Outline_of_the_Early_Development_of_a_Self-Concept_and_the_Possible_Effects_of_Different_Parenting_Styles_on_Children

As children grow they start to learn about themselves through their relationships with others and their ideas of themselves are significantly influenced by other people’s ideas and reactions to them. Dowling (2008) suggests that their levels of confidence are affected by their early experiences, successes and failures and it is recognised that a child’s confidence is linked closely to three factors: becoming aware of the self (self concept), developing one’s identity (self esteem) and learning about one’s own strengths and weaknesses (self knowledge). For the first several months of its life, an infant is not able to distinguish between itself and its environment. From birth to age two the infant starts to learn about its environment, this is part of its development in the sense of self. During the 1920s, child psychologist Jean Piaget developed a theory that young children are fundamentally egocentric, meaning that they are entirely driven by their own experiences and are unable to conceptulise abstract concepts or ideas outside of their own experience (Hayes, 2008). Piaget suggested that children went through four stages of cognitive development using ‘schemas’ to make sense of their experiences. Albery et al. (2008) describe Piaget’s four stages as: • The sensorimotor stage (from birth to 2 years). Children learn to organise and interpret the world through movement and senses. • Preoperational Stage (from ages 2 to 7 years). Children cannot conserve or use logical thinking. Egocentricism beginning to reduce. • Concrete operational stage (from ages 7 to 12 years). Children begin to think logically but only with practical aids. They are no longer egocentric. • Formal operational stage (from age 12 onwards). Children begin to develop abstract reasoning and perform logical operations. As shown above, during early childhood, the self concept undergoes a major change and sees the start of the lifelong process of self-discovery. From childhood to adolescence many changes take place both physically and mentally. These changes involve continuing increases in the complexity of motor skills and substantial body changes and the self concept shifts from self-centred to an increasing awareness of others. Harter (2006 cited in Merrill-Palmer, 2009: 184) suggests that the emergence of a coherent and positive self-concept is undeniably a critical aspect of social and emotional development. Having a positive self concept is extremely important on a child’s ability to learn. Parents can help develop this by encouraging and praising their child for their efforts and achievements, which in turn will aid in the development of a high self esteem. Similarly the ways in which adults respond to children will also have a powerful effect on a child’s developing knowledge about him or herself (Dowling, 2008) Dowling (2008) also suggests that in order to ensure healthy growth and development, babies and young children need to feel securely attached and become socially competent. Attachment The concept of attachment refers to the primary relationship between a parent or caregiver and a child. John Bowlby, a leading psychologist in attachment theory, viewed attachment as an essential aspect of leading a productive and psychologically healthy life. His view was that infants are essentially dependent on their caregivers for providing food, shelter, love, stimulation etc and the primary caregiver is viewed as an attachment figure. If a child knows that their attachment figure is available when needed, the child will feel more secure. Goldberg (2000) outlines Ainsworth’s three basic attachment styles: Secure - Securely attached children exhibit the following behaviour: • They use their primary caregiver as a secure base from which to explore their environments. • They protest a little when their caregiver leaves but eventually calm down, seeming to trust that he or she will return • While with strangers or other adults, they are friendly but not overly so • Upon reunion, they go to the primary caregiver and seek connection Anxious/Ambivalent - Anxious/ambivalently attached children behave as follows: • They do not use their caregivers as secure bases to explore from • They sometimes resist initial contact with the caregiver but also resist any attempt to break it off after it has been established • They are avoidant or sometimes aggressive in the presence of strangers • They cry excessively upon separation and are difficult to console Avoidant - Avoidant attached children act as follows: • They seem to need less contact from the caregiver • They are indifferent when left alone or cry only because they are alone and not because they miss the caregiver • Upon the return of the caregiver they either avoid or ignore him/her Albery et al. suggest that Bowlby’s theory supposed that attachment security would become part of a child’s internal working world. Therefore a secure infant would have a more confident approach to new situations than an insecure child. Furthermore, Cash (2002) suggests that when attachment is lacking, infants often suffer from depression, anxiety and a generally poor psychological well-being. PARENTING STYLES The importance of parenting in relation to the way children behave has been of huge fascination and interest with leading psychologists since the 1920s. The basic role of all parents is to ensure their children grow into responsible, well behaved and sociable adults who are aware of boundaries, know the difference between right and wrong and are able to control and understand their emotions appropriately in different situations. Parenting essentially falls into two categories, these are known as parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. These categories describe the kind of reaction that parents can be expected to have based on the behaviour of their children. Baumrind (1991: 62) describes parental responsiveness (also referred to as parental warmth or supportiveness) as “the extent to which parents intentionally foster individuality, self-regulation and self-assertion by being attuned, supportive and acquiescent to children’s special needs and demands” and parental demandingness (also referred to as behaviourial control) as “the claims parents make on children to become integrated into the family whole, by their