Chap 4. notes

Chapter 4 Adolescence in the context of family: changing description social mold theory ? families shaped or molded adolescence to be who they are, everything flowed from the parents to the adolescence, sole influence on adolescence. bi-directional influences ? Bell, kids also influence parents. Two way influences (parents influence kids and kids influence parents), studying dyads (two person grouping) systems approach ? How does the family work as a whole system. Not just particularly 1 relationship, but the whole family as a system. systems approach development is influenced by how the family operates as a whole system, how is it affected by the system, how is one relationship affected when a third member enters. (two sisters close in age talk about everything until younger sister enters the room and they change the subject) second-order effects-When a 3rd party enters the room and a relationship changes. Mom and daughter talking about something private that daughter doesn?t want dad to know, dad comes in and hears and gets upset. Girlfriend and guy friend talking, boyfriend walks up and girlfriend tenses up. Can change the way that people interact. Can a baby change a marriage relationship? traditional view: family is the sole influence on development contemporary view: friends can have a significant influence on adolescents also (now a days we outsource, we are no longer home schooled, we don?t milk the cows, we don?t have to farm the fields) Our peers are important but don?t let the peers become more important than family. Benefits of peers more healthy interaction-enjoying spending time with peers. naturally democratic ? egalitarian- you wouldn?t treat a friend the way that you would treat your siblings, because if you are mean to your friends they will walk away. less negative: less - stress, conflict, inequality: where are you within the order of your family. Both family and friends are important -- would be difficult to say one is more important than the other, they make different contributions to your development. How are family systems influential in their children?s development? Diana Baumrind 3 types of parenting styles: authoritarian-restrictive permissive authoritative authoritarian-restrictive emotionally cool or emotionally distant toward children; stoic highly controlling, demanding, rules ?Because I said so? unidirectional communication permissive Warm - love their kids!!! little control over behavior; offer very few guides few demands they communicate, they think rules squelch the child?s creativity, don?t provide the support that children need to grow up in healthy ways. Authoritative (thought of to be the best parenting style, because it has the best outcome) firmly enforced rules every once in a while there are exceptions for the rules. demand high levels of achievement warm- give you what you need, not just what you want involved with children-they are going to soccer practice and coaching! consistent parenting, constant negotiation bi-directional communication, parents tune into their children and expect their children to tune into them. developmental outcomes: authoritative Socially active Self-reliant Responsible Self-Confident committed Interested parents developmental outcomes: authoritarian restrictive traditionalists-doing it the way that it has always been done, ?compliance? ?Respect my authority? All they do is teach their children to abide by the rules, not to learn why they should abide Conformist- do what is expected of me. Don?t think for myself Foreclosed- don?t look at different options, don?t expect different outcomes, just do what I?m told Person-oriented (not task-oriented)-look at any situations and that individual and do what that individual expect. What does mrs. Peeples want me to do to get a good grade in this class, this is what she says to do, this is what I will do to get a good grade; task: focused on the task, what can I learn about HD adolescence to get a good grade. developmental outcomes: permissive Behavior/emotional problems- Label themselves as hopeless Sometimes delinquent feel alienated Maccoby & Martin - 2 dimensions: Demanding/controlling parents are Accepting/responsiveness demanding/controlling extent parents expect & demand mature and responsible behavior (expect as much as their kids can rise to the occasion) acceptance/responsiveness unconditional love (respond to kids needs not necessarily wants) extent parents respond to child?s needs in an accepting, supportive manner, how can parents respond to fill a need in children + - AT AR PI Cell D + - Cell-D worst case scenario Lack both warmth and responsiveness and demanding controlling undemanding, Low parental involvement interaction goal: Avoid child no sense of long-term Impact of Cell-D Infancy attachment formation seriously impaired, leads to peer difficulties (secure or insecure attachments) leads to peer difficulties, if the only way I get something from mommy is by pitching a fit, I will take those same strategies to school Don?t get along with other kids, usually getting into trouble, don?t have pro-social behavior which makes them less likely to have friends, other kids don?t like them, teachers and parents persuade you to not be