A comparative analysis of child-parent relationships in Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl," Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Ethan Canin's "The Year of Getting to Know Us".
Abstract This essay is a comparative analysis of the child-parent relationships expressed in the following works: Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl," Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Ethan Canin's "The Year of Getting to Know Us", focusing on how children must develop and mature before they understand their parents and themselves.
From the Paper "Relationships between parents and children are often made more complex by the fact that in addition to the strong emotional ties shared between parents and children, children are not yet developed enough to understand the full .."
Abstract This paper examines to what extent parents who suffer from depression pass this illness onto their children. To put it another way, the paper discusses whether parents that are suffering from depression are ultimately responsible - in a way other environmental factors are not - for the development of depression in their children. The paper concludes that while depression in children cannot be wholly linked to depression in their mothers and fathers it would seem that the confluence of genetic predisposition, parental neglect, and parental actions of the most negative sort (angry outburst, recriminatory behavior) conspire to make these children especially vulnerable to one of the cruelest of all mental illnesses.
Outline:
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Results/Data
Discussion
From the Paper "A much more recent study confirms the general conclusions of Orvaschel insofar as it illuminates the troubling psychic burdens shouldered by the sons and daughters of clinically depressed parents. To wit, Alpert et al (2003) found that depressed parents suffering from "anger attacks" also tended to produce offspring given over to lower social and school competency scale scores and to higher levels of delinquency, aggressive behavior and attention problems. Additionally, Alpert and his team of researchers found that the children of depressed parents engaging in intermittent angry outbursts were more likely to have an elevated T score - a "global measure" of psychopathology. "
Abstract The paper refers to the article "Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Chronic Illness and Disability" by D.R. Falvo and discusses the reaction of parents when a child is born with or develops some form of disability during childhood. The paper discusses the stress that can take the form of grief, denial, depression or guilt. The paper explains the positive outlook parents should have and discusses the benefits of support groups and grief counseling. The paper emphasizes the importance of parents understanding that they still have a whole, but different, child.
From the Paper "When a child is born with or develops some form of disability during his or her childhood, the parents almost inevitably suffer significant feeling of loss and grief. The process that they undertake is similar to that of someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, or of a special person in their lives. The totality of this grieving depends on a number of factors. It is influenced by 1) the condition itself, 2) the disparity between the individuals' personality pre- and post-disease or disability, 3) how the affected individual and his or her family perceive the new condition, 4) the resources with which the person can respond to the disease or disability, and 5) the amount of support that an individual can derive from his or her family or society at large (Falvo, 2005, p. 1)."
Abstract This paper explains that research indicates that adolescents of alcoholic parents are prone to developing abnormal behavior due to environmental, cognitive and biological influences. The author points out that mental disorders, such as depression or anxiety, are common side effects of adolescents who are subjected to an environment where the parents are alcoholics. The paper states that children from these homes often demonstrate behavioral problems, such as stealing and fighting, and often are diagnosed as having conduct disorders. The author underscores that children of alcoholic parents are raised in an environment where alcohol consumption compensates for the lack of social skills. The paper states that these children suffer academically because of the parent's lack of support for their child at school. The author stresses the importance of identifying protective factors and educating society to reduce the hazards of abnormal behavior in children of alcoholic parents.
From the Paper "Along with environmental factors, children of alcoholics can suffer from cognitive misperceptions and dichotomous thinking. For example, when children experience feelings of guilt due to their parents drinking and assume that it is their fault, this is a form of illogical and dichotomous thinking. The children develop illogical thought patterns and self-blame primarily due to their parents not taking responsibility for their drinking, which will eventually lead to abnormal behaviors by the child."
Abstract This paper explores the complex workings of the brain and the effect brain development has on the communication capacity of an infant. It examines how a mother's brain activity affects the unborn child, as well as the emotional bond formed in the early years of a child's life. The paper shows that if the mother-child bond is fully developed, the child forms a secure attachment, which allows for better intellectual and socio-emotional development. The paper explores several subjects related to brain development, attachment and bonding and the process of developing communication capacity. It ends with a discussion of the 'Healthy Families' Indiana program, discussing how this program attempts to help parents in this complex and difficult process.
From the Paper "There is other evidence that this six-month period is crucial to language development. Kuhl (Hochberg, 1997) reported on language studies with Japanese and American infants dealing with distinctions between the "Ra" sound and the "la" sound. Both sets of infants were able to distinguish between these sounds at the age of six months. However, by the age of one year, the Japanese children were no longer able to do so. Because Japanese does not distinguish between these two sounds, their brains had discarded the neural connections that helped them distinguish between the two sounds. They were unneeded for their particular language learning. Certainly this has implications for bilingual development. It is during this period of time, according to Kuhl, that the brain is being organized in order to prepare itself for a specific language."