maturity demands, supervision, disciplinary efforts and willingness to confront the child who disobeys” Baumrind (1991: 62) Many researchers refer to Baumrind’s concept of parenting styles which she identified into four classifications: • Authoritarian – demanding and directive but not responsive. Authoritarian parents adopt a style that involves having too much control over their children. They are usually most concerned with ensuring their children display a positive behaviour at all times. They are obedience and status-orientated and expect their orders to be obeyed without question. • Permissive – more responsive than they are demanding (also known as the indulgent parenting style). They are non-traditional and lenient. Too laid back in most cases and children suffer from a lack of boundaries. They often have problems fitting in at school due to their bad behaviour (not knowing right from wrong) and because other children find their behaviour disruptive or difficult to cope with. • Authoritative – both demanding and responsive. Set clear standards for their children’s conduct and their disciplinary methods are supportive rather than punitive. They set clear boundaries and encourage children to take responsibility for the action. Children are given opportunities to make their own independent choices. • Rejecting/neglecting – (also known as disengaged parents) neither demanding or responsive. The do not structure and monitor, are not supportive but may be actively neglecting their parenting responsibilities. Each of these parenting styles reflects different naturally occurring patterns of parental values, practices and behaviours (Baumrind, 1991). Research has shown that parenting style does have a direct effect and influence on the behaviour, general well being and development of children. Baumrind’s 1991 study on the influence of parenting style on adolescent competence outlined the consequences for children relating to the four parental styles. She suggested that studies had shown that children from authoritative homes had “consistently been found to be more instrumentally and cognitively competent than others” (Baumrind, 1991). In addition, “the effects of authoritarian upbringing in early childhood have been found to be more harmful for middle-class boys than girls” (Baumrind, 1991). In addition to differing on responsiveness and demandingness, the parental styles can also be characterised by a third dimension – psychological control. This refers to “control attempts that intrude into the psychological and emotional development of the child” Barber, 1996: 3296; eg the thinking processes, expression, emotions and parental attachments. A major psychological difference between authoritarian and authoritative parenting refers to how both parental types put high demands on their children and expect good behaviour. However, authoritarian parents expect their children to accept their decisions as final and without question. In contrast, authoritative parents are more receptive to give and take with their children. Dwairy 2006 further examined how parental inconsistency compared with parental authoritarianism in relation to associations with symptoms of psychological disorders. He hypothesized that “inconsistency in parenting style and culture contributes to negative psycho-social outcomes”. The study into the association between psychological disorders and parenting styles is much less documented and the author had little success in finding further evidence to support the theory. However, the proposed hypothesis does range a number of questions over a wide range of implications relating to child development concerning the link between parental upbringing, teacher’s behaviour and the co-ordination between home and schooling. CONCLUSION It is self evident from the theory and research on infant and child development that the early self-concept is formed as a result of a child’s direct relationships with its primary caregivers/family members. The level of attachment a parent or caregiver establishes early in the child’s development can have significant affects on how the child perceives itself and equally importantly, social skills for the future. Children need the handling, attention and care of a mother or father figure in the earliest years of infancy, but if children are denied these attachments they appear to suffer long term due to the lack of development of these learning skills. In addition, parenting style has clearly been found to influence and determine a child’s development in terms of social competence, academic performance, social development and behaviour. In assessing the literature and theories on parenting styles for this essay, it is apparent that there is a consistent theme which relates to authoritative parenting and its benefits in building a healthy self-concept in early child development. However, if this positive image and self-esteem are not determined during a child’s early years of life it is unlikely to blossom later in life. The key to parenting is to ensure that children are brought up in secure and loving environments to enable them to grown and develop into psychologically well adjusted and balanced adults with the required skills to integrate efficiently and effectively with society. References Albery, I., Chandler, C., Field, A., Hammond, N., Jones, D., Messer, D., Moore, S., Sterling, C., Sutton, J. and Trapp, A. (2008) Complete Psychology, Second Edition, London: Hodder Education Baumrind, D (1991) The Influence of Parenting Style on Adolescent Competence and Substance Use, The Journal of Early Adolescence, Feb, p56-72. Brown, G., Mangelsdorf, S., Neff, C., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. and Frosch, C. (2009) Young children’s self concepts: Associations with child temperament, Mothers’ and Fathers’ parenting and Triadic Family interaction, Merrill-Palmer Quaterly, April, pp184-216 Cash, A. (2002) Psychology for Dummies, Hungry Minds Inc. Dowling, M. (2008) Young children’s personal, social and emotional development, Second Edition, London: Sage Publications. Dwairy, M. (2007) Parental inconsistency versus parental authoritarianism: Associations with symptoms of psychological disorders, Youth Adolescence, April, p616-626 Goldberg, S. (2000) Attachment and Development, First Edition, Hodder Education. Hayes, N (2008) Teach yourself psychology, Fourth Edition, London: Hodder Education.