Psych of Family Exam 2

study of marriage

was in the domain of sociologists

• over last several decades has been an increased focus on young children’s development

process oriented research

how + why might marital conflict influence child development and when might it influence child development

• emphasis in the research has often been on “marital quality” as indexed by individual report of marital satisfaction or happiness

history of marriage

1970s popular books describing “his” marriage compared to “her” marriage

• in SNAF, lots of inequities in roles

second shift

• while attitudes and desires have change, behavior has not

• his and her can be understood through the 2nd shift of work

  • women do a 2nd shift after her work, household duties

marriage as an institution

• pure relationships = transition from focus on structural things to the valuing of quality of relationship + things that influence that happiness/quality of relationship

• the deinstitutionalization of marriage

Cherlin’s marriage go-round

changes in marriage rates → deinstitutionalization of marriage

• women’s higher earning capacity

• declining economic prospects of young men w/o a college degree

however, the probability of an adult getting married at some point during their lifetime is still nearly 90% (down from 96% in 1950s) why?

• enforceable trust = we like tangible, signals, signs of things to make them official

  • publicly making vows adds weight, solidifies, security

• other reasons?

  • society pressures

types of “marriages”

• cohabitation and common law marriages

• covenant marriages

cohabitation

• cohabitating is more common (only 10% in 60s), making commitments more common

  • 40% have children, 33% have homes

• alternative or precursor?

• importance of being on the same page (Lichter & Qian, 2008 Rhoades, Stanley, Markman, & Allen, 2015)

  • more to do with discrepencies in expectations + perception of cohabitating

common law marriages

legally recognized relationships that receive the same benefits as legally married individuals

• 7-9 states + DC recognize (NH only for purposes of inheritance)

• wide variability by state, but once officially recognized, dissolution requires divorce (or similar)

  • some states don’t allow new ones

  • some states call them something different (informal marriage)

    • just difficult to navigate

covenant marriages

• restricts couple’s ability to divorce

• goal: make it more difficult to separate, legally binding sludge

• no difference in marital satisfaction (baker et al. 2009)

same sex marriages: history

baehr v lewin 1993

• argued that restriction on marriage violate the equal protection clause of constitution

defense of marriage act (DOMA) 1994

• marriage is explicitly defined as a union between one man and one woman

2009 federal legislation

• before US legalized, 38 states legalized it and 35% of state and local gov provided benefits for domestic partners

domestic partnerships

• separate, but equal?

• limited access to support/inheritance, etc

process in Lesbian, gay, bi, trans relationships

• intimate relationships appear very similar in structure + function

  • mohr, selterman, and fassinger, 2013; stiers 1999

Bicultural identities

consanguineal (family of origin favored) vs affinal (marital relationships given priority, value of your family of procreation) family relationship

3 models of intercultural assimilation

• cultural

• structural

• marital

cultural assimilation

• dress

• rituals

• daily practices

structural assimilation

• educational

• employment

• political values

marital assimilation

these procsesess unfold through marriage

• family practices favored

health + marriage (Waite & gallagher, 2000)

20 yr longitudinal study

• marriage was found to protect ppl by lowering their risk of dying, in comparison to those who were never married, divorced, or widowed

• unhappily married ppl are at greater risk for poor health + even mortality

  • conflicts within marriage are related to heart rate elevations, increased stress hormone circulation, poor immune functioning

• the benefits greater for men > women

  • the protection from mortality is 50%+ for married vs non-married women

  • but 250%+ for married vs non-married men

health correlates of marital quality

• + functioning linked to longevity and health buffering effects

• -, conflicting, hostile marital relationships associated w/ negative health outcomes like cancer, cardiac disease, chronic pain, suppressed immune system

• predictor of multiple psychological outcomes like depression, eating disorders, alcoholism

McEwan and Seeman (1999) explain four possible ways marital struggles can lead to physical dysfunction

1. through repeated hits to immune system (chronic conflict leads to physiological stress responses)

2. spouse inability to adapt to continuing stressors (ex: criticisms by partner)

3. inability to control physiological responses to marital stressors (ex: continually elevated heart rate)

4. inadequate response to stressors (ex: drinking alc, screaming, worsens health problems) = compensatory/coping behavior

