Family Influence on Human Development

Influence of Family on Human Development

• Newborns rely on caregivers for safety, comfort, and basic needs
• Innate skills help newborns form bonds, making early caregiver attachment critical
• Parents are informal social agents, imparting societal norms and values to children
• The family is key to societal continuity through socialization
• The definition of "family" affects the family's impact on child development
• The idea of what constitutes a family has changed over time, which has affected how family members influence a child's growth
• Different family structures and technological advances of the 20th century influence both family dynamics and child development

Social Functions of the Family

• Families serve as the primary nurturing center for children
• Using system theory, the family is a dynamic unit influencing a child's socialization
• Socialization includes all family members not just the parents
• Values pass down through generations facilitated by family interactions
• Family rituals and daily routines are important to child socialization

Family as a Primary Socialization Agent

• Parents are essential for early socialization and teaching acceptable social behaviors
• Socialization can extend to "fictive kin" such as close family friends
• As individuals grow, formal agents (schools, workplaces) become more important for socialization

Social Class as a Socializing Agent

• Social class includes economic and educational backgrounds
• Historically Britain divides into three groups: working class, middle class, elite
• Differing values, norms, and attitudes that come with social class can cause differing opinions
• For instance, working-class kids may have expectations about education different from middle-class kids; this can lead to teachers having lower expectations

Family Expectations

• Families are expected to provide emotional support, serve as role models, teach morals, and provide parental discipline

Parental Roles, Discipline, and Development

• Parents are crucial to teaching children social values and acceptable behavior, which requires guidance, setting boundaries, and discipline
• Discipline is important for child's emotional, intellectual, and social development, especially in their early years
• Negative reinforcement is also sometimes needed

Three Types of Discipline

• Induction: Parents use reasoning to enlighten their child about behavior and consequences
• Power Assertion: Uses punishment, threats, maternal deprivation and criticism to control child's behaviour
• Love Withdrawal: Expresses disapproval non-physically, like depriving affection

Four Parenting Styles

• Authoritative: Balanced love and clear expectations
• Authoritarian: Too much control, not enough love
• Indulgent: Lots of love, but not enough rules
• Neglecting: Not enough love or rules

Discipline and Delinquency and Adverse Factors

• The type of discipline experienced in childhood affects social behavior
• Spanking continues defiance with controlled discipline
• Ineffective parenting relates to familial factors, such as parental criminality and intrafamilial discord, as well as disciplinary inconsistencies, large family size, and low socioeconomic status

Influence on Moral Reasoning

• Development of moral reasoning is developmentalists interest in moral behaviour
• Piaget links cognitive development and moral reasoning, noting the stages of moral realism, egalitarianism, and equity
• A child's moral reasoning connects to the moral reasoning of their parents
• Supportive interactions between parents and children foster understanding of morals
• Impairment of social identity and self-esteem can come from parents who neglect or ridicule
• Hostile attribution bias development in children who have rejecting parents
• Children's thoughts about others are shaped with emotional and practical support is given

"Intergenerational Transmission"

• Those who reject, neglect, and abuse their children are likely to continue parenting that way

Parental Emotional Support

• Refers to the warmth, love, acceptance, and care parents give their children
• Involves creating a safe and nurturing environment where children feel understood, valued, and supported

Importance of Emotional Support

• A lack of emotional support can lead to mental health issues
• Those who receive emotional support have mental well-being and high self-esteem
• The ability to manage emotions, communicate effectively, and form positive relationships helps navigate challenges
• Resilience equips children to handle challenges and setbacks with emotional support
• Emotional support fosters a sense of belonging which is the base for social and emotional growth
• Emotional support helps children build confidence, which allows them to navigate changes

Effects on Social Development

• Development of social skills
• Attachment and relationship formation
• Adherence to cultural and social norms
• Emotional regulation and social behavior
• Healthy peer relationships and social confidence
• Positive influence on moral and ethical development
• Impact on educational and career success
• Risk of social challenge is mitigated

