FAMILY

& IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDHOOD

Lifespan Development Assignment
Group 3
PRESENTERS

PRESENTERS

1. Bhavika 19/0692 ---

2.khushii 19/0631 ---

3. Akshita 19/0933 ---

4.mehrooj 19/1435 ---

5. Manvi 19/0736 ---

6. Megha 19/0678 ---

 TABLE OF CONTENTS (colour coded)
Shaffer And Kipp: Laura E Berk
1. Evolutionary Origins
1. Dimensions Of Parenting; Acceptance Versus Control
2. Functions Of Family
2. Four Patterns Of Parenting
3. Family As A Social System:
3. Behavioural Control Vs. Psychological Control
3.1 Direct Influences;
Santrock 3.2 Indirect Influences;
1. Family Processes: 3.3 Adapting To Change;
1.1 Reciprocal Socialization; 3.4 Family System In Context And Interactions With Community;
1.2 Family As A System: Interaction Between Marital Relationship; Parenting; Child 4. Socialization Within Family
Behaviours And Devp; 4.1 Styles Of Child Rearing: 4 Styles; What Makes Authoritative Effective
1.3 Socio Cultural And Historical Influences 4.2 Adapting Child Rearing To Child’s Devp: Middle Childhood And Adolescence
2. Parenting: 4.3 Socioeconomic And Ethnic Variations In Child Rearing: Socio Economic Status;
2.1 Parental Role: Timing Of Parenthood; Transition To Parenting; Parents As Managers Of Affluence; Poverty; Ethnicity
Children’s Lives; 5. Family Lifestyles And Transitions:
2.2 Parenting Styles And Discipline: 4 Major Styles; Parenting Styles In Context; And 5.1 From Large To Small Families: Family Size And Child Devp; Growing Up With
Further Thoughts On Parenting Styles; Punishment; Co-Parenting; Siblings;
2.3 Child Maltreatment; 5.2 One Child Families;
2.4 Parent–Adolescent And Parent–Emerging Adult Relationships; 5.3 Adoptive Families;
2.5 Working Parents; 5.4 Gay And Lesbian Families;
2.6 Children In Divorced Families; 5.5 Never-Married Single-Parent Families;
2.7 Step Families; 5.6 Divorce (Immediate And Long Term Consequences, Divorce Mediation And
2.8 Gay And Lesbian Parents; Custody);
2.9 Adoptive Parents And Adopted Children; 5.7 Blended Families;
3. Other Family Relationships: 5.8 Maternal Employment And Dual-Earning Families;
3.1 Sibling Relationships; 6. Child Care: Child Care Quality;
3.2 Birth Order; 7. Self-Care
3.3 Grand parenting And Great-Grand parenting; 8. Vulnerable Family: Child Maltreatment
3.4 Intergenerational Relationships
BHAVIKA AHUJA 19/692
Family Processes: Evolutionary Origins; Reciprocal Socialization

Family as a System

Bidirectional Influences

Socio-cultural and Historical Influences

 FAMILY PROCESSES

Evolutionary Origins

A family structure is a lifelong commitment made by a man and a woman to each other and care for their young until they reach
maturity. It arose tens of thousands of years ago because it enhanced survival, the commitment ensured the balance of male
hunters and female gatherers within a social group thereby creating protection against starvation.

Kinship group expanded to include ties with relatives like grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins. Elders helped their children
and other younger relatives reproduce by assisting with mate selection and child care, thereby increasing the likelihood that their
own genetic heritage would continue. These kins/clans ensured protection, sufficient availability of resources and competition
with other groups.
Bronfenbrenner analyzes the social contexts of development in terms
of five environmental systems:

· The microsystem, or the setting in which the individual lives,

such as a family, the world of peers, schools, work

· The mesosystem, which consists of links between

microsystems, such as the connection between family
processes and peer relations

· The exosystem, which consists of influences from another

setting that the individual does not experience directly

· The macrosystem, or the culture in which the individual lives,

such as an ethnic group or a nation

· The chronosystem, or sociohistorical circumstances, such as

the increased numbers of working mothers, divorced parents,
stepparent families, gay and lesbian parents, and multiethnic
families in the United States in the last 30 to 40 years
RECIPROCAL SOCIALIZATION

Reciprocal socialization is socialization that is

● Bidirectional - children socialize parents just as parents socialize children.

● Transactional - These reciprocal interchanges and mutual influence processes are sometimes referred to as
transactional
● Synchronized interaction - each person’s behavior depends on the partner’s previous behavior.

An important example of early synchronized interaction is mutual gaze or eye contact. In one study, synchrony in
parent-child relationships was positively related to children’s social competence (Harrist, 1993).

The types of behaviors involved in reciprocal socialization in infancy are temporally connected, mutually contingent
behaviors such as one partner imitating the sound of another or the mother responding with a vocalization to the baby’s arm
movements.

Scaffolding - which means adjusting the level of guidance to fit the child’s performance (Clegg & Legare, 2017). The parent
responds to the child’s behavior with scaffolding, which in turn affects the child’s behavior. For example, the game of
peek-a-boo. A recent study found that when adults used explicit scaffolding (encouragement and praise) with 13- and
14-month-old toddlers, the children were twice as likely to engage in helping behavior as were their counterparts who did
not receive the scaffolding (Dahl & others, 2017).
FAMILY AS A SYSTEM

The family, a social system, can be thought of as a

constellation of subsystems defined in terms of
generation, gender, and role. Divisions of labor among
family members define particular subunits, and
attachments define others. Each family member
participates in several subsystems—

● Dyadic (involving two people) eg: father and

child, mother and father

● Polyadic (involving more than two people) eg:

mother-father-child, mother and two siblings,
etc.
BIDIRECTIONAL INFLUENCES

DIRECT INFLUENCE

Parents and children directly influence each other. For example: when parents are firm but warm, children tend to
comply with their request. And when children cooperate, their parents are likely to be warm and gentle in future. In
contrast, parents who discipline with harshness and impatience tend to have children who resist and rebel. And
because children’s misbehaviour is stressful for them, they may increase their use of punishment leading to more
unruliness by the child.