Abstract This paper explains the importance of parents in the process of child development. It examines the studies that indicate that poor parental guidance and attitudes within the family can have a devastating effect on the child's development in all areas, including cognitive, social adaptation and general mental and physical health. It further points out that many reports indicate a decline in contemporary society of parental guidance as well as in the traditional family structure. The paper concludes that this has lead to a further realization of the importance of the cooperation of parents, teachers, schools and other institutions in the development and education of the child.
From the Paper "However, there is a related point of view which states that while the above statement may be theoretically true there are many areas and ways in which this is not quite the golden age for children. These include aspects that detract from positive child development such as limited resources, financial aspects, lack of parental involvement and the evident dissolution of the nuclear family with high rates of divorce and marital problems that might impact negatively on the child. Some experts even go so far as to state that in reality this is also the worst of times in some respects for children."
A research proposal to study the design and development of effective intervention programs to encourage foster-parent/caregiver and child relationship attachment.
Abstract This paper explains that the objective of this research proposal is to design a research initiative to apply the attachment theory foster-parent/caregiver and child relationships through means of an observational study or survey/questionnaire. The author seeks to understand why the attachment between the parent/caregiver/foster parent and the child is so important to the development of the child as presented in attachment theory. The paper presents a literature review, which supports these findings and highlights the significance of activities of continuity of the child in foster care.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Background of the Study
Statement of Problem
Purpose of the Study
Rationale
Research Questions
Limitations
Definitions of Terms
Organization of the Remainder of the Study
Literature Review
Findings
Recommendations for Research
Methodology
Research Design
Instrumentation and Data Collection/Analysis
Population/Sample for Data
From the Paper "Caltabiano and Thorpe relate that in order to understand these attachment models from the adult relationship perspective research has relied on interviews or self-reporting methods to learn in this area. The 'Adult Attachment Interview' was reported in the work of George, Kaplan & Main (1984) in research that conducted an in-depth exploration into the nature of the adult individual's childhood relationships to their caregiver. Another method utilized in this are of study is the self-report instrument known as the 'Attachment Style Questionnaire' (ASQ) as noted in the work of Feeney, Noller & Harahan (1994)."
Abstract The paper questions whether a child is more influential toward one parent and relates that it is the mother who usually feels more liability when things go wrong with a child. The paper discusses how throughout the many stages of parenting, a child will act as an agent to the parents. The paper explains how this includes teaching parents new things, providing pleasure and contentment, affecting remarriage relationships and finally, leaving the parents with an overall sense of either accomplishment or failure.
From the Paper "It seems like a topic that has been beaten to death: How parents influence their children. Parents act as agents to their children. They are their moral compasses. The intricate and complex machine acting upon their children to learn attitudes and behaviors, to teach right from wrong, and to help them form values that will help them later in life when they are sent out into the world where they will become a significant member of society.
"We are constantly bombarded with information about how mothers can influence their daughter's eating habits, fathers can influence their son's interest in sports, both parents can influence the way a child feels about people who don't have the same skin color, the same religion, creed, and so on. Both mother and father are burdened with the great responsibility of influencing their children in positive ways, and trying to correct what they or society may have negatively influenced in the process of growing up."
This paper discusses the long-term influence parents have on the development of their child, the effect the environment has on this relationship and the consequence this child-context interaction has on the child's further adjustment to the environment
Abstract The paper demonstrates that child-context interaction that begins as bonding at birth and continues through the first four years of a child's life is a strong factor in the child's ability to adjust to the environment and will effect the child for the majority of his life. The author presents research showing that if children have close and healthy relationships with their parents, these children will do better in adjusting to different environments including difficult neighborhoods and schools. He shows how the family's culture and the neighborhood in which they live also can shape child-context interaction.
From the Paper "As the mother and child work together to find the missing puzzle piece, their ability to think and problem solve will be developing. Most of the time the way a child interacts with one parent will be different than when both parents are available. The relationship with mothers are usually nurturing while the relationship with the father is more realistic. They want to be strong and not cry when they get hurt when they are with their father. However, if they are with their mother and they fall and hurt their knee, they want to cry and get a band-aid. The child learns ways to interact with others through the interactions between child-father, between child-mother, and between child-both parents."
Abstract This paper attempts to understand the causes of child abuse, its occurrence, and incidence. It looks at how the four main types of child mistreatment are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect and how, in many cases, children are victims of more than one type of abuse at a time. Child abusers can be anyone with contact or interaction with the child and can include parents or other family members or caretakers, such as teachers and babysitters. It examines the profiles of the abusers and how sexual abuse seems more likely to be committed by males, whereas females were responsible for the majority of the neglect cases. It also evaluates potential sociological factors and how, in general, the reported cases usually involve poor families with little education, young mothers, single-parent families, and parental alcohol and drug abuse.