around them. Impact of Cell-D: Childhood Low self-esteem external locus of control ? I believe that forces outside of me is in control of my future. ?my life is crap because of things I can?t control? Hostile attribution bias ?thinking the worst tendency toward aggression (Dodge) Impact of Cell-D: Adolescence Impulsive-don?t learn to self regulate, don?t have someone to coach them to tell them what they shouldn?t do uninterested in school-school is unhappy for them, they don?t have friendly support or teacher support they are outcasts. lack concentration- Predelinquent behavior moody Pretend to dislike spend $ quickly poor self-control Impact of Cell-D: 20s Hedonistic- selfish focused on own wants, they are pleasure seekers, if it feels good do it. More likely to have difficulty with the law. lack tolerance (frustration, emotional control) Why Cell-D? 1. Parents concerned with own problems, they are to consumed with themselves that they don?t put in enough effort to parent their kids, they may have mental health issues, financial pressures ? don?t see beyond their own needs 2. Attachment issues ? does the child have issues that makes it hard for the parents to attach. family influence: Family is the first teacher -- social skills, self-regulation? learned when parents take their role of teacher seriously parent-child interaction induction versus power assertion ? Power assertion (because I said so, shut up, sit down, tells you what not to do and doesn?t tell you why) all you teach the child is to fear you and not why I should not do something. Induction is the why behind the No! attribution withdrawal of love induction (authoritative are more likely to use this) use of explanation to voice concerns, ?why I want you to change your behavior and what I want you to change your behavior too? Gives tools to kids to learn how to become better problem solvers and they become better problem solvers. draw attention to features of a situation (showing children what the important part of this situation is) outcomes: internal locus of control; moral judgment; see more responsibility in child attribution ( can be used in a + way > authoritative, or ? way > permissive ? they are just jealous of you? or athoritarian ?your to stupid to understand? ?its you aren?t you always the one getting introuble?) in disciplining - tendency to focus the problem as inside/outside the child (are you using attribution to empower the child to do better next time or are you just shaming them and making them feel badly) placing attention on child?s ability to control future similar experiences withdrawal of love pulling out emotionally - threat to abandon ? pull a powerful string that really scares the child ?alright if you don?t come now I?m going to leave you? can be damaging to use on little kids because pre-operational children can only focus on one thing at a time, they can only focus on that you said that you are going to leave me. Says ?Im going to stop loving you unless you behave the way that I want you to? does not support good development. Used sparingly between adult and adolescent relationship can be affective, depends on age and should only be used sparingly if at all. Normative stresses on family adolescent physical look eye-to-eye: reduces Power differential physical changes drive changes in drive changes in communication Steinberg & Hill observed parent - child conversations at multiple points during adolescences. They filmed pre -, mid - , and post ? pubescent boys differend to their mothers less at mid, than they did at pre, boys interrupted their mothers and moms interrupted their sons more in mid. Sons and moms offered fewer explanations and fewer justifications for opinions. There is more fussing and contention, and are less responsive to others opinion. Post- interactions more flexible and responsive, more respect between son and mom. Power differential ? at pre-pubescent Dad has the most power in terms of decision making then mom, then son. At post adolescents the order changes to Dad, Son mom GIRLS Pre > no menstration-smooth interactions Mid 6 months menstration- trouble in communication disruption Post 6-12 menstration calms a little Post ? post 12 and up menstration ? disruption again (early bloomers- out of sink with peers, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, eating disorders) Deviance Hypothesis Developmental readiness Cultural ideal Power shift ? there is no change at pre to post or post- post (but guys at different ages, the girls are usually in 7th or 8th grade) Sternberg guys 3 pre mid post varying age but girls had 4 adolescent cognitive changes allows for more reasoning want to know ?why? > you want them to know why > induction, why is important, you want them to stick with the most logical situations, adolescents will challenge their parents hopefully as much as parents challenge their children. want most logical solution adolescentl: social changes 1. stress of transition to jr. high new physical environment ? social environment new demands and expectations 2. Change in nature of parent-child relationship Selman?s 5 levels - parent as... 0 boss ? a 2 yr old expects mom and dad to be the boss, to tell them what to do. 1 caretaker ? helper ? now I expect my parent to be a good caretaker. Mom and dad come to eat lunch at school with me, they make me lunch to bring to school. 