Whereas the finding that children growing up in non-traditional families have different outcomes is very consistent, this result hides a large variation in effects at the individual level. Within a healthy family, the roles may look like: When families experience unhealthy dynamics, they often unconsciously slip into the dysfunctional family roles of caregiver (enabler), the scapegoat, the hero, the lost child, the mascot, and the addict or identified patient. Brolin Lftman S. Family structure and childrens living conditions. Inclusion in an NLM database does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, Instead, the results imply that whether this happens or not is contingent on the strength of these effects and on whether they are similar across groups. And finally, are all children equally affected by family structures and transitions? Introduction. 1995; Dronkers 1999; Hanson 1999; Demo and Fine 2010). 1995; Cherlin et al. Chronosystem. Yet whether this is the case depends not only on differences in family structures by socioeconomic background, but also on the strength of the effects of these family structures on the outcomes in question; if the effects are nil or weak, it does not matter who lives in which kind of family. Research shows, however, that ongoing . Poverty, maternal depression, family status and childrens cognitive and behavioural development in early childhood: A longitudinal study. Because the possibilities for controlling for all factors that may bias the results are limited, the estimates from regression models cannot usually be interpreted as causal effects (e.g., McLanahan et al. 1992; N Bhrolchin 2001; Sigle-Rushton et al. Evidence from Sweden, 19682000. This chapter explores dysfunctional family dynamics as the certain condition. Geser W. Geschwisterbeziehungen junger Erwachsener aus Scheidungsfamilien. This question has attracted deserved attention (e.g., Amato 2000; Ribar 2004; McLanahan et al. Longitudinal studies of effects of divorce on children in Great Britain and the United States. Larger family structure differences have also been reported in economically more developed societies, where the nuclear family plays a more important role (Amato and Boyd 2014). Growing up with a single parent, what hurts, what helps. 1994). Before discussing methods that adjust for unmeasured confounding factors, we briefly discuss estimation of parental separation effects with linear and logistic (or similar) regression models, which are by far the most common methods used. Rather than providing a comprehensive discussion on this relatively uncovered topic, we wish to stimulate closer consideration of these issues in future research. Relatedly, they also correspond differently to underlying theoretical models of parental separation, which affects their interpretation. Others claim that specific family forms and movements between them do matter beyond general family instability (Magnuson and Berger 2009; Lee and McLanahan 2015). Methods: Retrospective chart review of 154 patients who were admitted to the preadolescent unit at Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health Center between July and December 2012. Proceed with caution? 1994; King 2006; Sweeney 2010). Children in stepfamilies tend to have poorer outcomes compared to those from intact families and display patterns of well-being closer to single-parent families (Amato 1994, 2001; Gennetian 2005; Jonsson and Ghler 1997; Thomson et al. In the next paragraphs, we provide an overview of the associations of parental separation with some of the most commonly studied child outcomes: psychological well-being and behavioral problems, education, social relationships, and own family lives. The most consistent family demographic finding is that children whose parents divorced are more likely to divorce themselves as adults (e.g., Diekmann and Engelhardt 1999; Dronkers and Hrknen 2008; Kiernan and Cherlin 1999; Lyngstad and Engelhardt 2009; Wolfinger 2005). The increase in joint residential custody after parental separation has raised interest in its consequences for children. We focus on studies that have estimated the effects of parental separation, which serves to illustrate some of the questions involved. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Kim HS. Jonsson JO, Ghler M. Family dissolution, family reconstitution, and childrens educational careers: Recent evidence from Sweden. Depending on the country, separated parents may need to adjust their labor supply to meet their new time and economic demands (Kalmijn et al. (1998) reported that the effects of parental separation on psychological problems increased through adolescence and young adulthood. 