family and parenting analyzing family life the diversity of adult life styles parenting other...
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Family and Parenting Analyzing Family Life
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Parenting
Other Family Relationships
Direct and Indirect Interactions Between Parents and Children
Analyzing Family Life
Marital relationship
ParentingChild
behavior and development
Percentage of Single Adults 30 to 34 Years of Age
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Pe
rce
nt
30
2000Year
1970
25
20
15
10
0
30
Cohabiting Adults
Dramatic rise in cohabiting before marriage:
◦ Higher in countries other than the U.S.
◦ Cohabiting tends to be short-lived in U.S.
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Married Adults
Marital trends:◦ Changing male-female equality in marriage has created
more fragile, intense marital relationships◦ More adults remain single longer◦ U.S. still a marrying society; divorce rates slowing
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
2002199019801970
21
196019
24
23
22
Year
25
27
20
1950
26
Age
(ye
ars)
What Makes Marriages Work
Premarital education-◦ Improves quality of marriage◦ May reduce risk of divorce◦ Linked to higher level of commitment to spouse
and lower level of destructive marital conflict
Benefits of a good marriage-◦ Healthier lives◦ Lower levels of depression, anxiety, anger
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Divorced Adults
If divorce occurs, it usually happens early in marriage: Psychiatric disorders and hospital admission Clinical depression and alcoholism Psychosomatic disorders
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
25 35201510
Years married
3050
6
8
10
2
4
Per
cent
of
divo
rcee
s
Divorced in Middle and Older Adults
Main reason for staying married: children Main causes of divorce:
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
– For men
• No obvious problems, just fell out of love
• Cheating
• Different values, lifestyles
– For women
• Verbal, physical, emotional abuse
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Cheating
Remarried Adults
Complex histories and multiple relationships make adjustment difficult:◦ Men remarry sooner than women◦ Stepfamilies face unique tasks◦ Many remarry for financial reasons, not love
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Gay and Lesbian Adults
Similar in satisfactions and need to find balance as heterosexual couples:
◦ Needs: romantic love, affection, autonomy,
equality
◦ More flexible in gender roles than heterosexuals
◦ Prefer long term, committed relationships
◦ Lesbians usually do not have open relationships
◦ Increasingly creating families with children
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Amount of Same Sex Couples with Children
The Diversity of Adult Life Styles
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Parenting
Authoritarian
Authoritative
Neglectful
Indulgent
Restrictive, punitive style; parents exhort child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort Encourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions
Parent very uninvolved in child’s life
Parents very involved with children, place few demands/controls on them
Punishment and Discipline
Historically, corporal punishment considered necessity and desirable for disciplining child:
◦ Legal in all states; used by majority of parents
◦ Favored most in U.S. and Canada
Corporal punishment by parents associated with:◦ Higher levels of immediate compliance◦ Increased aggression among children◦ Lower levels of moral internalization and mental health
Sweden outlawed physical spanking of a child in 1979:◦ Youth rates of delinquency, alcohol use, rape, and suicide
dropped
Parenting
Factors Linked to Child Abuse
Marital conflict and individual hostility linked to physical punishment
Child maltreatment:◦ Almost 900,000 in 2002◦ 84% abused by parents◦ Mandatory reporting for
professionals
Parenting
Context of Abuse
No single factor is total cause:
◦ Violence in American culture through media, etc.
◦ Family member interactions
◦ Perpetuating history: parents abused as childrenDevelopmental consequences:
◦ Emotional and relational/attachment problems
◦ Personality problems and risk of suicide
◦ Aggressive behaviors and substance use/abuse
Parenting
Parent-Adolescent Conflict
Conflict with parents escalates in early adolescence:
◦ Biological changes of puberty
◦ Cognitive changes and idealism
◦ Social changes and independence
◦ Maturational changes
◦ Violated expectations
Parenting
Effects of Divorce on Children
Children: ◦ More likely to show poorer adjustment◦ More likely to have academic and
behavioral problems◦ Overall adjustment affected by social
maturity, gender, temperament, custody situation, SES
Adjustment improves if: ◦ conflicts reduced by divorce◦ parents harmonious and authoritative
Parenting
Single-Parent Families in Different Countries
Parenting
Divorce and Children’s Emotional Problems
Parenting
Changing Profile of Grandparents
Increasing number are raising their grandchildren due to-◦ Divorce◦ Adolescent pregnancies◦ Drug use by parents
In 2000: 5.6 million childrenStress linked to raising grandchildrenGrandparents and great grandparents are
living longer
Other Family Relationships
Intergenerational Relationships
As children age, think more positively of their parents:◦ Mother-daughter conflicts lessen over life
course◦ Family members maintain considerable
contact◦ Parents and young adult children describe
their relationship differently; relationship related to nature of earlier relationship
Other Family Relationships