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Ecology of Parenting - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Political ideology refers to theories pertaining to government. It influences parenting styles because children must be raised to function as citizens in society.
- - - - ♦ Harmony is valued.
      - ♦ Family members place family needs above individual needs.
      - ♦ Children show obedience and loyalty to parents and are expected to care for elderly parents.
      - ♦ People believe that a cooperative social network extends from the mother and father union to the extended family of relatives and ultimately to the community; children are socialized by the extended, as well as the nuclear, family; old people traditionally pass on the cultural heritage to the younger ones; children are taught to respect elders (age is a “badge of honor”—if you have grown old, you have done the right things).
    - - ♦ Communication tends to be more indirect than direct—conversations might include inquiries about family members, health, or other matters seemingly unrelated to the purpose of the communication (such inquiries are necessary for assessing choice of language to be used and degree of familiarity with which certain topics can be discussed) (Stewart & Bennett, 1991).
        ♦ Nonverbal, more than verbal, communication (body language, gestures, touch, facial expression, eye contact) is used.
        
        Displays of Emotion
        
        ♦ Some groups display emotions inwardly and others display them outwardly.
        
        ♦ Inward emotions are feelings rarely shown publicly; they can be expressed through a change in personal distance (stepping backward while engaged in a loud conversation), shunning (ignoring and avoiding a friend for boasting), or deviations in performing routines (knowing your wife is angry because she filled your teacup only halfway with lukewarm tea).
        
        ♦ Outward emotions are expressed through facial expressions, sound, body movement (however, facial expressions don't always reveal inner emotions).
        
        Discipline/Guidance
        
        ♦ Age is equated with knowledge—children are not asked their desires, nor are they expected to communicate their opinions to older people; they are expected to be guided by adult wisdom.
        
        ♦ Children obey and imitate; they learn by doing—even when children play, an adult or older sibling is nearby to guide them as needed (Rogoff, 2003).
        
        ♦ A sense of obligation to parents is fostered by dependency and physical closeness between parents and child, which is continually reinforced as children grow older.
        
        ♦ The use of shame and guilt is enabled by the child's dependency on the mother; she controls the child's behavior by appealing to the child's sense of duty when the child deviates from her expectations.
        
        ♦ The child also learns related socialized behaviors to avoid shame and save face—reluctance to admit lack of understanding, hesitation to ask questions, take initiative, or do something a new way, and avoidance of confrontation or disagreement (a Japanese proverb says: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”).
        
        Skills Emphasis
        
        ♦ Skills believed important for children to learn to get along in the group, as well as to become contributing adults, are brotherhood, sharing, spirituality, and personal integrity.
        
        ♦ Modesty and moderation are stressed (one doesn't talk for the sake of talking; one doesn't boast when one achieves; and one doesn't show emotions).
        
        ♦ Children are expected to do what they are capable of doing for their age, not to be perfect—the goal is to improve on past performance (failure is not a concept).
- - - - Ethnic influence. In high-context macrocultures, or societies, around the world, where interdependence is valued among most ethnic groups, it is assumed that children are born and raised to serve the purposes of the family. For example, in rural India children are trained to work at jobs considered of value to their particular family; children defer to their elders and marriages are often arranged for the benefit of the family.
        
        Progressive influence. In low-context macro cultures, or societies, such as the United States, few children are brought up to believe that their principal destiny is to serve their family, their country, or God. Most European American children are given the feeling that they are free to set their own goals in life. Achievement and competition are valued.
        
        Macrosystem Influence on Parenting: Socioeconomic Status
        
        A family's socioeconomic status, as discussed in Chapter 3, is its rank or position within a society based on social and economic factors, such as income, occupation, and education of the parents. In general, parents of high socioeconomic status have high incomes, engage in highly respected occupations, and are well educated; parents of low socioeconomic status have low incomes, hold unskilled or semiskilled jobs, and are poorly educated; parents of middle socioeconomic status have medium incomes, business or professional occupations, and a good education.
        
        A major reason why parenting styles differ according to socioeconomic status is that families tend to adapt their interactional patterns to the level of stress they are experiencing. All families experience stress, such as work problems, health problems, and relationship problems. However, parents with low incomes may have other stressors related to poverty (housing, unsafe neighborhoods, job turnover) that influence their well-being, the tone of their marriage, and the quality of their relationship with their children (Conger & Dogan, 2007; Cowan et al., 1998).
- - - - Traditional beliefs and practices that have been developed as adaptive survival strategies and passed from generation to generation are powerful and pervasive, even in modern times. However, as various ethnic and religious groups become part of the mainstream, their values may change, as may those of the mainstream. This process can be observed in generational differences among grandparents, parents, and children (Parke & Buriel, 2006).
- - - - Cultural values, as discussed in Chapters 1, 2, and 3, can be delineated on a continuum as being collectivistic-oriented or individualistic-oriented. To recap, collectivistic cultures emphasize interdependent relations, social responsibilities, and the well-being of the group; individualistic cultures emphasize individual fulfillment and choice.
        
