Child psychology family influences

1. The Family
Ch 12
How Children
Develop
LAWRENCE HELLER, PSY.D.

2. What is Family?
 TRADITIONAL
 Nuclear family
 Two-parent family
 MODERN
 Single parent families
 Blended families
 Foster families
 Childfree families
 Same-sex couples
 And many others

3. Family Types Video

4. What is Family?
 Some people think of
their pets as a member of
their family.
 What do you think?
 Do pets count as family
members?

5. What is Family?

6. FAMILY STRUCTURE
 The number and relationships among the people
living in a household.
 Family Structure in US has changed drastically
 In 1960 many more parents were in their first marriage
than presently
 Thera average age women are having children has
increased from 21 in 1970 to 26 in 2014
 Many teenagers are parents
What kind of family structure is created good/bad
What challenges do they face?

7. FAMILY STRUCTURE
Many teenagers are parents
What kind of family structure is created
good/bad
What challenges do they face?
More Children are living with Grandparents
Pros/Cons
 Family Structure Video

8. Family Structure
Families are smaller—WHY?
Finances
Parents have careers
Educational delay
Parents having children later
Increased access to birth control

9. Family Structure
50% of marriages end in divorce
69% chance to stay together 10 years
54% chance to stay together 20 years

10. Family Structure
Nearly one-fifth of all children experience a
change in family structure as a result of
separation, divorce, remarriage, cohabitation,
parental death (Laughlin, 2014)
The more family structure transitions a child
experiences the more behavior problems they can
develop.

11. SAME-SEX PARENTS
 2010 US census
115,000 same sex couples reported they were
raising children (Lofquist, 2011)
Variety of methods for becoming parents
Most states allow for the nonbiological parent to
adopt the same sex-spouse’s biological child
(second parent adoption)

12. Nuclear Family
 IT REFERS TO A FAMILY CONSISTING OF A HUSBAND AND
WIFE PLUS THEIR CHILDREN.

13. EXTENDED FAMILY
 IT IS A FAMILY CONSISTING OF SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF BLOOD
RELATIVES.
 IT CONSISTS OF TWO NUCLEAR FAMILIES: THE FAMILY OF
ORIENTATION AND THE FAMILY OF PROCREATION

14. JOINT FAMILY
 THIS FAMILY REFERS TO
MARRIED CHILDREN
WITH THEIR SPOUSE AND
CHILDREN LIVING IN ONE
RESIDENCE.
 IN JOINT FAMILY, THERE
ARE ONLY TWO
GENERATIONS, THE
FATHER AND THE SON.
 WHILE IN EXTENDED
FAMILY, THERE ARE THREE
GENERATIONS, THE
FATHER, THE SON AND
THE GRANDSON

15. TRUNCATED FAMILY
 THIS IS NOT A COMMON FAMILY FORM.
 IT REFERS TO GRANDPARENT-GRANDCHILDREN RELATIONSHIP
.
 FINANCIAL PROBLEM IS MOST COMMON PROBLEM OF THE PARENTS
WHY GRANDPARENTS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND BE SURROGATE
PARENTS.

16. STEM FAMILY
 IT IS A FAMILY FORMED BY TWO
FAMILIES –
 THE FAMILY OF ORIENTATION AND
THE FAMILY OF PROCREATION.
 THIS FAMILY DOESN’T SHARE THE
SAME HOUSE BUT THEIR HOUSE
MAY BE LOCATED IN THE SAME
AREA.

17. DUAL CAREER FAMILY
 BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE HAVE INDIVIDUAL CAREER.
 THE IDEA OR STEREOTYPE THAT THE WIFE MUST BE
CONCERNED ONLY WITH HOUSEHOLD CHORES NO
LONGER HOLDS TRUE DUE TO SOCIETAL CHANGES.

18. DIVORCED PARENTS
 If you remember we discussed the divorce rate, this creates a
different family structure.
 What are some characteristics and causes?
 Child parentification
 Child can take on surrogate spouse role
 Child encouraged to pick a favorite
 Living in two households
 One parent spoils the other more of a disciplinarian
 Primary residence- time consuming, greater financial burden,
elevated stress
 Custodial parent may move to ne neighborhood, school,
friends change, etc.