2 guidance counselor ? shift from people who do for us to people who are there for us. 3 both show mutual tolerance/respect ? both parents and child have to show mutual tolerance and respect 4 change w/circumstances, abilities, needs ? relationship btw parents and children changes with whatever circumstances there are with each?s abilities and each?s needs. 3. Smetana: view mismatch conventions = commonly accepted beliefs about everyday matters, personal = up to individual Adolescents agree that parents should be incharge or conventions and that adolescents should be in charge or personal, what they disagree on is what goes into which category. Normative stresses: parents Marital Satisfaction $ money (stress over money) car, field trips, lessons, senior trips, college? Parents in the sandwich generations, taking care of parents and kids. midlife re-evaluation (career > wanting a new job, wanting to change job and career; lifestyle choices > Changing who your married too bodily health: parents no longer at the peak of their physical condition, things go down hill other factors: Influences on the parent parenting Self confidence > parents use 1st child as genie pig, learning how too, next children benefit from that. When we have stronger confidence we do better, previous experience if we?ve been there before we have a better idea of how to handle the situation SES direct stress (divorce) ? Crossectional data kids who came from intact families and comparing them to kids from disfuctional families, Longitudinal studies watching the same people over time. Crossectional data: 1st year Parents: anxious, depressed, angry, self doubting, dad usually moves out, tries to keep kids love and swings to permissive parenting Demands on kids reduced Conflict increases Fathers ? keep love -- permissive 2nd year Things begin to straighten out Mom & dad move away from extremes toward the middle Divorce: 6 areas that matter Effect is small Quality matters Adaptation to divorce Conflict & stress Genetic Influences Individual effects Effect is small: not much difference btw kids coming from families who have had divorced family than non divorced family diminishes well-being school achievement behavior problems psychosocial adjustment family relations Quality matters does it make a difference if one of the parents remarries in the first year quality of the relationship matters more than the # of adults (more isn?t always better, but it could be sometimes) If dad gets remarried it doesn?t make his relationship with daughter better just because she has another mom now Step families = more parents Not always better single-parent families w/out divorce fare better than single parent families with divorce: Sometimes there is the factor of the divorce rather than just having a single parent family: divorce is the stressor 2-parent homes do not always have warm & close relationships: if you have bad relationships at home and parents never divorce that could be just as bad, i.e. it is the quality of the relationship rather than just that the parents never divorced. SO being in a 2 parent household where there is high conflict can be worse than being in a 1 parent home with close relationship adaptation process matters most first 2 years = greatest difficulty problems in school, behavior, increased anxiety Something that you have built over time can?t just be torn down and rebuilt immediately What would drive kids to be more anxious if their parents are divorcing? Conflict and stress high exposure to parents? conflict = trouble for kids disorganized, disrupted parenting = trouble for kids increased household stress (decreased income; money, trouble with 2 parent home now there are two homes 1 parent in each money >) = trouble Genetic influences apple does not fall far from the tree Kids who come from divorced families> kid takes after parents genetically and whatever caused that divorce in the mom and is playing out in the daughter > mom loves drama played part in divorce now 1 of her 3 daughters loves drama, daughter takes after mom not necessarily about divorce more about taking after mom. Less about divorce more about genetic influences Individual effects immediate probs: more common among boys, younger kids, kids with difficult temperaments, kids with no supportive adults outside immediate family, kids whose parents divorce during childhood or preadolescence.Boys act out: punch a wall, misbehavior is more likely to be seen in male than female $ support from dad = less problematic behavior & higher academic achievement > dads who take there money and run make it harder on kids, more anxiety within kids, they kids have to work for money rather than being supported Support from kin = more effective parenting = better outcomes >Are your parents being supported by other family members and all support you. Who can your parents lean on to feel supported Child influences on the parent physically attractive kids : these kids get more attention from parents temperament: easy temperament makes it easier for parent, difficult temp means parents need to work harder readiness to socialize