Chapter 12: Families

1. Chapter 12: Families Changing Family Structures Kati Tumaneng (For Drs. Cook and Cook)

2. Changing Family Structure • Married couples living with their own biological children represent less than one-fourth of US households (US Census Bureau, 2000a). • Number of children in single-parent homes and in step-families has skyrocketed over the last few decades.

3. Children and Divorce • In 1998, 14.4% of all children under the age of 18 in the US were living in a home in which the parents were divorced or separated (US Census bureau, 1998). • The divorce process • Divorce-stress-adjustment perspective – A model that emphasizes that a complex interaction of stressors, specific vulnerabilities, and protective factors determine the individual child’s adjustment to divorce.

5. Another idea about “cause” • Selection model – A model that emphasizes that certain characteristics of parents (e.g., abusiveness) rather than the divorce itself cause the children’s negative outcomes (Amato, 2000; Harris, 1998).

6. Children and Divorce • Hardest time for most children seems to be the first 2-4 years following a divorce (Buchanan, Maccoby, & Dornbusch, 1996; Emery, 1999a). • Behavioral Outcomes • Show more externalizing problems (Amato, 2001; Amato & Keith, 1991; Emery, 1999a; Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 1995; Wallerstein, Lewis, & Blakeslee, 2000). • Higher risk for teenage pregnancy (McLanahan, 1999). Tips for a conflict free divorce: http://www.divorcehq.com/articles/nonconflict.html

7. Children and Divorce • Psychological Outcomes • Parentification – Role reversal in which a child assumes responsibilities usually taken care of by parents (Hetherington, 1999; Johnston, 1990). • Children of divorced parents are 2-3 times more likely to receive some form of psychological treatment, but do not show clinical depression or other major psychological disorders any more often than children of continuously married parents (Emery, 1999a; Howard et al., 1996; Zill, Morrisen, & Coiro, 1993).

8. Children and Divorce • Psychological Outcomes • Many experience significant psychological and emotional pain and distress. • Sleeper effect of divorce – Subtle effects of divorce that may not become apparent until children reach adolescence or young adulthood and have difficulty forming intimate and stable relationships. Family Life: http://hec.osu.edu/famlife/family/

9. Children and Divorce • Academic and Occupational Outcomes • More likely to drop out of school; less likely to attend college, graduate from college, or find and keep a steady job. • Decreased motivation. • Effects greater for non-Hispanic white children than for African American or Hispanic children (McLanahan, 1999).

10. Children and Divorce • Positive Outcomes Associated with Divorce • Children in high-conflict intact families score significantly lower on measures of psychological adjustment and self-esteem than children in divorced families (Amato & Keith, 1991; Booth & Amato, 2001; Hanson, 1999; Hetherington, 1999; Hetherington & Kelly, 2002; Jekielek, 1998). • Create close relationship with mothers after divorce (Amato & Booth, 1997; Arditti, 1999). • Increased demands lead to greater social responsibility, competence, and empathy during adulthood.

11. Children and Divorce • Unanswered Questions • Gender differences? • Effects greater for younger or older children? • Residential arrangements? • Joint legal custody – Legal agreement that grants both divorced parents the responsibility for decisions regarding their children. • Joint physical custody – Arrangement in which children of divorced couples spend approximately equal amounts of time living with each parent.

12. Children and Divorce • Three intervening factors: money, parenting quality, community connections • Lack of money has far-reaching effects • Divorce often results in decline in both quantity and quality of parenting (Clarke-Stewart et al., 2000; Fisher, Leve, O’Leary, & Leve, 2003; Hilton, 2002; McLanahan, 1999) • Moving means loss of social supports (McLanahan, 1999)

13. Never-Married Households • In 1998, 11% of all children in the US lived in households in which the parents had never been married (US Census Bureau, 1998). • Most of outcomes associated with divorce hold true for children whose parents never married. • Financial insecurity, less effective parenting, frequent moves contribute to increased risk. • Active involvement by fathers has positive effect on adjustment of children (Lamb, 1999; McLanahan, 1997, 1999).

14. Starting Over: Stepfamilies • When mothers remarry, the family’s financial status may improve, increasing the quality of services and educational opportunities. • Some groups of children experience greater benefits of remarriage than others. • In general, stepparents can have positive impact on their stepchildren’s lives. • Stepfamilies present special challenges in establishing new family relationships • Outcomes typically no better than those in single-parent families (Amato, 1994). Stepfamily Association of America http://www.saafamilies.org/

15. Adopted Children • Adopted children do better on variety of psychological, social, emotional, and educational outcomes than children in institutional or foster care (Morgan, 1998; Triseliotis & Hill, 1990). • Majority seem to adjust well and function normally. • Children who are older when adopted have more difficulty; often identity issues. • Adolescents may struggle to define identity. • Open adoption – Arrangement in which adopted children have open access to information about their biological parents. Open Adoption http://www.openadoption.org/

16. Families with Lesbian or Gay Parents • Estimated 14 million children in US have lesbian or gay parents (Patterson, 1992). • Discrimination exists in judicial system. • Patterson (1992) concluded that no study has shown disadvantages. • Children no more likely to be homosexual. ACLU fact sheet: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/11824res19990406.html

17. Ethnically Diverse Families • Ethnic minority families are the fastest growing segment of the US population. • Cultural deficit perspective – Older research perspective that assumed the problems associated with minority-group families were due to the ways that these families were not “measuring up” to the standards of white families. • Strength and resilience perspective – Newer research perspective that explores ways in which minority families have survived and even thrived in spite of historical patterns of racism, bigotry, and inequality (Parke & Buriel, 1998).

18. Growth in U.S. Ethnic Diversity 1990–2000 (figures in millions)

19. Ethnically Diverse Families • The challenges and stresses of poverty, neighborhood disadvantage, and acculturation have widespread effects on families and children’s outcomes. • Family plays a significant role in contributing to strength and resilience. • Strict discipline characteristic of many ethnic groups, but may correlate more with poverty and dangerous neighborhoods than with ethnic identity.

20. Picture on Slide 5: from Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles and perspectives (1st ed.) (p. 480). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Picture on Slide 10: from Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles and perspectives (1st ed.) (p. 484). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Table on Slide 16: from Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles and perspectives (1st ed.) (p. 491). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • All other images retrieved from Microsoft PowerPoint Clip Art.