Define socialization and discuss the importance of the family in socializing young children.
Describe the ecological systems perspective as it applies to the family as an interdependent system that functions as a whole, is complex and organized, has an ongoing identity of its own, maintains stability while adapting to changes within and outside the system (morphogenesis), and demonstrates equifinality (development of similarities with other systems).
Describe the principles that govern system functioning (interdependency, homeostasis, boundaries) as they apply to the family system.
Discuss the marital system and how it is affected by the birth of children and, in turn, affects child development. Discuss the direct and indirect effects of parental conflict on children.
Discuss the parent-child system. Specifically, examine how parents socialize children in early childhood.
Define the dimensions of emotionality and control as they relate to parents' relationships with their children. Identify Baumrind's typology of parenting behaviors and the likely outcomes for children with parents of each type.
Identify the challenges to the parenting style approach including issues of child temperament and generalizability across groups.
Discuss the co-parenting subsystem as a unique contributor to children's development including notions of gatekeeping and hostile-competitive co-parenting.
Discuss the sibling system including research findings regarding birth order and the roles of older and younger siblings.
Describe the role of family stories and rituals in child development.
Explain how social class and cultural values are related to socialization. Discuss research findings on the relationships between childrearing differences and social class and ethnicity.
Discuss the secular changes in the American family in recent years with regard to divorce, remarriage, out-of-wedlock births, and maternal employment.
Describe the different patterns of marital transitions and their role in child development. Identify the different effects on children based on the age at which children experience such transitions.
Discuss alternative family structures including late-timed parenting, adoption, gay and lesbian parents, and teenage parenthood and their association with child outcomes.
Cite characteristics often associated with abusive families and their members. Discuss the consequences of child abuse.
