Diverse Family Types Research Articles

The Interrelationship of Family Language Policies, Emotions, Socialisation Practices and Language Management Strategies

Multilingual families in immigrant/minority language contact settings face various challenges that are related to their affective and emotional domains, as well as to their well-being. This study investigated the interrelationship of the family language policies (FLPs), emotions, socialisation practices and language management strategies of immigrant Russian and mixed-marriage families in Cyprus. The participants were eighty multilingual families from low-middle-high socio-economic backgrounds, including two- and one-parent families who resided in rural or in urban areas. Forty were mixed-marriage (Russian wife and Greek Cypriot husband) families and 40 were Russian-speaking (both spouses Russian) immigrant families who resided in Cyprus. Data sources included a questionnaire about the families’ general backgrounds, the parents’ socio-economic status, their linguistic behaviour and their children’s language proficiency, and semi-structured interviews with the mothers focused on their FLP, home language development and socio-emotional well-being. An analysis of the diverse family types revealed both differences and similarities amongst Russian speakers in Cyprus and their FLPs. Russian speakers incorporated a wide range of language repertoires in their everyday lives. Multilingualism and the maintenance of the Russian language and culture were usually encouraged, as was the development of the children’s Russian-language literacy, and the parents often used the one-parent-one-language (OPOL) approach at home. In many cases, FLPs were characterised by translanguaging to enhance dynamic multilingualism and emotional well-being at home. However, not all of the efforts resulted in successful language transmission, which may have been due to individual and/or societal differences and family configurations.

Longitudinal Psychological Family Studies in Austria: A Scoping Review

Longitudinal psychological research on family outcomes provides crucial information about families in a changing society, but an evidence synthesis for Austria is currently lacking. Therefore, we aim to summarize psychological longitudinal research on family-related outcomes in Austria using a scoping review approach. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we searched five scientific databases (PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science) and conducted manual searches to identify additional grey literature. Ten sources reporting on six data collection efforts between 1991 and 2015 were identified. Most samples consisted of heterosexual nuclear families, while research on more diverse family types is needed. Methods were primarily quantitative with conventional designs, but noteworthy exceptions exist. Comprehensive longitudinal data collection efforts across child development are lacking for the new millennium. State-of-the-art research implementing a triangulation of methods, designs, and perspectives that incorporate diverse family types is needed to draw accurate conclusions about the changing family landscape in Austria.

Exploring family language policy in action: Child agency and the lived experiences of multilingual Ethiopian and Eritrean families in Sweden

Existing family language policy (FLP) scholarship has been criticised for insufficiently addressing children’s voices and perspectives on their multilingual experiences, as well as lacking representation and heterogeneity in terms of studies involving multilingual families from diverse family types, languages, and contexts outside the experiences of Western middle-class bilingual families. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the multilingual familial experiences of three Ethiopian and Eritrean migrant families in Sweden by paying particular attention to children’s agency and caregiver-children dynamics in FLP making. The study draws on multimodal biographic data obtained from children and parents through language portrait methods of body and space mapping activities, post-mapping narration, and semi-structured interviews. The data are analysed in light of Smith-Christmas’s (2020) framework, which views child agency in FLP at the intersection of compliance regime, linguistic competence, linguistic norms, and power dynamics. The findings reveal that the process of FLP making is characterised as a process that is (1) filled with language choice dilemmas triggered by competing linguistic demands, (2) in part shaped by the family constellation via power dynamics between family members, and (3) mediated by family members’ varied linguistic proficiencies in majority and minority languages. Additionally, children’s agency about which language they choose to use impacts the language practices of the home, as they tend to establish their own linguistic norms within the home by overrunning the negotiated language policy set by caregivers.

Work-to-family profiles, family structure and burnout in mothers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify work-to-family profiles in working mothers, test whether profiles differ between sole and partnered mothers, and examine whether the work-to-family profiles are associated with burnout. Design/methodology/approach Data on work-to-family conflict (WFC), work-to-family enrichment (WFE), burnout, and relevant socio-demographic covariates were collected via a self-report online survey. Latent profile analysis on WFC and WFE items was used to identify profiles in 179-sole and 857-partnered mothers in paid employment. Regression analyses were performed to examine whether profiles were associated with burnout. Findings Five distinct work-to-family profiles were identified: Harmful, Negative Active, Active, Beneficial, and Fulfilled. Profile membership differed significantly between sole and partnered mothers, with sole mothers more likely to be in the harmful profile. The five profiles had differing implications for burnout. Practical implications WFC and WFE can co-occur, and have differing implications for health and well-being. It is important to consider both WFC and WFE when addressing employee burnout. Furthermore, sole mothers may need greater assistance in reducing WFC and increasing WFE in order to minimize burnout. Originality/value This study contributes to existing research by demonstrating differences in work-to-family profiles between sole and partnered mothers, and highlights the need for future research on diverse family types.

Diverse Family Types and Out‐of‐School Learning Time of Young School‐Age Children

=Sources of differentials in out-of-school learning time between children in first marriage biological parent families and children in six nontraditional family types are identified. Analyses of time diaries reveal that children in four of the six nontraditional family types spend fewer minutes learning than do children in first marriage biological parent families. In all four cases, however, the differentials are explained by the presence of siblings age 18+, lower levels of family income, or younger maternal age.

Legitimising Rainbow Families Using Partnerships For Change

(2007). Legitimising Rainbow Families Using Partnerships For Change. Australian Feminist Law Journal: Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 163-174.

