Infant Development Within the
Non-Traditional Family
Melissa J Dawson
Southern New Hampshire University
Literature
Review
Having chosen Track Two for my
course work assignments I reviewed three articles that pertained to childhood
development under various circumstances.
A 2003 study by a group headed by S.E Gilman looked at
potential causality link between
adult depression and a child’s socioeconomic link in early life along with
family disruption. Disruption was defined as a major change in the child’s
household situation, such as the loss and/or acquiring of a step-parent.
Previous studies had shown a link between a child’s low socioeconomic
circumstances and issues with cognitive development and behavioral problems,
this study looks to how those challenges for young children affects them into
adulthood. Overall it does appear that adult depression is affected by early
childhood situations such as family disruption and economic disadvantage.
However, it was also noted that when the parent(s) worked nonmanual occupations
that risk factor decreased.
The Linebarger research
(2015) also sought proof of cause
and effect on children’s attention span and behavioral challenges based on the
age of the child, how much time they spent playing video games, the violence
level of those games and the effect of parenting styles in mitigating negative
outcomes or effects. When looking at the various covariant scenarios it was
seen that regardless of parenting style a very low level of exposure to not
violent games correlated to increased hyperactivity levels, but those levels
dropped with longer exposure.
The third article by Y. Parfitt
(2014) was looking to see what effect parental
interaction with infants had on the child’s various developmental milestones.
Three time-points of 3 months, 5 months and 17 months were used to assess the
child’s motor development, cognitive development and language skills.
Additionally, the researchers sought to gather information pertaining to the
parent’s stress, relationship quality with the baby, and perception of their
child’s characteristics. Their findings showed that stronger mother-child
relationships positively affected language development while a strong bond
between father and child was associated with advanced motor development. Their
data also showed that mothers with pre- or post-natal depression had children
who did not perform optimally either cognitively or with language. It also was
shown that when a parent had a lower, or negative, perception of their baby’s
characteristics this did impact the child and they tested below standard.
These three articles each looked for
how a parent’s interaction and monitoring of their child’s activities and
behaviors influenced developmental and social development goals. Each also made
note of challenges children face with either their parent/primary caregiver
and/or physical environment were not structured or stable. This uncertainty
does appear to have an effect on children’s development of cognitive and
psychological skills. At the beginning of the last century it seemed to be
accepted that very small children had no awareness of their surroundings and
therefore were not influenced by the emotions or actions of their caretakers.
We are now aware that this is not true and from birth a child is learning ways
of communication and accepted behaviors.
Overall it appears that the three
studies highlighted the importance of parental modeling and interaction with
their children being a major factor in achieving learning and development goals
as well as establishing a basic sense of morality and appropriate behavior.
Prior
research has shown the significance of a child’s first year experiences in
building a positive foundation for future learning and well-being. And early
childhood has been widely understood to be an important time in the social,
mental, emotional and psychological child development. When a can be diagnosed
early with developmental challenges, and steps are taken to address those,
there can be seen less social and economic risk factors to the society at large.
Previous studies had shown how impaired parental-child relationships,
attachment issues and low social support for the mother could be seen as causes
for negative child development requiring a lot of more societal and community
interventions. During earlier work the focus had been primarily on the maternal
bond and wellness as factors for the child’s growth. These studies expanded the
focus to include the parental influence as well as the relationship dynamic
between the parents as potential effects on development. This shifts the onus
off the mother only and just as the pregnancy was a shared event, so too should
the raising of the child. By confirming the positive effect that consistent
responsive parenting has on young children their development into more
integrated members of various societal groups becomes more positive and
supportive for all those concerned. Discipline issues in school are less likely
to need specialized attention that can often leave an instructor feeling as
though other class members are not being given equal attention and support.
All three studies relied on the interview/questionnaire research design where the parents/caretakers were the
respondents. This is the most appropriate considering the young age and limited
verbal skills in small children. The study that looked at adult depression did
split the respondents into two groups – the initial data collection was done by
working with the parents and getting their input, while the children were
contacted once they were adults to follow up to ascertain whether adult issues
with mental health had manifested themselves. In all cases, care was taken to
ensure randomization and removal of all personal identifying data in order to
maintain the children’s anonymity. Parental Consent was obtained in all cases
and the children were not subjected to any stressful or strange situation
environments as all observations, by parents and in one study a training
development specialist, were conducted in the child’s home where they would be
most comfortable.
These
studies’ designs do serve as an example of how to work ethically with very
small children, something that was not always practiced in the research
community. There are well known examples of undue, and even cruel, parameters
being asserted on vulnerable children during the early years of research. One
of the better-known cases took place in the 1940s – two groups of infants were
cared for with the exact same activities, food and sanitation. The difference
is that one group received interaction and affection from their caretakers and
the second group received none, and only the most minimal amount of touch
needed to complete a task. This second group shut down emotionally and
physically with several of them dying. Even when they were re-assigned to a
more nurturing environment they never managed to thrive.
