B4 - Social Factors that Affect Development Flashcards
A family is a social group of people often related genetically, by marriage or by living together as a group. There are many different types of family. Being part of a family group can help you to develop in the following ways:
~ Forming your first emotional relationships and attachments.
~ Providing your first experiences of social interaction.
~ Influencing your view of what is expected of you in social settings, and what is normal/socially acceptable behaviour.
~ Providing a setting that makes your physical needs for protection, food, shelter and warm.
~ Supporting each other emotionally and protecting family members from stress.
~ Helping each other financially or practically, for example families may support older relatives.
Family dysfunction
Some families are unable to conform to the social norms expected, which prevents the family performing it’s expected functions. A dysfunctional family is a family that does not provide some/all of the benefits listed before. There are many reasons why a family may become dysfunctional. Family members may become stressed because of health problems including: mental health problems, poor housing and low income. Some adults have poor parenting skills. Some may try to control other family members in aggressive/manipulative ways. Others may be insufficiently involved with the children and neglect them. Some parents may be inconsistent in the way that they teach children to behave socially. Some may have grown up within a dysfunctional family themselves and have little practical experience of providing appropriate relationships and support for other family members. Stressful family environments may disadvantage children. It may be hard to develop self-confidence if there are constant emotional tensions at home.
Parental divorce or separation (family dysfunction)
Increasing parental divorce and separation has been associated with particular consequences for children’s growth and development. Parental divorce can be associated with negative outcomes and children/adolescence can experience emotional problems that may affect their self-esteem and self-confidence, leading to emotional distress, moodiness and depression. Children and adolescents may lack resilience, placing greater reliance on and being influenced by their peers. This could lead to risky behaviour such as smoking, taking drugs/using alcohol. Additionally, there is some evidence that children of divorced parents are more likely to experience poverty and underachievement in education.
Sibling rivalry (family dysfunction)
In his social learning theory,Bandura explored the impact of role modelling and imitating behaviour. Constant exposure to high levels of family conflict, especially in dysfunctional families, could lead to a child becoming aggressive and displaying bullying behaviour towards other children in the family. Research by the psychologists Rosenthal & Doherty (1984) suggests that children who are in rivalry with their siblings/involved in bullying behaviour have quite often been bullied by the primary carers. This can be a way of children trying to gain a sense of control and power in the household in which they feel helpless and powerless. Parent/primary carers may also be responsible for deliberately or inadvertently causing sibling conflict by encouraging competition, and sometimes conflict, between siblings.
Parenting styles (family dysfunction)
The developmental psychologist Baumrind (1960s) identified three different parenting styles that she felt could contribute to the overall development of children:
~ Authoritative - Parents are not overly strict; children are brought up to respect authority and develop appropriate values and boundaries. Children in these households are often more resilient and conform more easily to the social norms of society.
~ Authoritarian - Parents have very high expectations, often overwhelming the children are strict rules and regulations. Children in these households are often rebellious and may become problematic both in the family home and in wider social settings.
~ Permissive - Parents make a few demands, and maybe reluctant to implement rules or values into the lives of the children. Children in his household of the lack a sense of control as they have no set boundaries all respect for personal space – children may later experience problems in managing relationships and adult responsibilities.
~ Uninvolved parenting is a fourth style that was identified through further research. This type is characterised by the parents who are not involved in their children’s lives. They make a few demands of them and lack responsiveness.
Some parents are unaware of the power they hold over their children. Developmental theorists, such as Piaget and Erikson, believed that family dysfunction was a result of lack of education and in adequate role modelling. This leads to a parenting style that is detrimental to a child’s growth and development. Some parents lack emotional intelligence and the skills required to raise their children to be resilient and prepared for the outside world. Parents experiencing mental health issues or substance dependency may struggle with their own mental health/emotional issues and find it difficult to meet all the needs of the children. In some cases, this can result in neglect and abuse of the children.
