Parenting and Child Development in Nontraditional Families

by Lamb; Michael E.

• ISBN13: 9780805827477
• ISBN10: 0805827471
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

The goal of this volume is to discuss--in depth--the ways in which various "deviations" from "traditional" family styles affect childrearing practices and child development. Each of the contributors illustrates the dynamic developmental processes that characterize parenting and child development in contexts that can be deemed "nontraditional" because they do not reflect the demographic characteristics of the traditional families on which social scientists have largely focused. The contributors deal with the dynamics and possible effects of dual-career families, families with unusually involved fathers, families characterized by the occurrence of divorce, single parenthood, remarriage, poverty, adoption, reliance on nonparental childcare, ethnic membership, parents with lesbian or gay sexual orientations, as well as violent and/or neglectful parents. By doing so, the authors provide thoughtful, literate, and up-to-date accounts of a diverse array of "nontraditional" or traditionally understudied family types. All the chapters offer answers to a common question: How do these patterns of childcare affect children, their experiences, and their developmental processes? The answers to these questions are of practical importance, relevant to a growing proportion of the families and children in the United States, but also have significant implications for the understanding of developmental processes in general. As a result, the book will be of value to basic social scientists, as well as those professionals concerned with guiding and advising clients and public policy.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Parental Behavior, Family Processes, and Child Development in Nontraditional and Traditionally Understudied Families	1	(14)
Michael E. Lamb
Maternal and Dual-Earner Employment: Family Environment, Adaptations, and the Developmental Impingement Perspective	15	(24)
Adele Eskeles Gottfried
Allen W. Gottfried
Kay Bathurst
Colleen Killian
Nonparental Child Care	39	(18)
Michael E. Lamb
Primary Caregiving Fathers	57	(26)
Graeme Russell
The Consequences of Father Absence	83	(20)
Sara McLanahan
Julien Teitler
Noncustodial Parents	103	(22)
Ross A. Thompson
Deborah J. Laible
The Effects of Divorce and Custody Arrangements on Children's Behavior, Development, and Adjustment	125	(12)
Michael E. Lamb
Kathleen J. Sternberg
Ross A. Thompson
Stepfamilies	137	(24)
E. Mavis Hetherington
Margaret M. Stanley-Hagan
Adoptive Families	161	(30)
Harold D. Grotevant
Julie K. Kohler
Families Headed by Lesbian and Gay Parents	191	(30)
Charlotte J. Patterson
Raymond W. Chan
Black Families in Intergenerational and Cultural Perspective	221	(26)
Vivian L. Gadsden
Latino Families	247	(16)
Birgit Leyendecker
Michael E. Lamb
Multiracial Families	263	(16)
Paul C. Rosenblatt
Struggling to Make Ends Meet: Poverty and Child Development	279	(26)
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Pia Rebello Britto
Christy Brady
Violent Families	305	(22)
Kathleen J. Sternberg
Michael E. Lamb
The Families of Neglected Children	327	(20)
Howard Dubowitz
Author Index	347	(14)
Subject Index	361