2013). In the 2000s, the share of children who experienced their parents separation before age 15 ranged from 10 to 12% in countries such as Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, and Spain to 3542% in France, Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia (Andersson et al., forthcoming). Bergstrm M, Fransson E, Modin B, Berlin M, Gustafsson PA, Hjern A. Fifty moves a year: Is there an association between joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems in children? Even if joint residential custody of the child post-separation (i.e., childrens alternate living with each parent) is becoming increasingly common, up to one-third and above in Sweden (Bergstrm et al. Lean on me? Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences. De Graaf PM, Kalmijn M. Divorce motives in a period of rising divorce: Evidence from a Dutch life-history survey. Changes in parental resources are an important explanation for the lower educational performance of the children of divorce (Bernardi and Boertien 2016a; Jonsson and Ghler 1997; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Thomson et al. In this introduction, we first introduce the theme of family dynamics and children's outcomes by giving an overview of the findings of parental separation and child outcomes (Sect. Erola J, Hrknen J, Dronkers J. 2013), and we review some commonly used methods, using the effects of parental separation as our example. Parental separation is not the only family transition children can experience. First, understanding the effects of heterogeneous family forms and transitions will be a research priority in the future as well (Amato 2010). Radl, J., Salazar, L., & Cebolla-Boado, H. (2017). Find out what it means when a guy stares at you, finds excuses to hang out with you, or notices every time you change your hair. Family dynamics can range from unhealthy to healthy, and everything else in between. Havermans N, Botterman S, Matthijs K. Family resources as mediators in the relation between divorce and childrens school engagement. Lower school grades and cognitive performance explain part, but not all of the effect of parental separation on completed education (Dronkers 1992). 2023 LoveToKnow Media. 3 Factors That Affects Family Dynamics 3.1 Culture 3.2 Age 3.3 Geography/Distance 3.4 Gender Roles 3.5 Personality Types 3.6 Family Strength 4 Different Roles In Family Dynamics 4.1 Parents 4.2 Children 4.3 Siblings 4.4 Aunts/Uncles 4.5 Grandparents 4.6 Married Couples Living Together under One Roof 4.7 Extended Families 4.8 In-Laws In: Booth A, Dunn J, editors. The experiences within the family are unique and make the relationship with parents and other family members critical to the child's social development (Thompson, 1998, as cited in Laible et al., 2004). Individual fixed effects (IFE) models are based on comparing individuals before and after the parental separation and in effect, use individuals as their own control groups to control for time-constant unobserved factors. 1 Yet parents and other family members still play a critical role in the promotion of adolescents' well-being, by providing a positive support system within which youth can explore their changing identity. Two articles provide evidence on how several less often studied family forms relate to child outcomes in the European context. In this section, we discuss some of these methods. However, many studies have reported cross-national variation in the strength of associations (e.g., Brolin Lftman 2010; Radl et al. 2004; Lee and McLanahan 2015) or more complex research designs (e.g., Sanz-de-Galdeano and Vuri 2007) can be used to alleviate these problems. Reneflot A. Childhood family structure and reproductive behaviour in early adulthood in Norway. Aughinbaugh A, Pierret CR, Rothman DS. 9. Ermisch J, Francesconi M, Pevalin DJ. Yet as discussed above, conceptual thought of what effects can be estimated with different methods and what effects are of most theoretical interest has not necessarily kept up with the methodological advances (for exceptions: Manski et al. Child development is a dynamic, interactive process. This Special Issue features research done within work package 5 (Family Transitions and Childrens Life Chances) of FamiliesAndSocieties (www.familiesandsocieties.eu). With these methods, one compares the outcomes of children who experienced parental separation to the outcomes of children from intact families, adjusting for observed confounding variables. 5. Many studies, including the ones by Erman and Hrknen and Bernardi and Boertien in this Special Issue, have found that parental separation effects on educational outcomes are weaker in socioeconomic and ethnic groups where it is more frequent, but Amato and Anthony (2014) reported that the effects are more negative for children who had the highest risk of experiencing parental separation. Life after parental separation. Family dynamics become the basis for how the child views themselves, their relationships, and the world around them. European Journal of Population = Revue Europenne de Dmographie. But family isn't destiny. In: Abela A, Walker J, editors. In an early British IFE study, Cherlin et al. Some families may have had long-lasting conflicts, and other separations might have ended relatively