National Symposium on Family Issues

Children's Influence on Family Dynamics: The Neglected Side of Family Relationships

The chapters in this volume are based on the presentations and discussions from the ninth annual National Symposium on Family Issues, held at the Pennsylvania State University December 6-7, 2001.

Citation
Crouter, Ann C. and Alan Booth (2003). Children's Influence on Family Dynamics: The Neglected Side of Family Relationships. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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From the Preface
Any parent who has raised more than one child is likely to be keenly aware of subtle or even striking differences among their offspring. Although siblings raised together in the same family often differ markedly in terms of gender, temperament, abilities, interests, personality, choices of friends and activities, and so on, all too often family researchers have ignored individual differences in children. The central premise of this volume is that children bring personal qualities to their relationships with other family members that help shape family interaction, family relationships, and even family processes that family researchers have called "parenting". Here we address ways in which children's personal qualities make their mark on families in ways that may in turn influence children's subsequent development.

Key Topics

1. What Features of Children Shape Family Relationship and How?

Presider: Elizabeth Susman, The Pennsylvania State University

Lead Speaker: David Reiss, George Washington University

Discussants:

• Kathlene McCartney, Harvard University
• Xiaojia Ge, University of California-Davis
• J. Richard Udry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

2. What Role Does Infant and Early Childhood Temperament Play in the Development of Relationship with Parents?

Presider: Leann Birch, The Pennsylvania State University

Lead Speaker: Susan Crockenberg, University of Vermont

Discussants:

• Cynthia Stifter, Pennsylvania State University
• James McHale, Clark University
• Pamela Cole, Pennsylvania State University

3. What Role Do Adolescents Play in Actively Shaping Their Relationships with Parents, Siblings, and Friends/Peers?

Presider: Karen Bierman, The Pennsylvania State University

Lead Speaker: Hökan Stattin, Örebro University

Discussants:

• Elizabeth Menaghan, Ohio State University
• Gene Brody, University of Georgia
• Deborah Capaldi, Oregon Social Learning Center

4. How Do Children Affect Parents' Marriage and Other Family Relationships?

Presider: Lynn Liben, The Pennsylvania State University

Lead Speaker: Eleanor Maccoby, Stanford University

Discussants:

• Susan McHale, Pennsylvania State University
• Margaret Kerr, Örebro University
• Nicki Crick, University of Minnesota

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