Lecture 8 - Parenting Styles and Preschool Children

Class Notes – December 2nd, 2010 1 Parent and Peer Relationships - Dual connection of connectedness and separateness that begins from the moment of birth and remains with us through life - 2 social worlds of childhood: 1) adults 2) peers - Different types of goals/interactions/relationships with the parents and peers Parenting Styles and Preschool Children Diana Baumrind, 1967, ’69, ’71. ’73. ‘77 - Comprehensive study of child rearing practices - Different parental behaviour, and children’s success in adapting their everyday activity - Adaptive traits = assume all parents to encourage their children - These traits are called instrumental competence (goals to want children to be instrumentally competent) Instrumental competence Social responsibility = friendly, not hostile to other. Facilitative and not disruptive of others work. Cooperative. Participating in a positive way Independence = behaviour which is ascendant rather than submissive, purposeive as opposed to aimless, self- determining as opposed to conforming Achievement orientation = achieve academically, seek intellectual stimulation and challenges, and try to solve problems in a persistent and efficient way, as opposed to in impulse Vitality = child will have a certain level of biological energy and vigorous appearance - Interested to see what parenting skills to promote instrumental competence 4 dimensions of parents Parental Control o Display in parents’ active attempt to influence child’s behaviour o Parental standards, can be a measure of disciplines Clarity of communication o Offering reasons for any restrictive measures that are taken o Listening to the children’ opinion and feelings when family decisions are being made Maturity Demand o Parental pressure in order for children to behave in an appropriate way (emotionally academically socially) – expectations parents have for the children Nurturance o Warmth, involvement in caretaking, parents express concerns for the child’s wellbeing and pleasure in child’s accomplishment - Find clusters of these dimensions that go together Class Notes – December 2nd, 2010 2 Parent and Peer Relationships Control (Hi/Lo) Clarity of Communication (Hi/Lo) Demand (Hi/Lo) Nurturance (Hi/Lo) Authoritarian = control, military Authoritative = well-disciplined, explains the conditions of the rewards/punishments Permission = spoil the child Neglecting = no concern with child Control Clarity of Maturity of Demand Nurturance Communication Authoritarian High Low High Low Authoritative High High High High Permissive/Laissez- Low High Low High faire Neglecting Low Low Low Low - Uni-directional model (parenting style and results on the parents) Authoritarian parents - Children are WITHDRAWN = mood is low, low on peer affiliation, low on approach, low on self-reliance, low in self-control - Sex difference: (girls) = more dependent on parents, lack achievement motivation (boys) = less likely to develop self-reliance, and more likely to be angry and hostile Authoritative parents - Children are COMPETENT = high in mood/vitality, high in self-reliance, high on approach, high on self-control - Sex difference: (girls) = more self reliance and self motivation than the boys, more resistant towards their parents, more challenging (boys) = friendly and cooperative Permissive parents - Children are IMMATURE = low on self-reliance, low on self-control, low on approach - Sex difference: similar to those of authoritarian parenting, but mood tend to be higher Methodological Problems/Limitations - Sampling procedure: started with 110 children, but in the end, sample size was 32 children (only wanted children in the study who demonstrated the clear-cut parenting styles and behaviour) - Never addresses whether the parenting style of the mother is the same of the father (any incongruity of parenting style of parents) - Had a sample of white middle class families (sample) - Assume uni-directional model, from parent to the children, without taking the account of children’s temperament and intellectual capability which might affect parents’ behaviour to them (should be more transactional) - Only studied the children up to age 8, don’t know if parenting styles have different effects on children as they reach puberty or adolescence - Correlational of parent style and children’s behaviour Lauren Steinberg, Dornbusch, Brown, Mounts, Lamborn = studied 14000 children across US in longitudinal study (children  highschool) address to problems of Baumrind’s short experiment Class Notes – December 2nd, 2010 3 Parent and Peer Relationships - Authoritative parenting is advantageous to students with academic achievements, social skills, competence, and self-esteem (exception: African-american children) **cultural related styles to parenting - Africa-American children tend to do better with authoritarian parenting. Also the same of Hispanic American Winter (year 2000) – study children in universities regarding parenting style - Children reported their parents are authoritative, correlated to their GPA and self-esteem, low stress, and perception of adjustment to university was better Child’s View on Parental Authority and Control (Damon, 1980) - Use clinically interview (ask why, ask child’s viewpoint) - William Damon: explore children’s conception of parental authority, what they understand, interview children of 4-12. Presented a hypothetical story (use male if talking to male student and vice versa) - asked the legitimacy of parents’ authority, asked the rationale of children’s obedience - found all children believe obeying one’s parent is important, but the reasons for the obedience and understanding of parents’ authority/leadership changes with age (developmental) - youngest level: obey because he wants to, and commands and demands don’t need to be listened to - next level: reality of punishment is grasp, obey in order to avoid unpleasant consequences - 3 level: child now infuses parents’ authority with objects of power, they know everything, so you got to listen to them. They are bigger than you are so they can punish you th - 4 level: parental command is legitimized by superior virtues, obedience is an exchange of respect (in your own best interest to listen to your parents) - 5 level: obedience is a matter of choice, based on a temporarily/voluntarily Preschool – Introduction to Peers Group - Start to interact more with peers at preschool (age 3+) Winter & Webster (1974, 1980, & Winter 1989) Autism o Loneliness, don’t have social skills. Don’t establish direct eye contact with people, don’t have any language to begin with or is very minimal. Be involved in stereotypic/self-damaging behaviour o Most productive treatment = intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) – behavioural modification, very intensive, 1 adult 1 child early intervention o Late 1960s: there would be emphasis on mainstreaming kids who have particular problems o Everyone should attend public school and kids should mainstream in regular classrooms o Autistic children would be in dayschool program (9-5) have special interventions and now they would be mainstreamed in public school o Play = “social participation skills” Ethology Mildred Parten, 1932 Social Participations Skills - Understand how kids get involved with peers - There are 6 stages or expanded repertoire of skills - Class Notes – December