Transcript Adolescent Psychology

Adolescent Psychology
Chapter 8: Families
Lecture 2
Emerging Adult Relationship with Parents
 Generally improves when they leave home
 Psychologically closer
 Share more
 More autonomous/less struggle
 Continued parental support…
 Separation without “cutting off ”
 Problems with “cutting off ”
 Living arrangements
 Leaving home “on time” – more securely attached (21/23)
 “returners”
 Strategies for parents & emerging adults
Sibling Roles
• Approximately 80% of American adolescents have 1+ siblings
• Conflict, helping, teaching, fighting, playing, support, rivals,
teammates
• What do siblings spend their time talking about?
• Three important characteristics of sibling relationships to consider:
• Emotional quality of the relationship
• + and • Familiarity & intimacy of the relationship
• Know each other well!
• Considerable variation in sibling relationships
Siblings
 Parental favoritism – 65 – 70%
 Self-esteem & sadness
 Socialization
 High sibling conflict
 Parental ineffectiveness
 Antisocial bx & peer relationships
 Depression vs. social competence
Siblings & Birth Order
• Birth order linked to
• Individual characteristics
• Siblings’ relationships with each other
• Firstborns
• More adult oriented; Helpful, conforming; Anxious; Self-controlled
• Less aggressive than their siblings
• What are later-borns like?
• Can occupy so many different sibling positions.
• Overall, usually enjoy better relations with peers than firstborns
• Last-borns run the risk of becoming overly dependent – “the baby”
• Middle-borns: more diplomatic, role of negotiator, “scapegoat”
• Do you think Birth Order is important? Why?
“Family” in a Changing Society
 Divorced Families
 Stepfamilies
 Working Parents
 Adoption
 Gay Male & Lesbian Parents
 Culture
Divorced Families
 Changed dramatically in U. S. & many other countries in the late 20th century
 Increased 60s – 70s; declined since 80s
 40% born to married parents will experience divorce
 Adolescents’ Adjustment in Divorced Families
 Show poorer adjustment than their counterparts in non-divorced families
 Academic problems and /or drop out of school
 Externalized problems /Internalized problems
 Less-competent intimate relationships; Become sexually active at an earlier age
 Drug related problems; Associate with antisocial peers
 Lower self-esteem (Conger & Chao, 1996; Hetherington, 2005; Hetherington & Kelly,
2002).
Emotional Problems & Divorce
Adolescents & Divorce
 Should parents stay together for the sake of their children?
 Unhappy marriage can be harmful to well-being of children.
 Diminished resources can be harmful to children.
 Marital conflict may have negative consequences for children & adolescents in the
context of marriage or divorce
 Family processes matter a great deal!
• When the divorced parents have a harmonious relationship & use authoritative
parenting  better adjustment of adolescents (remember co-parenting)
• Secure attachment also matters
Adolescents & Divorce
• Individual Adolescent Risk Factors
• Age of onset of the divorce
• Adolescent’s adjustment prior to the divorce
• Personality & temperament
• Developmental status
• Gender
• Custody
• Relocation
• SES – decrease in income, increased work, etc.
Stepfamilies
 Steady increase of remarriages involving children in recent years
 Stepfamily structure
 Stepfather
 Stepmother
 Blended or complex
 Stepfamilies Types – Relationship Patterns (Bray, Berger, & Boethel,1999)
 Neo-traditional: both adults want family; 3-5 years look like intact family
 Matriarchal: mother runs family, stepfather is bystander; may have “turf ” issues
 Romantic: unrealistic expectations  divorce
Stepfamilies & Adolescent Adjustment
• Boundary ambiguity makes adjustment difficult
• Who is in/out of the family
• Who is performing/ responsible for certain tasks in the family system
• Early adolescence is an especially difficult time for the formation of
a stepfamily (Bray & Kelly, 1998).
Working Parents
• What matters for adolescent development is the nature of
parents’ work rather than whether one parent works outside the
home (Clarke-Stewart, 2006).
• Self-Care/Latchkey Adolescents
• Typically do not see their parents from the time they leave for school in the
morning until about 6:00 or 7:00 P.M.
• Some have negative experience
Adoption
Social & legal process by which a parent-child relationship is established
between persons unrelated at birth.
• Changes in adoption practice in last several decades of 20th century
 Substantial decrease in the number of healthy, non-Latino White infants
have become available for adoption.
 Other prospective adoptive parents began considering adopting foster
children
 Changes characterize adoptive parents
 Adopted children & adolescents often show more psychological &
school-related problems than non-adopted children (Brodzinsky & others,
1984).
Adoption
• Keys to effectively parenting adopted adolescents very similar to
those for effectively parenting biological adolescents:
• Be supportive & caring
• Be involved & monitor the adolescent’s behavior & whereabouts
• Be a good communicator
• Help the adolescent learn to develop self-control
Gay & Lesbian Parents
• 1 million + GLB parents in U.S. today
• Important to consider sexual identity of parents at the time of a
child’s birth or adoption (Patterson, 2002).
• Few differences in children & adolescents growing up with gay
fathers & lesbian mothers (Patterson, 2006; Patterson & Hastings, 2007).
• Adjustment
• Sexual orientation
• Mental health
• Peer relationships
Gay & Lesbian Parents
Culture & Ethnicity
• Cross-Cultural Comparisons
• Cultures vary on a number of issues involving families.
• Most common pattern was a warm & controlling style; neither
permissive nor restrictive
• Love and moderate parental control
• In some countries, authoritarian parenting continues to be widely
practiced (Rothbaum & Trommsdorff, 2007)
• There are trends toward greater family mobility
• Migration
• Commuting
• Mother’s employment
• Fewer extended family members nearby
Ethnicity & Parenting
• Ethnic minority families differ from non-Latino White American
• In their size
• Structure & composition
• Reliance on kinship networks
• Level of income & education (Harwood & Feng, 2006; Nievar & Luster, 2006).
• Large & extended families are more common
• AA & Latino children interact more with grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins, & more distant relatives (McAdoo, 2006).
• Ethnic minority adolescents are more likely to come from low-income
families (Magnuson & Duncan, 2002; McLoyd, Aikens, & Burton, 2006; Parke & Buriel,
2006).
• Single-parent families are more common among AA & Latinos
What can parents do?
 Competent adolescent development is most likely to happen when
adolescents have parents who:
 show them warmth & respect
 demonstrate sustained interest in their lives
 recognize & adapt to their changing cognitive & socio-emotional development
 communicate expectations for high standards of conduct & achievement
 display authoritative, constructive ways of dealing with problems & conflict.
Families, Adolescents, & Social Policy
 School, cultural arts, religious/youth organizations, & health-care
 involve parents in activities with adolescents
 develop ways to engage parents & adolescents in activities they both enjoy
 Professionals (teachers, psychologists, nurses, physicians, etc.)
 work with the individual adolescent
 Also, increase the time they spend interacting with the adolescent’s family
 Employers
 workplace policies now reserved only for the parents of young children
 flexible work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, & part-time work with benefits
 free parents to spend more time with their teenagers.
 Community institutions (businesses, schools, & youth organizations)
 providing after-school programs-- such programs for adolescents are rare
 More high-quality, community-based programs for adolescents
 after- school, weekend, & vacation time periods
Additional Resources
 National Stepfamily Resource Center
www.stepfamilies.info
 Big Brothers Big Sisters of America www.bbbsa.org
 Your Book Online!
http://www.mhhe.com/santrocka13e