13. Social/Emotional Dev't in Middle Childhood Flashcards
how is self-esteem measured?
preschool: pictures, and asking which one they most resemble
older children: questionnaire
what is the most widely used self-esteem questionnaire?
Self-Perception Profile for Children (Susan Harter)
what 5 domains does the SPPC evaluate?
- scholastic competence
- athletic competence
- social competence
- behavioural conduct
- physical appearance
how is the SPPC designed?
- child answered 6 questions in each domain
- answers form an average
- results are shown on a bar graph
why does self-esteem drop in middle childhood?
- children begin to compare themselves with peers
- at school they get more realistic feedback than at home
what does it mean that self-esteem becomes more differentiated in middle childhood?
- children evaluate themselves in more domains
- evaluations in each domain are increasingly independent
- children develop multiple self-esteems, in in a specific area; especially scholastic competence
what are sources of self-esteem? (1+3)
how other people see us
- parenting
- other authority figures (teachers)
- social comparisons
what parenting/family factors positively influence self-esteem? (5 points)
- affection and involvement
- family harmony
- nurturing environment
- validating messages/actions
- discipline and rules, open to discussion
define idiocentric
emphasizing independence and personal needs and goals over those of others
define allocentric
emphasizing interdependence, affiliation, and co-operation with groups more than personal goals
what consequences are associated with low self-esteem?
- problems with peers
- psychological disorders (e.g. depression)
- antisocial behaviour
- poor academic performance
define friendship
a voluntary relationship based on mutual liking between two people
describe interracial friendships (2 points)
- friendships are more common between kids of the same ethnic group, except in small classes
- interracial friendships are usually confined to school, except when in integrated neighbourhoods
describe gender preference in middle childhood friendships (3 points)
- usually choose same-sex
- mixed same- and opposite-sex friendship children are well-adjusted and have good social skills
- ONLY opposite-sex friendship kids tend to have trouble academically and socially, lower self-esteem
what characteristics are typical of children with good friends? (6)
- higher self-esteem
- less likely to be lonely and depressed
- more often act prosocially - sharing and cooperating
- cope better with life stresses
- less likely to be bullied
- greater self-worth as adults
what are the five categories of popularity?
- popular - generally liked
- rejected - generally disliked
- controversial - both liked and disliked
- average - both liked and disliked but less intensely
- neglected - ignored
what are characteristics of popular children (6)
- better at initiating social interactions
- better communicators
- better at joining conversation/play session
- skilled at assessing/monitoring their own social impact
- more likely to share, cooperate, help, take turns
- less likely to interrupt, start fights, or break rules
what are characteristics of rejected children
- socially unskilled
- aggressive, unprovoked attacks
- poor self-control, disruptive
- retaliatory
define prejudice
a negative view of others based on their membership in a specific group
when does prejudice increase and when does it lessen?
- increases when children learn their group membership
- declines when they learn individual differences
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) includes what human rights? (4)
- to survival
- to develop to the fullest
- to protection from harm, abuse, and exploitation
- to have full participation in family, cultural, and social life
what 4 principles are the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” rights rooted in?
- nondiscrimination
- best interests of the child
- respect for the child’s views
- right to life, survival, and development
define prosocial behaviour
actions that promote harmony in a social group
define altruism
prosocial behaviour that helps another person with no direct benefit to the actor
what skills are necessary for prosocial behaviour
- perspective-taking
- empathy
describe perspective-taking
- by elementary age, children understand that different people have different views
- they can see themselves as others do
- therefore they are more willing to share and help
define empathy
the ability to understand another person’s emotions
what situational factors increase the likelihood of altruism? (4)
- if the children feel responsible to the person in need
- when they feel they have the skills to help
- when they are feeling happy and successful
- when they don’t think they have to give up a lot by helping
what can parents do to foster prosocial behaviour? (4)
- reasoning
- modelling
- positive emotional expression
- praise
define dispositional praise
praise that links the child’s altruistic behaviour to an underlying altruistic characteristic of the person
what general factors contribute to children’s prosocial behaviour? (3)
- skills
- situational influences
- parental influence
define aggression
externalized behaviour meant to harm, damage, dominate, or injure others. It violates their rights.
define assertiveness
goal-directed behaviour that respects the rights of others
define instrumental aggression
when a child uses aggression to achieve an explicit goal
define reactive aggression
when one child’s aggression is cued or caused by another child’s behaviour
what factors distinguish bullies from non-bullies (2)
- bullies believe that bullying/aggressive behaviour is legitimate
- parents of bullies tend to have less knowledge of their child’s behaviour
define relational aggression
hurting another person by damaging that person’s social relationships
how does bullying change with age
- physically when younger
- verbally when older (but still physical as well)
- relatively stable for individual children, though form changes
what factors can influence development of aggressive tendencies?