INDIRECT INFLUENCES

The interaction between two family members is affected by others present in the setting. Bronfenbrenner called these
indirect influences the effect of third parties. Researchers have become intensely interested in how a range of
relationships modify the child’s direct experiences in the family.
When children are chronically exposed to angry, and unresolved parental conflict, problems like disrupted or
emotional security and emotional self regulations. These include both internalising difficulties, especially among
girls, such as blaming themselves, feeling worried and fearful, trying to repair their parents relationship and
externalising difficulties, especially among boys, including feeling threatened and displaying more over it and
relational and aggression.

When parental arguments strain children’s adjustment, other family members may help restore effective
interaction. For example; Grandparents can promote children’s development in many ways – both directly, by
responding warmly and assisting with caregiving, and indirectly, by providing parents with childbearing twice and
even financial assistance. Also as with any indirect influence, grandparents can sometimes be harmful.
SOCIOCULTURAL AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES

SOCIOCULTURAL

Bronfenbrenner’s concepts of the macrosystem and chronosystem reflect that important sociocultural and historical
influences affect family processes.

One example is the effect on U.S. families of the Great Depression of the 1930s. During its height, the Depression
produced economic deprivation, adult discontent, and dissatisfaction with living conditions. It also increased marital
conflict, inconsistent child rearing, and unhealthy lifestyles—heavy drinking, demoralized attitudes, and health
problems—especially in fathers.

In 21st century, an increasing number of children are growing up in transnational families, who move back and forth
between countries, such as between the United States and Mexico or between the United States and China. In some
cases, these children are left behind in their home country or in other cases they are sent back to be raised by
grandparents during their early childhood years. Such children might benefit from economic remittances but suffer
emotionally from prolonged separation from their parents.
Media use and screen time also play a major role in the changing family. Many children who watch television, use computers, or view
videos on mobile devices, find that parents are too busy working to share this experience with them. Children increasingly experience
a world in which their parents are not participants. Instead of interacting in neighborhood peer groups, children come home after
school and watch television or log on to a computer. Recent research with adolescents indicated that light use of digital media (less
than 1 hour a day) was associated with much higher psychological well-being than heavy use of digital media (5+ hours a day).

HISTORICAL

The dramatic increase in young people’s participation on Internet social networking sites - lower academic achievement in middle and
high school

Increase in general dissatisfaction and restlessness - increasing number of divorced and remarried families.
PARENTING STYLES
KHUSHI BAJAJ

19/0631
 Dimensions of parenting:acceptance v/s control

• two aspects of parenting are especially important throughout childhood and adolescence: parental
acceptance/responsiveness and parental demandingness/control (sometimes called “permissiveness/restrictiveness”)
(erikson, 1963; Maccoby & Martin, 1983).

• Acceptance/responsiveness refers to the amount of support and affection that a parent displays. Parents classified as
accepting and responsive often smile at, praise, and encourage their children. They express a great deal of warmth, even
though they can become quite critical when a child misbehaves. Less accepting and relatively unresponsive parents are
often quick to criticize, belittle, punish, or ignore a child. They rarely communicate to children that they are valued or loved

• . Demandingness/control refers to the amount of regulation or supervision parents undertake with their children.
Controlling/demanding parents place limits on their children’s freedom of expression by imposing many demands. They
actively monitor their children’s behavior to ensure that these rules are followed. less controlling/ demanding parents are
much less restrictive. they make fewer demands and allow children considerable freedom to pursue their interests and
make decisions about their own activities.
Four patterns of parenting

• Authoritarian Parenting - this style entails a very restrictive pattern of parenting in which adults
impose many rules, expect strict obedience, and will rarely if ever explain to the child why it is
necessary to comply with all these regulations. these parents will often rely on punitive, forceful
tactics (such as power assertion or love withdrawal) to gain compliance.
• Authoritative Parenting - Authoritative parenting is a controlling but flexible style in which
parents make many reasonable demands of their children. they are careful to provide rationales
for complying with the limits they set and will ensure that their children follow those guidelines.
however, they are much more accepting of and responsive to their children’s points of view than
authoritarian parents. they will often seek their children’s participation in family decision making.
• Permissive Parenting – permissive parenting is an accepting but lax pattern of parenting in which
adults make relatively few demands, permit their children to freely express their feelings and
impulses, do not closely monitor their children’s activities, and rarely exert firm control over their
behavior.
• Uninvolved Parenting- uninvolved parenting is an extremely lax and undemanding approach that
is displayed by parents who have either rejected their children or are so overwhelmed with their
own stresses and problems that they haven’t much time or energy to devote to child rearing
(Maccoby & Martin, 1983). these parents impose few rules and demands. they are uninvolved and
insensitive to their children’s needs.
Behavioural v/s psychological control

• Brian Barber and his associates (Barber, 1996; Barber, Stolz, & olsen, 2006) raise an- other important issue about
parental exercise of control that is not captured completely by classifying parents as authoritative, authoritarian,
permissive, or uninvolved. they point out that parents may differ in their exercise of behavioral
control—regulating the child’s conduct through firm but reasonable discipline and monitoring his or her activities,
such as withholding privileges, grounding, or taking away toys for misbehav- ior. they may also differ in exercise
of psychological control—attempts to influence a child’s or adolescent’s behavior by such psychological means as
withholding affection or inducing shame or guilt.
• parents who rely on firm behavioral control without often resorting to psychological guilt trips tend to have
well-behaved children and adolescents who do not become involved in deviant peer activities and generally stay
out of trouble. heavy use of psychological control (or high levels of both behavioral and psychological control) are
often associated with such poor developmental outcomes as anxiety and depression, poor academic
performance, affiliation with deviant peers, and antisocial Heavy use of psychological control and behavioral
control by parents often results in children and adolescents tending to affiliate with more deviant peers.conduct
in adolescence (
Transition to parenthood