19. Divorce
Pros
 End of conflict
 End of issues lead to
divorce
 Possible stress reduction
 Parents might be happier
Cons
 Disrupts lives of child-
school, friends, quality time
with parents
 Can lead to increase in
conflict over finances
 Children forced to act as
intermediary between
parents
 Conflict worsens

20. Children’s Adjustment to Divorce
 May result in behavioral problems such as drinking, drug use,
stealing, cheating, fighting, etc.
 Aggression and antisocial behavior
 Drop in academic achievement
 Increase chance of high school drop-out
 Higher chance of delinquent behavior
 While older children can better understand divorce this still
puts them at risk for adjustment issues

21. Adults Whose Parents Divorced
 Women may have poorer-quality intimate relationships
 Lower self-esteem
 Lower satisfaction from social support from friends and family
 Less likely to have completed high school
 Earn a lower income
 Slightly greater risk for serious emotional disorders (e.g.,
depression, anxiety, and phobias)
 How does elevated stress affect parenting?

22. Factors that Affect Adjustment
 Relationship with noncustodial parent- provided the
noncustodial parent demonstrates a regular and positive
influence
 What other factors can you think of?

23. STEPPARENTS
 15% of children live in households with stepparents (Pew
Research Center, 2015)
 Simple stepfamily- new parent joins another parent and their
children
 Complex or Blended stepfamily- add both a new stepparent
and stepsiblings (Ganong et al., 2015)
 The majority of stepfamilies are formed through divorce and
remarriage or the death of a biological parent and
remarriage.

24. STEPPARENTS
How can the addition of a stepparent and/or stepsiblings
impact a child?
 Less frequent contact with noncustodial parent which can
lead to elevated stress for the child
 Positive/negative family income
 Comparison of bio and step parent
 If child bonds with stepparent this can be another trusted
adult; great source of support

25. STEPPARENTS
 Although stepfathers want their stepfamilies to thrive they tend to be less
close to their stepchildren (Hetherington, 1993)
 New stepfathers may be helpful in providing a good role model
 A good relationship with bioparents and stepparents has a better
outcome for the child.
 On the average, conflict between stepfathers and stepchildren tends to
be greater than with biofather.
 Children with stepfathers tend to have a higher rate of depression.

27. FAMILY DYNAMICS

28. FAMILY DYNAMICS
 Understanding the Family Dynamic

29. FAMILY DYNAMICS
 How family members interact through various relationships

30. PARENTING
 Socialization- This is the process through which children acquire values,
skills, knowledge and behavior that are appropriate for their role in their
culture.
 Discipline-set of strategies used to teach children how to behave
appropriately
 What strategies would you use/recommend to parents?
 When strategies are effective they can lead to a permanent change in the
child’s behavior because the child has learned and accepted what they are
supposed to do. This is called internalization
 Punishment this is the what follows a behavior with the goal of reducing
or eliminating that behavior

31. Parenting Styles

32. Parenting Styles
Authoritative
 In this parenting style, the parents are nurturing, responsive, and
supportive, yet set firm limits for their children. They attempt to
control children's behavior by explaining rules, discussing, and
reasoning. They listen to a child's viewpoint but don't always accept it.
 Children raised with this style tend to be friendly, happy, energetic,
cheerful, self-reliant, self-controlled, curious, cooperative and
achievement-oriented.
 Source
https://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles

33. Parenting Styles
Permissive
 In this parenting style, parents are warm, but lax. They fail to set firm
limits, to monitor children's activities closely or to require
appropriately mature behavior of their children.
 Children raised with this parenting style tend to be impulsive,
rebellious, aimless, domineering, aggressive and low in self-reliance,
self-control and achievement.
 Kids who grow up with permissive parents are more likely to struggle
academically. They may exhibit more behavioral problems as they don't
appreciate authority and rules. They often have low self-esteem and may
report a lot of sadness.
 Source
 https://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles

34. Parenting Styles
Uninvolved
 In this parenting style, parents are unresponsive, unavailable and
rejecting.
 Children raised with this parenting style tend to have low self-
esteem and little self-confidence and seek other, sometimes
inappropriate, role models to substitute for the neglectful parent.
 Uninvolved parents may be neglectful but it's not always intentional. They
may lack knowledge about child development. And sometimes, they're
simply overwhelmed with other problems, like work, paying bills, and
managing a household.
 Source
https://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles

35. Parenting Styles
Authoritarian
 In this parenting style, parents are famous for saying, "Because I said so," when a child
questions the reasons behind a rule. They are not interested in negotiating and their focus is on
obedience.
 They also don't allow kids to get involved in problem-solving challenges or obstacles. Instead,
they make the rules and enforce the consequences with little regard for a child's opinion.
 Authoritarian parents may use punishments instead of discipline. So rather than teach a child
how to make better choices, they're invested in making kids feel sorry for their mistakes.
 Children who grow up with strict authoritarian parents tend to follow rules much of the time.
But, their obedience comes at a price.
 Children of authoritarian parents are at a higher risk of developing self-esteem problems
because their opinions aren't valued.
 Source
 https://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles

36. Parenting Styles
 4 parenting styles 13 minutes

37. SHOULD PARENTS
SPANK THEIR KIDS?
WHY AND WHY NOT?

38. Children’s Influence on Parenting
What factors demonstrated by the children can
affect how they are parented?

39. Children’s Influence on Parenting
 Recall reciprocal determinism that a child has an effect on their environment just as the
environment has an effect on them.
 Child’s temperament
 Child’s cognitive abilities such as comprehension, following directions
 Children who are disobedient, angry, or challenging may make it more difficult for
parents to use an authoritative parenting style when compared to children who are
compliant and positive in their behavior.
 Differential susceptibility- some children may be more reactive to the type of parenting
they receive than others
 Children’s noncompliance and resisting their parent’s demands can impact parent’s
behavior
 For example, child becomes whiny or aggressive and the parents back down rather than confront
the situation. The parents could also disengage, ignore the child’s behavior and many more
possibilities,

40. SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS
 Siblings learn from one another
 They can be a source of support or conflict
 Siblings get along better with one another if they have a better
relationship with their parents and if they feel their parents treat them
equally well.

41. SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXT

42. Socioeconomic Context
 The family is impacted by the context in which it is embedded.
 This includes economic(work and money), culture, parents
work, childcare

43. Cultural Context
 The culture of a family can impact the parent’s choice of
behavior’s such as
 Discipline
 What other behaviors could be affected?
 How does this choice of behaviors impact child development?
 20% of children in the US are from poor families putting them at elevated risk
of cognitive and behavioral problems.
 Across cultures parents have chosen positive discipline such as
inductive reasoning and warm parenting.

44. ECONOMIC CONTEXT
 Children are expensive costing about $14,000 per child, per
year with a range of 10k-25k per year. (Lino, 2014)
 What affect does income play in families?
 Wealthier parents can spend more time with their children and make
be able to afford to have one parent stay home.
 Parents hours with higher income families tend to be better avoiding
night and weekend jobs, multiple jobs, and irregular hours.
 Low income parents are twice as likely to be afraid their children will
get shot or in trouble with the law.
 Higher income makes parenting easier

45. PARENT’S WORK CONTEXT
 Parents can feel a sense of accomplishment, social connection, purpose,
meaning, and enhanced mental health.
 A positive work influence can have a positive impact on parenting.
 Work can also cause elevated stress

46. CHILDCARE CONTEXTS
 United States
 35% of children with working mothers were placed in center based childcare
 18% werecared for by a nonrelative in a home environment (babysitter, nanny,
day care provider
 66% of children from high income families were cared for in organized
childcare
 Low income families were cared for by family members

47. CHILDCARE CONTEXTS
 Maternal employment has few negative impacts on the child
provided the child is placed in childcare of acceptable quality and
supervision by adults.
 What is acceptable?
 How many adults to child ratio?
 Enrichment?
 Children in high quality day care do better in their cognitive and
language development than children in low –quality care
 Characteristics of the child will affect a positive/negative outcome.