A broader approach to research in hu- j man development is proposed that focuses on the pro- \ gressive accommodation, throughout the life span, between the growing human organism and the changing environments in which it actually lives and grows. \ The latter include not only the immediate settings containing the developing person but also the larger social contexts, both formal and informal, in which these settings are embedded. In terms of method, the approach emphasizes the use of rigorousj^d^igned exp_erjments, both naturalistic and contrived, beginning in the early stages of the research process. The chang- ing relation between person and environment is con- ceived in systems terms. These systems properties are set forth in a series of propositions, each illus- trated by concrete research examples.

Toward an experimental ecology of human development.

This review collates and examines critically a theoretically convergent but widely dispersed body of research on the influence of external environments on the functioning of families as contexts of human development. Investigations falling within this expanding domain include studies of the interaction of genetics and environment in family processes; transitions and linkages between the family and other major settings influencing development, such as hospitals, day care, peer groups, school, social networks, the world of work (both for parents and children), and neighborhoods and communities; and public policies affecting families and children. A second major focus is on the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course as these affect and are affected by intrafamilial processes. Special emphasis is given to critical research gaps in knowledge and priorities for future investigation. The purpose of this article is to document and delineate promising lines of research on external influences that affect the capacity of families to foster the healthy development of their children. The focus differs from that of most studies of the family as a context of human development, because the majority have concentrated on intrafamilial processes of parent-child interaction, a fact that is reflected in Maccoby and Martin's (1983) recent authoritative review of research on family influences on development. By contrast, the focus of the present analysis can be described as "once removed." The research question becomes: How are intrafamilial processes affected by extrafamilial conditions? Paradigm Parameters In tracing the evolution of research models in developmental science, Bronfenbrenner and Crouter (1983) distinguished a series of progressively more sophisticated scientific paradigms for investigating the impact of environment on development. These paradigms provide a useful framework for ordering and analyzing studies bearing on the topic of this review. At the most general level, the research models vary simultaneously along two dimensions. As applied to the subject at hand, the first pertains

http://rinaldipsych.synthasite.com/resources/Bronfenbrenner.pdf

Ecology of the family as a context for human development: research perspectives

This essay is based on the assumption that a long-neglected topic of socialization, the determinants of individual differences in parental functioning, is illuminated by research on the etiology of child maltreatment. Three domains of determinants are identified (personal psychological resources of parents, characteristics of the child, and contextual sources of stress and support), and a process model of competent parental functioning is offered on the basis of the analysis. The model presumes that parental functioning is multiply determined, that sources of contextual stress and support can directly affect parenting or indirectly affect parenting by first influencing individual psychological well-being, that personality influences contextual support/stress, which feeds back to shape parenting, and that, in order of importance, the personal psychological resources of the parent are more effective in buffering the parent-child relation from stress than are contextual sources of support, which are themselves more effective than characteristics of the child.

The determinants of parenting: A process model.

Family processes affecting the socioemotional functioning of children living in poor families and families experiencing economic decline are reviewed. Black children are of primary interest in the article because they experience disproportionate shares of the burden of poverty and economic loss and are at substantially higher risk than white children of experiencing attendant socioemotional problems. It is argued that (a) poverty and economic loss diminish the capacity for supportive, consistent, and involved parenting and render parents more vulnerable to the debilitating effects of negative life events, (b) a major mediator of the link between economic hardship and parenting behavior is psychological distress deriving from an excess of negative life events, undesirable chronic conditions, and the absence and disruption of marital bonds, (c) economic hardship adversely affects children's socioemotional functioning in part through its impact on the parent's behavior toward the child, and (d) father-child relations under conditions of economic hardship depend on the quality of relations between the mother and father. The extent to which psychological distress is a source of race differences in parenting behavior is considered. Finally, attention is given to the mechanisms by which parents' social networks reduce emotional strain, lessen the tendency toward punitive, coercive, and inconsistent parenting behavior, and, in turn, foster positive socioemotional development in economically deprived children.