        Collectivistic and individualistic orientations are exhibited by how diverse families differ in parenting styles and child-rearing practices (see Table 4.1 for a summary). For example, children socialized in a collectivist context are amused by people—by being held, teased, or shown how to do something; children socialized in an individualistic context are amused by things—by being given space, given toys, or told how to do something
        
        Some generalizations follow regarding collectivistic and individualistic cultural/ethnic/religious orientations, as well as the specific family dynamics within them. These include differences in (1) authority roles, (2) communication, (3) display of emotion, (4) discipline/guidance of children, and (5) skills emphasized (Bugental & Grusec, 2006; Parke & Buriel, 2006; Rogoff 2003; Thiederman, 1991).
- - - - A brief history of trends in the United States concerning the treatment of children and the role of parents follows.
        
        humanism a system of beliefs concerned with the interests and ideals of humans rather than of the natural or spiritual world
        tabula rasa the mind is a blank slate before impressions are recorded on it by experience
        
        behaviorism the theory that observed behavior, rather than what exists in the mind, provides the only valid data for psychology
        fixation a Freudian term referring to arrested development
        
        Family Dynamics and Changes over Time
        
        Family dynamics refers to what activities are going on, with whom, and how they “play out” over time. As discussed in Chapter 3, the structure and functioning of the family as a whole affect parenting. Here we discuss the particular characteristics of family members and how these members relate to one another, which also affect parenting (Bornstein, 2006).
        
        Children's Characteristics
        
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- - - - Configuration
        Not only does the number of children in a family affect child-rearing practices, but the spacing and gender of the siblings also influence parent-child interactions. With the birth of each sibling comes a new temperament and new relationships for parents to handle. Also, when adult children move back home, or when other relatives, such as grandparents, come to live with the nuclear family, authority patterns and relationships change.
        
        Parents' Life Stage
        Parents go through six stages of changes in their expectations and practices for children from infancy to adolescence: (1) image making, (2) nurturing, (3) authority, (4) interpretive, (5) interdependent, and (6) departure (Galinsky, 1987).
        
        Parents also go through changes in their relationships with their parents. Generational research shows that parents' relationships with their parents throughout childhood and adulthood impact their parenting practices (Cowan et al., 1998).
        
        Marital Quality
        Marital quality contributes to children's development in that the parents form a coparenting alliance, cooperating with and supporting each other (Cowan et al., 1998; USDHHS, 2009). United parents are less subject to manipulation by their child. What child hasn't tried to get one parent to give in when the other parent has refused a request?
        
        Parental Ability to Cope with Stress
        Parents who are tired, worried, or ill and those who feel they have lost control of their lives are likely to be impatient, lacking in understanding, and unwilling to reason with their children. To see whether and how stress affects child rearing, Zussman (1980) created a stressful situation in which parents were observed interacting with their toddlers and preschool-age children.
- - - - A microsystem effect on children is the bidirectional parent-child relationship within the family. Research has shown parenting styles have an impact on children's behavior, and vice versa, in such areas as attachment, self-regulation, prosocial behavior, competence, and achievement motivation. Attachment, introduced in Chapter 2, is an affectional tie that one person forms to another person, binding them together in space and enduring over time. Self-regulation, also introduced in Chapter 2, is the process of bringing one's emotions, thoughts, and/or behavior under control. Prosocial behavior involves behavior that benefits other people, such as altruism, sharing, and cooperation. Competence refers to a pattern of effective adaptation to one's environment; it involves behavior that is socially responsible, independent, friendly, cooperative, dominant, achievement-oriented, and purposeful. Achievement motivation, introduced in Chapter 2, refers to the tendency to approach challenging tasks with confidence of mastery.
        
        prosocial behavior behavior that benefits other people, such as altruism, sharing, and cooperation
        competence refers to a pattern of effective adaptation to one's environment; it involves behavior that is socially responsible, independent, friendly, cooperative, dominant, and achievement-oriented
        
        uninvolved a style of insensitive, indifferent parenting with few demands or rules
        
        Attachment
        
        As mentioned in Chapter 2, attachment is an outcome of sensitive, responsive caregiving. It provides the basis for socialization because infants who are securely attached are willing to comply with parental standards.
        
        Self-Regulation and Prosocial Behavior
        
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