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Effect of environment on child development
Effect of environment on child development
Effect of environment on child development
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Within psychology adolescence is described as a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. It is a period between year twelve and late teens, when the physical growth is complete, the person becomes sexually mature and establishes identity (Nolen-Hoeksema, Friedricson, Loftus & Wagenaar, 2009). During this period of development, the individual has to face several risk factors, which are considered as a hazard on normal psychological development of an individual (Colman, 2009). This means, that experiencing them is associated with vulnerability, developing mental health problems and problematic behaviors such as for instance greater risk taking, school related deviance and school failure, teen pregnancy, substance misuse, aggression, violence or vandalism or in other words delinquency and antisocial behavior (Perkins & Borden, 2003). Therefore risk factors have a potential not just endanger the present developmental period, but also jeopardize the future biological and psychological development (Beam, Gill-Rivas, Greenberger & Chen, 2002; Perkins & Borden, 2003). However, not all young individual will respond to risk factors by developing negative outcomes. Some develop resilience and adapt to changes and stressors (Crawford, 2006; Perkins & Borden, 2003). Furthermore it has been suggested, that risk factors are desirable for developing this kind of positive outcome (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). According to Fonagy et. al. (1994) (cited in Crawford, 2006) resilience can be defined as normal development under difficult conditions. It leads to overcoming and coping with the negative effects of exposure to risk factors (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). To maintain this, protective factors need to be put in place (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2... ... middle of paper ... ...ild Abuse & Neglect, 547-563. Pine, D. S. , Cohen, P. , Curley, D. , Brook, J. & Ma, Y. (1998). The Risk for Early - Adulthood Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Adolescence With Anxiety and Depressive Disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 56-64. Vanhalst, J. , Luyckx, K. , Scholte, R. H. J. , Engels, R. C. M. E. & Goosenss, L. (2013). Low Self Esteem as a Risk Factor for loneliness in Adolescence: Perceived - But Not Actual- Social Acceptance as an Underlying Mechanism. Journal of Abnormal Children Psychology, 1061-1081. Wassell, D. B. & Iain, S. C. (2002). Adolescence : Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers . Woodvard, L. J. & Fergusson, D. M. (2001). Life Course Outcomes of Young People with Anxiety Disorders in Adolescence. Journal of The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1081-1093.
...r lives were like. They found that 86% of the resilient children seemed to doing well as adults and compared with non-vulnerable children had a higher rate of reporting to be happy. However, they did record high amount of health problems such as dizziness, back problems for men and pregnancy, childbirth for women. In addition, other children from the vulnerable group reported significantly better results compared to their teenage selves e.g. going back to school, getting a job etc. the study proves to show that children can grow up to be competent members of the society even if born into impoverished environment and under stressful situations as long as there is a balance between the environment, stress and support. she suggest early intervention programs and nurturing environments for children in vulnerable conditions to improve the child’s development in future.
Steinberg, Laurence & Morris, Amanda Sheffield. “Adolescent Development.” Annual Review of Psychology, (Annual 2001): 83-110. [E Journal]
Chapman, D. P., Whitfield, C. L., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Edwards, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2004). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 82, 217-225.
“Roughly one out of 12 teens suffers significant depression before the age of 18” (Teen Depression: When Should You Worry? 1 par...
The psychoanalytic perspective (Erikson’s psychosocial stages), Sigmund Freud Ego or psychological defense mechanism, and behaviorism and social learning theory, are important to understanding adolescent bullying. In the psychoanalytic approach, development is discontinuous and as such occurs in stages where “people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations, and how these conflicts are resolved depends on the person’s ability to learn, to cope with others and cope with stress” (Berk 2010, p.15). According to Sigmund Freud from this theory, individuals use a mechanism called psychological defense mechanisms which when they feel an overpowering anxiety, the ego employs to protect themselves against unwanted, scary feelings or weaknesses within their psyche or consciousness. The use of these defense mechanisms can be useful sometimes and also hurtful at other times to us and others, which emanates as aggressive behavior e.g. bullying [2]. Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development are important for understanding bully behavior. According to Erikson, a “basic psychological conflict which is resolved along a scale from positive to negative determines a healthy or maladaptive outcomes of each stage” [Berk 2010, p.16], in other words as the child grows and goes through each of the psychosocial stages, he or she negotiates new cognitive and emotional experiences which enables him or her to pass through the stage with either a positive or negative outcome. The effects and results of a negative outcome from the stages can be used to describe aggressive behavior such as bullying [Berk 2010, p.16]. According to the behaviorism and learning theory, they believed that b...
