Social Relationships Across the Lifespan Final Exam

What are the two perspectives explaining the connection between marital conflict and parenting behaviors?

Spillover theory and Selection bias

What is Spillover theory?

One perspective explaining the connection between marital conflict and parenting behaviors.

Definition: emotions in one context can influence how an individual engages in a subsequent context

What is Selection bias?

One perspective explaining the connection between marital conflict and parenting behaviors.

Definition: pre-existing qualities shape how people interact across multiple contexts

Explain Spillover theory in more detail

Negative emotions in one situation increase negativity in a later situation.

Research has demonstrated: emotions in one context relate to a person’s emotional reactions with family members in another context, and relate to the other family members’ emotional reactions in return.

Research on marital conflict spillover

____ between parents has been related to angry, aggressive, more power-asserting parenting techniques, and ____ consistent or ____ reinforcement strategies.

Discord between parents ____ the parents’ time and emotional investment in their children, ____ the likelihood of inappropriate responses to their children’s emotional needs and signals.

Directly implicating marital conflict in negative parent-child interactions, a randomized controlled experiment found ____ marital discussions to result in negative interactions between parents and sons during a subsequent clean up task.

Hostility, less, positive

reduces, increasing

negative

Spillover is thought to be ___ likely to occur in contexts of negativity or in contexts that are particularly emotionally taxing.

• In other words, marital conflict is most likely to spill over into parenting when parenting a ___ baby.

more

fussy

What is the third variable problem?

When an observed correlation between two variables is actually explained by a third variable

Ex: the correlation between marital conflict and poor parenting could be explained by depression, financial strain, etc… these examples could be correlated with marital conflict and poor parenting.

Research on Selection bias

____ personality → greater conflict

____ personality → better functioning marriage and relationship satisfaction

low levels of negative personality traits → ____ and ____ parenting

depressive symptoms ____ risk of relationship disruptions and conflict

____ is a primary predictor of poor parenting

• in other words, it isn’t just having conflict that is the problem, but who has the conflict and how is important in understanding if parenting is involved.

negative

positive

positive and adaptive

increase

depression

What is the method Hibel et al used to examine selection and spillover?

Two groups: one has a positive 10 min marital discussion while the other has a negative 10 min marital discussion

Then, mother and child free play for 10 mins

Then there is a 5 min child stress task

Then there is mother-child soothing for 5 mins

What are the behaviors Hibel et al measured to examine selection and spillover?

Marital discussion:

• negativity: criticizing, mocking, blaming

• hostility: yelling, threatening

• disengagement: stonewalling, ignoring

Maternal behavior:

• intrusion: forcing the baby to do things they didn’t want, being harsh when holding the baby

• disengagement: ignoring the baby

Cortisol: stress hormone

• tested saliva for cortisol levels

• how physiologically stressed moms, dads, and babies are

What are the research questions Hibel et al aim to answer?

Does having marital conflict cause mothers stress and increase their cortisol levels?

Does conflict behaviors predict cortisol?

Does having marital conflict predict maternal behaviors?

Does conflict behaviors predict maternal behaviors?

Does having a marital conflict predict how mothers respond to infant crying behaviors?

What are the results of the Hibel et al study?

No group difference (positive vs conflict discussion) in mother or father cortisol reactivity

More negative and hostile conflict predicted greater cortisol reactivity (people who are more negative and hostile)

• MEANING: having conflict isn’t the problem, the type of conflict is what impacts parent's stress levels

• this is SELECTION BIAS

No group difference in mothers’ intrusion or emotional disengagement

Negative and disengaging marital discussions associated with emotionally disengaged mother-infant interactions

• this is SELECTION BIAS

Higher infant negativity was associated with higher maternal disengagement, but only for mothers who were in the conflict group

• this is SPILLOVER THEORY

Soothing: no group difference, higher infant irritability associated with higher maternal disengagement, regardless of group

• this is SPILLOVER THEORY

Summarize the findings of Hibel et al study

It isn’t having conflict that is the problem for parents’ stress and behavior. It is how parents have conflict that is problematic. More negative, hostile, or disengaged arguments causes stress and problematic parenting.

Playing with fussy infants leads to spillover

____ longevity makes parent-child ties the ____ period of life

Increasing, modal

The amount of married people is ____ and the amount of never married people is ____.

Declining, increasing

Today’s young adults are ____ likely than young adults in the 1990s to be married or to have kids.

Today’s young adults are ____ likely to have a four year degree than their parents at the same age.

less

more

The likelihood of coresiding has ____.

increased

Young adults living with parents has ____.

increased

____ is the number one reason for parent child relationships to be sustained.

affection

What is intergenerational solidarity theory?

Affection, contact, and support are all connected and influence each other to explain intergenerational relationships.

Stronger affection leads to more contact and support, more contact leads to stronger affection and more support, and more support leads to more contact and stronger affection.

What is generational stake hypothesis?

parents view their children as their legacy and their future.

This influences closeness, contact, and well-being.

Does intergenerational support flow upstream or downstream?

Downstream until parents reach late life and report needs

What is intergenerational ambivalence model? What does unsolicited advice lead to?

When positive and negative feelings co-occur.

Unsolicited advice can lead to negative feelings.

What is the social convoy model? What does it measure? What classifies positive vs negative vs ambivalent ties?

Participants list people who are important to them in three circles.

First circle: people so important you cannot imagine life without them

Second circle: people who are important to you who haven’t been mentioned yet

Third circle: people you think are worth mentioning that didn’t make it into the first two circles

Participants also create a circle of people who annoy them or get on their nerves.

Measures people’s social relationships and networks

People who are only in the important circles are positive ties

People who are only in the annoying circles are negative ties

People who are in both types of circles are ambivalent ties

____ ties tend to be ambivalent.

Family

What is the intergenerational ambivalence model?

Model explaining why family ties tend to be ambivalent. It’s because of conflicting expectations.

Ex: parents want to help their children but also think their children should be independent

Ex: older parents appreciate support from mid life children, but also want to be independent.

What is the sandwich generation?

Middle generation: midlife adults with older parents and young children have to help both generations simultaneously.

DEBUNKED

Midlife adults balance providing support to each generation like a pendulum.

What are some factors influencing how midlife adults negotiate generations?

Relationship factors: love, investment, beliefs/obligations, rewards (solidarity model)

Changing factors: needs, life status (contingency theory)

What is contingency theory?

We support people with greater needs

____ middle age adults are now supporting grown children.

more

What is the family exchanges study?

Three generation family study

Measures relationship quality, needs, obligation, support exchanges, contact, …

The family exchange study measured how much support G2 gave to G3 vs G1 vs both. What were the findings? Why? What is this consistent with?

53% of families had G2 give greater support to G3.

• Midlife adults view their children as more important than their parents and report that their children have greater everyday needs.

  Consistent with generational stake hypothesis and contingency theory.

28% of families had G2 give greater support to G1

• Parents have greater disabilities, meaning they have difficulty performing activities of daily living

  Consistent with contingency theory

21% of families had G2 give support to both G3 and G1.