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Major
Findings about
Parent-Child Connectedness
- A definition for parent-child connectedness. Parent-child
connectedness is an emotional bond between a parent and a child that
is both mutual and sustained over time.
- Parent-child connectedness is bidirectional. In order
for true connectedness to exist, it must be experienced by both the
parent and the child. Connectedness reported only by the parent and
not his/her child lacks strength and impact.
- Parent-child connectedness develops differently during the
different developmental ages and stages of a child. The behaviors
required of parents and their children to establish connectedness will
differ along the lifespan. Behaviors needed to establish warmth and
trust between a parent and a one-year old (e.g., touch, feeding, comforting)
are different than the behaviors that would be used between a parent
and a 16-year old (e.g., sharing thoughts/ideas, problem solving together,
autonomy granting).
- Currently, there are very few interventions specifically focused
on strengthening parent-child connectedness. In our review
of the literature, and in our discussion with experts in the field,
ETR was able to find only a couple of programs that specifically focus
on the strengthening of connectedness between parent and adolescent
child.
- Parent-child connectedness is a super protector.
During our review of the literature, ETR found parent-child connectedness
(or lack of parent-child connectedness) associated with 33 adolescent
outcomes such as tobacco use, depression, eating disorders, academic
achievement, pregnancy, HIV infection and others.
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| Major Findings
from the PCC BRIDGE Project: Year One |
Attachment
Theory and Parenting Styles
Attachment Theory and parenting styles offer partial descriptions of how
parent-child connectedness develops and is maintained, and how it works
as a protective factor. Attachment Theory (Bowlby 1969), is based on the
idea that an infant's first attachment experience (initially to her/his
mother) profoundly shapes the social, cognitive and emotional developments
that follow. After initial attachment, the relationship with a child is
largely shaped by the chosen style of parenting.
Using a
combination of measurement scales, researchers have named four common
parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful.
Authoritative parenting combines high levels of warmth with moderate levels
of behavioral control (i.e., monitoring and supervision) and the granting
of psychological autonomy to a child. Many researchers believe that this
parenting style is the most productive of connectedness, although there
is probably some variation in the matching of style and connectedness
across ethnic and cultural norms.
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Top 24 Determinants
ETR's literature review surfaced 98 possible determinants of parent-child
communication. Fifteen national experts (practitioners and researchers)
evaluated these determinants and selected the ones they thought had both
the highest potential to impact parent-child connectedness and could be
affected by typical intervention activities and programs. Below is the final
list of the 24 factors that these experts would try to target using interventions.
A "-" indicates
a risk factor
for establishing parent-child connectedness and a "+" represents a protective
factor for establishing parent child-connectedness. An intervention
would seek to reduce the impact or eliminate risk factors and strengthen
or create protective factors.
1.
Child has antisocial peers (-)
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2.
Parent neglects child (-) |
3.
Communication between parent and child communicate (+)
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4.
Nurturing parent or caregiver (+) |
5.
Consequences of poverty (-)
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6.
Openness (+)
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| 7.
Consistency (+) |
8.
Parent knows where child is (+)
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| 9.
Parent provides encouragement (+) |
10.
Parent and child share thoughts and feelings (+)
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11.
Parent provides guidance (+)
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12.
Problem solving (+) |
13.
Child has knowledge of parent (+)
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14.
Mutual respect (+)
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15.
High levels of parent/child conflict (-)
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16.
Parent is responsive to child (+) |
17.
Child or parent has history or current experience of witnessing violence/abuse
(-)
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18.
Parent supports teen (+) |
19.
Living in a dangerous neighborhood (-)
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20.
Parent has support system/social network. (+) |
21.
Maternal depression and family mental illness. (-)
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22.
Parent has connection to school. (+) |
23.
Parental monitoring and rules. (+)
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24.
Teen has voice in family. (+) |
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Model of How
PCC Develops
Having a basic definition (written above) for PCC is useful. However, this
definition has raised important questions about: 1) what one would look
for to observe PCC in families; and 2) what the process is by which PCC
develops between parent and child. ETR proposes the model below to answer
these two questions.
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Trust
must be created for bonding to occur. Trust comes from physical
and emotional support, protection, openness and encouragement.
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These
four elements are communicated to the child by the parent(s).
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The
communication of trust creates a climate of trust, a condition
that both child and parent can come to expect.
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Children
communicate positive reactions to a climate of trust back to their
parent(s). This supports more communication of the elements of
trust from the parents. (Many PCC processes are bi-directional.)
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As
a climate of trust is being established, parents also contribute
new elements to the relationship: structure and time together
(shared activity, which is also initiated by the child.) These
elements shape the character of the connection and also introduce
possible points of conflict. With a climate of trust, conflict
is negotiated and resolved. Conflicts that are resolved successfully
contribute to the connection between parent(s) and children.
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Together,
these processes promote parent-child connectedness.
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Communication,
Connectedness and Involvement
Findings from ETR's on-line survey of practitioners suggests that communication
(topical discussions between parents and children e.g. sexuality, or
parental skill-building around initiating topical discussions or communicating
rules and expectations) is not distinguished from connectedness. Parental
engagement or involvement (parents being active, or advocates, in aspects
of their children's lives such as school or health services) can also
be mistaken for connectedness.
Communication
and involvement are part of the picture of how parent-child connectedness
develops and is maintained, but neither one alone results in a state
of high parent-child connectedness. This is important information to
consider when developing and marketing interventions. Parent-child connectedness
needs to be clearly distinguished from communication and involvement
and worked with explicitly.