The Impact of Economic Hardship on Black Families and Children: Psychological Distress, Parenting, and Socioemotional Development

Although the merits of parents using corporal punishment to discipline children have been argued for decades, a thorough understanding of whether and how corporal punishment affects children has not been reached. Toward this end, the author first presents the results of meta-analyses of the association between parental corporal punishment and 11 child behaviors and experiences. Parental corporal punishment was associated with all child constructs, including higher levels of immediate compliance and aggression and lower levels of moral internalization and mental health. The author then presents a process– context model to explain how parental corporal punishment might cause particular child outcomes and considers alternative explanations. The article concludes by identifying 7 major remaining issues for future

/pdf/corporal-punishment-by-parents-and-associated-child-277dj3r5k9.pdf

Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review.

COCHRAN, MONCRIEFF M., and BRASSARD, JANE ANTHONY. Child Development and Personal Social Networks. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1979, 50, 601-616. In this article we use the framework of network analysis to assess the social ecology of the parent and child in relation to its possible effects upon child development. The personal social network is defined, and several routes of network influence transmission articulated. Access to direct assistance, the provision of childrearing controls, and the availability of role models are postulated as major processes through which this influence is transmitted. In a section about the direct influences of networks on parent and child we discuss cognitive and social stimulation, direct support, observational model, and opportunities for participation. This section is followed by one devoted to the developing child, where we place particular emphasis on the formation of reciprocal exchange skills. We then shift to a consideration of possible child developmental outcomes, both cognitive and social. The final sections of the paper include discussions of the key elements making up the personal network as a social system and proposed directions for future research.

Child Development and Personal Social Networks.

Parenting and social networks.

COCHRAN, MONCRIEFF M. A Comparison of Group Day and Family Child-rearing Patterns in Sweden. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 702-707.60 home-based and 60 day-care center-based Swedish toddlers were compared in this naturalistic field study of child-rearing patterns. Observational and developmental data were gathered. Observations showed that many experiences were common to children in both home and center settings. Where differences occurred, ownhome and day-home children were exploring their surroundings more than center-care children and were interacting with adults more often in cognitive-verbal situations and in ways that led to limit setting by adults. No overall developmental differences were found between the 2 groups of children on an infant scale or in a separation situation. Discussion of these findings stresses the varying roles played by adults in the several settings as they are reflected in environmentaldesign differences.

A Comparison of Group Day and Family Child-rearing Patterns in Sweden.

A growing number of people who are committed to human development and to the role of communities in that development believe that an empowerment process can substantially enhance the part local communities play in the growth of healthy human beings. Schools are key institutions in local communities and thus are in a special position to enhance or retard the empowerment process. In this article we present a definition of empowerment derived from research and school-based programming. Then we discuss ways that schools can reach beyond token efforts at interactions with parents to the meaningful involvement of parents, teachers, and school administrators in an empowerment process leading to improved student achievement. We conclude with a set of practical questions to be used in focusing initiatives undertaken by school-based teams as they set out to build effective home-school partnerships.

Home-school relations and the empowerment process.

In this chapter, we examine the effects of parents’ personal networks on
their parenting attitudes and behaviors. To limit ourselves to that single
connection-between personal networks and parenting-would, however,
run counter to the ecological perspective guiding this book, because personal networks are, in part, social lines of transmission, carrying the influences of the larger society into the life-space of the individual and family.
Thus, to a significant degree, a parent’s network reflects her or his position
in the social structure of a given society. For that reason, the impacts of that
network on parenting attitudes and behavior must be understood as the impacts of that social structure, and his or her location in it.

Moncrieff Cochran

Papers

Child Development and Personal Social Networks.

Parenting and social networks.

A Comparison of Group Day and Family Child-rearing Patterns in Sweden.

Home-school relations and the empowerment process.

Parenting and Personal Social Networks