Socioemotional Development in Middle Childhood
Chapter 7
Family Relationships
Family as a system (ecological view)
Parents <-> children
Directly & indirectly
Subtle influences abound
Father’s treatment of mother impacts mother/daughter
Interacts with larger social systems
Neighborhood, school, work, extended family
Parenting Dimensions
2 key dimensions: Warmth, control
Warmth
Warm, affectionate, responsive, time spent v.uninvolved & hostile
Warmth = happy, secure, well behaved children
Hostile = anxious, unhappy, low self-esteem
Parenting Dimensions
Control
Overcontrol, demanding, run kids life
Undercontrol, few demands, kids free to do X, parents don’t care
Both problematic: no internal socialization
Balance best: adequate control/standards consistently enforced + allowing kids to make some decisions
Communication key
Parental Style (Warmth x Control)
Authoritarian: High control + low warmth
Harsh rules, no discussion allowed
Hard work, absolute obedience expected
Authoritative: High control + high warmth
Lots of consistent rules/standards that are explained
Lots of warmth, affection
Parental Style (Warmth x Control)
Indulgent-permissive: Low control + high warmth
Acceptance of children w/ little punishment
Indifferent-uninvolved: Low control + low warmth
Basic needs provided but not much else
Get away from me kid you’re bothering me
Parental Style (Warmth x Control)
Authoritative best for children
Responsible, self-reliant,friendly
Authoritarian: low self-esteem, poor social skills
Indulgent: impulsive, easily frustrated
Indifferent: low self-esteem, impulsive, aggressive, moody
Parental Behavior
Direct instruction
Can coach children
Explain how behavior impacts emotions
Enhances social skills
Modeling & feedback
Children learn by observing
Rewards & punishers
Rapid, consistent, explained, best with high warmth
Adoption
2%-4% of US children are adopted
Adopted child syndrome myth
Similar temperament, attachment, cognitive development
More prone to adjustment problems, conduct disorders (aggressive)
More likely to obtain help + linked to poor prior treatment & age at adoption
Birth Order
First born
Higher IQ, more likely to go to college, less rebellious,
Later born
More socially popular, innovative
Only children
Higher IQ, leadership, maturity, not spoiled
Divorce
Most children live with mother (15% don’t)
Virginia Study of Divorce
Initially less affection/control from mother
Children regressed
Eventually mother-daughter relationship improved but son-mother relationship got worse
Father uninvolved
Impacts of Divorce
Negatively impacts:
School achievement
Conduct
Adjustment
Self-concept
Parent-child relations
Persists into adulthood
Less if live w/ same-sex parent, parents cooperate
Impacts of Divorce
Worse for:
Younger children
Emotionally unstable children
Negative attributional style
Children who fail to actively cope
Child Abuse
Abusers similar to controls on diagnosable mental health
3 key risk factors for abuse
Cultural/social values
Corporal punishment acceptable
Poverty
Social isolation
Child Abuse
Parents
History of abuse themselves
Ineffective parenting
Poor spousal relations
Children
Illness, conduct disorder increase risk
Child Abuse
Negatively impacts:
Social skills/peer relations
Cognitive development
Academic performance
Behavior problems
Emotional life (depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, abusers)
Less impactful with good father relationship + supportive peer groups
Preventing Child Abuse
Cultural attitudes in US about corporal punishment
Poverty reduced
Social support/aid
Parental counseling
Parenting, coping skills
Friendship Development
Sullivan: friendship develops in stages
4-8 years: short-lived, superficial playmates, companions
> 8: characterized by intimacy, reciprocity, trust, caring, loyalty
Adolescence (>13-14): Friends become strong source of support
Friendship: Who?
Childhood friends are alike on key demographics
Age, sex, race
Children w/ only opposite sex friends have poor social skills
Attitudes about school, family, etc
Consequences of Friends
Children with good friends:
Have high self-esteem
Less lonely, depressed
More prosocial behavior
Cope better with stress
Less likely to be victimized by other children
Greater self-worth as adults
Friends key resource facilitating effective psychological functioning
Groups in Adolescence
Peer groups = focus of social life
Cliques/crowd common
Jocks, nerds, druggies, etc.
Self-esteem linked to one’s ‘crowd’
High-status groups > lower status groups
Organized around dominance hierarchy
Boys: physical power determines status
Girls: traits key for group function
Groups & Peer Pressure
Groups define social reality
Establish norms for behavior
Exert pressure on non-conforming members
Pressure to uniformity
Can be antisocial & prosocial
Most power for domains w/o clear standards
Groups in Adolescence
Parental style linked to group membership
Achievement emphasis -> popular, jock, normal
Parental monitoring -> brain, less druggie
Authoritative -> groups w/ adult behavioral norms
Indulgent/indifferent -> conduct problems
Popularity & Rejection
Popularity is linked to:
Intelligence
Physical attractiveness
Social skills & emotional regulation
Rejection is linked to:
Aggression
Poor social skills
Low self-worth
Causes of Rejection
Ineffective parenting -> social skills
Modeling aggressive or antisocial behavior
Combative, hostile, belligerent
Violence, intimidation
Inconsistent discipline
The Impacts of Television
Viewing aggressive content linked with aggressive, criminal behavior as adults
Correlational and direct of effect unclear
Temperamentally aggressive kids select aggressive content more often?
Experimental evidence confirms results
Exposure to violent content (TV, music, video games) CAUSES increased aggression
The Impacts of Television
Television is linked to a stereotypical view of the world
Men, women, the elderly, ethnic minorities
Kimball (1986) introduction of TV enhanced stereotypes
Children who view lots of TV may develop an unrealistic view of the world
The Impacts of Television
Prosocial behavior
Exposure to prosocial models on TV does enhance this behavior in children
Stronger effect than violent content
Cognitive development
Educational TV enhance cognitive skills
Critics of TV
TV shortens attention span, concentration
No! (depends on content)
TV reduces creativity
~No! (depends on content)
Describing Others
Cognitive development drives other descriptions
< 7 years: Focus on appearance, general information, possessions
Concrete
8-14: Increasing emphasis personality traits
Conceptually
Understanding others
Selman’s (1980) theory of perspective taking
Undifferentiated (3-6)
Knows others have different thoughts but confuses them with their own
Social-informational (4-9)
Knows perspectives differ due to access to different information
Understanding others
Self-reflective (7-12)
Can view themselves as others do
Third-person (10-15)
Can view situation as uninvolved 3rd party
Societal (> 14)
Know that 3rd person perspective impacted by personal, cultural and social factors