• allostatic load

psychophysiological synchrony, marriage

timmons et al 2015

• high stress system activity → lower relationship satisfaction

• synchrony associated w/ better bonding and attachment

  • but too synchronous one partner’s stress can tank the other partner

support, marriage

• received vs perceived

  • only perceived support is related to positive health outcomes

loneliness + isolation

lacking social connection is as dangerous as smoking up to 15 cigs a day

A report from the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in 2020 – findings

consistent with 2023 US Surgeon General’s report

 Social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of
premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival
those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.1
 Social isolation was associated with about a 50% increased
risk of dementia.1
 Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation
or loneliness) was associated with a 29% increased risk of
heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.1
 Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression,
anxiety, and suicide.
 Loneliness among heart failure patients was associated
with a nearly 4 times increased risk of death, 68%
increased risk of hospitalization, and 57% increased risk of
emergency department visits.

marriage effects on children

key things children are ‘working on’

• managing frustration, accept delays, and disappointments, operate effectively as self-reliant individuals, cooperate and coordinate in communicating, emotionally engage and interact with others, and regulate tensions that always will arise in complex social interactions

• Reliance on caregiver for regulatory support.

• Emergence of stable and responsive view of parents

indirect vs direct

indirect effects of conflict

• destructive conflict vs constructive conflict

• spill over hypothesis

• other implications

destructive conflict

indirect

• conflict not resolved → escalates → negatively impacts parenting quality and quantity

constructive conflict

indirect

• conflict resolved → deals w/ resentment/anger constructively → helps children learn appropriate ways to handle interpersonal difficulties

spill over hypothesis

spills over into parent child relationships

• felt stress/strain at adult level that spills over into child

• conflict → withdrawal from parent child relationship

• scapegoating of child → child is somehow contributing to the cause of the conflict

other implications of indirect effects of conflict

• modeling of poor affect regulation

• compromised parental discipline

• permissive or inconsistent parenting

• poor parent communication + more disagreements about how child is to be raised

co-parenting - compensatory hypothesis

indirect influence

• parents may seek fulfillment in the parent child relationship to make up fro dissatisfaction they experience in their marriage

  • more time, focus w/ child

• distinction between those behaviors which meet the needs of parent vs actually meet the needs of the child

interference w/ or undermining other parents parenting attempts

hostile or competitive parenting

role reversal of child + parent

how would you study direct effects of conflict on children?

Cummings initiated a series of studies in which he used situation analogous to home situations where children were exposed to angry interchanges between adults

direct effects on child

• young children more often exposed to marital conflict than older

  • misconception that children are too young to be impacted by conflict

  • even very young children show preoccupation, freezing, anger, fear, sadness in face of marital conflict

  • changes in physiology (heart rate, BP, skin conductance)

  • links w/ aggression

• attempts to resolve conflict and involvement in parent’s conflicts

  • even toddlers show attempts to intervene

  • negative effects on how they process their own emotions

emotional security hypothesis

eclectic theory

• one of the primary goals for children as they grow up + family system as a whole help maintain emotional security in family system in the same way a primary caregiver

• pulls from + similarity to attachment theory

  • predictability + stability of family system

• children respond not only to conflict but also to the meaning of the conflict for the future stability of the family + their own well being

• important goal for children: maintaining a sense of emotional security in the family

• important to have direct, age appropriate convos

  • transparency → predictability → security

emotional security hypothesis - resolved conflict

shows that the experience can be non threatening

emotional security hypothesis - unresolved conflict

threatens children’s emotional security + the security of the family’s emotional system

marital problems early research

focused on factors differentiating happy vs unhappy

• individual personality theory

• numerous studies demonstrated that certain personality characteristics are significant predictors of relationship satisfaction

perspective shift to include earlier experiences

• attachment (secure vs insecure)

• attachments seems to vary across time, reflecting childhood and adult experiences

marital problems, actual behaviors

procesess + dynamics of the actual relationship themselves

• 1950s, researchers proposed that studying characteristics of how couples actually interact would provide insight beyond individual characteristics

• global vs microanalytic coding approaches

• general systems theory (1930s) → family systems theory

  • ex: marital quality → parenting → stress → health

infidelity

many spouses cheat

• according to therapists: 30-40% women, 50% men

• overall estimates 20-25% women; 20-40% men

• 70% dating couples report infidelity + 60% of singles report mate poaching

  • interpersonal relationships turning into romantic relationships

infidelity - macrosystem influences?

cultural and societal views on monogamy

infidelity - micro + exo influences?

workplace - best manners, best dress

infidelity - genetic contributions ?

short vasopressin allele, less attachment

marital problems, Carrere et al

• unrealistic relationship perceptions

  • coherence is key - perceptions/expectations

  • description of flaws tells a lot about the quality of a relationship

• unresolved conflict

  • financial issues, sex frequency, and communication

    • financial infidelity → indicator of being on the same page

      • financial stress compounded by betrayal

      • integration of financial lives?