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Culture
Is PCC the same across different cultures and ethnicities? This is a
very important question and we do not have a definitive answer yet.
There is research to suggest that the basic elements that make up connectedness
in families are the same across ethnic or cultural lines. Other research
suggests that these elements of connectedness will look differently
in different families. For example, the behaviors and interactions signifying
emotional support between a father and daughter in a family of Vietnamese
immigrants probably looks different than it does in an African-American
family whose members have all been born and raised in the U.S.
There
are also researchers that say that particular parenting styles, namely
authoritative parenting, promote PCC regardless of culture, ethnicity
and socio-economic status. However, other researchers have questioned
this finding based on the fact that these studies are largely conducted
with white middle-class and upper middle-class families in the U.S.
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Family
Structure
The effects of family structure on PCC are varied and complex. Parent-child
connection comes about as a result of the act of parenting, and is not
dependent of the presence of biological parents or a particular family
structure, such as the nuclear family. This makes it clear that a single
parent can create the same quality of connectedness as a two-parent
or extended family. This finding suggests that other adults, such as
foster parents or mentors, may be able to act as surrogates for parents
and develop similar connectedness with similar benefits.
While
the absence of a parent does not prevent connectedness, it is also clear
that "female parenting" and "male parenting," or
"mothering" and "fathering," each make unique and
positive contributions to connectedness within families. The recognition
of the contributions of fathering is particularly important because
it has gone largely overlooked in the literature. Typical fathering
approaches to parenting, namely fathers' tendency toward physical play
and their tendency to hang back more than mothers when their child is
exploring something new, can have specific positive effects on connectedness.
Non-traditional
family structures have effects of connectedness. The introduction of
a step-parent into a family can have either a positive or a negative
effect on connectedness.
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Ecological
Context
"Ecological context" describes the environment in which the family lives.
Ecological contexts such as economics, public policy and infrastructure
(housing, transportation, et. al.) have significant effects on how families
and their ability to promote connectedness. For example, parents coping
with poverty are apt to spend more time trying to provide financially
for families and may experience stress, mental illness or drug abuse.
These effects from poverty may mean that parents have less time and
energy to devote to connecting with their children, or may lack the
knowledge, skills or capacity to parent in ways that promote connectedness.
Some researchers have shown how living in a neighborhood where crime
and violence are prevalent may affect choices about parenting styles.
While
authoritarian parenting had been demonstrated to have potentially negative
effects on connectedness, some parents might feel forced into more authoritarian
behavior towards their children in an effort to keep them from physical
harm.
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"Bad"
Connectedness
When children imitate negative behaviors, such as following in the
footsteps of alcoholic or abusive parents, it is easy to wonder if
connectedness can be a bad thing. Since connectedness describes a
positive bond between a parent and child, in and of itself it is a
good thing.
However,
there is a strong relationship between connectedness and modeling
(i.e. the demonstration and reinforcement of specific behaviors).
If a child feels connected to a parent, then the child is more likely
to adopt the behaviors modeled by that parent, regardless of whether
those behaviors have positive or negative results.
So,
the bad news is that parents can have a strong connection and model
"bad" behaviors, resulting in negative outcomes for the
child. The good news is that parents with a strong connection are
more likely to see positive results when they model positive behaviors,
even when their children are faced with other negative influences
from peers or their environment.
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Lack of
Voice from Parents and Teens
ETR completed a literature review and met with national experts on
PCC. The next important step for the PCC BRIDGE project is to talk
with parents and teenagers and find out more about how they understand
parent-child connectedness. This discussion is likely to address some
unanswered questions about PCC, including: 1) the type of support
parents and teens would like from interventions aimed at PCC, and
2) the characteristics of connectedness and parenting style across
different ethnicities, cultures, geographic regions and socio-economic
situations.
We will
also be talking with practitioners about implementing programs designed
to strengthen PCC. We want to find out what type of interventions
they think will work in their settings, what they are able to implement
and what training they need to work explicitly with connectedness
in local families.
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Take Away
Message for Practitioners
- Parent-child
connectedness has been associated with 33 adolescent outcomes. Understanding
what increases parent-child connectedness, and how parent-child connectedness
contributes to positive outcomes with adolescent, will guide the development
of interventions that will be effective at promoting PCC in families
where it is low, or non-existent.
- Parent-child
communication is NOT the same thing as parent-child connectedness. Communication
plays a role in developing parent-child connectedness as a factor that
determines it. The potential impact of connectedness on outcomes appears
larger than that of communication by itself.
- There
is no "bad PCC," but PCC can increase the effects of modeling. Children
who feel connected to their parents are more likely to adopt behaviors
and attitudes from their parents than children who feel little or no
connection to their parents. Parents can have a strong connection to
their children and still model positive and/or negative choices and
behaviors that will influence their children because of the connectedness.
- Look
for the ways that the context in which a family lives might be having
a negative impact on parents' ability to promote connectedness with
their children. The best help you can provide might be to help parents
find the time, energy and financial resources that will free them up
to focus on connecting with their children.
- PCC may
develop differently, and look different, across cultures or ethnicities.
As practioners consider implementing programs intended to increase connectedness
between parents and children in families, it is critical that we develop
and bring cultural competence to this work. This means 1) partnering
with members of the communities and populations where the work will
be done, 2) employing staff from those cultures or communities and 3)conducting
appropriate training with staff members who do not have knowledge of,
or experience with, the cultures or communities with whom the work will
be done.
- Stay
tuned to ReCAPP for future developments. Over the next two years, we
expect to develop an applied understanding of PCC and how to develop
effective programs to promote it within families.
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