well-functioning partnerships with at least moderate levels of satisfaction (Amato and Hohmann-Marriott 2007). Studies that have looked into the role of parenting have found differing results, some reporting that parenting partly mediates the effect of separation on educational attainment, while others found parenting to not influence the relationship between parental divorce and school outcomes (Dronkers 1992). Indeed, many studies find that joint custody may have negative consequences for children in case of high parental conflict (e.g., Vanassche et al. Does living in a fatherless household compromise educational success? More careful or less marriageable? Cherlin et al. We also discussed how some estimates might be better interpreted as indicators of the influence of the timing of parental separation (cf. Despite the increase in shared residential custody (Bjarnason and Arnarsson 2011), parental separation generally reduces the childs contact frequency and relationship quality with the nonresident parent (usually the father), with grandparents and, sometimes, the mother (e.g., Kalmijn 2012; Kalmijn and Dronkers 2015; Lansford 2009). Amato 2000, 2010; Amato and James 2010; Ribar 2004; Sweeney 2010; McLanahan et al . Our discussion below points to these issues and suggests how some methods can be more appropriate for answering certain questions than others. In this article, which is the introduction to the Special Issue on Family dynamics and childrens well-being and life chances in Europe, we refine this picture by identifying variation in this conclusion depending on the family transitions and subpopulations studied. This Special Issue on Family Dynamics and Childrens Well-Being and Life Chances in Europe consists of this introductory article and four empirical studies that address some of these open questions. Studies both from the USA (Amato et al. Breakups occurring while children are adults have no or the smallest effects (Cherlin et al. Furthermore, between 14% (Italy and Georgia) and 60% (Belgium) of European children whose parents separate end up living with a stepparent within 6years (Andersson et al., forthcoming) and often, with step-siblings (Halpern-Meekin and Tach 2008). Early examples include studies in Britain, which found that although children of divorce had lower psychological well-being already pre-divorce, parental divorce had negative long-term effects (Cherlin et al. The bond that forms between an infant and his primary caregivers fosters a range of emotions such as trust, comfort, compassion, empathy and confidence. When evaluating the scientific research on the effects of divorce on children and parents, it is important to consider all of the factors affecting the outcome, including family dynamics, children's temperaments and ages at the time of divorce, and family socioeconomic status, as well as any behavioral or academic concerns present prior to divorce. Future research, particularly in Europe, should continue addressing questions such as the effects of experiencing multiple family transitions and of complex family life course trajectories during childhood. Another related task for future research will be to systematize the research on variation in family structure effects across individuals and families, groups, and societal contexts. Cherlin AJ, Chase-Lansdale PL, McRae C. Effects of parental divorce on mental health throughout the life course. 2013; Sigle-Rushton et al. 2010). Some studies have also found that children of divorce start cohabiting earlier, are more likely to cohabit than to marry, and have partners of lower socioeconomic status (Erola et al. Parental divorce, psychological well-being and educational attainment: Changed experience, unchanged effect among Swedes born 18921991. 3). Lack of independence and privacy: Parents constantly invade a child's privacy and smother them to ensure that they have zero independence when it comes to decisions in a dysfunctional family. In lagged dependent variable (LDV) analyses, one controls for the dependent variable at an earlier measurement point (before parental separation) (Johnson 2005; McLanahan et al. We pay attention to what effects the methods can estimate, in addition to assessing which unobserved variables the different methods adjust for. The influence of parental separation and divorce on childrens support networks in four European countries. This can lead to ambiguity in roles and to conflict in the family (Thomson et al. 2014). Psychological Perspectives. Kiernan KE, Mensah FK. Furthermore, as in SFE models, IFE effects are estimated only from those children who actually experienced the separation. Family structure, educational attainment, and socioeconomic success: Rethinking the pathology of matriarchy. The recent decades of family changeincluding the increases in divorce and separation rates, single parenthood, cohabitation, and step family formationled to an explosion in popular and academic interest in the consequences of family dynamics for children's well-being and life chances (cf. Kalmijn M. How childhood circumstances moderate the long-term impact of divorce on father-child relationships. Some separations are characterized by a downward spiral of increasing conflict, which can leave its mark on children already before the parents physically separate. Fomby P, Cherlin AJ. Gabrielle is an experienced freelance writer and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with experience using equine-assisted therapy. Kreidl M, Stpkov M, Hubatkov B. Parental separation and childrens education in a comparative perspective: Does the burden disappear when separation is more common? 