From the Paper "A high crime rate in the community has also been shown to have an effect on the likelihood of child abuse. This is possibly a reflection of the atmosphere in the community environment in general. In addition, a community that lacks adequate social services to offer to parents, especially single parents is also open to mistreatment in the families. This is connected to the reports that social isolation can lead to child abuse. It has been found that frequently those who feel isolated from the society struggle with their parenting and the resultant frustration and anxieties can be inflicted on the children. Parents can be isolated because they have poor ties with their own families, or with their neighbors, or have small or non-existent social networks (little or no friends)."
Tags: sexual, emotional, parents, environment, community, single, drugs
Abstract This research paper investigates the impact of instructional conditions on the scores of three parenting measures: the Adult/Adolescent Parenting Inventory, the Child Abuse Potential Inventory, and the Parenting Stress Index. It explores the ability of the measures validity indexes to detect response distortions. The paper states that most parenting-measure scores change significantly as a result of parents' attempts to distort their responses. The paper provides extensive information and statistics.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Test Instruments
Procedure
Results
Validity Measures
Discussion
References
From the Paper "In this study, we explored the impact of instructional conditions (fake good, be honest, fake bad, and respond randomly) on AAPI, CAP Inventory, and PSI scores. Because the assumption was that parents can distort their responses on parenting measures when they are asked or are motivated to do so, parenting-scale score differences were expected for both general-population and at-risk (for child physical abuse) parents across the instructional conditions. Scores indicating low risk on the three parenting measures were expected following the instruction to fake good, whereas scores indicating high risk were expected following the instruction to fake bad. Parents in the be-honest condition were expected to earn scores that fall between parents' scores in the fake-good and fake-bad conditions."
Abstract This paper examines how authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish wrote their counter-cultural book, "Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family", regarding tips and tactics for parents to use as they raised children before the term 'counter-cultural' had become politically correct. It looks at how, in 1974, when the majority of children were being raised under the questionable, permissive advice of Dr. Spock, these authors focused on another aspect of child rearing. It looks at how they were significantly influenced by child psychologist Haim Ginott ,who believed that it was the emotional well-being of the child that would guide his actions.
From the Paper "This differentiation between giving of ourselves to our children, and giving ourselves over to our children is the delicate line which Mazlish and Faber walk throughout their book as they discuss skills for parents to learn to build emotionally balanced and self-secure children. The approach which encourages parents to remain in their authority role in the child's life, as well as equips the parent to connect with the child's feeling is the element of this book which sets it apart from other works. Dr. Spock taught parents to reason with their children rather than correct them. By doing so, the well intentioned doctor instructed parents to abdicate an important role in their children's development, which is the role of authority to which the child is accountable."
Abstract This paper discusses how the early diagnosis of postpartum depression is crucial given the negative impacts depression can have on a mother and her interactions with her new infant and, if left undiagnosed, the depression experienced by the mother can equate to long-term behavior problems in the infant as he/she grows up. The research question posed in this paper is "Does early diagnosis and intervention for a mother experiencing postpartum depression, decrease the risk of behavioral or learning difficulties for the new child as he/she is growing up?"
From the Paper "The National Women's Health Information Center advises that postpartum depression is a result of the hormonal changes that occur naturally in a woman after the birth of her child (NWHIC, 2005). Other factors that can contribute towards postpartum depression can include feelings of tiredness, being overwhelmed at the responsibility of looking after a new baby, feelings of loss of identity once becoming a mother and feelings of loss of time as the new baby is so dependent and so very time consuming (NWHIC, 2005)."
Abstract This paper discusses the clinical issue of depression found in childhood domestic violence victims. The paper presents a case history of a twelve year-old victimized female child, offers the DSMIV diagnosis, and suggests a treatment plan.
Abstract This paper evaluates the reasons for non-parentalchild care in today's day and age due to demographic changes in the structure of the family and the need for mother's to work. It examines the results of several surveys on the direct effect of this type of care on child development and outlines the options which are available to families who are concerned for their child's early development, but are also in need of two incomes.
From the Paper "Historical changes in family and economic trends have created the need for non-parental child care through a number of different societal changes. The move of families from the farms to urban settings and increased school attendance for children resulted in a reduced need for the mother to remain at home. Over time more women have been joining the work force, which has lead to an increase of financially independent women as well as less financial interdependence between wives and husbands. Society has also witnessed increased levels of divorce and children born out of wedlock. These changes in social trends have resulted in the majority of children living in one parent families or dual-earner families, which has consequently created an increased number of children requiring non-parental care for a large portion of each working day (Hernandez, 1995.)"
Tags: mother, work, force, child, care, facility, environment, society
