Chapter 12 Family Influences on Development

							Family Influences on Development
             Systems View


Family as a system
Each member influences the others; you
 change or affect one, and all are affected
                        Topics

Family bonding
Marital Unit
   Identity development
   Marital conflict and divorce
Siblings and birth order
Family influence
   Discipline
   Values and goals
         Parent-child bonding

Ways to bond with your baby?
Parent-child Attachment Theory
  Idea that parent is secure base from which child
   can explore the world
  Results from consistency in responsiveness of
   parent to child
        Attachment Theory

Harlow’s monkeys
Bowlby and Ainsworth
  Strange Situation
     8 minute procedure
     12 months of age
     Assesses child’s reaction to mother’s return
  Found 3 general attachment styles
   Results of Attachment Research
Attachment Styles
Securely Attached (66%)
  Baby is happy to be reunited; easily comforted
Avoidantly Attached (20%)
  Baby is avoidant of mother when reunited; not drawn to
   mother when she tries to consol
Ambivalently Attached (12%)
  Baby is angry at mother when reunited; goes from
   clingy, crying, to distant, angry response
Disorganized (2%)
  Baby has mixed response to mother’s return – may
   walk sideways; look fearful; seem disoriented
           Expectation of Baby

Secure: Mother responds consistently; Baby
 expects response
Avoidant: Mother often does not respond to
 Baby; Baby does not expect mother to respond
Ambivalent: Mother inconsistently responds to
 Baby; Baby is not sure what to expect, so must
 overreact to try to get mom’s attention
Disorganized: Mother gives off frightening
 and/or confusing signals; Baby has learned to not
 rely on parent/takes on parenting role
     Source of Attachment Crises

Avoidant (depression)
Ambivalent (trauma, other psychological
 disorders)
Disorganized (abuse, child taking on parent role)
Relationship with adult attachment
   Correlations found
   Retrospective reports
   Ainsworth: Insecure model can change in adulthood,
    through securely attached marital relationship, though
    insecure attachment prone to repeat itself.
Extension of Attachment Theory

  Children internalize models and carry images
   with them for self and other comparisons:
  1) Model of their attachment relationship with
   parents
  2) Model of mother and father as female and
   male role models
  3) Model of marital relationship
           Adult relationships

Relationship with adult attachment
  Correlations found
  Retrospective reports
  Insecure attachment prone to repeat itself in
   adult relationships
  Able to be changed through securely attached
   adult relationships
        Is Marital Conflict OK?

 When is conflict deleterious for children?
     Physical conflict/aggression
     Greater intensity of conflict
     Greater frequency of conflict with fewer positive
      interactions
     Demeaning arguing (e.g., parents put each other
      down; emotional/verbal abuse or lack of respect)
     Triangulation
     Unresolved conflict
   Marital Unit: Conflict/Divorce

When is conflict ok or important?
     Modeling appropriate expression of negative
      emotions
     Modeling appropriate, respectful assertiveness
      (neither aggressive nor passive responses to one
      another)
     Modeling conflict resolution
          Current (2002) statistics in
                   divorce
•   1 million children experience divorce of their
    parents each year
•   Sharp increase in divorce rates from 1960-1980
    but slow decline in rates since 1980
•   Current rate is about 49%, with accumulated
    numbers increasing
•   1970 to 2000, married population dropped from
    72% to 60%
•   Divorce rate higher for remarriages than first
    marriages
    Wallerstein’s and other research

•   Children
    •   Depression, dream of parents getting back together,
        learning difficulties, behavior problems (Wallerstein)
    •   May blame themselves
    •   Developmental issues?
•   Adults
    •   Based on attachment perspective
    •   Overcome internalized models of relationships of own
        parents
    •   Research somewhat conflicted on effect on future
        marriages
         General Research Findings

•   Many studies have found the divorce rates
    to be higher among adults from divorced
    homes
•   Thought to be due to:
    •   More negative attitudes about marriage
    •   Less trust in relationships
    •   More favorable views toward divorce
    •   Hesitancy to commit to marriage due to fear of
        repeating parents’ mistakes
         General Research Findings

•   Other studies have found that adults from divorced
    homes have positive attitudes and expectations;
    determined that their parents’ divorce would not
    affect their own marriage
•   Many children are quite resilient
    –   Protective factors (absence of these are risk factors)
         •   Having at least one consistent, strong relationship with an adult
         •   Excelling in something (higher self-esteem)  academics,
             athletics, music
         •   Fewer transitions (e.g., moves, family reorganization)
         •   Low hostility between parents
         •   Strong sibling relationships
           Boyer-Pennington, et. al.