1. Cherlin AJ. A family unit can take lots of different forms these days, but all of them involve special bonds. 2004; Frisell et al. As non-traditional family forms have become more common, the social stigma attached to them should decrease (Lansford 2009). They found that the effects were the strongest for children with the highest risk of experiencing parental divorce, a result seemingly at odds with theabove-mentioned findings of weaker effects in groups with higher separation rates. The interaction of children with their families is key for physical and cognitive development. Vanassche S, Sodermans AK, Matthijs K, Swicegood G. Commuting between two parental households: The association between joint physical custody and adolescent well-being following divorce. Understanding these seemingly contradictory results will need theoretical development and appropriate data and designs to test them. We thank the members of the consortium and our work package for productive collaborations and fruitful discussions during the project. No trend in the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Furstenberg and Kiernan 2001), another relevant yet different question. This example can be used to think about the correspondence between the specified regression model and the underlying theoretical model of parental separation. In a functional family, parents strive to create an environment in which everyone feels safe and respected. Developmental theories view adolescence as a period of growth in which identity formation is addressed . However, questions of causality remain unresolved and parents who opt for joint custody might have been particularly selected from those with higher socioeconomic status and lower levels of post-separation conflict. Bernardi and Boertien (2017, this Special Issue) address this inconsistency. 2000; Reneflot 2009). Previous research has documented that children who do not live with both biological parents fare somewhat worse on a variety of outcomes than those who do. Amato and James 2010) and areoften more similar than one might expect (Hrknen 2015). 2000; Ongaro and Mazzuco 2009), often because of conflict with parents and their potential new partners (Wolfinger 2005). Juho Hrknen, Email: es.us.ygoloicos@nenokrah.ohuj, https://people.su.se/~jhr. All in all, the effects of step-parenthood are complex and can differ between children who experienced a parental separation and those who never lived with their biological father (Sweeney 2010). Mariani, E., zcan, B., & Goisis, A. Good parentchild relationships are desirable by themselves and can also improve other child outcomes (Bastaits et al. Introduction. The data requirements to disentangle these explanations are high, but those studies which have appropriate variables support the conclusion of a generally stable effect (Sigle-Rushton et al. The long-term effects of parental divorce on the mental health of young adults: A developmental perspective. Children of divorce are also increasingly likely to retain close contact with both of their parents (e.g., Amato and Gilbreth 1999; Ghler and Palmtag 2015) and families and societies may have in general become better in handling the consequences of family change. 8. Lansford JE. It has been shown in many statistics in the United States that family structure contributes directly and indirectly to certain characteristics of a child's overall well-being. Amato PR, Hohmann-Marriott B. Other separations end relatively well-functioning families and can come as a surprise to the children, whereas in some cases the families had high conflict levels for a long time. Others have found a weak to moderate negative effect on various outcomes even in an SFE design (e.g., Ermisch et al. Albertini M, Garriga A. Bernardi and Boertien (in this Special Issue) found with British data that although children who experienced parental separation before age 16 had a lower probability of transitioning to post-compulsory secondary education, this was not the case for children whose parents separated between ages 17 and 19 (i.e., after the educational transition age). In the late 1980s/early 1990s, the corresponding figures ranged from 7 to 30% (Italy and Sweden, respectively, Andersson and Philipov 2002). Yet, several studies have reported remarkable stability in the negative associations between parental separation