  • healthy + unhealthy conflict resolution processes

studying marital relationships

observations

• couples discuss a source of disagreement and try to resolve it is a typical task used in literature

what does studying marital relationships observationally tell us?

• negative reciprocity + escalation associated w/ relationship distress + dissatisfaction

• specfic negative behaviors

studying cognitive aspects

• john gottman talk table

• attribution theory

John Gottman talk table

conflict discussion

• each partner rates how - or + a statement is before it is spoken

• then receiving partner rates valence after it is heard

  • lowk alr decided how they feel, even when researchers ask how they will approach the problem

distressed couples much more likely to perceive comments as discorteous or insulting even if partner did not intend it to be negative

• pulls from attribution theory

attribution theory - studying cogntive aspects

attribute something to an experience that is bias

• distressed couples more likely to make negative attributions - internal, stable, global attributions for negative behaviors

• non-distressed couples more likely to make external attributions

  • she’s prob just had a bad day at the office

4 hoursemen of the apocalypse

• criticism

  • attach, not constructive

  • kitchen sinking, perspective

    • when conflict arises the criticism doesn’t focus on the actual thing that made them made, but piles on more stuff that isn’t relevant to the actual comment

• contempt

  • mocking, superior

  • best predictor of divorce

• defensiveness

  • no responsibility to correction

• stonewalling

  • breeds escalation

each are influences by attribution theory

true in any social relationships

health relationship processes

• premarital counseling

• postive vs negative interactions

• peer marriages

• dyadic coping + stress

premarital counseling

solution focused therapy

• focus on here and now but also plan based on therapy

• social constructionist orientation: reality less important than perceptions

positive vs negative interactions

fantastic four

• soft start up - involves bringing up a problem gently w/ love

• turning toward - facing one’s partner, hugging and smiling

• repairing conversations - consisting of apologizing, smiling through pain, and using humor

• accepting the influence of one’s partner - not dominating or being stubborn, and accepting and appreciating one’s partner’s ideas and suggestions

peer marriages

egalitarian roles in the family

• takes work

  • IWMs, expectations, etc

  • respecting each other’s perspectives = held at equal footing

  • more therapeutic literature

dyadic coping + stress

involves both partners, complimentary process

• micro level

• how one member of a couple copes impacts the other

  • protective buffering: minimize felt stress in partner

  • active engagement: initiate constructive address of issue

  • cognitive reframe: looking at something a different way

  • delegated dyadic coping: take over other responsibilities to ease bruden

protective buffering

minimize felt stress in partner

• partner’s demeanor, behavior, emotional stability

  • macro-global, more broad

  • trying to regulate

active engagement

initiate constructive address of issue

• problem solving

  • if there’s a specific issue, easier to engage

cognitive reframing

looking at something a different way

• targeting bias attributions

delegated dyadic coping

take over other responsibilities to ease burden

• unrelated yet positive/supportive action

negative dyadic coping

back and forth escalation

• ex: stone walling

choosing to parent

more ppl choosing not to have children

• childless vs childfree

• presence of children associated w/ different marital structures and interaction, finance stress, division of labor, etc

no children

higher levels of marital satisfaction and happiness

• birth of 1st child drastically decreases likelihood of divorce in 1st 5 yrs

  • child rearing does take away from time w/ spouses - if marriage quality is based on the time spent doing things together of course it suffers

still, ~80-90% of Americans will procreate, why?

• utilitarian purpose

  • help w/ family business, work on farm

• emotional connection

family planning

control is the key driver

• joins theme of increased autonomy

• autonomy of making decisions for family

genotype

DNA content of cell’s nucleus, allele

• whether trait is externally observable or not

phenotype

how genotype/allele are observably expressed through the interaction of proteins which may come about from enviro need/stimuli

phenotypic plasticity - high

enviro factors have a strong influence on ___

phenotypic plasticity - low

reliably be predicted from genes

hereditability

• amount of variation in a trait or class behav

• within a specific pop

• attributed to hereditary factors

heritability coeffecient

numerical estimate (0.00-1.00)

• based on twin studies reared in same house

chromosomes

• located inside nucleus of animal cells

• each __ is made of protein + singular molecule of DNA

  • 23 from mom + 23 from dad

single gene inheritance pattern

• simple dominant recessive inheritance

• codominance

transmission of genes and traits - mendelian model

single gene pair → alleles → homo or hetero

codominance

polygenic or polygenetic inheritance

• traits influenced by multiple pairs of genes

• many degrees of the trait are possible

genetic studies

often uses genome wide association studies (GWAS)