- family (aggression, poor emotion regulation in parents/siblings)
- abuse (physical, sexual, psychological, neglect)
- violent TV
- cognition
- poverty, racism, terrorism
what developmental challenges are associated with abuse? (8)
- less likely to be securely attached
- trouble with peers (withdrawn or aggressive)
- emotion regulation
- ongoing stress and anxiety
- lower scholastic achievement
- school-related behaviour problems
- internalizing and externalizing behaviour
- physical attacks -> neurological damage -> attention, concentration, learning
describe internalizing behaviour
suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety
describe externalizing behaviour
physical aggression and sexualized behaviour
what is the impact of neglect
cognitive development, academic adjustment, development of language
what is the relationship between violent TV, aggression, and violence? (4)
- violent TV increases aggression in children (physical in boys, relational in girls)
- desensitizes them, making them more accepting of interpersonal violence
- especially pronounced when it is the identifiable character (good guy) doing the violence
- disagreement about whether this leads to real-world violence
in terms of cognition, what characteristics are typical of aggressive children (2)
- not skilled at interpreting and responding to others’ actions
- less likely to attend to cues that signal non-hostile intent
how many children are bullied chronically?
10% (Europe and North America)
what forms can bullying take (3)
- physical aggression
- verbal abuse
- ostracism
when is school bullying most / least common? (5)
- outdoors / indoors
- school transition times / end of high school
- early adolescence / high school
- boys / girls
- group / one-on-one
what is the impact of bullying on the victims? (6)
- lonely
- anxious
- depressed
- dislike school
- low self-esteem
- self-harm
what are the two types of bullying victims
- aggressive - overreact, easily baited
2. passive - withdrawn, emotionally sensitive, submissive, unwilling/unable to defend themselves
what can help bullied kids? (3)
- being taught more effective and assertive behaviour
- increasing self-esteem and therefore resilience
- foster friendships with peers
WHAT ABOUT STOPPING THE BULLYING?
define latchkey children
children who largely are under their own supervision after school
factors for parents to consider in contemplating child self-care (3)
- age and emotional maturity
- neighbourhood
- some way to have adult contact
what do latchkey children need to know? (3)
- after-school routines
- rules for after-school behaviour
- emergency procedures
why is it hard to know the divorce rate? (2)
- cohabiting without marriage
- serial divorcers
what percentage of children live with their fathers following divorce?
15%
what does less time with fathers following divorce lead to? (3)
- worse relationships with fathers
- extended distress about the divorce
- poorer health outcomes in young adulthood
what did the Virginia Longitudinal Study of Divorce and Remarriage find? (5)
In the two years following divorce:
- mothers less effective parenting
- children regressed
After 2 years:
- strong mother/daughter bond
- mothers reasonable expectations, more affectionate
- negative reinforcement trap common in mother/son households
what is the effect of divorce when children grow up? (4)
- more likely to be teenaged parents
- more likely to divorce
- less satisfaction with life
- more likely to be depressed
who is most effected by divorce? (3)
- middle childhood and adolescents
- more emotional children
- those prone to interpret events negatively
how does divorce influence development? (3)
- lose one parent’s attention/help
- financial hardship means fewer developmentally-supportive materials/activities and less effort to parenting
- parental conflict is distressing
define joint custody
a post-divorce legal arrangement whereby both parents retain legal custody of their children
children adjust best to divorce when… (3)
- parents don’t compete for children’s attention
- maintain good relationships with both parents
- parents work out problems on their own and without putting the kids in the middle
define blended family
also called a stepfamily, this family consists of two adults living together, either common-law or married, who have biological children from one or both families
what effect does a stepfather typically have (3)
- good for boys when he’s warm and involved
- hard on mother-daughter bond
- beneficial during adolescence
what problems are reported with blended families? (3)
- lack of emotional support
- inconsistent discipline
- higher divorce rate can leads to more trauma
what is a skip-generation family?
a family that consists of grandparents and grandchildren without the presence of the children’s parents
what is a foster family?
a family that consists of at least one adult and one child who is not the biological child or a relative of the foster parent