and educational attainment, psychological well-being, and own family dissolution risk (Albertini and Garriga 2011; Biblarz and Raftery 1999; Dronkers and Hrknen 2008; Sigle-Rushton et al. Amato 2000). Researchers should pay more attention to these differences in the conceptualization of effects, which essentially boils down to the consideration of the underlying theoretical model of parental separation. Overview Family dynamics have a significant impact on a child's development. Amato PR, James S. Divorce in Europe and the United States: Commonalities and differences across nations. The two other articles in this Special Issue (Bernardi and Boertien 2017; Erman and Hrknen 2017) contribute to the research on heterogeneous consequences of parental separation by clarifying some open questions regarding variation in these consequences by socioeconomic and immigrant background. Other studies have analyzed variation in the effects of parental separation by demographic characteristics. This has made SFE a popular method, not least in Europe. They need to check at all times what the kids are doing and do not have honest communication or rules about it. Despite advances in family and child research over the past decade, most studies continue to examine dyadic subsystems of the larger family system rather than the full family context. The dynamics in our families aren't limited to current, living generations. SFE controls for factors and experiences that are shared by the siblings, such as parental SES and many neighborhood and school characteristics. Learn the signs and steps you can take if you're outgrowing a friendship. 1994; Sweeney 2010), which is among the reasons why having a stepparent often leads to an earlier move from the parental home, especially among girls (N Bhrolchin et al. All in all, scholars should pay attention to which effects their methods estimate and think of this in light of the underlying theoretical model of parental separation or other family dynamics they are interested in (cf. First, knowing about the effects of the parental separation event is obviously important, but scholars, parents, counselors, and policy makers could likewise benefit from knowing about the total effects of parental separation that include the effects of the preceding separation process as well. A child usually finds a life partner that resembles the relationship they have with the parent of the opposite sex. Mandemakers JJ, Kalmijn M. Do mothers and fathers education condition the impact of parental divorce on child well-being? Sun Y, Li Y. Role of Family in Adolescent Development. Like most similar reviews, we discuss which (un)measured confounders can be controlled for by the different methods and provide examples of studies that have used them. This sourcebook draws together diverse studies of whole-family (2-parent . 2003; Kreidl et al. The second open question concerns the causal status of the estimated effects (Sect. 4): Do family structures and their changes really affect child outcomes, or do the associations reflect some unmeasured underlying factors? These can themselves have negative effects on childrens well-being, and parental separation might therefore already start leaving its traces even before the parents have formally broken up. Limitations of LDV models include that the estimates are sensitive to omitted variables that affect both the separation and the pre-separation outcome, as well as measurement error in the latter (Johnson 2005). and transmitted securely. None of the methods are, however, completely immune to confounding by unobserved variables. We repeatedly mentioned how the methods are most robust if it is reasonable to assume that the family environment, and the childrens well-being, remained stable before the separation and would have remained stable in its absence. Stepfamilies have gained the attention of many scholars. Parental separation can therefore affect the childrens educational decisions irrespective of their school performance. Several studies have documented that on average, the lives of children whose parents separated differ from children who lived with both of their parents throughout childhood (Amato 2000, 2010; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; McLanahan et al. Better understanding the sources of vulnerability and resilience in the face of family change will continue to be a priority for research, and in this task, future research will benefit from combining theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, demography, psychology, and genetics (cf. Who does not? Third, future research will undoubtedly continue employing sophisticated methods to analyze whether family structures and transitions have causal effects on childrens lives. Using parental separation as our example, we distinguished between the effects of separations as events and separations as processes, as well as between the experience of separation and its timing.
how does family dynamics affect child development
