The School Years: Psychosocial Development

1. The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger Seventh Edition Chapter 13 The School Years: Psychosocial Development Slides prepared by Kate Byerwalter, Ph.D., Grand Rapids Community College

2. Make it Real: The Peer Group • Think back to middle childhood: • What kinds of activities did you do with your friends? • How much adult supervision was there? • How did you handle conflicts? • Was there a “leader” of the group?

3. The Culture of Children • Kids learn to negotiate, share, and compromise with peers. KYUYA KAWAZAWA / HAGA / THE IMAGE WORKS

4. The Culture of Children (cont.) • The culture of children refers to the habits, styles, values, and rules that set children apart from adult society. • Examples: secret “clubs,” “cootie catchers,” rules for outdoor games, clothes worn, language used, etc.

5. The Culture of Children (cont.) • Fitting in with one’s peers is a major priority during middle childhood. • Kids engage in social comparison: assessing their abilities and attributes against those of their peers.

6. The Culture of Children (cont.) • Peers can have both a positive and negative influence on one another. • Immigrant children may rely heavily on peers in the dominant culture to teach them language and social customs. • This may or may not please the parents!

7. Moral Development • Peers send some strong messages (positive and negative) regarding morals within the context of friendship. • Examples: Protect your friends. Fit in. Don’t tell on a friend to an adult. Don’t break a contract with a friend.

8. Variations in Social Acceptance • Research has investigated why some kids seem to be more popular than others. • Popular kids are kind, trustworthy, and cooperative, and well-liked by peers. • Neglected kids are unpopular, but not disliked.

9. Social Acceptance (cont.) • Aggressive-rejected kids are disliked due to antagonistic, confrontational behavior. • Withdrawn-rejected kids are disliked due to timid, anxious behavior. • Rejected kids often lack social cognition, the ability to understand social behavior.

10. “You did that on purpose!” • Aggressive-Rejected children are likely to view an accidental event as purposeful. They are often “combat ready.” PHOTODISC

11. Perceptions Make a Difference

12. Make it Real: Social Acceptance • Can you recall a child who was rejected by peers during your schooling? What factors contributed to his/her disliking? What could have been done to help him/her?

13. Friendships • Friendships are highly valued during middle childhood. Most 10 year olds have one “best” friend. • Older children tend to choose friends whose interests, values, and backgrounds are similar to their own.

14. Bullying • Bullying involves repeated, systematic efforts to inflict harm. • This includes physical attack, taunting, teasing, name calling.

15. Bullying: Who are the victims? • Victims tend to be withdrawn-rejected kids who have no friend to support them. • Some aggressive-rejected kids are also bullied (bully-victims). • Consequences of being bullied include anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

16. Bullying: Who are the bullies? • Contributing factors to bullying include: • Inborn brain abnormalities or genetic impulses • Insecure attachment • Stressful home life • Hostile siblings • Lack of knowledge of how to control aggressive impulses

17. Gender Differences in Bullying • Male bullies tend to be above average in size, and use physical aggression. • Female bullies tend to use relational aggression: spreading rumors or embarrassing secrets, ridiculing victims through mockery of clothes or behavior.

18. Bullying: Helping the Victims • De-escalating a confrontation is a good strategy for girls (i.e., “never let them see you sweat”); it may not work for boys. • Schools need to have comprehensive, anti-bullying programs in place.

20. Families and Children • Research has documented the various types of families among U.S. children, known as family structures. • However, more important than who lives with a child is family function, the way a family works to meet needs of a child.

21. Key Components of Family Function • Provide food, clothing, and shelter • Encourage learning • Develop self-respect • Nurture peer relationships • Ensure harmony and stability

22. Quiz: Family Functions • Which family functions might be addressed by this activity of shopping for shoes? KATHY MCLAUGHLIN / THE IMAGE WORKS

24. Make it Real: Family Structures • Share with a partner the “structure” of your family. How do you feel about having that family structure? (Note: say “pass” if you don’t wish to share)

25. “Where’s the Beav?” • In the 1950’s, nuclear family was the norm • Example: “Leave it to Beaver” TV show • Today, only a minority (37%) of U.S. children will live with both biological parents from birth to age 18.

26. Is one family structure “best”? • Children from nuclear families are often at an advantage, but the reason may be family function, not structure. • Higher family income • Parents tend to be psychologically healthy • Biological parents have a genetic impulse to protect their own offspring • Parental “alliance” to raise kids

27. Putting it in Perspective… • However, just because a family is a nuclear family does not guarantee it is a healthy, happy one! • And, just because a family isn’t nuclear, doesn’t mean it can’t be a healthy, happy one!

28. A Happy “Blended” Family BILL ARON / PHOTOEDIT, INC.

29. Income and Family Functioning • The family stress model explores how financial difficulties can impair family functioning by placing stress upon the family. • Changes in income can cause parents to be anxious, depressed, or angry, affecting their ability to parent effectively.

30. Harmony and Stability • Children thrive in homes in which parents form a parental alliance, a harmonious relationship that support’s parenting efforts. • Blended and single parent families may have more difficulty achieving harmony and stability.

31. Harmony and Stability (cont.) • Multiple transitions (e.g., moving, separations, divorce, remarriage) are especially difficult for children to handle. • Some families may appear to be less “harmonious” (warm) than others, but the children still fare well, due to stability.

32. The Nature of the Child • Latency is Freud’s term for middle childhood, during which emotional drives and psychosocial needs are quiet. • This allows the child time to acquire cognitive skills and cultural values.

33. The Nature of the Child • Industry vs. inferiority is Erikson’s fourth stage of psychosocial crises, in which children see themselves as competent or incompetent. • In middle childhood, kids develop a more complex self concept, including more self-criticism and self-consciousness.

35. Coping with Life: Resilience • As shown in this chapter, children in middle childhood must learn to cope with the stresses of life, from bullying to divorce. • Resilience is the capacity to develop optimally by adapting positively to significant adversity.

36. Coping with Life: Resilience (cont.) • Key parts of the definition of resilience: • It is a dynamic trait,varying with time • It is not the absence of pathology, but a positive adaptation to stress • The stress may vary in significance

37. Stressors: How many, how often? • Children can be affected by stress that is cumulative (e.g., “daily hassles”) • How the child interprets the stress is important • Daily routines are key in coping with stress • Example: after school activities

39. Social Support and Stress • Social support from parents, neighborhoods, friends, and religious faith can significantly buffer the impact of stress. • Religious faith and church involvement are psychologically protective, helping children reinterpret stressful experiences.

40. “We support each other!” BOB CHILD / AP PHOTO