Hailey Junca
Mrs. Saia
English III AP (Allied Health)
Family Structure’s Effect on Child Development
Many things have changed about family throughout the ages. Family structure and each member’s roles have changed in very significant ways. Families nowadays change and blend much more often and the environment a family creates is very important for its children. The effect family stability has on a child’s development is becoming more and more important in this changing world. Families that are unstable, either emotionally or financially, can have a negative effect on a child’s behavior and development. Emotional instability in a family is one of the ways a child can be affected. The amount of emotional effort parents invest is crucial to a child’s development. According to the Department of Developmental Psychology at Vanderbilt, “Parents that may be nearby but that are not emotionally invested or responsive tend to raise children that are more distressed and less engaged with their play or activity” (Moges & Weber 1). A parent’s emotional investment is reflected in their children’s behavior and emotional well-being. Another example of this theory is Deborah Lacks. The novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, about Deborah’s mother, displays Deborah’s journey and shows the reader that she is very emotionally unstable and easily becomes distressed or anxious. This is a reflection of her home life, where her mother had passed away and her family was detached and
According to (FamilyFacts.org, n.d.) the proportion of American children being raised in single-parent homes has nearly doubled over the past thirty five years, whereas the proportion of children being raised in two-parent homes has dropped about fifteen percent. (FamilyFacts.org, n.d.) states that family structure plays a significant role on an individual’s academic performance; from preschool readiness to college levels. This source discusses the major role that family structure plays on a student’s performance. It gives many effects throughout different stages of life including teen pregnancy, incarceration, and psychological issues. The article also states that if the U.S. family structure was as strong today as it was in 1970 531,000 fewer children each year would need psychotherapy and 453,000 fewer children would be involved in violence each year. (Teachman, 2008) also states that the family structure in which a child is raised
Family structure and support is known to be one of the most influential factors in a child’s life. Children learn and practice what they see around them and are willing to accept
In conclusion, one can clearly see the vast significance that the role of family plays in the physical, spiritual, social and cognitive development of an individual. The family unit is the training ground for life in the world at large and its impact can be either positive or negative. However there are several other factors at work in determining how an individual will handle their life regardless of the cards that they are dealt. For instance a child who grows up in a home where he has been the victim of psychological maltreatment may still have a chance
Characteristics affecting families in today’s society are very widespread in each community. One is marital instability in the family that is resulting in single parenthood in the home, often times with only one involved parent and at times poverty. Another is that gender roles have changed within the home, such as stay at home fathers or fathers taking a more active role in the household chores. Mobility, urbanization, and economic conditions also affect families in that there are more moving, potential conflicts in an urban setting, and poorer economic conditions today. Decreasing family size is another impact on families, as many individuals are delaying marriage and having children. An increased rate of social change is a factor as well, and our society’s rules and values are frequently changing. Something else that has impacted families is that children have become the center of not just the family that they are a part of, but of society as well. Lastly, stress impacting
Amato (2005) researched how family formation can change a child’s cognitive, social and emotional well-being. He began his research by observing the difference between different types of families. This article relates more to how marriage relationship and divorce can cause different stressors on a child. It also talks about how these stressors can lead to other behaviors that might be harmful for the child. Amato (2005) asses the different social and emotional situations that may appear in these situations. These situations all can lead to different forms of stress developing in a child’s life. Overall, all these factors are very important when playing into a child’s level of
Since the last century, family life has changed dramatically in the way that they behave and socialize. The insight and treatment of children and parent- child relationships have experienced major changes during that time. While most western families have always been small and nuclear,
Parent relationships play a huge role in a child 's development. A child learns what is appropriate, how to behave, and are shown what a healthy marriage looks like. If their parent 's relationship concludes in divorce, they will not see a truly successful relationship, causing the child to have some short and long term effects that can hinder them in their life. Homosexual marriage also has some lasting effects on a child because of the irregular parenting style in a society where heterosexual marriage is most common. Divorce and homosexual marriage can create potential adverse short and long term effects, demonstrating that heterosexual marriage is in the best interest of the children.
The study performed by Rebecca Ryan, Anna Markowitz, and Amy Claessens studied the effects of family
If the family structure is a mobile, the family meal is the string that holds each family in their place. The Grey’s are an entrepreneurial middle class family consisting of dad, mom, and five children. They have four children G, A, P, M, and S. The oldest (G) is ten, and the youngest (S) is one. Dad is a graphics engineer who works from home. Mom is a nursing student. Their schedules give them the flexibility to be involved in the children’s lives most of the day, which can be busy, as the three oldest are in school. Despite the appearance of chaos and a lack of routine, the Greys display immense flexibility and connectedness. At each step of the process during the meal, from food preparation to cleaning up, each member took a role. All six members, including the baby, were involved in age appropriate tasks, magnifying the connectedness of the meal.
Family dynamic and relationships have a tremendous on the emotional and psychological development of a Child. Studies show that children who experience strenuous or abnormal relationships with family members are more likely to participate in crime as a juvenile. Naturally parents have the strongest impact over their child teaching them through experiences, consequences and supervision.
Still revolutionary in many aspects, Alfred Adler wrote about the destructive effects of competition in the early twentieth century (Rudolf, Cassel & Ferguson, 2004). “Only cooperation and social interest can bring about lasting improvement in morale and enjoyment of life” (Rudolf, Cassel & Ferguson, 2004). In the same study done by Nanthamongkolchai et al. it was found that the democratic parenting style had a significant effect on the development of children ages 3-6. Children who were raised in a mixed parenting style were 1.9 times more likely to be developmentally delayed. This is extremely important because the only other parenting style researched was the democratic parenting style; this means that children who live in a democratic parenting style are 1.9 times more likely to be at age appropriate development vs other children in mixed parenting homes. The other parenting styles could not be found to have significant effects due to lack of participants who fit the
Financial stability also allows parents to provide additional after school activities as music and swimming, nuclear family household is more likely to have a higher consistency with raising their children by reaching agreements on discipline and modeling appropriate behavior, parents act as a team to strengthen and reinforce child behavior, two parents families, two parents that live together tend to be more stable than a single parent or multi-generation family. Children who have stability and consistency in their lives are more likely behave positively, is school and other alternative
Family is an important foundation of a child’s life. With this, it is human nature to study those who go before you. Over the years issues have arisen with children not having a stable family, causing them to have social issues. Family structure plays a role in education, the environment, health, physical appearance, lifestyle, and most important mental health/growth. Kid’s behavioral ways are mirrored by their home practices.
Family life is the key to human life as we spend most of our life with our family, therefore has primary influences on how our thoughts and psychological behaviors develop. Parents also have significant influence on the development of children, as they are the head of family, closest friend of the child from an early age, and also the first teacher of the children. According to The F.O.R.C.E. Society (2009), they teach children enormous amount of knowledge, including psychological thoughts at an early age when the development is critical.
The family is the starting point. No one disagrees on the importance of family’s role in treating behavioral and intellectual deviations in the community, especially those threatening children. Family, with other elements and pillars, constitute community’s