• scan entire genome for variants associated w/ some outcome → use stat methods to aggregate that variability into a single score

  • PGS for depression aggregate across heterogenity in thousands of genetic variants across the genome

    • some evidence that PGS → changes in depression

    • intervention can buffer these links

molecular genetics

involved the analysis of genes and their effect

• tag SNPs

• Allelic variation

  • SNP = one single nucleotide is diff

  • long/short = maybe majority is longer and like a small amount of ppl are shorter

very targeted, does your sequence differ from others

gene enviro interaction

range of possible phenotypes for each genotype - dependent on enviro

• nature sets range

• nurture determines exactly what is observed

  • ex: range of reaction for weight or nutritional availability determines exact weight

epigenetics

study of how behaviors and enviro can cuase changes that affect the way your genes work

• reversible

• do not change your DNA sequence

  • but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence

DNA methylation

adding a chemical group to specific places on the DNA where it blocks the proteins that attach to DNA to “read” the gene

• __ typically turns genes “off” and de-methylation turns them “on”

  • dimming the light switch

    • lot easier to measure

histone modification

DNA wraps around proteins (histones)

• DNA wrapped tightly around cannot be accessed by proteins that “read” the gene

gene enviro correlations

• passive

• evocative

passive gene enviro correlations

shared risk that is genetically related, most often passed from parents (whoever is shaping your enviro growth dev + shared genes)

• genetically related parents provide a rearing enviro that is correlated w/ the genotype of the child (+ or -)

• cannot interpret cause of “nurture” in biologically related families

  • parent-child interaction effects

evocative gene enviro correlations

threat for the same reason, don’t want to misattribute non genetic thing for genetic

• child centered

• some shared genetic risk changed genotype

  • child receives responses from others that are influenced by his/her genotype

  • different genotype evoke different responses from the same enviro

diathesis stress model/dual risk model

explains that some individuals, due to some characteristic they have, they’re more vulnerable to more riskier experiences than those who don’t have that characteristic

• their outcome is worse if negative experience + characteristic → some ppl are more impacted by negative experience more than others

  • some individuals, due to their biological, temperamental and/or behavioral characteristics are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of negative experiences, whereas others are relatively resilient with respect to them

vantage sensitivity

same idea but for better

differential susceptibility

influence of enviro depends on characteristics of individual, more malleable

• in negative enviro stand to do worse

• in positive enviro stand to do better

  • not only for worse or for better

    • more generally, in developmental plasticity

prenatal

before birth

perinatal

around birth

• shortly before/after birth

postnatal

after birth

germinal period

2 weeks after conception

• from zygote to blastocyst

zygote

single cell formed at conception

• sperm + ovum

blastocytes

ball like structure into which the zygote transforms through cell division

• 100-150 cells

• must attach to uterine wall

embryonic period

2-8 wks after conception

• organogenesis: every major organ is formed

• development proceeds in order of importance

fetal period

9th week to birth

• bodily structures and systems develop to completion

  • muscular dev

  • bone formation

  • weight gain

• CNS develops at a rapid pace

• practice makes perfect

  • infants practice suckling, breathing, and walking during this perio

• 22-28 wks = viability

teratogen

any substance in the enviro that can cause physical malformations during prenatal development

effects of teratogens

• critical, sensitive periods, timing

• dosage + duration

nicotine exposure for pregnant

navigating info about making healthy decisions can be difficult

• majority of women viewed e-cigs as a healthier choice and changed to e-cigs when they learned they were pregnant

  • bad for organ development for kid

    • observed down the road

      • physical, increased risk of ADHD

alcohol exposure

high use before pregnancy

one of many social + experiential factors

• observed down the road

  • physical, increased risk of ADHD

cocaine exposure

immediate consequences

• possible association w/ preterm delivery, abortions, premature rupture of membranes (PROM) + pregnancy

  • induced hypertension

• increased risk for placenta abruption

• increased risk for neonatal withdrawal symptoms, intrauterine and neonatal death

  • sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

maternal nutrition

access to information + food/supplements are VERY important

• difficult to navigate if underresrouced

prolonged/severe emotional stress + anxiety

• restricted blood flow to uterus + oxygen deprivation

• restricted prenatal growth

• low birth weight

• premature birth

• birth complications

• babies may also be more irritable following birth

  • prenatal programming + allostatic load

  • potentially important role of perceived social support

maternal age (35+)

higher risk for

• miscarriage 18-25%

• down syndrome

• chronic diseases of aging

  • gestational diabetes

  • hypertension

  • arthritis