• When people become parents through preg- nancy, adoption, or stepparenting, they face disequilibrium and
must adapt. Parents want to develop a strong attachment with their infant, but they still want to main- tain
strong attachments to their spouse and friends, and possibly continue their careers.
• A baby places new restrictions on partners; no longer will they be able to rush out to a movie on a moment’s
notice, and money may not be readily available for vacations and other luxuries.
• In a longitudinal investigation of couples from late pregnancy until ³¹⁄2 years after the baby was born, couples
enjoyed more positive marital relations before the baby was born than after (Cowan & Cowan, 2000; Cowan &
others, 2005). Still, almost one-third showed an increase in marital satisfaction. Some couples said that the baby
had both brought them closer together and moved them farther apart; being parents enhanced their sense of
themselves and gave them a new, more stable identity as a couple.
• The Bringing Home Baby project is a workshop for new parents that emphasizes strengthening
the couples’ relationship, understanding and becoming acquainted with the baby, resolving
conflict, and developing parenting skills.
• Evaluations of the project revealed that parents who participated improved in their ability to
work together as parents, fathers were more involved with their baby and sensitive to the baby’s
behavior, mothers had a lower incidence of postpartum depression symptoms, and their baby
showed better overall development than participants in a control group (Gottman, Shapiro, &
Parthemer, 2004; Shapiro & Gottman, 2005).
 AKSHITA DHAWAN

19/0933

PARENT–ADOLESCENT AND PARENT–EMERGING ADULT

RELATIONSHIPS
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND POVERTY
 PARENT–ADOLESCENT AND PARENT–EMERGING
ADULT RELATIONSHIPS

Parent-Adolescent Relationships- Important aspects of

parent-adolescent relationships include autonomy/attachment and
conflict (Soenens, Vansteenkiste, & Beyers, 2019).

Parents see their teenager slipping from their grasp.

They may have an urge to assert stronger control as the adolescent
seeks autonomy and responsibility.
The ability to attain autonomy and gain control over one’s behavior in
adolescence is acquired through appropriate adult reactions to the
adolescent’s desire for control (Li & Hein, 2019; McElhaney & Allen,
2012)
Gender differences characterize autonomy-granting in adolescence, with boys
being given more independence than girls are allowed to have.

One of the most widely discussed aspects of socioemotional development in infancy

is secure attachment to caregivers (Woodhouse & others, 2019).

A research analysis concluded that the most consistent outcomes of secure

attachment in adolescence involve positive peer relations and development of the
adolescent’s capacity for emotion regulation (Allen & Miga, 2010).

Parent-Adolescent Conflict-

Although attachment to parents may remain strong during adolescence, the

connectedness is not always smooth. Early adolescence is a time when conflict with
parents escalates (Martin & others, 2019; Moed & others, 2015).
 The increased conflict in early adolescence may be due to a number of factors:
the biological changes of puberty, cognitive changes involving increased idealism
and logical reasoning, social changes focused on independence and identity,
maturational changes in parents, and expectations that are violated by parents
and adolescents (Collins & Steinberg, 2006).
The everyday conflicts that characterize parent-adolescent relationships may
serve a positive function. These minor disputes and negotiations facilitate the
adolescent’s transition from being dependent on parents to becoming an
autonomous individual.

We have seen that parents play very important roles in adolescent development.
Although adolescents are moving toward independence, they still need to stay
connected with families.
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND POVERTY

Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to a grouping of people with similar

occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.

Socioeconomic Variations in Neighborhoods and Families

A parent’s SES is likely linked to the neighborhoods in which children live and the
schools they attend (Kelleher, Reece, & Sandel, 2018; McLoyd, Hardaway, &
Jocson, 2019). Such variations in neighborhood settings can influence children’s
adjustment (Green & others, 2018; Magnuson & Duncan, 2019). Neighborhood
crime and isolation have been linked with low self-esteem and psychological
distress in children (Ruiz, McMahon, & Jason, 2018).
 Consequences of SES for Children and Adolescents
Children and adolescents from low-SES backgrounds are at risk for experiencing
low achievement and emotional problems, as well as lower occupational
attainment in adulthood (Coley & others, 2018; Rosen & others, 2018; Tian &
others, 2019; Xuan & others, 2019).
ETHNICITY - Differences in SES often overlap with ethnic differences.Ethnicity is
based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, and language.
Immigration brings a number of challenges as people adapt to their new culture.
Although not all ethnic minority families are poor, poverty contributes to the stress of
many ethnic minority families and between ethnic minority groups and the non-Latino
White majority. African American and Latino children are more likely than non-Latino
White children to live in single-parent families, to have larger families, and to
maintain extended family connections. A special concern involves ethnicity and
aging.
TODAY’S PRESENTATION INCLUDES:
•Working Parents
•Children In Divorce Families
Involving Meditation techniques
•Step Families
•Homosexual Parents
•Adoptive Parents and
Adoptive Children

By Mehrooj Shah
 WORKING PARENTS
The effect of both parents working parents is inevitable and hence must find the means to keep a balance between the pros
and cons of working full time .
However , Below are positive effects and negative effects of working parents on the child :

• Positive Effects
I. Providing Lifestyle : expenditures are described as inputs for producing child quality

II. Positive Role Model: Generates confidence, optimism, ambition and potential.

III. Valuing Time : Makes child mature , practical oriented and disciplinary with time.

• Negative Effects:

I. Psychological Effects: Child gets neglected due to undivided attention .

II. Behavioral Changes : Chances of children becoming aggressive and stubborn

III. Bonding Issues : Less conversations and less approach to emotional relationships makes child lonely.
Children In Divorced Families:

Divorce has its dire consequences onto the mindset of a developing child
but if handled carefully with support and security, there can be a mediation
to silence out the alarm bells caused by circumstances followed by parents
leading a divorce.
Below are the mentioned effects :
▪ Issues with New Adjustments
Mediation To Facilitate
▪ Increase in Mental Health Risks Divorce:
▪ Increase in Behavioral Problems
Below are some enlisted ways to create a
▪ Effect on Academics
simulation of home like condition even after a
▪ Increase in Social Delinquent Behaviors divorce :
• Coparenting
▪ Adulthood Gets Difficult . • Use of Consistent Discipline
• Encouraging Children
• Providing Security
Step Families:
Starting a stepfamily is a major life transition for children, couples, and even
any ex-spouses. Thus, blended families are complex and it may take some
time to build a strong family relationship.Many people are unprepared for
the difficult challenges faced by blended families. Failure to address
unresolved problems can cause marital tension and threaten individual
wellbeing. Distressed couples and children may find therapy is beneficial in
resolving these challenges.
This can be due to:
• A lack of negotiation skills;
• Unrealistic expectations;
• Emotional upheavals from the previous marriage breakup;
• Disparate parenting styles.
• Mental health issues.
• Children’s unmet emotional needs.
Homosexual Parents:

On the basis of a remarkably consistent body of

research on lesbian and gay parents and their
children, the American Psychological Association
(APA) and other health professional and scientific
organizations have concluded that there is no
scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is
related to parental sexual orientation. That is,
lesbian and gay parents are as likely as
heterosexual parents to provide supportive and
healthy environments for their children.

This body of research has shown that the

adjustment, development and psychological
well-being of children are unrelated to parental
sexual orientation and that the children of lesbian
and gay parents are as likely as those of
Adopted Parents and Adoptive children:
• I. It is very common for those who were adopted to
feel rejected and abandoned by their birth parents.
This is accompanied by feelings of grief and loss. There
is no set time or age when these feeling surface.
• II. Feelings of loss and rejection are often accompanied
by a damaged sense of self esteem. There is an
understandable tendency to think that "something
must be wrong with me for my birth parents to have
give me away." It must be understood that these
feelings and thoughts are unrelated to the amount of
love and support received from the adoptive parents
and family.
• III. Guilt accompanies loss and grief because the
adopted individual believes that they are being disloyal
to the people who adopted, loved and raised them.
They do not want to hurt or betray their adoptive
mother or father.
OTHER FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
- MANVI MEHROTRA
SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS

If you grew up with siblings, you probably have abundant memories of aggressive, hostile interchanges. Siblings in the presence
of each other when they are 2 to 4 years of age, on average, have a conflict once every 10 minutes and then the conflicts go down
somewhat from 5 to 7 years of age (Kramer, 2006).

Laurie Kramer (2006), who has conducted a number of research studies on siblings, says that non-intervention by the parents and
letting sibling conflict escalate are not good strategies.

Sibling relations also include helping, sharing, teaching, and playing, and siblings can act as emotional supports and
communication partners as well as rivals for parental attention.

During adolescence older siblings frequently offer useful advice as their younger brothers and sisters face challenges in peer
relationships, school work, and decisions about the future. A positive sibling bond during early adolescence is linked to future,
more gratifying friendships. Young people who have difficulty making friends sometimes turn to siblings for compensating
support.
Favoritism of one sibling was linked to lower self-esteem and sadness in the less-favored sibling. Indeed, equality and fairness
are major concerns of siblings’ relationships with each other and how they are treated by their parents (Campione-Barr, 2011;
Campione-Barr, Greer, & Kruse, 2013).

Three important characteristics of sibling relationships, given by Judy Dunn (2015):

• Emotional quality of the relationship. Intense positive and negative emotions are often expressed by siblings toward each
other. Many children and adolescents have mixed feelings toward their siblings.
• Familiarity and intimacy of the relationship. Siblings typically know each other very well, and this intimacy suggests that they
can either provide support or tease and undermine each other, depending on the situation.
• Variation in sibling relationships. Some siblings describe their relationships more positively than others. Thus, there is
considerable variation in sibling relationships. We just discussed that many siblings have mixed feelings about each other, but
some children and adolescents mainly describe their siblings in warm, affectionate ways, whereas others primarily talk about how
irritating and mean a sibling is.
BIRTH ORDER

Whether a child has older or younger siblings has been linked to development of certain personality characteristics. For example,
one research review concluded that “first-borns are the most intelligent, achieving, and conscientious, while later-borns are
the most rebellious, liberal, and agreeable” (Paulhus, 2008, p. 210).

Compared with later-born children, firstborn children have also been described as more adult-oriented, helpful, conforming, and
self-controlled.

Often there is a misconception about the only child in the family. People think he/she will be more self-centered, spoilt, naughty,
and over-pampered. But researchers present a more positive portrayal of the only child. Only children often are
achievement-oriented and display a desirable personality, especially in comparison with later-borns and children from large
families (Falbo & Poston, 1993; Jiao, Ji, & Jing, 1996).
GRANDPARENTS & GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

Researchers have consistently found that grandmothers have more contact with grandchildren than do grandfathers (Watson,
Randolph, & Lyons, 2005). Perhaps women tend to define their role as grandmothers as part of their responsibility for
maintaining ties between family members across generations. Men may have fewer expectations about the grandfather
role and see it as more voluntary.

Divorce, adolescent pregnancies, and drug use by parents are the main reasons that grandparents are thrust back into the
“parenting” role they thought they had shed (Amorim, 2019).

Grandparents who are full-time caregivers are more likely to develop illnesses as compared to those who are part-time caregivers.

