Effects of Home-Life
There are many circumstances that affect a child's mental and emotional growth. Whether they are in a nuclear family, cohabitation, a single-parent home, or from a family of divorce, different situations can cause different life chances for children growing up. I reviewed an article by Paula Fomby and Andrew J. Cherlin titled, Family Instability and Child Well-Being. Published by the American Sociological Review in the year 2007. Some experts believe that numerous changes and instability cause detriments to a child's development (the Instability Hypothesis). Another view would be that children's life chances and outcomes are contingent on their parent's personalities and cognitive capacities (the Selection Hypothesis). Regardless of which viewpoint is taken, it is clear that both have an apparent effect on the well-being and development of a child.
1. The article has a statement that reads, "some aspects of children's well-being may be more responsive to changes in family composition than others." A study was done in 2002 which upheld this statement. It concluded that children are more resilient to changes, for example, in school than compared to their family-life. In their family-life, they become more affected by changes and are more prone to adopt problems from the changes at home compared to other changes. To promote healthy child development, it is wise to limit these changes as much as possible.
The selection hypothesis was tested using statistics from 1979 to 2000. It was derived from the NLSY79 and the CNLSY. NLSY79 was a multi-use survey. Over 12,600 males and females were questioned in 1979. They ranged from the young ages of 14 to 21 years old. Throughout the years, interview data allowed insight to be gained on the individuals. Information about education, job status, and experiences in the family were all collected. Instances of pregnancy, fertility, and child-care occurrences were noted. CNLSY was used to assess the...