Levine states “a child cannot possibly develop resilience when his parents are constantly at his side, interfering with the development of autonomy, self-management and coping skills” (Levine, 2008 p.77). She says, affluent children don’t have the practical tools needed to survive on their own, they haven’t learned how to deal with problems, and they value others opinions over their own (Levine, 2008 p5). When parents feel like they have to step in to protect the health and welfare of their adolescent child they leave the child feeling disrespected or untrustworthy by their protective parents. (Levine, 2008 P223).
Primary research focus has been on the neurobiological and psychological factors that may be able to assist a juvenile in being resilient to their environment and other factors that would usually lead to a high risk level score. This approach is in on the opposite side of most current views but the development of this theory will help to explain why children exposed to similar adversity may have completely different responses; one may disappear into that delinquent, and ultimately criminal, pattern whereas the juvenile with resiliency will be able to overcome this same set of circumstances but in understanding there can be a spread of courage and responsibility in today’s youth (Brendtro, L., & Larson, S. (2004). The hope, beyond simply the ability to understand why, is that through research into resiliency there will be aspects that are identified and can be applied to youths to help spread this resilient ability which will reduce delinquency and create better, more stable and capable adults.
Horwitz, Allan. (2010). How an Age of Anxiety Became an Age of Depression. , 88(1), p112-138.
All children will go through changes as they grow from childhood to adulthood. This change is and significant part of one’s development, known as adolescence. The relationship a child has with his/her family is a big impact on why most young teenagers...
Psychiatry, A. A. (2008, May). www.aacap.org, No. 9 (05/08). Retrieved April 25, 2011, from American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Perwin, A.R., & Bernstein G.A. (2004). Anxiety Disorders. Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 4(2), 305-322.
As explored in my previous reflection, I will continue to follow Craig Gilner’s journey in It’s Kind of a Funny Story as it relates to adolescence and resilience. With adolescence being a time of transition and adjustment, resilience is very important for one’s mental health and wellbeing. The term resilience refers to one’s ability to healthily cope with challenges. One’s gender identity may influence the strategies one ultimately adopts, or is expected to adopt, through externalization or internalization. Despite it being easy to assume that one is better than the other, both have the potential of promoting and denying growth.
During adolescence emotional reactivity is heightened, and the social environment is changing as adolescents spend more time with their peers than adults (Casey, 2008). To an adolescent, the value of positive information, as well as negative information may be exaggerated which leads to greater emotional reactivity and sensitivity during this growth period (Casey, 2008). This can heighten the incidence of addiction and the onset of psychological disorders (Casey, 2008). There are various theories that attempt to explain why adolescents engage in risky behaviour. One of these theories by Yurgelun-Todd stems from human adolescent brain development, and proposes that cognitive development during the adolescent period is associated with increasingly superior efficiency of cognitive control and affective modulation (Casey, 2008). This theory also suggest...
Emotional and behavioral disorders manifest from various sources. For some children, the core of these disorders is rooted in such factors as “family adversity...poverty, caregiving instability, maternal depression, family stress…marital discord…dysfunctional parenting patterns…abuse and neglect” (Fox, Dunlap & Cushing, 2002, p. 150). These factors are stressors that affect children both emotionally and behaviorally. Students have their educational performance and academic success impeded by such stressors once in school, which creates even more stress as they find themselves frustrated and failing. As a result, problem behaviors may manifest that can be described as disruptive, impulsive, pre-occupied, resistant to change, aggressive, intimidating, or dishonest. Such behaviors may also inflict self-harm.
Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the stress put on teenagers to start putting their life together takes a toll on their emotions. The daily life and activities are interfered with by anxiety when the amount of stress put on a teenager becomes unbearable. Unfortunately, the effects of anxiety become so intense that the mental health is eventually toyed with. So many different components of life contribute to anxiety and cannot be prevented.