Because of increased longevity, more grandparents today than in the past are also great-grandparents. One contribution of
great-grandparents is to transmit family history by telling their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren where the
family came from, what their members achieved, what they endured, and how their lives changed over the years (Harris, 2002).
INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

THE EMPTY NEST AND ITS REFILLING

Parents face new adjustments as a result of the child’s absence. Students usually think that their parents suffer from their
absence. In fact, parents who live vicariously through their children might experience the empty nest syndrome, which includes a
decline in marital satisfaction after children leave the home. But that’s not the case always.

With their children gone, marital partners have time to pursue careers and other interests and more time for each other. One
study revealed that the transition to an empty nest increased marital satisfaction and this increase was linked to an increase in
the quality of time—but not the quantity of time—spent with partners (Gorchoff, John, & Helson, 2008).

In some cases children might come back to their homes, maybe after graduating or for a job in the same city,etc. In this case, both
- the parents and the children have difficulties in adjustment.
One of the most common complaints voiced by both adult children and their parents is a loss of privacy. The adult children
complain that their parents restrict their independence, cramp their sex lives, reduce their music listening, and treat them
as children rather than adults.

Parents often complain that their quiet home has become noisy, that they stay up late worrying about when their adult children
will come home, that meals are difficult to plan because of conflicting schedules, that their relationship as a married or partnered
couple has been invaded, and that they have to shoulder too much responsibility for their adult children.

Keeping in touch has become easier with advances in technology, and today’s emerging and young adults frequently text their
parents and become friends with their parents on Facebook.

Recent research indicates that today’s emerging adults and young adults appreciate their parents’ emotional and financial support.

And in another recent study, helicopter parenting was related to more negative emotional functioning, less competent decision
making, and lower grades/poorer adjustment in college-age adults (Luebbe & others, 2018).
MIDDLE-AGE GENERATION

Middle-aged adults have been described as the “sandwich,” “squeezed,” or “overload” generation because of the responsibilities
they have for their adolescent and young adult children on the one hand and their aging parents on the other (Etaugh & Bridges,
2010).

Many middle-aged adults experience considerable stress when their parents become very ill and die (Bangerter & others, 2017;
Fingerman, Zarit, and Birditt, 2019; Huo & others, 2018; Zarit & others, 2019).
FAMILY LIFESTYLES AND TRANSITIONS

FROM LARGE TO SMALL FAMILIES

A reduction in the number of births can be seen over the past few years. This is because now more women are working and
employed also more couples are delaying having children until they are well established professionally. Marital instability has also
resulted in smaller families because parents get divorced before their childbearing plans are complete.

FAMILY SIZE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Often prospective parents are recommended to have a limited family size in the interests of child quality because large family
means that parental affection, attention, and material resources are diluted. It is often assumed that children in large families have
a lower IQ but there is still a debate going on. Some researches say that it depends on the IQ of the mother.
Megha Bansal 19/678
PUNISHMENT
CO-PARENTING
WORKING PARENTS, esp. MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT
CHILD CARE
SELF CARE
CHILD MALTREATMENT

REFERENCES
Berk, L. E. (2006). Child development. (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Santrock, J.W. (2019). A topical approach to life-span development. (10th ed.). New York: Tata
McGraw-Hill.
Rider, E.A., & Sigelman, C.K. (2015). Life-span Human Development. (9th ed.). Boston:
Cengage Learning.
P 1. Widespread approval of corporal punishment by U.S. parents. Physical punishment is illegal in 41 countries.
2. Child psychologists recommend handling misbehavior: reasoning with the child, and Time out.
U 3. Effects of punishment on children’s development:
a. Physical punishment of young children is associated with higher levels of aggression later in childhood and
N b.
adolescence (result of many studies in 2009, ‘12, ‘10, ‘14).
Harsh physical punishment in childhood was linked to a higher incidence of intimate partner violence in adulthood.
I c.
d.
Physical punishment that was not abusive was still linked to detrimental child outcomes.
Involves cultural contexts. Physical punishment has less harmful effects in countries where corporal punishment is

S considered normal, but in all countries studied, corporal punishment was linked to increased child aggression and
anxiety (Lansford & others, 2005, 2012).

H 4. Research on punishment is correlational.

Reciprocal socialization: bidirectional child and parent influences. Researchers have found links between children’s
early behavioral problems and parents’ greater use of physical punishment over time (Laible, Thompson, & Froimson,
M 2015; Sheehan & Watson, 2008).
5. Defenders of spanking: no evidence that it produces positive outcomes for children.
E 6. Both hostility and marital conflict were linked with the use of physical punishment. Individuals with high rates of
prenatal hostility used more frequent and more severe physical punishment. Similarly, when prenatal marital
N conflict was high, both mothers and fathers were more likely to use physical punishment.
If parents who have a greater likelihood of using physical punishment can be identified in prenatal classes, these
T families could be encouraged to use other forms of discipline before they develop a pattern of physically punishing
their children.
C Coparenting is the support that parents provide one another in jointly raising a child.

O Conditions placing children at risk: Poor coordination between parents, undermining of the other parent, lack of
cooperation and warmth, and disconnection by one parent.

P Research:

A 1. Coparenting influences young children’s effortful control above and beyond maternal and paternal parenting by
themselves.
R 2.
3.
Greater father involvement in young children’s play was linked to an increase in supportive coparenting.
Parents’ joint involvement predicted that adolescents would engage in fewer risky behaviors. Here,
E bidirectional influence: adolescents’ engagement in a lower level of risk behaviors predicted higher levels of
joint parental involvement.
N 4. Coparenting involving couple supportiveness, especially when children were 3 to 5 years of age, was linked to
reduced levels of externalizing problems 8 to 10 years later.

T 5. Unmarried African American parents who were instructed in coparenting techniques during the prenatal period
and also one month after the baby was born showed improvements in rapport, communication, and

I problem-solving skills when the baby was 3 months old

Parents who do not spend enough time with their children or who have problems in child rearing can benefit from
N counseling and therapy.

