Child Psychology Psychology 350

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Child PsychologyPsychology 350
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Changes in American Families

• Family size
• Unwed mothers (32 of births)
• Nontraditional parents (e.g., lesbian)
• Older parents, fewer siblings
• Working mothers
• Divorce
• Poverty
• Immigration
• Limitations to prior research based on these
  changes

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Parent Influences

• Direct
• Control
• Teaching
• Discipline
• Communication of values
• Indirect
• Models
• Provide resources
• Make decisions about home, neighborhood, school

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Infancy to Age 3 Years

• Numerous studies have found that three factors
  are important in parenting during the very early
  years
• Attachment and parental warmth
• Contingent responding to child helping the child
  maintain attentional focus and sustaining
  activities avoiding frequent attention
  redirecting.
• Verbal interactions that provide rich linguistic
  input at appropriate level to child.
• These are associated with better cognitive and
  social development in later years.
• Providing parent lessons in how to do these
  things leads to child improvement in later years
  compared to controls.

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Baumrind Parenting Styles
Child-Centered
Adult-Centered
High Demand
Low Demand
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Authoritative Parents

• Characteristics
• Warm, loving
• Bi-directional communication
• Expectations for mature behavior
• Clear standards
• Encourage independence
• Outcome
• Socially responsible, independent, cognitively
  and socially active, controls aggression,
  self-confident

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Authoritarian Parents

• Characteristics
• Power assertive
• Absolute standards
• Rigid rules
• One-way communication
• Outcome
• Obedient
• External moral orientation
• Not leaders, low social activity
• Lack spontaneity, creativity, curiosity
• Some are high in aggression, anger

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Permissive Parents

• Characteristics
• Warm, loving
• Accept most behavior from kids
• Few rules, not enforced
• Few goals set for child
• Outcome
• Cheerful, warm
• Low leadership, lack independence, low
  responsibility, impulsive, aggressive (but not
  extreme), exaggeration of early temperament

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Uninvolved

• Characteristics
• Not warm, indifferent, neglecting
• Set few rules
• Outcome
• Deficits in all areas of psychological
  development
• Aggressive, disobedient, impulsive, moody
• Poor school performance
• Older delinquent, drug abuse, lack long term
  goals

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Demographics

• Poverty
• Increased parental stress more authoritarian,
  permissive, and uninvolved parenting
• Neighborhoods poor schools, lack of
  out-of-school resources
• Family Often associated with other relatives in
  crisis
• Parent education and income
• Hart Risley study Education of parents
  predicts more time with child, more words
  directed to child, more complex ideas directed to
  child, language less imperative more interactive,
  feedback more positive (less scorn, humiliation).
• Child develops larger vocabulary, higher IQ

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Siblings and Birth Spacing

• Zajonc developed confluence theory of family
  structure.
• The more adult attention that is available, the
  better will be the childs intellectual
  development.
• Children do more poorly when there are fewer
  adults, little spacing between children, more
  children, higher birth order.
• Many studies with national populations have
  provided support for the theory.

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Maternal Employment

• Few cognitive, social differences
• Girls may benefit
• Clear benefit for low-income families
• No effect of timing, hours may be important
• Little difference in one-on-one time
• Moms attitude

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Daycare

• Large-scale NICHD longitudinal study
• Cognitive, social benefits
• Quality of center
• Longer term negative effects greater aggression
  and defiance in 6th grade.

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Divorce

• Over 50
• Greatest effect at 6-8 years, boys
• Inattentive, school problems, defiance
• Strongest effects first two years after divorce
• Changes in family dynamics, quality of life
• Loss of income, loss of friends, family, often
  involves moving
• Custodial parent often moves away from
  authoritative parenting style to authoritarian
• Remarriage issues stepfather problems
• Outcome better if biological father remains
  involved
• Comparison to death of a parent
• Age issues, guilt
• Family, community support

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A Look Ahead

• Peers and Socialization