Discuss direct and indirect influences on family functioning, and provide an example of each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

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. Direct influences occur when the behavior of one family member helps sustain a form of interaction in the other that either promotes or undermines children's well-being. For example, when warmth and affection accompany parents' requests, children tend to comply. And when children cooperate, their parents are likely to be warm and gentle in the future. In contrast, children whose parents discipline harshly and impatiently are likely to refuse and rebel. And because children's misbehavior is stressful, parents may increase their use of punishment, leading to more unruliness by the child. In these examples, each of the children's reactions, in turn, prompts a new link in the interactive chain. Indirect influences occur when interaction between any two family members is affected by others, known as third parties, who are present in the setting. For example, when the parents' marital relationship is warm and considerate, mothers and fathers are more likely to engage in effective coparenting, mutually supporting each other's parenting behaviors. Such parents are warmer, praise and stimulate their children more, and nag and scold them less. In contrast, parents whose relationship is tense and hostile often interfere with one another's child-rearing efforts, are less responsive to children's needs, and are more likely to criticize, express anger, and punish.