G
 Maternal employment is a part of modern life, but its effects continue to be debated.
A recent American survey, working mothers (60%) were more likely than fathers (52%) to report that balancing
work and family is difficult. In it 54% indicate that mothers do more than fathers when children’s schedules and

W P activities are involved.

Impact of maternal employment on child development in terms of attachment insecurity, emotional security, and

O A later adjustment problems depend on: quality of child-care; parent-child relationship; mother’s work satisfaction;
and support from the partner.

R R Children of working mothers who enjoy their work and remain committed to parenting >> Positive adjustment,
high self-esteem, more positive family and peer relations, less-gender stereotyped beliefs, better grades in

K E school, and participate more in household chores. Daughters develop more achievement and career oriented
with positive attitude towards towards women’s roles in terms of freedom of choice and satisfaction.
Most research on parental work has focused on young children and the mother’s employment (Han,
I N Hetzner, & Brooks-Gunn, 2019). However, the effects of parental work involve the father as well as the
mother when matters such as work schedules, work-family stress, and unemployment are considered
N T (O’Brien & others, 2014).
Husband’s willingness to share child-care responsibilities >> effective parenting by mother. Otherwise, double
G S load, leading to distress, fatigue and little time-energy for children.
Assistance from work setting and communities for dual-earner families is crucial >> part time employment,
flexible schedules, job sharing, paid leave to care for sick children, equal pay and employment opportunities >>
enhance financial status and morale.
 RESEARCHES:
1. Nature of parents’ work matters more to children when both parents work outside the home.
2. Negative association between the father’s unemployment and the adolescents’ health.
3. Work-family enrichment and work-family conflict experiences both impact parenting quality and child outcomes.
4. Ann Crouter (2006): parents bring their experiences at work into homes -- poor working conditions: long hours, overtime work,
stressful work, and lack of autonomy >> parent irritability and less effective parenting.
5. Children (especially girls) of working mothers engage in less gender stereotyping and have more egalitarian views of gender.
6. Mothers’ positive mood after work and positive work experiences >> adolescents’ reports of more positive affect (less
negative affect), better sleep quality, longer sleep duration, and fewer physical health problems.
7. Long work hours, negative interpersonal workspace atmosphere in mother’s job>> reduced parental sensitivity/ineffective
parenting >> poor cognitive development preschool through adolescence.
8. Low SES mother >> long hours, low-paying, menial, physically taxing, financially negligible support from the salary >>
maternal depression, frustration, fatigue >> harsh, inconsistent discipline.
9. Part time employment & flexible work schedules >> good adjustment in children and adolescents, prevent work-family-role
conflict.
10. Fathers take on child-care responsibility >> higher intelligence and achievement, mature social behavior, gender stereotype
flexibility.

Some infants may be at risk for attachment insecurity and later adjustment problems due to inadequate child care, long hours
in such care, and the joint pressures their parents experience from full-time employment and parenthood. But it is
inappropriate to use these findings to justify a reduction in child-care services. When family incomes are limited or mothers
who want to work are forced to stay at home, children’s emotional security is not promoted.
C High income and really low income >> center care.
Many lower income >> not eligible for subsidized center based care >> home care by
H relative.
I When child care meets standards, children’s learning opportunities and the warmth,
sensitivity, and stability of their caregivers are especially high. Good child care is a
L cost-effective means of supporting the development of all children.
D For children whose development is at risk, it can serve as effective early intervention >>
enhance the development of economically disadvantaged children.
C Lack of National child-care policies (substandard child-care centers) and
government-support/subsidy for the expenses >> dependence on home based
A (relative and non-relative care) >> unlicensed and un-monitored as well as
R unstructured activities.

E
RESEARCH:
1. Quality of care is crucial. Infants and toddlers exposed to long hours of mediocre to poor non-parental care,
regardless of whether they come from middle- or low-SES homes, score lower on measures of cognitive and
social skills. Preschoolers also suffer from poor quality child-care, scoring lower in cognitive and social skills
and higher in behaviour problems.
2. In contrast, good child care can reduce the negative impact of a stressed, poverty-stricken home life, and it
sustains the benefits of growing up in an economically advantaged family.
3. Several types of care at once, or frequently switch settings >> instability of several child care setting >>
psychological well being declines and emotional problems of temperamentally difficult preschoolers worsen
considerably.
4. High quality child care for Low SES children (4yo) >> reduced emotional and behaviour problems.
5. Good quality child care for Low SES children (preschoolers) >> systematic educational program >> cognitive
gains.
6. When caregiver–child ratios are generous, group sizes are small, and caregivers are educated about child
development and child rearing, caregiver’s personal commitment to learning about and caring for children,
caregivers’ interactions are more positive >> adults are more verbally stimulating and sensitive to children’s
needs >> children develop more favorably—cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Effect persist into the early
school years. Child care with these characteristics can become part of an ecological system that relieves
parental and child stress, thereby promoting healthy attachment and development.

Laura E. Berk: Ch 10, 14

S Child Care is also important during middle childhood >> parents’ peace of mind, child’s well being.
5-13 yo and adolescents are self care children: look after themselves in after school cares.
E Self care rises with age.
It also increases with SES (greater dafey of higher-income neighbourhoods). Low SES parents use self care as they
L lack alternatives. (Casper & Smith, 2002).

