Self evaluation in middle childhood

THE DEVELOPING SELF

Guidepost 1: How do school-age children develop a realistic self-concept, and what contributes to self-esteem?

• The self-concept becomes more realistic during middle childhood, when, according to neo-Piagetian theory, children form representational systems.
• According to Erikson, the chief source of self-esteem is children's view of their productive competence. This "virtue" develops through resolution of the conflict of industry versus inferiority. According to Susan Harter's research, however, self-esteem arises primarily from social support and self-evaluation.

Guidepost 2: How do school-age children show emotional growth?

• School-age children have internalized shame and pride and can better understand and control negative emotions.
• Empathy and prosocial behavior increase.
• Emotional growth is affected by parents' reactions to displays of negative emotions.

Guidepost 3: How do parent-child relationships change in middle childhood?

• School-age children spend less time with, and are less close to, parents than before; but relationships with parents continue to be important. Culture influences family relationships and roles.
• Development of coregulation may affect the way a family handles conflicts and discipline.

Guidepost 4: What are the effects of parents' work and of poverty on family atmosphere?

• The most important influence of the family environment on children's development comes from the atmosphere in the home.
• The impact of mothers' employment depends on many factors concerning the child, the mother's work and her feelings about it; whether she has a supportive mate; the family's socioeconomic status; and the kind of care the child receives.
• Homes with employed mothers tend to be more structured and more egalitarian than homes with at-home mothers. Maternal employment has a positive influence on school achievement in low-income families, but boys in middle-class families tend to do less well.
• Parents living in persistent poverty may have trouble providing effective discipline and monitoring and emotional support.

Guidepost 5: What impact does family structure have on children's development?

• Many children today grow up in nontraditional family structures. Children tend to do better in traditional two-parent families. The structure of the family, however, is less important than its effects on family atmosphere.
• Adopted children are generally well adjusted, though they face special challenges.
• Children's adjustment to divorce depends on factors concerning the child; the parents' handling of the situation; custody and visitation arrangements; financial circumstances; contact with the noncustodial parent (usually the father); and a parent's remarriage.
• The amount of conflict in a marriage and the likelihood of its continuing after divorce may influence whether or not children are better off if the parents stay together.
• Unwed motherhood creates more single-parent families than does divorce. Children living with only one parent are at heightened risk of behavioral and academic problems, in part related to socioeconomic status.
• Remarriages are more likely to fail than first marriages. Boys tend to have more trouble than girls in adjusting to divorce and single-parent living but tend to adjust better to the mother's remarriage.
• Studies have found no ill effects on children living with homosexual parents.
• Grandparents' relationships with their grandchildren may be altered in nontraditional families.

Guidepost 6: How do siblings influence and get along with one another?

• The roles and responsibilities of siblings in nonindustrialized societies are more structured than in industrialized societies.
• Siblings learn about conflict resolution from their relationships with each other. Relationships with parents affect sibling relationships.

Guidepost 7: How do relationships with peers change in middle childhood, and what influences popularity and choice of friends?

• The peer group becomes more important in middle childhood. Peer groups generally consist of children who are similar in age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and who live near one another or go to school together.
• The peer group helps children develop social skills, allows them to test and adopt values independent of parents, gives them a sense of belonging, and helps develop the self-concept. It also may encourage conformity and prejudice.
• Popularity influences self-esteem and future adjustment. Popular children tend to have good cognitive abilities and social skills. Behaviors that affect popularity may derive from family relationships and cultural values.
• Intimacy and stability of friendships increase during middle childhood. Boys tend to have more friends, whereas girls have closer friends.

Guidepost 8: What are the most common forms of aggressive behavior in middle childhood, and what influences contribute to it?

• During middle childhood, aggression typically declines. Relational aggression becomes more common than overt aggression, especially among girls. Also, instrumental aggression gives way to hostile aggression. Highly aggressive children tend to be unpopular and maladjusted.
• Aggressiveness promoted by exposure to televised violence can extend into adult life.
• Middle childhood is a prime time for bullying; patterns may be established in kindergarten. Victims tend to be weak and submissive, or argumentative and provocative, and to have low self-esteem.

Guidepost 9: What emotional disorders may develop in childhood, and how are they treated?

• Common emotional and behavioral disorders among school-age children include anxiety or mood disorders and disruptive behavioral disorders.
• Childhood depression often emerges during the transition to middle school; its prevalence increases during adolescence.
• Treatment techniques include individual psychotherapy, family therapy, behavior therapy, play therapy, art therapy, and drug therapy. Often therapies are used in combination.

Guidepost 10: How do the stresses of modern life affect children, and why are some children more resilient than others?

• As a result of the pressures of modern life, many children experience stress. Children tend to worry about school, health, and personal safety.
• Resilient children are better able than others to withstand stress. Protective factors involve cognitive ability, family relationships, personality, degree of risk, and compensating experiences.