•   Compared college students from intact homes,
    single divorce, and multiple divorce homes
•   Individuals from intact homes had more favorable
    expectations about the quality of marriage than
    students from either single-divorced or multiple-
    divorced homes
•   However, all three groups were equally optimistic
    about getting married and about the success of
    their own marriages compared to others
    •   Those who experience divorce are not “turned off”
        from marriage
             Boyer-Pennington, et. al.

•   All three groups expected to avoid
    divorce
    •   Those from single-divorce homes had lowest
        expectations of avoiding divorce
    •   Those from multiple-divorced homes reported
        highest expectations of avoiding divorce
         •   People from multiple-divorced homes may engage in more
             “negative modeling”
         •   They reported higher amounts of relationship control
         •   Research shows that increase perception of control promotes
             better outcomes
            Family: Birth Order

Believed to influence child development
Adler’s Birth Order Theory
   First-born: “power-hungry”, tends to compete because
    does not want to be “dethroned”
   Second-born: Not as sensitive to power issues; tends to
    be higher-achiever because is used to being the
    “underdog” and can handle competition
   Third-born: Tends to be the “baby” of the family;
    spoiled; less of an achiever
   Only child: Has never been “dethroned” so tends to
    have high ego; tends to be neither spoiled nor especially
    high-achiever.
                Family Influence
Discipline
  Clear expectations
  Consistency of limits and consequences
  Prevention of impatience/losing control


Parenting styles
  Two dimensions of interaction
     Emotionality, Control
  High and low levels of emotionality and control
   combine to produce four basic patterns of parenting
     Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, Uninvolved
            Family Influence
Two dimensions of interaction
  Emotionality = How warm, responsive, and
   child-centered the parent is
  Control = How much the parent is in charge
Goal is to be high on warmth and high on
 control!
Warm, responsive parents are better at
 exercising control
               Parenting styles
Authoritative
  High emotionality; high control
  Warm, responsive, involved
  Set consistent, reasonable limits; expect mature
   behavior
Authoritarian
  Low emotionality; high control
  Harsh, unresponsive, rigid
  Use power-assertive methods of control
               Parenting styles
Permissive
  High emotionality; low control
  Lax, inconsistent discipline
  Encourage children to express any impulse
Uninvolved
  Low emotionality; low control
  Indifferent, neglectful
  Parents focus on own needs rather than children’s
                 Effects on children
 Authoritative
    “Energetic-friendly” – cheerful, self-reliant, purposeful,
     achievement-oriented, cooperative, copes well with stress
 Authoritarian
    “Conflicted-irritable” – moody, unhappy, fearful, aimless,
     hostile, deceitful, aggressive or withdrawn responses,
     vulnerable to stress
 Permissive
    “Impulsive-aggressive” – domineering, resistant,
     noncompliant, lacks self-control, little self-reliance, impulsive,
     low achievement-orientation, few goals
 Uninvolved
    “Neglected” – moody, insecurely attached, impulsive,
     aggressive, noncompliant, irresponsible, low self-esteem,
     immature, alientated, lacks skills for social and academic
     pursuits, delinquency, early sexual promiscuity
                      Parenting styles
                            Emotionality

                             Warm, responsive     Rejecting,
                                                 unresponsive
Control




                             Authoritative Authoritarian
           Restrictive,
           demanding


                              Permissive        Uninvolved
          Permissive, not
            demanding
              Family Influence
Values and goals
  Family is considered to be one of the strongest
   venues for transmission of values and goals
  Factors affecting positive influence of family
   on children
     Secure attachment
     Open and frequent communication between parents
      and children
     “Incidental learning”  both quality and quantity
      time