Effect of Family Biology on Social Development

• The Bioecological Model of Human Development by Bronfenbrenner discusses family biology, genetic traits, hereditary factors and biological predispositions influencing social development
• These interact with environment

Temperament, Personality, and Attachment Style

• Inherited temperament traits influence sociability, emotional responses, and adaptability in social settings
• Attachment style is biologically predisposed to shape children to bond with caregivers, this then affects their relationships
• Cognitive and Emotional Regulation have genetic factors that influence this

Social Resilience and The Juke Family

• Genetics influence social resilience or sensitivity to negative experiences
• It is difficult to separate nature and nurture on a child's behavior
• Comorbidity likeness describes when family members share similar behavior problems
• Studies show antisocial behavior may be inherited within families
• Dugdale investigated the Juke family in 1877 and traced antisocial behavior throughout, and that family heredity played a role in physical and mental capacity but the environment shaped behavior
• Social development is affected by nature and nurture

Family Functions: Essential Roles & Social Institutions

• Kin groups and Families connect people, fulfills needs, provides food, shelter and security
• They continue social continuity by reproduction and socialization
• The family influences and is influenced by other things:
• The economy shapes family income and living standards
• Religion shapes beliefs, family roles, and values
• Laws define rights, marriage rules, and responsibilities
• Politics impacts family structure through laws on marriage, divorce, and custody
• Education prepares people for community

Family And Reproduction

• Reproduction ensures a society's continuity where children are valued
• The Philippines has maintained high birth rates, although decreasing

Income and Urban vs Rural Educational Attainment

• Higher educational attainment has effects on income
• Urban areas usually earn more and have higher standards of living than rural areas
• The biggest part of the family budget is food expenditure, and variations in income affect nutritional sufficiency
• High incomes allow for expenditures on housing, transportation, communication, fuel, light, water, clothing, footwear, education, and medical care
• There is a difference in quality of housing in connection with income
• A percentage use unsanitary water sources etc

Biological Maintenance, Providing Basic Needs

• Providing basic needs is one of the family's most important functions and depends on income

Socialization

• A life-long process that results from behaviours that the individuals have acquired
• Family is its chief agent

Child Rearing Values and Traits

• Primary relationships that focus on early experiences help nurture
• Nurturant socialization is the family’s main function that depends on structure and community

Parents Teaching Children

• Two Types of Socialization, deliberate and non-deliberate
• This teaches behaviours like obedience, respect for elders, and to help with family activities

Modern Teaching Values

• Modern teaching allows children to Q&A whilst also teaching things like family values and customs

Closed vs Open Systems

• The family defines roles, responsibilities, and expectations
• All societies have ranked systems where family indicates stratification and prestige

Family Inheritance and Community Standing

• Family inheritance comes from upper families, inheritance that is trusted to the best education
• Education leads to opportunity and success

How Families Rank

• Families ranked based off hierarchy and based on the different roles individuals play
• Social standing is affected by the influence of placement, income, education, occupation and more
• Interactions affect all lines, with social isolation affecting the firmness and the more affect which has more class lines

Family and Kin Groups and Childrearing

• Community status affects mobility where family and kin can help maintain or improve members
• Education is imperative in the Philippines, helping uplift children's mobility
• Some practices involve co-parents
• Filipinos focus on maintaining traditions, solidarity, welfare and protection

Rural vs Urban Lifestyles

• Rural focuses more on self suffering practices, urban is more business orientated
• There is more reliance to each other

Maintenance and Responsibility

• The family functions to ensure maintenance is up to a certain requirement, family is essential to protection

Roles and Solidarity

• Filipinos demonstrate strong solidarity, offering mutual help and protection, especially during emergencies like typhoons, and relatives are the first point of contact for assistance (especially mothers)

Political and Economic Influence

• The family plays a huge role with institutions that revolve around the family
• Housewives also work in the economy

Shifting Political, Religious, and Educational Practices

• The home and family is the first government which affects values, that can influence others
• Social institutions overlap, especially in rural areas