F RESEARCH:
1. Children’s maturity and the way time is spent decides the consequences >> range from >> low self-esteem,
antisocial behaviour, poor academic achievement, fearfulness to no effects.
2. More hours spent alone in younger school-age children >> more adjustment difficulties.
C 3. Authoritative child-rearing, with regular after school-chores >> children old enough to look after themselves
are monitored from a distance by parental phone calls >> responsible and well-adjusted. Children left to their
A 4.
own >> succumb to peer pressure, engage in antisocial behaviour.
Till 8/9 years of age >> incompetent to handle emergencies >> require supervision.
R 5. Middle childhood and early adolescence >> after-school programs, well-trained staff, generous adult-child
ratios, positive adult-child communication, stimulating activities >> better emotional and social adjustment.
E 6. Low SES children >> after-care enrichment activities >> special benefits: better work habits, improved
academic performance, fewer behaviour problems.
7. Low-income neighbourhoods>> shortage of after-care programs >> watched TV, hung out for 4 hours or
more.
VULNERABLE
FAMILIES/FAMILY Family relationships are as basic to human
development through the lifespan as food
VIOLENCE and water. At the same time, families can be
the cause of much anguish and of
development gone astray.
CHILD ABUSE or
CHILDMALTREATMENT

Santrock, Topical Approach: Ch 14, Laura E.

Berk: Ch 14, Sigelman & Rider: Ch 15
Public and many professionals use the term child abuse to refer to both abuse and neglect, developmentalists increasingly use the term child
maltreatment (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Whitaker & Rogers-Brown, 2019). This term does not have quite the emotional impact of the term
abuse and acknowledges that maltreatment includes diverse conditions.
Types of Child Maltreatment by (National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, 2019):
● Physical abuse: infliction of physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or otherwise harming a
child. The parent or other person may not have intended to hurt the child; the injury may have resulted from excessive physical
punishment.
● Child neglect: failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. Neglect can be physical (abandonment, for example), educational (allowing
chronic truancy, for example), or emotional (marked inattention to the child’s needs, for example). Child neglect is by far the most
common form of child maltreatment.
● Sexual abuse: fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through
prostitution or the production of pornographic materials. Unlike physical abuse, many cases of sexual abuse produce no outward
physical signs that abuse has taken place.
● Emotional abuse (psychological/verbal abuse/mental injury): acts or omissions by parents or other caregivers that have caused, or
could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, or emotional problems.
Although any of these forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they often occur in combination. Emotional abuse is almost
always present when other forms are identified. This is why the proportion of different types of abuse occurrences add up to more than
100%.
Mothers engage in neglect more often than fathers, whereas fathers engage in sexual abuse more often than mothers. Maternal and
paternal rates of physical and emotional abuse are fairly similar. And in an especially heart rending proportion of cases parents jointly
commit the abusive acts. Infants and young preschoolers are at greater risk for neglect; preschool and school age children are at greater risk
for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. But each type occurs at every age.
W The Abuser
Child abusers come from all races, ethnic groups, and social classes. They appear to be fairly typical, loving parents—except
H for their tendency to become extremely irritated with their children and to do things they will later regret. A few reliable
Y differences between parents who abuse their children and those who do not have been identified through rigorous researches:
1. Child abusers tend to have been abused as children. “Cycle of violence” is an example of a broader phenomenon, the
intergenerational transmission of parenting. One possibility, suggested by Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, is
C observational learning; another is genetics (for example, genes associated with an explosive temper and aggression passed
from parent to child), and epigenetic effects cannot be ruled out; the stress of being abused could alter the expression of
H genes that affect parenting and make for an over-reactive stress response system later in life. The intergenerational
I transmission of abusive parenting does not occur for about 70% of abuse victims, though. Factors helping them to not
indulge in abuse are: their own temperament, supportive partners, and psychotherapy.
L
2. Abusive mothers are often battered by their partners. Many abusive mothers may have learned through their experiences
D both as children and as romantic partners that violence is the way to solve problems, or they may take out some of their
frustrations about being abused on their children.
3. Abusers often have mental health problems. Though only a minority have a severe psychological disorder, many are
A insecure individuals with low self-esteem, and many struggle with depression and substance abuse. These adults see
B themselves as victims, feel powerless as parents, and find the normal challenges of parenting stressful and threatening.
4. Abusive parents often have distorted perceptions of the normal behavior of infants and young children. For example,
U when infants cry to communicate needs such as hunger, abusive mothers may infer that the baby is somehow criticizing or
S rejecting them. One mother interpreted her 3-month old’s babbling as “talking back.”

E
Furthermore:
a. Abusive parents are less skillful than other parents in handling confrontations, and getting children to cooperate.
b. Biased thinking against their child >> child’s misdeeds to stubborn or bad disposition.
c. Once started, abuse becomes a self-sustaining relationship.
d. Child abuse occurs often when a vulnerable parent is overwhelmed by stress with little social support. Stressors include: low income
and education, unemployment, young maternal age, substance use, marital conflict, overcrowded living conditions, and so on.
e. Life changes such as the loss of a job or a move can disrupt family functioning and contribute to abuse or neglect.
Abusive parents tend to have been exposed to harsh parenting as children and to abusive romantic relationships, suffer from mental health
problems and low self-esteem, and misinterpret normal child behavior as ego threatening.
Could some children bring out the worst in parents?
The Abused
An abusive parent sometimes singles out only one child in the family as a target; this offers a hint that child characteristics might matter (Gil,
1970). No one is suggesting that children are to blame for being abused, but some children appear to be more at risk than others. Yet many
difficult children are not mistreated, and many seemingly cheerful and easygoing children are.
Could parent and child characteristics interact? In support of an interactional model of family influence, combination of a high-risk
parent and a challenging child can spell trouble. For example, a mother who feels powerless to deal with children, and who must raise a child
who has a disability or illness or is otherwise challenging, is prone to overreact emotionally when the child cannot be controlled and use harsh
discipline (Bugental, 2009; Martorell & Bugental, 2006). Such powerless parents experience higher levels of stress than most parents, as
indicated by high cortisol levels and fast heart rates, when interacting with children who are unresponsive. Consistent with the transactional
model of family influence, their uneasiness can make such children even less responsive, provoking even more use of power tactics by the
parent.
Most parents, however, have enough self-control not to respond to their child’s misbehaviour or developmental problems with abuse.
THE FAMILY SYSTEM
The potential for abuse exists in all possible relationships within the family system (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, & Henry, 2006). Children
and adolescents batter, and in rare cases kill, their parents (Agnew & Huguley, 1989). Siblings, especially brothers, abuse one another
in countless ways, especially if there is violence elsewhere in the family (Hoffman, Kiecolt,). And spousal or intimate partner abuse
appears to be the most common form of family violence worldwide >> millions of children witness domestic violence and are harmed
by what they see (Grych, Oxtoby, & Lynn, 2013; McDonald et al., 2006). Unfortunately, punishment sometimes leads to the abuse of
infants and children, still parental use of corporal punishment is widespread in a lot many families.
The interactions of all family members should be considered, regardless of who performs the violent acts against the child.

THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT

In a violent society where violence is an appropriate way to solve problems and physical punishment is common, the line between
physical punishment and child abuse can be difficult to draw. Child abuse is less common in societies that discourage or outlaw
physical punishment of children (Holden, Vittrup, & Rosen, 2011; Levinson, 1989).

ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF ABUSE - CONCLUSION

A combination of characteristics of the abuser, the abused, and the social context contribute to child abuse. A regular diet of violence
appears on television screens, and parents often resort to power assertion as a disciplinary technique. Among the family and
family-associated characteristics that may contribute to child maltreatment are parenting stress, substance abuse, social isolation, single
parenting, and socioeconomic difficulties (especially poverty) (Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). Abuse rates are also highest in deteriorating
neighborhoods where families are poor, transient, socially isolated, and lacking in community services and informal social support
(Korbin, 2001).
 Family circumstances of maltreated children impair the development of empathy, sympathy, self-concept, social
C skills, and academic motivation. Home lives of abused children overflow with opportunities to learn aggression as a
way of solving problems.
O
RESEARCHES:
N 1. Among the developmental consequences of child maltreatment are poor emotion regulation, attachment
C
S H
problems, problems in peer relations, difficulty in adapting to school, and other psychological
problems such as depression, delinquency, and substance abuse during childhood and adolescence
I
E L 2.
(Bell & others, 2018; Cicchetti & Handley, 2019; DePasquale, Handley, & Cicchetti, 2019).
Demeaning parental messages in which children are ridiculed, humiliated, rejected, or terrorized, result in low
D
Q self-esteem, high anxiety, self-blame, depression, and efforts to escape from extreme psychological pain -
at times severe enough to lead to attempted suicide in adolescence (Wolfe, 1999).
U A
B
3. Adolescents who experienced abuse or neglect as children are more likely than adolescents who were not
maltreated as children to engage in violent romantic relationships, suicide attempts, delinquency, sexual
E U
S
risk taking, and substance abuse (Miller & others, 2013).
4. Experiencing maltreatment or parental divorce in childhood was linked to midlife suicidal ideation (Stansfield
N E & others, 2017).
5. Later, during the adult years, individuals who were maltreated as children are more likely to experience
C physical, emotional, and sexual problems (Brown & others, 2018; Gekker & others, 2019).
6. And adults who were maltreated as children often have difficulty establishing and maintaining healthy
E intimate relationships (Dozier, Stovall-McClough, & Albus, 2009).

S
7. Also, in a longitudinal study, experiencing early abuse and neglect in the first five years of life were linked to having more
interpersonal problems and lower academic achievement from childhood through their thirties (Raby & others, 2019).

8. At school, maltreated children present serious discipline problems. Their non-compliance, poor motivation, and cognitive
immaturity interfere with academic achievement - an outcome that further undermines their chances for life success
(Wekerle & Wolfe, 2003).

9. Physical abuse was linked to lower levels of cognitive development and school engagement in children (Font &
Cage, 2018).

10. The trauma of repeated abuse is associated with central nervous system damage, including abnormal EEG
brain-wave activity, fMRI-detected reduced size and impaired functioning of the cerebral cortex and corpus callosum,
heightened production of stress hormones (Cicchetti, 2003; Kaufman & Charney, 2001).

11. Maltreated young children in foster care were more likely to show abnormal stress hormone levels than middle-SES
young children living with their birth family (Gunnar & Fisher, 2006).

12. Further, a 30-year longitudinal study found that middle-aged adults who had experienced child maltreatment had
increased risk for diabetes, lung disease, malnutrition, and vision problems (Widom & others, 2012).
 1. Home visitation programs to help new parents cope with their babies and their lives can prevent
maltreatment (IOM & NRC, 2014). Home visitors taught mothers to analyze the causes of caregiving

P problems without blaming either themselves or their children and to devise, try out, and evaluate the
effectiveness of solutions to these caregiving problems. After the intervention period, mothers who
R received empowerment training had a greater sense of power than mothers in control groups did. Most
importantly, their rate of physical abuse, including spanking and slapping, was only 4%, compared with 23%
E C
H 2.
in a home visitation group that was given no empowerment training.
Another effective approach to prevention and treatment is to teach parents positive parenting skills—for
V I
L
example, through behavior management programs that apply principles of positive reinforcement to
prevent or weaken coercive cycles in the family (Chen & Chan, 2016; Forgatch, Patterson, & Gewirtz,
E D 2013; Knerr, Gardner, & Cluver, 2013).
3. Psychotherapy can help too: A trauma-focused form of cognitive behavior therapy helps both abusive
N A
B
parents and their abused children deal with their memories of abuse and overcome maladaptive
beliefs about themselves (IOM & NRC, 2014).
T U 4. Ultimately, a comprehensive, ecological approach designed to convert a pathological family system into a
S healthy one is likely to be most effective. Abusive parents need emotional support and the opportunity to
I E learn more effective parenting, problem-solving, and coping skills. Victims of abuse need day care
programs, developmental training, and psychotherapy to help them overcome the many negative
N effects of abuse (Leenarts et al., 2013; Malley-Morrison & Hines, 2004). Change is also needed in
families’ neighborhoods and communities to ensure that families have the services and supports they
G need (Dodge & Coleman, 2009).