Course teached as: B021330 - PSICOLOGIA DELLE RELAZIONI FAMILIARI NEL CICLO DI VITA Second Cycle Degree in PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LIFE CYCLE AND CONTEXTS Curriculum CRISIS AND RESOURCES PROMOTION OF DEVELOPMENT
Teaching Language
Italian
Course Content
Parenting function and parenting; romantic relationship, the transition to parenthood, the family life cycle and its transitions; complexity of structure and processes in families; methods of observation and evaluation of relationships in families; risk factors and pathologies of parenting; approaches and interventions in support of parenting.
• Simonelli A. (a cura di)(2014). La funzione genitoriale. Sviluppo e psicopatologia. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
• Kochanska G., Boldt L.J., & Goffin K.C. (2018). Early Relational Experience: A Foundation for the Unfolding Dynamics of Parent–Child Socialization. Child Developmental perspectives, 13: 1, 41–47. https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdep.12308
• Fainsilber Katz L., Maliken A. C., & Stettler N. M., (2012) Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy: A Review of Research and Theoretical Framework. Child Developmental Perspectives, 6: 4, 417-422
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00244.x
• Slides and materials uploaded on moodle
Learning Objectives
Knowledge and understanding:
The course aims to promote knowledge and reflection on parenting through life cycle, and on parental function. The course aims to help understanding the adaptive and the risk factors that can influence its development and pathology, with focus on transitions and crises, using a systemic and multifactorial approach. The course helps to know methods of assessing the quality of parenting and parental function, supporting preventive actions and interventions.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
The course provides the fundamental skills to cope with case study of difficulties in parenting, helping to detect the main risk and protection factors that can influence parenting, evaluate which techniques and methods adopt to in-depth understanding psychosocial processes during transitions and difficulties in families, and define approaches and interventions in supporting families and individuals.
Making judgements:
The course encourages an autonomous and critical reflection about adaptive and maladaptive parenting case studies, also working in group.
Communication skills:
The course promotes the knowledge and the properly use of specialist vocabulary, and the expression and arguing personal point of view. Moreover, it promotes advanced knowledge of English by reading papers on some course’s topics.
Learning skills:
The course provides skills required for ongoing learning, helping in detecting and evaluating different and useful sources, experiences, and materials .
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge on developmental psychology.
Teaching Methods
Knowledge and understanding:
Lessons, seminars in collaboration with external experts.
Reflections and discussion in small and bigger group.
Applying knowledge and understanding.
3 exercises (6 hours) on case studies of difficulties in parenting on which to apply knowledge and understanding, with discussion.
Making judgements:
Group discussions on maladaptive parenting case studies. Interactive lessons.
Communication skills:
Exercises in small group and presenting reflections to class. Interactive lessons.
Learning skills:
Lessons, seminars, exercises.
Further information
Couse program, the time-table of course activities, suggested readings, learning objective, teaching methods, type of assessment will be presented at the beginning of the course. All students are invited to be present at the beginning of the course, even those who cannot attend the course o can do it but only rarely.
In addition to the slide presented during classes, the time-table of course activities, also Syllabus will be put online on the e-learning site.
All students (i.e., attending and non-attending) must study all materials uploaded on moodle.
All students (attending and non-attending) are strongly invited to attend exercises (6 hours) on case studies.
Type of Assessment
Knowledge and understanding:
Written and oral examination.
In the written examination, a study case about transition or crises regarding parenting will be presented and the student will be asked to consider the elements of knowledge and to motivate the choice of the elements to be in-depth investigated, by which methods to do it, and the way to approach.
Oral examination only for students who got a sufficient evaluation in the written examination; oral examination pertains both a reflection on the study case addressed in written examination and all topics of the course.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
Study of a case.
Making judgements:
Study of a case.
Communication skills
Written and oral examinations. Interactive lessons.
Learning skills:
Written and oral examinations. Ability to critically reflects on study case. Ability to expose all the topics of the course.
Course program
The course focuses on the quality of parenting, and parenting function, referring to the developmental and psychopathological processes that are relevant and the different relationships in which parenting is expressed. Specific attention will be dedicated to transition into parenthood, biological factors of parenting, to different relationships in which parenting is expressed (family, adoption, foster care, teacher-children relationship etc.).
Main topics will be: parenting function and parenting; romantic relationship; the quality of romantic relationship; the transition into parenthood; the family life cycle; complexity of structure and processes in families; maternal and paternal role; parenthood and sexuality; assessment of family functioning according different approaches; methods of observation and evaluation of relationships in families; risk factors and pathologies of parenting; support and intervention on parenting.