Research
Design
Focusing on Parfitt’s research
(2014), I considered what additional research focused on a gap I identified,
would be of the greatest interest and value to the Psychology community moving
forward.
Parfitt’s study focuses on the impact a traditional
family structure (one mother, one father) has on a child’s development during
the first 17 months of life. What it does not address is the impact of
non-traditional parental structure and their relationship as factors in infant
development. Within the last decade, our society has become more accepting of
the non-traditional family structure, and awareness of the challenge’s families
face when a child or parent identifies as transgender has made society more
aware of the danger of bullying. Therefore, there is value in assessing
evolving parenting situations that are becoming more visible and should be
explored. These scenarios make no assumption as to whether the child is related
biologically to one or more parent.
1) Long-term lesbian couple with male family member
routinely interacting with the child (i.e. Uncle, Grandfather)
2) Long-term gay couple with female family member
routinely interacting with the child (i.e. Grandmother, Sister)
3) Single parent of either gender with opposite gender
family member routinely interacting with the child
4) Transgender couple where either one takes on a more
paternal and the other a more maternal role, with/without extended family
interaction
Previous research has shown that stable parental relationships and mental health have a positive influence on infant development incomes. And that both the paternal influence and maternal influence can affect specific aspects of development. With children raised in non-traditional family structures how are their developmental milestones affected when a non-parent assumes a gender specific parental role? Of particular interest is past literature from a variety of sources that observe the impact interactions with each gender of parent has on a child’s development. Does this mean that there is a bio-chemical reaction that occurs in children dependent upon the presence of a Y or X Chromosome – or is the influence less biological and more sociological in that the parent who displays a more nurturing nature, or a more goal oriented behavior what drives the positive effects regardless of the DNA designation of the caretaker?
In
order to be able to compare this new study results with Parfitt’s, this project
will use development assessments by a third party, and parental/caregiver
questionnaire completed within the home. This should eliminate any undue
changes in the baby’s performance or behavior which can occur in a new
environment.
Parents
/ Caregivers will be recruited through adoption facilities (private and
state-run) as well as selected OB-GYN practices based on their non-traditional
family situations. Data on the child’s developmental milestones will be
observed at months 3, 5 and 17. Questionnaires and development assessment
researcher will be carefully written and trained to ensure no biased language
is part of the documents.
Adult
questionnaires will ask about parenting styles, child interaction with other
family members and basic identification of that family member such as gender
and age. They will also note how much time per week that peer or family member
spends with the child, do they routinely babysit? Occasionally so the parents
can have dinner outside of the home? Or merely for family events and holidays?
The age of the children
means that only parental/guardian informed consent will be required, and
respondents informed that they may withdraw at any time. No identifying
information about the parents or child will be stored in the same location as
the answers and findings.
Conclusion
Within the last three
decades Western Societies have seen a significant increase in historically
non-traditional family structures. Whereas a single parent household would have
been the minority, today they are almost a third of families. According to the
US Census the number of single-family households went from 9 percent in 1960 to
27% in 2016. There has also been a rise in lesbian and gay parent households
with the relaxation of marriage and adoption guidelines for single sex couples.
When we factor in those inhabitants of our country who are now able to live
openly as transgendered and there are millions of children who will not grow up
in the formerly standard parental structure of a male and female parent.
Scientists,
psychologists, anthropologist, and governments all have a stake in
understanding what, if any, resources these children may require to ensure that
they mature into adjusted, productive members of the greater society. Parfitt’s
article notes that there was not enough evidence collected to state what link
there is on specific development milestones in the child as a factor of their
relationship to the father. Which leads to asking – if there is not a male
gendered parent to adopt the role of the father – what potential developmental
difficulties might the child experience? As with not having a female gendered
parent which Parfitt showed had a positive influence on the child’s language
skills. Is biological gender the key that triggers developmental growth, or an
assumption of one nurturing, one more structured parental influence?
If
Psychologists can identify any development gaps children with single parent,
same sex parents or transgendered parents may be vulnerable to, those gaps can
be researched for supporting resources for that family. By helping families, in
any form, ensure their children are healthy and well-adjusted it can only
benefit their communities and society as a whole. While also saving state
resources addressing problems at a much later stage of life when change is more
difficult for the individual.
Reference
Gilman,
S. E., Kawachi, I., Fitzmaurice, G. M., and Buka, S. L. (01 May 2003). Family
Disruption in childhood and Risk of Adult Depression. American
Journal of Psychiatry
Linebarger,
D. L. (2015). Contextualizing Video Game Play: The Moderating Effects of
Cumulative Risk and Parenting Styles on the Relations
Among Video Game Exposure
and Problem Behaviors. Psychology of Popular Media
Culture. 4(4), 375-396.
Parfitt,
Y., Pike, A., & Ayers, S. (2014). Infant Developmental Outcomes: A Family
Systems Perspective. Infant & Child Development, 23(4), 353. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.
ezproxy.snhu.edu/ login.aspx ?direct= true&db =edb& AN=97320098
&site=eds-live&scope=site
Santrock,
J. W. (2015). A topical approach to life-span
development (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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