Psych of Fam PS370 exam 1

Why study families?

• universality: humans as social beings, survival, procreation

• identity: values, sense of self, goals

• impact: shape education, career resources, opportunity

• policy + society: education, healthcare, laws

family of origin

where you come from

family of procreation

family you create

definition of family

a group of 2 or more people connected by blood, adoption, marriage, or choice, who may rely on each other for social, emotional, and financial support

Structures

a family’s composition

• how many members it has

• whether ppl are married

• their ages

• other demographic variables

Processes

interactional variables

• caring

• sharing

• communication

• discipline + support

  • what happens in that family

the standard north american family (SNAF)

coined by Dorothy Smith

• homemaker wife, working husband, 2 kids

not just structure, ideological standard

• implicit bias affected everything

  • was not the majority then & now

national survey of families & households, 5 diff family structures

• adoptive

• 2 parent biological

• single mother

• step father

• step mother

national survey of families & households, factored

• parent and child well being

• school performance

• mental health

national survey of families & households, 4 theories

1. stigmatization leads to poor outcomes

2. socialization by 2 parents is optimal

3. primacy of biological ties

4. importance of family processes

   1. this is what matters

diverse family structures and processes

SNAF

Modern fam

• dual earner household

• responsibilities may still be unequal

postmodern fam

• deconstruction or transformation of at least one aspect of trad SNAF roles

• egalitarian gender roles, differing views of marriage

endogamy

endorsement of in group

exogamy

endorsement of out group

polygamy

one man, many partners

polyandry

one woman, many partners

demography

describes the family life, using large representative data sets

• like census

documented significant changes in the family life of americans over the last decades

what drives the evolution of the fam? cherlin

education

• value of education

• gender equity

income/resource

• dollar doesn’t go as far

  • 20% less than idnividual 20 years ago with comparable education, etc

    • ex: expense of kids

what are some changes researchers are recognizing

• changes in views of family related institutions

  • ex: marriage

• changing rates of divorce and remarriage

• economic stagnation effects on low income fam

• rising cohabitation rates fams extending across households

• “growing disconnect between families and households”

  • household = structure of who lives in the hosue

decision to get married is influenced by

education

marriage markets, cherlin

• college educated

• least educated

• HS degree + some college

history of selection of marital partner

• who one marries depends on education more than in the past

• in the early 20th century religion was of greater significance for choosing spouse

• college grads now mostly separated themselves from rets of marriage market

divorce

appear to be declining from their peak in 1980, but appear to be diverging rates

• college educated rates are decreasing

• while staying the same or increasing among less educated

  • it’s a snapshot/moment in time

interconnectedness of education, marriage, and childbearing

• 93% of women w/ a college degree giving birth were married

• 71% of women w/ some college were married

• 57% of women w/ a high school degree

• 39% of women w/o a high school degree

  • less educated men + women are increasingly having children prior to marriages

cohabitation

same household, partners as a couple + making family processes

• over 20% married couples separate/divorce within 5 years after marriage

• 50% of ___ couples separate after 5 years of the beginning of the relationship

Labor force participation

increased among women, but declined among men

• increased access to education

• greater access to contraception, more choice

early adulthood - new demographic transition why?

• education

• wages

consequences of early adulthood demographic changes?

• delayed decisions of about marriage and children

• changing views on things like cohabiting, shared purchases, etc

population projections (US)

• relatively high fertility rate, compared to other developed countries

• 2006 fertility rate = 2.1

• 2025 fertility rate = 1.6

Global Fertility

• in 2021 was 2.3 (above replacement level of 2.1), still lower than 1990 (3.2)

• high income countries, fertility rates for women of all age groups have declined since 1950

• low income countries, fertility rates are steadily declining for all age groups

• china, thailand, ukraine are among 39 countries + territories projected to have smaller populations by 2050

  • consequences of inverted age structure?

pregnancy + birth trends Australia, US, and UK

• inverted U adverse outcomes

• increases in gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, c-sections

• also increased prenatal care

• lack of paid leave may contribute to differences in breastfeeding rates in USA

aging

% of older Americans will rise sharply to 19% in 2030

• live longer + healthier

• have active role in supporting children + grandchildren

  • 42% responded they are currently responsible for most of the basic needs of 1 or more of their grandchildren

cultural tightness

strength of social norms and tolerance for norm-violating behavior within a society