Bullying
Effects of bullying on self-esteem
There is no legal definition of bullying. It can be described as repetitive behaviour intended to hurt an individual emotionally and/or physically. Many children experience bullying at school but adults can also experience bullying behaviour. It can undermine self-esteem and lead to stress, depression and anxiety.
Individuals might be bullied for many reasons, for example their religion, race or particular group/culture they belong to. Bullying behaviour can take different forms – it can be non-physical such as teasing a person or name calling. More serious forms of bullying might involve making threats or physical violence. With the rising use of social media, in particular with the increased use of mobile phones, cyber bullying has increased.
Bullying can have long-term effects on self-esteem, lasting even into adult heard. The Department for education provides advice and guidance to educational settings about how to deal with bullying behaviour. By law, all state schools must have a behaviour policy that includes measures to prevent bullying and that clearly outlines the steps must be taken to support young people. The workplace should also have procedures to report and deal with bullying.
Self-harm
The effects of bullying can impact on a child’s growth and development, especially on their emotional development. It might lead to a child feeling unsafe, lonely, isolated and losing self-confidence. They may become self-critical and believe that what is said about them is true or that is their fault. For some people (children, young people and adults), self-harm is a way of releasing their feelings of guilt, self-loathing, distress and emotional pain. Hurting themselves makes them feel better. Self-harmers often hide their behaviour, for example by always wearing long sleeves to disguise cuts on their arms. Some children, adolescents and even adults can experience anxiety and severe depression which may result in suicidal thoughts or even suicide.
Culture, religion and beliefs
The UK is a religious and culturally diverse society. Health and social care providers may be working with service users whose culture/religious beliefs could influence treatment decisions. This can lead to complex situations and emotional distress that affects the relationship between the care provider and family members.
Medical intervention (culture, religion and beliefs)
Most faith groups emphasise the importance of prayer as part of the healing process and there is a general believe the prayer compliments medical care. However, some religious groups believe that certain medical procedure should not be allowed and reject medical intervention. Sample, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that blood transfusions, even if needed to say the persons life, must not be accepted. In some cases, doctors have had to take the legal proceedings to ensure that children can receive a lifesaver and. This affects many hours of care, sample pregnancy and childbirth, where woman may require special Karen counselling for delivery to minimise deal with haemorrhage. Although Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot accept blood, they do accept most other medical procedures. Most hospitals have a list of doctors who are prepared to treat patients without using a blood transfusion.
Some cultures do not believe in medical intervention and may use their own remedies for a long time before coming into the healthcare system only in a crisis. For example, many older Chinese people will use traditional/herbal remedies or diets. When they do come into the healthcare system, they may not disclose their personal medicinal treatment attempts as they fear the health care professions disapproval of/disbelief in traditional medicine. This can cause problems if medication is required as there may be interactions with the herbs/remedies they are using.
Dietary restrictions (culture, religion and beliefs)
It’s important to consider dietary differences linked to religion/culture when planning a balanced diet. The commonest dietary differences encountered in healthcare are vegetarianism, halal and kosher diets. Part of faith-based dietary practice includes the food itself, the way it is prepared/served and not being allowed specific items of food. For example, dairy and meat products should be kept separate in kosher diets, with different implements used for meat and dairy products when preparing/serving kosher meals, and when washing up afterwards. Jewish people do not eat pork or shellfish. Hindu and Sikh vegetarian diets require that both equipment and diets to not come into contact with any meat. Muslims do not eat pork or non-halal meats, and they do not consume alcohol.
Whatever the rules, it is important that a balanced diet is followed to reduce the effects on health and development. Vegetarianism, for example, may have positive or negative effects on a person’s development. There are usually higher levels of fruit, vegetables, fibre and lower fat in the diet which lowers the risk of high cholesterol, heart disease and high blood pressure. However, there are also health risks of nutritional deficiency for those whose diet does not contain meat or fish. For instance, calcium deficiency can result in weakened bones and teeth,. Iron and vitamin B12 deficiency may affect the production of red blood cells, and protein deficiency could impact on muscle and organ function, affect the elasticity of skin and weaken bones.
