Family Unpredictability Flashcards
How do the authors define family unpredictability?
Family unpredictability is inconsistent family behavior patterns and regulatory systems.
The two theories mentioned in this article that demonstrates the results of unpredictability are attachment theory and learned helplessness. Describe these two theories and how they explain the process of unpredictability.
Attachment theory: infants are influenced by both the warmth/coldness and the consistency/inconsistency of their caregivers’ responsiveness. Infants whose mothers inconsistently respond to their needs will develop an insecure-anxious attachment style; these infants are less likely to explore their surroundings and are harder to comfort during stressful situations.
Learned helplessness: develops when chronic and unavoidable punishment decreases one’s motive to maintain control over one’s life, so people come to believe that external forces and persons determine their destiny. This belief system contributes to several negative consequences, including poorer emotional and physical health.
According to Ross and Hill what happens to children who grow up in a chaotic environment?
They suggest that children who grow up in a chaotic environment develop an unpredictability schema or belief system. This schema is defined as “a pervasive belief that people are undependable and the world is chaotic.”
According to researchers, what is laxness in discipline associated with?
It is associated with more marital discord and more externalizing, acting-out behavior among children
Why was the Family Unpredictability Scale developed? What correlations were established?
It was developed to…
1) help us understand
2) measure
3) find out correlations
4) the potential long-term outcomes of family unpredictability
It correlated with…
1) general family dysfunction, including less effective involvement
2) more role confusion
3) poorer problem solving and communication
What did the children’s reports show?
Researchers reported that high-anxiety children come from families “characterized by parental inconsistency, disagreement, criticism, and lack of definition of family rules.”
The authors developed the Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale that complements the FUS. It assesses young adults’ recollections of family functioning while growing up. What four dimensions are used in this study? What does this reveal?
The four dimensions used are meals, money, nurturance, and discipline. According to the self-reports of college students, childhood correlates of unpredictability include…
1) corporal punishment (correlated with FUS total, money, discipline, and nurturance scores)
2) residential instability (correlated with FUS total and money scores)
3) fathers’ drinking problems (correlated with unpredictable nurturance)
4) not living with both biological parents (correlated with more discipline, money, and nurturance unpredictability)
What has recent research suggested about eating disorders and its correlation with unpredictable parenting?
Anxiety mediated the relationship between having unpredictable discipline while growing up and reporting eating disordered behavior among college women.
According to the authors, what kinds of behaviors in children are observed when parents go through a divorce?
They experience a variety of problems, including those pertaining to social relations, internalizing behaviors such as depression and anxiety disorders, and externalizing behaviors such as aggression, resistance to authority, non-compliance, delinquency, and substance use.
In her research study, what does de Jong suggest is a greater risk factor for suicide in college students rather than divorce?
Family instability
What did Ross and Hill find in their research regarding stepfamilies?
More family unpredictability
What other factors contribute to family unpredictability?
Poverty, residential instability, and parental alcoholism