• historically have higher population density, dependence of agriculture, higher rates of natural disaster, resource scarcity, external threats

children’s experiences of COVID 19, emotional lability

• children show reductions in __ over time

  • the decline is steeper/happened quicker in loos countries

• parenting predicts these changes differently as a function of culture

tight cultures - children’s experiences of COVID 19, emotional lability

the parenting is very important
- if restrictive and NOT nurturing the emotional lability actually goes up

acculturation stress

anxiety that individuals feel when attempt to assimilate a different culture

• extended fam often integral part of fam system

• co-parenting roles sometimes filled by grandmas, aunts, friends

• co-parents can be residential or non-residential

  • positive role of and instrumental support from non-residential co-parents

institutional access to resources

• reduced access to resources

  • 38% of black children live in poverty compared to 13% of white children

  • 14% of black children have low birth weight compared to 6% of white children

• institutional support

  • healthcare, eduction

Children’s living arrangements - war on drugs

policies drugs and sentencing influence on families

• starting 1960s, sharp increase in overall percentage of children living in single parent homes

• life extended across 2 households

• massive increase in incarceration impacted family structure

  • black children: 1 in 4 born in 1990 had imprisoned parent by the time they were 14

• American children are more likely to experience instability in parental partnerships + household structure by 15 than children in other western countries

Allostatic load

cumulative “wear and tear” on body’s physical and mental systems produced by repeated/chronic stress over time

• over time the same amount of stimulus, over time, your system is blunted bc you’ve always been at that high level of stress

Allostatic Load Timeline

prenatal programming

• individual level factors

• community level factors

• structural level factors

birth

infancy

• altered physio responses to stress in infants

all to say while mom is pregnant, their stress affects baby directly altering their biology

what is a theory?

set of ideas about how something works

• set of concepts and propositions designed to describe and explain certain phenomena

  • might have something to say about the past info for studies now

what is a hypothesis?

a specific prediction generated by a theory

• prediction of what we think is going to happen

what is an eclectic approach?

most common

• incorporating the most important parts of research

• structural functionalism + dynamic systems theory

open system

influenced by external things

changing systems

everything can change

structural functionalism

social groups like families

• have established structure that allow the group to function cohesively

  • that structure controls how that group functions

  • default status quo

  • parents can limit change

• compromised of equally important ‘pieces’ of the structure

helpful in understanding why systems + hierarchies exist despite changes in the enviro

• ex: domestic violence, if you understand you can know how to break it down

not well adapted to account for complex processes that occur in families

social constructionism

individual perspectives + experiences are shaped bu our own culturally influenced beliefs

• provides framework for family therapists to resolve conflict within the family + to alter family dynamics

  • prominent in family therapy

  • your experiences in your fam led to your own experiences thoughts/about family

• work to integrate those things that are social constructed

  • how do our socially constructed views of education or race influence our families

attachment theory

framework for understanding how the early parent child relationship influences the formation of subsequent relationships, including fam relationships

• internal working models carried forward to influence mate selection, parenting, other social ties

• integration of psychoanalytic, ethological, and evolutionary perspectives

• heavy emphasis on the influence of parents + parenting

wholeness + order - family systems approach

cannot understand a part of the fam w/o understanding the full structure

hierarchical structure - family systems approach

family is composed of subsystems that are systems in and of themselves

• not random, one influences another

  • ex: relationship with your daughters vs sons

adaptive self organization - family systems approach

family is an open + living system that can adapt to changes + challenges

• bc it’s open system, the subsystems are always changing

• change is the norm

  • diff than structural functionalism

families are ___ ___

developing systems

• individuals develop within the family system

• family system influences and is influence by these developments

  • maternal parenting is influenced by father’s behaviors

  • children’s responses are influenced by siblings

  • things like that

bioecological theory

person

• genetics, physiology, temperament

  • how do these qualities impact family relationships

process + context

• immediate enviro

• interctions between immediate influences

• external forces

• socio-cultural influences

microsystem

activities + relations between child and immediate enviro - PLACE

• school

• home

• playground

mesosystem

the connection or relationship between two or more of a person's immediate environments

exosystem

doesn’t contain the child, but affect their experiences in immediate settings

• local gov

• parent workplace

• mass media

• school board decisions

macrosystem

values, customs, laws, and resources that affect the provided support at inner levels

cause

non-redundant and sufficient

• single cause or set

  • tricky bc you can have redundant conditions and also thigns that seem necesary and sufficient but aren’t (confounds)

• molar cause

• molecular cause

molar cause

descriptive look at associations

molecular

explain the causal relationship

effect

counter-factual → comparison between what happened and what would have happened

proximal + distal causes

immediate + distant causes

validity

approximate truth of an inference

• how close is it to what we’re actually measuring

reciprocal causation

directionality of influence is important to think about, but hard to establish

• ex: a student receives a low test grade, student feels academically competent, this perceived incompetence then makes students perform poorly on subsequent tests

research questions

developing something that is specific, but not too specific dictates how the research will go

• variable is specific enough to be operational

sample selection

is critical

• sample = the participants of the study

• population = the define group of individuals (from which the sample is drawn)

  • group of ppl that research wants to say something about

what are considerations when selecting a sample?

