Answer to Question 1
Answer: Despite their advanced education and great material wealth, affluent parentsthose in prestigious and high-paying occupationstoo often fail to engage in family interaction and parenting that promote favorable development. In several studies, researchers tracked the adjustment of youths growing up in wealthy suburbs. By seventh grade, many showed serious problems that worsened in high school. Their school grades were poor, and they were more likely than youths in general to engage in alcohol and drug use, to commit delinquent acts, and to report high levels of anxiety and depression. Compared with their better-adjusted counterparts, poorly adjusted affluent young people report less emotional closeness, less supervision, and fewer serious consequences for misbehaviors from their parents, who lead professionally and socially demanding lives. As a group, wealthy parents are nearly as physically and emotionally unavailable to their youngsters as parents coping with serious financial strain. At the same time, these parents often make excessive demands for achievement and are critical when their children perform less than perfectly. Adolescents whose parents value their accomplishments more than their character are more likely to have academic and emotional problems. For both affluent and low-SES youths, a simple routineeating dinner with parentsis associated with a reduction in adjustment difficulties, even after many other aspects of parenting are controlled. Interventions that make wealthy parents aware of the high costs of a competitive lifestyle, weak involvement in childrens lives, and unrealistically high expectations are badly needed.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: Contemporary researchers view the family as a network of interdependent relationships. Bidirectional influences exist in which the behaviors of each family member affect those of others. These influences operate both directly and indirectly. Kind, patient communication evokes cooperative, harmonious responses, whereas harshness and impatience engender angry, resistive behavior. Each of these reactions, in turn, forges a new link in the interactive chain. In the first instance, a positive message tends to follow; in the second, a negative or avoidant one is likely. When parents are firm but warm, children tend to comply with their requests. And when children cooperate, their parents are likely to be warm and gentle in the future. Furthermore, third parties indirectly influence the family. Interaction between any two family members is affected by others present in the setting. Third parties can serve as supports for or barriers to development. For example, when a marital relationship is warm and considerate, mothers and fathers are more likely to engage in effective coparenting. Effective coparenting, in turn, fosters a positive marital relationship.
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