Structure of the Family

In the perfect television world of the sitcom, most families have two parents, and those families with one parent are either so well adjusted that the children are counseling their peers at school or so maladjusted that they become icons for bad children everywhere. In the real world, there are more and more single parent families, or families made up of multiple marriages or relationships on either side. Indeed, the definition of "family" has undergone a drastic change from the 1950s concept of the nuclear family (father, mother, child) to one that is more loosely defined as groups of people connected by blood and marriage; sometimes connected simply by virtue of the fact that even though these two criteria are not met, they are "considered family." In the midst of this knew type of family a new type of child has developed. This paper will examine the effects that this type of atmosphere has on the developing child, particularly in regards to how single parents effect their developing children.

According to the 2000 Census data, single parent families and extended family groups are on the rise.

The number of families headed by single mothers has increased 25 percent since 1990. . . Contributing to the numbers are a high rate of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. . .about a third of all babies were born to unmarried women, compared with 3.8 percent in 1940. Demographers now predict that more than half of the youngsters born in the 1990s will spend at least part of th

Related Essays

Book Report -- The Black Family The structure of the family comes from the very real need of survival, from which the world of childrearing, intimacy and work to support the unit intersect. .... (2164 9 )

Family Size and Structure: A research Proposal .... the research was an examination of the ways in which the gender of adolescents was likely to interact with family structure and family functioning variables to .... (1096 4 )

Family Structure & Academic Achievement of Children .... Thus when the family structure and roles are inappropriate they lead to psychological distress in the child. .... Family structure and adolescent self efficacy. .... (2194 9 )

The Death of Woman Wang .... relation between husband and wife, for this is the nucleus of all family relations and the seat of authority in the power structure of the family" (Yang, 1959 .... (1417 6 )

Family Structure & a Child's Education .... However, experts are beginning to wonder if some of those earlier studies about changes in the family structure and effects on education were somewhat .... (1775 7 )

s able to find support emotionally, psychologically, financially, and practically, the children will be able develop and mature as well as any child from a two parent home. For example, the same study that cites interparental conflict as a major stressor for children points out that once the divorced parents seek support and counseling to help ease the conflict between them that the children soon become well adjusted to the divorce and are better able to develop normally (Shifflett & Cummings, 1999). Additionally, another study finds that the physical, sexual and psychological abuse that tends to occur in the single parent families that live below poverty level can be circumvented by a simple nurse visitation program. "This program. . . can reduce the number of subsequent pregnancies, the use of welfare, child abuse and neglect, and criminal behavior on the part of low-income, unmarried mothers for up to 15 years after the birth of the first child" (Olds, Eckenrode, Henderson, Jr., Kitzman, et al, 1997, p. 278). On a practical level, there are all levels of support for the single parent in such areas as continuing education, and travel and vacation, as well as support groups that help single parents find others like themselves

Category: Psychology - S