• random selection

• is it representative of the population

  • important to the applicability + usability to generalize

what are important features of experiments?

• manipulation of IV

• random or thoughtful assignment to experimental conditions

• control/comparison group

independent variable

what’s being manipulated by experimenter

• AMOUNT of something

dependent variable

what we’re measuring

• expected to change as a function of manipulation of IV

pros - experimental design

can identify causes

• only design that can

cons - experimental design

• many variables in human development cannot be experimentally manipulates

• results from experiments may not generalize to “real world”

correlational design

establishes relationship, among variables

• NOT CAUSE

no attempts to manipulate environments

• can get close, but no manipulations

pros - correlation design

• address many questions in lifespan dev

  • ex: how factors operate together in real world

cons - correlation design

• CANNOT establish causation

• between 2 variables may be due to a 3rd variable (confound)

cross sectional design

ask 1 time, survey

• ex: psych 101 survey

pros - cross sectional design

• cheap, fast

• can compare wide age ranges

cons - cross sectional design

• nothing learned about the DEVELOPMENT of individuals

• nothing learned about PAST determinants of behaviors

• age + cohort effects are confounded/tangled

  • is it bc they’re older or younger or experienced the same thing

longitudinal design

same ppl are measured repeatedly over time

• over long time, cohort

• can help describe + explain developmental patterns

pros - longitudinal design

• learn about DEVELOPMENT and PRECURSORS of behav

cons - longitudinal design

• take long, expensive

• selective attrition

• practice effects

• research findings may be specific to 1 cohort

• cross-generational problem

hereditary influences on behavior

nature vs nurture

• always both

  • just varying degrees

behavioral geneticists

acknowledge that genetic influences are moderated by enviro inputs

• not a deterministic POV

  • ex: height depends on nutrition + genes

what do MONOzygotic twins tell us?

• identical

  • 1 zygote splits into 2

  • share prenatal enviro + 100% genes

what do DIzygotic twins tell us?

• 2 separate eggs, 2 separate sperm

• share prenatal enviro + share 50% genes

what are methods of studying hereditary influences?

• selective breeding

  • animal studies - can be traits be bred selectively

• family studies

  • kinship - extent to which 2 individuals have genes in common

    • twin design

    • adoption design

    • sibling design

twin design

insight into differences between pairs of identical twins reared together vs pairs of fraternal twins reared together

adoption design

insight on whether adopted children similar to bio (share genes) or similar to adoptive (share enviro)

sibling design

account for all selection factors that make sibling similar including genetic + enviro factors shared

quasi experimental designs - GO BACK TO LECTURE

• NOT manipulating IV

• how related the family is

  • leveraging the family

  • controlling for the genetic influences of family

Heritability estimates

coefficient DOES NOT equal inherited

• estimate for POPULATIONS, not individuals

• estimate trait of particular population in particular enviro

• can be modified by enviro

twin + adoption studies, evidence of genetic if…

• mono are more similar on behav > di

• mono are raise separately + behav is similar

• adopted children are more likely their biological > adoptive

  • example = IQ, crime

quantitative

numerical data collection

qualitative

interviews, coding of text, thematic integration

case studies

very in depth method of gathering extensive info on 1 or few individuals

• considers many sources of data

• but… kind of data differs from case to case and is subjective

  • NOT generalizable

ethnography

researcher seeks to understand the values, traditions, and social processes of culture by living with its members

• rich info

• but… conclusions may be biased and hard to generalize beyond group

  • etic = outside POV

  • emic = inside POV, embedding yourself into that community

Data Assessments

• verbal reports

• behavioral observations

  • naturalistic

  • structured

• physiological measurements

pros - verbal reports/questionnaires

• standardized

• large scale studies

• subjective feelings

cons - verbal reports/questionnaires

• impossible with young children

• social desirability

• interpretation of items may change w/ age

naturalistic behavioral observations

in participants’ home, school, etc

• participants’ regular setting

pros - naturalistic behavioral observations

• “normal” behaviors in regular setting

• easier w/ small children