that younger children show more problems in long-term adjustment than older children

• More difficult for younger children to understand the reasons for divorce

– Preschool/early school age children are more likely than older children to

» Blame themselves

» Fear abandonment

– Sex of Child:

• Some research indicates that boys are more likely to show persistent problems in adjustment after a divorce (in mother-custody households)

But:

» Some recent evidence that boys in father-custody families show better adjustment

» Girls may show adjustment problems that are more subtle (e.g., depression, anxiety) and may experience more problems beginning in adolescence (e.g., early sexual activity, difficulties with intimate relationships)