Family‐Based Association Tests for Different Family Structures Using Pooled DNA

DNA pooling is a cost-effective strategy for genomewise association studies to identify disease genes. In the context of family-based association studies, Risch & Teng (1998) mainly considered families of identical structures to detect associations between genetic markers and disease, and suggested possible approaches to incorporating different family types without a thorough study of their properties. However, families collected in real genetic studies often have different structures and, more importantly, the informativeness of each family structure depends on the disease model which is generally unknown. So there is a need to develop and investigate statistical methods to combine information from diverse family types. In this article, we propose a general strategy to incorporate different family types by assigning each family an "optimal" weight in association tests. In addition, we consider measurement errors in our analysis. When we evaluate our approach under different disease models and measurement errors, we find that our weighting scheme may lead to a substantial reduction in sample size required over the approach suggested by Risch & Teng (1998), and measurement errors may have significant impact on the required sample size when the error rates are not negligible.

Nonresident Father Visitation, Parental Conflict, and Mother's Satisfaction: What's Best for Child Well-Being?

This study examines the interrelationship of nonresident father visitation, parental conflict over this visitation, and the mother's satisfaction with the father's visitation. We consider the prevalence and characteristics of diverse family types defined by these interrelated processes and the implications of these arrangements for child adjustment, global well-being, and behavior problems. Data come from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, from mothers in households with children younger than 18 years old who had a father living elsewhere. Results show that a variety of family constellations exist. Children are least well off in families in which mothers are dissatisfied with high levels of father contact. Key Words: children, divorse, fathers, nonresident parents, visitation. The role of nonresident fathers in family life is receiving increased attention, yet many aspects of these fathers and their interaction with their children and with the residential mother are still unknown. In particular, little attention has been paid to the diversity of nonresident parenting arrangements and the resulting implications for family relationships and child well-being (Bray & Depner, 1993). Understanding the implications of these arrangements, particularly for child well-being, is crucial, given that approximately 50% of all children will live in a single-parent family at some point in their childhood (Bumpass, 1984). We examine the interrelationship of nonresident father visitation, parental conflict, and the mother's satisfaction with the father's contact. We describe the prevalence and characteristics of diverse family types defined by these interrelated processes, and we consider the implications of these different arrangements for child adjustment, global well-being, and behavior problems. We address several questions unexplored in prior research. How are the mother's satisfaction with visitation, parental conflict over visitation, and the levels of father visitation related to each other? Are these relationships linear or monotonic, as is often assumed? Under what conditions are mothers most satisfied? Which family types are most prevalent, and how do they differ in demographics and family processes? How are these different family types related to child adjustment, global well-being, and behavior problems? In which families are children doing the best and the worst? Parents influence their children both by the way they behave toward their children and by the way they interact with one another (Lamb, Pleck, & Levine, 1986). Therefore, the parental relationship also must be taken into account when assessing the importance of nonresident fathers' contact for child well-being. Yet prior research has never simultaneously addressed how the interrelated processes of visitation, conflict, and satisfaction work together or how they affect child development. Furthermore, there is a lack of information about the prevalence of different nonresident parenting arrangements. Much of the existing research is based on small, unrepresentative samples or on the experiences of divorcing couples in particular states (Maccoby & Mnookin, 1992; Nord & Zill, 1996b). These studies may not reflect the experiences of most nonresident or custodial parents and their children. First, what do we know about nonresident parenting? NONRESIDENT PARENTING Visitation Many children have little contact with their nonresident fathers, and contact generally declines over time (Furstenberg & Harris, 1992; King, 1994a; Seltzer, 1991). Yet contact is crucial if nonresident fathers want to maintain ties to their children (Fox, 1985), and fathers who visit their children every week are likely to establish different relationships than fathers who rarely visit (Seltzer & Bianchi,1988). Geographic distance, time since separation, and remarriage of one or both parents are associated with declining father contact. …

Parent Versus Child Stress in Diverse Family Types

Differences in level of overall stress and the proportion of child- versus parent-related stress among several different family types were investigated. An ecological framework was used to delineate the predictors of stress for the different family types. Participants were 29 single-parent families, 35 two-parent families, 17 families of children with Down syndrome, 16 families of children with hearing impairment, and 29 families of children with developmental delay. The results indicate that family stress and ecological variables predictive of family stress varied among these families. Intervention and therapy efforts may be improved by understanding the locus of stressors among these family types.

Stepfamilies: A work in progress

Abstract The topic is introduced with some personal references; then negative societal attitudes toward diverse family types, particularly stepfamilies, are discussed. The paper outlines and discusses the importance of understanding stepfamilies in terms of basic human needs and indicates the benefits of such an approach. This is illustrated with case examples. Some useful therapeutic guidelines and suggestions are mentioned.

The One-Child Population Policy, Modernization, and the Extended Chinese Family

This article examines structural social-psychological and ecological factors affecting the direction and types of changes occuring in the Chinese family and concludes that multiple demographic and socioeconomic influences and the families adaptive responses are creating conditions in China for the traditional household arrangement to survive while generating new variants of family organization. The 1-child population policy and the general modernization of China exert strong effects on the extended family structure but the robust nature of the extended kinship system in a modernizing society seems to allow for adaptation. Variant family patterns have emerged which do not fit either the stereotypical extended or the nuclear type. The 1-child family policy directly effects the physical formation of the extended family the manner in which family members relate to one another and the content and features of intergenerational ties. Since institution of this policy average family size has decreased reflecting expected changes in the power relationships among the generations. Married womens traditional role of childrearing and related household chores womens visibility in the workforce and interfamilial relationships are all affected. While the concept of family extendedness has been weakened other socioeconomic factors create a favorable climate for the survival of the extended family structure. Individualistic consumption orientation mobility and housing trends and historical concepts of economic interdependence between family members have an impact on the extended family sometimes in contradictory ways. Previous expectations that the Chinese family might give way to the nuclear family of the Western type have not been met and the factors discussed here have encouraged more diverse family types to grow and take shape.